Monday, February 06, 2006

THE Cartoons

At last I found an article that neatly sums up what I feel about the current brouhaha over the cartoons that is being published again and again around the world...

An excerpt from Martin Khor's article in the Star:

"Press freedom is not absolute even though editors especially those in the West may profess or think that it is. There are double standards in this regard practised in the West too.
As pointed out in a letter in an English paper, the United States and British papers comply with requests not to publish photographs of American and British soldiers killed in Iraq or even highlight the return home of the bodies.
The governments don’t want such photos to further affect public opinion against the war and occupation. Western newspapers are very careful not to publish articles that can be construed as being anti-Jew.
If they do, it is almost certain they will come under attack for being anti-Semite and probably have to apologise. There are guidelines, whether formal or informal, so that journalists and editors avoid insulting women or homosexuals.
But when it comes to cartoons of the most revered figure in Islam, the editors of some of the most established newspapers in Europe see fit to state that they have the right to publish them in the name of freedom and so what if some Muslims feel insulted. "

More details Martin Khor

As for Muslims, I hope they stop being violent whenever someone comments negatively about them and their religion. I doubt burning the Danish embassy or boycotting goods from Europe would help enlighten others about Islam. Islam will always be construed as a violent, dogmatic and backward religion fit for the disillusioned whenevwer angry mobs resort to violence to show their displeasure over some issue. However hard it may be to keep calm, it must be done. Rational debate is the only way to prove to the world that Islam is an enlightened path fit to be a guideline for everyone in every situation and for all times.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Why is there a long queue?

This question asked by a lady on Saturday 28 Jan 2006 seemed a bit redundant to me. The question is in context of the long queue at the Air Asia check-in counter. But of course, there is a long queue. The Air Asia promotional campaign has been quite a success. It was also the week long holidays in conjunction with the Chinese New Year. Air Asia is a budget airline and will do its utmost to cut costs. At the moment they have been allocated a few rows for checking in their passengers at KLIA. There is no such thing as premier check-in counters. First come first served. If anyone wants the queue to be shorter, they should discourage others from taking Air Asia. That would be one way to minimise the number of passengers and shorten the queue.
The new terminal for low cost carriers might help to ease the congestion and it won't be ready until the middle or end of 2006. In the meantime, if anyone doesn't like the services provided by Air Asia, they are encouraged to use other airlines. I'm sure Air Asia welcomes any feedback on their services but consumers must be aware, there is always a price to pay for everything. Budget airlines work within certain parameters. There is just so much that they can or are willing to do.