The Last Frontier - 101 East - Al Jazeera English

The Last Frontier - 101 East - Al Jazeera English

Messiah personalities behind deviant groups

EVERY generation is said to have its Pied Piper, gurus and messiahs. Here are some of the “religious” cults that have left the biggest cuts over the years:
 
Heaven's Gate
Founded in the early 1970s by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, the American UFO religion-based Heaven's Gate preached about how planet Earth would be “recycled” wiped clean, renewed, refurbished and rejuvenated and that the only chance of survival was to contact an alien space craft and evacuate earth.
Applewhite managed to convince his followers that this could only be achieved through mass suicide, and on March 26, 1997, police discovered 39 bodies of the cult members, including Applewhite, who had killed themselves by eating pudding and drinking Vodka laced with poison.
 
Al-Arqam
By the time it was banned in 1994, Al Arqam, which was founded in 1968 by Ashaari Mohammad (pic), had an estimated 100,000 followers. Many lived in their own communes, following a lifestyle based on Ashaari's teachings.
Members believed that Ashaari had supernatural powers and was receiving messages directly from the Prophet in his dreams. Even when he was under house arrest, he was not deterred. In 1997, Ashaari founded Rufaqa Corporation, allegedly as a guise to recruit new members for the revival of Al Arqam. Ashaari may have passed away in 2010 but his disciples are still continuing his “teachings”.
 
Sky Kingdom
It was tagged as the “teapot” cult after pictures of a large teapot and vase in its commune's compound went viral on the Internet. The Sky Kingdom (or Kerajaan Langit) was founded by Ariffin Mohammed or Ayah Pin, who claims to have direct contact with the heavens and is believed by his followers to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Buddha, Shiva, and Muhammad. Devotees of Sky Kingdom considered Ayah Pin as the king of the sky and after his death will return as a messiah. In 2005, the Government banned the movement and demolished the commune but Ayah Pin managed to escape. He now resides in exile in Narathiwat, Thailand.
 
The Church of Scientology
American author L. Ron Hubbard reportedly developed Scientology, a body of beliefs and related practices, from his self-help system called Dianetics. Proclaiming Scientology as a religion in 1953, Hubbard founded the Church of Scientology.
Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature. Its method of spiritual rehabilitation is a type of counselling known as “auditing”, in which practitioners try to re-live traumatic events from their past. The followers, many of whom are celebrities, can get “Scientology study materials and audition courses” after making big donations. Although Scientology is legally recognised as a religion in the US, it has not received a religious status in other countries like France, Germany, Britain and Canada.
 
Lady Gaga
It is sometimes difficult to tell fandom apart from cultdom but gender-bending pop artiste Lady Gaga seems to have struck fear in many parents in Asia when she went on her world tour recently, and I'm not talking about Malaysia. In South Korea, conservative Christian groups called her Mother Monster and slammed her for her “satanic” dance moves and “intolerable” outfits. Groups in Indonesia staged violent riots to prevent her from performing on their shores and spreading her “evil” influence. The Asian fans, especially teens, adore her, of course.

Benevolent Missionary Association
In 2009, police stormed into a house in Penampang, Sabah, after receiving complaints from neighbours about noisy chanting and foul smells, and found a decomposing body on an altar. The deceased turned out to be Ching Chi Vui @ Ivan, who was the leader of a religious cult, the Benevolent Missionary Association. The followers of the cult had wrapped the body of their leader in plastic for 13 months after his death so that they could pray for him to be resurrected. It was learnt that this was done on his instruction before he died, as he had promised his followers he would come back to life.

Source:  http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/7/15/nation/11666945&sec=nation

Choosing a wife

A man wanted to get married. He was having trouble choosing among three likely candidates. He gives each woman a present of $5,000 and watches to see what they do with the money.

The first does a total makeover. She goes to a fancy beauty salon, gets her hair done, new makeup; buys several new outfits and dresses up very nicely for the man. She tells him that she has done this to be more attractive for him because she loves him so much.

The man was impressed.

The second goes shopping to buy the man gifts. She gets him a new set of golf clubs, some new gizmos for his computer, and some expensive clothes. As she presents these gifts, she tells him that she has spent all the money on him because she loves him so much..

Again, the man is impressed.

The third invests the money in the stock market She earns several times the $5,000. She gives him back his $5,000 and reinvests the remainder in a joint account. She tells him that she wants to save for their future because she loves him so much.

Obviously, the man was impressed.

The man thought for a long time about what each woman had done with the money he'd given her.
Then he married the one with the biggest tits.
Men are like that, you know.

 

 

And on another note!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.
If you don't send this to five OLD friends right away there will be five fewer people laughing in the world

Pandas will boost tourism!!!

KUALA LUMPUR: The two pandas to be loaned to Malaysia by China will boost the tourism industry as it will attract more foreign visitors, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

She said foreign tourists were expected to flock to Malaysia to see the giant pandas once they were brought here.

“I expect an influx of tourists from countries like Indonesia and Singapore,” Dr Ng said after launching Malaysia Festival of the Mind at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman here yesterday.

The loan request for the pair of pandas was made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao during his visit to Nanning in April.

Dr Ng also revealed that the female panda that would be on loan to Malaysia was fertile.

“We are hopeful it will be able to produce baby pandas during its 10-year stay here,” said Dr Ng.

On critics who questioned Malaysia’s ability to care for the pandas, she said China would not have agreed to lend them if Malaysia was not capable of taking good care of the animals.

Malaysia, she said, had all the capability to take good care of the mammals and added that the Government would work closely with panda conservation specialists from China.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia is aiming to lure more investments from China, particularly in the field of telecommunications, transportation, construction and steel manufacturing under the country’s Economic Trans­formation Programme, reports Bernama.

He said Malaysia welcomed multinational companies from China to undertake the RM8bil Gemas to Johor Baru Electrified Double-Tracking project that would span over 197km.

“We are delighted too that China has invited Malaysia to tap the halal products market in Ning Xia. I do hope that more joint venture projects will be undertaken both in Malaysia and China in the future,” he said at a dinner last night which was hosted for a visiting Chinese Communist Party delegation.

P.S. I fully agree with Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen. In fact it will be a good@creative idea to add stock of animal species of other countries too. As an example, the bear from the US, penguin from Iceland, Komodo Dragon (a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo) from Indonesia; and the Orang Utan from Sarawak.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/17/nation/11497520&sec=nation

Lucu-lucu.wmv

Why mass hysteria only happens to malay girls in Malaysia?

Posted on June 8, 2012, Friday

Weird Malaysia Facts About Mass Hysteria Among Malaysia Malay Girls - – Quoted by malaysiannews

Here is one of those weird Malaysia facts or weird things in Malaysia which many Malaysians still couldn’t comprehend. Do you know that the outbreak of mass hysteria or epidermic hysteria only or rather mostly happens to perempuan Melayu (Malay girls) in Malaysia?

Although this freaky phenomena has happened to other people in other parts of the world, but here in Malaysia, it  affects predominately the female Malay community; among Malay lower seconday school girls in schools or those staying in hostels and also Malay factory girls.

Talking about mass or epidermic hysteria in Malaysian secondary schools, my sister who once witnessed this weird and unexplainable occurrence when she was studying in Sekolah Menengah Sri Muar, back in the early 80s.

She told me it only affected the Malay girls, and not a single Chinese or Indian school girl. What happened was, all of a sudden, for no obvious reason, one girl started crying hysterically and then staggered and went down on the ground.

It was as if her legs went jelly and she just fell to the ground in convulsion and continued crying and screaming. And automatically this triggered other Malay school girls to act the same weird manner. This caused a chain reaction. Some of the affected girls even fainted.

Some say that this strange and sudden outbreak of mass hysteria is because the school compound or the factory area is kotor (dirty in the sense it is haunted ). What they actually mean is there are jins (spirits) living   around those places. And these girls happen to kacau (disturb) the spirits.

This is one of those weird things which we often hear or read about, but  still couldn’t fathom. The big question is why it strikes only the gadis Melayu (Malay girls) in Malaysia?

Here are some weird malaysia news reported in the local daily about mass hysteria outbreak in schools and school hostels. Back in August, 2009, 35 students kena (struck) mass hysteria in SMK Tanjung Lumpur in Kuatan. The school engaged a bomoh (shaman) to “cleanse” the school by holding  religious recitals and prayers.

Then on July, 2001, a mass or epidermic hysteria struck more than 30 secondary school girls at Puchong Perdana National School. It happened during a  morning assembly, when suddenly a 15 year-old girl started screaming, and then collapsed. And her strange action spread to other school girls and they all began acting violently, throwing objects and screaming.

According to the State educational officer, this school have experienced similar incidents many times before.
Last year on July, more than 60 students of a secondary school in Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor, were involved in an epidermic hysteria. It all started by a girl staying in the girls’ hostel in the school.

One student was reported saying that the weird incident had taken place after a white apparition was seen on a bed in the hostel.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/06/08/why-mass-hysteria-only-happens-to-malay-girls-in-malaysia-new/#ixzz1xAmmQg1p

Maids return after three years

KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesian maids are back after nearly three years.

After Jakarta decided to lift the freeze on maids to Malaysia on Dec 1 last year, the first batch of maids arrived four days ago.

Twenty-nine women from East Java were introduced to their employers in a special ceremony yesterday and will begin work immediately.

Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies president Jeffrey Foo said the maids were returning after a memorandum of understanding between Malaysia and Indonesia was signed in May last year and finalised in November.

He said the MoU ensured the well-being of the maids, especially with regard to the payment of salary and scope of duties.

‘You maid me happy’: Indonesian maid Susiani Tukiri Suparti, 33 (second from right) leaving with her unnamed new employer (right) after going through a three-day training at the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maids Agencies shelter and training centre yesterday. — Bernama

 

“The employer is now obliged to open a special account for the maids to remit their salary, which will be monitored to ensure there is no manipulation,” Foo said during the ceremony.

He said the bank book would be kept by the maid to assure her that her wages were being banked in.

The MoU followed a moratorium that the Indonesian government imposed in June 2009 after reported cases of maid abuse in Malaysia.

Under the MoU, the duties of the maids are confined to household tasks, and it is up to them whether to accept the additional responsibility of looking after a child or a senior citizen, Foo said.

Employers are not allowed to force a maid to look after a toddler or a senior citizen or lodge a complaint if she was found to be inefficient in carrying out the task because it is not part of her expertise, he added.

Foo said that a maid would get one day off a week which need not be during the weekend.

“If the employer requests the maid to work on her day off, he must pay her RM27 for the day's work, in addition to her monthly salary of RM700,” he said.

Foo said the association had received 3,000 requests for maids.

The fee for hiring the maids is now RM4,511.

The employer has to pay RM2,711 to the agent while the maid has to put up RM1,800.

Foo said the fee would be revised upwards after this batch, which is subject to government approval, but the association would try to keep it below RM7,000.

“I am optimistic that more maids will come to work here, but employers must be patient. The maids will not flock here overnight,” he added

He expects the next few months to be “slow”, especially in August, with few maids arriving because of Hari Raya celebrations.

http://www.thestaronline.com/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/3/nation/11410596&sec=nation

P.S. This is a very lucrative business indeed.