Immersion Project # Chinese Muslim Restaurant

During night, we're going to Hh. Sharin Low Restaurant at Sri Gombak for doing our immersion project. We choose  here   because surely we will find many information about culture there especially regarding food. Our goal is to know more about other Malaysian culture such as Chinese Muslim culture.

i had spent time to interview the workers there. They said this restaurant really famous and many people like the food serve here. the taste is really same like the original China. We also had great time there to feel the taste of the food as you can see above. One thing we realized that the food is good for health not to oily and less fat. So ho want to preserve the healthy can come here

the restaurant is open start from 11.00 a.m to 11.00 p.m

The lost Muslims from China

WE ALL know of various Chinese communities that have lived in Malaysia. But how many have heard of the Hui – a Muslim culture from China which was one of the earliest Chinese to migrate to Southeast Asia?
Until a few years back, remnants of the community still lived in a jetty in Jelutong, Penang. Called the Koay Jetty, it was
the only remaining settlement of the Chinese Muslim race in Peninsular Malaysia, which had exerted some degree of influence in the region since 700 years ago.
Today, at the very site where the jetty – which was controversially demolished and its residents evicted – once existed stands a mammoth multi-storey block of flats in front of a noisy expressway that has since also sprung up there.
For those who still remember the rather idyllic wooden jetty, the gigantic concrete block that lies in its place must lend a strange feeling of disparateness, presenting itself with jarring contrast to the memory of the area as it was before.
The jetty got its name from one of the Hui’s biggest seafaring clans called the Koay. Many of them were merchants or coolies when they came to Penang in the late 19th century. They shared the same language and social traits as most other Chinese immigrants from Fujian province. The only difference was their religion.
I met some of the Hui residents before the jetty was bulldozed. Among them was former charcoal dealer Koay Ah Bee, in his seventies. He still observed customs such as death ceremonies peculiar to the Hui, though he readily admitted many youngsters in the present generation did not know why the rituals were followed. Some solemn observances however were complied with during ceremonial occasions; these included strict consumption of halal food.
Interestingly enough, the great Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He, also known by his Muslim name Ma Ho, was a Hui, and his support was crucial to the stability of the Malacca sultanate.
According to research by local historian Dr Ong Seng Huat, the Hui people were instrumental in helping to sustain the Malacca sultanate and empire in the 15th century. Ong’s studies have shown that Zheng He brought along many influential Muslims to Malacca. These included religious teachers from Siam and China, an imam named Hassan from the mosque in Xian, as well as an Indian Muslim named Sha Ban who lived in China.
Very notably, one of Zheng He’s secretaries, Koay Chong Li, originated from the same area – Baiqi village in Fujian province – that Penang’s Koay clan traces its roots. Besides Malacca, the Hui built numerous other settlements in the region. Until the Second World War, there was a sizeable settlement in Singapore, and a few in Pangkor island and Sitiawan.
Understandably, many of the rituals and customs of the Hui have been lost. The people themselves have gradually over generations forgotten their original identity, and some have assimilated into Malay society. Others have been similarly absorbed into mainstream Chinese culture. There are Hui people are also known to have settled in Sabah, merging with other communities there.
“Many Malaysian Chinese,” Ong told me, “do not even know that they are Hui.” But those at the Koay jetty were somewhat different – they could trace their genealogy back to about 17 to 22 generations.
About 40 years ago, Ibrahim T.Y. Ma, a prominent Chinese Muslim leader, lobbied hard to then prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman for an end to government intentions to demolish the seemingly irrelevant urban jetty. He succeeded and plans to tear down the wooden Koay Jetty were halted.
Authorities in more recent times however were not so sympathetic towards the plea of heritage and community, causing the settlement to be destroyed for a high-density development project.
The removal of the jetty signified a sad disappearance of a unique portion of our history. But the lost community of the Hui can still be remembered as one of the little-known sub-cultures that have over the centuries contributed to the great social potpourri of our country to what it is today.

Immersion Project # National Museum & Orang Asli Craft Museum

Assalamualaikum & hai,

Today, we're going to National Museum for doing our immersion project. We choose National museum  because surely we will find many information about culture there. Our goal is to know more about other Malaysian culture such as Baba Nyonya, Riau and many more.

At there also, we met our new friend. She came from Philippines. We have interview her about her culture and country. She said that the estimated population of about 94 million people, the Philippines is the world 's 12th famous country. An additional 12.5 million Fillipinos live overseas.  Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islam societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.

Additional information is she live in Manila, the capital city of Phillipines. She says that Manila is busier capital. We need to travel for 2-3 hours to go to beach and seeing the beautiful nature and panorama.

Immersion Project # Kadazan Dusun

Assalamualaikum & hai,

I love to story about one of ethnic in Sabah. It is Kadazan- Dusun. As we know, kadazan dusun is the majority people in Land below the wind. Kadazan-Dusun (also written as Kadazandusun) is the term assigned to the unification of the classification of two indigenous tribes in Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun.

Hence, i have interviewed one of my friend. She is Kadazan dusun girl. She story me about the traditional festive that the compulsory celebrate every year.  Pesta Kaamatan or Harvest Festival is a unique celebration of Kadazandusun society. It's a celebration to honour the Rice Spirit - Bambaazon or Bambarayon and giving thanks for yet another beautiful year. The festival begins on the first of May at many district levels. The rites and customs of the Pesta Kaamatan is a tribal practice of Kadazandusun and also Murut peoples. The Bobohizan or Bobolian who are the High Priests or Priestesses (depending on the district/area undertaking the preservation) will conduct the ritual. In different districts, the priests or priestesses may be addressed to differently, for instance in Tambunan district they are known as Bobolian, in Tuaran as Tantagas and in Penampang as Bobohizan.

It is believed that rice in whatever form embodies Bambaazon that must be protected from harm. The homecoming of Babaazon is an integral part of the Harvest Festival. Ancient folklore tells of the ultimate deed of Kinoingan or Minamagun - The Almighty God or Creator, who sacrificed his only beloved daughter, Huminodun so that his people would have food. Various parts of her body were planted from which plants grew. During the Magavau ceremony, the Bobohizan will select some stalks of rice that are left undistributed until the harvest is over. In some districts, the chosen stalks are cut before the field is harvested and are then brought into the owner's house. The task of Bobohizan is to search and salvage the lost Bambaazon who are hurt or separated from the main mystical body. In the old days, this ceremony was often performed in freshly harvested fields during the first full moon after the harvest to invoke the rice spirit.

The language used by Bobohizan is archaic whose meanings have been buried in time and known only to the few remaining Bobohizan these days. The vital aspect of Magavau is the paraphernalia used to summon Bambaazon. The sacrament of Magavau may vary according to district practices but the ceremony always ends with food offerings to Bambaazon and merry making for the village folks.

The highlight of Pesta Kaamatan is the selection of the pageant queen or "Unduk Ngadau" which can be literally translated as "Zenith of the Sun". It conceptually derives from the sacrifice of Huminodun. The maiden who has the honour of being selected should bear semblance to Huminodun and will represent all that is virtuous in the revered Huminodun.

This is Tarian Sumazau.  

The oldest inhabitants in Malaysia.

Assalamulaikum & hai,

Do you know that the oldest inhabitants of Malaysia are its tribal peoples?

http://www.pahang-delights.com/citrawarna.html

Total population of them is 5 percent. In Sabah, they are categorized as their individual tribes. Furthermore, mot tribes fall under the term Kadazan . In Sarawak, the dominant tribal groups are Dayak, Iban and Bidayuh. While, in Peninsular Malaysia, they are called as "orang asli". 

As we know, their relationship with environment / rain forest is very tight and strong. 

Chinese Muslim food.

Assalamualaikum & hai,

According to plan, we supposedly make eating trip to restaurant Chinese Muslim. But, due some problems, we cannot make it. Maybe we will go there someday. Hence, i proudly want to show you some of famous tasty Chinese Muslim's  foods.

http://www.foodstreet.com.my/food-street/bpage.s?by=Chinese+Muslim+Food+Paradise&bid=158

Fuhh, feel tempting right? Just cant wait to go eating there. Lets go together :D

Challenges as Muslim Chinese.

Assalamualaikum &hai,

The first problem is that, the number of converts to Islam among the Chinese, although increasing, is hardly a satisfying number. Secondly, those who do convert are often subjugated to all sorts of prejudice among the majority Malay Muslims (not all of them of course), especially when they tend to remain hold to their chinese culture. Many Malays Muslim religious officers would not hesitate to push the Chinese to change their Chinese name and adopt a more Arab or Malay sounding name. In most cases, the Chinese gets a new extension name at the back of his new name, "bin Abdullah". For example, from Tan Lon Yeng, it becomes Musa Tan bin Abdullah.

Thirdly, the majority Malay population often sees (although more pertinent in the past than nowadays) the converted Chinese as somehow rather now a part of the Malay society, rather than a Muslim society. Chinese culture are deemed mostly un-Islamic and the new Muslim now should be more Malay to show that he's a good Muslim. This belief is so ingrained in some parts of the Malay world, that whenever a Chinese converts into Islam, he is said to have "converted into a Malay". This misconception, ultimately draws negative views from the non-Muslim Chinese regarding Islam, and many reject Islam, simply because they love their Chinese identity too much.

In reality, Islam does not rob someone of their cultural identity and replaces it totally with a foreign and new one. Islam as a complete way of life, allows and permits the cultural clothings, foods, dances etc. of any particular group of race as long as it does not contradict its teachings. Therefore, Islam does not erase the Malay cultural dress of Baju Melayu and Baju Kebaya, the various Malay dishes and other cultural activites. What should be observed is that these cultural identities does not contradict with the tenets of the religion.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) respected the protocols of other groups of nations, as long as it does not contradict Islam itself. From a hadith as narated by Anas bin Malik (God be pleased with him), it is stated that:

"When the Prophet pbuh wanted to write a letter to Rom, and it was told to him that they (the Romans) do not read letters without a seal (stamp), he (the Prophet) made a seal from silver. (Anas said): I can still see the whiteness of the seal on the hands of the Prophet, written Muhammad Rasulullah (Muhammad Prophet of God) " (narrated from Bukhari and Muslim)

This hadith shows that the norms or practice of a particular group of people was celebrated by the Prophet, as was stated, as long as it does not contradict Islam.The Prophet did not reject it outright or detest the practice, whereas if the Prophet did not even follow the practice, he would have lost nothing, instead the Roman recipient would be the losers.