PhD and global health wonk. Principal Consultant @MatahariGlobal. Internationalist & humanist. 🇲🇾🇵🇸 🌍
Leeds, England
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A colleague (@AyalMeskeremAk) recently raised how the Global North narrative of vaccine hesitancy in Africa affected Vx discourse in Africa. Last year I addressed this at a @devex event: Why was there such a preoccupation about vaccine hesitancy in Africa but not in Europe/US? 👇🏽
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I met a Bangladeshi guy in a small village in Scotland. I told him I was Malaysian. He said, beautiful country, not so nice people. I agreed.
I was in Kathmandu in 2013 for a shoot. A Nepali walked up to me and greeted me in Malay. We chatted for a bit.
“Saya dulu kerja security, Kota Tinggi. Boss jahat, pukul,” he said with a sad look in his eyes.
I was so disappointed with my countrymen.
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The new Malaysian Minister of Health recommending drinking water as a way to kill the virus is inaccurate and dangerous. I hope people recalibrate their views abt leadership - when elections occur, vote competence and ethics over religion and race.
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So many Malaysians have asked me why #COVID19 deaths in the UK are so high (>3000) and rising. It’s not shocking. The NHS is underfunded and is under capacity. Malaysians are used to same day highly efficient and easily accessible healthcare. It’s not like that here.
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Malaysians, here are talking points v Brits who are questioning Malaysia’s donation of 200 tonnes of gloves to the UK:
- Malaysia ranks higher than the UK in healthcare efficiency
- the UK is the second highest country in the world in terms of COVID19 deaths
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Top legal scholars/historians have stated that what is happening in Gaza is genocide, including Raz Segal. Your book The Death of Expertise specifically bemoans the lack of reliance on expertise and those who use social media as a shortcut to erudition. Consistency please.
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Truly remarkable outreach by Malaysian health workers to low-income families. We’re not seeing this kind of outreach in Yorkshire, not sure about the rest of the UK. @SteveTransform anything like this in London?
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Malaysians will bitch if Sajat prays and will bitch if Sajat doesn’t pray. Lesson of the story? Ethnoreligious extremists will get you no matter what because they are inherently unhappy people who deserve our pity. And maybe jail for hate crimes.
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Reading about the suicide of a young Malaysian, and the horrible comments underneath. Here’s a thread - about empathy, about understanding. I fly the world for work - and everywhere I go, people tell me, “Malaysia is beautiful and food is great. But people are not so nice”.
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Malay Muslims coming out in droves today saying that they have been oppressed by the PH govt. How can one race/religion be a majority, constantly control what women are wearing, get discounts on housing, get business benefits non-Muslims don’t get...
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Some years ago, when I lived in Malaysia, I was recommending an outfit with three quarter sleeves to a hijabi friend (at the time 28 yo) when she said, “my dad would never let me wear that!” I was like, who cares, wear it when he isn’t around.
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Proud of the Malaysian LGBT community who face so much shit daily from whole communities who are stuck in the 1800s, and who are making the #tetapbangga hashtag trend. So awesome.
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So be proud of where Malaysia is at. Even if you can’t be proud of the imbecilic and misogynistic Ministers that can’t distinguish their own ears from their noses - Malaysia’s got an amazing healthcare system and technocrats within the MOH that you can trust and feel secure with.
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I often think that it is a matter of time before Malaysia becomes Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. When I read articles like this, where a woman who was involved in a road vehicle accident was denied entry to a police station because of her *exposed calves* freemalaysiatoday.com/catego…
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After a DM conversation with DG Hisham today pursuant to this tweet, I have been informed that the children were not handcuffed as reported in the Al-Jazeera documentary. Keen to hear corroborating testimony going forward.
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White women utilise tears often when they refuse to contemplate their own racism. theguardian.com/commentisfre…
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Malaysia is only 60% Muslim. And yet it’s looking like a 95-100% Muslim cabinet. I’m glad people are starting to call them out as Nazis. Oppression of non-Muslims and liberal Muslims must stop.
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Malaysia has cured its fifteenth case of #COVID19. Still interesting to me that Singapore is getting all the international credit. Perhaps Malaysia needs to invest in a better PR machine. For starters, the official MOH account should also tweet in English. @DGHisham
Kenyataan rasmi YAB TPM, Datuk Seri @drwanazizah berkenaan situasi terkini #COVID2019 di Malaysia.
Pesakit kes ke-15 sembuh dan discaj.
MAS batal baki 3 penerbangan sewa khas bawa penumpang kapal persiaran dari Kemboja ke KLIA.
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I think it’s illustrative of a kind of infantilisation that many Malaysian parents espouse - that I own you and your decisions.
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Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff is an impediment to the progress of women in Malaysia. She must be removed.
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To watch a section of the Malaysian Muslim community tweet their happiness at the Notre Dame burning down tells me that religious education has done nothing for the soul of the country.
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I hope this news about Sajat being arrested in Mecca isn’t true. 2 days ago tens of thousands of Malaysian Muslims came on the net to glorify her persecution.If this is true, and if something happens to Sajat, there needs to be a serious reassessment of Malaysian Muslim morality.
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Some months ago, when I changed my Twitter name to Dr Fifa Rahman, I got a condescending message from a Malaysian lowlife saying that I shouldn’t use the Dr unless I’d passed my viva. I sent the arsehole the link to my PhD thesis.
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There’s no doubt that there’s a bit of racism in it as well - you can clearly see media and individuals in the West automatically assuming Malaysians are incompetent. Funny - given that Malaysian healthcare is better than the NHS any day
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Muhyiddin’s overt show of religiosity upon hearing he was made Prime Minister by subterfuge really exemplifies to me the hypocrisy of what all these people believe in. It’s ok to take a little bit here and there, so long as I show people I am Muslim.
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Zahid, a man charged with 37 counts of corruption, thinks its appropriate to make judgments on LGBT people. That’s rich. With all that money he stole, couldn’t afford to buy a mirror. Or a pot. Or a kettle. #hypocrisy
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Here’s what you can say next time, @drwanazizah: “My personal beliefs on LGBT are irrelevant. This is a community that is facing tremendous hate and threats to their safety. No one should be discriminated, whether in access to health, education, work, etc on grounds of SOGI.”
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- Largest condom manufacturer in the world is Malaysian. Funny that this trust deficit doesn’t happen while you’re fucking.
- Largest glove manufacturer is the world is Top Glove Malaysia.
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She tried to explain it away. “Biasalah, orang tua (it’s normal for old people), he just wants me to be safe.” Women are not objects. A woman should be able to dress however she pleases. Just in case anyone needs a reminder.
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The average Muslim in Malaysia isn’t really average, is he? The average Muslim in Malaysia is an extremist. Judging by the comments on LGBT people, the average Muslim Malaysian is baying for the blood of LGBT people. We need to revamp Islamic education to be focused on kindness.
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In the face of PAS’s obsession with sex and the female form, @anthonyloke totally knocked it out of the park. Islamists need to learn to prioritise their work away from vaginas and breasts, and work on nafkah for women and helping marginalised people.
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I have conducted research on HIV & women and HIV and fishermen there. I have also engaged with government - they are in denial that HIV rates are high because they think religion can cure it. Guess what? It can’t.
Have u went to Tganu and Kelantan? meet the MBs
perhaps, from there you will know why.. :)
Let me know if you have went, then please share your opinion.
#BudayaPolitikMatangSejahtera
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Draft statement for @chedetofficial: “I am disappointed today that the Malaysian news cycle is dominated by that of a woman removing her hijab. In a country where we still have issues of poverty, statelessness, economic malfeasance from the previous administration... (1/3)
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People sending me shocked messages with snapshots of Malaysian Muslim tweets rejoicing at Salman Rushdie’s stabbing. Why are you shocked? I ask. I left Malaysia for a reason. These are not fringe views. They are the majority.
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Disappointing to see white LGBTQ activists from the HIV world celebrate Matt Healy’s statement in Malaysia, without any consideration for actual LGBTQ Malaysians, who are nervous and worried and have to deal with the aftermath.
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... support violence against LGBT people and atheists, and still complain that they are the ones that are oppressed? I mean, in what world does that constitute oppression? #Malaysia
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Let me teach you something, Ilman. People become atheists because they see their relatives filled with hate and unhappiness due to religion. They see quran teachers molesting children. They see no link between the pious and charity. They also don’t think winged horses exist.
Its simple. U hate the law, u remove ur citizenship. Move to country that suite to ur lust n act. Easy right???
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Malaysian twitter, I need a picture of Malaysian public health teams testing in hotspot apartment zones for an op-ed I'm writing - and of course I'll credit the photog. Will be much appreciated.
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Today the Malaysian ex-PM did an oath at a mosque to curse those who accuse him of directing a murder, despite all the evidence against him. I hope people begin to realise from this the incredulity of religion. It is basically indistinguishable from hocus pocus.
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Anwar Ibrahim is no longer relevant for our times. In Muslim-majority countries, Islam does not need defending. The fact that he needs to clarify that non-Muslims are *also* loyal citizens is a clear mark of the institutionalised racism of Malaysia Lama.
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Apparently there’s some denialism about Malaysia’s brain drain going on. I left - I don’t think people realise how hard it is to be surrounded by islamisation. Went to @PKamalanathan’s Office one morning and reception wouldn’t let me in - “we can see the shape of your body.”
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This Malay/Muslim Dignity Conference showing that segregationist values run deep. Despite housing discounts for Muslims, special privileges in education, active persecution of non-Muslims and liberal Muslims without repercussion, they still claim they have no rights. Pathetic.
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Malaysia has always struggled with issues of simple morality. A child should not be called illegitimate, & families should have the right to be called whatever they want, barring some exceptions like Hitler. Archaic notions of legitimacy/wedlock in the status of the child must go
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Trans people in Malaysia literally are sexually abused by prison wardens and have their heads forcibly shaven by sharia authorities, and it’s this guy that’s facing tyranny. A joke. features.hrw.org/features/HR…
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One of the reasons I wanted to leave Malaysia was, aside from excessive religious extremism and gender inequality, the fact everywhere people wanted to heavily underpay me for global health work. I wish all the best to Sugu and Pavithra and I hope they make loads of dosh.
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- Malaysia began preparedness and planning work for COVID19 in December 2019. Britain was still in the dark two months later.
- Malaysia has 106 COVID-19 deaths in total, the UK has 30,615.
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Someone made this point earlier on the Heineken ban in Malaysia and how alcohol isn’t essential: neither is religion. Moral policing during a pandemic isn’t essential either. In fact it should be abhorred.
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Lots of people have PhD horror stories. My experience was overwhelmingly positive. I say this not to brag - but maybe to offer some pointers that may help in your decision to pursue a PhD or to help in an ongoing PhD.
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To those reacting to comments on LGBT in Malaysian parliament this morning and saying ‘you can’t expect much from Muslim governments’ - 1) this is not a Muslim govt. Msia is a secular state. 2) Muslim govts don’t get a special allowance to be more mean than others.
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You’re white though aren’t you? Not Bangladeshi or Nepalese or any other persecuted minority? Of course treatment would be different. #ExpatLife v #MigrantLife
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Malaysia must learn to accept critique with intelligence and humility. Malaysia has had relative success in keeping COVID-19 deaths down - but the way it has treated migrants is a black mark. Especially heinous is the handcuffing of migrant children. piped.video/zyl_xsdpteI
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This is insane. Malaysia’s Multimedia Commission is asking Twitter legal to call out tweets.
I received the same email too from twitter legal. this clearly shows that the government has just lost it. its time for us rakyat to voice out and fight back. fight for our rights.
#KerajaanBangsat #KitaJagaKita
#KerajaanGagal #KerajaanPembunuh
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I could feel a dull rage throbbing for her. “So he looks at your body every day?” I asked. She started, “no, no, no. I’m wearing clothes.” “I know that,” I said, “But he’s still scrutinising your body, every day. Thinking about whether your body would arouse other men.”
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A friend and I discussed responses when white people are shocked that brown people can speak English well. “Wow you have such nice manners for one descended from imperialists!” Is one. We’re compiling a list. Please add below.
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Pursuant to the PhD viva this morning on my thesis titled “Negotiation Tactics, Tradeoffs, and Intellectual Property Politics: Chile and Malaysia in the Trans-Pacific Partnership”, I have passed with minor corrections.
Strange, & elated to hear, “Congratulations, Dr Rahman.”🥂
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This woman, proudly posing in her telekung (Islamic prayer garment), posting a hadith that encourages murder of LGBT people. Surely this is not acceptable. @chedetofficial @fuziah99 @PDRMsia @drwanazizah @SivarasaRasiah @hannahyeoh
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And now this suicide attracts a slew of comments about “He’ll never smell heaven”. Where does this lack of empathy come from? Is it a combination of the obsession w procedure and form, &an obsession with extremist religion? Is it the overwhelming need to outMuslim everyone else?
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Horrifying that this single mum will be tried for sex work under the sharia courts. She faces Sharia whipping. #Sharia law isn’t concerned with real justice - the stability of her family. As long as they get a hard on from beating marginalised ppl, to them, justice is served.
#AWANInews #AWANI745 Melacurkan diri, Ibu tunggal berdepan hukuman sebat syariah astroawani.com/berita-malays…
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Thousands have been killed in Duterte’s drug war. He is also a flagrant misogynist. This government isn’t doing so well on optics. The BN government wasn’t much better, but we expect more emphasis on human rights and the rule of law with this PH. #BadForm
Had the pleasure of hosting President Duterte and my big boss @chedetofficial for the Manny pacquiao’s boxing match.
Tun said he doesn’t like violence, but when i told him that mayweather earned USD250Million from 1 match, Tun said he will leave politics and pick up boxing 😅😂
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You should not have to martyr yourself at the pedestal of a country that does not love you. That makes your life more difficult in every single way. Much love to and solidarity with atheists from Muslim families, LGBT Malaysians, and racial minorities.
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Well done to the National Sports Council on this - terrific job shutting down Islamist misogynists. freemalaysiatoday.com/catego…
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We may have a new government, but Malaysians are still as small-minded as ever. Worried about @SyedSaddiq hiring a gay man and the AG not speaking Malay well. There are more pressing issues. Focus and recalibrate.
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Thoroughly distressed reading tweets from Malaysia condemning a 16-year old hijabi girl named Naaajer for her bellydancing/twerking videos, and who has recently tragically died. The viciousness of the tweets towards her is shocking.
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Solidarity with Dienta Tajudin. For whatever it’s worth, MARA has never been a shining example of equality. When I was head of policy at the Malaysian AIDS Council, they revoked the scholarship offer for a person living with HIV.
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She told me that each morning before she went to work he sits at the bottom of the stairs with his coffee and his newspaper and judges her outfit, so there’s no way she could leave the house without that happening.
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Really proud of the amazing Malaysian/Malay atheists coming out today and defending the right to exist without persecution.
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At UN meetings, I have heard Malaysian bureaucrats say, “I don’t want to hire Africans,” or “My religion doesn’t allow me to shake your hand,” or, in response to a western colleague making small talk about his new dog, “In Islam, we don’t like dogs.”
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I often agree with them. Malaysians can be abrupt, obsessed with procedure, pomp, and form, have trouble being politically correct, and are not very empathetic.
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Lots of people are upset that the news is drawing attention to the ‘bad side of Islam’. There is something wrong with your sense of morality when 9 kids are sexually assaulted in a Quran school and yet you are the victim. #tahfiz
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In addition, pandemic preparedness is just better in the east and other countries who are relying first and foremost on evidence rather than ideas like ‘herd immunity’.
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Very privileged today to have received my first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Many LMICs will only be able to achieve mass vaccination by 2024 due to hoarding by rich nations & monopoly of supply, trade barriers for inputs, and no tech transfer. We need a #PeoplesVaccine
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Malaysia’s failure to allow persons arbitrarily designated as Muslim at birth freedom of belief is archaic, primitive, unsophisticated, and above all inhumane. Why damage already fragile public image of a religion by forcing membership?
Federal Court allows woman’s bid to be declared non-Muslim leave to appeal dlvr.it/RNNGTB
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I see the Malay Muslims are out in droves today hating on the Rohingya, fellow Muslims who are escaping persecution. During Ramadan, a month of supposed introspection and charity. Remarkable show of the divorce between outward piety and objective morality.
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I am gaining a lot of followers from that last Malaysia tweet. It goes without saying that Islamist extremists will be blocked. Homophobia, misogyny, modesty culture - all of these don’t belong in a pluralistic, peaceful world, and they certainly don’t belong in mine.
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It’s also interesting to me that when I call my GP here in Leeds - it plays a prerecorded message saying that you should alert the clinic if you’ve been to China, Malaysia etc in the past 14 days. This is no longer relevant. You could catch it in Leeds.
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Remembering my friend Abah who died in prison from TB after being sentenced to death in Malaysia for cannabis. He left 4 young children & a classroom of students who loved him. As Malaysia abolishes the mandatory death penalty this week, I’m thinking about him and his family. 🌹
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Distressed today for the plight of non-Muslim Malays. The idea that you cannot live freely based on your beliefs, and have that expressed on your national identity card, is a breach of fundamental human rights.
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Top British excuses for having the highest COVID death rate in the world:
1. We have high population density.
Hong Kong 7140 per km square
UK 275 per km square
Hong Kong 168 COVID deaths
UK 96,000 COVID deaths
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I know a bunch of Malaysians wanted an update on this. After 4 rejections over 6 years - with stupid reasons such as ‘Fifa is not a real name’, and ‘you forgot to put a dot in your surname in the application form’, I am finally officially Fifa A Rahman.
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Sharia police rape a woman arrested for premarital sex in Acheh. There are documented cases of sexual assault by sharia police against trans people in Malaysia. This has to stop. Sharia policing has to be named and shamed on the world stage. news.detik.com/read/2010/01/…
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Annuar Musa bringing up Jakim and the importance of religion is really rich. Mara terminated the funding for a HIV positive student once. When then Deputy Minister P Kamalanathan approached Annuar Musa about it, he defended the decision. He is completely immoral.
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I made a point on that webinar that Malaysian society needs to stop viewing women as objects to retain smart ppl. In the same zoom webinar, someone watching typed that they wanted to see the moderators’ boobs. Pretty gross, but unsurprising, still a demerit to Malaysian society.
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It took four months from diagnosis for my partner to get surgery for a painful bowel condition, before COVID19. That’s the scale of just how overburdened and underfunded the NHS is. And of course people keep voting Tory. Which doesn’t help anything.
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This also casts aspersions on Muhyiddin Yassin - if he is incapable of choosing someone competent and in possession of adequate intelligence for the health portfolio - where else has he faltered? What other buffoons are meandering in the halls of power fucking up infrastructure?
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I met Yeo Bee Yin once, to discuss access to affordable medicines. She expressed real concern about prices of cancer drugs, and asked what she could do. When I met Muhyiddin, he said nothing, and nodded off while I was talking about it.
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How stupid. The position is specifically to work on prevention and treatment of HIV among transgender women. This is why school Islamic syllabi needs to change to include elements of pragmatic morality instead of just rituals and how to hate on infidels. @maszlee
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This is the time when the Global South has to come together. On security, on global health (include medicines and vaccine R&D), on more direct trade routes, on economic agenda, on borders. Moral failures of the West are blinding. Even if it takes 50, 70, 100 years. It starts now.
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Last week, I peer reviewed a journal article and recommended an outright rejection. Written by four American authors with Western names from a top public health institution in the U.S., it was set in a country in Africa and hypothesised that people from this country would have trouble using a self-test. We are still receiving articles like this in our inboxes.
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Healthcare efficiency rankings for Malaysia are higher than the UK as well: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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Happy Christmas Mo Salah. There is something to be so admired about ignoring the thousands of messages from extremists and posting this picture every year. Happiness to all, including all those posting angry messages underneath. It’s quite clear that they need it.
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On a call this morning I realise once again why I’ve stayed away from working on Malaysia - misplaced directness. A certain Malay bureaucrat comments on how much weight I’ve gained under lockdown the moment the call starts, but won’t accept valid critique on his work.
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There needs to be a revision of this standard of morality. This idea that as long as Muslim Malays aren’t killing non-Muslims or putting us in concentration camps then it’s fine! This is a very low bar.
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Malaysia has, through conservative ideals, like a focus on oppressing women and other minorities, obsessing about aurat, created a fertile ground for Islamists. Is anyone surprised ISIS wants to use Malaysia as a transit? No.
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I am seeing some hideous racism being directed at my dear friend @PattoKasthuri, who has spent her life and career as an MP in Malaysia caring for the poor and the marginalised. Malay supremacist racism directed at Indian Malaysians is so endemic.
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