See Them Small But Totally Giant!

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

We will be here soon! :)

Singapore, with the total area of 648 sq. km. looks really tiny in the map, but became one of the world's wealthiest and most efficient trading and financial center lah. It was ruled by British for 135 years, from 1824-1959 and also became part of the Malaysian Federation from 1963-1965 mah.

Thanks to Prime Minister Lee and his successor Goh Chok for establishing the strong and authoritarian government. They have provided direction and stability for spectacular economic growth.

               Singapore has a freedom of religion, but they have concerns when it comes to maintaining ethnic and religious harmony that they must not proclaim in public about their religious beliefs leh. And they must not be involve in politics.

                          

In an open country with most number of Buddhism and Islam, is such a great win for us. Let's just pray that churches in Singapore will draw near together to have unity among churches. And let's also pray that Singapore may be a means of blessing the many less-evangelized nations and people around it.

Notice that I've using phrases like "lah," "mah" and "leh" right before my punctuation mark. It is because Singaporeans use this phrases in the end of the sentence. Phrases can end in "ah," "lah," "leh," "mah" and "what." We were practicing these phrases in school and it just so good to hear.

Our Friendly Sunda!

 

Our ICS101 class visited Indonesia today!

I've learned so many things about the beautiful archipelagic island country in Southeast Asia, The Indonesia. As it is illustrated in the map, Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. Because of the archipelagic setting of this country, they've got numerous dialects and languages, yet one language is still known and used by everyone-- Bahasa Indonesia. It's culture was influenced by many countries like, India, China, Arabia, The Netherlands and even Portugal. 

I've also learned about TEETH CHISELING done by a tribe of people in Indonesia.

They believe that a woman is more beautiful if she has her teeth chiseled into sharp points.

Whether the woman like it or not, if her husband asked her to chisel her teeth, she must obey.

The wives are very submissive to their husbands because they want their husbands be proud of them.

I was assigned to search and discuss about Sunda of Indonesia. The Sunda are known for their friendliness, it is also a place where informality and openness is more emphasize. And they are also more strongly Islamicized. Traditionally, farming is the way of living of people in Sunda. The province of West Java (where the Sunda live for generation) was known as the "national rice storehouse," because of its high fertility. The development of industries affect the Sunda's way of living. Many Sunda people no longer work as a farmers, but a traders. 

Almost all Sunda are Muslims, not just an ordinary Muslim, but a stronger ones. They also have an animistic world view, because the Sunda needs to protect their harmony with the natural world. Their beliefs is based on fear, they believe that everything happens because of the spirits are to be honored and appeased through rituals.

The Sunda, our friendly friends need our help by praying for them. They need help and guidance to raise their standard of living, there is also a need for agricultural investment and modernization.

Most importantly, let's pray that God will reveal Himself to them so that they will know that God is stronger than nature or any power or spirit!

Tutung of Brunei

For this week's blog, I was assigned to search about Tutung people of Brunei. Brunei's capital is Bandar Seri Begawan with its area of 2,226 sq. miles. The Tutung people claim that they lived in Brunei Darussalam for many years and they are known for the "most original" indigenous people of the country. Aside from their language of Basaha Malay, they also spear other language and use it for intra-ethnic communication.

Because of living in near coastal, the Tutung made their living from seafaring and trading. For many, fishing was the primary source of livelihood. Trading is the highly important when it comes to economy and historically. And because the Brunei is welled govern by the King and Queen, Medical and educational services are largely financed. Education is oh so free for the Tutung people.

All Tutung are considered Muslim at birth, because the Malay Islamic Authority of Brunei Darussalam includes them as a Muslim group. But traditionally Tutung are considered Aninists. 

Knowing all these things about Tutung of Brunei, I think the best thing that we could in this best country is to pray for them. Let's pray for a receptive hearts among the Tatung.

Looking forward for more learnings!

For this week's blog, I want to share what's my personal insight about Southeast Asia. Shamelessly, I only knew about its location and boundaries and the ASEAN organization. 

I've also tried to search the history of Southeast Asia in the internet so that I could share some wonderful insights about Southeast Asia, and Wikipedia had provided me with a funny information that the Homo Sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago. Yes, homo sapiens!

Southeast Asia is located in the region of Asia, of course. It is roughly bounded by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and Pacific ocean on the east. Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, and the Malay Archipelago are also included in the boundaries of Southeast Asia.

In 1967, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand created this association to promote regional economic growth, political stability, social progress, and cultural developments.

With this information that I've known, I won't satisfy myself to know little about this region. My ICS class would be a great help for me to explore about people, culture, tradition and custom of the Southeast Asia.

Today, I'm in my Intercultural Studies class and we are required to make a blog at least once a week about People and Culture of Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is composed of 11 countries, it consists of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, East Timor, and Philippines. In our class, we'll be learning the cultures, customs, and traditions of these 11 countries.