Week 4

Local
Malaysia makes international headlines again.. Shit.

Every time Malaysia makes international headlines, I get worried. And then I try to bury my head in the ground. So, what has Malaysia done this time around? Another pot of political gumbo? Surprisingly, not quite. This time, Malaysia tried to ban Valentines' Day.
I know. What, the .
On Friday (11 February 2011), the city Islamic Department (Jawi) and the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) delivered a sermon in mosques banning Muslims from celebrating Valentines' Day, as it was apparently a "Christian tradition". They also accused Jews and Christians of continually trying to "deceive Muslims" and will "do anything to undermine the Muslim's belief and personality".
International news channels such as BBC and Al-Jazeera caught on with this headache-inducing incident, and honestly, as much as I love this country, I am honestly embarrassed when things like this happen. Who wants to be associated with a country that blames another religion that is not it's official religion for it's shortcomings and downfalls?
Of course, PAS Youth just had to put in its two cents worth. PAS Youth came forward to insist that they would continue their "mission to save the young (read : Muslims)" from immoral activities and the like.
Obviously, not all Malaysian Muslims agree with this move. Some say that Valentines' day is harmless, and it is futile trying to put a ban on it. Besides, immoral activities do not ONLY occur on Valentines' Day. Honestly. Why do you think budget hotels are open all year round, at such low prices?
Duh.
I think I'll go dig a hole in the floor of my house now, and pretend this nonsense isn't happening.

International
Hosni Mubarak gets the message, finally.

After ruling the country for 30 years, President Hosni Mubarak finally steps down from his "Pharoah"-like reign. This happened on Friday, 11 February 2011. However, the complete transition of power is still unclear to the people of Egypt, as during his speech, Hosni Mubarak said that he has transferred all his power to the vice president of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, but Mubarak still remains "de jure head of state", while the Omar Suleiman is now the "de facto president".
However, during his speech, hundreds of demonstrators that had gathered in a Cairo square to witness the speech were ecstatic to hear that Mubarak was leaving, and were chanting, "Leave! Leave!" even while the speech was going on.
President Obama released a statement after Mubarak's speech saying that the Egyptian government had better clarify what they mean by the transition of power soon, so that the country can work on regaining its stability, which has been on the rocks ever since the protests against Mubarak started.