Young and restless

Blink. Blink. Blink.

That's all it takes and the day is gone. It's still relative how time flies, our perception of time is determined by our interest in the things we do at that point in time. For something we enjoy doing, 3 hours seems like too short a time, something we loath will take forever to finish even if it takes 5 minutes.

I was out bowling yesterday night with my wife, parents and sister. I spent 30 mins wandering in Parkway Parade awaiting their arrival at East Coast because I didn't want to be sitting there doing nothing while waiting for them. I went to meet them at East Coast once they arrived and we began our game. On the lane next to ours was a young malay couple minding their own business, playing their own game. So did we. I noticed that the boy - yeas, boy, cos he didn't look like he was past the legal drinking age in Singapore - had some nice tattoos on both his forearms.

Now, this might seem like a normal thing nowadays. But in a part of the world where being Malay would normally mean being a Muslim, this is not right. Tattoos and piercings are explicitly haram, not permissible, in Islam, with the exception of an ear piercing for the ladies, that's about it. Then again, there are countless Malay youths out there who sport tattoos and piercings, thinking it is cool to do so, as if wearing revealing clothes is already not enough.

Call me backwards, call me . Last, I checked they were Malays, Muslims and brought up on Eastern values of filiel piety, social tolerance and proper behaviour. Yet, there they were acting like a bunch of ruffians, tattoos everywhere, bodies pierced at places I don't want to know drinking alcohol - the very things the religion they profess doesn't permit. One religious teacher once commented that most Malays in Singapore become Muslims on special occasions only, namely, Hari Raya, their wedding, the collection of their IC and their death.

It's true. When Hari Raya comes around, the very same people who do not observe the fasting during the month of Ramadhan are the very same people who will wear the nice clothes, normally baju kurung. The Very same people who do not pray the required 5 times daily are the same ones who throng to the mosque during the Hari Raya prayers. The very same people who get drunk, commit pre-marital sex, sports tattoos and piercings are the very same ones who profess Islam as their religion during their wedding. And when they die, they are buried accoring to Islamic burial rites, all the while never practising the religion they profess.

I lament the fact that getting drunk, sporting tattoos, going to nightclubs/discos/pubs and pre-marital sex is getting more and more common among our youths, more so the Malays, because of the religion we profess. Such a sad situation but nothing we can do about it.