Jawi

I've always liked to keep a few pieces of foreign currency in the house as a memento of my travels, and these two pieces of 50 Yuan notes from China reminded me of the very few times that I've been to the land of my forefathers. What struck me when I brought them out for a Chinese New Year airing today were the descriptions on the obverse side of this note. Not only of this denomination but also on all their currency notes. Apart from the ZHONGGUO RENMIN YINHANG, there also appeared languages of five ethnic groups in China, including Jawi.

This set me thinking....if China can use Jawi on their currency notes, and they are not obliged to use it, why can't our local busybodies in Malaysia - politicians, wannabe politicians, educationalists and racists - accept them too?

Personally, calligraphy in any form can be very pleasing: Chinese calligraphy, Indian calligraphy, Jawi calligraphy and English calligraphy. Anybody with an interest in this particular art form should jolly well explore it to their heart's content. Don't let those busybodies tell you what to do.

On a related matter, has anyone noticed the crest of the Penang Museum Board? You will notice that Jawi appears very prominently as part of the crest design. But before any comment is made about this, let me just add that the designer of this crest was not of the Muslim faith but he was a Catholic Christian. This fact is lost in the mists of time but let me tell you that it was designed in the 1960s by the Senior Art Master of Penang Free School, GS Reutens. The same Art Master who wrote the Penang Free School Rally.