sleepeanut

[sleepeanut]

ORGANISATIONS PROVIDING FLOOD RELIEF TO FLOOD VICTIMS IN SABAH, MALAYSIA

This list, although minuscule, are some organisations I personally know are helping flood victims in Sabah and providing relief to a situation that has unfortunately not garnered the attention of our country's mass media.

1. BANTU

Website: https://www.bantuheroes.com/

IG: @bantuheroes

2. PERTUBUHAN KADAZAN DUSUN MURUT MUSLIM SEMALAYSIA (KDMRS)

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/923399447822494/posts/2087026788126415/?d=n&_rdc=1&_rdr

3. PARTI MUDA SABAH

IG: @partimudasabah

(I acknowledge that this is not an NGO, but they have provided flood relief for victims in Kota Marudu: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYTzLN6JE7R/)

(Updated on 5th January 2022, 9.41 p.m.)

[sleepeanut]

【SIMPLIFYING RESEARCH PAPERS】 Personal Review on "Race and Ancestry in Medicine: A Time for Reckoning with Racism" (Borrell et al., 2021)

Race is divisive in all spheres of life. When we talk about racism – whether it's here in Malaysia or in America – we normally think about judicial reform, and workplace discrimination. Highlighted in this research paper (1) is exactly this but in the medical field. Race and ethnicity, as intimately connected it is to our individual identities, is dynamic and ever-changing, continuously affected by – and affecting – geographic, cultural, and sociopolitical trends. Race and ethnicity are not permanent. However, this paper insists that to abandon race – by adopting a race-neutral diagnosis, which, unfortunately, has been the long-standing practice in many public institutions – is ignorant, and I wholeheartedly agree.

RACE AS A MASTER STATUS VARIABLE

Often asked what we are, we often defer to the race card. In this, race is called a “master status”, defined, for the use of this paper, as “a primary identifying characteristic reflecting a social position ascribed to a person that may affect every aspect of their life”. In Malaysia, a country so brazenly peacocking its multiracial status, race affects our lived experiences as a Malaysian. Our Indian brothers and sisters often experience rental discrimination and violence at the hands of law enforcement. Non-Bumiputera experience discrimination in pursuing higher education. This research argues that this continuous exposure to individual and structural racism plays into “racialized expressions of biology”. Our health, our wellbeing is affected by our race, but so often, this is sidelined as “intrinsic biological differences”.

GENETIC ANCESTRY AND ADMIXTURE

Race is not permanent, yes, but your DNA is (epigenetics aside, of course, because THAT is a whole other field). Race may be a social construct but it is an important indicator of your genetic makeup. Everything that makes you the person you are at this very moment is an accumulation of minute differences of thousands of different genetic variants (also called alleles). Of course, it isn’t to say race and ethnicity automatically equals to your DNA. No, the paper makes a point to this, noting that race and ethnicity are “self-ascribed or socially ascribed” by others, whereas your genetic ancestry is the “genetic origin of one’s population”. Ancestry is the better of the options to accurately predict important biological indicators for diseases and more. After all, race is ambiguous. As a Sino Dusun (part Chinese, part Native Borneon of the Dusun ethnicity), Peninsular Malaysians have a hard time putting me into a racial box. So, when we talk about ancestry, it is cut and dry. I inherited a certain set of genes from my paternal ancestors and another set from my maternal ones. Done. So, ancestry is king when it comes to any form of medical molecular analyses. Simple…or is it? Not always. Remember the phrase “epigenetics” up above? Well…Epigenetics is the “study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work” (2). To put it simply, epigenetics is the icing on a cake. It changes how a cake looks and tastes. It’s reversible - you can scrape off the icing – and does not change the reality that the cake is still a cake. It just affects your perception – and consumption – of the cake. So, epigenetics is affected by your environment. What affects your environment? Often, your race determines your environment. Race and ethnicity, this paper notes, still plays a part in precision medical diagnosis, especially for epigenetic factors. Both ancestry and race should be noted as complementary aspects in ensuring accurate and effective diagnosis of patients.

GENETIC ANCESTRY VERSUS INDIVIDUAL CLINICAL PREDICTORS

Biomedical research has not been the most inclusive globally, owing to years of funding issues and “priorities”. It is only now, in the age of molecular precision, are scientists beginning to understand how crucial genetic variants among different populations, races and ethnicities, are. Take cancer for example. Latina women with genetic variants of the 6q25 locus are more protected from developing breast cancer, a trait originating from Indigenous American populations. Black men are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer than White men, largely owing to variants at the 8q24 locus. Additionally, “genetic variants within known cancer risk genes are well-identified in populations of European ancestry, but often the same variants are classified as “variants of uncertain significance” in people of non-European ancestry”. This issue also goes beyond medical indicators for diseases and into the realm of how effective certain medications are to different populations (hi, pharmacogenetics!) As many as 75% of Asians and Pacific Islanders (in a test group) had no response to Plavix, an “antiplatelet medication used to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in those at high risk”. This was due to the lack of CYP2C19 genetic polymorphism, required for the body to metabolize the drug. Borrell and his group emphasize the lack of a global concerted effort to understand genomically diverse populations, noting that “more than 80% of participants in existing genome-wide association studies are of European background”. When we exclude others in science, we lose their voice, and we lose a chance to empower these communities with our science.

INFORMED USE OF RACE, ETHNICITY AND ANCESTRY

Of course, it seems so simple. Fix the biases in medical genetics and voila, all is solved! Except it isn’t. An individual’s race, ethnicity and ancestry are only parts of a bigger puzzle of who that person is. It is not them, and when we practice precision and efficient medical diagnoses, we need to remember that. We obviously cannot rule out the importance of ancestral indicators but we cannot take it as the primary star of a diagnosis. So, how do we resolve the issue? The paper discusses taking population genetics into account, and yes, there is maths involved (and to think I escaped maths when I jumped into biology), specifically a race-neutral predictive model, and a race-adjusted model. Both have their cons but Borrell and co. argue that until ancestry adjustment is widely adopted in medical diagnosis everywhere, a race-adjusted diagnosis, one that considers someone’s race, is crucial for ensuring healthcare equity for all.

OVERALL REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PAPER:

This paper – Borrell et al. (2021) – is a concise (and arguably, simplified) summary of the effects of racism in the American medical field, specifically in forming diagnoses. The paper calls for ancestry-adjusted diagnosis for precision medical assessments, which may not be as accessible. Hence, the second-best option is for race adjustment as opposed to race neutrality, which has become the common practice in the medical field. The paper itself is quite easy to follow, concisely written, and provides a surface-level introduction into the issue. Very much recommended.

Link to Full (Free Access) Research Paper:

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMms2029562?articleTools=true

[sleepeanut]

【I AM NOT A "TIN KOSONG"】 An Introspective Reflection of my Personal Journey in STEM

Many, even to this day, deride my love of science, philosophy and all things knowledge as simply “nerdy”. I extend, however, this different narrative. Knowledge is power. Growing up, I had none of it. My childhood home was a tumultuous field of eggshells. Of people screaming at each other, and flashbacks of my brothers drunk or high beating people up. At 13, I fell in love, the beginning of six years of gaslighting and emotional manipulation. This led me into a spiral of unchecked emotions and suicide ideation.

Education saved me. I was able to put a healthy distance between my family and I. I saw an evolution of my relationship with my parents, seeing for the first time, that they were fundamentally human persons. I was able to stand my ground against my brothers’ immaturity. I am a role model for my nieces and nephews, showing them that independence is possible if you work for it. My six year relationship broke off because my ex was envious of my academic success. I chose me before him. To me, that is the power of knowledge, the power of academia, the power of education.

My father once said, “Every generation must progress one step further than the previous generation.” I see my role as one of privilege, and with privilege, comes responsibility. I have a moral obligation, as someone who had the opportunity to pursue a higher education certification, to empower the immediate members of my community. I do not see this as a free pass to lord my certifications over all others, a horrible misconception that many have accused me for (e.g. my family members, peers, etc.) My intimate circle – dear friends – know that I suffer from anxiety and imposter syndrome. At times, I genuinely do not believe that I am worthy of my achievements. That I have tricked the system. That I was lucky.

In fact, I am fortunate. My parents had me in their mid-30s and in a society that looked down on women who remarried after a divorce, like my mother. My parents had suffered multiple miscarriages and I was the only one who survived. I am fortunate to be born in a family that has never looked down on women, held them as equals and worthy of individual respect. I am fortunate to be born a Bumiputera, a status that, in this country, earns me so much more benefits than some of my close friends. I am fortunate to be born in a family that has never discriminated people on the basis of their sexual orientation, and possess the genuine rational clarity that religion should never be used in malice. I am fortunate. I am extremely fortunate that many of these circumstances have formed the person I am today.

Now, with that acknowledgement, comes the reality. What do you do with your life? I see my role in science as one of responsibility, or as Catholics love to refer to, as a vocation. I am here to empower through knowledge. So noxious I am, as one who is passionate about knowledge, to see our children’s education especially in STEM, go down the drain. Science is not memorization. It is inquiry, curiosity and sheer drive to learn more. In high school, my Biology teacher graded me a B. Furious of a perceived injustice, I then poured myself into three separate reference books, highlighting facts and arguing how I should’ve been graded better on certain questions. That is what I want. I want our children to be so passionate about what they learn that they will not swallow bullshit.

I am deeply fortunate that, throughout my time in research, I have been accompanied by inspiring role models, many of whom are women. My former faculty dean once said something deeply compelling during our final year project conference. Directing her words to her colleagues, our supervisors, she said, “Lecturers, if your student ends up hating science, it is not their fault. It is yours.” I want to be her. I want to change people so profoundly and watch them catch their breath at their sheer individual potential.

Of course, I am no perfect person. I have my struggles. As previously mentioned, I suffer from anxiety and imposter syndrome. I punish myself too much before any other can land a hit on me. I make myself cry and call myself an idiot. I suffer from this assumption that to be loved or needed, I must be perfect. However, as my current PI has pointed out, “perfection impedes progress”. I am evolving. In every moment, I should only strive to be a better, kinder and more empathetic version of myself. I am no better because of my education. My academic success is not something to be prideful about, but I must be proud of it.

Recently, in the rise of social media, I have also begun correcting scientific misinformation prevalent throughout the platforms. I do not go and attack people; I have a life of my own outside the screen. However, I do take special attention to educate those closest to me. Friends and family, I educate them. Fundamentally, I see that as my moral obligation to society. To educate. I cannot change a country but if I can influence one person to pause and contemplate their actions rationally before resharing a chain message on Whatsapp, then I am doing my part as someone privileged to pursue a higher education. I would argue that it is fundamentally the role of each science major to educate others in their community in an effort to battle the rising trend of social media-led misinformation.

In short, I am a normal human person. I am fortunate to have certain circumstances that has played nicely into my life thus far. Thus, I have a moral obligation and social responsibility. I do not take this lightly. I see it as my calling, my purpose, my vocation. To inspire, to educate and to empower. One person at a time.

[sleepeanut]

[ PAINTING - WHAT LOVE MAKES ME FEEL (VOL. 1) ]

Last week, I asked my followers via my personal Instagram account "how love makes them feel". One response (the inspiration behind this piece) said, "Love fills my heart. Makes me happy and secure. I love to care and feels like rainbows." There are several more prompts I'd like to base several paintings on, but I just have to say how happy I felt painting this today. It's been a while since I've painted so it makes me smile whenever I can fully complete a painting according to my personal vision.

For more details, check out my Instagram (@hazelkugan).

#artstagram

#watercolorpainting

#illustration

#instaart

#artsofmalaysia

#hmkavailable

[sleepeanut]

WANITA KITA: THE SOCIOPOLITICAL MOVEMENTS DEFINING MALAYSIAN WOMEN TODAY

WOMEN OF MALAYSIA

In the era of #MeToo, Malaysian women are underrepresented (only 14.4% of parliamentary seats are held by women), underpaid (earning RM 93.90 for every RM100 a man makes, excluding unpaid domestic work) and underprotected (only 75% of legal frameworks that promote, enforce and monitor gender equality, with a focus on violence against women, are in place) (2,3). With this in mind, let’s take a look at a few of Malaysia’s own female empowerment movements, often sidelined in favour of sensationalist topics that gain social media traction for a week top and fizzle out into obscurity.

FAMILY FRONTIERS AND THE FIGHT FOR EQUAL CITIZENSHIP

(Not so) fun fact of the day: individuals born abroad to a Malaysian father are automatically granted Malaysian citizenship; the same cannot be said about those born to Malaysian mothers. Acknowledging this issue, the Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & KL (popularly referred to as Family Frontiers) - acting as the umbrella body for the Foreign Spouses Support Group (FSSG) - is leading the fight for equal citizenship. The organization recommends that (a) the Equality Act be passed and implemented, (b) the Government enacts administrative changes to be implemented as a temporary measure to streamline the application process of Article 15(2) and (c) an amendment to Article 14 to be enacted.

Family Frontiers did file a constitutional challenge with the KL High Court on the 18th December 2020 (5) and won the case for equal citizenship on the 9th September 2021! Unfortunately, the Malaysian government filed an appeal against the decision. The issue is still ongoing but adding fuel to the fire was our Home Minister’s statement on the 11th September 2021. During an RTM TV1 episode of “Inklusif”, YB Dato’ Seri Hamzah bin Zainudin used less than favourable language when (arguably, ignorantly) speaking about the gender-unequal citizenship laws (6). You can follow Family Frontiers on their Instagram page @familyfrontiersmy or their Linktree (linktr.ee/FamilyFrontiers) (7).

111 INITIATIVE AND THE FIGHT FOR EQUAL POLITICAL REPRESENTATION

Another great Malaysian feminist movement is The 111 Initiative (powered by Undi 18), which was formed with the explicit goal of ensuring that there is 50% female representation in the Dewan Rakyat (8). With Malaysian women only holding 14.4% of parliamentary seats and 17.9% of ministerial positions (2), they are further challenged by the assumption that leadership roles are masculine, women participation in domestic labour and the harassment, backlash and violence female politicians experience (10).

In light of their mission, The 111 Initiative has definitely done a lot (okay, that is definitely a gross understatement).

Hosted multiple webinars and released multiple infographics on their social media (IG: @111initiative).

Condemned the online sexual harassment of female politicians (11) in their first media statement.

Criticized the delay in the enactment of the Anti Sexual Harassment Bill (12)

Sembang 111, which features interviews with women politicians that highlight their views on how Malaysian politics can and should address issues concerning women and other marginalised groups in Malaysia, and,

Srikandi, a three-month series of online capacity-building workshops, targeting young women of 18 to 35 and “empowering them in the art of community leadership” (13).

AWAM & MALAYSIA’S ANTI-SEXUAL HARASSMENT BILL

Established in 1895, AWAM (All Women ‘s Action Society) is an independent feminist non-profit organization with a special emphasis on assisting victims and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) such as rape, domestic violence and sexual harassment (14). AWAM’s work includes:

Public education and outreach,

Feminis Buatan Malaysia (15),

The MaybankHearts Campaign (16),

The #MerdekaUntukMereka Campaign (17),

Provides free counselling services and legal information to all people in crisis irrespective of gender,

Strategic partnerships with other organisations to advocate for actual policy changes,

Tabung Telenita as a source of funding for women who could not afford administrative fees required for court cases involving domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape (Pssst...you can support them here: https://www.simplygiving.com/tabung-telenita-campaign-page).

AWAM has been working with multiple NGOs through the coalition Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) to draft and propose a Sexual Harassment Bill for over 20 years. This bill, when passed, “would extend the definition of Sexual Harassment to encompass all public and private spaces while making the legal process less tedious. It will also provide more accessibility, protection and privacy for survivors as well as equipping people to look at Sexual Harassment cases from the perspective of survivors to better handle their cases”. AWAM has encouraged citizen participation in the cause, by empowering the public to write to their Members of Parliament (MP) to push for the Bill. They have a sample of a petition letter in English and Malay. They have also included a List of MPs, just in case you didn’t know who represents you (all available on their website: https://www.awam.org.my/sexual-harassment-bill-campaign/).

WORDS FROM THE AUTHOR

Virality generates exposure. Unfortunately, social issues, like sexism and gender-based violence, do not end just because we’ve stopped talking about them. Here, I chose to highlight female-centric movements in Malaysia because at the end of the day, I am a woman. Sexual harassment, under-representation and sexual discriminate laws, these are issues which define my female Malaysian experience. I do not want these to define the realities of my future daughters.

REFERENCES

https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=444&bul_id=QlliTUxPQnhrR2tVa2kyOFpkWmhaZz09&menu_id=L0pheU43NWJwRWVSZklWdzQ4TlhUUT09

ISSUE BRIEF (ADVANCING GENDER EQUALITY IN MALAYSIA): https://www.my.undp.org/content/malaysia/en/home/library/womens_empowerment/issue-brief--advancing-gender-equality-in-malaysia.html

UN WOMEN (WOMEN COUNT IN MALAYSIA): https://data.unwomen.org/country/malaysia

The Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & KL (Family Frontiers): https://www.instagram.com/p/CI7R5fInF8o/

Press Release : Family Frontiers Files Constitutional Challenge for Equal Citizenship: https://www.instagram.com/p/CI7n4fxH5Kt/

Malaysian Mothers Despair Over Home Minister’s Statement: https://www.instagram.com/p/CU7Uv_tJNt7/

Family Frontiers: https://www.instagram.com/familyfrontiersmy/

What is 111 Initiative?: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBDQ1IVJvlx/

Speaker asks Abdul Azeez to apologise for using offensive words 'gelap', 'bedak': https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/speaker-asks-abdul-azeez-apologise-using-offensive-words-gelap-bedak-251129

What are the general barriers for women to enter politics?: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEmDqU6JAoj/

Media Statement - The 111 Initiative: https://www.instagram.com/p/CArnlFYJO8o/

The Sexual Harassment Bill: What’s Taking So Long?: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIAZxZNpn65/

Opening of Srikandi Programme: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSx82ocpHRk/

Get to Know Us - AWAM: https://www.awam.org.my/get-to-know-awam/

Feminis Buatan Malaysia: https://www.awam.org.my/fbm/

Maybank Hearts Campaign: https://www.awam.org.my/2020/08/24/maybank-hearts-campaign/

#MerdekaUntukMereka Campaign: https://www.awam.org.my/2020/08/21/merdekauntukmereka-campaign/

AWAM Programs: https://www.awam.org.my/programs/

Sexual Harassment Bill Campaign: https://www.awam.org.my/sexual-harassment-bill-campaign/

MPs: Table Bill fast to curb sexual harassment: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/09/21/mps-table-bill-fast-to-curb-sexual-harassment