Organized by the Area Growth Committee (AGC) of the Serian Cluster, the course was well attended by 32 participants, comprising youth and adults, including members of the AGC and the local spiritual assemblies of Kampung Mujat, Serian Town and Kampung Sumpas Tampek.

The training was conducted by Mrs. Maria Jemeni from Kuching. Below is Maria’s report:

We started on 5May morning with prayers followed by welcoming addresses from the LSA Chairman, Mr. Mukut, and AGC representative, Mdm. Annie Kudang. Before studying the material on Bahá’í Marriage Law (based on extracts from the Writings of Bahá’u'lláh, `Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice) and the Government Law, I started with explaining the other Laws and Ordinances of Bahá’u'lláh, and stressing that one of them is the marriage law.

The participants were then divided into 3 groups, comprising the youth group, which was facilitated by Ronnie Tandak using Bahasa Malaysia, and 2 adult groups, which were facilitated by Annie Kudang and Jeanne Minggat using the Iban language. After studying certain parts of the materials in groups, we all gathered again and discussed together points that they do not understand and where they would ask questions.

Many still do not understand the importance of obeying the marriage law of Bahá’u'lláh, especially the youth.  Many got married by just having big feast in the longhouse without following the Bahá’í law on marriage. Hopefully after studying the materials they have learned about the Bahá’í law on marriage.

Mrs. Maria Jemeni (foreground, right), the course conductor, with a group of the participants at the training course on Bahá'í Marriage and Government Law that was held in Kampung Sumpas Tampek, Serian on 5 – 6 May 2012.

The spirit was good and most of the participants participated in the discussion. They even suggested that this type of training should be organized more often so that more people will know. At the end of the training, we encouraged them, especially the local assembly members, to help to educate their single youth and ensure that when they marry, the requirements of civil and Bahá’í law have been complied with.

The training course ended at 3pm on 6 May 2012.

The event was a reflection meeting, the thirty-fifth one for the cluster. It is in a meeting of such a nature that friends in other clusters would also have gathered at other times to get ready to launch their programmes of growth for their respective clusters.

In this current meeting, the friends in the Kuching Cluster reflected on their past activities and then worked out the plan of action for the next 3-month cycle of their programme of growth for their cluster. This coming cycle, the twenty-fifth one, is scheduled for launching on Friday 18 May 2012.

Organized by the Area Growth Committee for Kuching, the meeting started at 2pm and ended four hours later. The local assembly of Kuching City North played host in providing refreshment for the meeting.

Friends from Sungai Samarahan at the 35th Reflection Meeting for the Kuching Cluster on 13 May 2012: (L-R) Lila Tan, Sudau, Winnie, Reni, Ita and Abon

Among the participants were friends who came from as far as Turong, Bintawa Lama and Betong Kanowit, which are villages along Sungai Samarahan.

Please stay tuned for the news on the launching of the 25^th cycle of the programme of growth for this cluster on 18 May.

一场男女优劣的辩论

琢玉者

 一群学生坐在球场边的草地上争论著什么，气氛热烈。李丽走了过去，笑着问道，你们这么兴高采烈的，在争论什么呀？学生们见是班主任来了，都不做声了，几个男同学的脸上还流露着几分尴尬。一阵短暂的沉默之后，一位女同学说：“李老师，我们在争论男人好还是女人好。”李丽说：“好啊，有意思。你们谁赢了？男人好还是女人好呀？”

“我们刚刚开始，还没有胜负。”

“那就继续辩论吧，让我也听听，好吗？”

“李老师在这里肯定会帮着她们，我们输定了，今天不争了。”一位男同学说。李丽是一位女老师。

“怎么？怕我帮女同学？我现在宣布，我只听，不参加任何一方辩论。只要大家讲文明、讲礼貌，我也不批评任何人。你们不要有顾虑。好不好？”

“好！那我就先讲。我说男人好。我的理由是，世界上的英雄好汉、政治家、军事家、科学家差不多都是男人。女人呢，少得可怜，并且名气都没有男的大。还有就是，这些少得可怜的女名人，还是靠很多男人的帮助才得到成功的。这就足够说明，男人比女人聪明、能干，所以男人好。”

“说得对，赞成！”“同意！”“好！”这位同学的发言赢得了男生的一片赞扬，纷纷表示支持。

“说得不对，他的理由很片面，我的看法恰恰相反。世界上最坏的人都是男人，比如撒旦啊、希特勒啊、朱元璋啊、林彪啊，还有很多很多。根据这一点，说明女人好，这是反证法。”

“我同意！”“我赞成！”“我支持！”女同学纷纷附和。

“我再补充，世界上女英雄也很多，花木兰、穆桂英、自由女神、女娲补天，还有女总统、女总理、女作家、女科学家，多得数不清。”

“男人力气大，长得帅，还可以保护妇女儿童。女人呢，还要男人保护！你们羞不羞脸啊？”另一个男同学说。

“你妈妈也是女人，你妈妈羞脸了？你爸爸为什么还要娶她呀？有本事到你爸爸妈妈那里说去！”另一个女同学气愤地说。

李丽手一挥,开了口：“好了好了，大家暂停，我来说几句。大家喜欢探讨问题，这很好。不过，你们今天探讨的问题，其实是一个假问题，就是大人说的伪问题。我把我的理解说一说，希望能对同学们有所启发。男人和女人，都是造物主创造的，世界上不能没有男人，也不能没有女人。人类的生存和社会的发展，离不开男人也离不开女人。但是，男人和女人的生理特点不同，在家庭里和社会上就不能不有不同的分工。女人代替不了男人，男人也代替不了女人。因此，不存在男人好还是女人好的问题。古代科学不发达，以体力劳动为主，有“男耕女织”等说法。现在社会进步了，体力已经退居到非常次要的地位。很多工作男人可以做，女人也可以做。社会上的方方面面，女人都在发挥着广泛而巨大的作用。许多工作，没有女人的参与，或者效果不好，或者难以成功。而有的工作，没有男人的参与，也会出现同样的情况。我建议，大家以后不要纠缠于这样的问题。如果有兴趣，可以探讨一下男人和女人如何参与社会事务方面的问题。你们说好不好？

同学们异口同声地说：“好！”

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PENGABIS NYA KAMI PAN DIBAI NGIRUP.,MAYA NGIRUP DIA   AKU BISI  MASANG VIDEO 10 th  ARI RUMAH PENGELURUS SERATA DUNYA