Taib: Hero or hypocrite?

 

Mariam Mokhtar | November7, 2013 | The Ant Daily

OUTSPOKEN: If Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud can sound like the voice of reason, then it is clear that Umno-Baru is in terminal decline.

When the verdict on the Allah word issue was announced last month, Taib’s speech resonated with many Malaysians when he said, “To us (Sarawakians) there is no issue. We have lived with people of different races and different religions for many decades, even before Malaysia.”

Taib is a shrewd politician who has the benefit of age and experience. He appears to be more in touch with his grassroots supporters, unlike Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who panders to extremists.

Taib waxed lyrical about Sarawakians being tolerant, and he dismissed the Allah ruling when he declared that it would not be binding on Sabah and Sarawak.

In a deliberate snub to the three judges of the Court of Appeal, he said, “We cannot alter the status quo in Sarawak.” He maintained that the “spirit of tolerance” among the Sarawak people was high and that the multi-racial state represented stability and harmony.

On visits to the longhouse, Taib said he would source a Muslim cook to prepare his dishes using the ingredients which the longhouse residents had bought. His childhood at the mission school had prepared him for being with Christians and he was not perturbed when they made the sign of the cross, or prayed.

Taib may have been disloyal by having a dig at Najib, and dishing out snide, patronising comments about tolerance. Najib had just opened the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) convention when Taib made his remarks.

Sarawak is the fourth most populous state in Malaysia. The Ibans form the biggest ethnic grouping with 30% and the Chinese, Malays and Melanau represent 24%, 23% and 6% respectively.

In terms of religion, Sarawak is the only country in Malaysia with a Christian majority (44%), with the Muslims in second place (30%).

Taib is a Melanau of Muslim descent and he has performed a minor miracle keeping Umno-Baru at bay, preventing the importation into Sarawak of Umno-Baru’s religious intolerance, their bigotries and their Ketuanan superiority. Taib has seen the deleterious effects of the mass Malayanisation and Islamicisation on the peninsula.

Najib only dreams of “1Malaysia”, but Sarawak has managed to display racial unity with its unique “1Sarawak” version.

Taib is dependent on the support of the Christians of Sarawak; so is Taib a hero or just another hypocrite? Are his remarks about the Allah ruling just the means to an end, and yet another charade?

Taib implied that the West Malaysians were an intolerant lot. If tolerance is a virtue, then Sarawakians must be extremely forgiving and tolerant, as they seem able to excuse Taib’s corruption, nepotism and cronyism. Or is Taib mocking the people of Sarawak?

Taib insinuated that Muslims in Sarawak are smarter than their West Malaysian peers, because they are not easily confused or enraged by Christians using the word Allah.

This Allah debacle started in 1986, when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his Cabinet ruled that several words could not be used by Malaysian Christians.

To keep Christians in check and to whip the conservative Muslims into a frenzy to defend Islam, the word Allah is brought out every few years, either before the Umno-Baru internal elections or the Sarawak state election, when Taib would suddenly be very vocal about protecting the rights of Sarawak Christians.

If Sarawak were to declare its independence from the union of Malaysia, Taib would be able to keep all of the oil wealth. He could revoke previous agreements and nationalise the oil industry. The neglected communities could be rebuilt with the replenished coffers. Putrajaya need not be blamed for withholding payment.

So, what is stopping Taib from branching out on his own?

Is he worried about the security and defence of Sarawak? Aid should not be a worry as many foreign nations will rush to invest in Sarawak. He already enjoys many ties with Singapore and developed countries.

Taib is wary about independence because he will suddenly find that as a Muslim-Melanau he would be part of a minority group. The other ethnic communities would make heavy demands on him. Despite the lack of interference from Putrajaya, he must wonder if he could survive as easily.

The downside for Putrajaya of an independent Sarawak would be the loss of the large block of MPs which enables the federal government to retain power in perpetuity. Development in peninsular Malaysia would be curtailed if income from oil-rich Sarawak were no longer available.

By 2016, Sarawak must hold its state elections, but before that day approaches, Taib must consider his retirement plans. He would like to make his influence complete and official, perhaps by becoming the Governor of Sarawak. So, we must ask ourselves if Taib is sincere in his defence of the Christians in Sarawak, or only protecting his political interests?

Mariam Mokhtar is "a Malaysian who dares to speak the truth."

An Open Letter to PAS on ‘Allah’

FMT LETTER: From Jason Seong , via e-mail

First of all, I would like to state that the Sultan of Selangor, a truly people-oriented ruler and a down-to-earth figure, has been terribly ill-advised on the issue of the kalimah Allah. As one who embodies the role of Guardian of Islam in the state, the Sultan must realise that no decree of an Islamic council can bind non-Muslims. We are not under the jurisdiction of Syariah law.

Secondly, non-Muslims are now wondering how is the slogan, “PAS for all” consistent or compatible with the decision by the Syura Council to “forbid” Christians (and by extension, Sikhs and adherents of other faiths) from translating the word, “Allah” in the Bible ( and by extension the Holy Scriptures of the other non-Muslim faiths).

It is illogical to suppose that one can use the word, “Allah” in oral form but not in written form. After all, the meaning underlying both type of linguistic forms would be the same. Furthermore, how is this different from Umno’s move to impose a ban? This being the case, why should Christians support PAS?

As it is, forbidding non-Muslims from using the word, “Allah” whether in speech or text absolutely violates Article of 11 of the Constitution which provides for the freedom of religion as expressed in both profession and practice. It is a question of non-Muslim’s fundamental right to freedom of religion.

“Profession” here would correspond to verbal & written declaration of one’s faith; “practice” relates to ritual habits of non-Muslims as expressed in the divine liturgy for many Christians which would not only contain Bible readings but also follow a pre-scripted text.

PAS needs to ask why is it that Christians in the Middle East do not face such a situation? In fact, there are quite a few questions which PAS must face. How is the prohibition compatible with Islam as an Abrahamic religion? How is it compatible with Christians as “People of the Book”?

After all, there has never ever been such a decree within Judaism prohibiting Christians from claiming the Old Testament as part of their Holy Scriptures. And not least, Muslims have never ever been prohibited by Christians in the West from claiming that the prophets in the Quran refer to the prophets in the Old Testament and the Gospels.

Has this to do with the growing Islamisation in Malaysia? Islamisation can only breed even more extreme forms of Islam. That is the trajectory. In the Palestinian Territories, Hamas must now contend with Salafis and both are at each other’s throats. Pakistan’s current problems with religious extremism can be traced to the Islamisation initiated by Zia ul-Haq.

In a sense, the country is a failed state. Many Iranians, especially the young, are disillusioned with the rule of ayatollahs. In Indonesia, religious intolerance is rising since the downfall of Suharto. And of course, terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah (JI) consider themselves as “pure” Muslims. But I digress.

PAS must come to terms with the concrete reality of the situation. Non-Muslims respect Islam’s universally exclusive claims. But these claims however central cannot be imposed on non-Muslims. More over, the trend can become a dangerous precedent in the future.

The claim of the oneness of Allah as affirmed in the opening statement of the Syura Council’s “decree” that God is unbegotten and begets not presupposes and implies the Christian understanding of the Trinity. This is consistent with the Quran’s claim that it stands in the lineage of the Gospels albeit as the pure and uncorrupted form of divine revelation.

Is PAS going to next forbid Christians from referring to Jesus as the Son of God since He is Nabi Isa the son of Maryam in the Quran? After all, Jesus as the Son of God and Trinity goes together.

Or to put in another way, Jesus as the Son of Allah is also Allah the Son which of course is blasphemous and scandalous to Muslims. PAS has to realise that the concept of the oneness of God is not unique to Islam alone or even the Abrahamic religions.

It is also worth repeating here that Sikhism is monotheistic and Sikhs refer to their God as Allah. Even Hinduism in its original form is monotheistic. Just as Judaism and Islam understand monotheism in one way, so do Christians (and Sikihism and Hinduism understand monotheism in another way.

The Christian concept of the Trinity is not a concept. The oneness of God is not a mathematical one where you and I can count 1, 2,, 3 … and so on. It is beyond affirmation and negation. It is not a “thing,” and it is not also not-not a “thing.” In other words, it is beyond this world – intellectually and empirically.

That is to say, the oneness of God does not share the same logical status with human logic and experience so that oneness of God is opposed to the multiplicity of creation. But that God is both, simultaneously, one and three – “numbers” of which are absolutely unique and without parallel. God is both unity and multiplicity.

The unity of God is found in the Father the Almighty and the multiplicity of God is expressed in the eternal begottenness of the Son and the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit. God’s oneness, therefore, is “structured” around the divine Persons. God’s oneness is not a solitary oneness but a “social oneness” – a paradox to the human mind.

The closest analogy is the human family where propagation is physical and takes place in time and space takes place.

It is my sincere wish and hope that, especially for the sake of my East Malaysian, Orang Asli and Indonesian brothers and sisters in the faith, that good sense would prevail out of this controversy. Let us strive to respect, understand and accommodate one another in the spirit of national unity and Bangsa Malaysia.

I appeal to PAS not to infringe on the fundamental right of the Christians in Malaysia but rather work for solutions that would preserve both the parties’ concern and also of the non-Muslims who are anxious about the forthcoming general election.

From : Free Malaysia Today

Allah is not the problem. Mankind is.

FMT LETTER: From Lembu Susu, via e-mail

I wish to share my thoughts to laypersons and have intentionally omitted quoting scriptures from both the Quran and the Bible, so as to make it easy reading for both divide.

1 The word ‘Allah’ is meant only for Muslims and for all who hold the view that there is only one God, according to the PAS Majlis Syura. This view resonates well with the majority of Muslims in Malaysia. The non-Muslims and the Christians must understand that the reason PAS does not allow the word ‘Allah’ in the Bible translation was because of theological reason.

Christians hold the view that God is a Trinity; that is, the belief in a Triune God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Though the Christians maintained that they believe in One God, but the concept of Trinity was unacceptable in Islam. Hence, if the Christians were to use the word ‘Allah’ for their God, then, it will not represent correctly the ‘Allah’ of the Muslim God.

2 The Christians, on the other hand, have a problem if they use the word ‘Allah’ without qualification. The problem is that the ‘Allah’ of the Bible is not the same as the ‘Allah’ of the Quran. For example, the Christians believe the Bible teaches monogamous marriages, but in the Quran, polygamy is allowed, albeit with certain conditions.

Moreover, in the Quran, jihad also involves wiping out infidels, which is not advocate at all in the New Testament of the Bible. Hence, when the Christians use the word ‘Allah’ for God, they have to clarify, that though the word ‘Allah’ is the same word being used for ‘God’ by both the Christians and the Muslims, yet, the ‘Allah’ revealed in the Bible is different from the ‘Allah’ in the Quran.

3 The bottom line is this: ‘Allah’ is just a word to denote ‘God’. It is how you will fill that word with meaning. This is where the teachings in the Quran and in the Bible gives meaning to the word  ‘Allah’ by each religion.

4 But if we were to look it in another angle, actually, Allah is greater than any human words can express. Allah cannot be confined to a word. The word is only necessary to help man connect to Him, but He is greater than a word. In fact, there is no word that is sufficient to address Him. He is beyond words. He cannot be reduced to just a word, ‘Allah’. He is greater than any words mankind can call Him.

5 So, on ‘Allah’s side, there is no issue for the Muslims and there is no issue for the Christians. He will never be confused by the Christians or by the Muslims.

6 As for Muslims and Christians, there were also no confusion with the word ‘Allah’, as the years has proven. It is how you fill the meaning of the word ‘Allah’ with. The teachings from the Quran and the Bible will give understanding and meaning to that word, by each one’s religion accordingly.

7 Every person will believe his or her religion is the correct and right one. Malaysia has existed in harmony all these years because of the mutual respect shown towards another’s religion and faith.

8 In each religion, it is only normal for their religion to tell them that theirs is the only and correct religion. Others are not. In fact, they are false. This is alright, because the constitution allow freedom of religion. But what a person believes must only be confined to himself or herself. They are not to extend what they believe onto others. If that is done, it will cause war.

9 Though Islam is the religion of the Federation, the Constitution allows freedom of religion. Hence, to stretch one’s believe and impose it on others infringes on the rights of a citizen.

10 The non-Muslims cannot impose on Muslims their beliefs, neither can the Muslims beliefs be imposed onto non-Muslims. Instead, there must be mutual respect for one another’s beliefs.

11 No one can tell another religion what word they can use and what word they cannot use. If this is allowed, it will breakdown the peace and harmony that was built and cherished all these the years. It will be the same as telling them, ‘you cannot practice your own religion, because your religion violates my religious beliefs’, and we all know that it is common for almost every religion, if adhered to fully, will violate against another. If this happens, then, there will be provocation and war.

So, in conclusion, may the one in authority not use their authority to impose one’s beliefs onto another, just because this is what they believe in. Instead, the call for restrain and respect for one another’s faith and belief should be paramount and upheld. Let the Muslims respect the non-Muslims’ faith and beliefs, and vice-versa, the non-Muslims respect the Muslims’ faith and beliefs.

If ‘Allah’ is consider a sacred word to the Muslims, then, keep in within the context of own religion. Don’t impose it on another, who may not share the same beliefs. The Christians have no intention to hurt or to confuse the Muslims. They are only asking for their right to practice their own religion, using a word that has been there and used all these years

From : Free Malaysia Today

Harussani has gone loco

Written by  Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle

The Perak Mufti Harussani Zakarai’s freedom to ban just about everything in our lives is perhaps one of the reasons why the Malay youth of today is rebellious, uncontrollable and undisciplined.

If the Malay/Muslim is not allowed an avenue to relax, to enjoy or be creative, and to have a bit of a laugh, he will grow up at worst, to be a miserable old grouch, possibly like Harussani or at best, he will end up non compos mentis.

How on earth are Muslims going to live normally, if they are expected to be swathed in cotton wool throughout his life because the likes of Harussani think the Muslim is so weak and his soul so tormented, that he will be easily influenced by the devil or by the teachings of Jesus Christ?

Harussani and the Perak Fatwa Committee, have decided that the poco-poco dance is haram for Muslims. According to him, the dance has elements of Christianity and soul worshipping.

The Perak Menteri besar, Zambry Abdul Kadir, has agreed with the Mufti and said that all quarters should respect him and not create any dispute on the matter.

Is that it? Will no one explain how the poco-poco is considered soul worshipping? Is Zambry afraid of confronting Harussani over this matter?

A dance today, what then tomorrow? The ridiculous ban on yoga a few years ago already damaged Malaysia’s reputation.

Harussani is the same man who forbade us from going to our non-Muslims friends homes for their festival days. So much for Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s 1Malaysia interaction.

Harussani is the same man who almost caused a near rebellion when he said that the Manchester United football jerseys should be shunned: “Yes, of course in Islam we don’t allow people to wear this sort of thing. Devils are our enemies. Why would you put their picture on you and wear it? You are only promoting the devil.”

He also said that besides the Red Devils, football shirts of Brazil, Barcelona, Portugal, Norway and Serbia were deemed unacceptable because they had images of the cross or had alcohol brands on them.

As expected, Malaysian supporters of ‘Manchester United’, expressed their anger, on the fan’s websites.

If banning the jerseys is what Harussani and his kill-joy clerics strongly believe in, they might as well ban football.

Football, in Malaysia, has almost a religious following with whole families taking a lively interest in the sport. Even the PM went overboard and declared a holiday when Malaysia won a minor game against Indonesia.

If we can’t dance then what about the DVD’s that promote dancing. They will have to go too. What about the music that accompanies the dance?

Why does the austere Harussani, our politicians and a few lawyers, trip over themselves to see who can make Malaysia the world’s worst joke? Why not just place Muslims in straitjackets?

Malaysia does not need people like Harussani. He is neither the voice of reason nor of moderation.

He causes communities to mistrust each other. He almost caused a lynch mob to assemble at the Silibin church in Ipoh, when he allegedly spread a rumour that Malays were going to be baptized there.

Although many Muslims disagree with Harussani, several liberal Muslims/Malays are too afraid or reluctant to damp out the opposing voices of conservatism. These conservatives play on the Malays’ fears by claiming that by doing certain things, they are doomed in the afterlife.

Harussani does not believe in having information made freely available. He certainly does not like educated Muslims who demand answers based on reason.

Most Muslims believe that religion is not just about punishment, but about education. Unlike Harussani, moderates don’t accept having blind allegiance and acceptance of the faith.

The conservatives like Harussani claim to be defenders of Malays and Islam. They dissuade others from expressing opinions that they don’t want to talk about. They feel slighted at any reference to Malays or Islam. They use the police as a tool and various senior politicians as their minders. These conservatives have managed to silence the non-Malays and any Malay who voices disapproval.

Harussani once described former Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin as a “strange person” who had become “arrogant” after Asri completed his advanced studies in Islam.

Harussani condemned Asri’s need to educate people by saying: “How long do you want to educate a person? The country and this world will be a safer place if we have Islamic laws. When I was in Saudi Arabia I felt very safe.”

Perhaps Harussani could do us all a favour and live in Saudi Arabia. He would be safe, and we would be sane.

Source : Malaysia Chronicle

How you wish there were no heaven and hell

Saturday, 20 June 2009 16:15 Sheesh! So not only will you not go to heaven if you support Barisan Nasional. You will also not go to heaven even if you support PAS. This is because PAS is also involved in an un-Islamic system of government. PAS is as un-Islamic as Umno or Barisan Nasional is. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Mad fish?: scientist warns that farmed fish could be a source of mad cow disease Jeremy Hance, news.mongabay.com June 17, 2009 In a paper that shows just how strange our modern world has become, Robert P. Friedland, neurologist from the University of Louisville, warns that farmed fish could be at risk of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, or Mad Cow Disease. Currently, farmed fish are fed cow by products—a food source they would never find natural environment (unless society started dumping cow carcasses in oceans or lakes). Friedland and co-authors raise the issue in the Journal of Alzhemier’s Disease and call on food regulators to ban feeding cow bone or meat to farmed fish until it can be determined if the practice of feeding fish cow-parts is safe. “We have not proven that it’s possible for fish to transmit the disease to humans. Still, we believe that out of reasonable caution for public health, the practice of feeding rendered cows to fish should be prohibited,” Friedland said. “Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows.” Mad Cow Disease is a fatal disease that can be contracted by eating parts of a cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). After an outbreak in Britain due to infected beef, 163 people died. “The fact that no cases of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease have been linked to eating farmed fish does not assure that feeding rendered cow parts to fish is safe,” warns Friedland. “The incubation period of these diseases may last for decades, which makes the association between feeding practices and infection difficult. Enhanced safeguards need to be put in place to protect the public.” Along with cow, farmed fish are also fed significant amounts of antibiotics to keep them disease-and-parasite free. Farmed fish pose additional health hazards due to the possibility of mercury contamination. http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0617-hance_madfish.html ************************************************* So there you have it. You thought that by avoiding beef and by just eating fish you can avoid being inflicted with Mad Cow Disease. Then you suddenly wake up one morning and a scientist or doctor tells you that you can still get Mad Cow Disease by eating fish, not to mention mercury poisoning. So what do you do? You become a vegetarian. But just as you thought you are now safe and will live to a ripe old age of 100, another scientist or doctor tells you that the vegetables you are eating have been sprayed with insecticide to prevent plant pests from attacking them. And these insecticides can’t be washed off even if you soak the vegetables for hours before cooking them. No wonder the vegetables looked so perfect and when you buy your vegetables you always choose the most perfect looking ones and avoid those that look like they have been attacked by plant pests. Now you find out that the more perfect they look the more harmful they actually are. Okay, I have a solution, you may think. I will grow my own vegetables in my garden plot and will make sure that they are not sprayed with anything harmful. I will also rear my own chickens and goats and feed them with natural food that do not contain any chemicals. This will ensure that only the safest food gets into my belly. That will offer me the guarantee that I get to eat only contaminated-free food. Then a Blogger starts writing articles telling you that the food you are buying and eating may be medically safe, but they are not halal. They are still ‘contaminated’ with elements of haram. “How can they be haram?” you argue. You never touch anything that does not have a ‘halal’ sticker on them. But lo and behold, you suddenly discover that the halal turkey costs more than the turkey that does not have a halal sticker on them. You then ask the turkey supplier whether this is a conspiracy to discriminate Muslims. Why is the halal turkey more expensive than the non-halal turkey? The turkey supplier then whispers a little secret into your ear. They have to pay the people who issue these ‘halal’ stickers under-the-table money. Yes, that’s right. Those Muslims in white robes and skullcaps take bribes. You have to bribe them to get them to certify your turkey as halal. If not they will not give you permission to stick those ‘halal’ stickers onto your turkey. So now you avoid halal food altogether. Instead of buying your food from the halal section of the supermarket you buy them from the non-halal section. The turkey, chicken, lamb and beef mixed amongst the pork, ham and bacon is more halal than those sold with ‘halal’ stickers on them. Okay, they may not have been slaughtered the ‘correct’ way, but at least they are not ‘contaminated’ with bribery, which is worse than eating ‘not properly slaughtered’ meat. You want to be a good Muslim. You want to avoid anything that is considered haram from ever touching your lips. You avoid food that will endanger your health because Islam is against you doing anything that endangers your health, smoking included. You also avoid food that is considered haram from the Islamic perspective. So you avoid food that have ‘halal’ stickers on them knowing that the supplier has to bribe the government officers to get this halal certification. You are a good Muslim. So you are now assured of going to heaven. To strengthen your case when you one day die and finally get to meet your Maker, you do not drink or gamble as well. You lead a very pious life. But hold on a minute. You work for the government. And the government taxes gaming and liquor. And this money is used to pay your salary. So you are actually ‘eating’ haram money, money procured from taxes on gaming and liquor. Furthermore, according to one-time Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, 90% of the personal and private businesses taxes is paid by the Chinese. And the Chinese are involved in all sorts of non-halal businesses. They run lotteries and gambling outlets. They run bars, pubs, nightclubs and discos. They run brothels, massage parlours and karaoke centres that are actually fronts for the ‘China Dolls’ racket. They run banks, finance companies and money-lending businesses. You name it and the Chinese run it. And all these are haram according to Islam. And they pay taxes on all this and this tax money is used to pay the salaries of the government employees. Sheesh, what do you do now? There is only one option open to you. You resign from the government and run your own but small business. You set up a driving school. But none of your students pass their driving test. They will never pass unless you pay the Road Transport Department tester a bribe, the usual under-the-table money. So you will have to bribe the tester or else none of your students will pass their driving test and you will eventually have to close down because no one will come to your driving school any longer. So you close down your driving school and open a tuition centre instead. But you can’t get a licence to operate a tuition centre unless you also pay a bribe. Okay, forget about the tuition centre. You will instead set up a small stall selling cakes and nasi lemak. But you can’t get your hawker’s licence unless you also bribe the local authorities. Sheesh, forget about the whole thing. You decide to go back to your kampong to become a padi farmer. Your late father left you a piece of land, which he used to grow padi on. It has of course been neglected all those years because you chose to work for the government instead of becoming a padi farmer. Now you decide to grow padi on that neglected land. You also sell your house and car and surrender your credit cards to avoid having to pay haram interest on your loans and credit cards. You will become a true Muslim by just planting padi. You apply for fertilizer from the government but are told you need to become an Umno member to qualify for fertilizer aid. If not you will have to buy your own fertilizer from the Chinaman supplier and that would mean your production cost would be too high. The only way to keep your cost down would be to get a fertilizer subsidy but you must first become an Umno member. Furthermore, you need to sell your padi to Bernas and they will pay you a low price if you do not pay the purchasing officer a ‘commission’ and show him your Umno membership card. It troubles you that you must become an Umno member to get government subsidies. It troubles you even more that you must bribe the purchasing officer to get a fair price on your padi. Your late padi-farmer father once told you that you must support PAS if you want to go to heaven. Now you have to become an Umno member to get the fertilizer you need for your padi field. And you still can’t escape bribery even as a padi farmer. Will that mean you will be going to hell instead? Lo and behold, the Deputy Prime Minister said you could still go to heaven even if you vote for Barisan Nasional. You need not vote for PAS to go to heaven after all. Barisan Nasional too can help send you to heaven. You just pray that it will be later rather than sooner. Halleluiah! Your soul has been saved. You can now safely become an Umno member to get your fertilizer and still go to heaven. You need no longer support PAS. Allah is most kind and merciful after all. Then you discover something most depressing. The Westminster form of government and western-style parliamentary general elections are not Islamic after all. The so-called western concept of democracy is an un-Islamic concept. There are no such things in Islam. Islam does not choose its leaders in this manner. This is most depressing. Islam says you are not supposed to choose kufurs, mushriks, fasiks and whatnot as your leaders. And in the Westminster system of general elections the worst kind of people are elected as the country’s leaders. You are supposed to choose noble and pious people as your leaders. The current system allows only slime-balls and scumbags into office. Sheesh! So not only will you not go to heaven if you support Barisan Nasional. You will also not go to heaven even if you support PAS. This is because PAS is also involved in an un-Islamic system of government. PAS is as un-Islamic as Umno or Barisan Nasional is. Aiyah! So better you don’t become a member of any political party. And better still, you don’t vote as well. But if you don’t then you are allowing bad people to get into power. By doing nothing you are aiding and abetting sin. So you must do something. But what can you do? Every option available to you is haram and un-Islamic. What a dilemma! The whole problem is you were born a Muslim. No, the real problem is you were born, full stop. If not then you would not be faced with any dilemma. This is actually the REAL Malay dilemma. You can never be a proper Muslim in this modern world, especially not in Malaysia. You start to wonder what it was like in the old days before we saw ‘progress’. You always suspected that progress is bad for you, especially as far as your soul is concerned. Source : Malaysia Today

The name don’t maketh the man

The Muslim sense of values is totally warped. If you eat pork or drink liquor or gamble, at least you are doing it with your own money. But corruption and fraud involves other people’s money, in most cases the taxpayers’ money. So this makes it an even bigger sin.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Civil Defence director charged with falsifying documents
By EMBUN MAJID, The Star

ALOR SETAR: Kedah Civil Defence Department director pleaded not guilty to two counts of falsifying documents at a Sessions Court here. Mohamad Abdullah, 49, was charged with falsifying two documents on Jun 26 and July 28, both in 2005 at his office at Wisma Persekutuan building here.

In the first charge, Mohamad was alleged to have falsified a document by endorsing that Mohd Roshid Hussain had supplied food for a group of 70 people for the Civil Defence Training Programme at Unit Giat Mara Sungai Tiang on March 17, 18, 19 and 20, 2005 although there was no such supply during the said period.

In the second charge, Mohamad was alleged to have falsified a document on July 28, 2005, by endorsing that Mohd Roshid had supplied food for a group of 80 people for the department Intensive Training Programme at Unit Giat Mara Sungai on May 19, 20 and 21, 2005, although there was no such supply during the three days.

The charge sheet, however, did not state the amount of money involved.

Mohamad faced both charges under Section 11(c) of the Anti Corruption Act 1997 that carries a maximum imprisonment for a term of not less than six months and not more than twenty years; and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification which is the subject matter of the offence where such gratification is capable of being valued or is of a pecuniary nature, or ten thousand ringgit, whichever is the higher.

In the same court, Mohd Roshid, 32, claimed trial with abetting Mohamad to falsify the two documents. He was also charged under Section 11(c) of the same Act.

Judge Norsharidah Awang set bail RM10,000 in one surety for each offences to Mohamad and Mohd Roshid and fixed July 8 for hearing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Fieza Fazlin Fandi prosecuted the case while counsel Shariff Matt represented the two accused.

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Would you name your son Jesus the servant of God? And if you would, would you expect him to grow up into a righteous and god-fearing man rather than a corrupted scoundrel? I suppose parents who name their son Mohamad the servant of God would expect no less from their son, as would parents who name their son Jesus the servant of God. But this did not quite work out for the parents of Mohamad Abdullah who now faces two charges of swindling. Yes, in case you have not figured it out by now, Abdullah translates to the servant of Allah (some would say the slave of Allah). So Mohamad Abdullah, which is also the name of the Prophet of Islam, translates to Mohamad the servant of Allah.

And how would one who is named after Islam’s Prophet, with the servant of Allah added to his name, be expected to conduct himself? Considering Mohamad is a public servant, in China he would be put to death with a bullet in the head. And, to add insult to injury, the cost of the bullet would be charged to the family. But sadly, this is not the case in Malaysia. In fact, he would not even lose his limb, as the proponents of the Islamic law of Hudud would like to see. Instead, he would probably beat the rap because the normally smart lawyer would in most cases run rings around the nincompoop prosecutor and the irritated judge would find the accused not guilty out of sheer disgust for the incompetence of the prosecutor.

Yes, names do not maketh the man. How many with names like Isa (Jesus), Musa (Moses), Yusof (Joseph), Sulaiman (Solomon), Ibrahim (Abraham), etc., have been dragged to court for criminal breach of trust, corruption, fraud and whatnot? Some of the worst scams to appear before us have been perpetuated by those who carry the names of the revered Prophets of Islam. Maybe it is time the government banned the usage of names from the Quran. It just makes a mockery of those noble names when people who carry those names act less than noble.

At least people like Mahathir, Najib, Muhyiddin, Khairy, Hishammuddin, Khir, and so on can be excused. Their names are not names of the Prophets of Islam. But when you have people with two Muhammad’s in their name or people with names like Mohamad the servant of Allah, then the expectations would be very high indeed. We do not expect them to be cheats and swindlers.

Why is it that people who carry the names of the revered Prophets would shun pork and steer clear of liquor and despise gambling but would never hesitate to fill their stomachs with money earned the not kosher way? Is money earned through corruption and fraud any less haram than pork, liquor or gambling? It is like saying that raping a girl is okay as long as you don’t rape a boy. Same gender sex is haram. So raping a boy is a huge no-no. But raping a girl is tolerable.

Rape is rape whether you raped your pet dog or the neighbour’s donkey. Haram is definitely haram and there are no two ways about it. And it does not matter whether it is pork, liquor, gambling or money you obtained through corrupt and fraudulent ways. One is not less haram than the other.

The Muslim sense of values is totally warped. If you eat pork or drink liquor or gamble, at least you are doing it with your own money. But corruption and fraud involves other people’s money, in most cases the taxpayers’ money. So this makes it an even bigger sin. Why can’t Muslims see that a person who eats pork or drinks liquor or gambles is not harming anyone other than himself -- okay, maybe his family as well if he does all this in excess and it affects the family (for that matter, even excess ice cream or an overdose of multivitamins are bad for you). But when you cheat the taxpayers you are hurting 27 million Malaysians who that money belongs to.

My Tok Guru told me, when you sin against God, then it is up to God to forgive you. But when you sin against humankind, then God can’t forgive you. You must first beg for forgiveness from all those you have sinned against and only when they have all forgiven you will God forgive you.

Well, this is what my Tok Guru told me. But can you imagine seeking out 27 million Malaysians, one by one, and personally begging for their forgiveness? How would this be possible? I mean, how long will it take you to personally meet 27 million people, one by one?

In short, you are doomed. There is no way this can be done, or done in the time frame you would like to see it done. Give me a pork-eating, liquor-drinking, gambling man one who has not sinned against fellowman any time. That man has a better chance of being forgiven for his sins than a corrupted swindler of taxpayers’ money.

And don’t try to impress me with the names of the revered Prophets because the name does not maketh the man. Some of the worst scoundrels walking the face of this earth are named after the revered Prophets of Islam.

Sick Of Being A Malay?

Source : Kickdefella

Many Young Malays nowadays are too shy to acknowledge themselves as Malay. Please don’t slam them as lacking of ‘jatidiri’ or ’tak sedar diri’ before we understand where all this problem came from.

“When we die, god will not ask whether we are a Malay, Chinese or Indian,” The MB of Kelantan once told me.

Nik Aziz, has never failed to surprise me with the depth of his thinking. When I interviewed him a month ago, he shoot this to me, “When the Chinese (in Malaysia) has the Chinese medium school, nobody made a noise, there is TV news in Chinese, nobody make any noise, there is newspaper in Chinese, nobody demonstrate against it, but when they wanted to put a road sign in Chinese, people jump sky high! Lagu mano ni?

“The problem with us is that our thinking is too shallow, we think the way we wanted ourselves to think, not the manner God wanted us to us our brain…”

“This is the problem with UMNO (and many of the Malays).”

“I pray to god (to open the heart of the Malaysian) to elect to office more non Muslim Malaysian who are more Islamic friendly to replace the Malays leaders who are Muslim but afraid to fight for the sake of Islam”.

My exclusive interview with Tok Guru is in the latest Qiadah, published during the Chinese New Year.

The sickness that Malaysia is suffering now is due of over dosage of Malay-ism. This is a long time game plan by a shrinking brain of UMNO politician. UMNO wants us to keep remembering that the Malays owe them for what the Malays are today.

What is the Malay today? Do our children still enjoy the benefits of being a Malay like we and our father enjoy decades ago?

What happen today is only selected few Malays are enjoying the benefit of being a Malay. While some quarters are rubbing shoulders with the selected few hoping to get some lose change from them, the rest of the Malay are just getting what other races are getting.

So why should the rest of the Malay subscribe to the Malay Supremacy ideology if only it was mend for those selected few like the Kings and Sultans and the UMNO elites?

Why not we all not just equal like all Malaysian at least we are not being cheated neither are we cheating our own self.

During the old Malay Nationalists time in UMNO, those Malay leaders whom were decorated with power as Ministers, fights for the Malays through series of policies that benefits the Malay but at the same time did not discriminate other races. This method basically died a natural death slowly after Tengku Razaleigh lost to Tun Dr. Mahathir in 1997.

Since then UMNO has never been the same pillar of strength for the Malays. UMNO radically subscribe to a different ball game altogether. Everything turns to dollar and cents.

Instead for fighting for the Malays, most of the UMNO elites found that it is more important for them to fight for their survival in UMNO. Instead of paving changes through government policies, the leaders in UMNO wants only status quo while forcing the Malays to accept them through series of organised bribery.

If the Malays really love UMNO then they must willing to let go of UMNO for as long as UMNO still receive their support, they will never change. The Malay will only get worst.

Can the Malay imagine how their future will look like when the future of UMNO today lies in the hand of those people like Ahmad Ismail, Neena Merican and Azeez UMNOPUTRAS, not to mention those UMNO ‘dignitaries’ like Hishamuddin, Khairy, Khir Toyo and even Mat Taib?

For those who question the land deals in Perak and the manner the PR government given it to the Chinese, I wish to ask them, hasn’t the Chinese has given so much to the state. If you understand the history of Perak, then you will understand that the Chinese has played such an important role to make it what it is today.

I felt very uncomfortable to describe this beautiful Malaysia by mentioning the races name, I feel much more lighten up to just think of us as Malaysians. We have been segregated by races differences to long and it has brought us more harm than glory. Let us celebrate those differences and think of us as only Malaysians.

It should be easy for the Malays as most of them are Muslim. Didn’t Islam teaches us to accept the differences in all of us as the sign of how magnificent our creator is. So in each languages, each skin tones and each physical differences is the sign of how great the Al Mighty is. Furthermore Islam also teaches that none of us is greater than the other, none of us is special then the other and none of us should claim this land is ours, for we are only His slaves.

For this reason, I found more and more non-Malays are finding comfort in PAS then in UMNO. Me too feel the same.

And for the young Malays, most of those in the private higher learning institution, all the embarrassment does not mean that they has become traitor but because for many years they have been betrayed by the brand behind the Malay name.

The brand that they see in Najib Razak, Mat Taib, Rahim Thamby Chik, Hishamuddin Rais, Khairy Jamaluddin and lots more. There is nothing wrong with them, but a whole lot of ‘wrong’ in those who shouted ‘ketuanan Melayu’.

Does Islam Need To Be Defended?

Those who, stand either individually or in clumps, and claim that they are defending Islam do not trust in Allah and thereby blaspheme. Let us consider some of the more relevant and obvious repercussions of accepting Allah as the "The Originator of the heavens and the earth!" (Surah 6:101) which is basically this Universe, and the many billion other universes out there, all that space, and clutter in between. We, in truth, don't even make up an atom of a grain of sand in the entire scheme of things. And those are just His creations - so, in truth, we will never be able to even comprehend Allah. Whoever claims they do, makes false claims to godhood. 

Let us consider this starting point: that we are unfathomably small in His entire design. We die out just like all other living things on this earth. Our lifespan is short - a maximum of just over one hundred - with an average of about late 60s these days. We, as Homo Sapiens, only arrived on the scene relatively recently i.e. about 400,000 years ago, and our recorded history only stretches back to about 32,000 years ago with those cave paintings in Chauvet Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave, in southern France. The earth is estimated by scientists to be approximately between 4.5 - 6 billion years old. So that's how we are even compared to the earth. Nothing much. And the universe? Scientists currently estimate it to be about 13.7 billion years old. So temporally our Homo Sapien race existence compared to the universe - our significance is 0.0000029197080. Now you then divide that by all the many people, animals, etc. and you come through and we realize how insignificant any of us are in the entire scheme of the universe. Even if you had the biological abilities, you just didn't the time.

When seen in this light, that Allah was long before us and shall be for ever, so what does it matter if some of his most insignificant creations on one of His billions, if not trillions, of galaxies and planet, does not believe in Him or infringes His injunctions? What does it matter that there are these non-believers who speak ill of Him? The truth is that no one can harm Allah or his religion because we are in His realm. What is more, going by scripture, we are all answerable to him on Judgment Day, so why should we have to answer to someone lesser whilst we are alive? A comparative analogy of the relationship between Allah and mankind/His Universe would be as a computer programmer to his program. Whatever program a programmer programs into his computer can never harm him (assuming it is your usual standard desktop PC and not some robotic killer machine whose sole purpose is to annihilate any living thing) - he can manipulate it, change it, do virtually anything to it but the computer or its programs or the product of its program can never, ever harm the programmer. So when there is no threat, there cannot be a defence.

And Allah is Eternal and Creator of All - what possible threat can there be to the Supreme Being of the Universe? If even Satan himself cannot bring about such an event (because he will get his butt kicked in the End), then what more the mere sons of Adam? And what do these ants think they can do in Allah's defence? That some of his sons thinks that Allah is in need of protection is to betray what they really think of themselves and Allah. The first is that they think too highly of himself and his worth to Allah and the Universe and secondly, they think too lowly of Allah and his Creations. They do not say this explicitly, but there is no need to because actions have always spoken louder than words.

If Allah does not need defenders, neither then does Islam. So what is this Defence of Islam really about then?

It's the same thing that has happened over the centuries where religion is concerned: frustrated, unthinking, unlearned, morally and ethically corrupt human beings who want to achieve some control in their livese and that of others, and do so by piggybacking on a religion to establish a high moral position and to burn with righteous anger with supposed authority from God with which he can then carry out his psychosis. This Defence of Islam strategy is an attempt to play up their victimhood (defence presupposes an attack) to try and attract sympathy from concerned or related parties. But then in banding together and claiming defence they then allow themselves the possibility of a pre-attack strike (that is a 'defence' too which America used as a justification in attacking Iraq. Anybody notice the similarity in modus operandi between Muslim fundamentalists and USA foreign policy towards hostile countries?). Ultimately, the strategy is geared towards confrontation, violence and non-resolution. 

The truth of the matter is that the Defence of Islam was, is and never will be about Allah. It is about flawed human beings. It is about the corrupt, hypocritical human beings who seek not to worship Allah in humility but to try reach His exalted status by inflating further their massive ego; and then in failing so miserably and ending up ultimately becoming a disgrace both to Allah, Islam and human beings in general. Just because someone professes to be Muslim does not necessarily mean they practise Islam (i.e. submission) and just because one is practising Islam does not necessarily mean they are actually practising Islam. In either case, those questions are for Allah to decide, not us. If there's one thing I am certain of it is this - there is no human being in existence that can equal Allah's ability in deciding whether someone is a Muslim or not (and consequentially - a good enough one for that matter). One would have thought a Muslim would be very wary of assuming such a responsibility. That some are ready to do so with such casualness and vindictiveness provokes me to think they do not take their faith seriously in the ways that are important and meaningful for their own personal self-development (which must be distinguished from self-enrichment) and that of others.

The Malaysian Crisis - Whither "kesopanan melayu"?

While “Ketuanan Melayu” is undoubtedly the battle cry for UMNO and its whole leadership, scant attention is given to the other hallmark of the Malays, namely, “Kesopanan Melayu”. The Malays are well known for their “sopan santun”, a Malay phrase of which I find difficulty in finding the exact English equivalent, mostly because that concept, like the Malay amuk, is almost alien to Westerners. Perhaps the closest English equivalent would be “courtesy”. The concept of “kesopanan” is not alien to all of us and the Malays are in fact well known for being courteous to everybody. The Rukunegara even acknowledges the importance of such element. Thus, the fifth element in the Rukunegara is “kesopanan dan kesusilaan” or loosely translated, “courtesy and morality”.

A look at the political landscape of Malaysia lately would leave everybody to wonder whether “courtesy and morality” are dead and buried, as far as our politicians are concerned. The fifth element of our Rukunegara might just as well be “hypocrisy and whetever-suits-me”.

When Jamaluddin Mat Radzi was earlier accused of having sexual intercourse with some prostitute from China, he was reported to have said that it was a “donation” (or “sedekah” in Malay) and it would not be good to refuse such “donation”. The Barisan Nasional leaders of course had made such a huge cry over that episode. As event would have it, Jamaluddin was duly charged for corruption.

The clowning glory to this episode is now complete when the Barisan Nasional led government was formed in Perak with the support of a majority consisting of, among others, Mr Jamaluddin-can’t-refuse-any-donation-Mat Radzi as supposedly an “independent assemblyman.

The irony in all these is of course the fact that prior to September 16th last year, when the heat of a Federal Government takeover was causing the Prime Minister sleepless nights, the Barisan Nasional leaders would come out in TV3 news saying that political defection and power takeover through defection is unconstitutional and undemocratic. But of course, it is undemocratic and unconstitutional if it happens to the Barisan Nasional while it is totally acceptable and morally correct if it is done by the Barisan Nasional.
Then, when Karpal Singh was screaming on top of his voice that he would sue the Sultan of Perak for what he opined as an unconstitutional act, the UMNO leaders went berserk. WE WILL DIE FOR THE SULTAN. TREASON! Blah blah blah… Demonstrators went to the street in Perak. In Kuala Lumpur, they assembled in front of Karpal’s office. Threats were made to demonstrate every day until Karpal apologise. Khairy even said Karpal should be banished. Traitors are killed, said the crowd. Like bloody wow wow…

Who was the one, or rather which party was the one, who took away the immunity of the Rulers? In whose era was there not one, but two constitutional crisis involving some very belligerent attitudes towards the Rulers? In which era was the Royal assent to Parliamentary bills was deemed unnecessary before that bills become law of the country? When was that the Rulers were belittled and decried as “zalim” through various statements and repeated showing of old Malay movies which portrayed the olden Malay rulers as stupid, bad and greedy? Granted, the immunity was taken away so that the Rulers could be brought to the Courts for any wrongdoing –which is and should be the right of every aggrieved citizen to do- but the manner in which it was done was demeaning to the Royal institution. But of course, if it’s UMNO, it’s okay. And now, when Karpal wants to question the Sultan’s constitutional act in Court, that’s not okay. That’s treason. And what did we use to do to people who commit treason? So asked Khairy. The crowd said, yes, we kill them. Well, said Khairy, now we banish them. Awesome!

And so when Elizabeth Wong’s picture in the nude - taken apparently while she was sleeping and unbeknown to her – made its round in the tabloid and the government bulletins, Khir Toyo – he whose face is as fair as snow white – screamed that she should resign. Hmm…you have your naked picture taken while you are sleeping and without your consent and you should resign because you are…erm…immoral. Forget about your right to privacy. Forget about betrayal. Forget about catching the scum who did that to her. Forget. She must resign. Because she is immoral. Err dear Encik Khir, how about the guy who accepted the sexual donation in Perak who is now an independent ADUN on whose support you rely to form a majority government? Okay with you?

And then there were three. Yes. Three guys who are vying to be the UMNO Youth chief. One is the son. The other is the son in law. The last one is the fair looking guy, the keeper of the ADUN’s morality. They met and they talked. The son said he will be like his father. The son in law said we must all reform. The other one said we lost because we are not Islam enough. Well well well…what is Islam enough? Or what is enough in Islam? And what is not enough? Accepting sexual donation from prostitute from China is enough? Sex with underage girl is enough? What? Pray tell me.

Oh, we shall also maintain ISA. And why is the police not using ISA against the street demonstrators? That is not good. Excuse me Mukhriz. Your father is the biggest ISA abuser in Malaysia. Remember Operasi Lalang? And even a former DPM could be detained and given a black eye by none other than the IGP. Oh, by the way, speaking of demonstrators, which demonstrators are you talking about? The one at Karpal’s office? The one in Perak with threatening banners? The one along Jalan Tun Razak abusing a woman? The one in front of the Bar Council’s building questioning a private seminar? Or the one in Amcorp Mall lighting up candles and singing? Which one? All of them?

Sometime, being a Melayu, one must remember, is not all about being a Tuan. It is about embracing the whole Malay concept. And that includes “kesopanan dan kesusilaan”. And being hypocritical about things is just not kosher Malay.

Pure and simple.

Source : Art-Harun