If you do not believe that Umno has already passed its expiry date as a potent political party, all you need to do is to watch how its entire leadership as well as its entire propaganda machineries have been fully engaged in the past week to indulge in an orgy of attacks against Mat Sabu – PAS’ deputy president.
It’s OK if Mat Sabu has done something wrong. But the awful truth is that he has done nothing wrong.
Mat Sabu has only exposed the myth that Umno is the only one who fought and gained Malaya’s independence from the clutches of the colonial power.
His illustrative mention of Muhammad Indera (fondly known as Mat Indera) as an independence fighter was only in the context of lambasting Umno for ritualistically twisting the Bukit Kepong assault incident on every Merdeka Day for Umno’s self-glorification – as if it is the only body accountable for the country’s independence.
MAT SABU BASHING
Pouncing on Mat Sabu’s positive mention of Mat Indera, Umno bays for Mat Sabu’s blood. It accuses Mat Sabu – and by extension PAS – of praising communists and glorifying communism and wanting to turn the country into a republic.
While the entire might of Umno has been unleashed on a non-stop assault on Mat Sabu’s alleged advocacy of communism, has any one of them paused to reflect that the word “communist” or “communism” was never mentioned by Mat Sabu in his entire speech?
For the sake of truth, let us recapture the relevant part of Mat Sabu’s speech, delivered in a ceremah at Tasek Gelugor, Penang, on Aug 21:
“When it's near Merdeka Day (television programmes) on Bukit Kepong will be aired. The police who died in Bukit Kepong are police who belonged to the British.
"Those who attacked Bukit Kepong were the ones fighting for independence. The one who attacked Bukit Kepong was Mat Indera (Muhammad Indera). He is a Malay, but this is not in the history books.
"Jins Shamsudin made a film (about this). Jins Shamsudin is from Umno. (His film on) Bukit Kepong criticised (the attackers) as the villains.
"The police are British police. Before independence, our country was ruled by the British. But in the film, the heroes were the British and the (insurgents) were terrorists."
Mat Sabu also criticised in his speech how Umno had perverted the essence of Merdeka Day into self-glorification and ignored non-Umno elements that had also contributed to the country's independence.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
For a better understanding of the issues, let me put the Bukit Kepong incident in its proper historical perspective.
The time was 1950, two years after the declaration of Emergency (to deal with the armed insurgency by the Malayan Communist Party) and seven years before the country gained its independence. It was at the height of the guerilla war waged by the MCP to seek independence from the colonial master Britain.
One night, on 23rd Feb 1950, a band of guerilla fighters attacked a remote police station at Bukit Kepong, Johor, and killed 25 persons who were mainly policemen and their family.
The attack was led by Mat Indera, a Malay, and the policemen were also Malays, serving the British colonial government.
This incident was only one of numerous skirmishes within in a larger war staged between the independence fighters led by the MCP on the one side, and the British colonial government determined to protect its colonial rule on the other side.
NO FACTUAL BASIS
The question we want to put to Umno is: since this is a guerilla war for independence, in what way was Mat Sabu wrong when he said Mat Indera was fighting for independence?
And also, in what way Mat Sabu was wrong when he said the policemen who died belonged to the British? Weren’t they serving the colonial government? Didn’t they fight to protect the colonial power?
Since no “communist” or “communism” was ever mentioned, how did Umno come to the conclusion that Mat Sabu was praising communists or glorifying communism? Haven’t Umno leaders and Umno propangandists been taking a big flight of fantasy to conjure up the PAS – Communist nexus?
Isn’t it true that all Mat Sabu was saying was simply that Umno had used the wrong analogy to self-glorify on a false claim – that it alone has brought Merdeka?
What Mat Sabu has uttered has nothing to do with communism. Neither was such uttering intended to downplay the contribution of Malay leaders to the country’s independence movement – as wrongly accused by Umno leaders.
With regards to the role of MCP in our independence struggles, we have to say this. While we might not like communists or agree to the communist ideology, there is no denying the fact that the MCP fought for Malaya’s independence. In fact, it was the high toll caused by the MCP armed insurrection that had prompted Her Majesty’s Government (Queen Elizabeth) to shorten the transition of power to its hand-picked successors to ensure continuity of its legacy. In that sense, the MCP struggle had hastened Merdeka.
And even under the canopy of the MCP, not everyone was a communist, as many had joined the guerilla warfare not to serve the ideology of communism, but to fight to get rid of colonial rule.
CONFLUENCE OF FORCES
As for Umno’s claim as the sole power that has brought this country independence, this is a far cry from the truth.
Apart from MCP, other nationalist forces had been at work right after World War II (even before Umno was formed) to struggle for an independent Malaya. These were grouped under two umbrella bodies, namely, PUTERA (Pusat Tenaga Rakyat) comprising Malay-based organisations, and AMCJA (All-Malayan Council of Joint Action), a coalition of multi-racial bodies and unions, which included the MCP. These two umbrella bodies quickly joined forces then to press the British colonial government to grant independence to the then Malaya, for which even a draft People’s Constitution was proposed in 1947. But the British rejected this proposition.
In the subsequent crackdown on this joint political movement, during which many leaders were arrested, some Malay nationalist leaders, including Mat Indera, joined forces with MCP to continue their independence struggles through armed insurgency. As mentioned earlier, it is this armed struggle, which began in 1948 when Emergency was declared, that had served as the constant prod that pushed the British into a speedy hand-over of power.
Thus, it was the confluence of forces that had brought Merdeka in 1957. Admittedly, the Alliance – a coalition consisting of Umno, MCA and MIC – as the political group favoured by the British, had played a major role in the negotiation that led to independence. But for Umno to claim sole credit for this independence achievement, as it has done in the country’s official version of history, to the exclusion of even its own coalition partners MCA and MIC, would be to do a great injustice to all non-Umno Malayans who have contributed. Other nationalist movements, including those led by prominent leaders like Burhanuddin al-Helmy and Ahmad Boestaman, as well as the MCP, had also made significant contribution towards the speedy realization of Merdeka.
From this perspective, Mat Sabu in raising the Bukit Kepong example has done the nation a great service in awakening the country from the great distortion of history perpetrated by Umno.
A DESPERATE UMNO
As for Umno’s current campaign to vilify Mat Sabu, it is sheer vulgar propaganda aimed at critically damaging the electoral support for of PAS and through it, the entire opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat, as Umno’s accusation is nothing but concoction of twisted accounts, unsupported by facts or logic.
That Umno has to resort to such childish and untenable strategy to salvage its precarious political fortune clearly indicates that it has already lost its potency as a political force – it has neither the substance nor the confidence to compete on a legitimate political platform.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool … than to speak out and remove all doubt.- Abraham Lincoln
We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature — trees flowers, grass — grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence.— Mother Teresa
Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact.— George Eliot
Silence is not a thing we make; it is something into which we enter. It is always there … All we can make is noise.— Mother Maribel of Wantage
The General Election of 1999 saw UMNO being whitewashed in Kelantan and Trengganu, losing the 2 states to PAS. In Kelantan, UMNO had a dismal run where it only managed to secure just 1 parliamentary seat out of 14 and 2 state seats out of a total of 43. In Trengganu, UMNO led Barisan Nasional to only 4 state seats out of a total 32. All 8 parliamentary seats in Trengganu went to the opposition. The full result is here.
Held just after the calamitous Anwar Ibrahim's unceremonious sacking from his Deputy Premiership, his subsequent ISA detention, black eye incident and the infamous mattress-and-sodomy-at-a-condominium-which-did-not-exist trial, the 10th general election saw the Malay electoral citizenry being split in a fashion not seen before.
The split in UMNO and the backlash from the Anwar episode, coupled with the 1997 currency crisis badly affected the Barsian Nasional's performance. This was evident when KeAdilan, a party which was formed by the "Anwaristas" and contesting for the first time in a general election even managed to secure 5 parliamentary seats and 4 state seats. Overall, UMNO secured only 72 parliamentary seats, reduced from the 94 seats it had from the previous general election.
The real gainer however was PAS. Capitalising on the UMNO split caused by the Anwar issue, PAS went for the jugular in this election. In the Anwar issue, PAS had evidence that UMNO was only about one man, namely, Dr Mahathir. In the currency crisis, PAS had a financial mismanagement issue. And to top it up, PAS had its perennial political love dolls providing endless political wet dreams to all its supporters. And that was the promise of an Islamic state.
As a result, PAS secured 27 parliamentary seats as opposed to its dismal 8 seats secured in the previous general election. In addition, it retained its rule in Kelantan and added Trengganu to its trophy cabinet.
While PAS and KeAdilan (as a newcomer) made considerable inroads in the political landscape of Malaysia in 1999, DAP was stagnant. It retained its 10 parliamentary seats but saw its leader, Lim Kit Siang, losing his seat. It would appear that the loose "alliance" that DAP had with PAS during that election had isolated and frightened off many of its supporters. Lim Kit Siang described the result as “a catastrophic defeat with our traditional non-Malay and Chinese supporters abandoning the party”.
As a result DAP lost its standing as the major opposition party to PAS. To rub salt in the gaping wound, Lim Kit Siang lost his seat.
The stage was thus set for a Malay showdown. Malaysia was not going to be the same, ever, again.
The lost of support from the traditional UMNO stronghold - the Malay heartland - was a blow to UMNO, the Barisan Nasional and especially to Dr Mahathir. This jolted UMNO in general and Dr Mahathir in particular.
There were two options left to UMNO. It could discard the racial tone evident in the 1999 general election and work together with its main partners in the Barisan Nasional - the MCA and MIC - to forge a united Malaysia and focus on its economics policies to rebuilt Malaysia's badly hit economy and financial standing after the 1997 crisis and continue its march towards vision 2020. Or it could concentrate on the shifting paradigm of the Malay political power base by trying to reconquer the Malay heartland support as well as widening its appeal to a wider Malay working class.
It has been proven time and time again that when push comes to shove, an entity would always go back to its root in order to regroup. UMNO was no different.It chose the second option.
The obvious question was how was UMNO going to regain lost ground? The answer was even more obvious than the question itself.
I remember it was Lim Kit Siang who first wrote about it. Immediately after the 1999 election, he spoke of the "danger" which was lurking post 1999 general election:
“The danger of the historic electoral setback for UMNO in the 1999 general election and the emergence of PAS as the dominant Opposition in Parliament with 27 seats and a very marginalised DAP with ten seats is that Parliament in the next five years will principally become the battleground between UMNO and PAS for the hearts and minds of the Malays in the Malay heartland, resulting in a spiral of Islamisation policies - threatening a democratic secular Malaysia and sidelining all other great issues of the Malaysian people.
“There are four circumstances where such a spiral of competitive Islamisation policies between UMNO and PAS to take the centre stage of Malaysian politics in the next five years could be avoided:
UMNO refusing to compete with PAS on the Islamic terrain, which is unlikely as its sole agenda in the next five years is not only to win back lost Malay heartland to PAS, but to ensure that there is no further encroachment of UMNO support in the next election leading to the loss of state governments in Perlis, Kedah and Pahang.
A courageous and principled MCA, Gerakan and MIC in the Barisan Nasional which could stop any UMNO lurch towards greater Islamisation policies, which nobody can ever hope based on the ingrained subservience of MCA, Gerakan and MIC to UMNO hegemony.
A strong DAP to block such Islamisation policies, which is not possible with the marginalisation of the DAP in Parliament and Malaysian politics as a result of the election result.
PAS refraining from responding to any UMNO political actions to up the ante in the battle for the Malay heartland by resorting to Islamisation policies, which is not very optimistic.
”As these four circumstances do not seem likely to exist, Malaysia is set on a very uncertain and perilous future.”
He was correct on two counts, namely, the Islamisation counteraction by UMNO and the limpness of MCA, Gerakan and MIC to stop that process. And he was in for a big surprise on the other two counts.
It was obvious that UMNO saw PAS' political advances in the 1999 general election as a sign of the Malay's acceptance of PAS' idea of - and perhaps a desire for -an Islamic state. It therefore decided to discard its neo-liberal credential within itself and plunged head on into what it thought was appealing to the Malay masses, the Islamisation of Malaysia. To do that, UMNO had to out-Islamise PAS. UMNO must be more Islam-centric.
Lim Kit Siang was spot on.
The "Malay showdown" was not about a struggle within the Malay working class shoving each other for a bigger share of the economics pie or education opportunities. It was also not about the struggle for social justice, freedom of expression and universal rights. Nor was it about equal opportunities, a just and equitable spread of resources and empowerment. Rather, it was about the neo-religious-fundamentalists-nationalists UMNO versus the traditional left winged Islamist (I am using the word "Islamist", as opposed to "Islamic" deliberately) and PAS trying to out-Islam each other.
By 29th September 2001, none other than Dr Mahathir himself declared in an UMNO General Assembly that:
“UMNO wishes to state loudly that Malaysia is an Islamic country. This is based on the opinion of ulamaks who had clarified what constituted as Islamic country. If Malaysia is not an Islamic country because it does not implement the hudud, then there are no Islamic countries in the world.
If UMNO says that Malaysia is an Islamic country, it is because in an Islamic country non-Muslims have specific rights. This is in line with the teachings of Islam. There is no compulsion in Islam. And Islam does not like chaos that may come about if Islamic laws are enforced on non-Muslims" (source: Malaysiakini report, 29th September 2001)
There was even an added twist to the Islamisation drama in Malaysia. And this is due to the odd compulsory marriage between the legal Malays, as defined by the Federal Constitution, - as opposed to the genetic biological Malays - and Islam as a faith itself.
This brought about a political convenience to UMNO and its ilk. Why not kill 2 birds - and many others - with just one proverbial stone? In the equation of Malay-ness to Muslim-ness, and vice-versa, UMNO found a convenient way of gaining support within the Malay mind set, whether real or on the surface, by espousing Ketuanan Melayu and denouncing any questioning of the position of Islam as seditious, an affront to the powers of the Rulers and even a threat to national security (as evident by the illegal detention of Raja Petra Kamaruddin under the ISA for allegedly "insulting Islam").
The Malays, albeit not all of them, ate the Islamisation bread crumbs straight from UMNO's palm. Hence the proliferation of Islamic this and Islamic that in Malaysia. To give a substantive credence to the Islamic state claim made by Dr Mahathir, a parallel Syariah High Court and Appellate court system was even established, giving them immense powers to police morals and religiosity among the suffering Muslims in Malaysia.
This mixture of racialist-nationalist-Islamist stance formed a potent counteraction to PAS' Islamic-hudud state aspiration.
The real losers were however not PAS. They were the peace loving Malaysians in general and in particular the urban as well as the open minded Malays of the working class who saw their freedom and liberty being eroded by a double edged sword. They are quite obviously not Malay enough and/or Muslim enough.
The hardliners' nationalist-Islam-centric policy was given a different dimension and approach during Tun Abdullah's time as the PM. He propounded Islam Hadhari, a set of Islamic driven rules which he thought would assimilate - and hence consolidate UMNO's Islamist agenda - the Islamist-fundamentalist hard line position with progressive thinking. This was given large propaganda by the state controlled mass media.
Regardless of the apparent softening and progressive nature of the Islamic images portrayed by Islam Hadhari, the Islamist-fundamentalist stance continued quite relentlessly at the ground level. For instance, after Abdul Malik Mydin swam for more than 17 hours across the English Channel, questions were raised in Parliament by UMNO parliamentarians on how Abdul Malik could have prayed while doing so! (source: Lim Kit Siang's article). That was obviously an effort to out-Islam PAS in the Parliament.
Similarly, when Malaysia's first astronaut (to borrow the Government's terminology) was preparing to go to space, it was thought important that a guideline should be announced by the ulamaks on how he could pray in space.
Such was the inclination to display the government's Islamic credential in opposition of PAS' brand of Islamic-hudud ideology.
In football, Manchester United is famous for absorbing attacks after attacks before making a swift counter attack (which would normally involve just 4 or 5 passes) which results in a beautiful goal. Why am I talking about football suddenly?
The bigger picture in politics is of course to win election and to govern the State. That is the goal. Unfortunately for UMNO, all this focus on out-Islamising PAS had taken off their attention from other real, and more tangible, grievances of the people. Blatant corruptions, hikes in petrol prices, abuses of powers, police brutality, inconsistent implementation of various policies, and general wrongdoings were issues which the people observed and kept in their heart. To top it up, the widening accessibility to real news via the Internet had made the people, particularly the younger generation, more aware of the social and political landscape of Malaysia.
The people grew more and more critical of the government. When BERSIH organised a rally to protest against unfair elections, 60000 people came out on the streets to brave acid-laced water and baton wielding FRU. When the Linggam tape surfaced, 3000 lawyers walked to the PM department demanding justice.
Anwar Ibrahim, who was just released from the prison by the Federal Court, was working overtime to create a viable alliance between PKR, DAP and of all the parties, PAS. This loose alliance consisting of a motley crew of political parties with different ideologies, approaches and even mannerism managed to unseat the Barisan Nasional in 5 states and took away the much coveted two-third majority from the BN in the Parliament in March 2008.
That was a typical Manchester United counter-attack I was talking about. While UMNO was busy attacking on the Islamist-fundamentalist front, they left their rear open (no pun intended please) and they paid a heavy price. They conceded a political goal against the run of play via an unforeseen counter attack.
And this is where Lim Kit Siang was wrong. He said in his statement above that he was not very optimistic that PAS would not respond to UMNO's Islam-centric counteraction. It was obvious that UMNO had thought the same too.
As it transpired, PAS was, and still is, a smarter political animal than UMNO - or Lim Kit Siang - would care to acknowledge. Recent post-Tun-Abdullah events would show that PAS could redefine pragmatism when necessity demands.
In forging an alliance with PKR and DAP in the Pakatan Rakyat (now, Pakatan Rakyat Malaysia), PAS had to ostensibly ditch its Islamic-hudud state aspiration. UMNO thought that this was PAS' - and hence the PR's - Achilles heels.
UMNO then began a series of surreptitious moves to de-stabilise PAS and the PR by approaching the ulamaks faction within PAS and making very public statements about a unity government between UMNO and PAS. By doing this it was clear that UMNO was running impatient with the pathetic infighting within MCA and the even more pathetic inability of MIC to ditch Samy Vellu from its leadership despite the loud and very clear signal from UMNO that he was not wanted.
In a way, this move was a calculated one. It gave a clear signal to MCA and MIC of UMNO's willingness to go it alone without them. It also could split PAS into two factions, the hard liners Islamic-hudud state ulamaks faction (Hassan Ali, Hadi Awang et al) versus the moderate-progressive-liberalist faction (Khalid Samad, Tok Guru Nik Aziz et al). And had PAS bitten this Malay unity cum Islamist-fundamentalist gesture by UMNO, it would also spell the end of the PR.
However, as was stated earlier, PAS was, and still is, a much smarter political animal than it was thought to be. PAS rode the internal bickering through the perseverance and leadership of Tok Guru Nik Aziz and stuck with its alliance to the PR (now PRM).
Meanwhile, UMNO's Islam-centric posturing continued in recent time. Despite the 1 Malaysia sloganeering by the Prime Minister, UMNO has continued, through its leadership and grass root warlords, to cavort with Islamist elements, or what they perceive as Islamist elements.
Thus we saw when some Malay Muslims carried a severed and bloodied cow head to protest against a planned relocation of a Hindu temple to their area, UMNO's top gun met and heard them and even came up with statements saying that their actions were "understandable".
We also saw when Kartika was sentenced to 6 stroke of caning for drinking alcohol in public, UMNO just shut its mouth while the Prime Minister managed to muster an advise that Kartika should appeal against the sentence. The Home Ministry, which initially said that the authorities were ill-equipped to perform such sentencing later changed its story after a demonstration of the caning in the Minister's office. As it is, Kartika is yet to be caned. Nobody knows the real reason for this legal procrastination.
(Readers should contrast these boneless act of quiet acquiescence with what Dr Mahathir did before. I remember when some religious authorities raided a beauty pageant and arrested a Malay participant, Dr Mahathir quickly made a statement condemning that action and nicely putting the religious authorities to their rightful place! If there was a thing which I admire about Dr Mahathir, it is his ability to whack anybody for anything which he disliked. )
The Islam-centric stance came to a head when the High Court declared that the Herald newspaper may use the word "Allah" in its publication and declared the Home Ministry's banning of the usage of the word by the Herald was illegal and void.
UMNO took a real risk in protesting against that High Court decision. It risked international condemnation. It risked a backlash from Sabah and Sarawak (which are the source of 56 parliamentary seat altogether). It risked isolating the non-Muslims. But it took all these risk and protested against the decision.
Again, PAS showed its pragmatist credence by taking an open minded and more liberal stance than UMNO. Khalid Samat spearheaded and encapsulated PAS' stance in that matter by imploring acceptance by Muslims of the non-Muslims' proper usage of the word "Allah".
UMNO paid more than what it bargained for when its apparent cavorting of the more fundamentalist elements within the Malay society - as evident by UMNO's initial willingness to allow the mosque demonstrations - resulted in churches being torched and burnt. These incidents threatened to blow into a full scale hate war when some opportunistic youths tried to burn suraus.
This however does not stop the UMNO driven government from allowing the latest display of Islam-centric actions. Three Malay Muslim women were recently sentenced to caning for illicit sex and were duly caned in secret. Contrary to the usual predisposition of the mainstream mass media to go into hysterical mode (or in Minister Rais' words, to "change mode") every time there is some news involving sex, especially at the Syariah Courts, (reflecting the society's predisposition towards anything which has to do with sex), the MSM did not carry a single report of these events until after the events! And even then, they chose an opportune time to carry the "news" in the middle of the Chinese New Year festivities!
This had caused outrage. MCA, UMNO's loyal partner all these while had condemned the caning. But within UMNO, even its own lady leader, the Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Senator Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil supported the caning. She is now even planning a convention of sorts on the matter.
Meanwhile, the racialist-nationalist-fundamentalist stance has taken a wider road. The establishment - with a not so hidden support by UMNO - of the ultra-Malay-Muslim right-wing nationalist movement called PERKASA has brought a greater dimension to the Islamist agenda of UMNO. Although on paper, PERKASA's leader, Ibrahim Ali, is an independent MP, UMNO's apparent acquiescence to PERKASA's extreme right-wing aspirations, despite the Prime Minister's 1 Malaysia sloganeering, is all too obvious. This is amply evident when PERKASA was even invited to speak at UMNO-organised ceramahs.
It is of course within the collective wisdom of UMNO's top leadership to continue trying to out-Islamise PAS to win Malay support. And we, the lay people, will never be able to appreciate such wisdom from the outside of the UMNO tall building.
Whether such move would bear fruits in the coming 2013 General Election in the face of greater awareness among the voters and at the risk of isolating whatever support it may still have among the non-Muslims remains to be seen.
Only time will tell whether UMNO's focus on Islam-centric moves will bring them closer to winning the Malay heartland support instead of focusing on the real and tangible issues at hand, such as:
corruptions such as the PKFZ saga
abuses of power
inconsistent implementation of the law by the authorities, such as the arrest of 5 lawyers trying to see their clients and the 90 students in front of Sogo as opposed to allowing 300 people to demonstarte outside the Australian Embassy
police brutalities (Kugan comes to mind)
Teoh Beng Hock's death
the Perak fiasco
sodomy 2
incompetence - the jet engines episode and the submarine which fails to submerge
the upcoming GST, petrol price hike and probably electricity tariff hike
the fate of our economy in the face of lukewarm foreign direct investments, massive capital outflow and declining Petronas' income
However, the clear fact which has arisen from Malaysia's murky political swamps thus far is that PAS is not playing the fool's game and it's support remains intact.
It is ironic that in 2010, PAS has reversed its hard line image to a progressive driven Islamic party in the face of UMNO's relentless Islam-centric efforts.
In 2010 Malaysia, it would appear that PAS and UMNO has rebooted and in drawing their respective political lines, they have exchanged their respective political role.
“Semua orang mencari Tuhan, tetapi dengan cara mereka sendiri” ….. Brother Anthony.
“109:6″~Al-Kafirun ayat 6 – “Bagi kamu ugama kamu, dan bagiku ugamaku”.
p/s : Entry terpanjang pernah aku tulis. Kalau malas jangan baca. Kalau rajin, jangan sampai terlepas satu ayat!
Ayat di atas antara ayat yang paling melekat atas kepala hotak aku dan menyebabkan tangan aku kuat untuk menaipnya di dalam handphone buat tatapan korang juga yang belum sempat menontonnya.
Tak banyak filem Melayu yang bertemakan Islam di Malaysia, walaupun Malaysia sebuah negara Islam. Antara yang pernah diterbitkan, Syukur 21, Maut dan itu sahaja yang aku ingat. Filem dari seberang, Ayat-Ayat Cinta, Laskar Pelangi. Tapi selepas tayangan Muallaf dan aku menontonnya, andai kata ada filem lain hebat dipandangan mata korang, ternyata bagi aku Muallaf mencantas kesemua filem-filem itu. Aku merasakan Laskar Pelangi antara filem yang membawa mesej Keislamanan dengan amat lembut dan tersimpul rapi sehingga berjaya menang Anugerah Filem Terbaik baru2 ini. Tetapi selepas menonton Muallaf, ternyata aku merasakan naskah Allahyarham Yasmin Ahmad yang ini, adalah yang paling baik.
Menurut Allahyarham melalui temuduga oleh Ajami, skrip filem ditulis selama 5 hari. Dan aku terkedu. Sekejap. (atau sebenarnya memang nak buat skrip filem secepat itu? aku belum pernah menulis skrip filem) Dan bukan waktu yang singkat itu mengkagumkan aku. Tetapi bagaimana skrip yang siap selama 5 hari itu mempunyai mesej yang amat-amat berat lagi mendalam. Diselit dengan ayat-ayat Al-Quran dan Injil. Ayat-ayat Al-Quran yang bukan hanya satu,dua ayat. Tetapi banyak! Sehinggakan aku setuju untuk menyatakan Muallaf adalah filem dakwah paling berkesan! 100%!!!
Dan aku terfikir, mengapa filem ini di banned! Adakah kerna memaparkan agama Kristian,Injil,Gereja dan Anjing?? atau kerna satu babak budak lelaki bogel berdiri di tepi taman permainan?? Padahal filem yang memaparkan babak beromen tidak pula dibanned tayangannya.
Mungkin ada yang salah tafsir. Filem ini mengagungkan Injil dan orang Kristian! Padahal bagi aku filem ini cuba MENGAJAR atau MENDIDIK atau MENEGASKAN Islam itu adalah agama yang indah. Tiada paksaan. Kasih sayang diterapkan! dan Mengapa Islam melarang berbuat begitu dan begini.
Sifat kasih dan sayang melalui watak Rohana dan Rohani. Sifat lemah lembut yang diterapkan dalam Islam yang menyentuh perasaan seorang lelaki Kristian melalui watak Robert yang akhirnya jatuh hati dengan dengan kelembutan dan kasih sayang Rohana dan Rohani yang tidak pernah dikecapinya sejak kecil. Tidakkah itu cara berdakwah??? Iaitu cara HIKMAH, satu daripada 3 cara berdakwah Rasulullah yang diterapkan Yasmin ke dalam naskahnya ini.
Watak Rohani yang begitu arif dan menghafal ayat-ayat kitab suci Al-Quran mahupun Injil sememangnya pada mulanya mengelirukan aku. Tetapi apa yang aku faham, Yasmin cuba memberitahu “KAU TAK PERLU MENJADI USTAZ ATAU USTAZAH ATAU HAFIZ UNTUK MENGHAFAL AL-QURAN. KAU JUGA TIDAK PERLU BERSEKOLAH DI SEKOLAH PONDOK UNTUK MENGAJI AL-QURAN”.
Kesimpulan yang aku buat di atas bukan bermaksud untuk mencaci “adat” orang melayu, kalau nak mengaji kena pg pondok, jumpa ustaz” tetapi bagi aku Yasmin cuba untuk menggambarkan, “ILMU AGAMA ITU BOLEH SAHAJA DIHAFAL DI HAYATI DENGAN PELBAGAI CARA DAN DI MANA SAHAJA KITA BERADA”. Tetapi Yasmin tidak menolak, untuk khatam atau menguasai lebih lagi sesuatu ilmu itu, kita kena berguru. Sebab itulah diwujudkan babak Rohana mencari pusat pengajian yang menyediakan khusus dalam bidang agama.
Antara ayat yang disebut oleh Rohani dalam Muallaf yang disebutnya berulang2 ketika pada permulaan awal cerita Muallaf ketika cikgunya menyuruh melukis GAJAH ialah
”105:1″ iaitu ayat ke-105 dalam Al-Quran Surah Al-Fiil dan ayat 1 iaitu “Tidakkah engkau mengetahui bagaimana Tuhanmu telah melakukan kepada angkatan tentera (yang dipimpin oleh pembawa) Gajah, (yang hendak meruntuhkan Kaabah)?”
Ayat itu menjadi titik tolak sebenarnya kepada cikgu Robert untuk mendalami Islam yang kemudian meminjam tafsir Al-Quran daripada Rohana dan Rohani.
Aku suka babak Rohana di sebuah kolej, di mana Yasmin sempat mencuit atau sedikit mengejek institusi pengajian di Malaysia yang tidak banyak menyediakan kursus agama. Sehinggakan dia perlu belajar di luar negara. Di dalam filem ini Rohana terpaksa melanjutkan pelajaran ke Singapura. Dan pada hakikatnya ramai anak muda kita belajar agama hingga ke Arab. Itu contoh!.
Yasmin juga turut mengkritik kehidupan orang2 kaya dan berpangkat. Bagaimana seorang Dato’ iaitu ayah kepada Rohana dan Rohani yang beragama Islam, tidak langsung rasa bersalah meminum arak. Tetapi berasa jijik pula dengan anjing. Ya! Menghalalkan yang haram!. Hakikat dunia hari ini! Yang mengejar kekayaan dan juga sifat kedekut yang ada pada Robert yang ditegur Yasmin dengan menyatakan ayat;
”104:3″ iaitu surah 104 Al-Humazah ayat 3 iaitu “Ia menyangka bahawa hartanya itu dapat mengekalkannya (dalam dunia ini)!”
Sedar atau tidak, Muallaf juga menyingkap sejarah zaman Rasulullah yang dicedoknya dari Kisah Rasulullah dengan seorang tua di mana orang tua yang bukan beragama Islam yang selalu mengejek Rasulullah dan menikam Rasulullah dengan batu dan najis tetapi apabila suatu hari orang tua itu jatuh sakit, Rasulullah tetap menziarahi orang tua yang jatuh sakit itu, dan menyuapkannya bubur. Dan diselitkan di dalam Muallaf di mana Rohana dan Rohani menziarahi sorang budak perempuan yang koma. Walaupun tiada talian keluarga dan bukan seorang yang beragama Islam.
Dan apabila Rohana dan Rohani tiada, Robert telah mengambil alih tugas itu, seperti juga kisah Rasulullah dengan orang tua tadi di mana ketika Rasulullah mangkat, Saidina Abu Bakar yang mengambil alih tugas menyuapkan bubur kepada orang tua itu dan akhirnya orang tua tersebut telah memasuki Islam.
Dan ketika Rohana dan Rohani melawati budak perempuan yang koma itu, mereka sering membacakan ayat terakhir Surah Al-Baqarah;
“Allah tidak memberati seseorang melainkan apa yang terdaya olehnya. Ia mendapat pahala kebaikan yang diusahakannya, dan ia juga menanggung dosa kejahatan yang diusahakannya. (Mereka berdoa dengan berkata): “Wahai Tuhan kami! Janganlah Engkau mengirakan kami salah jika kami lupa atau kami tersalah. Wahai Tuhan kami ! Janganlah Engkau bebankan kepada kami bebanan yang berat sebagaimana yang telah Engkau bebankan kepada orang-orang yang terdahulu daripada kami. Wahai Tuhan kami! Janganlah Engkau pikulkan kepada kami apa yang kami tidak terdaya memikulnya. Dan maafkanlah kesalahan kami, serta ampunkanlah dosa kami, dan berilah rahmat kepada kami. Engkaulah Penolong kami; oleh itu, tolonglah kami untuk mencapai kemenangan terhadap kaum-kaum yang kafir”.
Nampak tak betapa Muallaf sebuah naskah yang berat dengan mesej KEISLAMAN tetapi pernah dibanned oleh negaranya sendiri, padahal negaranya adalah sebuah negara Islam!!!
Tapi babak dan skrip kata2 Rohana kepada Rohani dalam babak di atas katil sebelum kedua adik beradik ini tidur cukup untuk menerangkan kenapa perkara di atas terjadi. Orang tak faham dan akan marah jika tidak faham apa yang tersirat (nombor-nombor yang selalu disebut Rohani).
Indah. Memang indah beb! Bila teringatkan filem ni lepas aku tonton, terus teringat wajah Yasmin Ahmad. Terus rasa sebak. Teringat babak paling aku suka, babak Rohana dalam perjalanan balik ke rumah, di mana kamera melangit (shot tunjuk langit aje) sambil Rohana berselawat ke atas nabi. Memang waktu tu, aku rasa sebak gila! babak paling touching. Terasa aura filem ini. Padahal ianya just babak melangit dengan selawat ke atas nabi.
dan terakhir ulasan dari aku bila memikirkan satu nombor ayat dari filem Muallaf yang aku rasa Yasmin cuba mengingatkan dirinya juga iaitu 24:31;
“Surah An-Nur ayat 31; Dan katakanlah kepada perempuan-perempuan yang beriman supaya menyekat pandangan mereka (daripada memandang yang haram), dan memelihara kehormatan mereka; dan janganlah mereka memperlihatkan perhiasan tubuh mereka kecuali yang zahir daripadanya; dan hendaklah mereka menutup belahan leher bajunya dengan tudung kepala mereka; dan janganlah mereka memperlihatkan perhiasan tubuh mereka melainkan kepada suami mereka, atau bapa mereka atau bapa mertua mereka atau anak-anak mereka, atau anak-anak tiri mereka, atau saudara-saudara mereka, atau anak bagi saudara-saudara mereka yang lelaki, atau anak bagi saudara-saudara mereka yang perempuan, atau perempuan-perempuan Islam, atau hamba-hamba mereka, atau orang gaji dari orang-orang lelaki yang telah tua dan tidak berkeinginan kepada perempuan, atau kanak-kanak yang belum mengerti lagi tentang aurat perempuan; dan janganlah mereka menghentakkan kaki untuk diketahui orang akan apa yang tersembunyi dari perhiasan mereka; dan bertaubatlah kamu sekalian kepada Allah, wahai orang-orang yang beriman, supaya kamu berjaya,”
p/s : Al-Fatihah buat Allahyarham Yasmin Ahmad. Semoga beliau ditempatkan bersama kekasih-kekasih Allah s.w.t. Amiin~
Filem ini aku bagi 5/5 bintang. YA! Filem Terbaik!
“Saya sudah membuat keputusan muktamad. Setakat ini sahaja perkhidmatan saya bersama tuan. Saya mahu bersara” kata seorang tukang kayu.
Sudah berpuluh tahun beliau bekerja bersama majikannya itu. Penuh dedikasi. Tetapi hatinya dihinggap rasa jemu. Terasa mahu segera pergi.
Meninggalkan tempat kerja dan rutin hariannya.
Pergi bercuti sepuas hati.
Si majikan termenung. Perasaan bercampur aduk.
“Aku ada satu permintaan. Permintaan yang mungkin terakhir daripada aku untuk kamu” ujar si majikan.
“Apakah permintaan itu?” tanya si tukang kayu.
“Aku mahu kamu selesaikan satu sahaja lagi projek. Sebuah rumah kayu terakhir yang aku mahu kamu tumpahkan segala pengalamanmu untuk membinanya” kata si majikan.
Si tukang kayu serba salah.
Sudah terbayang wajah monyok sang isteri di rumah.
Kakinya sudah terasa-rasa pasir di pantai. Wajah sudah dingin-dingin dihembus angin benua. Menangguhkan semua itu untuk kembali bertukang kayu, terasa ralat benar di hati.
Tetapi dek mengenangkan begitu banyak jasa si majikan kepada dirinya dan keluarga selama ini, beliau mengangguk lesu. Setuju.
Terpaksa.
Rumah dibina seadanya. Asalkan siap.
Sifirnya mudah, apa-apa sahaja yang dibuat kerana terpaksa, terseksa.
Malang sekali.
Setelah berpuluh tahun bekerja dengan penuh dedikasi, dengan hasil kerja yang dipuji ramai, beliau mengakhiri hasil tangan seperti melepaskan batok di tangga.
“Alah, bang. Tak payahlah ukir dan paku beriya-iya sangat. Janji siap sudah. Ini pun kira kita dah baik hati nak tolong siapkan!” hasut sang isteri, menambah lagi rasa ‘tidak ikhlas’ di hati suami, si tukang kayu.
Selesai rumah kayu itu ditukang, beliau sendiri berasa tidak suka untuk melihatnya. Tetapi peduli apa. Beliau mahu segera bersara dan pergi bercuti.
“Nah, tuan. Ini kunci rumah itu. Segala tugasan sudah saya selesaikan” kata si tukang kayu.
“Simpanlah kunci itu!” jawab si majikan.
“Kenapa tuan?” si tukang kayu kebingungan.
“Rumah itu adalah hadiah daripada saya untukmu. Tanda penghargaan atas persahabatan kita selama ini” kata si majikan dengan wajah yang tulus penuh keikhlasan.
Menggeletar tangan si tukang kayu.
Hatinya ditaufan rasa sesal.
“Kalaulah aku tahu rumah ini adalah milikku, nescaya akan kubuat dengan sebaik mungkin!” hati kecil yang tidak pernah berbohong itu berbisik kesal.
ERTI HIDUP PADA MEMBERI
Dalam menghayati makna ERTI HIDUP PADA MEMBERI, hati sering dibisik was-was. Apa gunanya bersusah payah membantu. Cukuplah dengan segala kesusahan hidup kita yang sedia ada, kenapa mahu berpenat lelah untuk orang lain!
“Buat baik berpada-pada!” tokok sebuah peribahasa.
Hati yang akur dengan bisikan-bisikan ini akan mengeluh, “asyik aku sahaja yang memberi. Sesekali kenalah menerima. Terasa bagai dimanipulasi!”
Lalu datanglah segala penyakit sikap. Culas, acuh tidak acuh, ala kadar dan janji siap, menjadi sendi-sendi kerja yang dibuat tanpa sokongan jiwa.
Hakikatnya kehidupan tidak begitu.
Memberi, tidak pernah mengurangkan apa yang ada pada diri, malah menyuntik subur berkat dan kemajuan.
Sesungguhnya setiap kebaikan yang kita berikan dalam khidmat kepada umat, tidak pernah kebaikan itu tidak berbalik kepada kita.
Hanya manusia yang lupakan Tuhan, tidak menyedarinya.
“Jika kamu berbuat kebaikan, (maka faedah) kebaikan yang kamu lakukan adalah untuk diri kamu; dan jika kamu berbuat kejahatan, maka (kesannya yang buruk) berbalik kepada diri kamu juga.” [Al-Israa' 17: 7]
In 628 C.E. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt.Sinai. It consisted of several clauses covering all aspects of human rights including such topics as the protection of Christians, freedom of worship and movement, freedom to appoint their own judges and to own and maintain their property, exemption from military service, and the right to protection in war.
An English translation of that document is presented here:
Letter to the Monks of St. Catherine Monastery
“This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them. No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate. No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”
____________
A Letter from the Prophet Muhammad To The Assyrian Christians
“God has told me in a vision what to do, and I confirm His command by giving my solemn promise to keep this agreement.
To the followers of the Islam I say: Carry out my command, protect and help the Nazarene nation in this country of ours in their own land. Leave their places of worship in peace; help and assist their chief and their priests when in need of help, be it in the mountains, in the desert, on the sea, or at home. Leave all their possessions alone, be it houses or other property, do not destroy anything of their belongings, the followers of Islam shall not harm or molest any of this nation, because the Nazarenes are my subjects, pay tribute to me and will help the Muslims. No tribute, but what is agreed upon, shall be collected from them, their church buildings shall be left as they are, they shall not be altered, their priests shall be permitted to teach and worship in their own way-the Nazarenes have full liberty of worship in their churches and homes. None of their churches shall be torn down, or altered into a mosque, except by the consent and free will of the Nazarenes. If any one disobeys this command, the anger of God and His Prophet shall be upon him.
“The tribute paid the Nazarenes shall be used to promote the teachings of Islam and shall be deposited at the treasury of Beth Almal. A common man shall pay one denar (piece of money), but the merchants and people who own mines of gold and silver and are rich shall pay twelve denars. Strangers and people who have no houses or other settled property shall not have taxes levied upon them. If a man inherits property he shall pay a settled sum to the Baitulmal treasury. The Christians are not obliged to make war on the enemies of Islam, but if an enemy attacks the Christians, the Muslims shall not deny their help, but give them horses and weapons, if they need them, and protect them from evils from outside and keep the peace with them. The Christians are not obliged to turn Muslims, until God’s will makes them believers.
“The Muslims shall not force Christian women to accept Islam, but if they themselves wish to embrace it, the Muslims shall be kind to them.
“If a Christian woman is married to a Muslim and does not want to embrace Islam, she has liberty to worship at her own church according to her own religious belief, and her husband must not treat her unkindly on account of her religion. If any one disobeys this command, he disobeys God and his prophet and will be guilty of a great offense.
“If the Nazarenes wish to build a church, their Muslim neighbors shall help them. This shall be done, because the Christians have obeyed us and have come to us and pleaded for peace and mercy.
“If there be among the Christians a great and learned man the Muslims shall honor him and not be envious of his greatness.
“If any one is unjust and unkind to the Christians he will be guilty of disobeying the Prophet of God.
“The Christians should not shelter an enemy of Islam or give him horse, weapon or any other help. If a Muslim is in need the Christian shall for three days and nights be his host and shelter him from his enemies. The Christians shall, furthermore, protect the Mohammedan women and children and not deliver them up to the enemy or expose them to view. If the Nazarenes fail to fulfil these conditions, they have forfeited their right to protection, and the agreement is null and void.
“This document shall be entrusted to the Christian chief and head of their church for safe keeping.”
The peace of God be over them all! This agreement is written by Moavijah Ben Sofian, according to the dictates of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, in the 4th year of the Hegira in the city of Medina.
___________
And the quran says:
Al Qur`an says: “And abuse not those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits, they abuse Allah through ignorance. Thus to every people have We made their deeds fair-seeming; then to their Lord is their return so he will inform them of what they did” (6:109)
Al Qur’an says: “Those who restrain their anger and pardon men. And Allah loves the doer of good (to others)” (3: 133)
Cool ialah sikap. Cool ialah feshen. Cool ialah gaya hidup. Cool ialah estetika.
Cool ialah style gaya hidup yang cool.
Cool adalah politik yang menentang. Cool menentang yang wujud. Cool membawa yang baru.
Cool tidak dapat di beli. Cool lahir dari jiwa dan bukan dari kedai pavilion Cool jangan cuba nak buat buat cool.
Lawan cool ialah poyo dan skema
APA YANG MASIH COOL DARI TAHUN 2009
gaya hidup dan style : - sex masih cool - kondom masih cool - keretek masih cool - merempit masih cool - red wine masih cool - no black tie masih cool - kaca mata hitam masih cool - pakai baju t – desin sendiri masih cool - shopping di bundle masih cool - denim blue jean masih cool
KEDAI BUNDLE PALING COOL - batu empat port dickson - simpang depan masjid permatang pauh - bundle garage bukit jambul penang - lorong bundle lorong haji taib chow kit
SENTIASA CHIC DAN COOL SEPANJANG ZAMAN - memakai t-shirt hitam - jean koyak - tak pakai seluar dalam - tak pakai bra - pergi gig underground - punk rock
PERSONALITI COOL 2009/2010 - wan azizah - mat sabu - tian chua - zunar - piyan habib - pak samad janggut - nik aziz - karpal singh - zaid ibrahim - latifah koya - lim guan eng - ronasina kartunis - rat - nizar - khalid samad - habibah lebai sudin - lim chin tong - dr. jeyakumar - dr. nasir - hannah yeoh
PERSONALITI COOL SEPANJANG ZAMAN - rashid mydin - ahmad boestaman - abdullah sidi - chin peng - rustam sani - usman awang - shamsiah fakeh - kugan - teoh beng hock - ibrahim libya
PENDATANG BARU YANG BERKEMUNGKINAN COOL - fadiah - syuhaini - ravinder - puspa - murnie
PERSONALITI TERKELUAR DARI SENARAI COOL - nurul izzah - anwar ibrahim - eli wong - theresa kok - shamsul iskandar - syed husin ali - lim kit siang - kahirul anwar a.k.a jonah - nik nazmi - amir saari - PERSONALITI PALING POYO - zul nordin - hadi awang - ronnie liu - hassan ali - arul psm - nasha mat isa
NGO PALING COOL - amnesty international - sister in islam - universiti bangsar utama - bersih - hindraaf - anti-ppsmi - gmi - kumpulan bukit koman raub pahang - frinjan - kami
NGO NGOOOK LAGI POYO - semua yang berakhir dengan … layu - rakan muda - belia bergerak maju - belia 5B – bodoh bangang bahlul bengong bewok
ALBUM PALING COOL - dum dum tak – hentikan penindasan - caburretor dung – sound track dari jemapoh ke manchestee - moer yusof aziddin – dari rakyat untuk rakyat
ALBUM COOL PALING LAMA DI TUNGGU MASIH BELUM KELUAR - geng buster tanjung/sensa-tregug italy
LAMAN WEB YANG COOL - the malaysian insider - malaysia2day - merdeka review - diskopi - malaysiakini
LAMAN WEB POYO - malaysian mirrior - nutgraph - free malaysia today - pachucheng.com - suara keadilan
AKHBAR PALING COOL - era pakatan - off the edge - le monde - the guardian
DIMANA AKAN DILIHAT POYO DAN SKEMA - kelihatan poyo duduk di kedai mamak - kelihatan poyo di annex pasar seni - dilihat poyo disemua kedai yang menjual kopi dalam gelas - dilihat poyo disemua kedai yang menjual tea dalam gelas - dilihat poyo disemua kedai yang ada cawangan lebih dari sebuah - dilihat poyo disemua kedai yang jual minuman dalam cawan plastik
TRAJEDI PALING POYO 2009 - pertemuan anwar ibrahim club (aic) di kedai mamak
COOL ADALAH TURUN KE JALAN RAYA - akan dilihat cool berdemo anti isa - akan dilihat cool ber demo anti-ppsmi - akan dilihat cool ber demo anti keganasan polis - akan dilihat cool berdemo anti cukai - akan dilihat cool berdemo bersih - akan dilihat cool ber demo bersama hindraf - akan dilihat cool berdemo anti raja gopal
FACE BOOK YANG COOL - syafiq sunny - ronasina kartunis - ainon mohd. - topeng perak unmasked - najwan halimi
FACE BOOK FAN CLUB PALING COOL/PALING TOP - bik mama - malingsia
FILEM PALING COOL SEPANJANG ZAMAN - reservoir dog - man bites dog - king of the road - TREND IN - graffiti di tembok - naik basikal - jalan kaki - makan sayur - gulung tembakau
TREND OUT - tatoo - tindek - tibai - telo - metrosexual - metro - mangkok -
GALERI PALING COOL DAN PALING AVANT GARDE - not that balai – lost generation
ARTIS PALING COOL - fatul - ARTIS PALING POYO - bebek – satu karya pun taraaaak ! - aishah – jadi tukang jaga anak - intan – jadi tukang jaga anak - ili – jadi tukang jaga anak
BUKU COOL akan dilihat cool telah – sedang - atau akan membaca buku ini: - the god delusion – richard dawkins - perak darul kartun - zunar
INSAN YANG PALING COOL PALING CHIC PALING TRENDY YANG PERNAH MELINTASI BUMI INI
NOTA KAKI - mengutuk – menibai- menyampah-meludah-menchachai-membaca dan memberi komen pada tukar tiub adalah cool.
Bernama reported yesterday, ‘Don’t let us be re-colonised, says Mahathir’.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad was educated in English, jousted with the ‘colonisation’ project in Malay Dilemma and appears reluctant to move on from his grotesque 1970 treatise. He’s still saying now that Malaysians have to master English so that there will be no ‘re-colonisation’ of the country; so that we’re not “invaded” again.
Hypothetically, is there a country today susceptible to neo-colonisation on account of its citizens not having mastered English? Japanese and Koreans fare poorly in English. Or take China risen to be a powerhouse. Her people have not mastered English either.
If Malaysia were ever to fall under the thumb of putative colonial powers, it certainly won’t be because we “no speak English too good”. Think the financial crisis of 1997 and our coming close to the brink which had nothing to do with language medium.
Closet Anglophile Mahathir maintains that only by mastering English can Malaysians acquire knowledge at a faster pace. I’ve no quarrel with English as a knowledge conduit but I balk at his qualifier “only by”.
As to be expected of a devout Machiavellian, Mahathir adroitly shifts the ground on the PPSMI/Math and Science in English issue by contending that “people would not lose their identity by seeking knowledge in English”, and tagging his specious statement with the disingenuous “I am not an Englishman but I speak English”.
He’s off-mark to imply that those against his PSSMI policy fear English threatening our supposedly insular identity. No one disputes that facility in languages is always advantageous. On the other hand, Mahathir of the Indian patrilineage is obviously underrating the language of this land. It is only its incompetent users who claim that BM is somehow inadequate.
But the real bone of contention is that PPSMI never had a solid case going for it in the first place.
Do not forget that Mahathir introduced his policy as a reaction to the problem of unemployed Malay graduates in the early 2000s, and their lack of marketability attributed to poor English, although the degree of this imputed correlation is arguable.
Mahathir’s theory then was that teaching Math and Science in English would help students improve their English. Let’s not permit his ever so convenient and selective amnesia to sidestep this earlier rationale!
Govt policy to strengthen English
None of the anti-PPSMI crowd is against English per se. Our platform is the delivery of the national education system. In almost every other country in the world except Singapore (as far as I’m aware), this is carried out in the national language. Singapore, as we all know, is a unique country and Lee Kuan Yew exceptional.
Nonetheless, Mahathir is even more exceptional than Lee. In March, he posted in his blog, “Now Singapore is in deep recession because of having made investments in America. So they may use English for their education but they can still go wrong. But we want to use English only for science and mathematics and these two subjects are based on truths and logic – not on how clever you are in making decisions or explaining things.”
It’s amazing how Mahahthir is able to compartmentise English use as being ideally limited to the two subject areas, and confined in the classroom.
Just as uniquely as Singapore, Malaysia has a historical quirk of vernacular schools. On a sidenote, let me touch briefly on the spurious argument put forward by the anti-Chinese school movement. To obliquely knock the Chinese medium of instruction, it has been argued that we can’t be allowing the system to go haywire with various mother tongue schools in Iban or Kadazan or Jakun on demand.
This anti-vernacular schools argument is not supportable because we do not have any Iban-Kadazan-Jakun education system in existence to talk about, whereas the 1,300 Chinese schools are over-subscribed and Tamil schools gaining a second lease of life.
“I don’t think the government understands the importance of English as a language of knowledge when they decided to switch from English to Malay,” Mahathir doesn’t cease complaining. Obviously the Education Minister’s briefing specially for him went in one ear and out the other.
The government is introducing MBMMBI which seeks to ‘Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia’ and ‘Memperkukuh/memperkasa/memantapkan Bahasa Inggeris’. In how many different words can the authorities convey its intent to ‘strengthen’ the learning of English so that Mahathir gets it?
Looking down on BM
The ex-premier then claims “new discoveries are coming out in torrents in English”. Actually, new discoveries are coming alongside rapid scientific and technological expansion, and these can be in Japanese, German or in the flavour of the month, Mandarin (our favourite citation is Taiwan for being the operations base of the Malaysia-born, Chinese-educated pendrive inventor).
But true, English is a working language in science and tech, and my stand is that we should be multilingual.
Dr M is doggedly persistent in defending his rejected PPSMI policy and in the process denigrating the national language, whether inadvertently, or as an unintended consequence. Frankly, I can’t think of any other single individual who has given such a slap in the face to the sovereignty of Bahasa Melayu as he has.
Malay is a rich, mature and capable language. At the same time, while proponents of Malay are always respectful of English, the reverse is not true.
And Mahathir is one of those who uses Malay most cavalierly, like in his blog posting with the bizarre headline ‘Kaki dalam kasut’ – a literal translation of the English idiom ‘putting yourself in another man’s shoes’. In BM, one might express the idea closely as ‘Berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu memikul’.
Mahathir had once protested, “Saya bukan hendak memandang rendah bahasa bangsa saya sendiri”. Oh, but he is.
How can outsiders look up to a country that has no confidence in her national language? Of course we want the country to forge ahead but not at the expense of negating BM and abandoning national pride without which no nation can be a world beater.
BM, if subsumed into the Bahasa Indonesia headcount, is among the most widely spoken languages in the world. It’s a major international language and will be a significant world language in time to come.
Describing our environment
Language is our living, breathing relationship with our surroundings and countrymen. As a defining symbol of our citizenship, BM is much more meaningful – at least to me – than singing the national anthem, saluting the flag or having the Prime Minister’s pinky-lipped photo hanging in all the government departments.
Not too long ago, I was in a Terengganu kampung for kenduri kesyukuran. My friend gave me a Tanduk Rusa plant to take home. I don’t know what Tanduk Rusa is called in English or Chinese but the Malay name is descriptively apt for its leaves shaped like a deer’s antlers.
Then there is Paku Pontianak, a birdnest-like fern usually found in tree tops and where our little friend supposedly snuggles at night. Ireland has her leprechaun, Germany the elf and we, our own idiosyncratic pontianak.
There are quaint place names like Kota Sarang Semut, Gunung Senyum, Gong Badak and Menggatal where a dear friend studied in ITM; colloquialisms like Mat Skodeng, evocative vocabulary like tenggiling or anteater – a creature which does indeed give the impression of ‘giling’ (roll).And by the way, ‘pangolin’ derives from tenggiling.
I’m open to the idea that English might allow us a competitive edge but I would balance this economic consideration with promoting ‘placeness’ and social cohesiveness. Malaysians are of different ethnicities and religions. To keep this country together, there must be one basic commonality, don’t you think? Respect for our lingua franca is it.
walaupun artikel lama, tapi ia bermanafaat untuk semua
sori dari jalan kopi, aku copy artikel lu tanpa kebenaran
5 November 2008 Lanun Baru Sudah Sampai – Bahagian Satu
Obama menang. Warga dunia bersorak – riang ria kerana Obama ke rumah putih. Warga dunia mula memasang impian sabelum tidor malam ini semoga dunia kembali aman. Makcik di Kenya, Pakcik di Monggol, Pak Lebai di Riyadh mula berharap. Minah-minah cun di belakang lorong Pat Pong di Bangkok tidak ambil pot. Obama menang Mc Cain kalah tidak peduli. Rezeki mesti dicari
Adakah harapan untok semua ini?
Saya sanggop berlutut di depan Maharaja Rom untok tidak menjadi bebal. Kita sebagai warga dunia perlu sabar seketika. Apa yang sudah terjadi di atas muka bumi ini perlu kita renungkan. Kita sebagai warga dunia perlu berfikir secara lebih waras.
Sebagai warga dunia yang cintakan keamanan kita perlu mempersoalkan dari mana sosok Obama ini lahir? Dari mana sosok Obama ini datang ? Apakah sistem ekonomi yang dianuti olih sosok Obama ini? Siapa menyediakan dana yang besar untok Obama melobi dan dilobi. Persoalan-persoalan pokok ini perlu kita halakan kepada batang tuboh kita.
Obama telah lahir dalam sistem ekonomi kapitalis. Obama telah lahir dalam Parti Democrat kapitalis. Obama telah lahir di dalam negara kapitalis tulen. Negara kapitalis yang dikuasai olih kaum pemodal yang mengejar keuntungan maksimum tanpa memikirkan kesan terhadap hukum sosial.
Sistem ekonomi kapitalis adalah sistem ekonomi yang menindas rakyat. Lihat polisi Amerika selama ini. Untuk teros memperkayakan negara - mereka terus-terusan menceroboh Iraq dan Afghanistan. Mengancam Korea Utara, Iran dan Venezuela. Tanpa penindasan sistem kapitalis tidak mungkin hidop. Tanpa peperangan - sistem kapitalis akan kaput. Tanpa huru-hara sistem kapitalis akan tempang.
Ancaman ini sampai bukan kerana Republican atau Democrat. Ancaman ini sampai bukan kerana Sarah Palin itu cun. Ancaman ini sampai kerana sistem ekonomi kapitalis telah disujud. Ancaman ini sampai kerana sistem ekonomi kapitalis telah disembah. Sosok Republican atau Democrat tidak melambangkan apa-apa. Melainkan melambangkan penindasan dan keuntongan maksimum.
Pelobi kabal-kabal zionis telah meresap masuk ke dalam Republican dan Democrat. Pelobi ini adalah kaum pemodal yang berpengaruh. Kaum pemodal ini yang menentukan hala tuju sistem ekonomi kapitalis Amerika.
Jangan jadi bebal kerana sosok Obama. Tugas kita sebagai warga dunia adalah untuk membaraikan Dolar Amerika. Tugas kita sebagai warga adalah untuk membaraikan sistem ekonomi kapitalis yang menindas. Tugas kita sebagai warga dunia adalah untok menentang segala kezaliman untuk terus hidop aman.
Malam ini saya akan berdoa. Malam ini sabelum tidur saya akan menadah tangan. Doa saya bukan untok Barack Obama. Doa saya untok warga dunia yang ditindas. Doa saya untok Palestin. Doa saya untok Afghanistan. Doa saya untok negara-negara yang ditindas sistem ekonomi kapitalis. Doa saya juga untok warga Plentong yang sedang kehilangan tanah dan rumah mereka.
6 November 2008 Lanun Baru Sudah Sampai – Bahagian Dua
Pagi ini saya bangun lagi dari tidur. Pagi ini saya bangun dan maseh berada di atas katil yang sama. Pagi ini saya bangun untuk meraikan kehidupan sebagai warga dunia. Apa yang saya boleh raikan bukan kemenangan Obama. Apa yang saya boleh raikan bukan kematian Osama.
Apa yang boleh saya raikan ialah tertegaknya demokrasi rakyat Amerika. Sistem media seluruh Amerika telah berlaku adil dengan menjual dua sosok untok menjadi ketua – rakyat mendapat manfaat untuk membuat penilaian. Malang sekali demokrasi sebagini tiada di Malaysia. Barisan Nasional tidak ada keberanian menjual sosok sebagini. Tiada padang sama rata. Tiada gelanggang saksama.
Jika demokrasi tulen ini melingkari lanskap politik Malaysia kekuatan Barisan Nasional akan pecah-lerai-berderai-terbarai.
Menanti Obama melakukan perubahan di atas muka bumi adalah tidak salah. Saya tidak akan menahan warga dunia dari terseringai menanti. Tetapi adakah ianya benar realis?
Menanti Obama melakukan perubahan sama saperti menunggu ular batik tidak mengejar anak ayam selepas bersalin kulit. Ini tindakan betul. Ular batik tidak akan mengejar anak ayam lagi selepas bersalin kulit. Tetapi hanya untuk sementara waktu. Selepas ular batik ini kembali lapar ia akan tetap mengejar mangsa yang sama. Amerika juga kini bersalin kulit tetapi mempunyai isi dan ruang rangka pemikiran yang sama.
Menanti Obama melakukan perubahan sama saperti tahun 2003. Singkap sejarah lima tahun sudah - rakyat Malaysia menunggu perubahan dari zaman gelap Mahathir Muhamad kepada zaman cerah Abdullah Badawi. Dua sosok berlainan tetapi berkongsi ideologi yang sama. Sampai pagi ini kita semua terus menanti dengan penoh harapan. Tetapi harapan tidak pernah sampai bertemu dan menyapa batang tubuh kita. Harapan ini semakin tersepak jauh.
Warga dunia. Belajarlah dari sejarah.
"Sejarah adalah sebagian dari diri sebagai bangsa - dia tidak bolih dipisahkan apalagi dilupakan. Melupakan sejarah - apalagi meninggalkan sejarah - sama artinya dengan kehancoran sabuah bangsa." - Bung Karno, 17 Ogos 1966
Lately, we heard of so many disgruntles about Pakatan Rakyat -- ranging from frogs issues, open bickering, unity government, incompetency, internal component’s party conflicts, stupid politicians, *maverick politicians, etc etc.
Besides expecting Pakatan Rakyat to start addressing those issues, have we ask ourselves, what do we really want from Pakatan Rakyat?
1. If we want a problem free Pakatan Rakyat, we can continue to dream on as nothing is perfect in this world.
2. If we want Pakatan Rakyat to be a strong united coalition straight away after its formation, we can continue to prepare ourselves to face more disappointment as nothing in this world can be strong without making enough mistakes to grow from experience.
3. If we just want Pakatan Rakyat as just a tool to threaten Barisan Nasional -- to show them that after 50 years under their governance, finally today we have an alternative to choose from — in hope that it will serve as a warning for them to buck-up and govern our country properly – we should stop hallucinating and classify this mission as a failure after 20 months of trying.
4. If we just want Pakatan Rakyat to replace Barisan Nasional as our federal government without much change and struggle in our daily life, we should stop being naive and immature as a new dawn will not come before we face the darkest day. If we are not ready to face the darkest day together, we will not see a new dawn emerging anytime soon -- there’s only going to be longer and darker days ahead for us.
Most Malaysian just knows how to complain about Pakatan Rakyat, but when you ask them, so what do they really want from Pakatan Rakyat, they are usually speechless. The question is why they are speechless? Is it because 1. they do not know what they want, or 2. they know what they want but they are not saying it out because their answer is embarrassing, or 3. they are just being so ignorant about the country’s future?
The truth is, in most Malaysian’s heart, they know but they must also know that the subconscious condition they set for Pakatan is pathetic. Deep down, they want Pakatan Rakyat to kick Barisan Nasional out of the federal government, but Pakatan Rakyat must execute this hope of theirs without affecting their daily life, their income and their current available rights and privileges.
If the execution is going to bring any pains (even the slightest one), they will rather abort the plan and stick with Barisan Nasional instead. Malaysians are just not willing to sacrifice anything for the future – rather they are hoping for the members of DAP, PKR and PAS to do the sacrifices. And this selfish act from Malaysians is what Barisan Nasional’s need to stay in power.
The corruption roots in our Barisan Nasional’s government runs way too deep and far too wide. Every independent institutions that supposed to keep the government from doing the wrong things are already compromised and infiltrated with people with political motives.
Our country is now generally a failed state. It is running on its own, without any check and balance. Every wrong move is covered by another wrong means and justified by some illogical explanations.
We have had enough of this, and that’s why we voted for Pakatan Rakyat. We want Pakatan to help us to stop the rot. We want them to help us to regain the control of our country. We want Pakatan to take back our country for the sake of our next generation.
Yes, Pakatan Rakyat is not perfect yet they are still way better than Barisan Nasional in terms of integrity and bringing justice to the people, and they are fighting a good cause for every Malaysian to stop Barisan Nasional from looting away our children’s money before it is too late. But Pakatan Rakyat cannot stop the rot alone, they need us.
And now, WHEN can we stop being selfish? ---------------------------------------------- Li Fook Gao@Tohkong Mosjid
On December 13, 2009, renowned Swiss-born Muslim intellectual, Tariq Ramadan, will be in Kuala Lumpur to deliver a lecture in tribute to the late Muhammad Asad, whose translation and commentary of the Qur’an, The Message of the Qur’an, departs from the usual methodology of Qur’anic exegesis to become one of only few highly scholarly works on the Qur’an in the English language. While Asad’s works, including his countless writings on Islam and Muslims, have huge ramifications to the debates surrounding contemporary Islam, including those presently taking centre stage in Malaysia such as the Islamic state issue and the problem of ‘blind following’ in matters of religion, it is important that we are introduced to Asad, his adventurous life and his thoughts in order to understand this intellectual giant who has been considered as Europe’s gift to Islamic scholarship.
By Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa & Abdar Rahman Koya
Muhammad Asad was arguably one of the 20th century’s greatest Muslim thinkers from the West. Only recently, a public place called the Muhammad Asad Square was launched in his honour by the mayor of Vienna, his place of birth, making it probably the first traffic area to be named after a Muslim in Western Europe. Last year, a documentary film based on his widely acclaimed autobiography, The Road to Mecca, was produced by the Austrian director George Misch, placing his travels and thoughts in the context of contemporary debates surrounding Islam. It subsequently won many awards at international film fests this year, including for best cinematography.
Writer, adventurer, thinker, diplomat, commentator of the Qur’an; these words may best describe Muhammad Asad, Those who have followed his career through his books and writings, however, know that no one has contributed more in our times to the understanding of Islam and awakening of Muslims, or worked harder to build a bridge between the East and the West, than Asad.
But who was Muhammad Asad, the Jewish convert to Islam, whose transformation into one of the most influential modern thinkers of Islam was not before embarking on an adventurous journey throughout the Middle East at a time when the West’s cultural, political and military grip on the Muslim world was at its peak?
Asad was born Leopold Weiss on July 2, 1900 in Galicia, now in Poland, part of the then Austrian empire. In 1926, he converted to Islam. The story of the years before his conversion, immortalised in The Road To Mecca, Asad’s autobiography which was described by the New York Post as a “very rare and powerful book” and by the Times Literary Supplement as “a narrative of great power and beauty”, reflects the spiritual odyssey of a man in search of a home, a man struck by wanderlust, unable to quell his restless spirit until embracing Islam.
In 1922 he became a Near East correspondent for the Frankfurter Zeitung, then one of the most outstanding newspapers in Europe. His career in journalism took him to Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, and gave him a unique perspective on world affairs, particularly issues relating to Jews and Arabs. Crossing the Mediterranean, Leopold’s first stop was at Cairo where he tried to learn Arabic and spend some time with Shaikh Mustafa Maraghi, a student of the Egyptian reformer, Muhammad Abduh. Mustafa Maraghi, a keen and critical thinker himself subsequently became the Shaikh of the University of Al-Azhar.
It was through his friendship with al Maraghi when he realized that Al-Azhar has lapsed into the sterility, from which the whole Muslim world is suffering, and its old impetus is all but extinguished. Those ancient Islamic thinkers would never have dreamed that after so many centuries their thoughts, instead of being continued and developed, would only be repeated over and over again, as if they were ultimate and infallible truths.
Just as some saints and scholars would be surprised to see their graves made into temples, many will also be shocked to see how their words were regarded as infallible truth. It is a trade of man to blindly hang on to the beliefs of the forefathers.
It is this blind acceptance of scholars’ opinions as if they were complete truths, which forms the crux of Asad’s concern in his thoughts and writings. Asad was convinced that the alien-layer that has covered Islam must be swept away before the scholars will wake up from their endless reading and repeating. He cautions against following blindly the thoughts of medieval Muslim scholars, without taking into account their historical and political context in which their interpretation of Islam took shape.
Asad believes that history can only give advice, show the underlying factors when a society was successful, but cannot decide the ruling of today’s states and societies. Every generation faces different circumstances, and thus many laws and ways for society cannot be fixed for all time. This is why also the Qur’an only fixes time-less laws, ethics, rights and restrictions that are universal in its application. It is a constitution containing the basis for mankind’s dealing with life. Everything outside of the Qur’an is time bound and subject to reinterpretation by every generation to fit it to their circumstances.
Asad traveled to Amman, to Damascus, Tripoli and Aleppo, to Baghdad and to the Kurdish mountains, to that strangest of all lands, Iran, and to the wild mountains and steppes of Afghanistan. Traveling extensively throughout the Muslim world, his interest in Islam deepened. To understand how Muslims could regenerate themselves, Asad took a characteristic approach: he immersed himself in understanding the source of Islam, the Qur'an. Embarking on an intensive study of classical Arabic, he began at the same time living among the bedouin of Central and Eastern Arabia whose speech and linguistic associations had essentially remained unchanged since the time of Prophet Muhammad when the Qur'an was being revealed. The results of this experience help him with his labour of love, The Message, a translation and commentary of the Qur’an.
Asad is wont to drive home in many of his writings that the decline of the Muslim civilization was due to the manner in how Muslims practice their faith. As soon as their faith became habit and ceased to be a programme of life, to be consciously pursued, the creative impulse that underlay their civilization waned and gradually gave way to indolence, sterility and cultural decay.
From that point on, Muslim renaissance became Asad's goal in life. He traveled far and wide, conferred with kings, leaders and the common man "between the Libyan Desert and the Pamirs, between the Bosporus and the Arabian Sea," and began putting his ideas on paper. Islam at the Crossroads, published as early as 1934, still stuns the contemporary reader with its analysis of Muslim decline and its bold prescription for instilling self-assurance to an Islamic world suffering the onslaught of Western technology.
When World War II broke out, Asad was in India where he befriended Muhammad Iqbal, the spiritual father of the idea of a separate Pakistan. Iqbal persuaded Asad to abandon plans to travel to eastern Turkestan, China and Indonesia and "to help elucidate the intellectual premises of the future Islamic state”.
Asad was interned in India at the end of the war. When Pakistan was born in 1947, Asad was appointed its undersecretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs and became its permanent representative to the United Nations in 1952. Here he met his wife, Pola Hamida, and later began writing The Road to Mecca (1954), covering the first half of his life.
A few years later, he wrote The Principles of State and Government in Islam, where Asad lays down in unambiguous terms the foundation of an Islamic state based on the Qur’an and Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet). Briefly, the two defining limits are that in an Islamic state true sovereignty lies with God and that believers must conduct all businesses pertaining to the state and community through mutual consultation. Within this framework, Asad showed that an Islamic state had the flexibility to contain features of parliamentary democracy and the rule of law, including the modern institutions of presidency and the Supreme Court.
But it was The Message of the Qur’an, published in 1980, which puts him among the greatest thinkers and interpreters of the Qur’an in modern times. He dedicates it to “People Who Think”. “Think – and your reason will guide you to faith”, says Asad, instead of assuring us, as some other religions do, “Gain faith – and through your faith you will arrive at a comprehension of the truth”.
Leopold Weiss was born on 2 July 1900. Muhammad Asad died on 20 February 1992 and was buried in a cemetery in Granada, Spain.
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Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa is director of Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), an NGO for empowerment of Muslim youth through knowledge. Abdar Rahman Koya is editor of Islamic Book Trust (IBT), Petaling Jaya. IRF and IBT will be organizing a movie screening of “A Road To Mecca” on 12 December and a public lecture on Muhammad Asad by well-known Muslim intellectual Prof Tariq Ramadan, on 13 December, 2009. More details at www.ibtbooks.com/think
WALAU PUN TULISAN ARAB - IANYA MASIH MILIK MUSUH UMAT MANUSIA
PEPSI DAN COKE – ADIDAS DAN PUMA
Pada tahun 2009 ini wacana politik dalam negara kita cuba menyebarkan berita tentang kemungkinan terwujudnya sistem dua parti – Barisan Nasional dan Pakatan Rakyat. Malah huh hah huh hah tentang sistem dua parti ini telah tersebar lama. Ada yang menyeringai gembira seperti di malam pertama bedua-duaan di bilik bersama kekasih bila mendengar kemungkinan ini.
Sistem dua parti ini adalah satu penipuan. Satu illusi yang dirancang oleh kaum pemodal. Satu pemesongan projek demokrasi yang amat terancang untuk mengkaburi mata orang ramai agar gagal melihat intipati politik dan makna hakiki demokrasi.
Lalu saya bertanya adakah sesiapa yang dapat membezakan Pepsi dengan Coke? Adakah sesiapa yang dapat membezakan Adidas dengan Puma? Hakikatnya - pemilik saham Pepsi adalah juga pemilik saham Coke. Hakikatnya - Puma dan Adidas adalah dua beradik yang membuka peniagaan yang sama – satu kedai di kiri jalan dan sebuah lagi di kanan jalan. Kedua-duanya mengamalkan sistem kapitalis yang berlandaskan keuntungan. Yang membezakan hanya ejaan nama yang bermula dengan A dan P.
Kita wajib sedar bahawa kaum pemodal akan terus merancang untuk memastikan kepentingan ekonomi mereka selamat. Apa yang mereka pertahankan bukan saekar kebun getah atau sebuah Kancil. Yang mereka pertahankan ialah sistem ekonomi kapitalis yang selama 150 tahun ini telah mengembongkan saku dan dompet mereka. Sistem ini telah menjadikan mereka senang lenang dan kaya raya dengan harta berbilion-bilion dolar dan ringgit.
Kuasa yang mengancam dan menyusahkan kehidupan umat manusia dalam dunia hari ini sebenarnya adalah kuasa kaum pemodal. Kaum pemodal inilah yang merancang untuk memastikan parti apa yang naik and parti apa yang turun. Siapa dapat jadi menteri dan siapa yang akan dipencenkan. Para politikus dalam sistem kapitalis ini hanyalah Mat Heboh yang diupah berlabun di parlimen untuk mengubal undang-udang dan memastikan kepentingan kaum pemodal dijaga rapi.
Perhatikan bagaimana undang-undang yang diluluskan di parlimen TIDAK akan dan TIDAK pernah menyebelahi kepada kepentingan kaum buruh atau kaum pekerja. Perhatikan cukai mukai yang di kenakan. Pemotongan cukai untuk kaum pemodal akan diutamakan. Dalam masa yang sama mereka yang miskin akan berselirat dengan cukai mukai. Kalau tidak percaya sila tunggu cukai baru : Cukai Barang dan Khidmat. Akan terlondeh seluar dalam Mak Minah dan akan tergadai Cupcai Pak Ali bila cukai ini sampai.
Jika masih belum yakin biar saya nyatakan satu lagi contoh terbaik : lihat apa yang terjadi kepada dasar kerajaan Pakatan Selangor yang melarang bangunan didirikan di lereng bukit. Ini cita-cita Pakatan Rakyat ketika berkempen untuk membawa kebaikan dan keselamatan kepada warga. Lihat apa yang berlaku dibelakang tabir. Kaum pemodal – pemaju dan para kontrektor telah melobi. Akhirnya larangan ini ditarik kembali. Kenduri menarah bukit diteruskan kembali.
Lihat pula apa yang terjadi apabila berlaku runtuhan di Bukit Antarabangsa. Laporan yang ingin diumumkan oleh kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Selangor gagal kerana laporan ini disimpai oleh Akta Rahsia. Akta seperti ini semuanya diwujudkan untuk memastikan kaum pemodal – syarikat pemaju , kontrektor dan syarikat air - terselamat dan keuntungan mereka terjamin. Yang mati terkambus telah selamat ditalkinkan - jangan buat bising biarkan badan mereka dimakan cacing.
Ini bukan tohmah, propaganda atau berita putar yang saya ajukan kerana saya muflis dan tidak memiliki harta kekayaan. Ini adalah hakikat dihadapan mata kita. Buka mata dan dengar. Buka telinga dan lihat. Klik komputer dan baca. Jangan menjadi Mat Malas. Ketuk kepala lutut dan goncangkan kepala untuk berfikir. Nilai dan fahami mana yang tohmah, mana yang putar alam dan apa dia kebenaran
Kaum pemodal dan para kapitalis bergerak dengan licik. Ketika ini kaum pemodal di Malaysia melihat dan membaca tanda-tanda politik yang sedang berlaku dalam negara ini. Mereka menyedari bahawa gaya dan politik lama yang selama ini membawa keuntungan yang amat lumayan tidak mungkin akan berterusan. Apa yang terjadi pada 8 March 2008 mengajar mereka untuk memahami bahawa warga dalam negara ini mahukan perubahan dan sedang menuntut hak demokratik mereka.
Dengan arif dan dengan wang ringgit - kaum pemodal merancang untuk melahirkan apa yang dipanggil sistem dua parti. Contoh sistem dua parti ini sedang kita lihat berjalan dengan lancar di United Kingdom dan di Amerika Syarikat. Di UK ada Parti Konservatif dan Parti Buruh. Di Amerika ada Parti Republican dan Parti Democrat.
Parti-parti ini bertukar ganti untuk menjalankan pentabiran. Madame Thatcher dari Parti Konservatif akhirnya diganti oleh Tony Blair dari Parti Buruh. George Bush Senior dari Republican di ganti oleh Bill Clinton dari Democrat. Kemudian Clinton di ganti oleh George Bush Junior yang kemudiannya digantikan pula oleh Barack Obama dari Parti Democrat.
Parti politik dan susuk yang memimpin pentabiran kelihatan ini bertukar berganti. Tetapi hakikatnya sistem ekonomi kapitalis tidak berubah. Inilah dia silap mata Pepsi Cola dan Coca Cola yang selama ini telah berjaya menipu. Kapitalisma tidak berganjak. Kaum pemodal tidak hilang keuntungan walau parti mana pun yang naik atau turun.
Justeru, perubahan antara Democrat ke Republican atau dari Konservatif ke Parti Buruh hanyalah satu ilusi untuk menipu orang ramai. Tidak ada apa-apa perubahan yang hakiki telah berlaku. Tuan punya bank masih kaya raya. Tuan punya kilang masih memerah tenaga buruh murah. Para kontrektor masih membalon orang ramai. Cukai masih di tahap yang sama. Kaum pemodal terus melipatkan gandakan keuntungan.
Orang ramai dan para pengundi digula-gulakan dengan perubahan dari parti ini ke parti itu. Dari presiden yang ini ke presiden yang itu. Ini adalah helah kaum pemodal agar orang ramai tidak akan menuntut perubahan sistem yang sedia ada.
Didalam kempen-kempen pilihan raya kita akan mendengar labon dan heboh heboh dari Mat Heboh yang ingin menjadi YB. Teliti dengan rapi : mereka semuanya berjanji untuk menubuhkan sebuah kerajaan yang lebih baik dari yang sedia ada.
Apa sebenranya janji-janji para Mat Heboh bakal YB ini? Mereka berjanji akan menjalankan pentabiran dengan lebih cekap, lebih amanah dan lebih bersih. Ini ertinya mereka berjanji akan menjadi Mat Heboh yang lebih cekap, lebih amanah dan lebih bersih kepada kaum pemodal. Merekalah Mat Heboh yang terbaik untuk mengendalikan sistem ekonomi kapitalis ini.
Tidak pernah kita mendengar bahawa yang haprak dan yang membawa kemudaratan terhadap umat manusia hari ini ialah sistem ekonomi kapitalis yang mengajukan rukun iman : keuntungan maksima.
Rukun iman inilah yang sedang membawa porak peranda kepada kita semua hari ini. Keuntungan maksima yang dijadikan rukun iman ini akan membolehkan apa sahaja dilakukan asalkan ianya membawa untung. Balak dikeluarkan kerana ianya membawa untung. Pelacur datang dari China kerana ianya membawa untung. Hospital diswastakan kerana ianya membawa untung. Dadah diniagakan kerana ianya membawa untung.
Jika kita menyedari hakikat ini maka kita tahu bahawa sistem dua parti ini adalah kong kalikong. Tidak ada apa apa perubahan hakiki yang akan berlaku jika yang diajukan untuk dipilih hanyalah siapa yang lebih cekap mentabir sistem kapitalis.
Adakah Barisan Nasional lebih baik untuk keuntungan kapitalis atau Pakatan Rakyat yang akan mentabir dengan baik sistem kapitalis ini? Jika ini yang dipersoalkan maka saya jamin kita semua kena tipu oleh kaum pemodal dengan sistem dua parti yang sedang mereka rancangkan.
Apa yang seharusnya kita tuntut bukan sistem dua parti. Bukan siapa yang lebih cekap dan lebih amanah mentabirkan sistem kapitalis. Yang wajib menjadi rukun iman kita ialah menghancurkan sistem ekonomi yang berasaskan keuntungan maksima. Yang menjadi rukun iman kita ialah kita berjuang untuk melahirkan sistem ekonomi yang berasaskan kebajikan untuk umat manusia.
Sistem dua parti atau dua ratus buah parti ini tidak memiliki apa-apa makna yang hakiki jika kita masih lagi dalam sistem ekonomi yang berimankan keuntungan maksima. Apa yang wajib kita sokong bukan mereka yang berijazah, berdatuk, bertun atau berserban - ini tidak penting. Yang penting ialah mereka yang kita pilih akan berani bangun berjuang untuk melahirkan satu sistem ekonomi yang berimankan kebajikan untuk manusia.
Kita jangan ditipu untuk diberi pilihan sama ada untuk membeli kasut Adidas atau kasut Puma. Kita mahukan kasut kulit yang baru. Kita jangan ditipu untuk memilih Coke Cola atau Pepsi Cola. Kita tidak mahu minuman itu. Kita mahu air advocado yang sehat untuk umat manusia.(TT)
nota:tulisan ini boleh diambil untuk membuat kebaikan
seorang bekas mahasiswa daripada sebuah Universiti tempatan yang hanya mengambil pelajar Bumiputera dan pelajar dari luar negara, melupakan hampir setengah daripada Rakyatnya di tanah air sendiri.
