Friends ,
Not many people know Syed Abdul Kadir Alsagoff .He is not the 'monied' kind of people nor does he has power .He is just ordinary ,just like you and me but it is my intention in my blog's 'personalities section' to delve into interesting personalities like 'Syed Kadiak' ,as he has been known among us classmates from the Malay College ,and others whom Allah has allowed me the priveledge to 'criss cross' into their lives in this short 'sojourn' of mine on this planet earth .I have never met Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin ,the 1st personalty featured in this new column but who does not know Dr Asri .With 10,or 15 more years of 'scholarship' perhaps he can be our next Naguib ! Insyaallah .That would be profoundly better than being just another mufti whose main function is to read the doa at those tedious State functions .
Back to our Syed Kadir .I 1st met him when I joined the Malay College in 1967 as a forth former .A 'budak baru' with all the intricacies of 'ragging' and yearlong internal battle trying to blend in with the 'budak lama' ie those who joined through Form One .Syed Kadir was a 'budak lama' .Looking back ,many of the 'budak baru' were less daunted by the continuos emotional effort needed to blend-in and be accepted with the rest [ no mean task ] and the cultural shock of leaving home and having to live with peers of the same age who were in general already miles ahead in their 'social skills',but rather the shock of having to contend with many super 'bright' boys several scale above the average .That was Malay College to the new comers .Syed Kadir was one of the many 'super bright boys' of Form Four Science 2.
He never seem to put any effort in study and during the limited 'prep time ' was always fooling around but at the end of term exams was either numero uno or just somewhere there .I could remember one of the 'budak baru' [ a doctor now ] cried because he had to burn the midnight candle and still came out last in class while this 'clown' Syed Kadiak never seem to touch his books and yet got 1st !
Come MCE exam ,Syed got the maximum 8 distinctions !Now some students who got 10 straight A's still cry because some jokers got 15 .During my time if you get 4 A's you deserve to paint the town red on your bicycle with ears'enlarged' and a fixed smile on your face for a whole week .The town can accept that you deserve it .
Syed hitched hiked to Kuala Lumpur to see Encik Khir Johari ,the then Minister of Education ,and on his own initiative ,got Lee Foundation along with Tengku Abdul Rahman Foundation to give him a scholarship to do Quantum Physics at an Ivy league university in US ,Cornell .At a kingly sum of 10'000 RM per year scholarship, a huge sum at that time .
All of us that time knew some 15 months prior to exam time Syed suddenly woke up probably from the 'wrong side of his bed' and declared to all and sundry that he from then on was an 'atheist' .A case of too much physics probably ,we thought .No amount of 'cajoling'or debate from friends could make this young man change his mind .Some of us enlisted the help of the late Ustaz Rahman [ just died a couple of years ago ] ,our mentor and student advisor .He tried but failed miserably and shed a lot of tears for his failure .But looking back with hind sight now what can a 'lowly' ustaz do to a genius with an IQ of probably 150 except to further increase the boy's resolve to be more 'different ' .
So Syed Kadir The Atheist went to Cornell to do Quantum Physics in 1970 ,at the height of 'Flower Power' and anti war hysteria following the Vietnam War .Most of us ,his friends , thought he would not come back and be lost to Godless America forever ,work with NASA or something .But Allah knew better .In America he befriended an American lay Islamic preacher and rejoined Islam .Not only just rejoined Islam but took 4 years off his study to wander to Medina ,Saudi Arabia to learn Arabic and obtained a masters degree in Arabic and theology .In his own words "When you study the Quran and understand it in Arabic it is like watching coloured TV ,while in other languages you can still perceive its meaning but it is akin to seeing blake and white" .
Went back to Cornell to do 4 years of Neurobiology to ,in his own words ,"comprehend" and put up a creditable defense against Darwin's Theory of Evolution .
His very short but succinct explanation of the compatibility of Darwin's Evolution Theory and Islam was explained to me just 4 days ago ,over noisy kenduri kahwin music , at our mutual classmate's daughter's wedding in Klang ,the 1st time I got to meet him after almost 40 years !
"Look at it this way ,Nik .Say we are so advanced that we are able to send 2 astronauts ,a female and a male , to a distant planet so far away from Earth .That new planet is like Earth ,and has been actually in existence for millions of years before this two humans landed .There were apes ,lizards and other animals that have evolved earlier .Push forward into the future say over 10,000 years ,the 2 astronauts cohabited and over years and generations multiplide in numbers to become 1 billion humans .One not so bright chap amongst them finally decided to be famous and decided to study fossils and came up with the theory that 'man' actually came from apes because he was able to see some semblance of apes fossils that did not have tails .This bright chap did not want to know about the story of the 'astronauts' anymore but fell in love with his findings .He called it the Darwin's theory of Evolution !"
"The relevant observation now ,from amongst us ,should be that now there are humans who have developed 'new tails' and they are the ones doing massive carnage in far distant lands like Iraq ,Afganistan and in the Gaza Strip !They are the new 'apes' that have strayed from the 'straight' path as defined by that 'Chap' who 1st send the Eve and Adam down to this planet to be the viceroy .Not a question of the apes losing their tails and becoming humans as expounded by Darwin but Man losing their way and behaving like apes !"...'Mereka mereka yang di murkai Allah dan mereka mereka yang sesat ', as I always like to put it
Syed Kadir came back to Malaysia and join UPM's fisheries dept in the 80's and was actively invovled in missionary and tabligh work .Masahallah ,from Islam to atheist to tabligh !
While writing up for his doctoral thesis he found he could ill afford to pay a professional typist to help with the typing as most of his income was tied up with his missionary work ,so he dabbled with the computer .Before long he found himself deep in IT and did finally obtained a PHD from Auburn University ,Alabama delving in computer modelling of integrated agriculture system .
That was and is Dr Syed Kadir AlSagoff , my long lost friend .A scientist par excellence ,a former confirmed atheist ,a genius ,a Muslim missionary of the tabligh school .
At the end of the day it is Allah who "membolak balikkan hati".We
'manusia manusia yang kerdil' can only do our level best and pray for his deliverance .If Allah wants to change John Esposito [the great Western expert on Islam] He could do so but if He does not ,John Esposito will still be 'that guy who has grown a tail' in another 100 years despite all his vast knowledge about Islam ,beyond you and me .
"Say :Oh Allah ! Possessor of the Kingdom ,
You give the Kingdom to whom You will ,and ,
You bestow with honour whom You will ,and ,
You humiliate whom You will .
In Your hand is the good .
Verily ,You are Able to do All things ."
A piece of poignant poetry you may say .Surah Ali Imraan 2 : 26 ,from the Glorious Quran .
Dr Nik Howk
PS :On the local scene ,how else can one explain Sultan Mukriz's ascension back to power yesterday despite all the odds working against him ?
Hanya Dia yang dapat 'membolak balikkan hati'.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Pearls & Gem : Dr Asri Zainal Abidin
Friends ,
In a year when we have the 'Altantuya affair' ,SCOMI ,Eurocopter debacle and the 'Scorpene affair' all thrown into the public domain it is perhaps poignant that Dr Asri's recent resignation or rather to put it more correctly refusal to continue his tenure as Grand Mufti of Perlis in preference to leading a quiet academic life in Lampeter ,U.K , not to be viewed as an insignificant, quite unrelated event .
We all have to salute this man for his frankness and intellectual honesty and refusal to accept and stomach the rot in a society that is increasingly getting too materialistic ,uncontrolled greed and avarice from within the upper echelon of power .Indeed ,intellectual honesty and frankness are two qualities that are very hard to come by nowadays in this Land of Serba Boleh ,especially within the professionals ,academia and even within the learned circles ,even amongst the so-called ulamak .
I reserve this space today for Dr Asri Zainal Abidin for his candour :
" AKU BUKAN MUSUH HARTA "
mereka kata :
mengapa kita tidak kaya raya ?
tengoklah Si Fulan itu ,bermewahan saja
aku bertanya :apalah caranya untuk aku kaya ?
tapi...secara mulia dan tanpa berdusta .
bukan kita tidak tahu
jalan ,denai dan liku
agar harta ditemu dan disapu
tapi semuanya cara palsu dan tipu
bukan kita tidak mahu
tapi kita tidak mampu
takut dan terkedu
mengenang Yang Maha Satu
Yang Tiada Baginya sekutu
Ya ,telah kaya para pengkhianat
dengan harta yang sarat
tapi mereka lupa akhirat
balasan yang berat
di dunia ,jiwa bertukar menjadi keparat .
Ya ,telah kaya para pendusta
syarat mereka :lupakan Yang Esa
harta raayat semua disebat
harta awam semua dibekam
hukum syaitan ,mereka bertuhan .
Kita pun ingin kaya
ada harta ,ada kereta istimewa
ada rumah mewah yang melimpah
ada hidangan yang bukan sebarangan
ada duit yang bukan sedikit .
Tapi jalannya hendaklah suci
bukan seperti saorang pencuri
jika ada jalan yang mulia
di hujungnya ada harta
Kita cuma musuh pengkhianat bangsa dan negara
apatah lagi pengkhianat agama .....
Syabas Dr Asri Zainal Abidin .We need such candour and frankness from our academia ,intellectuals and everyone .Only then will our politicians ,policy makers and those in power exercise more care and accountability when they deal with public fund.Accountability starts from the top and percolate downward .It does not start with the poor meter reader or the poorly paid policeman and hope to move upward .It starts with the PM and his cabinet ,down to the KSN and KSU's and move downward ,right down to the humble road sweepers .[ have you ever met a London porter or train drivers ?They appear happy and proud of their work .Ken Livingston who was a Labour Party London Mayor at one time ,did not drive to work .Stayed in a bedsit even when he was Mayor .Red Ken they called him .All of them are not Muslim but as a rule most Londoners from mayor to just the humble train porter have a high sense of human values and rule of law .Dr Asri will find that out if he stays there a while longer .Doc M may have difficulty comprehending this aspect of London life . ]
Ist and foremost there must be a real,not imagined or feigned ,political will to fight against corruption , nepotism and this unchecked ,unaccounted porosity of public fund,and this has to start right from Sri Perdana Putrajaya ,right through the Ministries .The small crabs just look at the big ones how to walk .If the big ones walk sideway ,they is no way to expect the small ones to walk straight .So goes a well known Malay proverb .
We claim to embrace Islamic values in our everyday affairs but our public facilities remained underfunded ,our public roads excessively overpaid but third rate ,our defense facilities archaic though we have to pay through our nose ,our public hospitals under-budgeted ,our education system 3rd rate and directionless ,our top politicians and their families and cronies'overfed',etc etc and etc .
Then we have the IJN deal or nearly 'done deal' if not for the very public uproar .Now there is this rumours going around the grapevine that they are going to replace Hassan from Petronas with some clowns from god knows where who know a bit of 'creative accounting' here and 'financial manipulation' there .Petronas is a high tech high finance and well driven company well managed for the last 2 decades or so ,why change a winning formullae ?It is not an ordinary 'cari makan' construction firm where any Ahmad ,Ali or Mohideen a/l Mohd can lord over as chairman and churn or siphon the money out without specialised indepth knowledge and wisdom of the global oil business .Hassan ,at least for the next few years is irreplaceable and I am not saying this because he happened to be my form-mate at the Malay College !
We ,the 'raayats' do not want any third rate politician to have a run at our grandchildren's last legacy through any third rate nominee .As it is now we spent 1st rate 'money' but living like a 3rd rate nation.
We just have too many 'fat cats' waiting for 'free meals' at every level of government !" Pendusta and pengkhianat negara dan agama " as Dr Asri alluded to .
Our leaders have to buck up otherwise please give your place to someone else who are more qualified and more God fearing !Pleaseeeeeee !
50 years of nonsense is enough .If the government of the day does not want to change the governed must change !
Dr Nik Howk
In a year when we have the 'Altantuya affair' ,SCOMI ,Eurocopter debacle and the 'Scorpene affair' all thrown into the public domain it is perhaps poignant that Dr Asri's recent resignation or rather to put it more correctly refusal to continue his tenure as Grand Mufti of Perlis in preference to leading a quiet academic life in Lampeter ,U.K , not to be viewed as an insignificant, quite unrelated event .
We all have to salute this man for his frankness and intellectual honesty and refusal to accept and stomach the rot in a society that is increasingly getting too materialistic ,uncontrolled greed and avarice from within the upper echelon of power .Indeed ,intellectual honesty and frankness are two qualities that are very hard to come by nowadays in this Land of Serba Boleh ,especially within the professionals ,academia and even within the learned circles ,even amongst the so-called ulamak .
I reserve this space today for Dr Asri Zainal Abidin for his candour :
" AKU BUKAN MUSUH HARTA "
mereka kata :
mengapa kita tidak kaya raya ?
tengoklah Si Fulan itu ,bermewahan saja
aku bertanya :apalah caranya untuk aku kaya ?
tapi...secara mulia dan tanpa berdusta .
bukan kita tidak tahu
jalan ,denai dan liku
agar harta ditemu dan disapu
tapi semuanya cara palsu dan tipu
bukan kita tidak mahu
tapi kita tidak mampu
takut dan terkedu
mengenang Yang Maha Satu
Yang Tiada Baginya sekutu
Ya ,telah kaya para pengkhianat
dengan harta yang sarat
tapi mereka lupa akhirat
balasan yang berat
di dunia ,jiwa bertukar menjadi keparat .
Ya ,telah kaya para pendusta
syarat mereka :lupakan Yang Esa
harta raayat semua disebat
harta awam semua dibekam
hukum syaitan ,mereka bertuhan .
Kita pun ingin kaya
ada harta ,ada kereta istimewa
ada rumah mewah yang melimpah
ada hidangan yang bukan sebarangan
ada duit yang bukan sedikit .
Tapi jalannya hendaklah suci
bukan seperti saorang pencuri
jika ada jalan yang mulia
di hujungnya ada harta
Kita cuma musuh pengkhianat bangsa dan negara
apatah lagi pengkhianat agama .....
Syabas Dr Asri Zainal Abidin .We need such candour and frankness from our academia ,intellectuals and everyone .Only then will our politicians ,policy makers and those in power exercise more care and accountability when they deal with public fund.Accountability starts from the top and percolate downward .It does not start with the poor meter reader or the poorly paid policeman and hope to move upward .It starts with the PM and his cabinet ,down to the KSN and KSU's and move downward ,right down to the humble road sweepers .[ have you ever met a London porter or train drivers ?They appear happy and proud of their work .Ken Livingston who was a Labour Party London Mayor at one time ,did not drive to work .Stayed in a bedsit even when he was Mayor .Red Ken they called him .All of them are not Muslim but as a rule most Londoners from mayor to just the humble train porter have a high sense of human values and rule of law .Dr Asri will find that out if he stays there a while longer .Doc M may have difficulty comprehending this aspect of London life . ]
Ist and foremost there must be a real,not imagined or feigned ,political will to fight against corruption , nepotism and this unchecked ,unaccounted porosity of public fund,and this has to start right from Sri Perdana Putrajaya ,right through the Ministries .The small crabs just look at the big ones how to walk .If the big ones walk sideway ,they is no way to expect the small ones to walk straight .So goes a well known Malay proverb .
We claim to embrace Islamic values in our everyday affairs but our public facilities remained underfunded ,our public roads excessively overpaid but third rate ,our defense facilities archaic though we have to pay through our nose ,our public hospitals under-budgeted ,our education system 3rd rate and directionless ,our top politicians and their families and cronies'overfed',etc etc and etc .
Then we have the IJN deal or nearly 'done deal' if not for the very public uproar .Now there is this rumours going around the grapevine that they are going to replace Hassan from Petronas with some clowns from god knows where who know a bit of 'creative accounting' here and 'financial manipulation' there .Petronas is a high tech high finance and well driven company well managed for the last 2 decades or so ,why change a winning formullae ?It is not an ordinary 'cari makan' construction firm where any Ahmad ,Ali or Mohideen a/l Mohd can lord over as chairman and churn or siphon the money out without specialised indepth knowledge and wisdom of the global oil business .Hassan ,at least for the next few years is irreplaceable and I am not saying this because he happened to be my form-mate at the Malay College !
We ,the 'raayats' do not want any third rate politician to have a run at our grandchildren's last legacy through any third rate nominee .As it is now we spent 1st rate 'money' but living like a 3rd rate nation.
We just have too many 'fat cats' waiting for 'free meals' at every level of government !" Pendusta and pengkhianat negara dan agama " as Dr Asri alluded to .
Our leaders have to buck up otherwise please give your place to someone else who are more qualified and more God fearing !Pleaseeeeeee !
50 years of nonsense is enough .If the government of the day does not want to change the governed must change !
Dr Nik Howk
Monday, December 15, 2008
Post WEC :Where Do We Go From Here .
Fellow 'Endurancers' ,
Post World Endurance Championship ,Lembah Bidong Terengganu .Where do we go from here ?A million dollar question .
Let us not discuss how much WEC costs us .That is beyond mere mortals like you and me and anyway it was a monumental success from the viewpoint of Malaysians as perfect host.We always are .
From the perspective of actual performance of Team Malaysia ,OK friends ,I have promised I am not going to go over it again ,lest I will qualify myself for the firing squad .OK ,so ,where do we go from here ?
First and foremost ,let us look at Bahrain and Qatar .Forget about UAE ,since UAE is a million miles ahead ,not from just us but from the rest of the world .Some blokes in the USA are even thinking of opting out of FEI Endurance because even USA , a former superpower in Endurance a decade ago has now been reduced to the dustbin of history .
What about Bahrain and Qatar ?They were just in the 'kindergarten' just like us when Dato Awang ,myself and a few others were at it in Europe some 8 years back ,now they are 2nd and 3rd in the WEC Team Championship .Where have we gone wrong ?It is not due to lack of funding [c'mon we have overspent millions on team preparation !].Poor planning ?Lack of confidence in ourselves ?Not our sport ?[ then may I suggest we go back to sepak takraw ]
I think it is a combination of all of the above plus a couple more [ cari makan factor etc etc ], but from now on let us use more of our 'grey mater' .It may help . It is quite painful at least for me to see all those millions wasted while we are seeing our sport developing in the way we would not like to be ie .....ism that would kill the initial competitive route that it was naturally taking prior to the WEC preparation frenzy .Govt funding and help ? Yes ,yes and yes but we have to thread a careful line here in case we become overdependent .We want individuals to still dream of buying and owning their own mounts and bringing them up to a level able to give the 'big boys' a run for their money .We want people who pride themselves in beating the odd on their way to the podium and say for example "RTES or Al Raudhah can go and fly kites ,I can still beat you despite your superior every thing " !That is healthy development .
This is how I look at the future post WEC if we are to progress and develop the breadth and depth of our sport in a healthy and holistic manner and in the most economical and realistic way :
1.Chief de Quippe.
We should certainly look beyond efficient 'water carriers' and 'transport' managers .Also beyond EAM Endurance Chairman who has to play to the gallery for popular votes and so called 'palace'rating.An effective CDQ must be someone who knows 'endurance ' like the back of his knuckles ,may be a vet ,may be a rider or better still an ex rider ,who most importantly must be willing to be unpopular ,especially with the riders whom he chooses ! .Unsalaried of course .Not necessarily in the EAM but may be co-opted member ,answerable to the EAM President but not neccesarily 'kowtaying' to him .He must 1st and foremost be independent in mind and spirit .He plan ,set up the selection criteria and sit with a committee for selection and preside that committee .Hire and fire .In short a supremo .Some of you may think Ia m describing a 'devil' .Well in Malaysia ,to get us somewhere you have to be a little 'devil' .The Kelantanese has got a better name for such individuals .Give him a tenure of 3 years ie beyond EAM but such 'devil' will sack himself if he think he is not up to the mark .Find that 'devil' .Of course he has to operate with one or two assistants and some nominal budget from EAM or whatever .
If people think the CDQ has to be from EAM then by all mean let the Endurance Chairperson be the CDQ .A supremo CDQ who does not bow to pressure from within and without .Still a little'devil' .
2.International Competitions
This is free country .People can compete where they like and their results and experience will be taken into overall consideration by the CDQ but from the National interest of carrying our 'Jalur Gemilang' there are only several that it is imperative we have to be there .Off the cuff I can only think of 3 :The annual Open European Championship ,WEC/WEG and since we are already in the club ,The President's Cup in Dubai .Sending a team of riders or one pallet ,to carry our Jalur Gemilang to these event is 'small money' compared to the amount we have spent in our team preparation for WEC .We have to learn to do things economically ,cut off the frills and the 'makans and the unnecessary "kompangs etc etc ".EAM or ISN should be looking at funding ,leave the CDQ to do his job .Branding and finance is not his job ,it is EAM and ISN .If any EAM President is not aware of this he should not be there .The CDQ's brief is to move around ,know the horses and the riders and have a 'movable' but fair premise for selection of the Malaysian team for any international event .No hiding behind 'monolithic' committees who at the end of the day bear no responsibility for total failure .A typical Malaysian scenario .
3.Local Competitions
I look at the Sultan's Cup as already a '3 star' brand.It would be a pity to just go back to the original format .Go on a higher 'plane' at less cost .Bring it to the level of The President's Cup of Dubai but at lesser cost by decreasing the 'volume'.Achieve 4 star or 5 star status by increasing the prize money ,decrease the distance to 120 km or maintain the same ie 160 km ,invite only continental champions to challenge local riders say one pallet each from USA ,South America , one from Europe and one from Australia and New Zealand .
UAE ,Bahrain and Qatar can fly in on their own as many riders they like .If we have the right 'jalan' with the 'Pak Sheikhs' ,even the Sultan's Cup they can sponsor .They have been doing this with all other big rides around the world .Just the right 'jalan' .
These visitors to bring their best horses and best riders .We learn from them .And dont forget ,Branding .Teranggannu has all the potential of being a major tourist destination .We are better than that cheap skate sex destination in Phuket .If properly branded ,may even be better than Bali .
The rest of competitions concentrate on more 80's and 120's ,just maximum only 2 160's .We already have the toughest ride in the world [AL Raudhah] ,the best 120 in the World ,Gunong ,Kota Bharu and a few others to play around .Revamp the rides rulings by EAM to make the rides more inclusive rather than exclusive .Some vets at present are making new people to shy away from endurance by their stiff interpetation of the rules and making more rules .The new EAM rules on endurance are in my opinion convoluted and difficult to implement .So convoluted that if we let some vets to totally dictate the rules of our sport ,there will be no riders to take part in any class .Some of them are 'control freaks' .There must be balance .We endurancers are still small in numbers ,let us be more practical .
Look into establishing another class of ride ie for the 'local ponies' of certain height .Again be inclusive .We want endurance to also be a 'sukan raayat' .
4.Clubs
Over the past few years we have grown in number which is very good .The big ones like Al Raudhah ,RTES and TMKN Stable lead the way by virtue of unlimited funding etc etc but in laissez faire economy this is healthy .Small clubs ,State funded clubs and individuals [ like me ] are encouraged to steal some thunder from the big boys .What is worrying to many of us is the unimpeded flow of public funding to a selected few of the present 'big boys'in the past which is not healthy at all to the sport .They do not need help to procure horses etc etc .This create a new form of ..ism which would negate progressive competitiveness of others .The initial edge obtain is small compared to the overall negative effect to the sport .People who hold the purse string on public fund should be aware of this unhealthy trend .it would kill the sport .Leave it alone .Channel your fund to a central body like EAM to manage for competition purposes rather than procurement of horses etc etc for the selected few .
In my estimation ,endurance can go a long way in the route towards 'Sukan Untuk Negara' .We just need to put our 'grey mater' more into it rather than just follow our 'basic cari makan'instinct .At the International Level we need not bring in the medals ,being there is enough .Post WEC ,we have to keep working harder and reconfigure our "Brand Malaysia" .
"SUKAN UNTUK NEGARA" .
Post World Endurance Championship ,Lembah Bidong Terengganu .Where do we go from here ?A million dollar question .
Let us not discuss how much WEC costs us .That is beyond mere mortals like you and me and anyway it was a monumental success from the viewpoint of Malaysians as perfect host.We always are .
From the perspective of actual performance of Team Malaysia ,OK friends ,I have promised I am not going to go over it again ,lest I will qualify myself for the firing squad .OK ,so ,where do we go from here ?
First and foremost ,let us look at Bahrain and Qatar .Forget about UAE ,since UAE is a million miles ahead ,not from just us but from the rest of the world .Some blokes in the USA are even thinking of opting out of FEI Endurance because even USA , a former superpower in Endurance a decade ago has now been reduced to the dustbin of history .
What about Bahrain and Qatar ?They were just in the 'kindergarten' just like us when Dato Awang ,myself and a few others were at it in Europe some 8 years back ,now they are 2nd and 3rd in the WEC Team Championship .Where have we gone wrong ?It is not due to lack of funding [c'mon we have overspent millions on team preparation !].Poor planning ?Lack of confidence in ourselves ?Not our sport ?[ then may I suggest we go back to sepak takraw ]
I think it is a combination of all of the above plus a couple more [ cari makan factor etc etc ], but from now on let us use more of our 'grey mater' .It may help . It is quite painful at least for me to see all those millions wasted while we are seeing our sport developing in the way we would not like to be ie .....ism that would kill the initial competitive route that it was naturally taking prior to the WEC preparation frenzy .Govt funding and help ? Yes ,yes and yes but we have to thread a careful line here in case we become overdependent .We want individuals to still dream of buying and owning their own mounts and bringing them up to a level able to give the 'big boys' a run for their money .We want people who pride themselves in beating the odd on their way to the podium and say for example "RTES or Al Raudhah can go and fly kites ,I can still beat you despite your superior every thing " !That is healthy development .
This is how I look at the future post WEC if we are to progress and develop the breadth and depth of our sport in a healthy and holistic manner and in the most economical and realistic way :
1.Chief de Quippe.
We should certainly look beyond efficient 'water carriers' and 'transport' managers .Also beyond EAM Endurance Chairman who has to play to the gallery for popular votes and so called 'palace'rating.An effective CDQ must be someone who knows 'endurance ' like the back of his knuckles ,may be a vet ,may be a rider or better still an ex rider ,who most importantly must be willing to be unpopular ,especially with the riders whom he chooses ! .Unsalaried of course .Not necessarily in the EAM but may be co-opted member ,answerable to the EAM President but not neccesarily 'kowtaying' to him .He must 1st and foremost be independent in mind and spirit .He plan ,set up the selection criteria and sit with a committee for selection and preside that committee .Hire and fire .In short a supremo .Some of you may think Ia m describing a 'devil' .Well in Malaysia ,to get us somewhere you have to be a little 'devil' .The Kelantanese has got a better name for such individuals .Give him a tenure of 3 years ie beyond EAM but such 'devil' will sack himself if he think he is not up to the mark .Find that 'devil' .Of course he has to operate with one or two assistants and some nominal budget from EAM or whatever .
If people think the CDQ has to be from EAM then by all mean let the Endurance Chairperson be the CDQ .A supremo CDQ who does not bow to pressure from within and without .Still a little'devil' .
2.International Competitions
This is free country .People can compete where they like and their results and experience will be taken into overall consideration by the CDQ but from the National interest of carrying our 'Jalur Gemilang' there are only several that it is imperative we have to be there .Off the cuff I can only think of 3 :The annual Open European Championship ,WEC/WEG and since we are already in the club ,The President's Cup in Dubai .Sending a team of riders or one pallet ,to carry our Jalur Gemilang to these event is 'small money' compared to the amount we have spent in our team preparation for WEC .We have to learn to do things economically ,cut off the frills and the 'makans and the unnecessary "kompangs etc etc ".EAM or ISN should be looking at funding ,leave the CDQ to do his job .Branding and finance is not his job ,it is EAM and ISN .If any EAM President is not aware of this he should not be there .The CDQ's brief is to move around ,know the horses and the riders and have a 'movable' but fair premise for selection of the Malaysian team for any international event .No hiding behind 'monolithic' committees who at the end of the day bear no responsibility for total failure .A typical Malaysian scenario .
3.Local Competitions
I look at the Sultan's Cup as already a '3 star' brand.It would be a pity to just go back to the original format .Go on a higher 'plane' at less cost .Bring it to the level of The President's Cup of Dubai but at lesser cost by decreasing the 'volume'.Achieve 4 star or 5 star status by increasing the prize money ,decrease the distance to 120 km or maintain the same ie 160 km ,invite only continental champions to challenge local riders say one pallet each from USA ,South America , one from Europe and one from Australia and New Zealand .
UAE ,Bahrain and Qatar can fly in on their own as many riders they like .If we have the right 'jalan' with the 'Pak Sheikhs' ,even the Sultan's Cup they can sponsor .They have been doing this with all other big rides around the world .Just the right 'jalan' .
These visitors to bring their best horses and best riders .We learn from them .And dont forget ,Branding .Teranggannu has all the potential of being a major tourist destination .We are better than that cheap skate sex destination in Phuket .If properly branded ,may even be better than Bali .
The rest of competitions concentrate on more 80's and 120's ,just maximum only 2 160's .We already have the toughest ride in the world [AL Raudhah] ,the best 120 in the World ,Gunong ,Kota Bharu and a few others to play around .Revamp the rides rulings by EAM to make the rides more inclusive rather than exclusive .Some vets at present are making new people to shy away from endurance by their stiff interpetation of the rules and making more rules .The new EAM rules on endurance are in my opinion convoluted and difficult to implement .So convoluted that if we let some vets to totally dictate the rules of our sport ,there will be no riders to take part in any class .Some of them are 'control freaks' .There must be balance .We endurancers are still small in numbers ,let us be more practical .
Look into establishing another class of ride ie for the 'local ponies' of certain height .Again be inclusive .We want endurance to also be a 'sukan raayat' .
4.Clubs
Over the past few years we have grown in number which is very good .The big ones like Al Raudhah ,RTES and TMKN Stable lead the way by virtue of unlimited funding etc etc but in laissez faire economy this is healthy .Small clubs ,State funded clubs and individuals [ like me ] are encouraged to steal some thunder from the big boys .What is worrying to many of us is the unimpeded flow of public funding to a selected few of the present 'big boys'in the past which is not healthy at all to the sport .They do not need help to procure horses etc etc .This create a new form of ..ism which would negate progressive competitiveness of others .The initial edge obtain is small compared to the overall negative effect to the sport .People who hold the purse string on public fund should be aware of this unhealthy trend .it would kill the sport .Leave it alone .Channel your fund to a central body like EAM to manage for competition purposes rather than procurement of horses etc etc for the selected few .
In my estimation ,endurance can go a long way in the route towards 'Sukan Untuk Negara' .We just need to put our 'grey mater' more into it rather than just follow our 'basic cari makan'instinct .At the International Level we need not bring in the medals ,being there is enough .Post WEC ,we have to keep working harder and reconfigure our "Brand Malaysia" .
"SUKAN UNTUK NEGARA" .
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Not So Pearl & Gem :Vernacular Schools
Friends ,
We have several 'sacred cows' in Malaysia .Ketuanan Melayu being one of the 'cows',which is a very nebulous concept when the Melayus inhabit more than 90 % of all low cost housing in the country and own less than 15 % of the country's wealth [...and can someone tell why the NEP limits it's target to only 30 % and not 55 % ?].
The other 'sacred cow' is Vernacular Schools .[ see my October 29th blog :Our Education System has failed !].
When Mukriz Mahathir brought up the issue of vernacular schools being a hindrance to the concept of unity in Malaysia we can hear all sort of discordant , muted and irrational rebuttals from Gerakan ,MCA and DAP and also our new resident clown ,Samy Vellooo [ when is this botak going to retire ?].I am more interested to hear what our Mr Viagra Chua Soi Lek has to say ,especially after his recent burst on 'Ketuanan Melayu .The Melayus ,Mr Viagra Sir ,would rather own 70 % of the Nation's wealth than being a Tuan .Nothing is sacred ,not even the Malay Sultanate ,[ especially if they do not behave themselves as expected of Rulers ] for the Melayus if we have to beg for pittance in our very own Tanah Air .
I am reminded of Tan Sri Musa Hitam's advice many years back when he was much younger and more vibrant :" We Malays sometime has to be kurang ajar a bit only then others will respect us ".In 2008 ,it means let us insist on getting back to the 'master bedroom' ,not remaining on the verannda of our very own house.
And not having to apologise about it .It is sickening and bone chilling to see Pak Lah and our future PM designate did so several months ago .You cannot call a spade by any other name !A spade is a spade [ see Sept 26th blog :Lest We Forget....] ] .
Dr Nik Howk
We have several 'sacred cows' in Malaysia .Ketuanan Melayu being one of the 'cows',which is a very nebulous concept when the Melayus inhabit more than 90 % of all low cost housing in the country and own less than 15 % of the country's wealth [...and can someone tell why the NEP limits it's target to only 30 % and not 55 % ?].
The other 'sacred cow' is Vernacular Schools .[ see my October 29th blog :Our Education System has failed !].
When Mukriz Mahathir brought up the issue of vernacular schools being a hindrance to the concept of unity in Malaysia we can hear all sort of discordant , muted and irrational rebuttals from Gerakan ,MCA and DAP and also our new resident clown ,Samy Vellooo [ when is this botak going to retire ?].I am more interested to hear what our Mr Viagra Chua Soi Lek has to say ,especially after his recent burst on 'Ketuanan Melayu .The Melayus ,Mr Viagra Sir ,would rather own 70 % of the Nation's wealth than being a Tuan .Nothing is sacred ,not even the Malay Sultanate ,[ especially if they do not behave themselves as expected of Rulers ] for the Melayus if we have to beg for pittance in our very own Tanah Air .
I am reminded of Tan Sri Musa Hitam's advice many years back when he was much younger and more vibrant :" We Malays sometime has to be kurang ajar a bit only then others will respect us ".In 2008 ,it means let us insist on getting back to the 'master bedroom' ,not remaining on the verannda of our very own house.
And not having to apologise about it .It is sickening and bone chilling to see Pak Lah and our future PM designate did so several months ago .You cannot call a spade by any other name !A spade is a spade [ see Sept 26th blog :Lest We Forget....] ] .
Dr Nik Howk
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Not So Pearl & Gem :The Malay Dilemma
Friends ,
Bandar Sri Premaisuri ,right smack in the heart of Puchong .One of the many brand new suburbs dottering the Federal Capital , is a study of stark contrast .Up a hill on the right side , you have huge bungalows and big semi-dees with a back drop of a very green looking forest reserve which ,for one who is wise with the ways of our local council ,wonders whether it would still be there in say ,five years time .A gated community ,serene and peaceful .100 % Chinese ownership as who can afford 1.5 million RM and above if not the Chinese .
Down below ,the hill acting like the Berlin Wall , the long ,straight 3 km street ideal for racing at night, a dream for Mat Rempits ,you have rows an rows of low cost and medium cost high rise and low rise apartments ,90 % Malays with a springkling of Chinese and Indians .Mat Rempits reeving their motor cycles and racing at night ,that is 100 % Malays .I do not wish to wander beyond the 'mat rempit' and progress to 'dadah' as that would result in a double dose of depression .
So much for the affirmative action over 40 years or so of NEP !That is the state of our economy .Let us move on to something more positive ,politics !
We will have a new PM in March if the Old Man means what he say .In Malaysian politics ,it can sometime be difficult :'Yang tersurat dan yang tersirat can be world apart '.Remember Pak Lah has been in the public domain longer than the other old chap .When that guy was just an 'ordinary' pariah MP whom nobody wanted to be seen alive with during the NOC days ,Pak Lah was already the Executive Secretary to Tun Razak's powerful National Operation Council way back in 1969 . .
But let as all assume Pak Lah is true to his words .Mr Najib become PM in March .The guy with excess baggage married to a 1st lady also with excess baggage ,literally and figuratively .That Petra fellow will have his field day until he dies or being made to shut up .
Let us go down one scale to the 'perfect storm' building up in the Women's wing of UMNO .The incumbent has yet to give all of us a satisfactory account of her role in the 'AP King' scandal that rocked the country 2 years back .All of us have short memories so it is ok .Her challenger appears less 'soiled' except for the unsubstantiated rumour making the round among the 'lembu corporate circle'that her better half was given a 'soft soft gomen loan'[ which mean no interest ,and as most 'gomen loans go ,later on if you cannot pay ,'kita boleh kira ,Petronas etc etc will look into it ] to the tune of 200 RM millions to dabble in 'lembu' .
Even if it is true ,it is a just a loan ,you have to pay back a loan stupid ! Just that some taxpayers are just wondering aloud whether any Ali ,Ahmad or Pak Mat Nyadap say from Kuala Ketil can also apply ,and of course the obviously naughty thought of some people as to whether how much will go to actually 'lembu ' and lembu research and how much to something else ?
Lower down the scale we have KJ ,a young punk from Oxbridge . [ my neighbour's son is also from Oxbridge but not so lucky ,now selling roti canai in downtown USJ !Saudara Ling Liong Sik 's son ,as usual anak towkey not very 'blight' , was however not from Oxbridge , that one we are very sure .Maggi mee type of multi millionaire at one time at the right old age of 26 !Did not sell roti canai though .You rub my back I rub yours Malaysian style ,not during Pak lah's time I am afraid ] .
KJ ,head honcho of a group of similar bred young punks advising the present PM towards his subsequent fall from grace ,putting his all for the Pemuda post .You may say he is still green and very wet in between the ears but even then do not underestimate his talent .Even that mamak chap in NST at that time reports to him .Connection is power even though officially one may be a 'penganggur' .Now though ,he is facing an uphill task against Dato M ,another example a young upstart born and bred with a silver spoon . Dato M's father gave us a new definition of the word nepotism .'Nepotism is only when your successor does it ,if you do it ,it is a necessary evil bordering on divine wisdom'.
KT ,another 'not so young any more' punk [ can still qualify for 'punk status' because at 40 plus who go for botox and demabrassion except for punkish Jawa totok type ! ] ,though way back in the race ,is still not giving up because if you are Pemuda head now ,15 years down the lane you are PM material .That is the unwritten rule provided you are on the right side of 'money politics ',meaning you have to make hay , a lot of hay mind you ,when the sun shine .As a corollary ,intellectually more capable people in the same camp like Rais Yatim ,Shahrir Samad ,Shaberry Chik ,just to name a few ,who do not want to play the 'game' ,thus too late Mates ,you missed the boat !
KT is the chap that make TS Muhammad ,that chap who has the international distinction of being declared 'legally' to not knowing a word of English , look and smell like a saint .[ I must certainly congratulate Dato Shafee ,who was my contemporary in M U for such brilliant defence Down Under .Jarang sekali anak melayu cerdik macam ni ! Mat Salleh pun kalah .That is why he is now a millionaire lawyer and I am just a simple plumber !]
Across the divide we have MR AI .Exuberant speaker even the Devil himself may admit defeat if they were to meet .In his haste to be in Sri Perdana in Putrajaya though , some Malays like me [ I hope this is just small in number because do we have another choice now pleaseeee?? ]wonder whether we are just paying to much .[ When clowns like Sami Vellooo can insist on being consulted publicly before a fatwa or PAS can become muted and deaf pertaining to religious issues ,we may really be paying too much ! ]I mean chaps like me ,even in a hundred years ,will still query the sincerity of people like Karpal Singh,Gobind Deo or even the old fox himself ,Lim Kit Siang .Who is riding who ,this rather unholy alliance ?
[ Can anyone out there please tell us whether AI indeed still has a soul or not ?He appears too good to be true . I hope he is not another Dorian Gray who has given his to the Devil .We all love Malaysia and really have no where else to go ]
In the process I could see even the old Tok Guru get 'sucked' into the whole equation .I hope that old venearable and honest man know where he is going .In desperately trying to appear 'universal' , due to their alliance with AI ,PAS has lost some of it's credibility along the way .
Of course some of us are still hoping for some other highly unlikely 'unholy alliance' but given the present equation and realities on the ground ,that is highly unlikely .
That to me ,in essence ,is the Malay Dilemma in 2008 .Enlightened ,plain honest Allah fearing leadership or rather the lack of it ,that is the dilemma facing us Malays in this 'Tanah Melayu yang tercinta'.
Dr Nik Howk
Bandar Sri Premaisuri ,right smack in the heart of Puchong .One of the many brand new suburbs dottering the Federal Capital , is a study of stark contrast .Up a hill on the right side , you have huge bungalows and big semi-dees with a back drop of a very green looking forest reserve which ,for one who is wise with the ways of our local council ,wonders whether it would still be there in say ,five years time .A gated community ,serene and peaceful .100 % Chinese ownership as who can afford 1.5 million RM and above if not the Chinese .
Down below ,the hill acting like the Berlin Wall , the long ,straight 3 km street ideal for racing at night, a dream for Mat Rempits ,you have rows an rows of low cost and medium cost high rise and low rise apartments ,90 % Malays with a springkling of Chinese and Indians .Mat Rempits reeving their motor cycles and racing at night ,that is 100 % Malays .I do not wish to wander beyond the 'mat rempit' and progress to 'dadah' as that would result in a double dose of depression .
So much for the affirmative action over 40 years or so of NEP !That is the state of our economy .Let us move on to something more positive ,politics !
We will have a new PM in March if the Old Man means what he say .In Malaysian politics ,it can sometime be difficult :'Yang tersurat dan yang tersirat can be world apart '.Remember Pak Lah has been in the public domain longer than the other old chap .When that guy was just an 'ordinary' pariah MP whom nobody wanted to be seen alive with during the NOC days ,Pak Lah was already the Executive Secretary to Tun Razak's powerful National Operation Council way back in 1969 . .
But let as all assume Pak Lah is true to his words .Mr Najib become PM in March .The guy with excess baggage married to a 1st lady also with excess baggage ,literally and figuratively .That Petra fellow will have his field day until he dies or being made to shut up .
Let us go down one scale to the 'perfect storm' building up in the Women's wing of UMNO .The incumbent has yet to give all of us a satisfactory account of her role in the 'AP King' scandal that rocked the country 2 years back .All of us have short memories so it is ok .Her challenger appears less 'soiled' except for the unsubstantiated rumour making the round among the 'lembu corporate circle'that her better half was given a 'soft soft gomen loan'[ which mean no interest ,and as most 'gomen loans go ,later on if you cannot pay ,'kita boleh kira ,Petronas etc etc will look into it ] to the tune of 200 RM millions to dabble in 'lembu' .
Even if it is true ,it is a just a loan ,you have to pay back a loan stupid ! Just that some taxpayers are just wondering aloud whether any Ali ,Ahmad or Pak Mat Nyadap say from Kuala Ketil can also apply ,and of course the obviously naughty thought of some people as to whether how much will go to actually 'lembu ' and lembu research and how much to something else ?
Lower down the scale we have KJ ,a young punk from Oxbridge . [ my neighbour's son is also from Oxbridge but not so lucky ,now selling roti canai in downtown USJ !Saudara Ling Liong Sik 's son ,as usual anak towkey not very 'blight' , was however not from Oxbridge , that one we are very sure .Maggi mee type of multi millionaire at one time at the right old age of 26 !Did not sell roti canai though .You rub my back I rub yours Malaysian style ,not during Pak lah's time I am afraid ] .
KJ ,head honcho of a group of similar bred young punks advising the present PM towards his subsequent fall from grace ,putting his all for the Pemuda post .You may say he is still green and very wet in between the ears but even then do not underestimate his talent .Even that mamak chap in NST at that time reports to him .Connection is power even though officially one may be a 'penganggur' .Now though ,he is facing an uphill task against Dato M ,another example a young upstart born and bred with a silver spoon . Dato M's father gave us a new definition of the word nepotism .'Nepotism is only when your successor does it ,if you do it ,it is a necessary evil bordering on divine wisdom'.
KT ,another 'not so young any more' punk [ can still qualify for 'punk status' because at 40 plus who go for botox and demabrassion except for punkish Jawa totok type ! ] ,though way back in the race ,is still not giving up because if you are Pemuda head now ,15 years down the lane you are PM material .That is the unwritten rule provided you are on the right side of 'money politics ',meaning you have to make hay , a lot of hay mind you ,when the sun shine .As a corollary ,intellectually more capable people in the same camp like Rais Yatim ,Shahrir Samad ,Shaberry Chik ,just to name a few ,who do not want to play the 'game' ,thus too late Mates ,you missed the boat !
KT is the chap that make TS Muhammad ,that chap who has the international distinction of being declared 'legally' to not knowing a word of English , look and smell like a saint .[ I must certainly congratulate Dato Shafee ,who was my contemporary in M U for such brilliant defence Down Under .Jarang sekali anak melayu cerdik macam ni ! Mat Salleh pun kalah .That is why he is now a millionaire lawyer and I am just a simple plumber !]
Across the divide we have MR AI .Exuberant speaker even the Devil himself may admit defeat if they were to meet .In his haste to be in Sri Perdana in Putrajaya though , some Malays like me [ I hope this is just small in number because do we have another choice now pleaseeee?? ]wonder whether we are just paying to much .[ When clowns like Sami Vellooo can insist on being consulted publicly before a fatwa or PAS can become muted and deaf pertaining to religious issues ,we may really be paying too much ! ]I mean chaps like me ,even in a hundred years ,will still query the sincerity of people like Karpal Singh,Gobind Deo or even the old fox himself ,Lim Kit Siang .Who is riding who ,this rather unholy alliance ?
[ Can anyone out there please tell us whether AI indeed still has a soul or not ?He appears too good to be true . I hope he is not another Dorian Gray who has given his to the Devil .We all love Malaysia and really have no where else to go ]
In the process I could see even the old Tok Guru get 'sucked' into the whole equation .I hope that old venearable and honest man know where he is going .In desperately trying to appear 'universal' , due to their alliance with AI ,PAS has lost some of it's credibility along the way .
Of course some of us are still hoping for some other highly unlikely 'unholy alliance' but given the present equation and realities on the ground ,that is highly unlikely .
That to me ,in essence ,is the Malay Dilemma in 2008 .Enlightened ,plain honest Allah fearing leadership or rather the lack of it ,that is the dilemma facing us Malays in this 'Tanah Melayu yang tercinta'.
Dr Nik Howk
Not So Pearl & Gem :The Malay Dilemma or.... of Leh Budu, Lembu Corporate and all that Jazz...........
Friends ,
Take Bandar Permaisuri ,an example of typical brand new suburb ,one of the many ,dottering the Federal Capital .On one side of the a long street you have big bungalows and huge semi dees on top of a hill within a gated community ,all at least one million RM and above ,almost without doubt 100 % Chinese .Just across the street lines and lines of low rise and high rise apartment blocks ,low cost and at best medium cost ,at night saddled with Mat Rempits reeving and racing their bikes .90 % Malays with a sprinkling of Chinese and some Indians , the apartment owners I mean .As for the Mat Rempits ,they are 100 % Malays .Let us not talk about dadah ,less we get more depressive .
That is the economy my friends .Let us move on to something more cheerful .Politics for instance !
In one corner we have Madam Shahrizad mounting the final attack on the presidency for the UMNO Women's wing .Some people in the know alleged that her recently retired husband got lucky and landed himself a 'soft soft' free of interest government loan of 200 millions RM to dabble in 'lembu' .I am not sure how far this is true ,just informed rumour from informed sources .Though I definitely know for sure as previous CEO of Technology Park in KL , 'lembu' is not his cattle of fish .
In the other corner we have Madam Rafidah .All of us know her from the AP King scandal ,which to date had not had a proper ,satisfactory and profound rebuttal as yet from the both the government of the day and she herself .That is the state of our politics at present.Everthing best swept under the carpet .Public memory is necessarily short and we are a very gentle and accepting type of people .
Go one scale down we have a young still wet in between the ears punk ,Oxbridge basic degree holder no doubt . Make one wonder in 2008 how many of them actually still walking down the street of KL ,still jobless ,among the thousands of jobless graduates ,local and overseas ?But this one is extra special .His father in law is the present PM ,therefore he is extra bright .Head a small group of similarly wet in between the ears bright yuppies like him advising the PM to his present downfall !
On the other side we have KT who make even that Mentri Besar ,who was caught with so many millions in his briefcase but does not know a word of English , look like a saint .Along with Mr M whose father redefine our Malaysian understanding of the word nepotism .Nepotism by Mr M Senior's standard is 'when it is practised by your predecessor ,but if it happened during your own time ,it is necessary wisdom !'.
On the other side of the world we have Anwar .People like me oftentimes wonder whether Anwar has a soul .He is the new kid on the block and our big hope for an that 'alternative ' government that can replace the present one that people ,rightly or wrongly perceive as being rotten to the 'core' and beyond any form of change or redemption .The billion ringgit question in most Malays like me is whether Anwar will also sell our souls in his haste to Sri Perdana in Putrajaya .
.
Take Bandar Permaisuri ,an example of typical brand new suburb ,one of the many ,dottering the Federal Capital .On one side of the a long street you have big bungalows and huge semi dees on top of a hill within a gated community ,all at least one million RM and above ,almost without doubt 100 % Chinese .Just across the street lines and lines of low rise and high rise apartment blocks ,low cost and at best medium cost ,at night saddled with Mat Rempits reeving and racing their bikes .90 % Malays with a sprinkling of Chinese and some Indians , the apartment owners I mean .As for the Mat Rempits ,they are 100 % Malays .Let us not talk about dadah ,less we get more depressive .
That is the economy my friends .Let us move on to something more cheerful .Politics for instance !
In one corner we have Madam Shahrizad mounting the final attack on the presidency for the UMNO Women's wing .Some people in the know alleged that her recently retired husband got lucky and landed himself a 'soft soft' free of interest government loan of 200 millions RM to dabble in 'lembu' .I am not sure how far this is true ,just informed rumour from informed sources .Though I definitely know for sure as previous CEO of Technology Park in KL , 'lembu' is not his cattle of fish .
In the other corner we have Madam Rafidah .All of us know her from the AP King scandal ,which to date had not had a proper ,satisfactory and profound rebuttal as yet from the both the government of the day and she herself .That is the state of our politics at present.Everthing best swept under the carpet .Public memory is necessarily short and we are a very gentle and accepting type of people .
Go one scale down we have a young still wet in between the ears punk ,Oxbridge basic degree holder no doubt . Make one wonder in 2008 how many of them actually still walking down the street of KL ,still jobless ,among the thousands of jobless graduates ,local and overseas ?But this one is extra special .His father in law is the present PM ,therefore he is extra bright .Head a small group of similarly wet in between the ears bright yuppies like him advising the PM to his present downfall !
On the other side we have KT who make even that Mentri Besar ,who was caught with so many millions in his briefcase but does not know a word of English , look like a saint .Along with Mr M whose father redefine our Malaysian understanding of the word nepotism .Nepotism by Mr M Senior's standard is 'when it is practised by your predecessor ,but if it happened during your own time ,it is necessary wisdom !'.
On the other side of the world we have Anwar .People like me oftentimes wonder whether Anwar has a soul .He is the new kid on the block and our big hope for an that 'alternative ' government that can replace the present one that people ,rightly or wrongly perceive as being rotten to the 'core' and beyond any form of change or redemption .The billion ringgit question in most Malays like me is whether Anwar will also sell our souls in his haste to Sri Perdana in Putrajaya .
.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Of Musang King ,Yoga and that clown called Sami Vellooo
Friends ,
Admittedly the best tasting durian now is no longer the D24 variety .If you have not yet heard of Musang King then you are not in the durian scene .Previously known as Durian Kunyit amongst the Malays,was priced lower than D24 .Then the Chinese discovered it !Then the Singaporean Chinese tasted it .Rebranded as Musang King !No longer available for lowly Malays like me since the rebranded durian kunyit is only for Singaporeans at 20 RM per kilo .Leave this 'rebranding exercise' to the Chinese ,they can even sell old teh tarik at 10 RM per cup or if they stretch their imagination harder , even their 'recycled mother in laws' as fresh virgins !
What is Musang King to us ,or for that matter any durian ,minus the smell ?Pretty worthless .Probably worse than the cheap Thai durians they sell at Giants [ mind you Giants are now Hongkies ,no longer Malaysians ,so next time your wives go 'bingeing' advice them to think also of poor Mydin !I could still remember young Mydin sitting in front of his father's sundry shop near the world famous Zain Building ,near that equally world famous Bata Shop ,in Kota Bharu way back in the early 60's ]
That bring us to the current issue of Yoga .The fatwa is long time coming actually .What is Yoga without the spiritual aspect of it .It is no longer Yoga but a series of movements .But Yoga is Yoga and if you happened to be the unlucky blokes who sit in the National Fatwa Committee ,how are you going to judge Yoga ?
If one takes the Federal Highway and drive westward ,at the middle of your journey you get to Shah Alam ,carry on further the end of the road is Port Klang .In Yoga ,even if you feigned complete ignorance , the beginning are pure physical movement ,but the spirit of Yoga ,Dr Zuraidah Atan et al my dear ,is idol worship .There is no two way about it .Mind you ,Yang Berbahagia Dr Abdul Shukor and the learned Council of Ulama' he chairs , are going to carry the collective 'sins' of millions if they decide wrongly .Let us all not follow Sisters out of Islam in yet again re-starting this sickly new hobby of Ulama' bashing by putting Islamic religious issues on the mainly secular , ignorant , so called National Press !The Sun for example is fanning the issue as far as I can see .Islam and the Quran is not yet for sale.If we Muslims do not respect our ulama' do not expect Karpal Singh or Govind Deo to do that .
Even years back I have no qualms about it being Fatwa-ed as haram knowing the background , and being honest if you guys wake me up from my dreams at 3 am and ask me whether Yoga is halal or haram for us Muslims ,I say it is haram without even needing to think .It is lawful no doubt but who is speaking about the law ?
That does not mean Dr Ramli the dancer or Dr Zuraidah Atan the new champion of Yoga or that lady who just put in her 3 million RM investment in a Yoga centre cannot go on practising Yoga if they insist on doing so .Carry on , but the rest of us Malaysian Muslims ,the great silent majority , would like to thank Dr Abdul Shukor and his group of Ulama' for their due delibration on this long expected fatwa advisory .
Why are clowns like Sami Vellooo and chairman of Malaysian Tamil Sangam Society feeling bad about the fatwa .You guys go and fly kites ,this is not your affair !Since when do we have to consult these clowns to come up with a fatwa advisory .A fatwa advisory is a fatwa advisory and it is up to the States to pick up from there .We all accept that a National Fatwa Council is a necessary evil ,that is beyond doubt ,otherwise we can get a discordant fatwa in Kelantan and another in Johore .Just need to get the right 'brains' in the council ,from religious viewpoint ,sciences etc etc .I am sure it is not a pleasure to deliberate on a fatwa .
If a Sultan or two feel slighted about the fatwa advisory ,they are doing it at their very own perils .Yes you may take your time to sit on this ,that is your right but you guys should thank the National Fatwa Committee for coming up with this very high time fatwa advisory .Mind you it is just advisory but at the end of the day please deliberate and tell us whether you guys are willing to take on the 'collective sins ' of the millions ,if the Fatwa is correct .
This is Pak Lah's Malaysia .Clowns like Sami Vellooo et al no longer know when to speak and when it is proper to keep quiet !
Dr Nik Howk
PS :If people like Dr Zuraidah Atan want to bring down their high blood pressure and stress level down via alternative holistic mode they can do more effectively by prayers ,zikir etc etc ,need not be yoga .But if they still insist on Yoga ,go ahead .This is a free country .You are free to choose your stand if you still must insist on wallowing in your ignorance !
To quote the late Prof HAMKA :"....dan satu di antara berbagai kesulitan kearah universal acceptance of Islam itself adalah umat nya sendiri yang telah di tentukan oleh sejarah bernama umat 'Islam ' ,tetapi belum mencapai 'hakikat Islam '.
Allahualam !
Admittedly the best tasting durian now is no longer the D24 variety .If you have not yet heard of Musang King then you are not in the durian scene .Previously known as Durian Kunyit amongst the Malays,was priced lower than D24 .Then the Chinese discovered it !Then the Singaporean Chinese tasted it .Rebranded as Musang King !No longer available for lowly Malays like me since the rebranded durian kunyit is only for Singaporeans at 20 RM per kilo .Leave this 'rebranding exercise' to the Chinese ,they can even sell old teh tarik at 10 RM per cup or if they stretch their imagination harder , even their 'recycled mother in laws' as fresh virgins !
What is Musang King to us ,or for that matter any durian ,minus the smell ?Pretty worthless .Probably worse than the cheap Thai durians they sell at Giants [ mind you Giants are now Hongkies ,no longer Malaysians ,so next time your wives go 'bingeing' advice them to think also of poor Mydin !I could still remember young Mydin sitting in front of his father's sundry shop near the world famous Zain Building ,near that equally world famous Bata Shop ,in Kota Bharu way back in the early 60's ]
That bring us to the current issue of Yoga .The fatwa is long time coming actually .What is Yoga without the spiritual aspect of it .It is no longer Yoga but a series of movements .But Yoga is Yoga and if you happened to be the unlucky blokes who sit in the National Fatwa Committee ,how are you going to judge Yoga ?
If one takes the Federal Highway and drive westward ,at the middle of your journey you get to Shah Alam ,carry on further the end of the road is Port Klang .In Yoga ,even if you feigned complete ignorance , the beginning are pure physical movement ,but the spirit of Yoga ,Dr Zuraidah Atan et al my dear ,is idol worship .There is no two way about it .Mind you ,Yang Berbahagia Dr Abdul Shukor and the learned Council of Ulama' he chairs , are going to carry the collective 'sins' of millions if they decide wrongly .Let us all not follow Sisters out of Islam in yet again re-starting this sickly new hobby of Ulama' bashing by putting Islamic religious issues on the mainly secular , ignorant , so called National Press !The Sun for example is fanning the issue as far as I can see .Islam and the Quran is not yet for sale.If we Muslims do not respect our ulama' do not expect Karpal Singh or Govind Deo to do that .
Even years back I have no qualms about it being Fatwa-ed as haram knowing the background , and being honest if you guys wake me up from my dreams at 3 am and ask me whether Yoga is halal or haram for us Muslims ,I say it is haram without even needing to think .It is lawful no doubt but who is speaking about the law ?
That does not mean Dr Ramli the dancer or Dr Zuraidah Atan the new champion of Yoga or that lady who just put in her 3 million RM investment in a Yoga centre cannot go on practising Yoga if they insist on doing so .Carry on , but the rest of us Malaysian Muslims ,the great silent majority , would like to thank Dr Abdul Shukor and his group of Ulama' for their due delibration on this long expected fatwa advisory .
Why are clowns like Sami Vellooo and chairman of Malaysian Tamil Sangam Society feeling bad about the fatwa .You guys go and fly kites ,this is not your affair !Since when do we have to consult these clowns to come up with a fatwa advisory .A fatwa advisory is a fatwa advisory and it is up to the States to pick up from there .We all accept that a National Fatwa Council is a necessary evil ,that is beyond doubt ,otherwise we can get a discordant fatwa in Kelantan and another in Johore .Just need to get the right 'brains' in the council ,from religious viewpoint ,sciences etc etc .I am sure it is not a pleasure to deliberate on a fatwa .
If a Sultan or two feel slighted about the fatwa advisory ,they are doing it at their very own perils .Yes you may take your time to sit on this ,that is your right but you guys should thank the National Fatwa Committee for coming up with this very high time fatwa advisory .Mind you it is just advisory but at the end of the day please deliberate and tell us whether you guys are willing to take on the 'collective sins ' of the millions ,if the Fatwa is correct .
This is Pak Lah's Malaysia .Clowns like Sami Vellooo et al no longer know when to speak and when it is proper to keep quiet !
Dr Nik Howk
PS :If people like Dr Zuraidah Atan want to bring down their high blood pressure and stress level down via alternative holistic mode they can do more effectively by prayers ,zikir etc etc ,need not be yoga .But if they still insist on Yoga ,go ahead .This is a free country .You are free to choose your stand if you still must insist on wallowing in your ignorance !
To quote the late Prof HAMKA :"....dan satu di antara berbagai kesulitan kearah universal acceptance of Islam itself adalah umat nya sendiri yang telah di tentukan oleh sejarah bernama umat 'Islam ' ,tetapi belum mencapai 'hakikat Islam '.
Allahualam !
Monday, November 24, 2008
Death & Eternal Life After Death
Friends ,
Even hardcore chap like me in a 'hardcore speciality' like cardiology ,supposedly immuned to death ,do sometime feel down ,weighted down by the sense of frailty in man when we have to face death .Too many issues surrounding death this week .
Firstly that young Indian chap who died under my care last week .Just 32 with a young Indonesian wife and 2 year old kid in tow .Her halting sob ,half Indian half Indonesian ,over the cold lifeless body of her young husband ,haunts me .
My mother in law ,her lungs and heart already riddled with cancer cells ,hanging on to dear life ,on expensive state of the art oral medication ,tarceva ,that is supposed to 'buy' time ,for a couple more months before the cancer cells get the better of it ,and invade further .
She is quite oblivious of her fate .Ignorance is bliss .We doctors oftentimes have to 'play god' a lot more than we want to in this part of the world .Asians do not generally want to know the whole bad news !Telling too much can be wrong ,too little ,you will get 'lawyer's' letter on your desk, when the 'undiscussable' do take place 'prematurely' .
In her case I can expect a couple more months of honeymoon and 'personal 'reprieve' then the progressive deterioration in breathing ,loss of cognitive functions and a generally slow slide to unconciousness ,my little 'empire' will be in turmoil.I think I have a heart of stone ,by way of upbringing [ orphaned at age 9 ! ] and training ,but to see loved ones suffer from the impending loss of their loved one ,would be difficult even for Mr Stone .
Then there is this case of a dear colleague of mine this week whom I ,inadvertently found and diagnosed to have advance cancer ,just on a routine annual check up .
If you find my conversation with him macabre or callous ,do not judge so ,because we fellow physicians do not need 'veils' .
"So my friend ,since there are already 4 focus in the lung which look like metastatic cancer ,what are you going to do ,knowing that this sort of cancer is resistant to all kind of therapy ? ".....a rather superficial stupid question on my part ,but actually not very stupid as it seem ,as I was assessing his philosophical leaning .
"There is nothing much for me to do except to accept this ,riddha ,and live my life from day to day "...was the brave and stoic reply .I know the man well .With Riddha [ for want of better word ,Acceptance of your fate ] ,half the battle is won .Won not against the Big C , but against the internal demons of fear and oftentimes kufr .Many a time we practitioners observe a deep initial sense of denial in our patients which later change to anger .Oftentimes anger towards their care givers ,and frequently towards God .The "why me ,why me" syndrome sets in which result in kufr !
In moment like this we should thank our lucky star that we are Muslim : We have Riddha to soften the blow .We have kaffarah [ see Kaffarah ,Saturday ,July 5th blog ] .We have taubat and atonement [ see Some random Thots on Death ,Thursday May 22nd blog ] .We have prayers and we have zikrullah .
As supreme optimist ,and that is what we Muslim should be ,death is not the end . Optimist not in the secular way that come what may we are going to delay that moment of death by mega vitamin doses ,old Inca medicine ,yoga ,best treatment that money can buy etc etc etc or some obscure Chinese or Mexican hospital somewhere.
No ! No ! NO ! , none of these claims and 'super' claims, but by the realization that with the inevitability of forthcoming death we are moving on to the next phase of life , a better one by any scale of measure ,if we have prepared for it .It is not even the beginning .It is the end before the new beginning :The eternal journey .
'Duniya' in arabic is not just 'world' in English as we know it as an exact transliteration of the word .'Duniya' connotes a lower form of existence ,while 'akhirat' means a higher form .We are thus moving from a lower animal like existence with all the incosistencies and inadequacies of the lower 'nafs' to a higher more ephemeral existence of the higher spirit :The eternal journey .
"My friend ,I cannot offer you anything ,but actually when I come to think about it ,you are in a better position than 'numb skulls' like me and million others who today go through life heedlessly ,never giving a serious thought about Him and our Eternal Journey ,thinking we have 20 ,25 more years and one fine day suddenly get caught with our pants down tomorrow or day after ,just like that young Indian patient of mine .In your case you know you have 6 months plus minus 6 ,and work hard at it ,while in our case we tend to forget about Allah because we think we can live forever "
As I walked away from his room ,I felt very relieved that my dear friend has 'accepted' his 'Qadar' [ see Qadar ,Qadr and Lailatulqadr in November blog ] very well with 'riddha' .Insyaallah he will be in good Hand .I cannot but remember the profound thought of that young jihadist who famously said :"To me It is like walking away from a hot furnace ,opening the door ,and walking through into an air conditioned room ".
Let us all work earnestly hard towards that kind of conviction .Death is after all the beginning of Eternal Life .
"Yes ,at the end of our time we should not fear .If we are well prepared ,It should be like walking from a hot furnace into an air conditioned room "!
That young jihadist had understood the full meaning of existence in this 'duniya' with all its shortcomings and inadequacies and look forward to a higher existence in the 'akhirat' .May their souls be placed amongst the blessed .
Dr Nik Howk
Even hardcore chap like me in a 'hardcore speciality' like cardiology ,supposedly immuned to death ,do sometime feel down ,weighted down by the sense of frailty in man when we have to face death .Too many issues surrounding death this week .
Firstly that young Indian chap who died under my care last week .Just 32 with a young Indonesian wife and 2 year old kid in tow .Her halting sob ,half Indian half Indonesian ,over the cold lifeless body of her young husband ,haunts me .
My mother in law ,her lungs and heart already riddled with cancer cells ,hanging on to dear life ,on expensive state of the art oral medication ,tarceva ,that is supposed to 'buy' time ,for a couple more months before the cancer cells get the better of it ,and invade further .
She is quite oblivious of her fate .Ignorance is bliss .We doctors oftentimes have to 'play god' a lot more than we want to in this part of the world .Asians do not generally want to know the whole bad news !Telling too much can be wrong ,too little ,you will get 'lawyer's' letter on your desk, when the 'undiscussable' do take place 'prematurely' .
In her case I can expect a couple more months of honeymoon and 'personal 'reprieve' then the progressive deterioration in breathing ,loss of cognitive functions and a generally slow slide to unconciousness ,my little 'empire' will be in turmoil.I think I have a heart of stone ,by way of upbringing [ orphaned at age 9 ! ] and training ,but to see loved ones suffer from the impending loss of their loved one ,would be difficult even for Mr Stone .
Then there is this case of a dear colleague of mine this week whom I ,inadvertently found and diagnosed to have advance cancer ,just on a routine annual check up .
If you find my conversation with him macabre or callous ,do not judge so ,because we fellow physicians do not need 'veils' .
"So my friend ,since there are already 4 focus in the lung which look like metastatic cancer ,what are you going to do ,knowing that this sort of cancer is resistant to all kind of therapy ? ".....a rather superficial stupid question on my part ,but actually not very stupid as it seem ,as I was assessing his philosophical leaning .
"There is nothing much for me to do except to accept this ,riddha ,and live my life from day to day "...was the brave and stoic reply .I know the man well .With Riddha [ for want of better word ,Acceptance of your fate ] ,half the battle is won .Won not against the Big C , but against the internal demons of fear and oftentimes kufr .Many a time we practitioners observe a deep initial sense of denial in our patients which later change to anger .Oftentimes anger towards their care givers ,and frequently towards God .The "why me ,why me" syndrome sets in which result in kufr !
In moment like this we should thank our lucky star that we are Muslim : We have Riddha to soften the blow .We have kaffarah [ see Kaffarah ,Saturday ,July 5th blog ] .We have taubat and atonement [ see Some random Thots on Death ,Thursday May 22nd blog ] .We have prayers and we have zikrullah .
As supreme optimist ,and that is what we Muslim should be ,death is not the end . Optimist not in the secular way that come what may we are going to delay that moment of death by mega vitamin doses ,old Inca medicine ,yoga ,best treatment that money can buy etc etc etc or some obscure Chinese or Mexican hospital somewhere.
No ! No ! NO ! , none of these claims and 'super' claims, but by the realization that with the inevitability of forthcoming death we are moving on to the next phase of life , a better one by any scale of measure ,if we have prepared for it .It is not even the beginning .It is the end before the new beginning :The eternal journey .
'Duniya' in arabic is not just 'world' in English as we know it as an exact transliteration of the word .'Duniya' connotes a lower form of existence ,while 'akhirat' means a higher form .We are thus moving from a lower animal like existence with all the incosistencies and inadequacies of the lower 'nafs' to a higher more ephemeral existence of the higher spirit :The eternal journey .
"My friend ,I cannot offer you anything ,but actually when I come to think about it ,you are in a better position than 'numb skulls' like me and million others who today go through life heedlessly ,never giving a serious thought about Him and our Eternal Journey ,thinking we have 20 ,25 more years and one fine day suddenly get caught with our pants down tomorrow or day after ,just like that young Indian patient of mine .In your case you know you have 6 months plus minus 6 ,and work hard at it ,while in our case we tend to forget about Allah because we think we can live forever "
As I walked away from his room ,I felt very relieved that my dear friend has 'accepted' his 'Qadar' [ see Qadar ,Qadr and Lailatulqadr in November blog ] very well with 'riddha' .Insyaallah he will be in good Hand .I cannot but remember the profound thought of that young jihadist who famously said :"To me It is like walking away from a hot furnace ,opening the door ,and walking through into an air conditioned room ".
Let us all work earnestly hard towards that kind of conviction .Death is after all the beginning of Eternal Life .
"Yes ,at the end of our time we should not fear .If we are well prepared ,It should be like walking from a hot furnace into an air conditioned room "!
That young jihadist had understood the full meaning of existence in this 'duniya' with all its shortcomings and inadequacies and look forward to a higher existence in the 'akhirat' .May their souls be placed amongst the blessed .
Dr Nik Howk
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Malaysia WEC : Some Personal Thoughts.
Maria Mercedes Alverez Ponton and puny looking arab gelding ,Nobby : Individual Gold ,World Endurance Championship ,2008 ,Lembah Bidong ,Terengganu ,Malaysia .18.2 kph average over 160 kilometres under extreme heat and humidity ,a myth blowing feat .Team UAE ,Bahrain and Qatar :Team Gold ,Silver and Bronze .Relegating the Europeans ,Australians and Americans to the 'dustbins' of endurance history .That was Malaysia WEC that was !
I am still in a state of shock .I never perceive one could go beyond 16 kph in our conditions ,especially our high humidity .We have difficulty even breaching 12 kph .When ESPN's Lisa Wong asked me ,looking at our tired Ms Laily on Jesse James walking past the finishing line at the end of phase 5 when Maria had long gone home to her hotel room to sleep , what ails the Malaysians ?: I could only offer the best classical excuse .We Malaysians are still at the wrong end of a 'steep learning curve' .
Yes ,the 100 million ringgit [ I assume the WEC cost us that much but given our penchant for the 'plus plus and more plus ,it could well be much more ! ]lesson is that we really was on the wrong side of a steep learning curve .
Could still recall one and a half year ago as I sit for a dinner pow wow with Mr Bond from the Al Raudhah fraternity[ I am sure he would just wish to be known here as Mr Bond only ] ,to discuss plan how to achieve a team of 12 with the limited resources we have .Money is there .Abundant .The Minister of Sport then was just a phone call away .Our horses could so far not breach even 12 kph average .The solution :Go Down Under and South America get good horses on the cheap ,allocate to 16 or 20 named riders ,have local 160's 2 monthly and choose the best 12 .We have then 1 1/2 years to do it .Fullstop .
Then came Equine Influenza Down Under .Followed by nonsensical FEI 'playing to the gallery 'double CoC requirement .Mr Bond's plan went haywire .Some bright spark suggest Europe ,South America to buy horses and bring back and compete .Some much more brighter blokes suggest obtaining CoC overseas .Local rides may be too tough , may not make it in time .They forget that Endurance is all about toughness .They forgot that horse traders are horse traders .In retrospect , TMKN Stable prequalified four of their horses without going anywhere ,DIET ,2 or was it 3 . [But what the heck ,MONEY was there , spend it !Was the credo of the day ]
Money was there .Then the ' National Erection' .Money still not there .Sports Minister too busy .Won 'tanpa bertanding . Still more delay .Money already there but..... but money not yet there .Rumours abound .6 to 8 months gone .No substantive local competition ,no oversea buying forays .Typically Malaysians .
By the time things got moving WEC was already only 7 to 8 months away .Double CoC in 8 months!.Frantic oversea rides on 3rd rate 'buffalos' at 1st rate price .Typically Malaysians .Local rides was worse . Only started 6 months away from WEC !We spent 9 months laying on our back from inactivity and then all the frenzy of double CoC in the next 6 months .
By the time of WEC yesterday we are either riding 'tired' local horses or 3rd rate oversea 'buffaloes' just flown in at the last minutes at 1st rate cut throat prices .Desperate people with desperate poor forward planning get to pay at desperate price
That is the story about horses .The human factor is another story .
The Americans and French ,for any important event such as WEC appoints their CDQ 2 years ahead in advance .The CDQ usually is a person who is an all rounder in endurance ,preferably has indepth knowledge of competition at the highest level .Would be great if at the same time he or she is also an efficient 'water carrier' for the team but this is not the most important of his pre-qualications .
CDQ of any respectable team call the shots in term of team selection ,strategy and discipline ,so by this alone he cannot be a 'water carrier ' .Usually fears no one .Usually the 'cerebral man' of the team .Becky Hart of America ,for example inspires confidence , even though unfortunately America did not do well this time and for many years now .The late Pierre Cazes of France was the best example and I think France Endurance missed him very much .
Malaysia change our CDQ for whatever reasons just weeks before WEC .I am still curious .Perhaps in future if Dato Awang decides to stop competing he could well be our next CDQ ?How about it Dato ?
Exclusivity Vs Inclusivity :
For sometime now I have sadly watched that Malaysian Endurance has moved towards exclusivity :certain individuals with certain State and personal affiliation got 'invited' to oversea rides time and again at the exclusion of more experienced and able riders .This trend really started way before this WEC ,even before the ill fated Asian Games .In a system where point accumulation was important this practice put most very experienced people 'excluded' out of the ball game and edged out into the wilderness .And this was done with public funding ,not private .
Ours is a very small fraternity ,inclusivity is better than exclusivity if we are still interested in the 'quantum' leapt .
From our standard 12 kph to Maria Mercedes 's 18 ,indeed we need a quantum leapt .We need to believe in ourselves .We need to prepare our own horses and not depend on people in far away lands .We need to get 1st rate horses if we pay at 1sr rate prices .We need to have 'ilm' ilm and ilm.They is no short cut .We need people with Ilm to plan and take charge .We need plain honest people with passion .We need change .
If you ask Maria as to how she prepare Nobby : It is sheer hard work and there is only one word repeated thrice in her vocabulary : conditioning ,conditioning and conditioning .No ISN or government handouts there .
As I look into the dark moonless night towards the swells in the South China Sea on this desolate beach somewhere in Batu Burok and reminiese back to 2002 , I felt like it was only like yesterday that I had that fateful conversation or rather advice [ a very bad habit of dr nik ,always .Does not know his place this insolent chap ,always planting 'ideas' ] the then younger Sultan Mizan riding with an elderly looking chap [ Dato Jaafar ]hacking on the beach while waiting for the 'buka puasa' azan .I was on my way to Kota Bharu and stopped at Primula for 'buka puasa'.
"Tuanku ,if Tuanku really want to open Tuanku and Malaysia to the world ,Tuanku should stop just hacking around and be in Endurance .The best teacher is Dato Awang of Kiara .He is our SEA Games champion ".
Malaysia WEC .We have indeed come a long way .But we have to be honest with ourselves .We need to change our ways .Otherwise 'pi mai pi mai dok tang tu jugak ': We are champion at forms rather than substance !
I am still in a state of shock .I never perceive one could go beyond 16 kph in our conditions ,especially our high humidity .We have difficulty even breaching 12 kph .When ESPN's Lisa Wong asked me ,looking at our tired Ms Laily on Jesse James walking past the finishing line at the end of phase 5 when Maria had long gone home to her hotel room to sleep , what ails the Malaysians ?: I could only offer the best classical excuse .We Malaysians are still at the wrong end of a 'steep learning curve' .
Yes ,the 100 million ringgit [ I assume the WEC cost us that much but given our penchant for the 'plus plus and more plus ,it could well be much more ! ]lesson is that we really was on the wrong side of a steep learning curve .
Could still recall one and a half year ago as I sit for a dinner pow wow with Mr Bond from the Al Raudhah fraternity[ I am sure he would just wish to be known here as Mr Bond only ] ,to discuss plan how to achieve a team of 12 with the limited resources we have .Money is there .Abundant .The Minister of Sport then was just a phone call away .Our horses could so far not breach even 12 kph average .The solution :Go Down Under and South America get good horses on the cheap ,allocate to 16 or 20 named riders ,have local 160's 2 monthly and choose the best 12 .We have then 1 1/2 years to do it .Fullstop .
Then came Equine Influenza Down Under .Followed by nonsensical FEI 'playing to the gallery 'double CoC requirement .Mr Bond's plan went haywire .Some bright spark suggest Europe ,South America to buy horses and bring back and compete .Some much more brighter blokes suggest obtaining CoC overseas .Local rides may be too tough , may not make it in time .They forget that Endurance is all about toughness .They forgot that horse traders are horse traders .In retrospect , TMKN Stable prequalified four of their horses without going anywhere ,DIET ,2 or was it 3 . [But what the heck ,MONEY was there , spend it !Was the credo of the day ]
Money was there .Then the ' National Erection' .Money still not there .Sports Minister too busy .Won 'tanpa bertanding . Still more delay .Money already there but..... but money not yet there .Rumours abound .6 to 8 months gone .No substantive local competition ,no oversea buying forays .Typically Malaysians .
By the time things got moving WEC was already only 7 to 8 months away .Double CoC in 8 months!.Frantic oversea rides on 3rd rate 'buffalos' at 1st rate price .Typically Malaysians .Local rides was worse . Only started 6 months away from WEC !We spent 9 months laying on our back from inactivity and then all the frenzy of double CoC in the next 6 months .
By the time of WEC yesterday we are either riding 'tired' local horses or 3rd rate oversea 'buffaloes' just flown in at the last minutes at 1st rate cut throat prices .Desperate people with desperate poor forward planning get to pay at desperate price
That is the story about horses .The human factor is another story .
The Americans and French ,for any important event such as WEC appoints their CDQ 2 years ahead in advance .The CDQ usually is a person who is an all rounder in endurance ,preferably has indepth knowledge of competition at the highest level .Would be great if at the same time he or she is also an efficient 'water carrier' for the team but this is not the most important of his pre-qualications .
CDQ of any respectable team call the shots in term of team selection ,strategy and discipline ,so by this alone he cannot be a 'water carrier ' .Usually fears no one .Usually the 'cerebral man' of the team .Becky Hart of America ,for example inspires confidence , even though unfortunately America did not do well this time and for many years now .The late Pierre Cazes of France was the best example and I think France Endurance missed him very much .
Malaysia change our CDQ for whatever reasons just weeks before WEC .I am still curious .Perhaps in future if Dato Awang decides to stop competing he could well be our next CDQ ?How about it Dato ?
Exclusivity Vs Inclusivity :
For sometime now I have sadly watched that Malaysian Endurance has moved towards exclusivity :certain individuals with certain State and personal affiliation got 'invited' to oversea rides time and again at the exclusion of more experienced and able riders .This trend really started way before this WEC ,even before the ill fated Asian Games .In a system where point accumulation was important this practice put most very experienced people 'excluded' out of the ball game and edged out into the wilderness .And this was done with public funding ,not private .
Ours is a very small fraternity ,inclusivity is better than exclusivity if we are still interested in the 'quantum' leapt .
From our standard 12 kph to Maria Mercedes 's 18 ,indeed we need a quantum leapt .We need to believe in ourselves .We need to prepare our own horses and not depend on people in far away lands .We need to get 1st rate horses if we pay at 1sr rate prices .We need to have 'ilm' ilm and ilm.They is no short cut .We need people with Ilm to plan and take charge .We need plain honest people with passion .We need change .
If you ask Maria as to how she prepare Nobby : It is sheer hard work and there is only one word repeated thrice in her vocabulary : conditioning ,conditioning and conditioning .No ISN or government handouts there .
As I look into the dark moonless night towards the swells in the South China Sea on this desolate beach somewhere in Batu Burok and reminiese back to 2002 , I felt like it was only like yesterday that I had that fateful conversation or rather advice [ a very bad habit of dr nik ,always .Does not know his place this insolent chap ,always planting 'ideas' ] the then younger Sultan Mizan riding with an elderly looking chap [ Dato Jaafar ]hacking on the beach while waiting for the 'buka puasa' azan .I was on my way to Kota Bharu and stopped at Primula for 'buka puasa'.
"Tuanku ,if Tuanku really want to open Tuanku and Malaysia to the world ,Tuanku should stop just hacking around and be in Endurance .The best teacher is Dato Awang of Kiara .He is our SEA Games champion ".
Malaysia WEC .We have indeed come a long way .But we have to be honest with ourselves .We need to change our ways .Otherwise 'pi mai pi mai dok tang tu jugak ': We are champion at forms rather than substance !
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Not So Pearl & Gem : The Altantuya / Mr Razak Paradox
Friends ,
So Mr Baginda has been acquitted .Alhamdullillah .Good for him and his family .As a simple minded fellow trying to understand the mechanics and dynamics of law in this country I am still baffled beyond comprehension .
Well I am just a simple doctor with simple mind .If a patient landed up dead at my doorstep ,1st thing I would do is confirmed that he is actually dead ,beyond any form of salvageable effort that could pull him back to this side of the domain .Then the whys and how .The circumstances contributing to the death etc etc.
In the Altantaya / Mr Razak's case ,no one ,from persecution ,defense ,and not even the trial judge ,seem to be interested in the whys and how , the motives stupid ,the motives ! .There seem to be a 'devil's pact' between persecution and defense to just play balls only in a specific kind of way .Devoid of embarassing clumsy arkward kind of cross examinations .To the point we raayats mostly have lost our interest in the case
There was a saying years back during the infamous trial by peers of Tun Salleh Abas or the Vincent Tan vs some correspondent ,the raayats got the impression if your counsel knows perfect' Queen's English 'you can escape with murder or get someone not guilty 'hanged' for a crime he did not commit .This one is the reverse ,one get the impression the lawyers involved are a pack of amatuers !
No one seem to be wanting ,in fact everyone seem to be actively avoiding ,to ask the one million dollar question : Who is the clown behind these two chaps who were alleged to have bumped off Altantaya .It is as if they just happened to meet her one day in KL while 'lepaking' in the Mid Valley Mall and happened not to like her Mongolian face ,so decide to collectively bump her off .In the process try some fancy stuff from Central Armoury to see how the firework work .
Or perhaps Ms Altantuya herself did it as a return favour .Anything goes in this Boleh Land !
For many simple people like me across Malaysia we are still baffled .It is as if our court people ,do wear perfect blinkers !Do not look left or right ,just look straight ahead ,and make sure blokes ,always ask the 'right' questions .
"Don't worry about Sirul and his friend ,we can deal with them later .This is Boleh Land .Semua bisa diatur .Cosmetic surgery . Extreme makeovers .A couple of millions compensation .Can perhaps be based in USA or UK to 'spy' on Obama or Gordon Brown .Better still do some extreme makeovers and seduce Anwar ! A third sodomy case will certainly kill his political career ! Semua boleh "
That could well be what is going on in most people's mind now,but friends we are already on "subjudice' territory here .Be careful .
Jokes aside , the raayats are already up to the nose with these stupid antics .Pleaseeeee ,we are not stupid .OK we are quite stupid to tolerate you guys for 50 years but we are not that stupid now !Can we have a better judiciary and better leaders please .
The new Lord President certainly has a lot of work cut out for him .Good luck Yang Arif !
Dr Nik Howk
So Mr Baginda has been acquitted .Alhamdullillah .Good for him and his family .As a simple minded fellow trying to understand the mechanics and dynamics of law in this country I am still baffled beyond comprehension .
Well I am just a simple doctor with simple mind .If a patient landed up dead at my doorstep ,1st thing I would do is confirmed that he is actually dead ,beyond any form of salvageable effort that could pull him back to this side of the domain .Then the whys and how .The circumstances contributing to the death etc etc.
In the Altantaya / Mr Razak's case ,no one ,from persecution ,defense ,and not even the trial judge ,seem to be interested in the whys and how , the motives stupid ,the motives ! .There seem to be a 'devil's pact' between persecution and defense to just play balls only in a specific kind of way .Devoid of embarassing clumsy arkward kind of cross examinations .To the point we raayats mostly have lost our interest in the case
There was a saying years back during the infamous trial by peers of Tun Salleh Abas or the Vincent Tan vs some correspondent ,the raayats got the impression if your counsel knows perfect' Queen's English 'you can escape with murder or get someone not guilty 'hanged' for a crime he did not commit .This one is the reverse ,one get the impression the lawyers involved are a pack of amatuers !
No one seem to be wanting ,in fact everyone seem to be actively avoiding ,to ask the one million dollar question : Who is the clown behind these two chaps who were alleged to have bumped off Altantaya .It is as if they just happened to meet her one day in KL while 'lepaking' in the Mid Valley Mall and happened not to like her Mongolian face ,so decide to collectively bump her off .In the process try some fancy stuff from Central Armoury to see how the firework work .
Or perhaps Ms Altantuya herself did it as a return favour .Anything goes in this Boleh Land !
For many simple people like me across Malaysia we are still baffled .It is as if our court people ,do wear perfect blinkers !Do not look left or right ,just look straight ahead ,and make sure blokes ,always ask the 'right' questions .
"Don't worry about Sirul and his friend ,we can deal with them later .This is Boleh Land .Semua bisa diatur .Cosmetic surgery . Extreme makeovers .A couple of millions compensation .Can perhaps be based in USA or UK to 'spy' on Obama or Gordon Brown .Better still do some extreme makeovers and seduce Anwar ! A third sodomy case will certainly kill his political career ! Semua boleh "
That could well be what is going on in most people's mind now,but friends we are already on "subjudice' territory here .Be careful .
Jokes aside , the raayats are already up to the nose with these stupid antics .Pleaseeeee ,we are not stupid .OK we are quite stupid to tolerate you guys for 50 years but we are not that stupid now !Can we have a better judiciary and better leaders please .
The new Lord President certainly has a lot of work cut out for him .Good luck Yang Arif !
Dr Nik Howk
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Not So Pearl & Gem :Our Education System Has Failed...
Friends ,
Emeritus Prof Khoo Kay Kim had this to say in Fikrah recently on national Solidarity :
"Sistem pendidekan pada 1956 ada Penyata Razak ada menyatakan objektif utama sistem pendidekan negara ini adalah untuk perpaduan negara .Sejak itu ,sila tunjukkan kepada saya sekolah manakah yang berjaya membentuk perpaduan dalam negara .Tiada bukan ?"
The good professor could just sincerely give the answer himself why such situation arise : From an early tender age Malaysians were streamed into vernacular schools of the parents' choice .40 years back most would join the National System which was mainly English medium of instruction ,some Malay medium ,and a few Chinese and Indian schools .Now the Chinese mainly go to Chinese Primary ,rural Indians to Indian schools ,Malays majority ,some Chinese and Indians to Sekolah Menengah dan Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan .[ My Indian colleagues told me Tamil is not even the national language in India and they would not get their offsprings even 2 kilometres near any Tamil school. They are doctors though, not a rubber tappers who are more important vote wise to Samy Velloo ]
Try introduccing Sekolah Wawasan ,and we nearly have a riot !Whose fault is this my dear prof ? Where can there be hope for National Solidarity ??
Let us look at one sixth former's view of the status quo some 40 years back in an essay on National Solidarity to The New Straits Time .Put yourselves 40 years ago in the time frame of Post May 13th Malaysia ,when King Ghaz ,the 'intellectual munition' of Tun Razak's very powerful National Operation Council [ ..and to remind those not yet born at that time ,Pak Lah was the Sec to the Council .He has been around quite a while but things did not 'collect' and percolate in the right away in those deep recesses of his grey mater perhaps ! ] ,came out with the 5 point Rukun Negara which all students ,primary or secondary ,commit to memory .
This young lower sixth former wrote :
"Within a brief period of 14 years of its inception ,Malaysia has had the taste of many a success particularly in various aspects of nation building .
However ,she has also felt the stinging pain of failure ,the failure to integrate her plural population into one harmonious unit .Past events have made us conscious of the fact that integration should no longer be considered a luxury in a multi racial society such as ours ;instead it is an essential element without which the very foundation of the nation is on shaky ground .
Ours is a land divided .Not only do we differ in cultures ,beliefs and traditional concept in economic values but there also exists a polarisation of economic groups along communal lines .
Naturally this vast differences breed mutual fear ,discontentment and antagonism ,the fear that one racial group might submerge the others either politically or economically ;discontentment that arises from alleged bigotry and the antagonism that exists from being so separated and alien to each other .
Now we have a definite path to follow .We have defined our aims and plotted our route .The Rukunegara lays down the guiding principles to our end - a united ,democratic ,just ,liberal and progressive Malaysia .
Our leaders talked of bridging the actual economic gap ,of the great need for goodwill ,and of many other remedial measures as our most probable line of attack to achieve our objective .Granted that we are successful in all these we would still be a land divided .
Our mistake in the past was in assuming that we were well on our way towards a united Malaysia just because we were able to live peacefully in what was purely ' pseudo harmony '.We lived on tolerance then .But there are two kinds of tolerance .
The one that we have subjected ourselves to in the past has been one that stemmed not from the understanding of one another's feelings and background but from fear of hurting the feeling of others ;fear of breaking that icy bondage linking us together .
We went on living side by side ,each and everyone trying earnestly to cause as little umbrage as possible .
Little did we realise that by such an attitude we were slowly drifting apart until a small sparkof friction could set alight mutual fear and distrust into a violent tempest of human passions as illustrated by the May 13th tragedy .
A nation could subsist on this kind of tolerance but must we live with the grim assurance of possible future conflicts more devastating and tempestuous in nature ?
The other kind of tolerance is one that grows from real understanding of one another's feelings and background .This latter kind of tolerance is difficult but by virtue of its inherent wisdom ,it is bound to last .
At the same time we must concede that for a man to be able to accept another man from an alien race for all he is ,he comes face to face with two conditioned forces - racial distrust and prejudices .The older he is,the more deeply entrenched these forces would be in his subconscious .
Therefore what we need is a mental revolution on a grand scale - one that would change the prevailing biased attitudes of the old and young .
Since the youth of today is going to inherit our Malaysia of tomorrow it is imperative that the authority channel all its resources towards a more enlightened re-orientation of notions regarding race ."
I got the biggest pay cheque ever in my life for writing "sweet nothing" ,250 ringgit in all ,and had to hitch hike all the way from sleepy hallow Kuala Kangsar to big time Kuala Lumpur just to shake hand with the great man ,King Ghaz .At that time 250 ringgit was too big for me ,I lend the whole sum to my elder brother as a down payment for a brand new Italian Vespa .
Till now I am not quite sure whether he had actually repaid that 'hutang ' .Must remember to ask him tonight !
Dr Nik Howk
PS :
Well my friends ,40 years on ,we have actually missed the 'boat'.Or rather Pak Jab at that time with 100 % power could have established a "single stream education" system without much problem then while still under NOC ,and perhaps when Pak Jab Junior takes over next year ,things would have been significantly different . Now ,we are still a house divided .
The last time I caught a glimpse of King Ghaz was along the corridor of Sime Darby Medical Centre ,Subang Jaya .Must be in his 90's ,a decrepit old man on a wheel chair ,a pale shadow of the Home Minister who would not even hesitate to send the much junior Mahathir under ISA if that was required at that time .Can always do it under the pretext of ultra radicalism ,communist infiltrate or whatever as what King Ghaz did to my very distant cousin ,Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad and the other 2 Abdul's. King Ghaz ,colourful man with colorful tastes who piloted his own Cessna into oblivion in the jungle of Pahang and survived !The actual pilot and ? a caucasian lady did not .That was how colorful Ghaz was !
That is Qadar which all of us mere mortals cannot run away from .We peak ,we grow old ,we are forgotten , then we die !
Just looking back at the corridor scene in my mind's eye ,make me wonder in this stillness of early morning whether present day Malaysia would be better served by opinioted and strong and interesting characters like King Ghaz as Cabinet Ministers or by colourless ,insipid ,poodles surrounding an equally weak and ineffectual future PM whose only claim to fame was his allege inability to control 'his small man' and the 'Mrs' .Just a National perception now ,the actual thing on the ground may not be true .A National perception only !
All just there to ' cari makan ' as much and as fast and as sleek as the the 'law' allows . Just wondering aloud my anxieties .
King Ghaz and his friends all belong to the dinousaur age .Now anything less than a half billion RM kickback in National projects is not worth mulling over .
Emeritus Prof Khoo Kay Kim had this to say in Fikrah recently on national Solidarity :
"Sistem pendidekan pada 1956 ada Penyata Razak ada menyatakan objektif utama sistem pendidekan negara ini adalah untuk perpaduan negara .Sejak itu ,sila tunjukkan kepada saya sekolah manakah yang berjaya membentuk perpaduan dalam negara .Tiada bukan ?"
The good professor could just sincerely give the answer himself why such situation arise : From an early tender age Malaysians were streamed into vernacular schools of the parents' choice .40 years back most would join the National System which was mainly English medium of instruction ,some Malay medium ,and a few Chinese and Indian schools .Now the Chinese mainly go to Chinese Primary ,rural Indians to Indian schools ,Malays majority ,some Chinese and Indians to Sekolah Menengah dan Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan .[ My Indian colleagues told me Tamil is not even the national language in India and they would not get their offsprings even 2 kilometres near any Tamil school. They are doctors though, not a rubber tappers who are more important vote wise to Samy Velloo ]
Try introduccing Sekolah Wawasan ,and we nearly have a riot !Whose fault is this my dear prof ? Where can there be hope for National Solidarity ??
Let us look at one sixth former's view of the status quo some 40 years back in an essay on National Solidarity to The New Straits Time .Put yourselves 40 years ago in the time frame of Post May 13th Malaysia ,when King Ghaz ,the 'intellectual munition' of Tun Razak's very powerful National Operation Council [ ..and to remind those not yet born at that time ,Pak Lah was the Sec to the Council .He has been around quite a while but things did not 'collect' and percolate in the right away in those deep recesses of his grey mater perhaps ! ] ,came out with the 5 point Rukun Negara which all students ,primary or secondary ,commit to memory .
This young lower sixth former wrote :
"Within a brief period of 14 years of its inception ,Malaysia has had the taste of many a success particularly in various aspects of nation building .
However ,she has also felt the stinging pain of failure ,the failure to integrate her plural population into one harmonious unit .Past events have made us conscious of the fact that integration should no longer be considered a luxury in a multi racial society such as ours ;instead it is an essential element without which the very foundation of the nation is on shaky ground .
Ours is a land divided .Not only do we differ in cultures ,beliefs and traditional concept in economic values but there also exists a polarisation of economic groups along communal lines .
Naturally this vast differences breed mutual fear ,discontentment and antagonism ,the fear that one racial group might submerge the others either politically or economically ;discontentment that arises from alleged bigotry and the antagonism that exists from being so separated and alien to each other .
Now we have a definite path to follow .We have defined our aims and plotted our route .The Rukunegara lays down the guiding principles to our end - a united ,democratic ,just ,liberal and progressive Malaysia .
Our leaders talked of bridging the actual economic gap ,of the great need for goodwill ,and of many other remedial measures as our most probable line of attack to achieve our objective .Granted that we are successful in all these we would still be a land divided .
Our mistake in the past was in assuming that we were well on our way towards a united Malaysia just because we were able to live peacefully in what was purely ' pseudo harmony '.We lived on tolerance then .But there are two kinds of tolerance .
The one that we have subjected ourselves to in the past has been one that stemmed not from the understanding of one another's feelings and background but from fear of hurting the feeling of others ;fear of breaking that icy bondage linking us together .
We went on living side by side ,each and everyone trying earnestly to cause as little umbrage as possible .
Little did we realise that by such an attitude we were slowly drifting apart until a small sparkof friction could set alight mutual fear and distrust into a violent tempest of human passions as illustrated by the May 13th tragedy .
A nation could subsist on this kind of tolerance but must we live with the grim assurance of possible future conflicts more devastating and tempestuous in nature ?
The other kind of tolerance is one that grows from real understanding of one another's feelings and background .This latter kind of tolerance is difficult but by virtue of its inherent wisdom ,it is bound to last .
At the same time we must concede that for a man to be able to accept another man from an alien race for all he is ,he comes face to face with two conditioned forces - racial distrust and prejudices .The older he is,the more deeply entrenched these forces would be in his subconscious .
Therefore what we need is a mental revolution on a grand scale - one that would change the prevailing biased attitudes of the old and young .
Since the youth of today is going to inherit our Malaysia of tomorrow it is imperative that the authority channel all its resources towards a more enlightened re-orientation of notions regarding race ."
I got the biggest pay cheque ever in my life for writing "sweet nothing" ,250 ringgit in all ,and had to hitch hike all the way from sleepy hallow Kuala Kangsar to big time Kuala Lumpur just to shake hand with the great man ,King Ghaz .At that time 250 ringgit was too big for me ,I lend the whole sum to my elder brother as a down payment for a brand new Italian Vespa .
Till now I am not quite sure whether he had actually repaid that 'hutang ' .Must remember to ask him tonight !
Dr Nik Howk
PS :
Well my friends ,40 years on ,we have actually missed the 'boat'.Or rather Pak Jab at that time with 100 % power could have established a "single stream education" system without much problem then while still under NOC ,and perhaps when Pak Jab Junior takes over next year ,things would have been significantly different . Now ,we are still a house divided .
The last time I caught a glimpse of King Ghaz was along the corridor of Sime Darby Medical Centre ,Subang Jaya .Must be in his 90's ,a decrepit old man on a wheel chair ,a pale shadow of the Home Minister who would not even hesitate to send the much junior Mahathir under ISA if that was required at that time .Can always do it under the pretext of ultra radicalism ,communist infiltrate or whatever as what King Ghaz did to my very distant cousin ,Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad and the other 2 Abdul's. King Ghaz ,colourful man with colorful tastes who piloted his own Cessna into oblivion in the jungle of Pahang and survived !The actual pilot and ? a caucasian lady did not .That was how colorful Ghaz was !
That is Qadar which all of us mere mortals cannot run away from .We peak ,we grow old ,we are forgotten , then we die !
Just looking back at the corridor scene in my mind's eye ,make me wonder in this stillness of early morning whether present day Malaysia would be better served by opinioted and strong and interesting characters like King Ghaz as Cabinet Ministers or by colourless ,insipid ,poodles surrounding an equally weak and ineffectual future PM whose only claim to fame was his allege inability to control 'his small man' and the 'Mrs' .Just a National perception now ,the actual thing on the ground may not be true .A National perception only !
All just there to ' cari makan ' as much and as fast and as sleek as the the 'law' allows . Just wondering aloud my anxieties .
King Ghaz and his friends all belong to the dinousaur age .Now anything less than a half billion RM kickback in National projects is not worth mulling over .
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Pearls & Gem : Qadar ,Qada' and Lailatulqadr
Friends ,
If one take an early morning or late evening strool in any park in Malaysia and count the number of Muslim men or women exercising their bodies for good health I can bet my bottom ringgit that the number would be less than 5 % ,on any given day .Muslims do not generally exercise ,a common fact .
In the hospital ,we are on the whole very much less than the perfect patients ,and that is a summary of 30 years of experience and observation .My typical Muslim patients are generally 'more laid back' ,oftentimes lack insight ,and have a higher propensity to look for unknown ,irrational and most often crucially time losing ,at most time idiotic ,occasionally bordering on the khurafah , simple ' miracle ' alternatives .
[...Doc ! Ozone therapy surely must work !And it is expensive ,therefore it must work . How come even the PM uses it ??!! That ,precisely my friend ,is why we currently are having all sort of problems with the country ! .You can go to Shah Alam and have a 'brain' and 'heart' transplant for a couple of thousand ringgit .It may also work judging by the number of Mercs and Jaguars queeing up .I am not sure the joint is still there ,must have shifted to Selayang or somewhere my friend .]
In 2008 this can be very frustrating for the ' care givers '.And to add insult to injury ,these folks are not so called ' simple people '.They have masters degree ,sometime even holders of PHD's .
At the market place ,our contractors generally do not deliver well ,our workers take short cuts ,our business people ,politicians and administrators on the whole do not think out their problems and potential solutions ,pitfalls and ' traps ' from A to Z .As a result we get for examples white ' elephant ' projects' everywhere 'littering' the place from 'mis thought' ,off the cuff Ministry of Education's plan playing havoc with our children's well being and future ,to the latest financial debacle ,the 500 million RM Maybank deal and /or Eurocopter 'miss deal' .[ The latter may be more complex than just a problem of lack of due diligence , more a problem of lack of iman , I would have thought ,just may be ,Allahualam ! ]
Even in prayers we are quick to expect miracles .Half baked ,half educated politicians go to Umrah ,whenever any problem of significance seem to affect them ,pray behind the Kaabah and presto expect everything to happen to them .We as a nation , are very quick to 'Sembahyang hajat' but slow and lazy at the proper planning ,thinking and implementation phase .We are slipshod thinkers at best .Sorry bruder !Statistics so far speaks louder than words !
The common denominator here is the excessive ,misguided and misplaced reliance on Fate and the undercurrent belief that Fate is beyond human Free Will ."Rezeki secupak tak akan jadi segantang" is not just a proverb applicable in only the Malay millieu but extend elsewhere within the Muslim ummah .We ,as an ummah may not officially subscribe to the Aljabariyah 'fatalistic' ideology but in practice we are almost there !
Is our Fate really already fixed by Allah !Is there really no free play for Man . There is as if Man's Free Will is non existent anymore the moment he is born as what some misguided Sufis and most of us misinformed ,ignorant practitioners of the faith hold as sacrosanct.
It is almost heretical to believe otherwise .This was certainly not so during the Prophet's time and the simple but succinct story of the Bedouin and his camel immediately came to light :
On being asked by the Prophet whether he had secured their camels well before they turn in for the night the bedoiun answered that there was nothing for the Prophet and his entourage to worry about because he had already read a few Quranic verses and read the Doa and thus safe to leave them in the hand of Allah .The Prophet retorted that he need to tie the camels securely 1st with proper ropes,then Doa and leave to Allah .
The slide towards this misinterpretation of Qadar and Qada' occured much later after the khalifah Al Rashidin's period to the extent that the great Imam Hanafi [ or was it ,Imam Hambali ? ,either one , I am not sure ]was called to the court of Khalifah Marwan to give his personal explanation of the alledged 'heresy' he had been preaching regarding "Free Will ".By that time , for many years lesser 'ulamaks of the istanas ' had for years already moved with the 'wind' to appease their rulers and interpreted hadith and the Quran according to the ' flavour 'and political expediency of the day .Qadar ,Qada' and Lailatul-qadr became only for the brave philosophers to discuss and tread on .In present day Malaysia ,an ISA-eable subject !
If I am not mistaken and I certainly stand corrected ,Imam Hanafi was one of the earliest big time real ulamak to be sent under 'ISA ' for spreading heresys and heretical thoughts !Almost akin to the present day dismissal of Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas by a bunch of junior clowns and court jesters !
To put it succinctly ,Qadar means Allah 's Decree or Law .There are Allah's Natural Law and Allah's Spiritual Law .If you throw a ball up it will fall down due to gravity and Isaac Newton as early as the 18th century already was able to compute the force of gravity as being inversely proportional to the square of the distance from planet earth and directly proportional to the mass of the ball .The Russians with knowledge in space physics and rocketry were able to send the 1st man ,Colonel Yuri Gagarin into outer space.One example of understanding Allah's physical and chemical elements which all follow Allah's natural law .
Albert Einstein later came out with the now famous formullae E=MCSquared ,meaning energy released from a matter is equal to the weight of matter time by the square of a constant which is actually the speed of light [180,000 miles per second] times by itself .That is considerable amount of energy from a very small mass .A few years later Enrico Fermi and his associates were able to produce the 1st atomic bomb working secretly under a stadium somewhere in USA .Of course there were the 'yellow bastards'in Japan for them to try on and see its effect on humans !
Several generations after the last kalifah Ar rashidin ,we Muslims began to get engrossed into the esoteric and exoteric arguments around Free Wills ,philosophical discourse and hidden meaning of each Ayat and hadith ,twigs and branches of the Faith ,and missed the 'main trunk ' of Islam ie Allah 's Din to guide Man to live life at the fullest ,to be His viceeroy on this planet earth ,to led those 'lost sheep ' to Allah's light and enlightenment .After the fall of Islamic renaissance in Cordoba and it's shift to Florence ,the Judeo-Christian world has not looked back .For some centuries now and more years to come if we do not change our ' hearts and souls ' we will be lead !
[...They have studied Allah's Qadar ,at least the 1st arm of it ,The Natural laws ,and control nature and the world !After the fall of the Ottoman Empire the entire subjugation of the Muslims was complete .Now if you are a too regular prayer at the London Regent's Mosque you may find yourself be' digitised ' in one of their super computers as a potential ' health hazard ' .This is too far fetch you may think , and it has not happened yet but it may .Obama is a health hazard to some Americans and he happened to have only a Muslim middle name ,not even a Muslim ]
At the atomic level ,the cellular level and the macro cellular level [ the human organism ],Qadar or natural law operates and there is limited Will .You throw a ball upward it falls .You fly an aeroplane upward against gravity ,it will go up but once the gasoline finish ,it will fall down to the ground like a rock following Allah's law of Gravity .The 'going up' followed Allah's natural law of propulsive combustion ,the 'going down ' ,His law of gravitation .
You mix hydrogen with oxygen atoms ,you get water and a lot of heat .You smash an atom you get so much of energy .At the super macro level ,ie the organism level ,A crazy human who thinks he is invincible walk in front of a 20 ton tanker would be crushed like a pancake .He tries to walk on water he will sink .His equally stupid son experiment with trying not to study at the U ,he flunk his year end examination .At other time he practice free sex with his classmates ,5 times out 10 he would get those equally stupid girls pregnant .
Likewise this same son of the chap who tested his 'immortality' by crashing into the tanker ,the 1st year college drop out ,has all the freedom in the world to choose a life of emotional and spiritual excellence or mediocrity ,or even outright depravity ,all on his own free will .An average family man with a stable job ,both feet planted to the ground ,doing the average thing that good stable Muslim youth of his age would do .Or he may continue to choose a life of continued self destruct ,stray into wrong company and end up as a drug addict etc etc .There is freedom of Will .But is he 100 % free ?
Not totally ,because the sum total of his decisions so far were skewed towards a downward spiral . .Unless Allah opens his 'heart and soul' to a higher calling in his mid life after the general drift southward .His not so clever father in the 1st place already serve as the wrong primary role model .His wrong lifestlye in the U push him further down the scale .His existing talent ,the friends and company he keeps ,his milieu , determine the direction he go .If he on starting work as a general clerk with say ,Nestle in Shah Alam , meets the right group of friends who could pull him back to the 'straight path ' he certainly could join the thousand others 'halal 'hard working workforce and an average good Muslim family man .
Of course Qadar in his case means even in 4 lifetimes he would not be say the President of The united States or even PM of Malaysia !
But on the other hand with no good role model ,' bad' friends and surrounding there is also the likelihood of him to continue his downward spiral,he can even sink to the bottom in no time !That in fact would be a more probable happening than say meeting a 'Ruuusma' at his work place and ending up as potential ' PM ' one fine day .
Emotional and spiritual balance ,and I am not hinting even at the upper echelon excellence ,is a lot of work .That leeway nonetheless is there .Our future is not iron clad ,as there are Free Will ,as well as Doa , and Prayer !It is easy to spiral downward and a lot of hardward just to remain sane and average let alone soar upward towards the Perfect Man idealism . The one million dollar question is ,do we use these avenues to the max ?
On the spiritual side ,Allah Spiritual Moral Code determines the boundaries and expectation of man in relation to his fellow men ,women and his families .It also determine his relation with his Maker .You live a lustful ,corrupt and careless life ,your souls degenerate further and further from the scale of the Perfect Man as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad .If you live within the constraint of the Spiritual Moral Code ,your souls move upwards to coalesce with the essence of your true Spirits and move nearer towards the embodiment of The Prophet .
[ Allah's Spiritual Moral Code is the ' movable ' aspect of Qadar unlike Allah's Natural Law .One has the Free Will to follow it a 100 % to the brim and in the process enriches one's soul to the point to put in 'sufic' expression able enjoy the spirituality of this life as if one is being given to sip Allah's fine 'wine' from His own cup . For this very elitist few,life's trials and tribulations no longer affect them as their ' naf ' are already emasculated and they are able to ' see ' and ' taste ' life figuratively through God's eye .On the one hand can just be an average practitioner or just above average ,ambling along like millions others .One can also easily be lulled into a continuous downward spiral of hideous self destruct behaviour through and through .Even Allah's Natural Law is relatively ' movable ' to some extent . A ball when thrown up will fall down under gravity ,but a rocket with chemical propulsive action can move up ,until there is no more solid fuel to push it forward ,then it follows the natural law of gravitation ].
For example when you give alms ,or keep your obligatory or superregatory prayers ,or just being a good father to your children ,you are not helping Allah an iota :you are educating your soul and moving your soul north ward towards the scale of the Perfect Man ,and ensuring it has at least a chance of keeping on the ' straight path ' and if veering away ,sometime ,may still have a tangible chance of coming back .
The reverse happen if you continuously veer away from Allah's Spiritual Moral Code .At the National level on the other hand when a corrupted soul can not only cause depravity to himself but also influence other lives around him and cause depravity in others as well ,would be the archtypal 'corrupt politician-statesman' ,a man of considerable influence .A politician may generally starts well but without proper religious education and background [ many consider not politically correct nowadays to even think about giving proper religious education to offsprings ] and nawaitu may initially consider a 5 million 'kick back' from a State's deal as being good enough and his ' birth right ',then 50 ,then even 200 million 'masih belum cukup '.His life will no longer revolve around Allah but around his political and personal expediency .""Power ,sex ,money" are the common denominators of so called ' successful leaders ' who lack religious background and the right aqidah .Goal post s can be change to look good .His soul veer further and further away from the 'straight path ' and unlike the Mat Rempit discussed earlier ,this chap affect or at least retard millions of other souls as well .His policy affect the Nation ,retards proper Islamic growth etc etc .[ see my blog on who wants to be PM !Friday Khutbah : Sept 12th ].His soul not only carries his excess baggage but the baggage of the rest of mankind his 'office' influence .Allahualam !
When there is a Will ,there is a way .Another simpler example than the above is to look at the ordinary folks ,say just a simple average student struggling at school .You can choose between being a straight A student or last in class of course within the partial constraint provided by your genetic and environmental and behavioral template provided by your parents .If you are born with an IQ of 80 ,you would not be a space scientist even in a 100 years !But if you have good supportive parents with good schooling provided by a welfare state you may end up as a reasonably independent individual .Without parental support and special schooling , you may even have difficulty working as a 'jaga kereta' boy .An example of some free play of Wills here and limitations set by the 'Natural Law ' aspect of Qadar ie the genetic ,parental ,and environmental component .
[ Looking this way that is why PARENTING remain an important issue in Islam .Good parenting can obviate some of the limitations set about by the relatively 'immovable ' negative aspect of genetics and environmental factors .And part of good parenting may in some cases mean mothers do stay at home to look after and bring up and educate their children rather than be fighter pilots or firemen etc etc ]....just a digression
To give further a sense of hope to His abdals ,the CEO of The Universe throw in 2 almost similar looking 'spanners' into the proverbial 'engine' : Doa and Prayer [ which are one of the same ], and the possibility that your Taubat [ repentance is also a form of Doa in a sense ] can be accepted or rejected downright .Everyone can Taubat but if one's soul is so low down the scale ,there is the real danger of the possibility of your soul not even thinking of Taubat in the 1st place ,let alone the Taubat being accepted by Allah .
That is half of the ballgame so far !Now the other half :Qada'.
Qada' is Allah's Judgement or System of Judgement .All embodied in the Quran and Sunnah .You lived a careless life ,drunk most time ,free sex ,devoid of spirituality ,not only corrupt in behaviour but corrupting to society [' bukan saja sesat ,tapi menyesatkan '] ,there is only one place for you .On the opposite scale you are a light to your family ,your society ,lived purely by the Syariah , not for show ,but for the celebration of Allah ,there is another place for you .In between this black and white ,the various shades of grey ,will be judged accordingly and fairly ,according to the Al Mizan , the Scale .
Again to throw the spanner in the engine ,some will be judged and judgement will be meted out rightaway ,Cash!
If you are almost 95 % Muslim but choose Pancasila or other system to live your collective lives ,you get more frequent 'Bala' than the fair share that other people get .If you as a people definitely is 100 % secular ,encourage futures trading ,debt trading ,and every thing under the Sun as if the is no Allah to answer to , and insist the rest of the world to follow suit in your way of life ,Allah will throw some hurricanes here and there ,some tornadoes and wild forest fires ,and occasionally a global financial crises here and there .To lull you further of course ,all of them appear man made and difficult to actually perceive that this is Allah's judgement ,right away ,CASH ,on earth !
So to speak within the constraints of Qadar and Qada', the post modern Man does have a lot of leeway to move around .It is just a question of Will ,whether he choose to soar and fly ,or be at the lowest of low .
On the Night Of Decree or The Night of Power ,yearly during the last 10 days of Ramadan the 'People of The Higher Plane' descent on planet earth to help assess ,tabulate , audit and recommend to the Final Arbiter ,The Most High ,on how we are to be judged for the closing statement for that particular year :
"In the name of Allah ,Most gracious ,Most Merciful .
We have indeed revealed This Message In The Night of Power .
And what will explain to thee what the Night Of Power is ?
The Night Of Power is better than a thousand Months .
Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission ,
On every errand :
Peace !.....This
Until the rise of Morn !"
Abdullah Yusuf Ali chose not to interpret ''better than a thousand months' leaving it as a mystical expression .I would rather concur with Sayyid Qutb's interpretation :Allah 's grace and rahmat befalling on his Abdal praying and beholden to Him on the instance of the Night Of Power ,though may be a few insignificant moment will be worth more than a thousand months for that Abdal for that particular year.If he is called to his Lord that year ,he has got it made !If not ,that rahamat and grace hopefully would put him in good stead for years to come with a proviso :Life between the highs and lows is an active flux .Iman and Ihsan has to be earned .There is no miracle in the LailatulQadr . We have to earn it and continue to earn it on a yearly basis . Fullstop !NO MIRACLE .
Man's piety and his highs and lows are a continuous struggle on a daily basis .It does not follow an All or None law .It waxes and wane like the tide .But lo and behold !Yearly on The Night Of Power ,to commemorate the 1st Night Of Power some 1450 years ago ,when The Perfect Man had his Visitor of On High ,we his followers and the rest of mankind are being Judged !
Allah 's ultimate knowledge of when and how we die ,what we do with our life ,which zenith we reach ,does not preclude His allowance to His abdals the choice of Free Will .Within the constraints of circumstances ,our genetic makeup our emotional and spiritual endurance and our environment ,we can still choose whether we want to SOAR UPWARD ,or just fly ,or swim with the current ,or sink to the bottom .
And lest you get depressed by your lack of performance so far ,do not feel despondent .After Qadar ,Qada' and the annual Judgement ,Allah being Ya Rahman And Ya Rahim has His very own KPI . Does not matter whether in 'realtime' life you end up as the Agong ,one of the Sultans ,PM ,CEO ,ordinary chaps on the street or an ordinary road sweeper ,His Key performance indicator is simple :Taqwa or God Conciousness in whatever you do .[ refer to my earlier blog on this :Surah Al Asr ,Allah's Key Performance Indicators ,Sunday 22nd , June ].And He does not judge you by the results but only by your good honest intention !
We come back one whole circle in this ballgame call LIFE :Qadar ,Qada' ,LailatulQadr ,and at the time of Mahsyar ,after the Al Mizan and all when even an 'atom's weight of good deed and bad deed were carefully measured ,Allah take away all the minute details of "warts ,boils and human failings" , and in order to make man pass the acid test easily , look just at man from the helicopter viewpoint :Taqwa .
Does this chap [ Agong ,President ,Sultan ,CEO ,Lawyer ,or just ordinary road sweeper ] do his all with God Conciousness in mind or because of other " gods " real or imagined .Man's failings ,unequal stature ,wealth ,innate talents or lack of it ,trappings of high office or 'no office' ,ALL LEFT behind .Only TAQWA .That is Allah , Ya Rahman , Ya Rahim !Mashaallah !
[......to the avid golfers ,Dr Nik Isahak sounds unbelievably simple like golf ! With all the handicap system and all .But why not ?Man are not born equal in talent shape ,circumstances etc etc ,how else do One judge Man who come in various sizes ,colour ,ideology and shape apart from a very fair Key Performance Indicator .Remember ,that chap with the IQ of 80 . He did not ask to be born with that kind of handicap ,neither did the man who was destined to be King with all the inherrent silver spoons !Man is given a FREE WILL but come with all kinds of handicap .At the end of the day he and only he is accountable to his God for all his deeds on this planet earth .And mind you ,Allah did not ask for much ,except that in all that you do on this planet earth ,you do with Him in view .The Right Intention suffice [ nawaitu ],leave the results to Him . ]
Ya Fattah ,Ya Razak ,Ya Wahab ,Ya Ghoni ,Ya Mugh'ni ,Ya Khadim ,Ya Daim ,Ya Ahad ,Ya Wahid ,Ya Samad ,Ya Rahman Ya Rahim ,Ya Hayyu ,Ya Qayyum ,Ya Rabb ,Ya Zaljala Liwalikram ,give us peace in this world and the next and remove us from the torments of the grave and the Hereafter !
Allahualam !
Dr Nik Howk
If one take an early morning or late evening strool in any park in Malaysia and count the number of Muslim men or women exercising their bodies for good health I can bet my bottom ringgit that the number would be less than 5 % ,on any given day .Muslims do not generally exercise ,a common fact .
In the hospital ,we are on the whole very much less than the perfect patients ,and that is a summary of 30 years of experience and observation .My typical Muslim patients are generally 'more laid back' ,oftentimes lack insight ,and have a higher propensity to look for unknown ,irrational and most often crucially time losing ,at most time idiotic ,occasionally bordering on the khurafah , simple ' miracle ' alternatives .
[...Doc ! Ozone therapy surely must work !And it is expensive ,therefore it must work . How come even the PM uses it ??!! That ,precisely my friend ,is why we currently are having all sort of problems with the country ! .You can go to Shah Alam and have a 'brain' and 'heart' transplant for a couple of thousand ringgit .It may also work judging by the number of Mercs and Jaguars queeing up .I am not sure the joint is still there ,must have shifted to Selayang or somewhere my friend .]
In 2008 this can be very frustrating for the ' care givers '.And to add insult to injury ,these folks are not so called ' simple people '.They have masters degree ,sometime even holders of PHD's .
At the market place ,our contractors generally do not deliver well ,our workers take short cuts ,our business people ,politicians and administrators on the whole do not think out their problems and potential solutions ,pitfalls and ' traps ' from A to Z .As a result we get for examples white ' elephant ' projects' everywhere 'littering' the place from 'mis thought' ,off the cuff Ministry of Education's plan playing havoc with our children's well being and future ,to the latest financial debacle ,the 500 million RM Maybank deal and /or Eurocopter 'miss deal' .[ The latter may be more complex than just a problem of lack of due diligence , more a problem of lack of iman , I would have thought ,just may be ,Allahualam ! ]
Even in prayers we are quick to expect miracles .Half baked ,half educated politicians go to Umrah ,whenever any problem of significance seem to affect them ,pray behind the Kaabah and presto expect everything to happen to them .We as a nation , are very quick to 'Sembahyang hajat' but slow and lazy at the proper planning ,thinking and implementation phase .We are slipshod thinkers at best .Sorry bruder !Statistics so far speaks louder than words !
The common denominator here is the excessive ,misguided and misplaced reliance on Fate and the undercurrent belief that Fate is beyond human Free Will ."Rezeki secupak tak akan jadi segantang" is not just a proverb applicable in only the Malay millieu but extend elsewhere within the Muslim ummah .We ,as an ummah may not officially subscribe to the Aljabariyah 'fatalistic' ideology but in practice we are almost there !
Is our Fate really already fixed by Allah !Is there really no free play for Man . There is as if Man's Free Will is non existent anymore the moment he is born as what some misguided Sufis and most of us misinformed ,ignorant practitioners of the faith hold as sacrosanct.
It is almost heretical to believe otherwise .This was certainly not so during the Prophet's time and the simple but succinct story of the Bedouin and his camel immediately came to light :
On being asked by the Prophet whether he had secured their camels well before they turn in for the night the bedoiun answered that there was nothing for the Prophet and his entourage to worry about because he had already read a few Quranic verses and read the Doa and thus safe to leave them in the hand of Allah .The Prophet retorted that he need to tie the camels securely 1st with proper ropes,then Doa and leave to Allah .
The slide towards this misinterpretation of Qadar and Qada' occured much later after the khalifah Al Rashidin's period to the extent that the great Imam Hanafi [ or was it ,Imam Hambali ? ,either one , I am not sure ]was called to the court of Khalifah Marwan to give his personal explanation of the alledged 'heresy' he had been preaching regarding "Free Will ".By that time , for many years lesser 'ulamaks of the istanas ' had for years already moved with the 'wind' to appease their rulers and interpreted hadith and the Quran according to the ' flavour 'and political expediency of the day .Qadar ,Qada' and Lailatul-qadr became only for the brave philosophers to discuss and tread on .In present day Malaysia ,an ISA-eable subject !
If I am not mistaken and I certainly stand corrected ,Imam Hanafi was one of the earliest big time real ulamak to be sent under 'ISA ' for spreading heresys and heretical thoughts !Almost akin to the present day dismissal of Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas by a bunch of junior clowns and court jesters !
To put it succinctly ,Qadar means Allah 's Decree or Law .There are Allah's Natural Law and Allah's Spiritual Law .If you throw a ball up it will fall down due to gravity and Isaac Newton as early as the 18th century already was able to compute the force of gravity as being inversely proportional to the square of the distance from planet earth and directly proportional to the mass of the ball .The Russians with knowledge in space physics and rocketry were able to send the 1st man ,Colonel Yuri Gagarin into outer space.One example of understanding Allah's physical and chemical elements which all follow Allah's natural law .
Albert Einstein later came out with the now famous formullae E=MCSquared ,meaning energy released from a matter is equal to the weight of matter time by the square of a constant which is actually the speed of light [180,000 miles per second] times by itself .That is considerable amount of energy from a very small mass .A few years later Enrico Fermi and his associates were able to produce the 1st atomic bomb working secretly under a stadium somewhere in USA .Of course there were the 'yellow bastards'in Japan for them to try on and see its effect on humans !
Several generations after the last kalifah Ar rashidin ,we Muslims began to get engrossed into the esoteric and exoteric arguments around Free Wills ,philosophical discourse and hidden meaning of each Ayat and hadith ,twigs and branches of the Faith ,and missed the 'main trunk ' of Islam ie Allah 's Din to guide Man to live life at the fullest ,to be His viceeroy on this planet earth ,to led those 'lost sheep ' to Allah's light and enlightenment .After the fall of Islamic renaissance in Cordoba and it's shift to Florence ,the Judeo-Christian world has not looked back .For some centuries now and more years to come if we do not change our ' hearts and souls ' we will be lead !
[...They have studied Allah's Qadar ,at least the 1st arm of it ,The Natural laws ,and control nature and the world !After the fall of the Ottoman Empire the entire subjugation of the Muslims was complete .Now if you are a too regular prayer at the London Regent's Mosque you may find yourself be' digitised ' in one of their super computers as a potential ' health hazard ' .This is too far fetch you may think , and it has not happened yet but it may .Obama is a health hazard to some Americans and he happened to have only a Muslim middle name ,not even a Muslim ]
At the atomic level ,the cellular level and the macro cellular level [ the human organism ],Qadar or natural law operates and there is limited Will .You throw a ball upward it falls .You fly an aeroplane upward against gravity ,it will go up but once the gasoline finish ,it will fall down to the ground like a rock following Allah's law of Gravity .The 'going up' followed Allah's natural law of propulsive combustion ,the 'going down ' ,His law of gravitation .
You mix hydrogen with oxygen atoms ,you get water and a lot of heat .You smash an atom you get so much of energy .At the super macro level ,ie the organism level ,A crazy human who thinks he is invincible walk in front of a 20 ton tanker would be crushed like a pancake .He tries to walk on water he will sink .His equally stupid son experiment with trying not to study at the U ,he flunk his year end examination .At other time he practice free sex with his classmates ,5 times out 10 he would get those equally stupid girls pregnant .
Likewise this same son of the chap who tested his 'immortality' by crashing into the tanker ,the 1st year college drop out ,has all the freedom in the world to choose a life of emotional and spiritual excellence or mediocrity ,or even outright depravity ,all on his own free will .An average family man with a stable job ,both feet planted to the ground ,doing the average thing that good stable Muslim youth of his age would do .Or he may continue to choose a life of continued self destruct ,stray into wrong company and end up as a drug addict etc etc .There is freedom of Will .But is he 100 % free ?
Not totally ,because the sum total of his decisions so far were skewed towards a downward spiral . .Unless Allah opens his 'heart and soul' to a higher calling in his mid life after the general drift southward .His not so clever father in the 1st place already serve as the wrong primary role model .His wrong lifestlye in the U push him further down the scale .His existing talent ,the friends and company he keeps ,his milieu , determine the direction he go .If he on starting work as a general clerk with say ,Nestle in Shah Alam , meets the right group of friends who could pull him back to the 'straight path ' he certainly could join the thousand others 'halal 'hard working workforce and an average good Muslim family man .
Of course Qadar in his case means even in 4 lifetimes he would not be say the President of The united States or even PM of Malaysia !
But on the other hand with no good role model ,' bad' friends and surrounding there is also the likelihood of him to continue his downward spiral,he can even sink to the bottom in no time !That in fact would be a more probable happening than say meeting a 'Ruuusma' at his work place and ending up as potential ' PM ' one fine day .
Emotional and spiritual balance ,and I am not hinting even at the upper echelon excellence ,is a lot of work .That leeway nonetheless is there .Our future is not iron clad ,as there are Free Will ,as well as Doa , and Prayer !It is easy to spiral downward and a lot of hardward just to remain sane and average let alone soar upward towards the Perfect Man idealism . The one million dollar question is ,do we use these avenues to the max ?
On the spiritual side ,Allah Spiritual Moral Code determines the boundaries and expectation of man in relation to his fellow men ,women and his families .It also determine his relation with his Maker .You live a lustful ,corrupt and careless life ,your souls degenerate further and further from the scale of the Perfect Man as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad .If you live within the constraint of the Spiritual Moral Code ,your souls move upwards to coalesce with the essence of your true Spirits and move nearer towards the embodiment of The Prophet .
[ Allah's Spiritual Moral Code is the ' movable ' aspect of Qadar unlike Allah's Natural Law .One has the Free Will to follow it a 100 % to the brim and in the process enriches one's soul to the point to put in 'sufic' expression able enjoy the spirituality of this life as if one is being given to sip Allah's fine 'wine' from His own cup . For this very elitist few,life's trials and tribulations no longer affect them as their ' naf ' are already emasculated and they are able to ' see ' and ' taste ' life figuratively through God's eye .On the one hand can just be an average practitioner or just above average ,ambling along like millions others .One can also easily be lulled into a continuous downward spiral of hideous self destruct behaviour through and through .Even Allah's Natural Law is relatively ' movable ' to some extent . A ball when thrown up will fall down under gravity ,but a rocket with chemical propulsive action can move up ,until there is no more solid fuel to push it forward ,then it follows the natural law of gravitation ].
For example when you give alms ,or keep your obligatory or superregatory prayers ,or just being a good father to your children ,you are not helping Allah an iota :you are educating your soul and moving your soul north ward towards the scale of the Perfect Man ,and ensuring it has at least a chance of keeping on the ' straight path ' and if veering away ,sometime ,may still have a tangible chance of coming back .
The reverse happen if you continuously veer away from Allah's Spiritual Moral Code .At the National level on the other hand when a corrupted soul can not only cause depravity to himself but also influence other lives around him and cause depravity in others as well ,would be the archtypal 'corrupt politician-statesman' ,a man of considerable influence .A politician may generally starts well but without proper religious education and background [ many consider not politically correct nowadays to even think about giving proper religious education to offsprings ] and nawaitu may initially consider a 5 million 'kick back' from a State's deal as being good enough and his ' birth right ',then 50 ,then even 200 million 'masih belum cukup '.His life will no longer revolve around Allah but around his political and personal expediency .""Power ,sex ,money" are the common denominators of so called ' successful leaders ' who lack religious background and the right aqidah .Goal post s can be change to look good .His soul veer further and further away from the 'straight path ' and unlike the Mat Rempit discussed earlier ,this chap affect or at least retard millions of other souls as well .His policy affect the Nation ,retards proper Islamic growth etc etc .[ see my blog on who wants to be PM !Friday Khutbah : Sept 12th ].His soul not only carries his excess baggage but the baggage of the rest of mankind his 'office' influence .Allahualam !
When there is a Will ,there is a way .Another simpler example than the above is to look at the ordinary folks ,say just a simple average student struggling at school .You can choose between being a straight A student or last in class of course within the partial constraint provided by your genetic and environmental and behavioral template provided by your parents .If you are born with an IQ of 80 ,you would not be a space scientist even in a 100 years !But if you have good supportive parents with good schooling provided by a welfare state you may end up as a reasonably independent individual .Without parental support and special schooling , you may even have difficulty working as a 'jaga kereta' boy .An example of some free play of Wills here and limitations set by the 'Natural Law ' aspect of Qadar ie the genetic ,parental ,and environmental component .
[ Looking this way that is why PARENTING remain an important issue in Islam .Good parenting can obviate some of the limitations set about by the relatively 'immovable ' negative aspect of genetics and environmental factors .And part of good parenting may in some cases mean mothers do stay at home to look after and bring up and educate their children rather than be fighter pilots or firemen etc etc ]....just a digression
To give further a sense of hope to His abdals ,the CEO of The Universe throw in 2 almost similar looking 'spanners' into the proverbial 'engine' : Doa and Prayer [ which are one of the same ], and the possibility that your Taubat [ repentance is also a form of Doa in a sense ] can be accepted or rejected downright .Everyone can Taubat but if one's soul is so low down the scale ,there is the real danger of the possibility of your soul not even thinking of Taubat in the 1st place ,let alone the Taubat being accepted by Allah .
That is half of the ballgame so far !Now the other half :Qada'.
Qada' is Allah's Judgement or System of Judgement .All embodied in the Quran and Sunnah .You lived a careless life ,drunk most time ,free sex ,devoid of spirituality ,not only corrupt in behaviour but corrupting to society [' bukan saja sesat ,tapi menyesatkan '] ,there is only one place for you .On the opposite scale you are a light to your family ,your society ,lived purely by the Syariah , not for show ,but for the celebration of Allah ,there is another place for you .In between this black and white ,the various shades of grey ,will be judged accordingly and fairly ,according to the Al Mizan , the Scale .
Again to throw the spanner in the engine ,some will be judged and judgement will be meted out rightaway ,Cash!
If you are almost 95 % Muslim but choose Pancasila or other system to live your collective lives ,you get more frequent 'Bala' than the fair share that other people get .If you as a people definitely is 100 % secular ,encourage futures trading ,debt trading ,and every thing under the Sun as if the is no Allah to answer to , and insist the rest of the world to follow suit in your way of life ,Allah will throw some hurricanes here and there ,some tornadoes and wild forest fires ,and occasionally a global financial crises here and there .To lull you further of course ,all of them appear man made and difficult to actually perceive that this is Allah's judgement ,right away ,CASH ,on earth !
So to speak within the constraints of Qadar and Qada', the post modern Man does have a lot of leeway to move around .It is just a question of Will ,whether he choose to soar and fly ,or be at the lowest of low .
On the Night Of Decree or The Night of Power ,yearly during the last 10 days of Ramadan the 'People of The Higher Plane' descent on planet earth to help assess ,tabulate , audit and recommend to the Final Arbiter ,The Most High ,on how we are to be judged for the closing statement for that particular year :
"In the name of Allah ,Most gracious ,Most Merciful .
We have indeed revealed This Message In The Night of Power .
And what will explain to thee what the Night Of Power is ?
The Night Of Power is better than a thousand Months .
Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission ,
On every errand :
Peace !.....This
Until the rise of Morn !"
Abdullah Yusuf Ali chose not to interpret ''better than a thousand months' leaving it as a mystical expression .I would rather concur with Sayyid Qutb's interpretation :Allah 's grace and rahmat befalling on his Abdal praying and beholden to Him on the instance of the Night Of Power ,though may be a few insignificant moment will be worth more than a thousand months for that Abdal for that particular year.If he is called to his Lord that year ,he has got it made !If not ,that rahamat and grace hopefully would put him in good stead for years to come with a proviso :Life between the highs and lows is an active flux .Iman and Ihsan has to be earned .There is no miracle in the LailatulQadr . We have to earn it and continue to earn it on a yearly basis . Fullstop !NO MIRACLE .
Man's piety and his highs and lows are a continuous struggle on a daily basis .It does not follow an All or None law .It waxes and wane like the tide .But lo and behold !Yearly on The Night Of Power ,to commemorate the 1st Night Of Power some 1450 years ago ,when The Perfect Man had his Visitor of On High ,we his followers and the rest of mankind are being Judged !
Allah 's ultimate knowledge of when and how we die ,what we do with our life ,which zenith we reach ,does not preclude His allowance to His abdals the choice of Free Will .Within the constraints of circumstances ,our genetic makeup our emotional and spiritual endurance and our environment ,we can still choose whether we want to SOAR UPWARD ,or just fly ,or swim with the current ,or sink to the bottom .
And lest you get depressed by your lack of performance so far ,do not feel despondent .After Qadar ,Qada' and the annual Judgement ,Allah being Ya Rahman And Ya Rahim has His very own KPI . Does not matter whether in 'realtime' life you end up as the Agong ,one of the Sultans ,PM ,CEO ,ordinary chaps on the street or an ordinary road sweeper ,His Key performance indicator is simple :Taqwa or God Conciousness in whatever you do .[ refer to my earlier blog on this :Surah Al Asr ,Allah's Key Performance Indicators ,Sunday 22nd , June ].And He does not judge you by the results but only by your good honest intention !
We come back one whole circle in this ballgame call LIFE :Qadar ,Qada' ,LailatulQadr ,and at the time of Mahsyar ,after the Al Mizan and all when even an 'atom's weight of good deed and bad deed were carefully measured ,Allah take away all the minute details of "warts ,boils and human failings" , and in order to make man pass the acid test easily , look just at man from the helicopter viewpoint :Taqwa .
Does this chap [ Agong ,President ,Sultan ,CEO ,Lawyer ,or just ordinary road sweeper ] do his all with God Conciousness in mind or because of other " gods " real or imagined .Man's failings ,unequal stature ,wealth ,innate talents or lack of it ,trappings of high office or 'no office' ,ALL LEFT behind .Only TAQWA .That is Allah , Ya Rahman , Ya Rahim !Mashaallah !
[......to the avid golfers ,Dr Nik Isahak sounds unbelievably simple like golf ! With all the handicap system and all .But why not ?Man are not born equal in talent shape ,circumstances etc etc ,how else do One judge Man who come in various sizes ,colour ,ideology and shape apart from a very fair Key Performance Indicator .Remember ,that chap with the IQ of 80 . He did not ask to be born with that kind of handicap ,neither did the man who was destined to be King with all the inherrent silver spoons !Man is given a FREE WILL but come with all kinds of handicap .At the end of the day he and only he is accountable to his God for all his deeds on this planet earth .And mind you ,Allah did not ask for much ,except that in all that you do on this planet earth ,you do with Him in view .The Right Intention suffice [ nawaitu ],leave the results to Him . ]
Ya Fattah ,Ya Razak ,Ya Wahab ,Ya Ghoni ,Ya Mugh'ni ,Ya Khadim ,Ya Daim ,Ya Ahad ,Ya Wahid ,Ya Samad ,Ya Rahman Ya Rahim ,Ya Hayyu ,Ya Qayyum ,Ya Rabb ,Ya Zaljala Liwalikram ,give us peace in this world and the next and remove us from the torments of the grave and the Hereafter !
Allahualam !
Dr Nik Howk
Friday, September 26, 2008
Lest We Forget........
An Excerpt from New Straits Time 1969 Edition :
MCA President , Tun Tan Siew Sin, had this to say on the issue of special position of the Malays ,on April 30th ,1969 :
""The Malays, through UMNO, were generous enough to relax the citizenship
laws of this country to such extent that within 12 months of
independence, 90 percent were still non-citizens after nearly 100 years
of colonial rule in the Malay States. In return for this major
concession. the MCA and the MIC agreed to continue the policy of
preserving the special position of the Malays while at the same time
upholding the legitimate interest of other communities. ""
MIC President Tun Sambanthan on 1st June 1965 ,said the following in Parliament :
""Now, in 1955 we won the elections with a great majority. Then we
obtained freedom in two years time. During this period, we had to
discuss citizenship and various other things. Now what did the Malays do
- since we are speaking on racial lines - what did the Malay leadership
do? They had 88 percent of the electorate still with them.
What did they do with citizenship?
If we look around in Asia and East Asia, particularly, you will find
that my race the indian race, is not welcomed in Ceylon, is not welcomed
in Burma. Look at my brother Chinnese race, it is not welcomed in
Thailand , in Vietnam , in Cambodia , in all the other areas.What help do
they get for citizenship in all these territories? In Burma , as we know,
Indian have been send packing, in Ceylont hey refused them citizenship
and in Burma it is likewise. I know it, you know it. And yet in Malaya
what happened? Here we found that the Malay leadership said, 'We shall
take them unto ourselves as brothers, we shall give them full
opportunity to live in this country, we shall give them every
opportunity to become citizens.'
And so, in 1957, for the whole year, we waived language qualifications,
and tens of thousand of Indians, Chinese, Ceylonese and others became
citizens...
As I said, it has been my great good fortune to have born in this
country. Where else can you find a more charitable, a more polite, a
more decent race than Malay race? Where else can you get such
politically decent treatment for any immigrant race? Where else in the
history of the world? I ask you. These are the facts. Who are you to
safeguards us? I am 10 percent minority race here. But I am happy here.""
Winstedt some 80 years earlier wrote '..the Malays are peculiar .They are nature's gentlemen ...they would let their guest sleep in their bedroom while they sleep outside ...'
What follow suit was an on-line conversation between Doctor Rosli Yaacub ,an economist ,Prof Wan ,former Deputy DG of ISTAC and myself :
Friends ,
Lest we forget , in our rush to be fair minded and adhere to political correctness , let us be reminded by what two bygone senior Malaysian Statesmen had to say on the Malay special position some 40 years back . I could also still recall Tun Dr Ismail 's remark on the same issue about the same time to the effect that ' the time and place when the Malays should rescind their special position as enschrined in the Federal Constitution will be at the priveledge for they themselve to choose and decide ,and not others ' .
Will it be right or politically correct to extend it forever ? I am no politician but on something that has been enshrined in our Constitution why give up something so easily when 'other fellow Malaysians' of probably equal loyalty to King and Country [ some may say dubious on the basis of their reluctance] refuse to budge even an inch on what we would regard as proactive and cohesive measure as petty and inconsequential as the aborted introduction of 'Sekolah Wawasan' .Not yet addressing the real issue of why 51 years on vernacular schools still should exist !
If I recall correctly the government of the day that time lost some mileage in the election or was it a by election as a 'tempias' or communal backlash on the 'Sekolah Wawasan' issue .A definitive measure by Dr M to improve cohesiveness among our young but perceived differently by our 'guests' . Or is the word 'guests' also not a politically correct term to use here !
We are not even touching on the issue of educational divergence and divisiveness among our young Malaysians due to the presence and continued existence of a parallel education system yet [ vis a vis vernacular schools] ,50 years on since Merdeka .
There is a term called 'horse trading' and perhaps Mr Anwar Ibrahim in his haste to be in 'Putrajaya' has totally forgotten this term . Yes ! That is what we should be doing before we decide to move from the 'veranda' to the 'cowshed' to allow our 'guests' more room in the 'house' ! Just my very humble opinion .
Dr Nik Howk .
Reply from Doc Rosli:
Assalamulaikum Yang Berbahagia Dr. Isahak.
Here is a piece of my thought on the malaise of the Malays.
The Malay Merdeka Leaders had make a big mistake and many say to the detrimental of the Malays. At that time, their thinking perhaps, focused on achieving Merdeka and not so much on what will happen to the future of the Malays with the kind of the Merdeka deal they had worked out.
How the mistake can be reversed? Perhaps, no way. As far the Merdeka deal is concerned, it is gone with the wind for the Malays. It is a done deal. Had they opposed to the deal then, there was no Merdeka.
Remember, those Malay leaders who were steadfast in thinking that "Tanah Melayu untuk Orang Melayu" were not even invited to the negotiation table, not a chance. Many of them were rounded under the ISA and imprisoned ang perished.
By hindsight, the Merdeka Malay Leaders were nothing more than the stooges of the British colonial power. They were trained in London and trained to be liberals. Yes, they were Malay nationlists but to qualify as inheritors of the soon-to-be freed Malaya, they must think like the British. They must be secular in their thinking. If traces of Islamic inclination were detected in their blood, they were disqualified, that is for sure.
When the British left, they were entrusted with the task to continue with the British law and system of government. They did not have even an iota of thnking to establish Islamic state and rule the country the Shariah way.
Under their leadersahip, Genting, a gambling center was established and liqor factories set up to give jobs to the Muslims. Can you imagine a gambling center and liqor factories in a Muslim country? Can you see how liberal those leaders were?
UMNO leaders, despite the NEP, continue to "sell" the Malays. Can't you see that the Malays are minority in almost all modern housing estates in the country. Look at what happened to Subang Jaya is enough. It is developed by Sime Darby but is is a non-Malay majority township. Look at the town and industrial centers throughout the country. Tell me of the rows and rows of shophouses, shopping complexes and industrial buildings, how many are owned by Malays? Close to zero. Isn't it?
I think the Malays should stop crying wolf about the commission of mistakes by our past leaders and by our current leaders.
The Malays can only regain its past glory if we are prepared to rerturn to Islam and live the Quran and Sunnah way. We don't need corrupt Malay leaders anymore. They were the ones who sold and pawned away the rights and dignity of the Malays.
Since Merdeka and as a matter of fact, long before that - it goes back to the last 600 years - the Malays were discriminated against and marginalized by their colonial masters, first the Portuguese, then the Dutch and the British and currently the the corrupt Malay leaders.
Under the British rule, the then immigrants were treated with alot of previleges and were given all the support to thrive in business to enhance the colonial economic power. The then immigrants dominated the business and economic sector. The same economic landscape has not changed much after 50 years of independence. Of course now all are citizens and they continue to contribute immensely to the gowing nation's prosperity. They are the economic power house of the country.
Remember the pantun: "Buai laju-laju sampai pokok sena, bila nak beli baju baru, beli kedai Cina." This turned the Malays into a slumber party.
To be standing with dignity with other races, the Malay must return to Islam and in the economic sphere Islam teaches us that "90 per cent of our sustenanance (rezki) is in busienss." If we Muslims adhere to this reaching we can easily become an economic power house.
Wassalam ,
Dr Rosli.
My reply to Doc Rosli :
Doc Rosli ,
I have to agree with you 100 % .We are 'accidents' of HISTORY .But 'history' is no accident .The powers of that time had already 'pre-decided' ISLAM was a no no !Put yourself as Head of State of Superpowers of Russia ,Britain ,France and the US .In the wake of the breakdown and final dismantling and dismemberment of the Great Ottoman Empire ,any new State thinking of Syariah as their constitution would be nipped in the bud .How Saudi Arabia escaped was beyond my rather scant knowledge of world history !
Nonetheless we cannot continue to blame others for our continued failure to be Islamic .{Of course my good friend Prof Wan Mohd formerly from ISTAC may take exception to my comment here because from his viewpoint ,we are already Islamic enough ,given our circumstances of our plurality } .We take that view because we assume majority of us Malays are Muslims by birth and by intention .But is that so ?
50 years on and the only Islamic party in the country have yet to make inroads into Malay hinterland states like Johor [thank God ,Perak show some progress ] ,Pahang and Selangor begs my question above to be answered .Are we Muslims or just 'Muslim Separuh separuh' ?Of course some people may find excuses and conveniently blame you guys from PAS for not 'selling' PAS the right way .Again the blame game .I would rather ask myself the question : Are we Malays really majority Muslims ?No .At best many of us are 'separuh ,separuh ' ,at worse some are munafik .Sorry ,brother !
Was reading Mawdudi's seminal work translated by the late Murad Khoram and re titled 'Let Us Be Muslims' .A very short work .Easy reading all the way but when I reach the last chapter ,I get cold sweat :Yes , are we really truly Muslims as we profess to be ?
In my position now , I cannot answer that question for myself satisfactorily .
That to me is the reason for our current 'malaise and backwardness' .JMHO
Dr Nik Howk
Prof Wan ,join in the fray :
Dear Dr Nik,
Since you had kindly cited my opinion in yout latest email '{Of course my good friend Prof Wan Mohd formerly from ISTAC may take exception to my comment here because from his viewpoint ,we are already Islamic enough ,given our circumstances of our plurality }, I feel a slight need to explain. 'Others' i.e. non Muslim leaders, scholars and media people etc who were/are truly responsible for 'forcing' unpalatable policies on our liberal Muslim leaders cannot be absolved of their misdeeds, whether or not the world recognize them as such. The points which I was making in my public writings and letters to you involved more of our own shared responsiblity which are definitely wanting on all crucial fronts.
I did not use the phrase 'Islamc enough' in the sense that it is enough, hence no further improvements are needed. On the contrary, I said that we are islamic (writing in English, in Malay it is just Islam, which is clearer, eg Orang islam, Negara Islam) as a minimal point of departure from the stage of islam-->Iman-->ihsan. Many people have politicized the issue of negara islam vs negara sekuler, which in our context would negate the positive socio-religious achievements and opened doors (whic are now becoming almost un-closable!) for others to questions even the basic historical and religious foundations of this nation. Objectively speaking, for I am not belonging to any political party, prior to 1998, we had achieved a rather enviable status among complex multiplural nations coming out of 5 centuries of colonization. Maududi's writings that you mentioned were no doubt inspirational but they had also contributed to some of the excessive politicization of our religion, beyond its traditional historical parameters.
In an interveiw with al-Islam magazine of Sept 2008 issue on the issue of why malay middle class does not seem to be pro-government, I said it is because most of them feel they have been treated like fools (rasa diperbodohkan). There i cautioned that after 51 years, our nation, like a huge shady tree has benefited a lot a people, but it is now infested with rodents, many branches and roots are rotten, and the gardener has been lazy. Chase away the rodents, trim the dead branches, fertilize the roots, and even get a new gardener, but dont cut down the tree...
Sorry for a rather lenghty note!
Wassalam ,
wan mohd nor
My Reply to Dr Rosli and Prof Wan :
Prof Wan Mohammad Nor and Doc Rosli ,
This polemic is getting to be more interesting ,perhaps because it is not easy to get Prof Wan 'excited' enough to join in the fray .Let me rephrase my anxiety and inner doubt vis a vis as a commited Muslim within the society with respect to whether 'I am already doing enough'as a Muslim ,in a fardu kifayah sense, to spread the universal message of Islam ?
My contention is generally most of us ,at least that is what I feel ,is hiding behind the guise of that contentious concept of 'plurality' as an excuse to not be doing more for Islam ,collectively as well as at the individual level.The 'Din ' is just not for the Muslims .It encompass the universe .
Since our society is 'plural ,this is where we stop ,since we are 'plural' it s just okay and politically correct to just limit ourselves .Since the society is 'plural' we may allow dissenting views even from within ,like say from Islamic academic 'eunuch' like Dr Farish Nor [ to me though on some issues he behaved more like an 'academic prostitute ,prostituting himself to the 'secular' gallery ], who seem to know all about Islam , to go round and round in circles and confused others on liberal Islam .Likewise we let people who know little about Islam like the SIS group who has a tendency to again 'play to the gallery ' to capture the public imagination and play the cenre role as if they represent progressive and true Islam . .Unfortunately these clowns are media savvy and have friends within the media that share the same aspiration to beguile and confuse!
Our basic premise of 'plurality' is rather blurred and give us a sense of overwhelming odds to doing more .
To my mind to understand and appreciate the basis of 'plurality' we actually need to put ourselves in the position our prophet Mohammad faced 1450 years ago .When he got the Message ,he was faced with 'corporate' Arabia in Mecca ,who were mainly successful small and big time traders of his own tribe who were in the main idol worshipers .In Medina the envelope of 'plurality' somewhat enlarged a wee bit to include the People of the Books ,Jews of Bani Nadhir and the Trinitarian polytheistic Christians who had since departed from the original teaching of Prophet Isa ,bearing in mind the concept of Trinity was only introduced by Paul some 200 years after Prophet Isa ..That in essense was 'plurality' during Prophet's time .
Now ,some 14 centuries passed ,the nature of our 'plurality' has not changed very much if we care to separate the leaves and twig from the main trunk .To put it simply ,taking away a whole gamut of the race equation ,we are just facing only two groups of people :mereka mereka yang 'sesat' dan mereka yang di murkai Allah .Yang di murkai Allah hanya 15 juta bertaburan di Bumi Allah dan yang sesat memang ramai lah mereka .
Looking that way ,make the issue of 'plurality' as a rationale for our collective inaction less tenable .That ,Prof Wan ,is the dagger that prick my conscience now day and night as to whether I have done enough ,even though from our conversation a year back I did get some consolation from you .That is also why I envy people like Tok Guru Nik Aziz ,Musa Husam ,Doc Rosli et al .
Di Padang Mahsyar nanti do you want to be judged as a Monarch , PM , or doctor troubled by his conscience ,a Prof of Theology ,or just an inconsequential slime in the rock !!!??? The organic ,soul-less slime would be better in such circumstances !
Dr Nik Howk
Prof Wan’s Reply :
Dr Nik,
I agree with you on plurality as indicated in all my works on the subject.
Our aqidah--the Maturidiah and Ash'ariah-- says clearly that we should not consider our works as adequate enough for salvation--that is tantamount to taking God for granted---but rather we may be saved because of His gracious mercy and generosity: we are commanded to have faith and hope in His forgiving attribute while constantly improving our intentions and actions, personal and collective, untill He calls us unto Himself.
Wassalam,
Wan
My Reply to Prof Wan :
Prof Wan ,
There is a big group I missed ,and this is probably the reason for the 'blurring' of the concept of plurality .The munafiks !Mereka2 yang sesat dan mereka2 yang di murkai Allah are two well dictinct group but the third group dilutes and blurs the issue.It is probably a taboo subject here !
Your answer was understandably short and political .My gut feeling is it is the 3rd group that really retards the institution of syariah in our country .No wonder as in Surah Al Munafikun ,Allah guarantee them a very special place ,more special than untuk 'mereka2 yang sesat dan mereka2 yang di murkai ' .
Dr Nik Howk
Reply from Dr Rosli
Yang Berbahagia Dr. Nik Isahak
On the issue that pluralistic Malaysia cannot possibly become an Islam State, this is a piece of my view.
Can't we all see that Western socieities are already rotten to the core? Nothing that is forbidden by Allah SWT that is not transgressed by them. When come to committing sins - of course our reference is sins as defined in the Quran - they are extremists of no comparison. They are modern day firauns, 'ads, thamuds and luth and these peoples, because of their extremism in defiying Allah's law, Allah made them to vanish from the face of the earth and permanent citizens of hell. Without doubt, the same faith shall befall the modern day jahiliyyah societies.
The Western societies of today are the Jahiliyyah socieites at the time of our Prophet, 1400 years ago. They are the modern day jahiliyyah, if you will. As then, Islam is the only solution to all kinds of ignorance and it is now coming the way.
Don't you know that, despite all the malignance and negative publicities labelled against it, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today? Islam is the fastest growing religion in America, Europe, Russia, Africa, Latin America and Australia. This is a living proof that Islam is on its way to greatness again. Allah says it: Islam is the solution to the problems of mandkind.
At our own level, in our society and country, the duty of every Muslims is to spread Islam. The pluralistic society that we are all in should not be an excuse for us not to talk about Islamic state but rather it should be a fertile ground for us to spread Islam. That Malaysia is a pluralistic society comes from Allah and taken in a positive light, Allah wants us Malaysian Muslims to propagate Islam to our neighbors and fellow citizens. Islam is for all.
If there is someone out there says that there is a limit to Islam in Malaysia because of our pluralistic nature, I want to take exception to that view. If Karpal Singh cannot accept Islam, nobody can say for sure he will remain that way tomorrow or his next and next generations will not accept Islam. History is replete with stories that many of the best Muslims were the worst of persons in their jahilyyah days.
When Islamic state will become a reality in Malaysia? When Islam will rule the world? These are questions not for us to answer. Our duty is to work for Islam and to work with those who are working for the revival of Islam. In the day of judgement, Allah will only ask us what we did for Islam not the results of what we did.
If I am asked, can Malaysia, a plural society, become an Islamic State, I will answer with 100 per cent confidence that one day it will be.
When the non-Muslims appreciate, see, feel and enjoy the justice of Islam, they will choose to come under the banner of Islam like what happened during the time of our Prophet and the rule of the four guided Caliphs and also during the time of Omar Abdul Aziz, the Fifth Caliph. During the reign of Sallahuddin Al Ayubi, so many Christians pleaded to become his subjects as he was a just leader - to the Muslims and non-Muslims.
I choose to be in the bandwagon of Islamic revivial and I believe this the only bandwagon that is taking us to the straight path.
Wassalam.
Doc Rosli.
PS :Can you see that Islam is again on its way to greatness?
Doc Rosli ,
Islam in Malaysia has got a perception problem .Take any Malaysian Chinese and ask him ,'Islam is a great religion that once illuminate the world ,it is synonamous with your world view of progress and excellence ,in fact much much better ' and his response would be "saya tak mahu masuk Melayu " .That is how we sell Islam to the non Malays in Malaysia .Melayu = Islam .
Whether we like it or not kita Melayu banyak penyakit .Karat2 jahiliyah berinci-inci tebal nya .Ilmu akhirat kurang .Ilmu dunia lagi kurang .Sembahyang tanpa ilmu dan tanpa ihsan ,tunggang tunggek .Quran jadi hiasan dan tangkal .'Yang tu pi mai pi mai dok tang tu jugak kita ' . Kalau bagi bank kat Melayu ,kalau silap hari , habis wang lesap ,bagi listed company kat Melayu ,kerusi meja pun kalau bolih dijual dijual , ,wang ehsan untuk orang2 miskin habis dikebas dek menteri !Bagi Negara ,negara pun bolih semua tergadai .Too many examples recent and past
Sadly Islam has not empowered us to be God's ambassadors on earth .Just reexamine and do a proper audit of the previous Administration and the current one .Corruption ,nepotism and cronyism tanpa malu dan segan !
Ini belum lagi di ambil kira Islam at the world stage perspective .Of course the biased Yahudi controlled media is not a 'great ' help either .
We have a perception problem .Namun ,we are on a roll and I agree with you only we can change ourselves .The change is not physical ,it has to be from the 'heart and the soul'.We are not "mereka2 yang sesat dan mereka2 yang di murkai " .Neither are we the munafikuns .We are Muslims .
There is only one standard expected of being a Muslim :Excellence in intent and behaviour .The type expounded and shown by the Perfect Man :Muhammad ibnu Abdullah .
Insyaallah ,insyaallah ,Insyaallah !
Dr Nik Howk
MCA President , Tun Tan Siew Sin, had this to say on the issue of special position of the Malays ,on April 30th ,1969 :
""The Malays, through UMNO, were generous enough to relax the citizenship
laws of this country to such extent that within 12 months of
independence, 90 percent were still non-citizens after nearly 100 years
of colonial rule in the Malay States. In return for this major
concession. the MCA and the MIC agreed to continue the policy of
preserving the special position of the Malays while at the same time
upholding the legitimate interest of other communities. ""
MIC President Tun Sambanthan on 1st June 1965 ,said the following in Parliament :
""Now, in 1955 we won the elections with a great majority. Then we
obtained freedom in two years time. During this period, we had to
discuss citizenship and various other things. Now what did the Malays do
- since we are speaking on racial lines - what did the Malay leadership
do? They had 88 percent of the electorate still with them.
What did they do with citizenship?
If we look around in Asia and East Asia, particularly, you will find
that my race the indian race, is not welcomed in Ceylon, is not welcomed
in Burma. Look at my brother Chinnese race, it is not welcomed in
Thailand , in Vietnam , in Cambodia , in all the other areas.What help do
they get for citizenship in all these territories? In Burma , as we know,
Indian have been send packing, in Ceylont hey refused them citizenship
and in Burma it is likewise. I know it, you know it. And yet in Malaya
what happened? Here we found that the Malay leadership said, 'We shall
take them unto ourselves as brothers, we shall give them full
opportunity to live in this country, we shall give them every
opportunity to become citizens.'
And so, in 1957, for the whole year, we waived language qualifications,
and tens of thousand of Indians, Chinese, Ceylonese and others became
citizens...
As I said, it has been my great good fortune to have born in this
country. Where else can you find a more charitable, a more polite, a
more decent race than Malay race? Where else can you get such
politically decent treatment for any immigrant race? Where else in the
history of the world? I ask you. These are the facts. Who are you to
safeguards us? I am 10 percent minority race here. But I am happy here.""
Winstedt some 80 years earlier wrote '..the Malays are peculiar .They are nature's gentlemen ...they would let their guest sleep in their bedroom while they sleep outside ...'
What follow suit was an on-line conversation between Doctor Rosli Yaacub ,an economist ,Prof Wan ,former Deputy DG of ISTAC and myself :
Friends ,
Lest we forget , in our rush to be fair minded and adhere to political correctness , let us be reminded by what two bygone senior Malaysian Statesmen had to say on the Malay special position some 40 years back . I could also still recall Tun Dr Ismail 's remark on the same issue about the same time to the effect that ' the time and place when the Malays should rescind their special position as enschrined in the Federal Constitution will be at the priveledge for they themselve to choose and decide ,and not others ' .
Will it be right or politically correct to extend it forever ? I am no politician but on something that has been enshrined in our Constitution why give up something so easily when 'other fellow Malaysians' of probably equal loyalty to King and Country [ some may say dubious on the basis of their reluctance] refuse to budge even an inch on what we would regard as proactive and cohesive measure as petty and inconsequential as the aborted introduction of 'Sekolah Wawasan' .Not yet addressing the real issue of why 51 years on vernacular schools still should exist !
If I recall correctly the government of the day that time lost some mileage in the election or was it a by election as a 'tempias' or communal backlash on the 'Sekolah Wawasan' issue .A definitive measure by Dr M to improve cohesiveness among our young but perceived differently by our 'guests' . Or is the word 'guests' also not a politically correct term to use here !
We are not even touching on the issue of educational divergence and divisiveness among our young Malaysians due to the presence and continued existence of a parallel education system yet [ vis a vis vernacular schools] ,50 years on since Merdeka .
There is a term called 'horse trading' and perhaps Mr Anwar Ibrahim in his haste to be in 'Putrajaya' has totally forgotten this term . Yes ! That is what we should be doing before we decide to move from the 'veranda' to the 'cowshed' to allow our 'guests' more room in the 'house' ! Just my very humble opinion .
Dr Nik Howk .
Reply from Doc Rosli:
Assalamulaikum Yang Berbahagia Dr. Isahak.
Here is a piece of my thought on the malaise of the Malays.
The Malay Merdeka Leaders had make a big mistake and many say to the detrimental of the Malays. At that time, their thinking perhaps, focused on achieving Merdeka and not so much on what will happen to the future of the Malays with the kind of the Merdeka deal they had worked out.
How the mistake can be reversed? Perhaps, no way. As far the Merdeka deal is concerned, it is gone with the wind for the Malays. It is a done deal. Had they opposed to the deal then, there was no Merdeka.
Remember, those Malay leaders who were steadfast in thinking that "Tanah Melayu untuk Orang Melayu" were not even invited to the negotiation table, not a chance. Many of them were rounded under the ISA and imprisoned ang perished.
By hindsight, the Merdeka Malay Leaders were nothing more than the stooges of the British colonial power. They were trained in London and trained to be liberals. Yes, they were Malay nationlists but to qualify as inheritors of the soon-to-be freed Malaya, they must think like the British. They must be secular in their thinking. If traces of Islamic inclination were detected in their blood, they were disqualified, that is for sure.
When the British left, they were entrusted with the task to continue with the British law and system of government. They did not have even an iota of thnking to establish Islamic state and rule the country the Shariah way.
Under their leadersahip, Genting, a gambling center was established and liqor factories set up to give jobs to the Muslims. Can you imagine a gambling center and liqor factories in a Muslim country? Can you see how liberal those leaders were?
UMNO leaders, despite the NEP, continue to "sell" the Malays. Can't you see that the Malays are minority in almost all modern housing estates in the country. Look at what happened to Subang Jaya is enough. It is developed by Sime Darby but is is a non-Malay majority township. Look at the town and industrial centers throughout the country. Tell me of the rows and rows of shophouses, shopping complexes and industrial buildings, how many are owned by Malays? Close to zero. Isn't it?
I think the Malays should stop crying wolf about the commission of mistakes by our past leaders and by our current leaders.
The Malays can only regain its past glory if we are prepared to rerturn to Islam and live the Quran and Sunnah way. We don't need corrupt Malay leaders anymore. They were the ones who sold and pawned away the rights and dignity of the Malays.
Since Merdeka and as a matter of fact, long before that - it goes back to the last 600 years - the Malays were discriminated against and marginalized by their colonial masters, first the Portuguese, then the Dutch and the British and currently the the corrupt Malay leaders.
Under the British rule, the then immigrants were treated with alot of previleges and were given all the support to thrive in business to enhance the colonial economic power. The then immigrants dominated the business and economic sector. The same economic landscape has not changed much after 50 years of independence. Of course now all are citizens and they continue to contribute immensely to the gowing nation's prosperity. They are the economic power house of the country.
Remember the pantun: "Buai laju-laju sampai pokok sena, bila nak beli baju baru, beli kedai Cina." This turned the Malays into a slumber party.
To be standing with dignity with other races, the Malay must return to Islam and in the economic sphere Islam teaches us that "90 per cent of our sustenanance (rezki) is in busienss." If we Muslims adhere to this reaching we can easily become an economic power house.
Wassalam ,
Dr Rosli.
My reply to Doc Rosli :
Doc Rosli ,
I have to agree with you 100 % .We are 'accidents' of HISTORY .But 'history' is no accident .The powers of that time had already 'pre-decided' ISLAM was a no no !Put yourself as Head of State of Superpowers of Russia ,Britain ,France and the US .In the wake of the breakdown and final dismantling and dismemberment of the Great Ottoman Empire ,any new State thinking of Syariah as their constitution would be nipped in the bud .How Saudi Arabia escaped was beyond my rather scant knowledge of world history !
Nonetheless we cannot continue to blame others for our continued failure to be Islamic .{Of course my good friend Prof Wan Mohd formerly from ISTAC may take exception to my comment here because from his viewpoint ,we are already Islamic enough ,given our circumstances of our plurality } .We take that view because we assume majority of us Malays are Muslims by birth and by intention .But is that so ?
50 years on and the only Islamic party in the country have yet to make inroads into Malay hinterland states like Johor [thank God ,Perak show some progress ] ,Pahang and Selangor begs my question above to be answered .Are we Muslims or just 'Muslim Separuh separuh' ?Of course some people may find excuses and conveniently blame you guys from PAS for not 'selling' PAS the right way .Again the blame game .I would rather ask myself the question : Are we Malays really majority Muslims ?No .At best many of us are 'separuh ,separuh ' ,at worse some are munafik .Sorry ,brother !
Was reading Mawdudi's seminal work translated by the late Murad Khoram and re titled 'Let Us Be Muslims' .A very short work .Easy reading all the way but when I reach the last chapter ,I get cold sweat :Yes , are we really truly Muslims as we profess to be ?
In my position now , I cannot answer that question for myself satisfactorily .
That to me is the reason for our current 'malaise and backwardness' .JMHO
Dr Nik Howk
Prof Wan ,join in the fray :
Dear Dr Nik,
Since you had kindly cited my opinion in yout latest email '{Of course my good friend Prof Wan Mohd formerly from ISTAC may take exception to my comment here because from his viewpoint ,we are already Islamic enough ,given our circumstances of our plurality }, I feel a slight need to explain. 'Others' i.e. non Muslim leaders, scholars and media people etc who were/are truly responsible for 'forcing' unpalatable policies on our liberal Muslim leaders cannot be absolved of their misdeeds, whether or not the world recognize them as such. The points which I was making in my public writings and letters to you involved more of our own shared responsiblity which are definitely wanting on all crucial fronts.
I did not use the phrase 'Islamc enough' in the sense that it is enough, hence no further improvements are needed. On the contrary, I said that we are islamic (writing in English, in Malay it is just Islam, which is clearer, eg Orang islam, Negara Islam) as a minimal point of departure from the stage of islam-->Iman-->ihsan. Many people have politicized the issue of negara islam vs negara sekuler, which in our context would negate the positive socio-religious achievements and opened doors (whic are now becoming almost un-closable!) for others to questions even the basic historical and religious foundations of this nation. Objectively speaking, for I am not belonging to any political party, prior to 1998, we had achieved a rather enviable status among complex multiplural nations coming out of 5 centuries of colonization. Maududi's writings that you mentioned were no doubt inspirational but they had also contributed to some of the excessive politicization of our religion, beyond its traditional historical parameters.
In an interveiw with al-Islam magazine of Sept 2008 issue on the issue of why malay middle class does not seem to be pro-government, I said it is because most of them feel they have been treated like fools (rasa diperbodohkan). There i cautioned that after 51 years, our nation, like a huge shady tree has benefited a lot a people, but it is now infested with rodents, many branches and roots are rotten, and the gardener has been lazy. Chase away the rodents, trim the dead branches, fertilize the roots, and even get a new gardener, but dont cut down the tree...
Sorry for a rather lenghty note!
Wassalam ,
wan mohd nor
My Reply to Dr Rosli and Prof Wan :
Prof Wan Mohammad Nor and Doc Rosli ,
This polemic is getting to be more interesting ,perhaps because it is not easy to get Prof Wan 'excited' enough to join in the fray .Let me rephrase my anxiety and inner doubt vis a vis as a commited Muslim within the society with respect to whether 'I am already doing enough'as a Muslim ,in a fardu kifayah sense, to spread the universal message of Islam ?
My contention is generally most of us ,at least that is what I feel ,is hiding behind the guise of that contentious concept of 'plurality' as an excuse to not be doing more for Islam ,collectively as well as at the individual level.The 'Din ' is just not for the Muslims .It encompass the universe .
Since our society is 'plural ,this is where we stop ,since we are 'plural' it s just okay and politically correct to just limit ourselves .Since the society is 'plural' we may allow dissenting views even from within ,like say from Islamic academic 'eunuch' like Dr Farish Nor [ to me though on some issues he behaved more like an 'academic prostitute ,prostituting himself to the 'secular' gallery ], who seem to know all about Islam , to go round and round in circles and confused others on liberal Islam .Likewise we let people who know little about Islam like the SIS group who has a tendency to again 'play to the gallery ' to capture the public imagination and play the cenre role as if they represent progressive and true Islam . .Unfortunately these clowns are media savvy and have friends within the media that share the same aspiration to beguile and confuse!
Our basic premise of 'plurality' is rather blurred and give us a sense of overwhelming odds to doing more .
To my mind to understand and appreciate the basis of 'plurality' we actually need to put ourselves in the position our prophet Mohammad faced 1450 years ago .When he got the Message ,he was faced with 'corporate' Arabia in Mecca ,who were mainly successful small and big time traders of his own tribe who were in the main idol worshipers .In Medina the envelope of 'plurality' somewhat enlarged a wee bit to include the People of the Books ,Jews of Bani Nadhir and the Trinitarian polytheistic Christians who had since departed from the original teaching of Prophet Isa ,bearing in mind the concept of Trinity was only introduced by Paul some 200 years after Prophet Isa ..That in essense was 'plurality' during Prophet's time .
Now ,some 14 centuries passed ,the nature of our 'plurality' has not changed very much if we care to separate the leaves and twig from the main trunk .To put it simply ,taking away a whole gamut of the race equation ,we are just facing only two groups of people :mereka mereka yang 'sesat' dan mereka yang di murkai Allah .Yang di murkai Allah hanya 15 juta bertaburan di Bumi Allah dan yang sesat memang ramai lah mereka .
Looking that way ,make the issue of 'plurality' as a rationale for our collective inaction less tenable .That ,Prof Wan ,is the dagger that prick my conscience now day and night as to whether I have done enough ,even though from our conversation a year back I did get some consolation from you .That is also why I envy people like Tok Guru Nik Aziz ,Musa Husam ,Doc Rosli et al .
Di Padang Mahsyar nanti do you want to be judged as a Monarch , PM , or doctor troubled by his conscience ,a Prof of Theology ,or just an inconsequential slime in the rock !!!??? The organic ,soul-less slime would be better in such circumstances !
Dr Nik Howk
Prof Wan’s Reply :
Dr Nik,
I agree with you on plurality as indicated in all my works on the subject.
Our aqidah--the Maturidiah and Ash'ariah-- says clearly that we should not consider our works as adequate enough for salvation--that is tantamount to taking God for granted---but rather we may be saved because of His gracious mercy and generosity: we are commanded to have faith and hope in His forgiving attribute while constantly improving our intentions and actions, personal and collective, untill He calls us unto Himself.
Wassalam,
Wan
My Reply to Prof Wan :
Prof Wan ,
There is a big group I missed ,and this is probably the reason for the 'blurring' of the concept of plurality .The munafiks !Mereka2 yang sesat dan mereka2 yang di murkai Allah are two well dictinct group but the third group dilutes and blurs the issue.It is probably a taboo subject here !
Your answer was understandably short and political .My gut feeling is it is the 3rd group that really retards the institution of syariah in our country .No wonder as in Surah Al Munafikun ,Allah guarantee them a very special place ,more special than untuk 'mereka2 yang sesat dan mereka2 yang di murkai ' .
Dr Nik Howk
Reply from Dr Rosli
Yang Berbahagia Dr. Nik Isahak
On the issue that pluralistic Malaysia cannot possibly become an Islam State, this is a piece of my view.
Can't we all see that Western socieities are already rotten to the core? Nothing that is forbidden by Allah SWT that is not transgressed by them. When come to committing sins - of course our reference is sins as defined in the Quran - they are extremists of no comparison. They are modern day firauns, 'ads, thamuds and luth and these peoples, because of their extremism in defiying Allah's law, Allah made them to vanish from the face of the earth and permanent citizens of hell. Without doubt, the same faith shall befall the modern day jahiliyyah societies.
The Western societies of today are the Jahiliyyah socieites at the time of our Prophet, 1400 years ago. They are the modern day jahiliyyah, if you will. As then, Islam is the only solution to all kinds of ignorance and it is now coming the way.
Don't you know that, despite all the malignance and negative publicities labelled against it, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today? Islam is the fastest growing religion in America, Europe, Russia, Africa, Latin America and Australia. This is a living proof that Islam is on its way to greatness again. Allah says it: Islam is the solution to the problems of mandkind.
At our own level, in our society and country, the duty of every Muslims is to spread Islam. The pluralistic society that we are all in should not be an excuse for us not to talk about Islamic state but rather it should be a fertile ground for us to spread Islam. That Malaysia is a pluralistic society comes from Allah and taken in a positive light, Allah wants us Malaysian Muslims to propagate Islam to our neighbors and fellow citizens. Islam is for all.
If there is someone out there says that there is a limit to Islam in Malaysia because of our pluralistic nature, I want to take exception to that view. If Karpal Singh cannot accept Islam, nobody can say for sure he will remain that way tomorrow or his next and next generations will not accept Islam. History is replete with stories that many of the best Muslims were the worst of persons in their jahilyyah days.
When Islamic state will become a reality in Malaysia? When Islam will rule the world? These are questions not for us to answer. Our duty is to work for Islam and to work with those who are working for the revival of Islam. In the day of judgement, Allah will only ask us what we did for Islam not the results of what we did.
If I am asked, can Malaysia, a plural society, become an Islamic State, I will answer with 100 per cent confidence that one day it will be.
When the non-Muslims appreciate, see, feel and enjoy the justice of Islam, they will choose to come under the banner of Islam like what happened during the time of our Prophet and the rule of the four guided Caliphs and also during the time of Omar Abdul Aziz, the Fifth Caliph. During the reign of Sallahuddin Al Ayubi, so many Christians pleaded to become his subjects as he was a just leader - to the Muslims and non-Muslims.
I choose to be in the bandwagon of Islamic revivial and I believe this the only bandwagon that is taking us to the straight path.
Wassalam.
Doc Rosli.
PS :Can you see that Islam is again on its way to greatness?
Doc Rosli ,
Islam in Malaysia has got a perception problem .Take any Malaysian Chinese and ask him ,'Islam is a great religion that once illuminate the world ,it is synonamous with your world view of progress and excellence ,in fact much much better ' and his response would be "saya tak mahu masuk Melayu " .That is how we sell Islam to the non Malays in Malaysia .Melayu = Islam .
Whether we like it or not kita Melayu banyak penyakit .Karat2 jahiliyah berinci-inci tebal nya .Ilmu akhirat kurang .Ilmu dunia lagi kurang .Sembahyang tanpa ilmu dan tanpa ihsan ,tunggang tunggek .Quran jadi hiasan dan tangkal .'Yang tu pi mai pi mai dok tang tu jugak kita ' . Kalau bagi bank kat Melayu ,kalau silap hari , habis wang lesap ,bagi listed company kat Melayu ,kerusi meja pun kalau bolih dijual dijual , ,wang ehsan untuk orang2 miskin habis dikebas dek menteri !Bagi Negara ,negara pun bolih semua tergadai .Too many examples recent and past
Sadly Islam has not empowered us to be God's ambassadors on earth .Just reexamine and do a proper audit of the previous Administration and the current one .Corruption ,nepotism and cronyism tanpa malu dan segan !
Ini belum lagi di ambil kira Islam at the world stage perspective .Of course the biased Yahudi controlled media is not a 'great ' help either .
We have a perception problem .Namun ,we are on a roll and I agree with you only we can change ourselves .The change is not physical ,it has to be from the 'heart and the soul'.We are not "mereka2 yang sesat dan mereka2 yang di murkai " .Neither are we the munafikuns .We are Muslims .
There is only one standard expected of being a Muslim :Excellence in intent and behaviour .The type expounded and shown by the Perfect Man :Muhammad ibnu Abdullah .
Insyaallah ,insyaallah ,Insyaallah !
Dr Nik Howk
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