Kebetulan aku memang meminati karya karya Melayu klasik dalam bentuk hikayat hikayat lama kerana bahasanya begitu indah.
Aku membeli satu naskah Sulalatus Salatin dari Kikokinuya di KLCC - cuma RM 13.00 sahaja.
Menurut hikayat tersebut, tujuan Salalatus Salatin ditulis adalah untuk:
"hamba dengar ada hikayat Melayu dibawa orang dari Goa; barang kita perbaiki kiranya dengan istiadatnya, supaya diketahui oleh segala anak cucu kita yang kemudian daripada kita, dan boleh dingatkan oleh segala mereka itu. Dan adalah beroleh faedah ia daripadanya"
Antara pelajaran ynag boleh dipelajari oleh para Raja dai hikayat ini:
1. Pesanan supaya Raja menjadi adil terhadap rakyat:
Titah Sultan Mansur Shah kepada paduka anakanda baginda Raja Hussein, ketika baginda sedang gering - "Hei anakku, ketahuilah oleh mu, bahawa dunia ini sekali kali tiada kekal adanya. Yang hidup itu sedia akan mati juga sudahnya; iman yang sempurna dan pekerti yang baik, itulah yang kekal disebut orang selama lama nya. Adapun sepeningalan aku ini, hei anakku, hendaklah engkau berbuat adil sangat sangat, dan jangan engkau mengambil hak orang tiada sebenarnya. Makan hadqu'ladam terlalu besar dosanya, tiada diampuni Allah SWT; melainkan dengan izin yang empunya hak juga; dan jangan khali engkau keluar dihadap orang, kerana hamba Allah sekalian banyak berserah kepadamu; jikalau kesukaran baginya; hendaklah segala kesakitan itu segera engkau tolong; jikalau terinaya ia, hendaklah engkau periksa ia baik baik, supaya di akhirat jangan diberatkan Allah atasmu, kerana sabda nabi SAW segala kamu yang mengembala dunia lagi akan ditanyai daripada kebelaan kamu; ertinya segala raja raja di akhirat lagi akan ditanyai Allah SWT daripada segala rakyat. Sebab demikianlah, maka sebaiknya engkau berbuat adil saksama, supaya disana jemah diringankan Allah Taala kira kiramu; dan hendaklah engkau muafakat dengan segala menteri dan segala orang besarmu, kerana raja itu, jikalau bagaimana sekalipun bijaksana dan tahunya, jika tiada muafakat dengan segala pegawai, dimana akan dapat ia melaksanakan kebijaksaannya itu? Dan tiada akan sentosa kerajaannya; kerana api itu tiada akan nyala jikalau tiada kayu; Seperti kata Farsi, rakyat itu umpama akar, dan raja umpama pohon; jikalau tiada akar nercaya pohon tiada akan dapat berdiri. Demikianlah raja itu dengan segala rakyatnya. hei anakku, hendaklah engkau turut seperti amanatku ini; supaya beroleh berkat diberi Allah"
2. Menghukum tanpa periksa dengan teliti
Ini digambarkan dalam hikayat bagaimana fitnah segala orang besar besar Melaka terhadap Hang Tuah kerana perasaan dengki orang orang besar terhadap Hang Tuah. Hang Tuah dihukum mati hanya kerana percayakan fitnah para pembesar yang berhati busuk. Akibatnya kecelakaan menimpa kerajaan Melaka
3. Raja bertindak berdasarkan nafsu
Diceritakan dalam hikayat bagaimana Sultan Mahmud menghukum mati keluarga Bendahara Tun Mutahir karana percayakan fitnah oarng besar kononnya Bendahara mahu merampas kuasa dan juga kerana nafsu Sultan Mahmud mahu memperisterikan Tun Fatimah nak bendahara Tun Mutahir. Akibatnya Portugis dapat mengalahkan Melaka kerana tiada lagi bendahara yang bijaksana yang mampu mengekang kebuasan Portugis. Kerajan Melaka hancur dijajah Portugis dan kuasa barat pada tahun 1511 sehingga tahun 1957 - hampir 500 tahun!
Semoga Raja raja dan pemerintah dapat megambil iktibar dari Sulalatus Salatin supaya tidak berulangnya kekejaman yang mengakibatkan kejatuhan sesebuah kerajaan!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Permohonan rakyat yang terinaya
TUANKU, KENAPA TUANKU PERCAYA SEMBAH DUSTA SI GILA KUASA ???
Dilulus terbit pada Saturday, February 07 @ 09:57:32 MYT oleh TokPenghulu
Bahan Rencah Oleh tutuhjang
"Segerombolon lembaga bertopengkan manusia,
Datang menghadap tuanku,
Merapak sembah takzim penuh tawaduk,seakan-akan
Malaikat baru turun dari langit
Muka seperti bayi baru lahir,
Tutur madah penuh tengguli,
Seringainya bak senyum dara sunti
Ampun tuanku,
Padahal tuanku amat arif akan gerombolan ini
Telah masyhur seantero ceruk rantau, gerombolan ini
Di mana mereka berada,
Disitu ikan mati berkaparan
Di mana mereka angkat bicara
Di situ musibah akan melanda
Di mana mereka meludah
Di situ bumi gersang sepanjang masa
Ampun tuanku beribu ampun,
Sembah patik harap diampun,
Tuanku sultan dan anakanda tuanku
Sultan terbilang di alam Melayu
Raja arif lagi bijaksana
Terkilas ikan di air, tuanku tahu jantan betinanya
Pada lahir, tuanku sudah terbayang batinnya
Pada awal, tuanku sudah nampak akhirnya.
Ampun tuanku, sembah patik harap diampun
Kenapa tuanku percaya sembah dusta si gila kuasa ???
Kenapa tuanku terpesona kilauan kaca, lalu
Mencampakkan permata delima
Kenapa tuanku ibarat membelah betung,
satu diinjak, satu diangkat
Kenapa tuanku, limau masam seulas
Patik teramat terkilan, tuanku
Jika patik digantung tinggi
Jika patik dibuang jauh
Tuanku juga yang akan kerugian.
Ampun tuanku, beribu ampun,
Sembah patik harap diampun.
Kota Kinabalu 2
Feb 2009
TUTUH JANG
Dilulus terbit pada Saturday, February 07 @ 09:57:32 MYT oleh TokPenghulu
Bahan Rencah Oleh tutuhjang
"Segerombolon lembaga bertopengkan manusia,
Datang menghadap tuanku,
Merapak sembah takzim penuh tawaduk,seakan-akan
Malaikat baru turun dari langit
Muka seperti bayi baru lahir,
Tutur madah penuh tengguli,
Seringainya bak senyum dara sunti
Ampun tuanku,
Padahal tuanku amat arif akan gerombolan ini
Telah masyhur seantero ceruk rantau, gerombolan ini
Di mana mereka berada,
Disitu ikan mati berkaparan
Di mana mereka angkat bicara
Di situ musibah akan melanda
Di mana mereka meludah
Di situ bumi gersang sepanjang masa
Ampun tuanku beribu ampun,
Sembah patik harap diampun,
Tuanku sultan dan anakanda tuanku
Sultan terbilang di alam Melayu
Raja arif lagi bijaksana
Terkilas ikan di air, tuanku tahu jantan betinanya
Pada lahir, tuanku sudah terbayang batinnya
Pada awal, tuanku sudah nampak akhirnya.
Ampun tuanku, sembah patik harap diampun
Kenapa tuanku percaya sembah dusta si gila kuasa ???
Kenapa tuanku terpesona kilauan kaca, lalu
Mencampakkan permata delima
Kenapa tuanku ibarat membelah betung,
satu diinjak, satu diangkat
Kenapa tuanku, limau masam seulas
Patik teramat terkilan, tuanku
Jika patik digantung tinggi
Jika patik dibuang jauh
Tuanku juga yang akan kerugian.
Ampun tuanku, beribu ampun,
Sembah patik harap diampun.
Kota Kinabalu 2
Feb 2009
TUTUH JANG
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Lawak Bodoh BN dan agensi pro-BN
Bila kita minta "transparent" election - BN bagi transparent ballot box (transparent apa?)
Bila kita kata ada pengundi hantu akan mengundi - SPR kata, jamin tak ada pengundi hantu sebab semua pengundi adalah berdaftar. Kita bukan takut hantu akan mengundi, tapi yang dipersoalkan kenapa nama hantu ada dalam senarai?
BN kata tak nak lompat - Kalau betul tak suka lompat lompat, kenapa terima orang yang suka melompat? Kenapa tubuhkan kerajaan lompat?
Bila kita kata ada pengundi hantu akan mengundi - SPR kata, jamin tak ada pengundi hantu sebab semua pengundi adalah berdaftar. Kita bukan takut hantu akan mengundi, tapi yang dipersoalkan kenapa nama hantu ada dalam senarai?
BN kata tak nak lompat - Kalau betul tak suka lompat lompat, kenapa terima orang yang suka melompat? Kenapa tubuhkan kerajaan lompat?
Runtuhnya kerajaan Rakyat di Perak
Hari ini melakarkan sejarah yang amat hitam dalam sejarah Perak. Peristiwa hitam ini adalah yang terburuk selepas campur tangan Inggeris di negeri Perak yang berdaulat.
Tercatatlah dalam sejarah Perak tentang pengkhianatan 4 ekor wakil rakyat yang tidak bertulang belakang yang mengkhianati amanah rakyat. Rakyat menyokong mereka dahulu bukan kerana mereka itu beruk A, beruk B, beruk c dan beruk D. Tapi mereka dipilih kerana mereka mewakili aspirasi rakyat Perak yang mahukan perubahan. Rakyat mahukan sebuah kerajaan yang ehsan, yang sentiasa rela mendengar keluhan rakyat. Bukat sebuah kerajaan yang sombong, yang sanggup meggadaikan hak demi untuk mencapai matlamat!
Harapan aku supaya Sultan dapat memahami kehendak rakyat turut hancur lebur. Keyakinan terhadap kewibawaan sultan terbarai. Terbukti Sultan cuma mendengar badut sarkas yang empat ekor, tapi tidak peka terhadap kehendak rakyat yang sepatutnya diwakili oleh empat ekor badut tersebut.
Adakah lagi harapan diMalaysia ini ynag boleh diharapkan untuk melindungi hak rakyat. Hatta institusi istana pun tidak lagi memikirkan keinginan rakyat
Tercatatlah dalam sejarah Perak tentang pengkhianatan 4 ekor wakil rakyat yang tidak bertulang belakang yang mengkhianati amanah rakyat. Rakyat menyokong mereka dahulu bukan kerana mereka itu beruk A, beruk B, beruk c dan beruk D. Tapi mereka dipilih kerana mereka mewakili aspirasi rakyat Perak yang mahukan perubahan. Rakyat mahukan sebuah kerajaan yang ehsan, yang sentiasa rela mendengar keluhan rakyat. Bukat sebuah kerajaan yang sombong, yang sanggup meggadaikan hak demi untuk mencapai matlamat!
Harapan aku supaya Sultan dapat memahami kehendak rakyat turut hancur lebur. Keyakinan terhadap kewibawaan sultan terbarai. Terbukti Sultan cuma mendengar badut sarkas yang empat ekor, tapi tidak peka terhadap kehendak rakyat yang sepatutnya diwakili oleh empat ekor badut tersebut.
Adakah lagi harapan diMalaysia ini ynag boleh diharapkan untuk melindungi hak rakyat. Hatta institusi istana pun tidak lagi memikirkan keinginan rakyat
Friday, January 9, 2009
Hudud Lagi!
Hari ini aku pergi kekedai untuk membeli surat khabar. Aku memang tidak suka membeli surat khabar bila tiba menjelang pilihan raya - muak dengan propaganda murahan. Sesekali aku Metro - kerana banyak cerita kemasyarakatan. Aku sudah tidak membeli surat khabar melayu seperti Berita Harian dan Utusan - kerana rencana didalamnya cuma layak dibaca oleh orang yang cacat mental. Surat khabar ini cuma layak untuk dibuat bungkus belacan!
Aku memeng sudah lama tak menonton TV3 apatah lagi berita RTM. Perut ku mual dan jiwa ku memberontak setiap kali mendengar propaganda murahan.
Hari ini timbul lagi polemik tentang hudud. Pada orang Islam yang masih ada iman (walaupun sekelumit), hudud itu adalah sebahagian dari sistem perundangan Islam. Kalau mempertikaikan hudud - seperti bawa kereta, tapi tiada tayar! Hudud itu adalah mulia bagi orang orang yang beriman. Tetapi, bila ianya dipertikaikan sebegitu rupa, menjadikan seolah olah hudud itu najis - setaraf anjing dan babi. Untuk semua orang ini, berhentilah dari menjadi jahil - buangkan sikap prejudis dari hati dan cuba faham. Pertama hudud (undang undang jenayah Islam) cuma untuk orang Islam. Ianya tidak menyentuh hak hak perundangan untuk orang orang bukan Islam. Period! Jadi apa yang nak bising? Kenapa perlu cabar mencabar? kenapa perlu menyakitkan hati dan menyentuh orang orang Islam yang beriman (walaupun sekelumit).
Aku tak salahkan DAP MCA dan MIC, kerana mereka tak paham dan tak akam mahu paham. Tapi barua UMNO inilah yang aku tak faham, keran meroka inilah yang bermati matian berjuang untuk memberikan label yang nista terhadap hudud. Barua barua ynag sama yang didalam masjid dan didalam majlis agama yang selalu berkokok dan menyeru orang orang Islam untuk kembali kepada Islam, mengamalkan ajaran Islam. Barua yang sama yang begitu suka kepada hukum zakat (kerana zakat secara terang terang meguntung kan mereka). Tetapi apabila untuk menegakkan sesuatu yang tidak sealiran dengan pemikiran sekular mereka seperti hudud - mereka akan menentang babis habis.
Inilah yang dikatakan nabi didalam hadis bahawa ada orang yang mengaku Islam, tapi siangnya mereka beriman, malamnya mereka kufur atau malamnya mereka beriman, siangnya mereka kufur. Dalam bahasa senangnya seperti kata Tuan Guru Nik Aziz - Dunia Suku agama suku. Bila tok Guru Nik Aziz berkata begitu - melenting. Tapi itulah hakikatnya.
Pelik kenapa puak puak UMNO ni menentang hudud - mungkin kerana hudud ini begitu keras terhadap penjenyah kot? Kerana mungkin dalm UMNO ini banyak perompak, pencuri dan penzina?
Jadi, barua barua UMNO - berhentilah. Setiap kali kamu menyanggah hudud maka berjatuhan lah iman kamu dan akidah kamu dari hati kamu.
Untuk yang bukan Islam - hormatilah hak hak kami, seperti kami menghormati kamu untuk menjalani kehidupan kamu tanpa gangguan dari kami.
Aku memeng sudah lama tak menonton TV3 apatah lagi berita RTM. Perut ku mual dan jiwa ku memberontak setiap kali mendengar propaganda murahan.
Hari ini timbul lagi polemik tentang hudud. Pada orang Islam yang masih ada iman (walaupun sekelumit), hudud itu adalah sebahagian dari sistem perundangan Islam. Kalau mempertikaikan hudud - seperti bawa kereta, tapi tiada tayar! Hudud itu adalah mulia bagi orang orang yang beriman. Tetapi, bila ianya dipertikaikan sebegitu rupa, menjadikan seolah olah hudud itu najis - setaraf anjing dan babi. Untuk semua orang ini, berhentilah dari menjadi jahil - buangkan sikap prejudis dari hati dan cuba faham. Pertama hudud (undang undang jenayah Islam) cuma untuk orang Islam. Ianya tidak menyentuh hak hak perundangan untuk orang orang bukan Islam. Period! Jadi apa yang nak bising? Kenapa perlu cabar mencabar? kenapa perlu menyakitkan hati dan menyentuh orang orang Islam yang beriman (walaupun sekelumit).
Aku tak salahkan DAP MCA dan MIC, kerana mereka tak paham dan tak akam mahu paham. Tapi barua UMNO inilah yang aku tak faham, keran meroka inilah yang bermati matian berjuang untuk memberikan label yang nista terhadap hudud. Barua barua ynag sama yang didalam masjid dan didalam majlis agama yang selalu berkokok dan menyeru orang orang Islam untuk kembali kepada Islam, mengamalkan ajaran Islam. Barua yang sama yang begitu suka kepada hukum zakat (kerana zakat secara terang terang meguntung kan mereka). Tetapi apabila untuk menegakkan sesuatu yang tidak sealiran dengan pemikiran sekular mereka seperti hudud - mereka akan menentang babis habis.
Inilah yang dikatakan nabi didalam hadis bahawa ada orang yang mengaku Islam, tapi siangnya mereka beriman, malamnya mereka kufur atau malamnya mereka beriman, siangnya mereka kufur. Dalam bahasa senangnya seperti kata Tuan Guru Nik Aziz - Dunia Suku agama suku. Bila tok Guru Nik Aziz berkata begitu - melenting. Tapi itulah hakikatnya.
Pelik kenapa puak puak UMNO ni menentang hudud - mungkin kerana hudud ini begitu keras terhadap penjenyah kot? Kerana mungkin dalm UMNO ini banyak perompak, pencuri dan penzina?
Jadi, barua barua UMNO - berhentilah. Setiap kali kamu menyanggah hudud maka berjatuhan lah iman kamu dan akidah kamu dari hati kamu.
Untuk yang bukan Islam - hormatilah hak hak kami, seperti kami menghormati kamu untuk menjalani kehidupan kamu tanpa gangguan dari kami.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
My heart bleed for the Palestian tragedy
The Palestine tragedy got nothing with religion!!! The tragedy is about illegally occupation of land by the zionist (differenciate between Jews and Zionist - Jews has been living in Palestine for ages - Zionist who are the ones came and expelled Palestinian from their home and build an apartheid illegal state call Israel.
The Palestinian tragedy is about people who want freedom and the world have denied them freedom since the last 60 years! Those people want freedom to live in their own country called Palestine and freedom to live in peace.
The whole civilize world is responsible for denying Palestinian from freedom that they yearn for. Israeli and the world will not see peace until the Palestinian gain their freedom.
Israeli can kill all the Palestinian but want thing they can not kill and deny - FREEDOM!
The Palestinian tragedy is about people who want freedom and the world have denied them freedom since the last 60 years! Those people want freedom to live in their own country called Palestine and freedom to live in peace.
The whole civilize world is responsible for denying Palestinian from freedom that they yearn for. Israeli and the world will not see peace until the Palestinian gain their freedom.
Israeli can kill all the Palestinian but want thing they can not kill and deny - FREEDOM!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Hudud or no hudud - What's the different
One thing that I find funny is that, I am am a true blue PAS supporter, but most of close friend are non-muslim Chinese. I knew them since I entered the job market ijn early 90. We were collegue working for one of the largest IT integrator in Malaysia during that time.
One biggest lesson that I learn is that to open up my mind without sacrificing my Islamic ideal. I learned about their culture, their thinking and their hardworking. I guess they also learned that Muslim is no terrorist and Malay is is not necessarily racist (like UMNO!)
We organized our gathering and take turn to host them. We do not really talk about work, but just unstructured discussion anything from works, children to politic.
Well the recent one was about a few weeks ago. One of the talk is about PAS and one of my Chinese friends have lots of the good thing about PAS. One of them, complain about PAS Islamic label and of course Islamic law - Hudud.
Well, Islamic law is the core Islamic belief system and it can not be taken out from every Muslim. However, Islamic law is very vast and not just about cutting hand and stoning to death ... It does not cut hand and stone people for fun ... It has a very strict procedures to follow. If the very principle of Islamic law is being applied, we can see the potential - Just how it transform the barbaric Arabs who kills their daughter when they were born into god fearing and build vast empire from Spain to China! So having said that, I really can connect to the writing by Raja Petra ..
Dear friends ... for all of you.
In the run-up to the 8 March 2008 general election, PAS, PKR, DAP, PRM, MDP, PASOK and PSM endorsed the People’s Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat, which was launched by the civil society movements at the Blog House in Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The title of my piece today is 'borrowed' from the book, ‘Opening the door to your heart’, by Ajahn Brahm, a Buddhist monk. In the first chapter of the book, called ‘Two bad bricks’, Ajahn talks about how he built his first wall. It is very difficult, of course, for one with no bricklaying experience, Ajahn lamented, and he challenged the readers to try building one. Nevertheless, he finally completed the wall and stepped back to admire his handiwork.
To his horror he noticed that two of the bricks were crooked and he felt these two ‘bad bricks’ spoiled the appearance of the wall. He then asked the abbot for permission to tear the wall down and to start all over again. The abbot, however, told him to leave it as it is. Since then Ajahn felt ashamed of his shoddy workmanship.
One day, a visitor visited their monastery and expressed admiration for how the monks had built it from scratch with their own hands and without any outside expert help. Ajahn pointed out that the monastery was actually far from perfect because one of the walls had two bad bricks. The visitor replied that he did not notice it because all he saw was the 998 good bricks, not the two bad ones.
It suddenly dawned upon Ajahn that all this while he was upset about the two bad bricks without noticing the 998 good ones. And to think he actually wanted to tear the wall down because of these two bad bricks while not realising he would be destroying 998 good bricks in the process.
Yes, many see half a glass of water as being half empty rather than half full. And that is also how we see people and situations. We only notice and become concerned about the two bad bricks while totally overlooking the 998 good ones.
And how do we see PAS (the Islamic Party of Malaysia)? Do we see it for the blunder that Husam Musa made during his recent debate with Khairy Jamaluddin or do we see the 998 good bricks in PAS? Husam blundered big time with his retort on Hudud -- thanks to the very clever Khairy who trapped Husam into a corner that resulted in the latter blurting out without thinking. Not only was Husam wrong in saying that Pakatan Rakyat has not dropped the Hudud issue, when it is PAS and not Pakatan Rakyat that is propagating Hudud, but he was also wrong in not repeating what he had said so many times in the past on the matter of Hudud and the Islamic State.
And what was it that Husam and many of the other PAS leaders said so many times in the past? They had said that while the Islamic State is still very much the ideal of the party, PAS, however, is prepared to drop it from their agenda as they realise they will never have the two-thirds majority in parliament to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State.
PAS is pragmatic. Without a doubt they are an Islamic party, so they can’t but talk about Islam. This must be expected just like how the Christian Democrats would never stop talking about Christianity or a Hindu party stop talking about Hinduism. But turning Malaysia into an Islamic State would be a tall order if you do not have at least 150 seats in Parliament. And, as has been pointed out many times in the past, how to get 150 seats when PAS contests only 60 seats and wins not even half those seats?
In other words, I would like to do it but will not because I just can’t do it. I suppose the same goes for many Muslims who would like to marry a second wife but will not because there is no way they can marry a second wife without their first wife skinning them alive -- and we are not talking about foreskin here. Wanting it in your heart but actually doing something about it is a separate matter altogether.
So, PAS has two bad bricks, maybe even ten. But there are one million PAS members, grass-root leaders and national leaders. Are we going to judge and sentence PAS because of two bad bricks, or even ten? Are we going to tear the wall down because of two bad bricks? What about the 998 good bricks, the one million other PAS members and leaders? Do these count for nothing?
Let us look at just some of the 998 ‘good bricks’ in PAS.
In 1990, when PAS first formed the government in Kelantan together with Semangat 46, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the Menteri Besar, summoned the Hindus for a meeting and offered them permission to build a temple in the state. The Hindus were delightfully surprised. For more than a decade they had tried to get the Umno government to approve their request to build a temple but with little success. Suddenly, even before Nik Aziz could warm his seat, he summoned the Hindus for a meeting to grant them permission to build a temple -- even though they had not approached the new state government to ask for it.
In the past, pigs could not be slaughtered in ‘Umno’ Kelantan and pork had to be brought in from the other states. Now, under the new PAS-led government, the Chinese can slaughter pigs in the state.
Yesterday, the Umno-backed Malay NGOs sent PAS a petition protesting the slaughter of pigs in ‘Umno’ Melaka. Hello, why protest to PAS about what is going on in an ‘Umno’ state? And why does the PAS Youth Movement not also send a petition to Nik Aziz to protest the slaughtering of pigs in Kelantan since PAS is supposed to be more radical and intolerant than Umno?
Liquor and beer can still be purchased and consumed in Kelantan, contrary to what is being reported. (The same thing happened in Terengganu when PAS ruled the state from 1999 to 2004. Liquor and beer were not banned). Furthermore, the Chinese can now do business without any hindrance and they no longer need to pay bribes to get things done or approved like in the days of ‘Umno’ Kelantan.
And so on and so forth, the list goes on.
These are but some of the ‘happy stories’ that people relate and there are certainly many, many more. But people do not want to look at the 998 good bricks. They would rather focus on the two bad ones and keep harping on them till the cows come home.
Can we look at PAS’s 998 good bricks and then compare the party to Umno with its so many bad bricks? Sure, Umno does have some good bricks. The party is not 100% bad. But the Umno bad bricks far outnumber its good bricks and you need to use a fine toothcomb to look for these good bricks.
It appears like Hudud is the main and only issue for most to reject PAS. Actually, Hudud is not even an issue any longer. It was a stupid slip that Husam made and which the mainstream media is going to town with. But is life only and all about Hudud, a law which can never be implemented anyway? Surely there is more to life than just Hudud.
What about good governance, transparency, the independence of the judiciary, restoration of the rights of Malaysians, plus an end to corruption, racism, abuse of power, wastage of public funds, and much more? Are these no longer important? Do these 998 good bricks become irrelevant because of the two bad bricks, which were not really that bad in the first place but was a mere perception issue?
In the run-up to the 8 March 2008 general election, PAS, PKR, DAP, PRM, MDP, PASOK and PSM endorsed the People’s Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat, which was launched by the civil society movements at the Blog House in Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur. These are the 998 good bricks that we should focus on. These 998 good bricks overshadow the two bad bricks -- the blunder Husam made in his debate with Khairy.
Maybe during the Kuala Terengganu by-election campaign PAS should reiterate its stand and reinforce its support for the People’s Declaration. Let the voters, in particular the Chinese, Indians and liberal Malays, see that PAS is committed to reforms and to the propagation of a civil society (masyarakat madani). PAS needs a makeover. It is suffering from a serious image problem. And it is a victim of mainstream media propaganda. PAS needs to correct public perception about what it stands for.
I challenge PAS to prove its critics wrong. Re-endorse the People’s Declaration and prove, once and for all, that a civil society and not the cutting off the hands of thieves is the priority of the party. In response to the move by PAS to, again, endorse the People’s Declaration, the civil society movements, even those whom PAS labels as ‘deviant Muslims’, will go down to the ground to explain the issue to the voters. This, we promise PAS.
I can assure you of one thing. Even those who are not Muslims plus those, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who are opposed to the setting up of an Islamic State and Hudud will be campaigning for PAS in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. Re-endorse the People’s Declaration and see whether this happens or not.
One biggest lesson that I learn is that to open up my mind without sacrificing my Islamic ideal. I learned about their culture, their thinking and their hardworking. I guess they also learned that Muslim is no terrorist and Malay is is not necessarily racist (like UMNO!)
We organized our gathering and take turn to host them. We do not really talk about work, but just unstructured discussion anything from works, children to politic.
Well the recent one was about a few weeks ago. One of the talk is about PAS and one of my Chinese friends have lots of the good thing about PAS. One of them, complain about PAS Islamic label and of course Islamic law - Hudud.
Well, Islamic law is the core Islamic belief system and it can not be taken out from every Muslim. However, Islamic law is very vast and not just about cutting hand and stoning to death ... It does not cut hand and stone people for fun ... It has a very strict procedures to follow. If the very principle of Islamic law is being applied, we can see the potential - Just how it transform the barbaric Arabs who kills their daughter when they were born into god fearing and build vast empire from Spain to China! So having said that, I really can connect to the writing by Raja Petra ..
Dear friends ... for all of you.
In the run-up to the 8 March 2008 general election, PAS, PKR, DAP, PRM, MDP, PASOK and PSM endorsed the People’s Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat, which was launched by the civil society movements at the Blog House in Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The title of my piece today is 'borrowed' from the book, ‘Opening the door to your heart’, by Ajahn Brahm, a Buddhist monk. In the first chapter of the book, called ‘Two bad bricks’, Ajahn talks about how he built his first wall. It is very difficult, of course, for one with no bricklaying experience, Ajahn lamented, and he challenged the readers to try building one. Nevertheless, he finally completed the wall and stepped back to admire his handiwork.
To his horror he noticed that two of the bricks were crooked and he felt these two ‘bad bricks’ spoiled the appearance of the wall. He then asked the abbot for permission to tear the wall down and to start all over again. The abbot, however, told him to leave it as it is. Since then Ajahn felt ashamed of his shoddy workmanship.
One day, a visitor visited their monastery and expressed admiration for how the monks had built it from scratch with their own hands and without any outside expert help. Ajahn pointed out that the monastery was actually far from perfect because one of the walls had two bad bricks. The visitor replied that he did not notice it because all he saw was the 998 good bricks, not the two bad ones.
It suddenly dawned upon Ajahn that all this while he was upset about the two bad bricks without noticing the 998 good ones. And to think he actually wanted to tear the wall down because of these two bad bricks while not realising he would be destroying 998 good bricks in the process.
Yes, many see half a glass of water as being half empty rather than half full. And that is also how we see people and situations. We only notice and become concerned about the two bad bricks while totally overlooking the 998 good ones.
And how do we see PAS (the Islamic Party of Malaysia)? Do we see it for the blunder that Husam Musa made during his recent debate with Khairy Jamaluddin or do we see the 998 good bricks in PAS? Husam blundered big time with his retort on Hudud -- thanks to the very clever Khairy who trapped Husam into a corner that resulted in the latter blurting out without thinking. Not only was Husam wrong in saying that Pakatan Rakyat has not dropped the Hudud issue, when it is PAS and not Pakatan Rakyat that is propagating Hudud, but he was also wrong in not repeating what he had said so many times in the past on the matter of Hudud and the Islamic State.
And what was it that Husam and many of the other PAS leaders said so many times in the past? They had said that while the Islamic State is still very much the ideal of the party, PAS, however, is prepared to drop it from their agenda as they realise they will never have the two-thirds majority in parliament to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State.
PAS is pragmatic. Without a doubt they are an Islamic party, so they can’t but talk about Islam. This must be expected just like how the Christian Democrats would never stop talking about Christianity or a Hindu party stop talking about Hinduism. But turning Malaysia into an Islamic State would be a tall order if you do not have at least 150 seats in Parliament. And, as has been pointed out many times in the past, how to get 150 seats when PAS contests only 60 seats and wins not even half those seats?
In other words, I would like to do it but will not because I just can’t do it. I suppose the same goes for many Muslims who would like to marry a second wife but will not because there is no way they can marry a second wife without their first wife skinning them alive -- and we are not talking about foreskin here. Wanting it in your heart but actually doing something about it is a separate matter altogether.
So, PAS has two bad bricks, maybe even ten. But there are one million PAS members, grass-root leaders and national leaders. Are we going to judge and sentence PAS because of two bad bricks, or even ten? Are we going to tear the wall down because of two bad bricks? What about the 998 good bricks, the one million other PAS members and leaders? Do these count for nothing?
Let us look at just some of the 998 ‘good bricks’ in PAS.
In 1990, when PAS first formed the government in Kelantan together with Semangat 46, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the Menteri Besar, summoned the Hindus for a meeting and offered them permission to build a temple in the state. The Hindus were delightfully surprised. For more than a decade they had tried to get the Umno government to approve their request to build a temple but with little success. Suddenly, even before Nik Aziz could warm his seat, he summoned the Hindus for a meeting to grant them permission to build a temple -- even though they had not approached the new state government to ask for it.
In the past, pigs could not be slaughtered in ‘Umno’ Kelantan and pork had to be brought in from the other states. Now, under the new PAS-led government, the Chinese can slaughter pigs in the state.
Yesterday, the Umno-backed Malay NGOs sent PAS a petition protesting the slaughter of pigs in ‘Umno’ Melaka. Hello, why protest to PAS about what is going on in an ‘Umno’ state? And why does the PAS Youth Movement not also send a petition to Nik Aziz to protest the slaughtering of pigs in Kelantan since PAS is supposed to be more radical and intolerant than Umno?
Liquor and beer can still be purchased and consumed in Kelantan, contrary to what is being reported. (The same thing happened in Terengganu when PAS ruled the state from 1999 to 2004. Liquor and beer were not banned). Furthermore, the Chinese can now do business without any hindrance and they no longer need to pay bribes to get things done or approved like in the days of ‘Umno’ Kelantan.
And so on and so forth, the list goes on.
These are but some of the ‘happy stories’ that people relate and there are certainly many, many more. But people do not want to look at the 998 good bricks. They would rather focus on the two bad ones and keep harping on them till the cows come home.
Can we look at PAS’s 998 good bricks and then compare the party to Umno with its so many bad bricks? Sure, Umno does have some good bricks. The party is not 100% bad. But the Umno bad bricks far outnumber its good bricks and you need to use a fine toothcomb to look for these good bricks.
It appears like Hudud is the main and only issue for most to reject PAS. Actually, Hudud is not even an issue any longer. It was a stupid slip that Husam made and which the mainstream media is going to town with. But is life only and all about Hudud, a law which can never be implemented anyway? Surely there is more to life than just Hudud.
What about good governance, transparency, the independence of the judiciary, restoration of the rights of Malaysians, plus an end to corruption, racism, abuse of power, wastage of public funds, and much more? Are these no longer important? Do these 998 good bricks become irrelevant because of the two bad bricks, which were not really that bad in the first place but was a mere perception issue?
In the run-up to the 8 March 2008 general election, PAS, PKR, DAP, PRM, MDP, PASOK and PSM endorsed the People’s Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat, which was launched by the civil society movements at the Blog House in Bukit Damansara in Kuala Lumpur. These are the 998 good bricks that we should focus on. These 998 good bricks overshadow the two bad bricks -- the blunder Husam made in his debate with Khairy.
Maybe during the Kuala Terengganu by-election campaign PAS should reiterate its stand and reinforce its support for the People’s Declaration. Let the voters, in particular the Chinese, Indians and liberal Malays, see that PAS is committed to reforms and to the propagation of a civil society (masyarakat madani). PAS needs a makeover. It is suffering from a serious image problem. And it is a victim of mainstream media propaganda. PAS needs to correct public perception about what it stands for.
I challenge PAS to prove its critics wrong. Re-endorse the People’s Declaration and prove, once and for all, that a civil society and not the cutting off the hands of thieves is the priority of the party. In response to the move by PAS to, again, endorse the People’s Declaration, the civil society movements, even those whom PAS labels as ‘deviant Muslims’, will go down to the ground to explain the issue to the voters. This, we promise PAS.
I can assure you of one thing. Even those who are not Muslims plus those, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who are opposed to the setting up of an Islamic State and Hudud will be campaigning for PAS in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. Re-endorse the People’s Declaration and see whether this happens or not.
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