Wednesday, December 2, 2009

When Everything is Political

Malaysia must surely be one of the most political country in the world as everything is constrained by politics from language to location of temples and so on. It's tough the be a progressive nation when we are inhibited to make the most effective decision for the progress of the nation due to political reasons,thus the political decisions that sometimes are not for the benefit of the nation at large are being adopted due to the importance place on political decisions.

We can see from the recent controversy surrounding the National Civics Bureau(BiroTatanegara) where the Selangor state government banned it's employees and students in state-owned learning institutions from attending this course due to reported racial and political propaganda that the course is propagating. The question is why the government is spending more than 60 million for such programme? Well the answer seemed obvious, for political reasons of course.

By instilling racism(Malay nationalism),UMNO will benefit politically eventhough what the country needs right now is not citizens who identify themselves strongly by race, rather we need citizens who identify themselves being Malaysians first rather than their respective race. So again political interest seems to be place of higher importance than national interest. I believe than the course should be revamp to instill the feeling of patriotism, tolerance and national understanding rather than racist garbage.

Then there's the royalty claim by the Kelantan state government. Again the political interest of the federal government takes precedence when it refused to give the royalty, rather the government will give Wang Ehsan and channelled the rest to federal projects there. This so called projects beneficiary will not be the average Kelantanese,rather UMNO Kelantan cronies will benefit and we all know what the Wang Ehsan did to the Terengganu state government ruled by PAS, it ended it's rein and it's wise for Kelantan to learn from history and not make the same mistake.

So as we can see, the Wang Ehsan and federal projects there will benefit UMNO rather than the Kelantanese people at large, so again political interest was placed higher than the interest of the Kelantanese people.

Finally,even the event where DAP leaders stepped on the picture of the frogs of Perak(Jamaludin and Osman) while missing Hee(another frog), was politicised by certain quarters with a racial element added. What matters here is that these people betrayed the trust of the Perak voters, all of them, they betrayed Malay voters,Chinese voters, Indian voters,Perak voters,so there's no need to politicised or racialised the poster stepping event as I as a Malay will personally would like to join in irrespective of whose face in the poster I stepped as I believe their action is regressive towards the state of democracy in this country and I'm for progress of our democracy not the other way around.

In conclusion, Malaysians must always demand that the interest of the nation at large be placed of higher importance than any other interest so that the nation can progress and Malaysian,all Malaysians can benefit together irrespective of race,religion,class or political beliefs so that the progress achieved is holistic and sustainable and not the overnight progress that we achieved in the 90s which left out some quarters and was destroyed(some of it) overnight due to the economic and social instability due to the Asian Financial Crisis and the sacking and jailing of Anwar Ibrahim which cause massive street protest and eventual political instability. It's time for us to enjoy development without sacrificing the future generation by ensuring a holistic and sustainable progress and rejecting the pursuit of political interest by the government.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Conservatives VS Reformist

The recent outburst of PAS spiritual leader calling for an EGM to replace what he described as "Problematic Leaders" so that once and for all PAS will know the direction it's heading shows how the friction between the conservatives and reformist has gotten worst. The outcome of this rift will determine the fate of the Islamist Party that it's past had shown various political positions from being a left-wing socialist during the Dr Burhanudin era to the nationalist era led by the late Ustaz Asri Muda,to the current Islamist stand or the Kepimpinan Ulama which engulfed the party in the 80's.

However looking from the Pakatan Rakyat's point of view,it is in the best interest of the pact to have a conservative PAS as it's partner as this will enable PAS to compete directly with UMNO for the Malay conservative votes.With PKR already well position,even to a certain extent monopolising the liberal Malay votes,having PAS compete in the Malay conservative votes is crucial as there are probably more Malays who are conservatives than those who are liberals,thus allowing Pakatan to garner a sizable Malay votes,ensuring them to be competitive in the rural Malay areas while maintaining the urban Malay areas the pact won in the 12th General Election.

The lost in Bagan Pinang is part of the cause of the outburst as one academician from International Islamic University,Dr Aziz Bari attributed the lost due to the the action of PAS Selangor chief in trying to ban alcohol sale and criticising the SELCAT initiative in Selangor as part of the reason for the lost,I beg to differ as many PAS supporters are angered by the fact that PAS seemed to be making more compromises than it should,and the Malay conservatives that are fed up with UMNO who supported PAS are disappointed as PAS which is the second largest Malay party seemed to abandon the Malay agenda central to most Malay conservatives,so the action of Dr Hassan Ali is much needed to assured those parties that PAS is serving them,thus ensuring their continuous support.

As long as the clandestine unity government talk is well explained or the issue close completely and trust among the Pakatan partners assured,the conservatives faction can play a significant role in the fight for the the Malay conservative votes which are central to UMNO's strenght,denying UMNO a strong showing in that voter section might weaken or destroy UMNO forever and place PAS as the dominant party representing both Islamic and Malay interest within Pakatan.

This potential for PAS must be exploited for the sake of Pakatan Rakyat chances to form the next federal government.The countdown till the next general election just got more interesting as the game has already begun.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Battle to Control Selangor

The state of Selangor is a grand prize for Pakatan Rakyat especially PKR. Now, the state will be the battlefield between two political parties and at stake is the most developed state in Malaysia. Datuk Seri Najib, the leader of Barisan Nasional had said earlier that do whatever that is necessary to get the state back into it's fold.

Barisan Nasional had fired the first shot by using MACC and so on to rattle the state government. A lot of Pakatan Rakyat officials has been charge with corruption as it's MB in the car and cows case, it's EXCO accused of underworld connections while the other accused of graft not to mention the death of Teoh and rumours of massive defections to topple the state government. However despite all that, the state government on the surface appears to be doing well.

On the defensive the state government offense has been so far disappointing, of course it will be tough for them as they are not given a level playing field to do battle with BN, but of course this is politics an assuming that things are going to be fair is like assuming that a hungry tiger will not eat you just because you don't have four legs, so unable to run fairly away from the tiger.

However this scenario might be advantageous for Pakatan as they can paint themselves as the victim and BN is like the devil, thus must be destroyed just like what happened in Perak that's good fo Pakatan Rakyat in the Bukit Gantang by-election,so utilizing that strategy well without being accused of incompetence for blaming BN for Pakatan's failure might work out well for Pakatan in the short run but success in the long run will be base on actual performance despite the circumstances,thus Tan Sri Khalid must figure out how to developed Selangor despite the disturbance from BN as it's imperative for Pakatan to keep this golden state whatever the circumstances are.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan dan Berpuasa

Saya ingin mengucapkan selamat menyambut bulan Ramadhan dan berpuasa. Moga rahmat bulan yang mulia ini dapat diperolehi oleh umat Islam, kerana harus dihargai oleh umat Islam sejagat kerana diberi nikmat untuk menghadapi bulan Ramadhan sekali lagi kerana nikmat tersebut tidak sampai kepada arwah yang telah pergi dahulu. Jadi saya menyarankan agar umat Islam mengambil peluang daripada nikmat ini dengan berlumba-lumba menjalankan ibadah wajib mahupun sunat agar mendapat kelebihan yang ditawarkan oleh Allah S.W.T kepada umat Islam pada bulan Ramadhan iaitu gandaan pahala bulan yang mulia ini. Dengan itu,adalah satu pembaziran jika peluang keemasan ini tidak diambil oleh kita. Jadi sekali lagi saya ingin mengucapkan selamat menyambut bulan Ramadhan dan berpuasa kepada seluruh umat Islam.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

1Malaysia

It is annoying for me,every time I am listening to the radio,watching television,reading the newspaper or even enjoying the scenery of Malaysia,I end up stumbling upon this 1Malaysia advertisement 24/7. It is understandable that each motto or concept must be well communicated so that it can take of however that's only half the requirement for this concept to be a success,the other half is the actual implementation of policies that will make the concept a reality.

At the present state,there is no real policies implemented to make 1Malaysia a success. Without any significant change in policies,the massive advertisement of 1Malaysia will be a waste of money not to mention an apparent attempt by the government to distort reality and perception of the people or brainwashing. Of course brainwashing will work if Malaysia is a underdeveloped country,but unfortunately for Najib,Malaysians will not be fooled as although our mentality are not on par with those of the developed nation,we are certainly developing the mentality necessary to dissect the right from wrong which is a necessity for us to contribute to the development of our country.

Such policies which are missing to make 1Malaysia a success are the integration of our education system for starters. "Melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya" is a wise proverb in which to instill racial harmony and understanding,it must start when one is still young,thus the importance of the role in which a school plays to national integration must not be neglected.

Besides that,a law should be implemented to make racial discrimination or even behaviour a crime.This will deter Malaysians especially politicians from using race to gather support but might upset the delicate social fabric if a race riot was to occur.Such law will ensure national integration and will create an environment of trust between the races as any act deemed racial discrimination can brought to court and action will be taken.

Of course beside the ones mention above,there are many more changes required to make 1Malaysia a success such as a political system that is not based on communal politics and so on. But right now, I will advice the PM to tone down on the annoying adverts and make an attempt to create substantive change by implementing necessary changes to make 1Malaysia a success,as that is where the focus such lie,not creating another 1Malaysia song that is painful to the ear and heart.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

The Future Direction of this country.

I am sitting here and wondering in a state of loneliness, in all the politicking that had happened thus far since March8, are we forgetting something while we bicker about issues such as the medium of teaching for Science and Mathematics, the innocence of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and so on, that our future generation has been forgotten in this debate as we get to fixated with the present.

It has been said that a politician is the one that thinks on how to win the next election, a statesman however thinks about the future generation. Therefore it is essential for Malaysians to call for it's politicians to behave in a statesmen manner.

A lot of populist policies have been advocated by politicians across the political divide that sound good on the short term but are damaging the country in the long-term. Such actions to my view are the liberalisation of the economy and the scraping of the use of English language in the teaching of Maths and Science. The move of course will please some section of the society but in the long run the country overall will suffer, as the language nationalist and others jubilate their victory.

I think that Malaysians must equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to begin the necessary scrutiny of such populist policies before we are misslead by emotions that witheld us from making compelling changes that is beneficial for the country in the long-run, so that our children and grand-children can benefit from our decision. As the problem facing our country get increasingly complex, the deep understanding of the issues affecting or country is the one way we can become good citizens and help this country overcome it's problem whether actively or passively.The future generation is counting on us, and just like the past generations that have given us so much, we must now do the same.

On a final note I hope the voters in Manek Urai can identify sincerity of the ruling coalition on their claims that their welfare is their out most concern. If that is the case, then the ruling party shouldn't stop investment from flowing into the state and help the poor in Kelantan by giving them the necessary aid, and not punish the people of Kelantan for being loyal to the opposition by letting it suffer from poverty and lack of development just because they exercise their democratic right as citizens by voting against the ruling coalition.

So the wisdom of the voters in Manek Urai will be watched closely. I certainly will.Let hope that the rural people of Maneek Urai will show that they are mature enough to make the right decision and surprise those who underestimate their maturity and judgement.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Pembangunan berlandaskan Al-Quran dan Sunnah
Al-Quran dan Sunnah merupakan sumber utama yang digunakan oleh para pemerintah Islam sejak beribu tahun dahulu semasa pembentukan tamadun Islam. Malah Rasulullah S.A.W sendiri semasa menjadi pemerintah di Madinah menggunakan Al-Quran serta Sunnah sebagai rujukan dalam melaksanakan pentadbiran. Hal ini kerana Al-Quran dan Sunnah mempunyai pelbagai perkara yang melibatkan hal duniawi dan akhirat. Contohnya perkara yang melibatkan pentadbiran, Al-Quran sendiri secara terang menjelaskan undang-undang yang wajar dan fleksible untuk dilaksanakan. Bukan itu sahaja, etika mengenai nilai-nilai yang harus diterapkan dalam membentuk pembangunan juga disebut di dalam Al-Quran dan Sunnah. Selain itu, pembentukan sistem politik yang bermoral dapat dibuat oleh tamadun Islam yang menggunakan sumber Islam yang agung ini. Ekonomi yang seimbang dapat dihasilkan menerusi sumber-sumber ini. Sistem sosial yang bebas dari pengaruh fikiran manusia yang mempunyai agenda sendiri dapat dibentuk. Di sini kita dapat melihat bahawa Al-Quran dan Sunnah merupakan sumber yang paling lengkap dan sempurna dari aspek politik,ekonomi serta sosial kerana dalam membentuk pembangunan sesebuah negara.
Jika menurut prespektif Islam Al-Quran dan Sunnah merupakan rujukan yang unggul tetapi berlainan pula bagi barat. Menurut prespektif barat, mereka lebih cenderung dalam menggunakan akal fikiran semata-semata. Malah ramai cerdik pandai,cendekiawan serta sarjana barat yang merupakan penasihat kepada pemerintah barat menolak menggunakan sumber dari kitab mereka sendiri sebagai rujukan kerana mereka beranggapan kitab hanya menekankan aspek agama semata-semata. Hal ini disebabkan mereka lebih mempercayai idea-idea sarjana dan pemikir seperti Karl Marx dan Adam Smith dalam aspek politik,ekonomi serta sosial. Mengambil contoh Karl Marx misalnya, beliau merupakan pengasas komunis yang berasal dari Jerman di mana kita dapat melihat pada hari ini negara barat seperti Rusia yang mengamalkan sistem komunis.