The Problem with Islamic Leadership

      This is not the typical article on why Islamic Leadership is going south. From Sudan to Somalia, nations where Muslim are at the helm of leadership are branded as fail leaders leading failed states. This is not the typical article because most articles call for a return to leaders who are piety( Ulama) and more "Islamic" in their worldview. Well the writer is not saying that Ulama shouldn't lead, than would be mere generalization that won't serve any purpose. Rather, the writer is calling for the right leaders, whether Ulama or not, to lead Islamic nations.

The leaders must be equipped with knowledge of economy, world affairs, science and technology. Having a strong grounding in Islamic theology is a huge plus. The leaders must also be of sound character, not evil and corrupt leaders. The Muslims must accept that in order to progress, leaders who are progressive must lead, not traditionalist. Only then can the Ummah be a force to be reckoned with, not bullied like we are today.

Another problem with Islamic Leaders today is their lack of inclusiveness. We can see that in Egypt, President Morsi failed to get the support of the Liberals and the Non-Muslims. He relied heavily on the Islamic Brotherhood to cling to power. The revolution that dethroned Mubarak was the result of a unified Egypt, the Islamist, the Liberals and the Non-Muslims.

 The pillars that lead to Morsi's Presidency were abandon that led to the collapse of the Morsi's short Administration. Egypt is now back to a pseudo-military administration under General Sisi, back to square one.

Another example is Iraq. The Sunnis and Shias are fighting each other instead of rebuilding their nation into the glory of what used to be. Iraq was a beckon of knowledge, Science and Technology until the Mongols invaded. The leaders of Iraq should tap into that rich history and its oil money to bring back the glory days. Instead, Iraqi President Nuri Al-Maliki chose to use the Sunni Vs Shia narrative.

He didn't include Sunni Leaders in his administration, and ignored the Kurds. Now both the Sunni and Kurds are creating damage in Iraq due to the sectarian violence in that country. Again lack of inclusiveness is causing damage to an Islamic country.

It is poignant to point out that one of the major stories of the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) is how he united the Ansar and Muhajirn during Hijrah. The Ansar and Muhajirin are to different types of people.

 Similarly, the Prophet(PBUH), also created a unified people, united in the worship of Allah S.W.T instead of the tribal nature of the society there before the arrival of Islam. The Muslims and Non-Muslims prospered under the rule of Prophet Muhammad and his successors. So it is sad that being inclusive is a major weakness in Islamic leadership today.

Finally, Islamic Leaders must not depend on others for help, instead they must strengthen their nations and ensure that these countries can rise up to the challenge of Globalization. The economies of their nation shouldn't rely on western powerhouses like US and UK, instead they should strive to make it the opposite, just like when Muslims control world trade and the spice trade. The same can be said in foreign policy.

Islamic Leaders must encourage their people to equip themselves with knowledge in the sciences, just like past Islamic leaders had done that saw the rise of the great doctor Ibn Sina, the great mathematician Al-Khwarizmi and so on. Muslims must be experts in their respective fields. Only when Islamic leaders start to do the above and more can Muslims pull themselves out of the malaise that they are in today.

Religious Zealism

     There have been many instances of overzealousness when it comes to religion. No, this is not one of the articles that blame religion for all the ills in the world. The writer believes that religion is a force for good that can definitely make the world a better place.

But religion, although a question of faith, must also be paired with reason. God must have reasons when God endows humans with the faculty to think. When religion is used together with our ability to think, then we can achieve a lot more here on earth.

In Malaysia recently, there are events that show the effects of religious overzealousness. Firstly, the act of the Penang Islamic Authority in seizing a the remains of they claim as a Muslim. The court later ruled that the person was not a Muslim. This caused severe embarrassment to the country.

 Not only that the objective of "dakwah" will not be met as people will view Islam negatively, it also caused unnecessary tension between Muslims and Non-Muslims. If religion is paired with reason, then the authorities would have done a through investigation and approached it differently than just storming in and confiscating the body. That is not what the religion is teaching the followers to do.

 In a hadith where Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) stood up in respect of the dead in a funeral eventough the body was a person of Jewish faith( Sahih Bukhari-1250, Sahih Muslim- 961). This is one of the beauty of Islamic teachings, we are thought to respect others.

 However when one is too extreme, we shut down our faculty to think and just act aggressively and insensitively on the precept we are being defenders of the religion, but the opposite is true. Therefore if the authorities had stop and think how the Prophet( PBUH) would have acted, they will not had gone through with the raid. They would have thought of a different way, a way that will show the light of Islam to the Non Muslims.

Another case is the raid of a wedding said to be involving transgenders. Again, the objective of "dakwah" has been lost. The raid cast Islam as an insensitive religion, uncompassionate towards another human being. Instead of taking the opportunity to dakwah and show the light of Islam, the authorities just acted in a belligerent manner that had the opposite effect to the already bad image of Islam.

What would the Prophet(PBUH) do in such a situation?, raid, arrest and charge? Did he do that when he was facing strong resistance in Mecca and when he went to Madinah. The way I see it, he went a do Dakwah feverishly, with strong persistence and tenacity, as can be seen in his efforts to make his beloved Uncle Abu Talib to embrace Islam. We should follow the Prophet( PBUH) on how he handled many issues and being belligerent and overzealous are not the way.

I hope that the Islamic authorities will learn and change their ways. They are seen as arrogant and oblivious to the feelings of Muslims and Non-Muslims alike. Their ways will weaken the respect they have as Islamic authorities among Muslims and will scare away Non-Muslims in embracing the religion. Muslims in the world in general and particularly in Malaysia must adopt new ways in dealing with cross religious issues if we are to be respected and our ways to adopted by others.

 But first the Islamic model of governance that is practiced by Muslims must bring fairness and justice to mankind in a way no other models can. No point saying to others that this is not what my religion is teaching their followers to do when they see Muslims themselves doing it without a care in the world. Action speaks louder than words.

Ordinary People Should Write and Speak Up

     Of late, there has been a lot of confusion on issues that are of concerns to ordinary citizens. Ranging from the burning Bibles to water shortage in Selangor. Issues like those have been given the spin by both sides of the political divide. Some of the spin are ludacris bordering moronic. Yet some still believe in it. Weird.

      However, to the citizens, why let spin define the issues? Why let the supremely bias mainstream media dictate the opinions of the mass majority? Why allow bloggers with political interests lie through their teeth, sweeping the real problems that need solution for the welfare of the people?

     If you read most political bloggers, they are not writing objectively, they are writing party rhetoric, half-truths, spins and personal attacks. Some even use rude language. Although I'm partisan, I'm for the real thing, issue-based discussions, not the script written by party bosses. We are singing to their tune, singing their praise, paying them taxes and suffering due to their mistakes. So if there is the probabality that we will suffer, why are we letting them dicate the issues, we should dictate it shouldn't we? Or maybe we should be thier puppets and just follow the puppetmaster, well if I'm a politician, I will definitely love that.

     This is causing them to misslead the discusion we ought to have as we ended up playing to their tune, publiczing their rhetoric, badmouthing possibly innocent personality, giving the wrong information to fellow Malaysians, drifting them away from the real issues by talking about the wrong things, a national barking at the wrong tree disease and worse, we might commit fitnah( slander) in the process. So we shouldn't let the politicians and thier army of bloggers dictate issues, we should.

     So what is the solution, well, normal ordinary people, who are not on the payroll of either parties, who will not stand to gain favours from the politicians, should speak up and write. They should take advantage of technology where now everyone can write a blog, post a video on YouTube and so on. Hopefully, Malaysians can listen to the people who really face the problems and they only want solutions to it, not political diatribes or vitriol. Definitely not more rhetoric, we have plenty of those.

      I would like to hear from experts on, say, the water shortage issue, who he himself lives in Klang Valley experiencing water problems, what is his take on the issue? Is Syabas to be blamed for, as explained by the Selangor state government, not reducing water leakages, of not honoring the concession agreement, or is the Selangor state government to be blamed for refusing to give the go a head for the Langat 2 Water Treatment plant. Or is there more to it.

     What say the lawyers out there, the opinionated political pundits? Malaysians should listen to them, not just to the politicians, and definitely not to Syabas( as they are making a ton of money out of this agreement regardless). It is okay for the politicians to prolong this issue, they have the financial means and political clout to do so. But the people don't, and they end up suffering the most, just like the Malay saying "Gajah sama gajah bergaduh, pelanduk mati ditengah". Guess who is the pelanduk here. But surprisingly, it is the politicians that are making the most noise while they are enjoying their nice water supply. The suffering Rakyat are the ones that are silent on this issue.

     The rakyat should organize themselves and tell all parties what they want, nationalize Syabas as proposed by Selangor state government(takeover)? Force the construction of Langat 2 as proposed by the government, or something entirely different. The Rakyat should let all parties know of thei wishes for this issue. And please don't say " saya berharap pihak-pihak tertentu akan menyelesaikan masalah ini" you have tried that years ago, and this issue is nowhere near " akan menyelesaikan masalah ini". The Rakyat must be more proactive. Forget about the NGO's that are "claiming to be neutral" to solve the problems, they are just politicians disguising as members of NGO's, they don't have your best interest.

    This issue is just one example of many other issues I would like to hear from ordinary Malaysians. So that I can know the truth, not political BS that dominates our discourse. I'm happy on the issue of Miss Listen3,( refer last posting if you are in the dark), many students came out with their opinions on the state of academic, intellectual and student freedom in this country. Malaysians will benefit from that as they are hearing it straight from the Cow's mouth and not some unscrupulous politicians that will say anything for their benefit.

    We can do the same with other issues like the Teaching of Math and Science in English. Let us bring forward students who are struggling with their studies due to the language difference at overseas tertiary institutions as claimed by the proponent of it, and let us bring the rural people who will not do so well in the subjects due to the level of their English as claimed by those opposed to this policy and let us hear them out. They should write, speak up as they are there the ones that will sleep on the beds we make. So they should break their silence and say something so that Malaysian can gain insight from them and decide to support or reject the policy.

     This is better than just listening to politicians who claim to champion the National Language but their children are sent overseas and have excellent command of the English language but not their national language or their mother tongue language. Why the Rakyat want to listen to hypocrisy?

     So, in conclusion, let's the Rakyat, dominate the discourse of this nation. We shouldn't copy paste our positions on issues simply based on politicians or their bloggers. We listen to them. But most importantly, we listen to ourselves, our fellow Malaysians, that are true to themselves, Malaysians that want to see the country move forward, not just to score political points. We will dictate the issues, and they should respond accordingly, not the other way around. We the Rakyat are the masters, so we make it onto ourselves, the worth of a master. Don't be a master but behaving like a servant, they are the servant, not us. So when the politicians begin to do their thing, you not the que, tell them excuse me YB, I think you are trying to BS here..... A better Malaysia will definitely be created.

Listen, Listen, Listen.....Let Me Speak, Let Me Speak, Let Me Speak

       A video clip( link at the bottom) where a student was berated  by what I think was the moderator of an event went viral on the Internet. Many forms of mockery and parody not to mention outright criticism were thrown at the moderator for her rude behaviour towards the student who was just airing her views. So this is the problem of our society, where people with strong opinions are attacked and not allowed to speak simply because their opinion stand against that of ours.

     Firstly, the main point to be conveyed is not the jokes on the Internet, the criticism against the moderator, the parody and so on. What must taken note is that the event is done to indoctrinate students. We can see the "ikrar" at the event as prove among others. The government, despite their claim of transformation (Political Transformation), still conducts such an event to propagate their views unfairly on students. This is called government propaganda to impose their thinking on students.

 This is prove that despite the amendment to the laws restricting students from participating in politics, there are still a lot to be done for students in this country. This also proves that the government is half- hearted in their political reforms. Such an event shouldn't be held in the first place as students should be taught to think, allowed to seek different views and arrive at the conclusion on which is best by themselves. While guidance should be given, the decision is theirs and theirs to make only.

     So what am I proposing, well as a citizen of Malaysia, I am proposing that students be allowed to listen to different views so that they can make an informed decision. University authorities should invite BN representatives to talk, PR representatives to talk, an even independents. The format should be either a forum or debate with different political representations, on even a one speaker event.

 I am not happy that the government is using taxpayers money to fund propaganda. It is bad enough that government-linked companies( partially belonging to the Rakyat) like Media Prima, through its TV channels have attacked the rakyat's rationality by airing constant propaganda( I'm sure our money can be used on more constructive ventures), now public universities are also joining the bandwagon. It is propaganda galore for the rakyat while our pockets are getting thinner and cost of living is getting higher.

 The government has lost its priorities. They are more interested in having propaganda events in our universities instead of improving the education standard( which means encouraging critical thinking) and accessibility to it. Hence we should heed the advice of the Deputy Prime Minister that there is nothing wrong with BN continuing to govern, why change when BN is good? Never mind the corruption and abuse of power, BN is good, keep it. Don't change for the sake of change as what our former PM said.

     Secondly, we must  include in our education system, the need to evaluate differing views and reach a conclusion. Is communism all bad?, even the welfare for the poor part?, is Capitalism all bad?, like the need for individual to strive for personal success? Is all things western bad?, hypocrites like to claim that but just look at them and we know that is not the case. So make evaluating different views part of the pedagogy of teaching by teachers and syllabus must be designed to incorporate differing views.

 Our history textbook is filled with what UMNO and to some extent alliance did to attain independence for our country, but very little on the role played by the political left like the role of PKMM( Persatuan Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya) to fight for our independence. Our exams shouldn't have one right answer when there are many. Textbooks should be nothing more than a guide, not a source of definite answers. Teachers must encourage students to do research.

 Though I acknowledge the limitation of this proposal where students from poorer backgrounds might have trouble obtaining some materials as compared to the better off students, the government must rectify this by utilizing technology like the Internet and having good libraries in school and other ways to bridge the gap.

     Finally, I propose politics be more professional, no more attacks on opposition with wild allegations like Anwar being an American agent and so on unless concrete prove can be provided. The same goes for the opposition. The allegation against Rais Yatim shouldn't be done simply based on hearsay. Use constructive economic, social, religious and issue-based political arguments instead of sentiments like Malays vs Non-Malays, Solar Bible to convert the Muslim is a big no no.

 This is especially important when dealing with students. We want to expose them to constructive politics not sentimental politics. Hope that Malaysians from both side of the political divide will rise up and change their political ways by adopting all, if not some of the proposals. If they can find a better proposal than mine, even better, make sure its is really a better proposal than mine, not those moral relativism or political expediency ones. We must do so, for the sake of Malaysia and her people.

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MJs6_j0rfi8

Malay political unity through a political party, good or bad?

It's unavoidable if you're Malay, you will hear the sigh of other Malays, feeling distraught due to the lack of unity among Malay political parties. You will hear in the the many open houses, hear it from the taxi man, read about it from comments in cyberspace. Even intellectuals and religous leaders are calling for it. It's everywhere.

 It's like the ultimate yearning of the Malay race is for there to be unity among the political parties representing them. That once that is achieved, the Malays will not be in harm's way and will progress by leaps and bounds. The path to political unity for the Malays is akin to achieving panacea.

I am the one of the few contrarian that feels otherwise. The reason being is simple, just like in the field of economics, a monopoly tends to be bad for consumers as the consumers are forced to accept the offering of that monopoly, regardless of their satisfaction. The consumers are powerless as they cannot show their dissatisfaction by buying products or services from a competitor as they are no viable ones. So the consumers will continue to suffer at the hands of the firm that holds the monopoly.

Similarly, in politics, political monopoly can happen and it is bad for voters. Imagine if Malays are only represented by UMNO, there are no PAS, PKR or  others. The Malays will have to accept whatever UMNO is offering to them as there are no viable alternative for them( most Malays won't vote for DAP). The Malays cant show their displeasure on poor polices by UMNO, the Malays can't protest poor behaviour by UMNO leaders. The Malays can't use other methods to develop themselves. Only the UMNO method for the Malays. So we pray to Allah S.W.T that UMNO will always come up with good policies, that UMNO leaders will always be on their best behaviour and UMNO method to develop the Malays is the best there is.

Unfortunately, as with what can be seen happening to UMNO today, that is not the case.
As a matter of fact, the Malays 100% reliance on UMNO over the years has brought the Malays into a deep hole where they have to condone UMNO many misgivings like corruption, abuse of power, cronyism and so on. Most of the misgivings will harm the progress of the Malays.

 A corrupt UMNO means that the Malays will be led by incompetent leaders as they are leaders not because of their merit rather because of corruption culture prevalent in UMNO. Thus the party will less be able to help the Malays and develop the nation. Therefore to safeguard the Malays, there must be a viable alternative to UMNO as whenever UMNO falls, they won't bring the entire Malay population with them.

The roots to this faulty belief that for Malays to be strong, they must unite other UMNO came from the fight against Malayan Union. As the Malays then discard their parochial identity and embrace the Malay identity, they manage to pressure the British to withdraw the Malayan Union system.

 It worked then because UMNO is not the government then, rather they are fighting against a very powerful colonial government. They are not doing the abuses nor are they giving any policy offerings then. UMNO is offering the viable alternative to Malays then, they are offering a better alternative to the colonial government Malayan Union system that will not benefit the Malays.So whose is offering an alternative to the Malays now? I believe it's PAS and PKR.

 The Malays then fought for an alternative to the unjust Malayan Union system, will the Malays now fight against the unjust government policies that encourages cronyism, that is leading to a bigger divide between the haves and the haves not, policies that are exclusive for UMNO putras instead of society as a whole. The Malays fought against injustice then, will they fight against injustice now?

So I hope that the Malays will not be trapped into following an outdated thinking outside of the context to the challenges that we are facing now. It is an accepted fact that for democracy to mature, competition among political parties is a prerequisite. A competitive political competition will mean that political parties will have to compete on who can serve Malays best, in order to get our votes.

Only that way, the political parties will be forced to improve themselves, thus improving their services to us Malays, thus leading to an improvement to the condition of the Malays in this country. That is better than political domination of the Malays by a single party. Make them improve their service to us, than vote the best. That is the way to go.

NGO's and political influence

I'm happy that the role of civil society in shaping policies in this country is improving. More often NGO's have use their own way, whether it be street demonstration, complaining through the proper channel or somewhere in between to forward their objectives. The days of government knows best is coming to a close. New politics( Politik Baru), here we come.

I made this remark in observing the recent trend in our political landscape. Firstly, the claim by Malay-rights group Perkasa that they will be ''Kingmakers" in the next general election and that candidates that don't support their agenda will be defeated with their help.

Whether the statement is true or not is secondary, but of primary interest to me is that the role of a NGO is finally understood. NGO's are suppose to be  pressure groups. Meaning that there are not suppose to bow down to the government when their agenda is at risk. Not just the government, any other parties for that matter. It is only by imposing their political clout that they can alter the political landscape favouring their agenda.

Any other ''weapons" at their disposal aside from political influence that can forward their agenda are welcomed. In the US, certain groups that are known to help in raising funds for politicians, use their financial clout in advancing their agendas. There are known as PAC( Public Action Committee) that at one time are used by the Republicans effectively. Now even President Obama is using it.

Even, PAGE( Parents Action Group for Education) and MTUC( Malaysia Trade Union Congress) have warned the government that they may lose votes if their demands are not met. PAGE is trying to convince the PM to change the policy regarding the teaching of Maths and Science in Malay to English whereas MTUC is fighting against government move to amened law(s) that they deemed as damaging to workers.

All of these organizations compromise the Rakyat but the only difference with others is that they are taking action in what they believe as good for the country or the groups they represent. This can only bring empowerment to the Rakyat in deciding their political fate.

Having said that however, some NGO's are still clueless about their role in society. I still think that the union for the civil servants, CUEPACS are not firm enough in fighting for civil servants. That they are perceived( at least by me) as kow towing to the government. They should have been more vocal on the death of Sarbani, a civil servant, and offer a helping hand for those who is fighting in his cause.

 Maybe their are tough behind the scenes. I don't know. But there are many ''weak" NGO's to pick from. That are afraid to fight for the people they represent or simply are not interested to do so. Therefore they are no justice for the Rakyat when the system failed them.

As for politicians, they job is simply to engage and try to understand their position. Shutting them up like what the governmnet did to Bersih won't do any good. It is important to note that they represent the Rakyat, at as the saying goes '' Suara Rakyat, Suara Keramat". So listening to them is important  to any government to remain close to the people. The same goes to the opposition. Try to engage Perkasa as they represent the Rakyat that are part of that NGO. Engaging doesn't mean compromising on your values. It just give you greater understanding of those who don't share your views.

 In Conclusion, new politics demand that NGO's assert their authorities to the government and any other parties that stand in the way of their agendas. This trend should be encouraged as a way for politicians to gather feedback from the Rakyat. It's a form of people empowerment. That people, can, if they are willing to take action, decide on their fate. Fighting for self-determination is a right of all citizens, as long as it is done in a manner that is acceptable. Malaysia belongs to Malaysians, thus we should play a part in how Malaysia is governed. Kudos to all the NGO's...:)

Middle Malaysia or 1Malaysia, a Win for All

I'm somewhat optimistic about the direction that we are heading now. The pressure from both sides of the political divide have been enormous but our politicians showed political will. They showed that they will not bow to the pressure and the interest of ordinary Malaysians will come first.

Firstly, our Prime Minister showed tremendous political will in announcing the end of repressive and restrictive laws like the ISA, the need for renewal of permit for media and so on. He chose a grand occasion in announcing the such move, his Malaysia Day address to fellow Malaysians.

Let us hope that he will fulfil his promise and that the laws replacing those outdated acts will not be the same or worse than the current acts. Despite certain groups within his party that are calling for continuation of such acts, he showed the cynics and sceptics that transformation is indeed his agenda for this country. Hopefully it is transformation for the better.

On the other hand, the opposition too, was under pressure from from politically strong pressure groups within their respective parties. The recent row over Hudud, where the hardcore secular and Islamist group clashed with bravado over their respective beliefs, to the extent of threats to leave Pakatan Rakyat by some was defeated by level-headed leaders of Pakatan Rakyat.

Together they stood their ground and say it's okay to disagree, but Pakatan Rakat will only move with the consensus of all parties. This is similar in relationships where a good relationship is not that there is no disagreement at all, rather the ability to move beyond the disagreement and build consensus. DAP had in the past talked about Middle Malaysia, this is a clear indication that indeed there are seriuos about it.

This proves that Pakatan Rakyat is more than a marriage of convenience, but rather a romantic marriage with all the twist and turns, conflict and drama not forgetting the I'm going to leave you threat that is commonplace in relationships. Where else can you see a marriage between secularists and Islamists that can last this long, this is truly a Malaysian story. Malaysia Boleh!

With Perkasa running around shouting racist rhetoric, pressuring the government to be ethnocentric, and the conservatives whether in PAS or DAP that is imposing their way of doing things in the opposition, one wonder whether change can happen in this country. But with the way these leaders from both the government and opposition handle these pressure groups, I can say we are headed towards the right direction, whether it is Middle Malaysia or 1Malaysia...:)

In Conclusion, we must remember that Malaysia is a country that is diverse, therefore we cannot be dogmatic in our thoughts and actions. This country is successful and will only continue to be successful if we follow the footsteps of our forefathers that used the melting pot approach rather than create hegemony in this country.

Malaysia is a "rojak nation", a mixture of a little bit of everything. The same goes to all of us Malaysians. It is important that we remember that. We, the people of Malaysia must defend this Malaysian way, because this is the only way, this is our way....:)