Monday, November 30, 2009

Adab berdoa

Adab berdoa.

Masih aku ingat ketika aku masih kecil. Susuk badan yang memang kecil membuatkan aku menjadi bahan bulian seorang rakan di sekolah agama di Assam Kumbang, Taiping. Sepulangan aku ke rumah, diadukan kisah itu kepada ibuku… tetapi aduan itu hanyalah terpendam di dalam hati. Aku yang pernah menyandang gelaran ‘Si Leleh’ oleh kerana suka menangis, sentiasa mengingatkan diri sendiri supaya menjadi lebih tabah dan kuat seperti abang-abangku.

Namun pada suatu hari, kemarahan aku tidak dapat lagi dibendung. Kerana sangat marahnya aku kepada Hafiz, aku mengeluarkan tangan aku lalu berdoa supaya Allah datangkan bala kepadanya dan gagal dalam peperiksaan akan datang.

Aku pada ketika itu berumur 7 atau 8 tahun. Tidak pasti.

Beberapa hari kemudiannya, aku diajarkan adab-adab berdoa oleh Ustaz Baharum. Seingatku, ada diajarkan tentang doa yang tidak akan diterima Allah dan doa-doa di waktu yang mustajab.

Antara doa-doa yang ditolak oleh Islam termasuklah doa meminta supaya diri sendiri dicabutkan nyawa oleh Allah ketika berada dalam keadaan yang sangat malang dan susah. Peringatan yang diajarkan ustaz ini masih segar di kotak fikiranku.

Aku seraya bertanyakan Ustaz Baharum jika dimakbulkan doa memintakan musibah atau bala diturunkan kepada orang yang jahat yang melakukan perkara-perkara yang menyakiti kepada kawan-kawan, sambil mencebik muka ke arah Hafiz. Aku begitu mengharap Ustaz akan ‘menyokong’ adab berdoa sebegini kerana apa yang aku mahukan hanyalah keadilan dari Allah. Namun aku ternyata salah apabila ustaz menjawab,

“Tidak akan diterima doa yang meminta Allah menurunkan keburukan ke atas orang lain. Sebaik-baiknya, kita doakan supaya dia insaf dan kembali ke pangkal jalan. Jika tak boleh nak tegur pakai tangan, tegurlah pakai mulut dengan kata-kata. Jika tak mampu juga, tegurlah dengan hati dengan mendoakan dia supaya kembali kepada Allah.”

Tersentak hati aku pada ketika itu dan selalu menanyakan kenapa Allah tidak terus membalas si Hafiz yang nakal ini. Ustaz menambah yang dalam berdoa, kita harus bersabar dan nescaya Allah akan perkenan doa kita.

Sehingga kini aku amalkan nasihat yang Ustaz Baharum berikan. Apabila dewasa kini, aku sentiasa kaitkan nasihat-nasihat yang cikgu-cikgu serta ustaz berikan dengan ayat-ayat suci Al-Quraan untuk mendapatkan pengesahannya. Maka tergerak lah hati aku pada hari ini untuk mencari dalil yang menyatakan jika elok atau tidak kita mendoakan keburukan orang lain.

Antaranya adalah seperti berikut.

Nabi s.a.w bersabda :

" Tidaklah seorang muslim di atas bumi ini berdoa kepada Allah dengan suatu doa melainkan doanya tersebut akan dikabulkanNya atau dihindarkan orang itu dari bahaya sebanding dengan apa yang dimintanya selama doa itu tidak mengandungi dosa atau bermaksud hendak memutuskan silaturrahim "

-Hadis Riwayat At-Tirmidzi-

Dan satu lagi,

" Janganlah kamu berdoa buruk terhadap dirimu , begitupun terhadap
anak-anakmu dan terhadap harta bendamu , Jangan sampai nanti doamu itu bertepatan dengan suatu saat dimana Allah sedang memenuhi permohonan , hingga doa burukmu itu benar-benar terkabul "

-Hadis Riwayat Muslim-

Aku sewaktu kecil yang masih naïf itu tidak pernah merasakan dirinya begitu besar sehinggakan boleh melakukan sesuatu perkara yang Allah larang.

Aku pada ketika itu mempunyai semangat inkuiri yang sangat tinggi dan suka bertanyakan soalan kepada ibu bapaku, guru-guru, ustaz dan ustazah.

Bagi aku mereka inilah pendidik, mereka inilah yang aku harapkan supaya tidak sesat dalam arus kemewahan dan kekuasaan duniawi.

Aku pada ketika itu, hanyalah 7 atau 8 tahun, menyesal dengan tindakan mendoakan keburukan saudara seagama.

Sekelumit pun aku tidak berubah, jika diri ini dilihat kebudak-budakan hanya kerana bertanyakan soalan, meminta diajarkan agama yang sebetul-betulnya.

Kerana aku takut azab Allah…

Masih aku ingat, 7 atau 8 tahun umur aku ketika itu.

Yang berumur 78 tahun, bagaimanalah agaknya?

Jeg Hui

Thursday, November 26, 2009

The Truth about BTN

Since Biro Tatanegara has been a hot issue of the late, thanks to an ADUN friend who brought out that matter at the Selangor State level, I will try to write of my personal experience and be as impartial as possible. To date, I’ve already gone to TWO BTNs as part of the pre-departure course under PNB and MARA. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about it.

I will talk about the food things first. Did I just say food? That was not a blatant typo but the food at BTNs is just AMAZING! I do not know if it has got to do with the hectic of jungle trekking or the marching practices but the food is simply fantastic. They may be simple Malaysian dishes like ‘ikan kembung goreng’ or ‘sayur campur’ but somehow even the steamed rice has some magic in it.

The ‘Pakcik Komandos’, I must say, are the unsung heroes in BTN programmes. They may look like they can eat you alive, but they are the nicest people around. They are very helpful, polite and really funny too. Their spontaneous jokes might have some repeated ones (just like other stand-up comedies anyway) but they can really make me laugh my flatulence off.

The programme itself, when done together for the whole group, is actually really good. It promotes unity, indoctrinating participants of the history of Malaysia, nationalism and patriotism (I do not know if they are of any different). During my second BTN in Negeri Sembilan, Namawee was the star of the show.

Note: Namawee, you can rap all you want mate, but rapping out of our National Anthem is somewhat disgraceful. Use Rasa Sayang or Anak Ayam if you may. They worked for Too Phat.

The difference between the two BTNs I attended is actually the age group. The first BTN was attended by pre-U students while the second one was mostly comprised of post-grad students. The level of maturity by the participants between the two was obvious but still I could find a ‘gila kuasa’ Penghulu making an idiot of himself. (I will not elaborate more).

The second BTN gave us some real life stories in which I found really helpful in terms of finding the truth out of it. This includes the Negarakuku as said above, Kampong Baru incident, corruption statistics (with the then ACA being the most corrupt) and others. Then we were separated into smaller groups of 10 to 15 I think. Now comes the bad part.

It was really weird when the groups were distributed, the Non-Malays (including Sabah Sarawak Bumiputras) are grouped together as one or two groups. I was quite angry not to be part of the Non-Malay group so that I could mingle with them more. (And of course, the fit girl I fancied went to the group as well :P). Later, I realised why the distribution was like so.

From my two visits to BTN, both facilitators that I got were downright RACISTS! The first BTN in Balik Pulau, there were two Chinese girls in my group but that didn’t stop the fascist facilitator from bashing the Chinese and Indians as ‘bangsa pendatang’ and making racist comments. Since I had enough of him, I planned on questioning his motives but I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of the group and so, I asked him one plain question right after the scheduled brainwashing class.

He was commenting on the way how DAP-Cina would administer the federal government. DAP was labelled as a Communist Party that would only anger the Malays because of their principles. And so, I asked him, “Kita sekarang ni, di Balik Pulau. Kenapa saya lihat kawasan di Balik Pulau ni seakan tidak maju? Dan rata-rata penduduknya Orang Melayu. Kenapa UMNO biarkan Gerakan ‘tindas’ orang Melayu dan orang Kampung di Balik Pulau dari segi pembangunan?”

Do you know what he answered?

“Kita sedang pantau mereka. UMNO sedang pantau mereka…”

What is that supposed to mean? Pantau? Is that the best you can do? Just now you were talking your wrinkly-racist-balls out like the world is yours and now, you are telling me the best you can do to these Chinese Penang government is to monitor their progress? Just because they are part of BN?

Why cudn’t you say the same to them just like you said about DAP?

I think he’s got himself the taste of his own medicine. He wanted to be Ultra-UMNO, Ultra-Malay but deep in his heart, he knows that he, being a big-headed veteran, we are all Malaysians after all and he shouldn’t play the racist card as he will end up answering tough questions like that with stupid answers like so.

I did nothing but shook my head with a bit of a smirk on my face. BTN is such a good way to promote unity and to remind us of the sacrifices our fore-fathers had made in order for us to enjoy peace and harmony in Malaysia. However, because of this kind of fascists roaming around freely trying to ‘convert’ the participants into anti-Non-Malays Group has somewhat tainted the BTN image. They shouldn’t be allowed to even step foot on the Malaysian soil at all!

Then, there was one question that the group had to answer, the one big fat question that all participants will be talking about after the course. I knew right from the start that the answer was going to be:

“C: Give the project to the Government-friendly consortium although it has poor knowledge and expertise about the project.”

It is because I know A and B had the keyword “Opposition” and “Foreign Company” respectively, and after all we only had the so-called ‘healthy’ one-way discussion with The Fascist so I urged the group to just pick C so that we could have an early lunch!

Away from my own experience, I was told by my friend that her Muslim friend was asked one question that goes “If you have to choose one, would you pick the country first or your religion first?”

Being a boss for some time in a Multinational Company, she answered, “Islam first”.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I will pick religion over country.”

“Why? Without our country, there will be no Islam!”

“No, I will choose Islam over country at all cost. I am a Muslimah”

Muslimah indeed, not your Dina Zaman-like ‘Muslimah’.

And then the Fascist started sobbing and crying. When I heard that I was like?

“What? This is new! Now they are rejecting Islam over BN? Ya Allah! Crying some more?”

So yeah, I’m not saying that all facilitators are like that. I would say most of them are like that. Depends on which group you are in. I bet the facilitator in the Non-Malay group would be more 1Malaysia.

It’s sad… because I want to see more of the Komandos and the great people among the participants. Hey, I made many friends from BTN (and many annoying ones too). The fact of the matter is, BTN is great when racial cards are not played. I am not sure if we are provided booklets to hate the Opposition nowadays as reported by some, (there wasn’t any during my time) but if he BN people think BTN is their greatest weapon, they are just plain wrong.

We may look like kids. But we are not. People grow up, you know?

And so are Malaysians.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Re: Sepet 10.5 by Dina Zaman

Dina Zaman is as it again, speaking her mind out without checking the Holy Book. And yet many of you adore her!

Dalilnya : Surah Al-Baqarah: 221

وَلَا تَنكِحُواْ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكَـٰتِ حَتَّىٰ يُؤۡمِنَّ‌ۚ وَلَأَمَةٌ۬
مُّؤۡمِنَةٌ خَيۡرٌ۬ مِّن مُّشۡرِكَةٍ۬ وَلَوۡ أَعۡجَبَتۡكُمۡ‌ۗ وَلَا
تُنكِحُواْ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ حَتَّىٰ يُؤۡمِنُواْ‌ۚ وَلَعَبۡدٌ۬ مُّؤۡمِنٌ
خَيۡرٌ۬ مِّن مُّشۡرِكٍ۬ وَلَوۡ أَعۡجَبَكُمۡ‌ۗ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يَدۡعُونَ
إِلَى ٱلنَّارِ‌ۖ وَٱللَّهُ يَدۡعُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱلۡجَنَّةِ وَٱلۡمَغۡفِرَةِ
بِإِذۡنِهِۦ‌ۖ وَيُبَيِّنُ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ
يَتَذَكَّرُونَ

Dan janganlah kamu berkahwin dengan perempuan-perempuan kafir musyrik sebelum mereka beriman (memeluk agama Islam) dan sesungguhnya seorang hamba perempuan yang beriman itu lebih baik daripada perempuan kafir musyrik sekalipun keadaannya menarik hati kamu. Dan janganlah kamu (kahwinkan perempuan-perempuan Islam) dengan lelaki-lelaki kafir musyrik sebelum mereka beriman (memeluk agama Islam) dan sesungguhnya seorang hamba lelaki yang beriman lebih baik daripada seorang lelaki musyrik, sekalipun keadaannya menarik hati kamu. (Yang demikian ialah kerana) orang-orang kafir itu mengajak ke Neraka sedangkan Allah mengajak ke Syurga dan memberi keampunan dengan izinNya. Dan Allah menjelaskan ayat-ayatNya (keterangan-keterangan hukumNya) kepada umat manusia, supaya mereka dapat mengambil pelajaran (daripadanya)

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Good read on Hijjab (tudung)

A convesation for Muslim sisters:

"I'm so tired."

"Tired of what?"

"Of all these people judging me."

"Who judged you?"

"Like that woman, every time I sit with her, she tells me to wear hijab."

"Oh, hijab and music! The mother of all topics!"

"Yeah! I listen to music without hijab…haha!"

"Maybe she was just giving you advice."

"I don't need her advice. I know my religion. Can`t she mind her own
business?"

"Maybe you misunderstood. She was just being nice."

"Keeping out of my business, that would be nice..."

"But it's her duty to encourage you do to good."

"Trust me. That was no encouragement. And what do you mean `good` ?"

"Well, wearing hijab, that would be a good thing to do."

"Says who?"

"It's in the Qur'an, isn't it?"

"Yes. She did quote me something."

"She said Surah Nur, and other places of the Qur'an."

"Yes, but it's not a big sin anyway. Helping people and praying is more
important."

"True. But big things start with small things."

"That's a good point, but what you wear is not important. What's important
is to have a good healthy heart."

"What you wear is not important?"

"That's what I said."

"Then why do you spend an hour every morning fixing up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You spend money on cosmetics, not to mention all the time you spend on
fixing your hair and low-carb dieting."

"So?"

"So, your appearance IS important."

"No. I said wearing hijab is not an important thing in religion."

"If it's not an important thing in religion, why is it mentioned in the Holy
Qur'an?"

"You know I can't follow all that's in Qur'an."

"You mean God tells you something to do, you disobey and then it's OK?"

"Yes. God is forgiving."

"God is forgiving to those who repent and do not repeat their mistakes."

"Says who?"

"Says the same book that tells you to cover."

"But I don't like hijab, it limits my freedom."

"But the lotions, lipsticks, mascara and other cosmetics set you free?!
What`s your definition of freedom anyway?"

"Freedom is in doing whatever you like to do."

"No. Freedom is in doing the right thing, not in doing whatever we wish to do."

"Look! I've seen so many people who don't wear hijab and are nice people, and so many who wear hijab and are bad people."

"So what? There are people who are nice to you but are alcoholic. Should we all be alcoholics? You made a stupid point."

"I don't want to be an extremist or a fanatic. I'm OK the way I am without hijab."

"Then you are a secular fanatic. An extremist in disobeying God."

"You don't get it, if I wear hijab, who would marry me?!"

"So all these people with hijab never get married?!"

"Okay! What if I get married and my husband doesn't like it? And wants me to remove it?"

"What if your husband wants you to go out with him on a bank robbery?!"

"That's irrelevant, bank robbery is a crime."

"Disobeying your Creator is not a crime?"

"But then who would hire me?"

"A company that respects people for who they are."

"Not after 9-11"

"Yes. After 9-11. Don't you know about Hanan who just got into med school?
And the other one, what was her name, the girl who always wore a white hijab…ummm…"

"Yasmeen?"

"Yes. Yasmeen. She just finished her MBA and is now interning for GE."

"Why do you reduce religion to a piece of cloth anyway?"

"Why do you reduce womanhood to high heals and lipstick colors?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"In fact, I did. Hijab is not just a piece of cloth. It is obeying God in a difficult environment. It is courage, faith in action, and true womanhood.
But your short sleeves, tight pants…"

"That's called `fashion`, you live in a cave or
something? First of all, hijab was founded by men who wanted to control
women."

"Really? I did not know men could control women by hijab."

"Yes. That's what it is."

"What about the women who fight their husbands to wear hijab? And women in France who are forced to remove their hijab by men? What do you say about that?"

"Well, that's different."

"What difference? The woman who asked you to wear hijab…she was a woman, right?"

"Right, but…"

"But fashions that are designed and promoted by male-dominated corporations, set you free? Men have no control on exposing women and using them as a commodity?! Give me a break!"

"Wait, let me finish, I was saying…"

"Saying what? You think that men control women by hijab?"

"Yes."

"Specifically how?"

"By telling women how and what to wear, dummy!"

"Doesn't TV, magazines and movies tell you what to wear, and how to be `attractive'?"

"Of course, it's fashion."

"Isn't that control? Pressuring you to wear what they want you to wear?"

[Silence]

"Not just controlling you, but also controlling the market."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you are told to look skinny and anorexic like that woman on the cover of the magazine, by men who design those magazines and sell those products."

"I don't get it. What does hijab have to do with products."

"It has everything to do with that. Don't you see? Hijab is a threat to consumerism, women who spend billions of dollars to look skinny and live by standards of fashion designed by men…and then here is Islam, saying trash all that nonsense and focus on your soul, not on your looks, and do not worry what men think of your looks."

"Like I don't have to buy hijab? Isn't hijab a product?"

"Yes, it is. It is a product that sets you free from male-dominated consumerism."

"Stop lecturing me! I WILL NOT WEAR HIJAB!
It is awkward, outdated, and totally not suitable for this society ... Moreover, I am only 20 and too young to wear hijab!"

"Fine. Say that to your Lord, when you face Him on Judgment Day."

"Fine."

"Fine."

[Silence]

"Shut up and I don't want to hear more about hijab niqab schmijab Punjab!"

[Silence]

She stared at the mirror, tired of arguing with herself all this time.

Successful enough, she managed to shut the voices in her head, with her own opinions triumphant in victory on the matter, and a final modern decision accepted by the society - but rejected by the Faith:

"Yes!" - to curls on the hair - "No!" - to hijab!

"And he (/she) is indeed a failure who corrupts it [the soul]!"
[Holy Quran 91:10]

Subhana'Allah!!!

"Nay! You prefer the life of this world; While the hereafter is better and more lasting."
[Holy Quran: 87:16-17]


"You are the best community (Ummah) raised up for (the benefit of) humanity; enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong and believing in Allah."
[Holy Quran: 3:110]

Taken from http://www.masjidjamek.com/index.php/articles/6-why-she-wont-wear-hijab

Monday, November 16, 2009

Justice for Criminals?

1. Recently there have been some issues regarding cops killing armed-criminals causing a public outcry especially from a certain community.

2. The head of a Gangster group called Dewa was shot dead few days ago.

3. A young criminal was killed in a shootout and later the deceased's sister apparently forced her children to consume weed killer before taking it herself.

4. Today, a 22-year old man hanged himself after he was found guilty of killing his own mother and stuffing her body in a bag, under the sink. The cops are now accused of killing the man instead.

5. A young lad was shot to death after going amuk in a village armed with a chicken knife, just because he was left stranded in a karaoke outlet by his friends.

5. Cops are under pressure for allegedly using the 'shoot-to-kill' method when dealing with armed criminals.

6. I am not a law major but I did watch some American teles and films about how cops over there deal with armed criminals.

7. 'Suicide by cops' is a situation where an armed criminal actually pretends to shoot the cop (pointing the gun/weapon to the cop), and in the end, he is shot to death.

8. For this scenario, the cop will get away for being prosecuted for acting 'above the law'.

9. What if the cops and criminals are caught in a shoot-out rampage? Do you think it's easy to actually shoot someone without having to kill someone?

10. What if the criminals are notorious for raping, armed-robbery, killing, drug-trafficking (and causing more deaths) and they are on top of the Most Wanted List?

11. Should we just be 'nice' to these criminals? Or just kill them off?

12. This is one of the loopholes in the man-made law system.

13. While there is a need to protect the rights of criminals as citizens, we don't want to overeact on how actually they should be treated.

14. Do you think these criminals care about your lives when they are after your money/jewelleries/etc?

15. For me, if the cop shot dead a notorious killer, he should be lauded, not questioned. It is a sad thing losing a family member, but isn't it more sad to see your own flesh and blood roaming the town, killing, raping, extorting money from other people?

16. This is a general opinion. If I were to touch on case to case basis, it would be foolish because I don't even know what really happened.

17. For me, criminals are criminals, if their deaths are necessary to make this country a better place, so be it.

18. Think about the victim's family more and you will see why sometimes it should be that way.

19. Give some credits to the cops. Not all of them are friggin tw*ts.

20. Go to the source of the problem, reduce crimes by introducing stricter punishments.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Komen saya dalam petikan terbaru TDM - Sunnah wal jama'ah

Tun,

Saya pun terkejut bagaimana Ustaz Asri pun hendak diberkas.

Namun, saya sebenarnya dah lama agak suatu hari nanti beliau akan ditangkap juga kerana kononnya membawa ajaran 'wahabi' kepada orang Malaysia.

Ini adalah pendapat saya. Jika fikirkan secara ilmiah dan aqli, adakah Allah S.W.T melarang manusia beribadat kepada-Nya dan selalu mengingati-Nya?

Sebagai contoh, jika kita lakukan wirid dan doa selepas solat, adakah ia berdosa? Adakah jika diadakan tahlil, mengajak anak-anak soleh dan solehah mendoakan kesejahteraan si mati suatu DOSA?

Benar ada suatu hadith menyatakan bahawa hendaklah beribadat mengikut cara Nabi Muhammad tetapi ia dikatakan bukan secara rigid, pada pendapat saya. Yang penting sekali kita sentiasa mengingati Allah S.W.T. dengan zikir-zikir.

Sebagai contoh, dahulunya pada zaman Nabi, tidak pula ada kelengkapan radio atau cd. Tetapi kini, jika seseorang Muslim itu mahu berzikir ketika memandu kereta dengan alunan cd zikir dan wirid serta ayat-ayat suci Al-Quraan, maka adakah itu salah pada mata 'wahabi'?

Saya berkata begini bukanlah saya menuduh Dr. Asri ini pembawa ajaran 'wahabi' yang saya lihat begitu rigid atau tegas dalam ibadat.

Saya lebih suka jika Islam ini dibawakan dengan niat memartabatkan Islam dan mengaplikasikan ajarannya demi kesejahteraan dan kejayaan semua manusia.

Apa yang berlaku di antara Sunni dan Syiah hanyalah politik semata-mata. Bagi saya, Islam hanyalah satu. Tiada Sunni, tiada Syiah, tiada Hadhari, tiada Islam PAS dan lain-lain.

Sebagai pembetulan, Islam Hadhari bukanlah ajaran baru tetapi kempen yang Pak Lah mahu rakyat terima-pakai supaya Islam ini tidak nampak ektrem sepertimana kini.

Janganlah kerana benci kepada seseorang itu, kita putar-belitkan pandangannya.

Wallahualam.

Monday, November 09, 2009

UKEC Homecoming for Budu

It was Friday and I was insisting my football mates to play our weekly football on Saturday so that my weekend would be filled.
I would be bored as a Man Utd’s game if I had nothing to do for the weekend. It’s not that I have a wife or a child to hang out with like everybody else.
Having said that, Saturday night would be a poker night. But for the day it seemed gloom… until I heavy-heartedly accepted the UKEC invitation for this talk by my KMYS PNB senior, Nik Nazmi who is currently the ADUN of Seri Setia.
It’s not because of Budu (as the rest used to be calling him because these kids were calling him YB YB YB) that made me a bit hesitant to join the event. It’s simply because it was organised by a group of student ‘leaders’ or wannabe-leaders of tomorrow called UKEC that made me felt a bit uncomfortable. Previous Facebook discussion about ‘Allah’ being used by Herald Bahasa version with one of UKEC ‘leaders’ didn't help at all to convince me of their so-called ‘greatness’.
But well, yeah, for the first time, I did join their event, with the objective to actually write about that event. And so, I’m writing this, because it’s the Monday blues, with no work to do in Guy Carpenter, quite weird when everybody else is working their ass off.
So, on that Saturday afternoon, as usual, I didn’t wanna be late… because its not good when interrupting the session. So I thought. But I was not late actually. Smq gave me a call and he was with Budu, were only on their way from Holborn and it was already 2:10pm. I could see the rest of the people, about 15 of them, lepakking in the S221 room, waiting anxiously for the great YB.
2:10pm – Head count = 15 people. 1 Indian, 2 Malays and the rest Chinese. Shannon Yeoh the blogger is here. Many of them students.
I wonder why the composition was like that? The Chinese again showing how good their time management is? Or, simply the Chinese are more keen to change Malaysia.
2:15pm – While waiting for Budu to arrive, I had realised one thing which is quite crafty I must say, about the logo of UKEC. It has a bit of a PKR in it to be honest. The so called ‘eye of Zion’, the two crescents, are actually visible from the UKEC logo. I smiled. And it was a lonely smile because I sensed the mood of the audience to be a bit sombre, probably tired of waiting.
2:30pm – the event finally kicks off, Chairperson Teow Yoong Jing, from UKEC, is an avid Pakatan Rakyat fan, evidently from the banner from her blog.
Headcount = about 30-ish. Probably less. Not impressive. Was expecting more. Chinese proportion still overpowered the rest with only 4 Malays and 2 Indians. Now I am judging this group already. Is it because they don’t have many Indian or Malay friends? Or again, are the Chinese more inclined for a ‘change’ in Malaysia?
Why? Does it matter, Jeg, about what race you belong to? Well, even Budu was still talking about races when giving his speech. One of the few things he talked about are Selangor State to make the DUN independent, all Pakatan Rakyat party components sitting together for the December convention (bear in mind this has not been done ever by Barisan Nasional) to discuss about the common principles that they will uphold if they were to stay together, targeting the young voters, the constitution of Malaysia and the general election March 2008.
I am not going to elaborate more about what he has told us. Nothing special really. Because I’ve heard that before. Maybe because I have been reading a lot. However, its good to know that PKR is still keeping our Constitution as they promised in the General Election 2008, stating that ‘the Constitution is what that shapes our country’, which is fair enough, but maybe not favouring some members of the floor, who might thought Pakatan is to do away with policies that favour the Bumiputras.
Budu did give his personal view on the education system, in which I agree. He always believes there should be a single-streamed school for all Malaysians to promote unity. However, his concern about quality being the main obstacle to do away with vernacular schools is somewhat far-fetched. I have a friend, and I bet he is the best SPM student during my time, went to national school. He is now in Cambridge under the Agong Scholarship, doing PhD. I myself went to SRK St. Francis and I thought the teachers were superb!
The question over the quality, being the reason why many Chinese want to keep Chinese schools is just an excuse to me. Having said that, I am no saying we should abolish Chinese and Tamil Schools. I think we should keep them at primary level only, as stated in the Constitution. And it will give the opportunity to even Non-Chinese students to learn about their language and have the best of both worlds.
But to have Chinese Secondary schools, will polarise us more, forever.
Coming back to the event, names were brought up. Badrul, Saiful, Zulkifli, Hasan Ali, Taib Mahmud, ‘son-in-law of someone’ (I wonder why all Malays?).
Well these people are perceived as liabilities in Pakatan Rakyat or the nation. At least from Budu’s and PR hardcore fans point of view.
But kudos to Budu for not bashing them too much because it will only make him look like a typical politician.
I think it’s worth taking note here that PKR’s way to win the hearts of young Malaysians are really, really good. They are planning for an internship programme for youngsters who want to experience about what a political assistant do. (Saiful Bukhari was meant to do this really but he was just a bad apple. Or a ripe one? :P ) And Budu being Budu. He is young and now an ADUN. No wonder these young ‘leaders’ are so inspired. They feel, if Budu can do it, they can too. I believe that’s the mood that they are having right now. Which gives a positive impact to the new coalition.
I wonder what are other programmes being held by UMNO London apart from organising football tournaments, free breaking-fast in Ramadhan in collaboration with Shell and the latest being Eid Celebration, again with Shell. Why can’t we have UMNO’s Ketua Pemuda KJ coming down to London and meeting the students like Budu did recently? Arrogant maybe? Or we are not worth it since we don’t actually vote?
Anyway towards the end of the event, I can say that about 90% of the members of the floor are hoping for a change in Malaysia, if not, Pakatan Rakyat believers.
When Zulkifli Nordin’s name was mentioned, almost everyone in the room laughed as if he is a bad person. He is still a PKR MP. What he did was not that bad, when he was defending the rights of Muslims, going against Bar Council trying to officially change Lina Joy’s religion status in her MyKad and pushing the case as the precedence to changing the law about Malays being able to be Non-Muslims, as opposed to the Constitution.
But again, since there were only 4 Malays in the room, these people might not understand what Islam is about, and what the Constitution is about still. They are young students and still learning anyway. I just hope that these people are not being brainwashed to not knowing the truth and trying to be impartial a bit not to blindly following what they thought is right, in the expense of their judgment being clouded by hatred and emotion.
“I think it’s about us, knowing and understanding other people’s beliefs and religions, not condemning them. It’s a sensitive issue for us to argue about it” Budu said. (something like that, same substance but different words used). And I spontaneously gave a wink at one of the so-called leaders in UKEC who was present, the same person who went on arguing ‘Allah’ being used in Herald in Facebook..
Again when Hasan Ali’s name was mentioned, again the crowd laughed. But for many Muslims, Hasan Ali is just doing his job as a Muslim leader. And since he is from PAS, it’s not that hard to believe what he did.
My take on this is that, most of the members of the floor; don’t actually know their Malay/Muslim friends. I blame the school system!
But it’s worth mentioning here there was an Indian guy (who I assume to be neutral), who asked about why Sept 16 was made at the first place.
Budu was fast to wisely say that PKR had to go on offensive but admitted that when Perak crossovers happened, it has somehow affected PKR, if not Anwar’s credibility. His way of giving a ceramah is not a ‘typical politician’ way, which is very good actually. He is always ready to give his own opinions, despite how it can be against the party’s principles and ready to admit the flaws that his party has. He even admitted that he could be bias when commenting something where some people might think it’s a political blunder, but for me, hats off to that!
This is a unique way to win young voters. If he stays this way, avoiding any blips like Liverpool (the team he supports), then he has a lot of potential.
One thing that I forgot to ask him was his take on Anwar Ibrahim. After Anwar’s many blunders recently (Sabah issue, endorsing crossovers, playing hide and seek with Sodomy II), it would be great to know about his opinion on his previous boss.
Overall it was an Okay event. Maybe a better mix of the crowd could make it a great one. I bid him farewell and asked him to send my regards to his wife.