Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- The long and the short of it
- How capitalism breeds social problems
- My favourite song, Listen
- Yo, people, listen up!
- Friday prayers are NOT compulsory, said the Mufti
- Remember our February 2008 agreement?
| Posted: 24 Jan 2013 06:34 PM PST
But what will happen, say, in 2057, 100 years after Merdeka, when the children and grandchildren of those three million pendatang -- who by then may number five million and hold Malaysian identity cards because they were born in Malaysia -- all want to vote as overseas voters although they had left the country a long time ago and never once went back to Malaysia? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin There are those who oppose the Islamic criminal law of Hudud. When we ask them as to why they oppose Hudud they will reply that it is because under the Hudud law they cut off the hands of thieves. Hence Hudud is a very barbaric law. Rather than cut off the hands of thieves they should instead be killed with a bullet in the head like what they do to highway robbers and other thieves in China, corrupt officials and female robbers included. Well, I suppose a bullet in the head is less barbaric than having to live with only one hand. Let's say for argument's sake I argue: so what if they cut off the hands of thieves? Why are you so worried about that if you are not a thief? Aren't you the ones who are complaining about the extremely high crime rate in Malaysia? Aren't you the ones alleging that the police are not doing their job? Maybe we need a law such as Hudud to solve the serious crime problem that appears to be spinning out of control. Only thieves should be worried about and oppose Hudud. If you are so opposed to Hudud then that can only mean one thing -- you are a thief. If you are not a thief then why are you so opposed to Hudud? And it appears like more non-Malays than Malays oppose Hudud. This can only mean that there are more non-Malay thieves than Malay thieves. I suppose this statement makes as much sense as the statement that if you do not support Pakatan Rakyat then you must be a Barisan Nasional supporter (if you do not support Hudud then you must be a thief). There can be no other logical reason for you to not support Pakatan Rakyat just like there can be no other logical reason for you to not support Hudud. Can you see that when we apply your same logic to another situation your logic no longer sounds logical? And that is the problem with many of you. Your logic is not universal. It can be used only to support your prejudiced view but when applied to another argument it sounds real silly. The Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act are draconian laws. Why are they draconian laws? Well, because these laws are used against the opposition, to stifle dissent, and to deny Malaysians their freedom of speech. Hence the Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act must be abolished. And if Pakatan Rakyat ever takes over the federal government this is one of the first things they must do -- abolish the Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act. However, before they abolish these laws, they must first be used against those on the 'other side'. Once those from the 'other side' have been dealt with only then should these laws be abolished. In fact, if Pakatan Rakyat takes over, we should implement Hudud and use that law to cut off the hands of those crooks from the ruling party. Once all their hands have been cut off we can then abolish the Hudud law. What are we fighting for? We are fighting for justice. And how do we get justice? We get justice by abolishing bad laws and by reforming the system. Should we do all that now? No, we do that only after we have taken revenge on our enemies. Is revenge justice? Yes, but only if taken against the other side, not if taken against our own people. It is not fair that Malaysians who have left the country for longer than five years and have not returned to the country for at least 30 days over those five years are not allowed to vote as an overseas voter. Even if those Malaysians left the country 30 or 40 years ago and never once went back to Malaysia they should still be allowed to vote (as long as they still have an identity card, of course, because you need this to vote). What happens if one million of the three million foreigners who now possess Malaysian identity cards go home to their original countries? Can they be allowed to vote as overseas voters? Your entitlement to vote depends on you possessing a Malaysian identity card. Hence if you have a Malaysian identity card then you are entitled to vote. And what happens if these people had left Malaysia more than ten years ago and never once came back to Malaysia? Should they still be allowed to vote? You may argue that they should not be allowed to vote because although they possess Malaysian identity cards they were not born in Malaysia. Ah, but then their children were. Their children possess Malaysian identity cards that show they were born in Malaysia although they left Malaysia ten years ago and now live in another country. So why can't they be allowed to vote? Back in 1957, when Malaya first gained independence, the Chinese and Indians came from China and India and were given Malaysian citizenship. Subsequently, the children of those 'pendatang' were born in the country. Hence the descendants of these pre-1957 immigrants are Malaysian born and should not be called 'pendatang'. Agreed, it is wrong to call the present generation Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descent 'pendatang'. Their parents or grandparents may have been pendatang back in 1957. But the present crop of Malaysian-born Chinese and Indians are not pendatang and should not be treated as pendatang or called 'pendatang'. But what will happen, say, in 2057, 100 years after Merdeka, when the children and grandchildren of those three million pendatang -- who by then may number five million and hold Malaysian identity cards because they were born in Malaysia -- all want to vote as overseas voters although they had left the country a long time ago and never once went back to Malaysia? Sometimes we need to look short term, such as over the next two months leading to the coming general election. Sometimes we need to look long term, say 30 years down the road. And sometimes we need to balance between short-term and long-term goals. When the government came out with its education policy it looked short term and not long term. And now, many years down the road, we are paying for this short-sighted and short-term strategy. But the damage has been done. It is not going to be that easy to rectify things. It may take a whole generation to correct our mistakes of the past -- and even then only if we are prepared to bite the bullet and are prepared to suffer the high casualty rate. Are we prepared to allow the Malays to become casualties in the interest of a better education system based on meritocracy? Neither Najib Tun Razak nor Anwar Ibrahim would dare say 'yes' to this question. Things are going to get worse before they become better. The cure may be as painful as the disease. But I am sure neither Barisan Nasional nor Pakatan Rakyat would be prepared to take the risk of a political fallout out if they try to change the education system and see Malays fall by the wayside because they are just not good enough. It is like promising no taxation and promising to give all the oil money back to the states. How would we finance the country? No doubt that type of promise is going to help win votes. But what do you do after you win the votes? To make money we need to plant oil palm trees. To plant oil palm trees we need to burn down the forests. When we burn down the forests we create an ecological problem. So we don't burn down the forests to prevent an ecological problem. But since we don't burn down the forests we can't plant oil palm trees. And because we can't plant oil palm trees we can't make money. Life is full of vicious cycles. And Malaysia can win the gold medal in vicious cycles if that happened to be an event in the Olympic games. ***************************************** Use of Sedition Act is wrong Yin Shao Loong, The Malaysian Insider Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee stated that the Sedition Act should be used on Ibrahim Ali because the latter had advocated the burning of bibles. Even though Lim acknowledged that the Bar holds that the law should be repealed, it should nonetheless be used against Ibrahim if the government is charging opposition leaders such as Karpal Singh under it. Burning any book as a political act is vulgar, uncultured and should be condemned. Invoking the use of a draconian law to punish book burning, or incitement to burn books, is a capitulation to authoritarianism. By taking this stance, Lim and the Bar he leads have undermined any claim to principled opposition to the Sedition Act. Their rationale is akin to those who proposed maintaining the Internal Security Act (ISA) so it could be used one last time against the puppet master of Operation Lallang. Even if Lim's intent was to underline how the present government selectively enforces the law, his argument was poorly chosen because it was based on the logic that two wrongs would make a right. The Sedition Act has been a convenient and objectionable tool of authoritarian power in Malaysia due to its broad applicability against anything that could be construed as raising ill-will or hostility within society or against the authorities. Anyone can claim they had feelings of ill-will or hostility raised by someone's statement or action, proceed to file a police report, and have someone investigated for sedition. Of course, the odds of successful prosecution would improve if the accused happened to be someone not favoured by the government. Historically, sedition was associated with absolutist monarchies. Undemocratic governments criminalise sedition because they fear dissent will destabilise authority based on force, heredity or property. The rule of the few over the many requires some form of institutionalised discrimination, fear and suppression of criticism. Democracies incorporate criticism into their system of government and allow the many to use their votes to initiate peaceful, orderly changes in government. As long as I have known it, the Bar Council has stood for the principled movement towards full-fledged constitutional democracy in Malaysia. Supporting the use of the Sedition Act is a backward step contrary to human rights. Lim has already noted that any book-burning act or incitement to such act can be prosecuted under those sections of the Penal Code that deal with abetment and trespass. Additionally, sections 298 and 298A of the Penal Code deal with acts designed to cause hurt on religious grounds, section 504 covers intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, and section 505 refers to statements promoting public mischief. It is reasonable to file a police report, or call for laws to be employed, where the actions in question are criminal, excluding those legitimate forms of dissent criminalised by the Sedition Act, ISA, Printing Presses and Publications Act, and so forth. One group of citizens is opposing the barbaric act of book burning by inviting people to join in reading holy books — any books, in fact — under the trees at KLCC park on Sunday. Others have filed a police report against Ibrahim, citing many of the Penal Code sections referred to above, but without recourse to the Sedition Act or any of its repressive bedfellows. These are civilised means of opposing an uncivilised act. If we want to move Malaysia out of the shadow of authoritarianism we cannot condone the very methods of authoritarianism. This means that race-baiting, repressive laws and impunity must be abandoned in favour of principled debate, peaceful protest, accountability and reform. |
| How capitalism breeds social problems Posted: 19 Jan 2013 05:53 PM PST
So, if we want to reduce the three million 'foreign population' of Malaysia then the plantations, construction companies, SMI factories, etc., should stop employing them. And to do that we need a minimum wage of at least RM1,200-RM1,5000 (or thereabouts) a month. With that salary level Malaysians would be prepared to work and hence you do not need to employ foreigners and then give them Malaysian citizenship. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Subra: Minimum wage to avoid unnecessary hiring of foreigners (The Star) - The minimum wage policy, which came into effect this year, is to avoid the unnecessary hiring of foreign workers, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam. For example at petrol stations, he said, people have to accept the idea of self-service when filling up their cars. Petrol dealers have implemented the minimum wage as of January 1, throwing some 50,000 foreigners out of work. "The change that we are looking for will not happen overnight," Dr Subramaniam said adding that the minimum wage policy was also implemented to channel workers to other sectors which are in need of labour. He said there were no provisions in the current law to allow companies to delay implementing the policy. "Employers need to deal with the new policy but if they have problems, they can forward their concerns to us and we will try and help them," he said. The minimum wage policy requires companies to pay a minimum wage of RM900 in the peninsula and RM800 in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan. Subramaniam said the ministry was also discussing with employers on issues relating to levy and allowances for housing and transportation of the foreign workers. "Employers want the levy and allowances to be born by the workers. The issue is up to the Cabinet to decide on what action to be taken," he said on Sunday. ***************************************** I used to live in Bukit Rahman Putra (BRP5) in Sungai Buloh, Selangor -- from end-December 1996 to end-February 2009. One day we noticed that around midnight or so there would be a foul smell in the air. We spent days trying to track the source of this smell but failed to do so. We then met up ('we' meaning the residents' committee) with the officers from Jabatan Alam Sekitar (the Department of the Environment) to discuss this matter and to explore what they could do about what was apparently a bad case of air pollution -- and we suspected most toxic as well since this happens only past midnight and not in the daytime when it could be detected easily. What the officers told us surprised us. Most of those factories at the bottom of the hill where we live are not licensed, they told us. Hence, since they are not licensed, the Department of the Environment cannot do anything about them. They can only take action against licensed factories. They have no jurisdiction over illegal factories and businesses. Who then can take action? Well, this comes under the jurisdiction of the land office and the local council. So we need to raise this matter with the land office and the local council. However, since these two agencies are amongst the most corrupted agencies (and they still are even though Pakatan Rakyat has been ruling Selangor for almost five years now) we should not expect any action to be taken. The Department of the Environment should know because they too have faced problems in trying to solve this matter. The factory owners just pay 'under-the-table' money to the officers from the land office and local council and they can practically get away with murder. (In fact, you can literally also get away with murder in Malaysia the same way). I then did a tour of the area from the Sungai Buloh KTM railway station right up to the old leprosy settlement/new Sungai Buloh Hospital. I discovered that the area was 'infested' with foreign workers, mostly from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, etc. And the majority of these people were either illegal immigrants or were holding Malaysian identity cards, which means they are Malaysian citizens. From my rough estimate I concluded that the ratio of 'foreign' population to locals was probably two-to-one -- though since they owned Malaysian identity cards they would be regarded as Malaysian citizens rather than foreigners. It seems it is not that difficult for these 'foreigners' to become Malaysian citizens. All it needs is money, which their employers would gladly pay and then deduct the amount from their salaries later. I then did a 'census' of the many Sungai Buloh factories at the foot of Bukit Rahman Putra (next to the Hong Leong Yamaha factory) and I found that all these factories are Chinese-owned. There are no Malay- or Indian-owned factories (except for one Indian carpet dealer, which is not a factory but a warehouse). And all their workers are foreigners (except for the managerial postions, who are Chinese), but not necessarily illegal workers, as most owned Malaysian identity cards. I also discovered that not only is the area from the KTM railway station up to the old leprosy settlement/new Sungai Buloh Hospital 'infested' with 'foreigners'. When I drove in the opposite direction towards Tasek Biru, it is the same thing, although the ratio there is not as high as two-to-one. Nevertheless, there is a huge 'foreign' community there as well. Why is there such a high foreign community (both illegal as well as those with Malaysian identity cards) in Sungai Buloh? Well, that is because the many Chinese-owned factories and construction companies pay low wages and only foreigners would want to work at these pathetically low wages. No Malaysians want to do a labourer's job in the factories and on the construction sites. And that is why the SMIs and construction companies are opposed to the minimum wage. If you can remember, last year they spoke up against the implementation of the minimum wage. If there is no minimum wage and salaries are kept low then these businesses make more money. But that would also mean only foreigners from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, etc., would want to do such work. Malaysians would not want to work for a mere few hundred Ringgit. The same goes for plantation companies. They employ foreigner workers because Malaysians do not want to do backbreaking work at such low wages. And many of these plantations are multi-national companies, some even GLCs (government-linked companies). In fact, I spoke to one GLC oil palm plantation company (state government-owned) to confirm this. They employ foreigners because they can't get Malaysians to work at those low wages. And for sure no Malaysian Chinese would want to work in plantations for RM700 a month. They would rather sell pirated CDs and DVDs (they even do so in Manchester, surprisingly). Today, we complain about the millions of 'illegal immigrants' in Malaysia. Actually they are not illegal immigrants since they have been given Malaysian identity cards. And the reason this estimated three million 'foreigners' are in Malaysia is because we employ them at very low wages. And because of the very low wages only these 'illegals' would want to work. Malaysians are not interested to suffer at such low wages. I have bumped into many Malaysian Chinese here in the UK working as chefs and waiters/waitresses. Why do they work here in the UK and not back in Malaysia? That is because in Malaysia then can't even earn RM1,000 a month whereas in the UK they earn more than RM5,000 a month. And you can survive in the UK with RM5,000-RM6,000 a month but not in Malaysia with a mere RM800-RM900 per month. So, if we want to reduce the three million 'foreign population' of Malaysia then the plantations, construction companies, SMI factories, etc., should stop employing them. And to do that we need a minimum wage of at least RM1,200-RM1,5000 (or thereabouts) a month. With that salary level Malaysians would be prepared to work and hence you do not need to employ foreigners and then give them Malaysian citizenship. And the only people who can do this would be the Chinese construction companies and SMI factory owners plus the GLCs and multi-national plantation companies. It is no use screaming about the problem when we are the source of that problem. The capitalists want to make more money. So they underpay their workers. And because they underpay their workers the jobs go to the foreigners. And these foreigners bring their families to Malaysia and their children school in Malaysia. They also tax Malaysia's health system. It is the capitalists who are the cause of Malaysia's social problems involving foreigners. And because we need cheap labour we need to bring in three million foreign workers from the neighbouring countries. Yes, many of these workers from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, etc., are Muslims. However, do you think the Christian Filipino girls would want to work for RM700 a month on a construction site when they can earn RM2,500 or more as a maid in Singapore (food and lodging free as well)? Capitalism works on the law of supply and demand (just like prostitution). When there is a demand for cheap foreign labour then the supply would emerge. And the people creating this demand are the SMI factories, construction companies and plantations. And who are the owners of these SMI factories, construction companies and plantations? Then you blame the government for this. And when I point out the reality of this situation you get angry. And this is because of the Malaysian culture of…what do you call it…kiasu, is it?
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| Posted: 16 Jan 2013 05:42 PM PST
As I have always said, this coming general election is not going to be about who is going to win it. It is about who is not going to lose it. And the group that makes the most mistakes is going to lose the general election mainly because the 'other side' made lesser mistakes than the side that lost. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin They say, as you get older, like me, you start to become too sentimental and emotional. That could be true. However, those who have known me for most of my life tell me that ever since they knew me back in my younger days I have always been a sentimental and emotional person. I suppose that is quite true. I cry when I watch sad movies. When I listen to beautiful songs with even more beautiful lyrics it brings tears to my eyes. And when I saw Melanie Amaro perform 'Listen' in the X Factor I could not stop myself from getting all teary eyed. And an even bigger problem is I still need to wipe my eyes even till today although I have watched and listened to Melanie perform that song countless times. Many accuse me of being too sentimental and emotional in my writings. Some even sent me nasty messages whacking me for my series The journey in life is never a straight line, which has temporarily stopped at episode 20. "We are not interested to read about your stupid life," they tell me. "Stop writing about yourself," they say. "Just write about the coming general election." Listen is the latest 'phenomena' in Malaysia. This is the result of the exchange between Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin and KS Bawani at the UUM event. In the last general election in 2008, the catchphrase was 'correct, correct, correct'. It looks like in the coming general election expected in February-March this year, the catchphrase is going to be 'listen, listen, listen'. As I have always said, this coming general election is not going to be about who is going to win it. It is about who is not going to lose it. And the group that makes the most mistakes is going to lose the general election mainly because the 'other side' made lesser mistakes than the side that lost. The trouble is, both sides are blundering big time, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. And we do not know how the voters are going to react to these numerous blunders. Nevertheless, voters being voters, and they are the same all over the world, Malaysians are quite prepared to suffer an attack of denial syndrome and allow all these transgressions to be pushed into the background. Many have asked me what my stand is. They say they are not too clear about my stand and they do not know whether I support Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. They want to know whether I even have a stand in the first place. Yes, I do have a stand. And I decided more than two years ago back in 2010 what my stand was going to be. However, as much as I tried to explain what this stand is, many still do not get it. I am too 'complicated' for most of them to comprehend. They want me to make things simpler for them. They want to know which herd I am joining. Am I joining the Barisan Nasional herd or the Pakatan Rakyat herd? Herds are for cows. I know Sharifah Zohra Jabeen said even cows have problems. But I am not a cow. So I do not need to have any 'cow problems' by joining any specific herd. So, what is the answer then? What is my stand? Which herd am I joining? Well, I will let Melanie Amaro answer that question. These lyrics explain where I am coming from and if you still do not get it then you are not the type of reader that I want for Malaysia Today.
Listen to the song here in my heart A melody I start but can't complete Listen to the sound from deep within It's only beginning to find release
Oh, the time has come for my dreams to be heard They will not be pushed aside and turned Into your own all 'cause you won't Listen
Listen, I am alone at a crossroads I'm not at home in my own home And I've tried and tried to say what's on mind You should have known
Oh, now I'm done believing you You don't know what I'm feeling I'm more than what you made of me I followed the voice you gave to me But now I've gotta find my own
You should have listened, there is someone here inside Someone I thought had died so long ago Oh, I'm screaming out and my dreams'll be heard They will not be pushed aside on words Into your own all 'cause you won't Listen cfxGKyYyom8 SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfxGKyYyom8
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| Posted: 14 Jan 2013 07:16 PM PST
And herein lies the tragedy. When I talk to the non-Malay students I get the impression that those selected and sent overseas are the crème de la crème. But when I talk to the Malay students I do not get this impression. In fact, if I had been given the job of vetting through the students, many, or maybe even the majority, of those selected would have been disqualified. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin certainly stirred a hornet's nest and in the process spawned an entirely new satire/music video industry. So much has been said about this incident that I think it is totally unnecessary for me to comment about the matter any further. What is of interest to me, however, is Sharifah's comparison of those with a mere 'O' level to those who are university graduates. According to her, those who do not have a tertiary education are inferior to those who do. Actually, if you were to drive on Malaysian roads, you will never be able to differentiate between those who have no (or a lower) education and those who have a higher/tertiary education. From their bad manners on the road and the inconsiderate attitude that they demonstrate, you will never be able to tell the difference. If education is meant to make you a better and more learned person, Malaysia has certainly failed in this respect. Whether you have a Ph.D. or you are a fisherman or farmer it makes no difference. The way Malaysians drive, those who have a Ph.D. and those who have never gone to school are exactly the same. I have said this before, many times, and I am going to say it again. In the UK, you go to a driving school to learn how to drive. That is because you need to know how to drive to be able to pass your driving test and get a driving licence. In Malaysia, you go to driving school to learn how to pass your driving test. It does not matter whether you know how to drive or not. Passing your driving test and getting your driving licence does not depend on whether you know how to drive. It depends on whether you got your driving licence 'through' the driving school. Hence people who know how to drive, but did not go through a driving school to sit for their driving test, will fail the driving test while those who do not know how to drive, but went through a driving school to sit for their driving test, would pass the driving test. And that is why the majority of Malaysians do not know how to drive plus the fatality rate due to traffic accidents in Malaysia, on a per capita basis, is ten times that of the UK. Actually, more than half of those people driving on Malaysian roads should never have been allowed to drive. The tragedy is not so much that they kill themselves but that they kill others due to their recklessness and inconsiderate attitude. Do you want to know one thing? If you have a driving licence from Brunei, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Canada, Australia, the Republic of Korea, (mainly the Commonwealth and EU countries), etc., (a total of 50 countries in all) you can exchange it for a UK driving licence. Malaysian driving licences, however, are not accepted for exchange. That says a lot about the 'quality' of Malaysian driving licences. And the same applies to Malaysia's education system. Just like in the case of Malaysian driving schools, Malaysia's education system is not about getting an education and becoming learned but about passing your exams. And they will 'lower the bar' if necessary to allow more people to 'jump over'. Hence those who do not deserve to pass get passed and are then sent for their tertiary education, and in some cases to an overseas university. Over the last four years since 2009, I have bumped into many Malaysian students -- those post graduate students doing their masters and/or Ph.D. as well. And I have come to a very troubling conclusion. Nevertheless, this is merely my own opinion and, not being from the academic field, I am looking at things from the eyes of a layman and not from the eyes of an academician. First of all, Malaysian Malays at overseas universities are mostly government-sponsored students while those non-Malay Malaysians, according to what they tell me, are FAMA-sponsored students. When they first told me they are 'FAMA-sponsored' students I thought they meant FAMA the Lembaga Pemasaran Pertanian Persekutuan (SEE HERE: http://www.fama.gov.my/). "Does FAMA give out scholarships or grants?" I asked these non-Malay and mostly Chinese students. This was certainly news to me. I had to chuckle when they explained that FAMA means fada-mada (father-mother). But this is no chuckling matter. I feel it is sinful that all the Malay students are 'government scholars' whereas the non-Malay students are 'private funded'. Why is there not a more equitable balance, at par with the racial composition of the country? I know this has, for a long time, been a bone of contention amongst the non-Malays. The Malays, no doubt, hide behind the New Economic Policy (NEP) to justify this 'sin' while the non-Malays resent the NEP for this very reason. Hence discussing this matter is just going to open up a can of worms and I suspect the comments below this article are going to turn this article into a race-bashing exercise. But I am not trying to turn this into a race-bashing exercise. My concern is that when I speak to these students (of all races) I find that the attitude, mentality and intelligence level of the Malay students leave much to be desired whereas the attitude, mentality and intelligence level of the non-Malay students are far superior compared to that of the Malay students. And herein lies the tragedy. When I talk to the non-Malay students I get the impression that those selected and sent overseas are the crème de la crème. But when I talk to the Malay students I do not get this impression. In fact, if I had been given the job of vetting through the students, many, or maybe even the majority, of those selected would have been disqualified. The other side of the argument, of course, is that if only the 'higher grade' Malay students are selected and sent overseas while those who fail to make the grade are excluded, then the ratio of Malay to non-Malay students sent overseas would be very low. At the end of the day, the ratio of Malays to non-Malays would probably be reduced to 1 in 10. I can understand and appreciate this argument. We need to give the Malay students a chance. If not then very few Malay students would have the opportunity of an overseas tertiary education. Other countries, too, have racial quotas to help the minorities get ahead. But in the case of the other countries, the racial quotas and the lowering of the bar are meant to help the minorities, who otherwise would be left behind. Malaysia, however, is doing this for the majority, not the minorities such as the Ibans, Dayaks, Orang Asli, etc. Instead of lowering the bar to allow as many Malays as possible to 'jump over', the government should explore how to increase the standard of education to enable more people to clear the bar (without having to lower it). In other words, don't teach Malays how to pass their driving test. Teach Malays how to drive. Then, when they sit for their driving test, they will pass. If you mass-produce graduates like on an assembly line, then you will end up getting low quality people. And that is not the objective of an education. So those who have degrees/masters or Ph.D. should not be too proud of that fact. It is not the piece of paper that you possess which we should talk about but the quality of that paper. And when you open your mouth you reveal that the paper you possess is…well…not worth the paper it is written on. |
| Friday prayers are NOT compulsory, said the Mufti Posted: 10 Jan 2013 05:53 PM PST
Nevertheless, since the 'big man' himself, the Perak Mufti, has issued a ruling or decree that the Friday congregational prayers are NOT compulsory, and since Malaysians are obligated to comply with these rulings and decrees issued by these authorities, I have since stopped doing my Friday congregational prayers. I no longer go to the mosque on Friday. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Soal agama perlu ikut fatwa (Sinar Harian) - Hal ehwal agama perlu dirujuk kepada Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan yang telah ditubuhkan di negara ini dan bukannya berpandukan orang lain yang hanya berlatar belakangkan politik semata-mata. Setiausaha Barisan Nasional (BN) Kelantan, Datuk Md. Alwi Che Ahmad berkata, dalam hal ini, hanya Majlis Fatwa sahaja yang berhak menentukan penggunaan kalimah ALLAH yang kini semakin hangat diperkatakan oleh setiap golongan masyarakat di sini. "Kita mesti rujuk isu ini kepada Majlis Fatwa, kerana ini hal agama, maka hanya mufti sahaja yang boleh beri keputusan, bukan orang lain," katanya. Beliau diminta mengulas isu Setiausaha Agung DAP, Lim Guan Eng yang menuntut penggunaan nama Allah di dalam kitab Bible versi bahasa Melayu di negara ini. Menurutnya, jika persoalan penggunaan kalimah Allah ditanya kepada golongan berkepentingan dalam sesebuah parti, jawapan yang akan diberikan sedikit sebanyak akan mempengaruhi ke arah pendapat peribadi sahaja. Beliau berkata, kerajaan perlu akur dengan keputusan mufti kerana mufti adalah satu pertubuhan yang dilantik di bawah majlis agama Islam. "Kenapa isu ini perlu dinaikkan oleh Lim Guan Eng sedangkan dari pengalaman saya, tiada perkataan 'Allah' digunakan dalam kitab Bible, maka di sini kita dapat lihat bahawa agama kita, cuba dipermainkan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu. "Jika ia digunakan juga, maka, tiada beza antara agama kita dengan agama lain kerana 'Allah' dipakai oleh semua agama dan ini akan menimbulkan kecelaruan dan juga kebebasan beragama kepada generasi akan datang," katanya. Alwi yang juga Ketua Pembangkang di Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan itu juga berkata, kebebasan menggunakan kalimah 'ALLAH' untuk agama lain tidak boleh diberikan di Malaysia kerana perkara tersebut boleh membuatkan penganut agama lain mengambil kesempatan dalam agama Islam dan dalam masa yang sama juga menyamai tarafkan kedudukan 'ALLAH' dan juga tuhan mereka. "Kita wajib pertahankan agama kita, hak kita, bukannya untuk dipermainkan, selandas dengan kepelbagaian kaum dan bangsa di negara ini, maka setiap pihak mesti bertanggungjawab untuk menjaga agama masing-masing," katanya. ***************************************** The key issue in the above news report is: Kita mesti rujuk isu ini kepada Majlis Fatwa, kerana ini hal agama, maka hanya mufti sahaja yang boleh beri keputusan, bukan orang lain. That loosely translates to: we must refer this matter/issue to the council that issues religious decrees because this is a religious matter so only the Mufti can give rulings and not any other people. This statement implies that only a certain/selected group can interpret what God meant and the rest of us do not have the freedom or liberty to make any interpretations because we do not know what God wants. How this group of people obtained the franchise or monopoly to act as God's appointed spokesmen is not clear. That is not explained. I suppose your credentials would depend on where you studied religion and whether your certificate, diploma or degree is recognised. What if I studied religion in one of the madrasah in Pakistan, Afghanistan, or any of the gohead-gostan countries (to quote the late Tan Sri P Ramlee)? Would my credentials be recognised? Let us take Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat as an example. His Islamic studies began in pondok schools (madrasah) in Kelantan and Terengganu. He then went on to study religion in Uttar Pradesh, India, after which he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Arabic Studies and Master of Arts in Islamic jurisprudence from the Al-Azhar University, Egypt. Would, therefore, Nik Aziz's decrees be recognised? And Nik Aziz has ruled that it is not against Islam for non-Muslims to use the Allah word. Other religious scholars, however, do not agree with this. Hence we have two opposing views, both views from scholars with credentials. But which one do we accept as correct and which one do we reject as wrong? And what is the basis for accepting or rejecting these decrees? Is it based on the credentials of the person issuing the decree? Is it based on our political affiliation and hence we decide based on what is politically expedient? Is it based on our religious leaning and depending on the sect that we follow? What is the basis of our acceptance or rejection of these religious decrees? What we are currently told is that the government decides -- so we have to just follow what the government says -- but issued through the 'mouths' of certain bodies such as MAIS, JAIS, JAKIM, IKIM, Majlis Fatwah, Persatuan Ulama', the Muftis, and so on. There are so many 'authorities' on Islam in Malaysia. Let us contemplate one example. When I was in Kamunting back in 2008, we were told by the detention camp authorities that we are not allowed to do our Friday congregational prayers. (In fact, after I was released, I made a police report at the Sentul Police Station regarding this matter). It is not that the 50 or 60 of us detainees wanted permission to walk to the mosque down the road to do these Friday prayers -- even if they handcuffed us and chained us in a chain gang (which means there would be no way we could escape). We wanted to do these Friday prayers within our own cellblock. But we were told we are not allowed to do our Friday prayers because they are not compulsory and that this was a ruling or decree by the famous Perak Mufti himself. So why are we so stubborn in insisting that we be allowed to do our Friday prayers? The Mufti is the highest religious authority in Perak and Kamunting is in Perak. So don't be stubborn and listen to what you have been told, they said. Then came Hari Raya (I was in Kamunting for Hari Raya 2008) and the other detainees got together to do their Hari Raya congregational prayers. I, however, was not allowed to join them because I was in solitary confinement so I was not allowed to mix with the other detainees. Nevertheless, I could hear them do the Hari Raya prayers next door to my cellblock. Now, as far as I know, the Friday congregational prayers are compulsory while the Hari Raya congregational prayers are not. But the government denied the detainees permission to do the compulsory Friday congregational prayers but allowed them to do the optional Hari Raya congregational prayers. And this was based on the ruling or decree by the highest religious authority in the State of Perak, the Mufti. I do not have any certificate, diploma or degree from any of the Islamic universities but my common sense tells me that when something is compulsory then you must do it and when something is optional you are not obligated to do it. And even a ten-year-old Malay-Muslim can tell you that the Friday congregational prayers are compulsory while the Hari Raya congregational prayers are not. Nevertheless, since the 'big man' himself, the Perak Mufti, has issued a ruling or decree that the Friday congregational prayers are NOT compulsory, and since Malaysians are obligated to comply with these rulings and decrees issued by these authorities, I have since stopped doing my Friday congregational prayers. I no longer go to the mosque on Fridays. I am still waiting for the Perak Mufti to issue a new ruling or decree saying that the Friday congregational prayers are, in fact, compulsory. And since he has not and until he does then I would regard this ruling or decree as binding and something that I am obligated to comply with. So, yes, the Mufti is the highest religious authority in the land. He tells us what we must and must not do. And we must follow what he tells us to do, or not to do. And the Perak Mufti has told us that we cannot do the Friday prayers because they are not compulsory. So who am I to argue with the highest religious authority in the land? I do what he tells us to do and not do what he tells us not to do. And he said: DO NOT do your Friday congregational prayers. So be it. I stopped doing them. After all, I am a good Malaysian and an obedient Muslim. |
| Remember our February 2008 agreement? Posted: 09 Jan 2013 05:45 PM PST
After the success of that first Bersih march of November 2007, a few friends and comrades, mostly new ones made over the previous year or so, decided that it was time to 'cement' our perjuangan or struggle. And we would cement it by coming out with a very explicit document that we called The Peoples' Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin The world has a memory of only 100 days, said the Russians in response to the criticism regarding the shooting down of Korean Airlines flight KAL007. In 100 days everything will be forgotten or something else will crop up over the next 100 days to distract the people. Hence, said the Russians, they do not need to respond to the criticism regarding the shooting down of that passenger airline. Today, do any of you remember that tragedy that so outraged the entire world? How many people died? When did it happen? Why was that plane shot down? Unless you Google the information or search on Wikipedia, very few of you will be able to reply to my questions from the top of your head. And this best describes Malaysians, never mind which side of the political fence they may stand on. Malaysians are fickle, have a short attention span, respond to issues off the cuff, think short term, forget easily the original objective, change course mid-stream, and much more. Do you want to know something very ironical? I have kept to the course that was decided more than eight years ago back in 2004 soon after the general election disaster in March that same year. And that was the reason why Malaysia Today was launched in August 2004, five months after the 2004 general election -- to serve this agenda that had been decided. In 2004 it was a lonely battle that we fought because not many shared our vision and mission. It was not until two years later in 2006 that some joined the cause and only by 2007 that many Malaysians 'woke up'. By 2007, three years after the birth of Malaysia Today, I found many new friends and comrades who stood by my side and walked with me, especially in the first Bersih march of 2007. After the success of that first Bersih march of November 2007, a few friends and comrades, mostly new ones made over the previous year or so, decided that it was time to 'cement' our perjuangan or struggle. And we would cement it by coming out with a very explicit document that we called The Peoples' Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat. We met a few times at Uncle Lee's house, the late Tunku Vic's house, and so on. In case some of you are wondering who the late Tunku Vic was, maybe you can see the following link: In loving memory of Vic: only the good die young. The late Tunku Vic, in fact, was supposed to have taken over the leadership of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM). This was agreed in our meeting in Chiengmai, Thailand, which was attended by (Sam) Haris Ibrahim and some of the other 'movers' of MCLM. Unfortunately, Tunku Vic died soon after MCLM held its first AGM to elect a whole new set of office bearers in May last year. Anyway, back in 2007, Tunku Vic and about ten or so of us formed an ad hoc committee to draft The Peoples' Declaration. This document was finalised in the meeting in Tunku Vic's house. It was then agreed that we would write to ALL the political parties in Malaysia from both sides of the political fence and invite them to endorse The Peoples' Declaration. Only six of the two dozens or so of the political parties responded, three of them from Pakatan Rakyat. A couple of the non-Umno political parties in Barisan Nasional 'whispered' that they would support the ideals of The Peoples' Declaration but they cannot officially endorse it for obvious reasons -- they do not want to make it appear like they are 'breaking ranks' with Umno. Nevertheless, the fact that they support it 'off the record' was good enough for me. At least their heart was in the right place although I cannot say the same for their guts. It is nice to know that there is a 'silent' group within Barisan Nasional, and even in Umno itself, that support the ideals of The Peoples' Declaration although they wish at this stage to 'remain in the closet'. Who knows, one day they might come out of the closet and declare that they are pro-reform and proud of it. At that time, The Blog House at Damansara was non-partisan. People from both sides of the political fence supported The Blog House. Even Umno Bloggers plus people like Mukhriz Mahathir, Marina Mahathir, etc., went to The Blog House. It was a place where we could leave our politics outside the gate and enter The Blog House as Malaysians united for change. I thought that Malaysian politics had finally arrived. At last there was a place we could meet as supporters of change and not supporters of the government or supporters of the opposition. And it was at The Blog House that we decided to officially launch The Peoples' Declaration under the umbrella of Barisan Rakyat. (See more here and note the personalities in the photographs: The PEOPLE'S VOICE and the PEOPLE'S DECLARATION officially launched today.)
BARISAN RAKYAT WAS FORMED EVEN BEFORE PAKATAN RAKYAT CAME INTO EXISTENCE That was almost five years ago on 23rd February 2008. About two weeks later, on 8th March 2008, Malaysia held the 12th General Election. And, because the six political parties endorsed The Peoples' Declaration on 23rd February 2008, three of them from Pakatan Rakyat, we spent the next two weeks campaigning for Pakatan Rakyat. During the election campaign we made it very clear to the voters that we support Pakatan Rakyat because Pakatan Rakyat supports our reform agenda as spelt out in The Peoples' Declaration. However, if after winning the election Pakatan Rakyat does a U-turn and betrays us, we would withdraw our support for Pakatan Rakyat. In my speeches during the election rallies all over Malaysia, I even openly declared that if we can make Pakatan Rakyat then we can also break Pakatan Rakyat. Basically, what the lord giveth the lord can taketh away. We are going to give Pakatan Rakyat a chance to rule for one term, I said. And if they fail us then no second term for Pakatan Rakyat. If we can give power to Pakatan Rakyat we can also take back power from Pakatan Rakyat. Therefore Pakatan Rakyat had better remember that they rule at the pleasure of the rakyat. It is peoples' power, kuasa rakyat, or makkal sakti that gives power to the politicians. Hence we, the voters, and not the politicians, are the boss. And if the politicians ever forget this we are going to punish them come the next general election in 2013 or so. The crowd cheered and clapped. They gave this declaration a standing ovation (most of the crowd was already standing anyway). They agreed with this covenant. We the rakyat will vote for those who support the rakyat's agenda and if those we vote into office forget this or betrays us then they are going to suffer the wrath of the rakyat. Since March 2008, The Peoples' Declaration is as forgotten as Korean Airlines flight KAL007. I raised this matter in a talk in London on 2nd October 2010 where Anwar Ibrahim was one of the participants of that talk (see the videos below). Anwar, however, responded in his talk in Australia later on that they would not always listen to what we want. In other words, they no longer support the agenda for change as spelt out in The Peoples' Declaration although they had agreed to support it in February 2008 two weeks before the 12th General Election. The deal is now off. And since the deal is now off and they no longer support the agenda for change as spelt out in The Peoples' Declaration then I too am no longer obligated to support Pakatan Rakyat. A deal is a deal. And a deal must be bilateral, not unilateral. If one side reneges on the agreement then the other side is not obligated to stick to the agreement. But my friends and comrades, who together with me pushed the agenda for change through The Peoples' Declaration, have sold out. They have turned traitor and have abandoned The Peoples' Declaration. They have agreed to support Pakatan Rakyat for the sake of supporting Pakatan Rakyat and not support Pakatan Rakyat because Pakatan Rakyat supports The Peoples' Declaration. As I said, Malaysians are fickle. Malaysians have a short attention span. Malaysians think short term. Malaysians forget easily the original objective. Malaysians change course mid-stream. And what makes this even more ironical is that while I am unwavering and hold firm to the original objectives of February 2008, they allege that I have changed course and have done a U-turn whereas it is they who have turned traitor and have sold themselves to the very politicians who have betrayed the cause. Yes, in February-March 2008 I campaigned for Pakatan Rakyat. But I did so with terms and conditions attached. And this primary term and condition is that Pakatan Rakyat will support The Peoples' Declaration. And the other term and condition is that if Pakatan Rakyat withdraws support for The Peoples' Declaration then I too will withdraw support for Pakatan Rakyat. I have kept to this agreement. I have been very consistent in my stand. It was quid pro quo. And just as Pakatan Rakyat has every right to withdraw from any agreement, so, too, I have the right to do the same. My friends and comrades, however, decided to break ranks with me. They abandoned the cause. They are prepared to cast aside The Peoples' Declaration and support Pakatan Rakyat even if Pakatan Rakyat reneges on its word. In other words, my friends and comrades have become turncoats and have sold out. I suppose, as they say, everyone is for sale. The only question is: at what price? And the price here is power. Since they believe that Pakatan Rakyat is going to form the next federal government they want to be amongst the winner. Hence they will support Pakatan Rakyat even if Pakatan Rakyat no longer supports The Peoples' Declaration.
Friends of Pakatan Rakyat October 2010 talk in the UK lCvdagYlR98 SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCvdagYlR98 W403AOQqJnc SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W403AOQqJnc Toe-77-TtT4 SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toe-77-TtT4 FsSRTVo29BY SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsSRTVo29BY |
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