UMNO’s Leaders for the 21st Century

Din Merican

The esteemed UMNO President informed Malaysians that since the dateline of April 18, 2005 had past, UMNO would not entertain further reports of Money Politics. As a result of this decision taken by UMNO’s Supreme Council, those who competed with Isa Samad during the last UMNO elections are clear of the danger from being investigated and hauled up before the Disciplinary Board chaired by UMNO elder statesman, Tengku Ahmad Rithauddin, to answer charges of party level corruption. Maybe it is true that they have no grounds to answer. Otherwise, there would have been plenty of complaints against them. To them, I suppose, one must give them the benefit of the doubt.

Sarcasm aside, what does this mean? I guess, it means that UMNO is now free from the scourge of “politik wang” just as our country is now also free from corruption after Eric Chia and Kasitah Gadam were hauled into the courts.

The Royal Police Force too is cleared of corruption, because we now have the Royal Commission Report that had nothing significantly negative to say of the performance of the Force. With that Report completed, the Police can rest easy, wait for more perks and benefits, and conduct business as usual.

More importantly, it means that the UMNO President possesses awesome political power that he can use against his “enemies” and keep others in the party in check. As Prime Minister, he can use the ISA, the ACA, and other instruments of his Office. This is, of course, not new.

The difference is that Abdullah’s immediate Mahathir was more open in the exercise of his power. He did not have to hide behind some glorified pretense. One always knew where one stood with him. He used power to maintain stability and get things done. He also ensured that the country continued to grow and prosper. I admired the man for his convictions. He never claimed to be a democrat. He was an authoritarian leader who actively and openly promoted “Asian Values.” Malaysians and Asians must be led by strong leaders.

The new man promotes “Civilizational Islam,” talks about “cemerlang, gemilang and terbilang” and civil service excellence, and champions good governance. At the same time, he treats the economy with benign neglect, and dreams of a prosperous future. He claims to lay the foundation for the long-term future. As Lord Keynes said, “in the long run we are all dead.” Abdullah must now act and stop messing around. If he can do that, he will redeem himself, and restore his credibility.

To his diehard supporters, it is “Hurray!” for Badawi, the man who rid the party and country of corruption by his simply waving the magic wand. All UMNO Presidents and Prime Ministers in Malaysia before him had done that. Abdullah has done this “noble act” to save UMNO and our country from further embarrassment, for which we the Malays who support UMNO must be beholden to him.

Unfortunately, his magic wand cannot remove the stain of corruption. What he did was to confirm that UMNO, the foremost national and oldest political party representing the Malays, is corrupt to the core. Prior to this, people who charged that UMNO is corrupt were accused of speculating. Now it is crystal clear that UMNO is corrupt.

Bakri, I must admit that you were right. I was naive to be excited when I first heard the news that Isa Samad had been nabbed, found guilty, and then asked to resign from all party positions for blatantly violating UMNO’s “code of ethics,” and for bribing delegates in order to secure the highest votes for his Vice President post.

I had expected a purge of the party at various levels. Now it looks like that is no longer the case. I am wondering how long I can continue to put my faith in the man who had received such a strong mandate in the last election. My hat’s off to his spinmeisters for their skills in creating this grand illusion, but in the end substance matters.

Best wishes, Din.

From www.Malvu.org

Is Islamic State one with no hunger or with no limbs [of their citizens]. What is “State” and what is “religion?”

An Islamic state where there is no hunger (and anything that weighs down on the human persons and their dignity) is far different from another where some of the citizens lose their hands as punishment because they are forced to steal out of hunger. The two states are miles apart. Which way is PAS heading with its concept of Islamic state?

This distinction is similar to another drawn by the Buddhist scholar-activist Sulak Sivaraksa who decades ago distinguished Buddhism with capital letter (associated with big organisations, government appointments, big power and positions, etc.) and the small letter buddhists who simply put their good religious values into their everyday life and practices. Is this a case of religion being subverted by (state) power or a state subverted by religiously-inspired values? The reply of Bakri Musa to his capital letter “Islamic State” advocates is a good read.
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From www.malaysia-today.net

Dear People:

Once again another very interesting article which PAS people ought to read and absorb.

Regards,

Dr Syed Alwi
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Dr.Syed Alwi,if you are a Muslim,you are a disgrace to the Ummah and above all to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, but if you are not a Muslim then you are slandering Islam and Muslims and you have a very dirty heart for using that nickname!

Jangan melampau dalam berkata-kata tentang agama.
Olifante
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“It is more correct to say that Hudud and Sharia are what some Muslims, specifically Arab male scholars of the 7-10th century, proclaimed to be God’s laws.” It is not correct at all. Hudud is the exact law from God with the exact words from Him in the Quran.
Ittaqullah

le-khair
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Direct e-mail:

Dear Sir:

I am non-Muslim but find the whole debate of Islamic state interesting (malaysia-today.com). These are my comments.

Is Islamic state a myth or reality? Can the sovereignty of a state be vested to God? Did God give mandate to the State? The concept of statehood did not exist when the prophet s.a.w. had his revelation of Islam in the 7th century.

If Muslims cannot answer these, why crack their heads arguing about Islamic state! Iran wants reforms now, why do the Iranians want a change after achieving an Islamic State.

Looks like it is a constant struggle trying to re define Islam within the Muslim community. Shiite Muslims perform the prayer rituals three times a day (some claim they merge the prayers). So is this right” Is it divine? Is hadith, which consist of narration of prophet life, also divine? Why do Muslims not accept differences and instead prefer to fight it out (as with the Sunni and Shiite)? Can man-made laws co exist with God laws? Many more questions!

Regards,
Chris

God’s Laws and Man-made Laws

M. Bakri Musa
bakrimusa@juno.com

(Reprinted from www.malaysia-today.net, June 24, 2005)

Thank you for taking your time to comment on my recent essay, “The Path to a True Islamic State.” I will address some of the issues raised.

I am always dismayed when someone proclaims with such certitude that Hudud and Sharia are “God’s laws.” The implication is that such laws are perfect, immutable and far superior to what we mortals could craft. We should therefore not tamper with them.

It is more correct to say that Hudud and Sharia are what some Muslims, specifically Arab male scholars of the 7-10th century, proclaimed to be God’s laws. They based their conclusion on their reading of the Quran and Hadith (sayings of the prophet s.a.w.). To Muslims, the Quran is the word of God, as revealed to His Last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. That is a matter of faith. We cannot claim to be a Muslim if we do not accept this. All religions are based on faith, and for Muslims, this is the basic article of our faith.

Out of over 6,000 verses in the Quran, less than 600 are concerned with the law, and most of those cover such matters as prayers and rituals. Only about 80 verses deal with such traditional legal issues as contracts, inheritance, family law, and crime and punishment. Clearly the Quran is not a legal tome but a general guide on how to build a moral and just society.

It is an enduring tribute to the intellect and wisdom of those ancient Muslim scholars that they were able to fashion out of the Quran and Hadith a coherent and consistent body of laws that is the Sharia. In its time the Sharia represented a quantum leap in intellectual, legal and social achievement. The status of women, for example, was a thousand times better with the Sharia than with the prevailing norms. Sharia granted women a share of the inheritance, whereas before THEY were the inheritance. They were chattels or properties of their husband, to be traded or passed on accordingly. Sharia emancipated women. Its system of criminal justice was also light years ahead of the prevailing “an eye for an eye” ethos; likewise its treatment of slavery and indentured labour.

Those wise scholars successfully crafted, based on the Quran and Hadith, an enlightened body of laws far superior to the existing ones. We rightly owe them an immense debt of gratitude. In our reverence for them, however, we should not fall into the trap of ascribing what they had done as perfect, immutable or infallible. Those are properly the attributes of Almighty Allah, not of mere mortals. Yet in proclaiming that Hudud and Shariah are God’s laws, we are in effect saying that their crafters who were mere humans are also God or have God-like qualities – a blasphemous assumption.

Similarly with the Hadith; they are widely proclaimed to be what the Prophet had said. It is more correct to say that the Hadith are what some ancient scholars (in particular Bukhari, Daud, Muslim, etc.) claimed to be what the Prophet s.a.w. said. Even Imam Bukhari, whose collection of Hadith are deemed most sahih (authentic), was modest enough to admit that he may have included some hadith that are not true and excluded others that are. Such modesty and humility are sadly lacking with today’s commentators.

Today we should strive to craft a similarly enlightened body of laws based on the Quran and Hadith to meet the current challenges facing our community. The Quran and Hadith teach us through the use of anecdotes, parables and similitude. The late Fazlur Rahman suggested that we should emulate those ancient scholars and deduce from the particularities of the Quran and Hadith the underlying guiding principles, and then apply them to our present problems. This would entail considerable thought, a much more intellectually challenging endeavor.

Instead of being fixated on such contentious issues as Hudud and Sharia, we should instead focus on the other areas that we can agree upon. Indeed Tariq Ramadan has called for a moratorium on implementing Hudud as it is such a divisive issue.

There are so many other pressing issues facing the ummah: alleviating poverty, reducing corruption, improving education, and preparing our young to be productive citizens. Yet, at the recent PAS Muktamar, hardly a word was said on these important issues. Instead, the preoccupation was whether the delegates should dress in Arabic robes or Baju Melayu (Malay costumes) and whether women were ready for senior leadership positions.

PAS would get my vote once its leaders articulate coherent polices addressing those major issues and once they have shown some modicum of competence in managing a modern state. After decades under PAS, Kelantan and Terengganu remain the most backward in the nation. Infant mortality remains the highest in those two states. That is not God’s will but PAS incompetence.

Nik Aziz has the arrogance to proclaim that he is leading Muslims in Kelantan to Paradise when he could not even lead them out of their living hell right here on earth. I have tremendous regards for Nik Aziz as ulama (scholar), but as the chief executive of a state, he is a dismal failure. The people elected him to be Chief Minister, not Khatib. Sadly, the man lacks the necessary humility to recognize his own limitations. Out of reverence his followers will not tell him either.

How will PAS solve the lack of competitiveness of and increasing inequities among Malaysians, specifically Muslims? How would PAS revamp the education system? How do PAS leaders plan to uplift Malaysians, in particular Muslims, from the dehumanizing clutches of poverty? Present coherent and workable policies to achieve these and PAS would be able to bring the nation that much closer towards an Islamic State.

Were PAS to be successful, all – Muslims and non-Muslims alike – would applaud.