Monday, August 30, 2010

to ponder....

What we have to do is to be forever curiously testing new opinions and courting new impressions.
Walter Pater, 1873

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 26, 2010

to ponder.....

Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.
Euripides
Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

sini takde bazar ramadan, nak cari kedai makan pun kedai turki atau morocco, kedai indonesia banyak tapi susah nak percaya sebab ada jual babi panggang...kena berhati2.
jadi utk selamat kena masak sendiri, mujur ada kedai jual bahan2 mentah seperti serai, kunyit, lengkuas dan lain2, raya nanti boleh le buat rendang, tapi lomang tak dapet nak nolong(loghat negeri sembilan)
We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.
Anais Nin
Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

to ponder.....

I do not go to a meeting merely to give my own ideas. If that were all, I might write my fellow members a letter. But neither do I go simply to learn other people's ideas. If that were all, I might ask each to write me a letter. I go to a meeting in order that all together we may create a group idea, an idea which will be better than all of our ideas added together. For this group idea will not be produced by any process of addition, but by the interpenetration of us all.
Mary Parker Follett

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Monday, August 23, 2010

to ponder.....

Knowledge and timber shouldn't be much used till they are
seasoned.
Oliver
Wendell Holmes

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Friday, August 20, 2010

to ponder.....

Superior leaders get things done with very little motion. They impart instruction not through many words, but through a few deeds. They keep informed about everything but interfere hardly at all. They are catalysts, and though things would not get done as well if they weren't there, when they succeed they take no credit. And, because they take no credit, credit never leaves them.
Lao Tzu

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 19, 2010

to ponder....

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

 Naguib Mahfouz

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

to ponder.....

Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small.
Lao Tzu

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

to ponder....

The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change. 
Carl Rogers 

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Monday, August 16, 2010

to ponder.....

The Seven Deadly Sins are wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, business without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice and politics without principle.
Mahatma Gandhi

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Friday, August 13, 2010

to ponder.....

It is well to give when asked but it is better to give unasked, through understanding.
Kahlil Gibran

Note:
Salah satu perkara yang dirindui ketika Ramadan disini ialah BAZAR RAMADAN!!!!!

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 12, 2010

to ponder.....

Why are people starving? Because the rulers eat up the money in taxes. Therefore the people are starving.
Why are the people rebellious? Because the rulers interfere too much. Therefore they are rebellious.
Why do people think so little of death? Because the rulers demand too much of life. Therefore the people take life lightly.
Having to live on, one knows better than to value life too much.

Lao Tzu

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Bertasbih Tapi Menghalal Yang Haram? // Blog Tok Guru

Bertasbih Tapi Menghalal Yang Haram? // Blog Tok Guru

Nik Aziz dukacita penangkapan Asri


Rizal Tahir

KOTA BHARU, 3 Nov: Menteri Besar Kelantan, Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, melahirkan rasa dukacita di atas penangkapan yang dilakukan ke atas bekas Mufti Perlis, Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin.

Ketika dihubungi sebentar tadi beliau berkata, tindakan berkenaan amat tidak wajar dilakukan ke atas seorang pendakwah apa lagi kesalahannya belum dapat dipastikan.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika mengulas insiden tangkapan yang berlaku ke atas pendakwah berkenan malam tadi ketika menyampaikan kuliah agama di Taman Sri Ukay, Kuala Lumpur.

Tuan Guru yang juga Mursyidul Am PAS itu juga mengngagap ia satu tindakan yang melampau kerana menangkap seorang tokoh agama yang juga bekas mufti.

“Penangkapan itu amat tidak masuk akal, masih ramai lagi orang yang patut ditangkap, tetapi kenapa seorang pendakwah, dia mengajar agama dan bukannya buat huru hara atau melakukan sesuatu yang bertentangan dengan agama,”ujarnya lagi

Nik Aziz berkata walaupun ada pihak mendakwa Dr Mohd Asri menyebarkan ajaran Wahabbi, ia perlu diperhalusi terlebih dahulu bagi memastikan ia benar-benar salah di sisi undang-undang.

"Nasihat saya kepada Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS), jangan buat untuk kali kedua kerana akan merosakkan imej Islam di Malaysia dan seterusnya merosakkan imej golongan pendakwah itu sendiri," katanya.

Beliau meletakkan masaalah itu seharusnya dibincang terlebih dahulu antara Asri dengan JAIS dan bukannya terus menangkap tanpa pasti kesalahannya.

Katanya, kalau benar dia telah melakukan kesalahan di sisi undang-undang, barulah tindakan diambil terhadapnya dan bukannya menangkap begitu sahaja tanpa mengetahui hujung pangkalnya.

to ponder.....

It takes a wise man to learn from his mistakes, but an even wiser man to learn from others.
Zen

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

to ponder.....

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.
Confucius

Note:
One for you, one for your enemy.

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Friday, August 6, 2010

RAMADAN

Salam Ramadan,
I wish to all my Muslim friends a ‘barakah’ Ramadan, and hope this Ramadan will bring blessing and good fortune to you.
Seperti biasa Ramadan datang sekali lagi, kita akan berpuasa siang hari dari terbit mentari pagi hingga terbenam petang hari. Disini (Belanda) imsak jam 4 pagi dan berbuka 10 malam. Maka siang harinya kita menahan lapar tidak makan dan tidak minum, kita beramal ibadat, membaca AlQuran, bersolat, bertasbih dan sebagainya.....
Tetapi sayang seribu kali sayang, apabila tiba waktu berbuka terbentang diatas meja berbagai jenis makanan, lauk-pauk, kuih-muih, air minum berbagai jenis yang kebanyakan tidak dimakan dan dibuang ke dalam tong sampah. Kita masih gagal dalam jihad kita melawan hawa nafsu iaitu jihad yang lebih besar dari Peperangan Tabuk.......

P.S.
To my non muslim friends, I wish a happy weekend. I wish if you could try fasting just for a day and maybe join your muslim friend for breakfast (berbuka puasa). If you tried fasting for a day devoid of drinking and eating; during breakfasting you'll appreciate more the taste of a piece of bread or a grain of rice. And you'll be more empathy toward those who are unfortunate.

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

to ponder.....

If all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I wouldn't jump with them, I would be at the bottom to catch them.
Author Unknown

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Thursday, August 5, 2010

to ponder.....

The cure for boredom is curiosity.  There is no cure for curiosity.  ~Dorothy Parker (Thanks, Kaitlin)

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Sarajevo

to ponder.....

An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.
Buddha

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Ulama UMNO Bakar Kapal

Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

Saya bukan orang politik. Bukan aktivis mana-mana parti. Saya seorang rakyat yang memerhati perkembangan pemikiran Islam dalam negara ini. Artikel ini akan menyebut istilah ulama UMNO atau ulama pro-UMNO. Walaupun istilah ini umum, namun saya mengecualikan mereka yang ikhlas dan tidak bersikap seperti yang disebutkan nanti.

Saya tidak faham mengapakah Umno kebelakangan ini suka berkeras mengambil pandangan-pandangan agama yang bersifat perkauman dan amat konservatif.

Dulu mereka lebelkan PAS demikian. Namun hari ini apabila PAS mula membuka ufuknya, melihat Islam dalam kerangka yang lebih luas, Umno pula yang cuba kembali ke zaman ortodoks tersebut.

Ya, memang masih ada dalam PAS sendiri kelompok yang ‘ala ulama Umno’ hari ini, yang juga mengurung diri dengan pandangan-pandangan yang agak konservatif dan menolak keluasan ijtihad.

Namun suara pembaharuan dan keterbukaan jelas kedengaran dalam PAS. Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat tidak lagi bersendirian dengan pandangan-pandangan pembaharuannya.

Pelik, sebagai pemerintah mengapa Umno menerima pandangan-pandangan yang sempit itu. Padahal pandangan-pandangan itu hanyalah tafsiran ‘kurang luas’ golongan konservatif agama, atau satu ijtihad yang boleh untuk dilihat atau dibandingkan dengan ijtihad yang lain.

Apakah kerana Umno merasakan bahawa mereka hanya mampu bernafas dalam iklim yang kurang ‘oksigen keluasan ijtihad’ atau hanya gas perkauman dan fahaman ’sempit’ agama sahaja yang mampu menghidupkan Umno.

Atau, apakah ulama-ulama pro-Umno hanya mampu bernafas selagi parti itu dikurangkan oksigen keluasan berfikir? Atau, apakah Umno melihat rupa paras Islam dalamnya hanya mampu dilihat jika ia bersifat keras dan sokongan Melayu pun akan datang kepadanya dengan membakar isu-isu tersebut?

Dimanakah keserasian wajah 1 Malaysia Perdana Menteri dengan pendekatan Islam Umno hari ini?

Sebagai pemerintah bagi sebuah negara yang berbilang bangsa dan agama, oksigen keluasan ijtihad diperlukan oleh Umno. Mengapakah Umno menerima pendapat-pendapat yang menajamkan salah faham terhadap Islam di negara ini.

Dulu Umno menolak pihak yang membangkitkan tuduhan 300 ribu orang Melayu murtad serta menuduh individu dan institusi itu dan ini sebagai pusat Kristian.

Hari ini pendapat pihak seperti tersebut diterima pakai. Bahkan beliau dijadikan perlambangan ulama pro-Umno. Atau memang Umno kini berminat dengan perdekatan yang sifatkan media antarabangsa sebagai ‘ala-ala Taliban’?

Segala tudingan Umno dahulu kepada PAS sebagai pembawa Islam sempit dan jumud, hari ini PAS hampir dapat membebaskan diri dan imejnya seumpama itu sedangkan sebaliknya Umno pula yang memakai seragam kejumudan dan kesempitan tersebut.

Peguam bukan Islam

Lihat, isu peguam bukan Islam di Mahkamah Syariah. Media-media Umno membesar-besarkan isu ini seakan ia akan memusnah orang Islam.

Diambil pendapat pihak yang menyatakan bahawa itu akan mengelirukan umat Islam dan mengancam Islam. Saya ditanya oleh Utusan Malaysia, namun apabila saya beri pendapat yang berbeza, ia tidak disiarkan.

Isu itu boleh memberikan gambaran salah kepada bukan Islam, dan juga generasi baru Muslim mengenai Islam.

Bagaimanakah mungkin, universiti rasmi kerajaan UIAM memberikan sijil yang sah dalam bidang tersebut kepada peguam berkenaan, tetapi kerajaan yang sama menyatakan ia tidak boleh digunapakai?

Apakah ini secocok dengan keadilan Islam?

Kedua, bayangkan dalam sebuah negara Islam sepenuhnya yang hanya bertunjangkan Mahkamah Ssyariah, tiba-tiba kita beritahu bukan Islam tidak boleh menjadi peguam!

Apakah dalam negara yang berbilang agama ini, mereka akan pandang tinggi tentang konsep keadilan di mahkamah yang bersifat Islam seperti itu?

Peguam ialah pembela. Sesiapa sahaja boleh membela tertuduh di mahkamah Islam. Yahudi pernah menang kes menentang Saidina ‘Ali dalam pertikaian baju besi.

Pada zaman Nabi SAW dan al-Khulafa al-Rasyidin, tiada sistem guaman secara rasmi. Seseorang boleh menuntut keadilan dengan hujah-hujahnya di hadapan hakim. Untuk membela atau berhujah, sesiapa pun boleh berhujah.

Penentunya, sistem kehakiman itu sendiri, bukan peguam. Di zaman kini lebih jelas. Undang-undang telah dienakmenkan. Ia bertulis dan setiap pihak terikat dengan undang-undang bertulis itu.

Sesiapa sahaja yang berhujah, sama ada Islam atau bukan Islam, mereka terikat dengan hal tersebut. Hakim akan menentukannya secara adil. Keadilan sebenar dapat diperolehi jika hakim adil.

Setiap pihak berhak membela diri, dan berhak meminta sesiapa sahaja yang mampu membelanya. Keadilan itu buta warna kulit dan jenis agama.

Islam yang seperti itulah patut digambarkan jika kita ingin menuju kepada Islamisasi negara yang sebenar. Jika ada beberapa peruntukan undang-undang yang kurang sesuai dalam masyarakat yang rencam ini maka ia perlu diubah.

Cara Umno mengendalikan isu tersebut, mengelirukan bukan Islam!

Jika tidak mahu benarkan, mengapa dia diizinkan melalui pengajian dan menghabiskan masa untuk itu, kemudian dimaklumkan ’sijil awak tidak laku’.

Ulama pro-Umno bising. Menariknya, apabila ada orang yang ditahan tanpa diberikan hak perbicaraan, mereka diam! Tidakkah ini mengelirukan Islam dan bukan Islam?

Jika ini tidak diubah, Islam di negara ini terus menjadi defensive, takut pada bayang-bayang sendiri dan gagal memahamkan bukan Islam tentang keindahan Islam.

Lebih 50 tahun Umno memerintah, generasi baru bukan Islam bertambah prejudis dengan Islam yang dibawa oleh Umno. Golongan muda Islam juga demikian.

Agama dijadikan senjata permusuhan, bukan lagi rahmat yang menimbulkan kedamaian dan keyakinan rakyat kepada keindahan Islam.

Jika tanpa pendakwah-pendakwah dan tokoh-tokoh yang ikhlas menjelaskan tentang hakikat Islam sebenar, tentu bukan Islam bertambah prejudis kepada Islam.

Generasi Islam yang terpelajar juga akan mula mempersoalkan Islam seperti ini.

Isu kalimah Allah

Isu kalimah Allah juga demikian. Ulama pro-Umno, termasuk ‘ala Umno‘ yang berada dalam PAS membakar rakyat awam dengan isu ini.

Sehingga ada ulama pro-Umno yang cuba mengkafirkan orang lain dalam isu nama Allah tersebut. Tidak cukup dengan 300 ribu yang dimurtadkan dulu, ditambah pula ahli politik yang cuba dijadikan murtad baru.

Semuanya kerana tafsiran yang sempit. Padahal, isu itu boleh diselesaikan dengan adil dan saksama. Diraikan hak agama lain dan dibuat beberapa peraturan untuk ketenteraman awam. Saya sendiri telah menggaris panduan dalam media. Bukan Islam ramai yang setuju.

Namun, ada yang cuba bermain sentimen rakyat yang kurang faham.

Media Umno pula hanya menerang pendapat sebelah pihak. Namun sekarang apabila melihat kekalahan di Sibu yang membabitkan penduduk Kristian, Umno mula gelisah. Apakah Umno akan meminta fatwa baru dari ‘mufti’ yang setia berkhidmat itu?

Isu masuk masjid

Isu bukan Islam tidak boleh masuk ke dalam masjid juga dipopularkan oleh media Umno. Padahal larangan bukan Islam masuk masjid hanya salah satu pendapat dalam kalangan ulama.

Ulama hadis ramai berpendapat sebaliknya. Ini disebabkan hadis-hadis menunjukkan bukan Islam pada zaman Nabi SAW masuk ke dalam masjid dan mempelajari Islam.

Jsuteru, di zaman kini yang banyak salahfaham terhadap Islam, mereka lebih patut dibenarkan masuk.

Cumanya, letakkan beberapa peraturan atas asas siyasah syar’iyyah (islamic administration). Namun, jika apabila dikemukakan pendapat bahawa bukan Islam boleh masuk ke masjid, bangkitlah ulama-ulama pro-Umno dengan fatwa-fatwa ketat dan seakan hendak berjihad mempertahankannya.

Malang sekali, apabila timbul isu judi bolasepak, tidak pula mereka berani lantang dan tegas. Tidakkah ini mengelirukan? Apa tidaknya, apabila bukan Islam hendak masuk masjid dihalang, tapi apabila diberikan keizinan berjudi didiamkan!

Isu Sebat

Isu sebat tiba-tiba muncul. Dulu Umno sensitif dengan hudud. Dalam persekitaran yang ada, saya juga fikir PAS tidak perlu menegaskan isu hudud. PAS sejak dulu patut angkat isu keadilan seperti mereka lakukan sekarang.

Keadilan itulah objektif. Hudud adalah mekanisma yang boleh diselaraskan apabila keadaan wajar.

Hukum yang baik untuk tempat yang sesuai. Sama seperti wanita yang baik untuk lelaki yang baik. Jika wanita yang baik dikahwinkan dengan lelaki yang jahat, kepincangan akan berlaku.

Demikianlah hudud. Saya telah beri pandangan dalam masalah ini.

Tapi kini, tidak semena-mena tanpa mukadimah yang jelas agar rakyat faham, Umno mencanangkan isu sebat Kartika dan tiga wanita di Wilayah Persekutuan.

Menurut laporan media, mufti Perak Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria kata sesiapa hina hukum sebat murtad kerana ia hukum Allah. Namun, apabila Sultan Pahang batalkan hukuman, beliau berkata itu hak Sultan.

Saya telah beri pandangan dalam kes ini, boleh rujuk laman web saya. Keajaiban ulama dalam media Umno!

Perarakan Maulid

Apabila Menteri Besar Kelantan Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat kata perarakan maulid bukan galakan agama, media Umno dan ulama pro-Umno membuat ulasan.

Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Lim Guan Eng diserang. Walaupun saya ketika itu menulis dalam Mingguan Malaysia, saya memberikan pandangan yang berbeza.

Artikel saya ‘Melayu dan Mamak Penang’ boleh dirujuk. Media Umno jadikan seakan isu itu benteng Melayu-Islam di Malaysia.

Di Kelantan, lebai entah dari mana datangnya, pun menulis di Mingguan Malaysia kononnya Nik Aziz - Wahabi disebabkan isu-isu seperti ini.

Bisinglah mereka. Malangnya, media dan ulama pro-Umno tidak pula bising keruntuhan moral muda-muda Melayu-Islam saban tahun disebabkan perhimpunan pesta sambutan tahun baru yang dibuat oleh pemimpin-pemimpin politik!

Inilah ulama yang pro-Umno sekarang. Apakah mereka ini dapat menarik perhatian generasi baharu Islam dan bukan Islam kepada Islam?

Barah

Banyak lagi isu lain jika hendak disebutkan yang membabitkan ulama dalam Umno.

Saya bukan anti-Umno tetapi inilah realitinya. Saya ramai sahabat dalam Umno. Kepimpinan Umno bermula dari Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak sehingga ke lapisan bawah, ramai yang baik dengan saya. Tapi ini realiti. Kritikan saya untuk semua. Kali ini khas untuk Umno.

1 Malaysia yang dicanangkan oleh Najib akan tenggelam dibakar oleh pemikiran sempit dan berkepentingan oleh sesetengah ulama Umno ini.

Malang sekali, di kala rakyat Malaysia mula bersikap terbuka, memahami Islam dari kerangkanya yang luas, menelaah ijtihad yang berbagai dan bersedia untuk berhujah secara matang, Umno memilih fatwa atau pandangan yang kian sempit dan berkepentingan.

Dunia sudah terbuka disebabkan media baru, Umno cuba kembali ke zaman selepas kemerdekaan.

PAS yang dahulunya dilihat kolot, mula dipenuhi dengan tokoh-tokoh politik Islam yang kian matang dan mampu mengadaptasi Islam dalam lakarannya yang luas. Pada masa yang sama Umno sedang kerumuni oleh sesetengah mereka yang ‘narrow-minded’ dan melihat Islam dalam kerangka perkauman.

Bolehkah 1 Malaysia tajaan Perdana Menteri berjaya jika ini terus berlaku. Generasi muda Islam dan bukan Islam telah jauh ke hadapan meninggalkan kesempitan ini. Islam dalam kerangkanya yang lebih universal akan mengambil tempat.

Ulama Umno sebenarnya sedang membakar kapal sendiri dan menenggelamkannya. Perdana Menteri, patut menilai semula agenda 1 Malaysia!

* Tersiar dalam Malaysiakini pada 28 Mei 2010.

Tiada Maruah (Lack of Integrity) At The Very Top

M. Bakri Musa
August 1st, 2010

Last week I wrote, “So we have two disturbing displays of less than exemplary behaviors if not outright lack of professionalism at the highest levels of our civil service. One is the Chief Secretary not hearing both sides to the Lim Eng Guan and Nik Ali squabble before rendering judgment, and the other, the Solicitor General failing to recognize a breach of professional ethics.”

I penned that piece too soon. For a few days later we have yet a third example from another top civil servant, this time Attorney General (AG) Gani Patail. Responding to the allegation of improper behavior by one of his prosecutors in the Sodomy II trial, Gani Patail simply reassigned her.

Living ten thousand miles away I have little to do with the Malaysian civil service. My daily life is thus not affected by these tiada maruah (lack of integrity) folks at the top. The organization however, is essentially Malay; likewise the political establishment. These top civil servants and political leaders are thus seen as representing the best of not just their organizations but also of Malays. Consequently, their shortcomings are viewed less as personal failures but more of our community. When they behave tiada maruah, collectively Malays are also seen as such. That is what makes me angry.

Essence of the Exposé

The AG justified his action “to remove any negative public perception of the prosecuting team.” He did not address the substance of the allegation; he managed only the perception and ignored the reality.

Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) first made the explosive allegation in Malaysia Today (mt.m2day.net). In a headline-blaring column titled, “The Bizarre Case of Sodomy 2,” RPK in his trademark style named the specific prosecutor, and rightly characterized the indiscretion as “a conflict of interest of the first degree.”

The allegation appeared at the end of a long article, and seemed more as an afterthought. You have to read his entire piece to get to the stunning revelation. Those who gave up earlier would miss it. It was as if RPK was challenging his readers to be thorough and not be content with only the headlines and few introductory paragraphs.

There was also a teasing coyness to the exposé; it was uncharacteristically brief. Beyond the mention of the name, there were no other details. It was as if RPK was laying a trap. Throw a teaser out, and then see those bastards falling all over themselves condemning him.

This time however, there was silence. There were no hysterical accusations or righteous condemnations that RPK was purveying “half-truths,” or as one novice politician would put it, “only 40 percent facts and the rest made up.”

My gut feeling is that RPK reveals way less than 40 percent of what he knows or has information on this evolving scandal. I had hoped that those UMNO jackasses would have resorted to their usual mouth-frothing denunciations of RPK. Then I could see him salivating like a lion that had successfully lured its prey to a trap where it could be pounced upon mercilessly.

Alas, no one walked into the trap. So we have to be patient with RPK or hope that someone would aggravate him enough for him to reveal the sordid details, perhaps titillating snippets of the videotape of the amorous illicit encounter!

The Larger Issue

It took less than a week for Gani Patail to respond to RPK’s revelation; unusually ‘efficient.’ This promptness, while laudatory, did not excuse his avoiding the heart of the matter – the truth to the allegation. For if the allegation were other than the “only 40 percent facts,” then the AG would have perpetrated a grave injustice on the young lawyer. Far from reassigning her, she should have been publicly exonerated, her integrity openly defended.

At the very least she should have been accorded due process. Even an accused murderer deserves that! The AG should be the last person to have to be reminded of this elementary legal tenet. Here we have the obscenity of the AG having a press conference first, with the poor prosecutor learning of her fate not from the media. Simple decency demanded that the AG should have met with the alleged wayward lawyer first, to get her side of the story and then to inform her of his decision.

If the allegation were true, then the AG has more than a serious disciplinary problem. There are the legal issues with respect to the Sodomy 2 trial. Additionally, the alleged act was also criminal per the Sharia.

Gani Patail cannot abrogate his responsibility. It is not enough for him to simply declare, “… [A]ny personal matter, if it can have any implication in whatever form on the department, will be handled very seriously.” He also has to demonstrate it.

If the allegation has substance, then the AG must remind himself that if she is not disciplined now, she would continue winding her up the civil service. She could one day be a judge or even the AG.

I am not concerned here with the career trajectory of a young lawyer. Nor am I particularly perturbed at the ineptness of some of our high level officials. I have seen enough similar examples elsewhere to be able to put that in perspective. The Peter Principle is after all universal.

I am however concerned with the pattern of tiada maruah leadership in the civil service and other essentially Malay entities. The recent scandal at Sime Darby reflects the pervasiveness of this blight. Again this being Malaysia, the racial element is never far from the public radar. One only has to read the bigoted comments on the Internet and elsewhere to be painfully reminded of this.

These tiada maruah Malays only feed this ugly stereotype. Of all people I would have expected them to be conscious of this, and thus make every effort to ensure that their behaviors would help tear down this unfair image.

I am not in the least comforted by the fact the Indian civil service is even more bloated and lumbering, or that the folks in Beijing are hideously more corrupt (note the recent scandal of tainted baby formulas) and disrespectful of basic human rights (witness their all too frequent summary executions). We are talking about Malaysia here, with our own rules, norms and expectations.

The other communities too have their own peculiar blights. The scandals with MAIKA and Port Klang Free Zone Project are obscene reminders of that. To me that is neither an excuse nor a consolation.

I feel for those honest, competent and diligent public servants who are Malays. They give all they have for the nation but their good work is being overshadowed by these yahoos at the top. How did the likes of Gani Patail reach the top? Likewise, I keep wondering how such unimaginative, frankly corrupt, and not terribly competent people get to lead us. More importantly, why did we let them? The answers elude me.

We can only change the negative image of our community by changing the reality. Vote these corrupt and incompetent bastards out! Voting them in again would only encourage them. Indeed this is exactly what has been happening. By repeatedly voting them in for the past 50 years, we are implicitly condoning if not encouraging their wayward ways.

Once we have capable political leaders, they will take care of the Napoleons in the public service, the little as well as the big ones. In the meantime we must do everything we can to shame them. This essay is an exercise in that. Come the election, we can punish them.

Those who love our community and champion its cause, including the Ketuanan Melayu folks, would do well to enlist in this urgent and critical mission of ridding our community of these tiada maruah leaders and civil servants. Unless we destroy the blight now, it will be the undoing of our society. This is where we should focus. We must not be distracted by such imagined enemies as the pendatangs (immigrants), capitalism, or globalization. The enemy is us, specifically our leaders.

Surat cinta buat Perdana Menteri

Surat cinta buat Perdana Menteri

to ponder.....

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Mahatma Gandhi

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com

Monday, August 2, 2010

to ponder.....

Someone who has money will have to protect it, whereas a person who has knowledge will be protected by it. Knowledge is a king; possessions are captives. And when possessions are spent they diminish, while knowledge increases when shared.
Ali ibn Abu Talib.

Dr Ahmad Azman Mohd Anuar
The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31616876609
www.drazman.blogspot.com