My protest on Western powers' illegitimate war on Libya.

26.3.2011.

Since Najib is not leading Malaysia in protesting the illegitimate war by the so-called Coalition Forces on Libya, I register mine here. 

I note to-day that some Indonesian Muslim groups, but not the Government, have also rather belatedly gone on the streets to voice their condemnation of the  undeclared war on Libya by the so-called democratic Coalition Forces of US & NATO. This makes it only the second country to protest, following the conditional protestations by Turkey.  

Why Malaysia has not done so is to me not only disappointing, but downright cowardly. Are we 1.6 billion Muslims of the world quite happy to stand idle and just watch the anti-Islam powers of the world use the slightest excuse to crush Muslim countries they fear or despise, while we're safe and smug far from the scene of this international crime ? And to highlight their balatant hypocrisy, at the very same time Israel was pounding Gaza with missiles, killing innocent civilians,  there's not a word from them, or from the UN about it. 

True Muslims will not condone all the evil deeds perpetrated by the bad leaders of the Islamic countries in question. In fact the syari'ah encourages bad leaders to be replaced. The basic issues of allowing freedom of expression, provision of the basic creature comforts for the citizenary, high unemployment rates and high costs of living, and proper representation of the people in the government of the day are said to be the root causes of these uprisings, and the syari'ah allows for corrective action. This must come from the people, and every encouragement should be given for both the oppressed to strive for them, and the culprits to repent or be replaced. 

But to drop bombs and inflict death and destruction to prove a point of view, with no regard for innocent lives and public safety, and the fact that nations have certain diplomatic rights and deserve minimum due process, is certainly neither a civilised nor a convincing way of selling western democracy. It does not make the attacker in any way superior in his posture, or more honourable in his proposition. 

The fact of unchecked military atrocities carried out by the descendents of the victims of the European holocaust on the true owners of the land, and the delayed and ineffective military intervention by European countries on the genocide committed right in their midst during the Bosnian war, is stark proof of the anti-Islam weightage in their value system. 

The argument seems to be that Muslims are causing trouble everywhere, and Muslim countries must be cut to size whenever and wherever possible. In the long run, both Islamic teaching and practice must be diluted, if not completely removed, from "mainstream" life. 

In this age of instant news, what can be more devastating than the instantaneous relaying of sounds and pictures,  horrendous images of the savagery of conflict.  Commentaries from bedraggled victims and partisan reporters alike must be horrifying to those watching their tv sets in the comfort of their homes.  But  news sell, and bad news obviously sell better. 

I hope these rebelling Arabs in the end get their legitimate  wishes , with or without outside help. But I also hope they don't accept any suggestion that their political and economic transformation is compatible only with western values. I hope that they have not forgotten the long and rich Islamic traditions that originated from the Prophet Abraham right down to Jesus before Muhammad, all of whom Islam considers as among the Chosen Prophets to be revered.  Let Muslims the world over also remember, that while Islamic countries welcomed and gave protection to fleeing Jews , when Nazi and Christian Germany was murdering them by the millions, the current Christian Governments in Germany, Switzerland and Denmark have pointedly illegalize Islamic attire and architecture ! 

And the US, created 300 years ago as a new home for those running away from the religious persecution of Europe, right this minute is making deliberations in their legislative houses to make Islamic practices illegal. Our silent protestation is the weakest of our piety. 

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What happens in Libya now ?

22.3.2011.

After three straight days of cowardly bombings and a Coalition fighter plane shot down, what happens next ? When do you start thinking instead of following Nike and "just do it"? So you have all those arsenal and throw you weight around. Why don't you pick someone your size ? Like China, for instance. 

Not that you won in Vietnam. 

By the way, Sarkozy, don't forget the shellacking you Frenchies got at Dien Bien Phu. 

And you English, don't repeat Blair the Liar and say it's the right thing to do. Unlike maths where two minus become a plus, here two wrongs don't make a right - if it was wrong for Gadaffi to kill his own people, is it right for you Pommies to kill other people ? 

You Yankees are still stuck in the Iraq and Afghanistan quagmire of your own making. Do you want to get stuck in Libya now ? What's next ? Bahrin ? Yemen ? 

The fight at OK Corral happens only in Hollywood. But the Good Guys don't always wear white hats. The Bad Guys don't always lose,too.

Why don't you practice what you preach ? You can't force democracy down people's throats. And I thought it was Mao Tsetung who said "diplomacy comes from the barrel of a gun" ! But then again you buggers have a saying for everything. Like "the end justifies the means." I have a saying for you, too - "up yours !" 

And by the way, Israel just fired some missiles into Ghaza today. You going to bomb Israel now ? 

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"A Doctor In The House" - a good read.

22.3.2011.

I make my hasty pronouncement although I've only read five chapters, picked at random. I don't think I'll be wrong by the time I finish. 

Dekna couriered to me a copy of the new book by Mahathir Monday. No wonder she called a few times asking if a certain parcel had come from KL. I had no inkling it was this one, but it was a pleasant surprise, and I immediately called her and asked why she didn't make it perfect by inserting some money in the pages !.

I've been reading it whenever I can, since. It appears at this point to be not so much a personal autobiography as a journal of events that Mahathir went through from his childhood to his retirement as Malaysia's fourth, and, to me, most remarkable PMship. 

Already I have learned some interesting facts about the birth of Independent Malaya, and later Malaysia. I note that there have been adverse reactions, from Ku Li, of course from Anwar, and, although I didn't bother to read it, from my former friend, Aspan, in his blog. (I say former because he has stopped contacting me for many years now, and the last big wedding for his daughter or son he didn't bother to invite me.) 

These negative reactions are not surprising, in fact Mahathir had from the book launch said he expected a lot of them but is prepared to meet them head on. Mahathir writes in his own style, I suppose, and that doesn't take anything from this book. But I thought employing a professional writer could have made the memoirs more attractively conveyed. 

I'm leaving the two chapters on Anwar last,  as  the  last piece to enjoy at the end of a meal. 

I suggest everybody gets a copy. This may be one last piece of narrative of the nation's birth from a worm's eye view. Or a bird's. Depends on how you look at it. 

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Libya, oh Libya !!

21.3.2011.

At last the US-led coalition has shown its bloody hands ! Drop the bombs on Muammar Gadaffi ! Never mind if a few wretched Muslims get blown up ! We can't let Gadaffi kill his own people, that's bad ! We can kill them, that's good ! Because we must force these Muslims to accept democracy, which is about choice. They have no choice.  

No, this is not Iraq again ! The UN didn't agree that time, though they knew we couldn't care less. Nobody likes Gadaffi. We learned from the illegal Iraq war. This time the UN is behind us. We still don't care, but it gave us the green light this time. 

Yes, the Arab League also wants us to impose the no-fly-zone, though not to kill any Libyan , but what the hell, that's collateral damage ! Anyway, if the stupid Arab League thinks we can go in there without blood on our hands, that's too bad. They don't think we won't smell like shit if we jump into the crap ? Sheeeesh ! 

What can Muslim Malaysia do ? Pretty darn little, I guess. Najib can turn on the tv and shake his head, and say tsk tsk tsk ! But Najib, if he wants to, can stand up and protest to the UN. Come to think of it, it's the least he can do as an incumbent leader of a Muslim State, a position he's at pains in stressing to his UMNO members. 

Call that Moon fellow at the UN, call his new friends in Washington, that coloured guy in the White House, or that woman whose husband used to occupy the White House and had a blow-job there, call a press conference, to-day and now , before Libya disappears from this planet, and say "stop this madness !" 

But then Might is always Right. And the mightier the righter. Right now it's military might. Next it could be economic might. That's why China can get away with killing a few Muslim Uighars, because Capitalist US borrows money from Communist China now, and we can't afford to be unfriendly borrowers here, but we can afford to lose a few Muslims. 

But mainly it's these horrible Muslims. They cause problems everywhere, everytime. They blow themselves up. They blow everyone up. They crash planes. They crash buildings. They hit their women and ask them to cover up. They want to have laws that would cut hands and feet. They won't eat pork or drink alcohol. I mean, who's going to finish up all these pigs that we rear, and all the wines that we produce ? Our criminal laws are more humane - there's no cutting of limbs and that sort of thing. We just hang them. They won't feel anything. 

And why must Gadaffi use force on Benghazi, just because these protesters had armed themselves to use on his supporters ? We had learned to stand idle when the Protestants and the Catholics were killing each other in Northern Ireland, when the Tamils and the Sri Lankans were killing each other for about 30 years, when apartheid South Africa and white Rhodesia and the white colonists in Kenya were exterminating Black nationalists and the Mau Maus like big bugs. So this time we must bomb Gadaffi straightaway, before somebody else do it and deny us that pleasure. Before the UN and the stupid Arab League realise their idiocy. 

I can still pray to God for salvation, but will God answer a sinner ? But God Sends signals, so that we are warned, if only we pause and ponder. We call them tsunamis, erupting volcanoes, earthquakes, storms and extreme weather conditions. I call them God's signals of the errors of our ways. A reminder. 

Stay reminded. 

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Rebellion in the Middle East - who's next ?

5.3.2011.

The Western media is having a field day reporting on the rebellion - that's what it is - in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Baharin, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, Iran and Algeria. There are street protests in Greece, Spain, Russia, Bosnia and even China, but Libya hogs the news right now.

Zainal Abidin bin Ali's government (the Malaysian  spelling ,I think, makes it more recognizable, just like the name  Zainuddin Zidane, the Algerian-French footballer, not Zinadine) in Tunisia fell, as did, after 14 days of street protests in Cairo and Alexandria, Mubarak's in Egypt. 

Of course the US President and his State Secretary led the West in quick condemnation of these two  former allies, especially Mubarak. Now they turn their wrath on Muammar Qadaffi. Their howls of anger are even joined by black singers Beyonce and Mariah and others. Yes, they are truly singing a different tune now. The songstresses didn't shy away from the million-dollar fees offered before. 

Without so much as a pause to take their breath when fuming about the right of free speech and the process of Western-style democracy, these Western leaders have now  dumped the very people they had  considered allies before. Suddenly they give unconditional support for mob-rule, which is how these street protests must be viewed. Never mind the talk of "proper transition of power" and the "constitutional remedy" that these arm-chair critics utterred in their previous commentaries.  If it's good p.r. for the Western civilisation, why the hell not ! 

I'd like to see the old films on the US campus riots in the 60's, and the Watts and the Martin Luther King early marches. Why is it not good for the geese if it's good for the gender ? I don't codone the wrongs that Zainal Abidin and Mubarak and Qadaffi have made. The street protests are valid precisely because these Islamic states did not provide for the "syura" that syari'ah provides for in good governance. The syari'ah recognizes the freedom of the people to choose their leaders and remove governments, just like Western-style democracy.

But unlike Western democracy, Syariah says the ultimate authority is God, not the people. And there are injunctions in the Holy Book and the advice of the Sunnah with regard to consultation, dispensation of justice, guarantees on minorities, and obedience to the just leader. We can see the autocratic republican rule in these beleaguered Arab states, We can see the large disparity in income,  the high cost of living, on top of the high  unemployment, and the ostentatious life-style of the ruling class against the general poverty of large segments of the people. This is ripe for rebellion. We can almost feel the distress and nervousness of the Saudi King and all his half-brothers, and the King of Jordan, too.

Now suddenly you hear billions being doled out for their peoples, the incalculable petro-dollars that should have been shared long ago. I mean, how much can the princes eat, anyway. Malaysian leaders can learn a thing or two here. Don't say it won't happen here - stranger things have happened. The billions earned by Petronas and the banks - these should be shared by the rakyat. What good is the money in the banks ,only so the banks can make more money ?

Assisstance should be channeled down, to bring the price of petrol down, to make basic goods available and affordable, to make medical costs low, to make education within means, right up to university, and to create jobs for the trained. And allow channels for people to speak out. 

Fortunately the 5-yearly elections give some respite for this.  But more avenues must be opened so people don't go to the streets to speak out. And don't just pretend to listen. Act quickly on the reasonable requests so people now they're heard. 

Who's next ? Keep your eyes on China. With a Communist government and a capitalist economy, with vast swathes of rural poverty surrounding pockets of the ultra-modern and expensive metropolis, with huge numbers of rural-urban migrant workers who are under-employed and underpaid, with glaring astronomical riches of a few against the abject poverty of many, with widespread reports of corruption in high places, and with a steel grip on public expression, the Middle Kingdom seems ripe for the Middle Eastern malady. 

The notice on the Chinese opera wall says "Coming Soon"! 

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Another Maulidil Rasul.

3.3.2011.

Every 12 Rabi ul Awwal Muslims the world over remember the birth of the Prophet Muhammad saw. That anniversary date was fifteen days ago, but mosques and madrassahs continue to celebrate it well into Rabi ul Akhir. 

Our local community celebrates it next Friday night, with the usual selawat of praises for the Prophet and a ceramah by an invited speaker, followed of course with food and drinks for all. As the practice in the last several years, as chairman of the surau I will have to start the ball rolling with a short introductory speech.

In the past I have touched briefly each time on the various aspects of life of the Prophet, emphasising his daily role as a simple family man in spite of his true greatness as the last Messenger of God. His appearance more than 1,400 years ago has left the remarkable legacy of a faith and a way of life that is embraced by  a third of humanity to-day, and is said to be the fastest growing faith in all of non-Muslim Europe and the Americas. So fast, in fact, that national leaders there are alarmed because of the general misconceptions about Islam in these countries.

This time I intend to touch on importance of studying deeply the spirit of the Prophet's endeavours as the basis to propogating social justice while the world community wallows in greed and selfishness. I intend to implore the audiance the need to go beyond the rote praises for the Prophet, and understand our obligation to fight for decency and a civilised society. The truly wonderous aspect of Islam that Muhammad saw inherit from Abraham and gave finality to the whole world, and not just to tribal Arabia, is the strong emphasis on the welfare of the community, regardless of religion. Especially emphasised are the needs of the downtrodden, orphans, and the fair treatment, not equal treatment, of all members of society. 

I feel the enhanced relevence of these issues in the light of what is now happening in the Middle East. These Arab nations that embraced Islam early  should have been guided in the type of government taught by the Prophet's syari'ah.  They may have been so governed in the past, but somewhere in the last few decades this seemed to have been discarded in one way or another. The lesson shouldn't be lost to Malaysian leaders. 

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Matrimony (2)

3.3.2011.

The latest I heard from Idah was that Fauziah is not taking it lying down. Too bad. Marital problems started from Adam. The ways spouses have gone through them are as many as the causes that started it all in the first place. 

There are basically only two approaches open - the good, amicable and positive way, with the hope that the worst is over, and life goes on. Or the bad, acrimonious and negative way, with the intention of doing maximum damage and inflicting revenge. The choice is simple if reason prevails, but difficult if not. Whatever it is, action, as they  say, speaks louder than words. And remember,too, that it must have been too much of one and too little of the other that had caused the boat to rock from some point before.

In the first place, one should look at the immediate proposition. The fact that the "proper" legal process has been intiated should be given credit. It's not the often seen summary dismissal thrown out in anger and to hell with it. It has been deliberate because it is not something to be taken lightly. And from what I hear, the initial terms aren't horrible, and can be used as the starting point. 

You are not out to make a quick buck here, for heaven's sake. Provision for marital separation is provided for in the Holy Book, and making a civilised move to have this very private matter settled in an open court must have been a very heavy decision for the initiator. For whatever its worth, this should be appreciated. Secondly, one should resolve to move forward. 

At this point reconciliation must be the furthest thing from their minds. But the alternatives are many, and the good ones plenty. I don't expect anyone to be noble here, but hey, we're not ignorant, are we ? Anyone in his right mind would suggest an amicable end to this sad saga. Anyone who even considers, much less utter anything less has to be out of his freakin' mind. Again, I pray that the couple seeks His Guidance. 

Please find peace, and hopefully the happiness that seem hard to get now. It's never impossible.   Have faith.  Do the right thing. 

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Matrimony.

2.3.2011.

Islam encourages marriage so highly that the Prophet Muhammad saw said the solat of a married man is many times more valued than that of a bachelor. A corollary to that is the Hadis that says the legitimate act most disliked by God is the utterance of the "talaq" on the annullment of a marriage. But to err is only human, and we are forever beset with problems, big and small. As they say, we  plan, but God Ordains. 

It's that much more painful when the marriage has  lasted for decades, and children are involved. And that pain is felt by the entire extended family. What went wrong ? We searched in our hearts. It can't be something out of the blue. Did we miss the signs ? 

This is not the time to play the blame game. This is the time for consolation, for soul-searching, and yet this is also the time for very private thoughts, for reaching for inner strength. This is a confusing time, and yet not a time to be confused. This is a good time for seeking peace with God, a time to pray deeply for courage and guidance. 

I can't stand in judgement for a very private matter. The intricate issues I'm not privy to. The parties concerned might ask for advice, and what kind of a person am I to refuse it if I have it. Most regretfully, I don't have it. How could I, having no knowledge of the meeting and departure the  two hearts and two minds that have created a niche in this life for nurture of family and family comforts,  suddenly hitting a sand-bar of life.

I sympathize with emphaty, never pity, and yet cannot  feel the real sadness of it all. I can, however, pray that they find the least hurtful compromise. This is only what is sadly available to them, a compromise. 

Above everything else, think of the poor children. They deserve the best consideration in this pathetic scenario. 

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