Sunday, November 30, 2008

Hari Terakhir Saya Sebagai Mufti Perlis..

drpd blog bekas Mufti Perlis http://drmaza.com/home/?p=510#more-510

Disiarkan pada Nov 30, 2008

Hari ini adalah hari terakhir saya sebagai Mufti Perlis. Ini bererti, Pena Mufti kali ini adalah Pena yang akhir daripada saya bagi ruangan ini. Menjelang jam 12 malam ini, maka tamatlah tugasan saya sebagai seorang mufti di Negeri Perlis. Insya Allah, pada jam 10.45 pagi esok (isnin) saya akan bertolak ke United Kingdom bagi cuti sabatikal saya. Saya akan menyempurnakan –dengan izin Allah- kajian perbandingan mengenai tafsiran hadis antara fundementalis dengan orientalis.

Dua tahun sebulan saya menjadi mufti. Izinkan saya pada hari ini menceritakan sedikit pengalaman yang ringkas dalam tempoh tersebut. Bukan untuk menunjuk-nunjuk, sekadar berkongsi pengalaman dengan para pembaca yang selalu setia. Jika ada yang baik boleh diambil manfaat, jika ada yang buruk, wajar dijauhi.

Pada hari saya dijemput ke Perlis untuk menjadi mufti saya berfikir panjang apakah yang mampu untuk saya lakukan mengenai perubahan kefahaman dan minda rakyat. Mampukan saya menghadapi corak warna yang sukar diubah yang menguasai suasana. Beberapa hari selepas tawaran itu datang, Ramadan menjelang. Saya yang teramat lemah dan kerdil ini mengambil kesempatan dari dataran Ramadan yang penuh rahmat memohon pertolongan Allah agar diberikan kekuatan dan kemampuan agar saya mampu melakukan sesuatu.

Selepas ramadan itu, saya pun menerima tugas sebagai Mufti Perlis dan cuba melakukan tanggungjawab yang saya percaya saya patut lakukannya. Bermula pada saat itu, saya belum berehat menghadapi berbagai isu yang saya utarakan atau yang muncul dalam masyarakat. Atas slogan: “Kembalikan imej Islam” , “Islam dibina atas dalil dan fakta”, “Islam itu mudah”, “Islam memusuhi kebodohan”, saya berkuliah di sana-sini, berucap dalam berbagai majlis, membentangkan kertas kerja, memberikan pandangan yang berbagai di media, memenuhi berbagai rancangan televisyen, menghadiri berbagai dialog, menulis sekitar seratus lebih artikel yang melahirkan berbagai diskusi sepanjang dua tahun, menghasilkan buku, membuka laman web yang mendapat sambutan yang amat menggalakkan, berunding dan berbincang dengan berbagai pihak, pertubuhan, artis, pelajar dan lain-lain.

Namun saya terus yakin, masih ada ruangan baki tenaga yang barangkali saya belum gunakan sepenuhnya. Ada waktu saya terbuang kerana bersembang dan ceria bersama rakan dan sahabat yang kadang-kala mengambil masa yang lebih daripada yang patut. Ada juga ruang waktu santai yang kadang-kala mungkin boleh untuk dikurangkan.

Pun bagitu dalam tempoh dua tahun itu saya juga beberapa kali demam yang disebabkan lebihan bebanan kerja. Memerah otak lebih penat daripada memerah tenaga. Alhamdulillah, tidak boleh dinafikan juga, sokongan Kerajaan Perlis yang lepas dan Istana Perlis yang memberi ruang serta tidak pernah mengongkong saya adalah antara faktor yang melancar segala usaha.
Merubah bukit dan gunung kadang kala lebih ringan dari merubah minda manusia yang berakar umbi sekian lamanya. Bukit dan gunung jika diubah tidak akan bercakap, tetapi manusia jika kita ingin mengubah mindanya yang patut diubah, jika mereka tidak bersetuju, mereka bukan sahaja menolak, tetapi merencana untuk bertindak dan kita akan menghadapi padahnya. Bukit dan gunung tidak akan akan berdusta dan membuat cerita bohong mengenai kita, tetapi manusia yang tidak bersetuju akan melakukannya. Bukit dan gunung tidak akan hasad dengan kita, tetapi manusia jika dia hasad, segala kejadian dan cerita luar biasa akan tercetus.

Apapun saya rasa perubahan –alhamdulillah- telah berlaku dalam tempoh tersebut. Berbagai lapisan rakyat yang berjumpa saya menyatakan sokongan. Ribuan email sokongan diterima sepanjang tempoh tersebut. Walaupun tidak dinafikan masih ada yang memusuhi, prejudis dan menganggap saya mengganggu periuk nasi dan kerusi empuk mereka yang selesa terutama sebilangan mereka yang berjawatan dalam agama dan politik.

Dua tahun memanglah singkat. Hari ini saya telah menamatkan pusingan dan tugasan tersebut. Kepada Allah saya serahkan; agar diampunkan kelemahan dan diberi pahala jika ada kebaikan. Siapalah insan yang kerdil dan daif seperti saya untuk merasai diri telah menyempurnakan tugas. Bahkan saya yakin, masih ada ruangan yang patut saya sempurnakan, namun saya tidak memenuhinya. Maka apabila saya ditanya oleh wartawan yang berbagai: “Apakah Dr berpuas hati dengan misi yang dilakukan sepanjang dua tahun ini?”. Jawaban saya, tentulah “tidak”. Saya mengharapkan Allah mengampuni kekurangan dan kelemahan saya.

Saya teringat Rasulullah s.a.w yang amat sempurna itu. Dalam khutbah baginda pada Hari Hajjatul Wada’, baginda bertanya lautan para sahabah yang hadir tentang tugasan yang telah dilakukan oleh baginda. Baginda bersabda:

“Kamu akan ditanya (oleh Allah) mengenaiku, apakah yang akan kamu jawab?” Kata mereka: “Kami menyaksikan bahawa engkau telah menyampaikan, telah menunaikan, dan telah menasihati”. Lalu baginda mengangkat jari telunjuk ke langit dan kemudian ke arah orang ramai dan bersabda: “Ya Allah! Saksikanlah” sebanyak tiga kali. (Riwayat Muslim).

Demikian seorang nabi yang penuh amanah menunaikan tanggungjawab, menyampaikan kebenaran dan menasihati umat, pun begitu masih inginkan kepastian dan kepuasan perasaan dengan bertanyakan orangramai tentang tanggungjawab yang telah ditunaikan oleh dirinya yang mulia. Siapalah kita di hadapan semua ini.

Mengubah minda dan pemikiran bukan kerja yang mudah. Ia memerlukan masa dan kesungguhan. Lebih daripada itu, ia memerlukan kesabaran dalam menghadapi ujian dan harga yang perlu dibayar untuk sebuah perjuangan. Kata ‘Abd Allah bin Mas’ud r.a:

“Apa akan terjadi kepada kamu nanti apabila fitnah (penyelewengan) membaluti kamu. Anak kecil membesar dalamnya, yang dewasa pula telah tua bersamanya, lalu fitnah dijadikan sunnah (kebiasaan) sehingga jika ia diubah maka dikatakan “ini tindakan yang munkar”. Ditanya beliau: “Bilakah hal itu akan terjadi?”. Jawabnya: “Apabila kurangnya mereka yang amanah dalam kalangan kamu, tetapi ramainya pemimpin (orang politik) kamu, kurangnya mereka yang faqih (memahami hakikat Islam) dalam kalangan kamu tetapi ramainya pembaca al-Quran, dan dipelajari ilmu bukan kerana agama (Allah) serta dicari dunia dengan amalan akhirat” (Riwayat ‘Abd al-Razzaq- lihat: al-Albani, Sahih al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, 1/26).

Ini realiti kita sebenarnya. Banyak perkara bukan agama dikatakan agama. Sehingga manusia sukar hendak membeza antara pendapat ustaz dengan nas al-Quran dan al-Sunnah yang sebenar. Lalu pendapat golongan agama, sekalipun tidak menepati nas tetap dimaksumkan. Contohnya seseorang tidak membeza antara perkahwinan yang sah, dengan perkahwinan yang diiktiraf oleh Pejabat Agama. Seperti cerita seorang kadi yang enggan mengesahkan perkahwinan yang diuruskan oleh kadi lain kerana pasangan tersebut menjemput kadi luar kawasan. Padahal rukun nikah sudah dipenuhi; ada pasangan, wali, saksi dan akad. Namun kerana fulus pendaftaran tidak sampai ke tangan kadi kawasan, maka pasangan itu selama beberapa tahun terpaksa merayu sijil nikah mereka. Menderitalah mereka dalam tempoh tersebut, lalu ada yang menganggap perkahwinan mereka tidak sah.

Sama seperti perkahwinan di luar negara, bukan tidak sah tetapi tidak diiktiraf oleh kerenah birokrasi agama di Malaysia. Begitu juga dalam hal-hal lain termasuk ibadah. Berapa banyak perkara adat melayu disangka ajaran Islam sehingga jika kita berbeza kita akan dituduh dengan berbagai perkara. Demikian juga kita kekurangan tokoh yang amanah tetapi ramai pulak yang hendak jadi ahli politik.

Seterusnya betapa ramai para pembaca al-Quran atau penceramah dalam kalangan kita, tetapi sedikit pula yang benar-benar memahami hakikat Islam yang dihantar kepada umat manusia. Akhirnya kita gagal menampilkan imej Islam yang indah seperti yang diperjuangkan oleh baginda Nabi s.a.w.

Dalam rangkap yang akhir dalam riwayat ‘Abd Allah bin Mas’ud ini dicerita pada zaman fitnah tersebut manusia menggunakan amalan agama untuk mendapatkan dunia. Lihatlah, bermula dengan upah sembahyang hadiah untuk jenazah, upah baca al-Quran untuk mayat sehingga perkara-perkara lain yang lebih besar yang lain. Semua itu projek duit atas nama agama. Berbagai khurafat akhirnya muncul, sedangkan umat Islam dilanda bermacam masalah yang getir.

Saya yang maha lemah ini mencuba untuk memberikan pandangan dan pemikiran agar Islam dan umat Islam dalam negara ini dapat terus tampil relevan terutama dalam menghadapi perubahan zaman. Saya bukan tidak menyokong majlis fatwa kebangsaan, tetapi kita perlukan kematangan dalam membimbing umat dan menghadapi zaman. Di samping fatwa yang ada, cubalah kita juga berikan fatwa yang dapat membangkitkan umat seperti fatwakan berdosa umat Islam di negara ini membiarkan ekonomi dikuasai oleh orang lain.

Alhamdulillah, media seluruh negara begitu baik membantu saya. Antara yang paling utama ruangan saya dalam Pena Mufti ini telah dibaca oleh berbagai pihak. Saya mendapat sahabat yang ramai kerana ruangan, termasuklah Tun Mahathir dan berbagai tokoh besar yang lain. Ribuan email dan surat sokongan saya terima daripada rakyat Malaysia dalam dan luar negara, muslim dan bukan muslim. Juga para pembaca daripada Singapura, Brunei dan Indonesia.
Media-media luar juga sering menemuramah saya. Di mana saya pergi alhamdulillah, berbagai lapisan menyatakan sokongan. Walaupun pada peringkat awal banyak yang prejudis, namun anjakan masa dan perubahan hari telah membawa sebahagian besar mereka dapat menerima bahawa idea dan pandangan yang dikemukakan itu di luar dari daerah kepentingan mana-mana individu atau pihak.

Namun saya tahu yang menolak terus menolak. Saya masih ingat, apabila RTM membuat wawancara khas secara langsung dengan saya yang dikendalikan oleh Datuk Johan Jaafar, apabila saya hadir ke mesyuarat Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan, pengerusinya seakan mengada sidang mahkamah khas mempertikai apa saya kemukakan. Namun kerana masa itu saya masih awal sebagai mufti, saya enggan mengambil langkah bertegang.

Bukan sedikit selepas itu berbagai fitnah datang daripada mereka yang memegang ‘jenama agama’. Ada yang tuduh saya tumbuk imam di Perlis, ada yang kata Amerika bantu. Ada yang ‘sepangkat’ dengan saya dalam ceramahnya menceritakan bahawa saya pergi ke New Zealand keluar bas tidak pakai songkok dan naik bas terlewat. Itu memang benar, namun saya pasti apakah itu perlu dimasukkan ke dalam isi ucapan.

Sehingga pada saat-saat ini pun apabila saya memberikan sedikit alternatif tentang isu yoga, ada pihak yang mendakwa Ph.D saya bukan dalam bidang agama dan saya tidak layak memberikan pandangan di hadapan golongan agama yang sudah lama berjawatan. Padahal Ph.D yang ditulis dalam Bahasa Arab itu telah dicetak oleh UIAM, dan cetakan kedua diterbitkan oleh pencetak buku ternama di Beirut, Lebanon. Saya malas hendak melayan itu semua dalam kesibukan mengejar waktu.

Bahkan rakan-rakan sejawatan beberapa negeri menghalang saya berceramah dalam negeri mereka. Selangor umpamanya membenar semua mufti berceramah, kecuali Mufti Perlis. Pihak JAKIM pula tidak akan melantik saya dalam sebarang panel fatwanya, walaupun mufti negeri-negeri lain dilantik. Saya menerima bahawa itulah realiti perjuangan dengan penuh senyuman dan tidak berkecil hati. Mereka yang lebih daripada saya, bahkan tidak dapat dibanding seperti para nabi dan ulamak terdahulu menghadapi lebih berat daripada itu.

Saya teringatkan kata-kata Za’ba dalam bukunya “Perangai Bergantung Kepada Diri Sendiri” yang Prof DiRaja Ungku Aziz kirimkan kepada saya agar saya baca. Antara katanya yang pernah saya petik dahulu:

“Malangnya jika ada siapa-siapa yang mencuba berbuat seperti pakar-pakar Islam dahulu kala itu - iaitu melepaskan diri daripada kongkong taklid dan balik kepada Quran dan Hadis dengan kehendak-kehendak zaman dan hal-hal keadaan yang telah berubah sekarang - maka terus dilempar mereka akan dia dengan kata-kata yang tidak selayaknya seperti “sesat dan menyesatkan, memandai-mandai, membawa bidaah, mengubah-ngubah daripada jalan yang telah diatur oleh pakar-pakar dahulu kala itu (nenek moyang), tidak ada rupa hendak melebih daripada orang dahulu-dahulu” dan berbagai-bagai lagi. Yang betulnya duduklah juga membeku di tempat yang ada itu!! Mungkin juga kerana mereka sendiri tiada upaya membuatnya maka mereka tiada suka kalau ada orang lain pula dapat berbuat. (m.s 33, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka 2005).

Saya telah mencuba dalam masa dua tahun yang lepas. Terserah kepada rakyat untuk menilainya. Jika ia tidak berjaya pun, saya mengharapkan Allah memberikan kepada saya pahala. Ya! Ratusan email saya terima membantah keputusan saya tidak mempertahankan jawatan mufti ini. Sehingga ada yang menulis “Selama ini saya amat menyanjungi kebijaksanaan tuan mufti, tetapi saya yakin tindakan tuan berhenti adalah merupakan keputusan yang silap, atau tuan mungkin tidak lagi memikirkan kepentingan umat Islam dan rakyat negara ini lagi. Maafkan saya!”.

Saya ingin katakan, saya akan terus berfikir untuk itu, bahkan saya akan cuba mewakafkan hidup untuk perjuangan yang panjang ini. Saya bukan lari meninggalkan medan perjuangan, tetapi saya insyaAllah akan pulang dengan kekuatan yang baru. Rakyat Perlis bersalam dengan saya pada Jumaat lepas dengan kesedihan dan tangisan. Saya bersyukur saya meninggal jawatan dengan penuh penuh senyuman dan persahabatan. Sekurang-kurang mereka tahu saya telah cuba melakukan sesuatu untuk Perlis dan Malaysia.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

SEJARAH DAN PUNCA POLITIK WANG

artikel ini ini dituis oleh http://kuda-kepang.blogspot.com/ ; Ruhanie Ahmad Thursday, November 27, 2008



Ruhanie Ahmad

Terminologi politik wang mula popular pada awal 1980-an. Pada ketika itu, pelbagai kaedah dan cara dilakukan oleh segolongan warga UMNO yang berhasrat memenangi sesuatu jawatan di peringkat cawangan, bahagian atau majlis tertinggi.

Amalan politik wang pada era itu tidak membabitkan pemberian wang kepada para perwakilan secara hakiki. Wang ringgit hanya digunakan secara indirect oleh seseorang calon yang mengamalkan rasuah politik untuk mendorong para perwakilan memberikan undi kepada dirinya.

Contohnya, para perwakilan yang menerima amalan rasuah politik akan dibawa melancong oleh seseorang calon yang telah memenangi jawatan idamannya. Destinasi popularnya adalah Jakarta, Medan atau Bangkok.

Selain itu, para perwakilan sedemikian juga akan dibelanja berhibur di kelab-kelab dangdut, diberikan hadiah serta cenderamata dalam bentuk kain songket, jam tangan berlambangkan UMNO, dairi atau pun lain-lainnya.

Ini bermakna, tidak ada transaksi wang ringgit secara direct daripada akaun pemberi atau wakilnya kepada pihak penerima. Juga tiada pemberian wang ringgit di dalam envelop secara direct di malam-malam terakhir menjelang pemilihan jawatan di semua peringkat.

Kian Meluas

Fenomena di atas, lama kelamaan jadi semakin meluas, canggih dan sukar untuk dikesan. Antara destinasi pelancongan juga mula termasuk ke Tanah Suci untuk ibadat umrah.

Saya dapati rasuah politik atau politik wang mempunyai banyak puncanya. Ia memerlukan pakar sosiologi, anthropologi, saikologi, saintis politik, pakar jenayah, para peguam serta budayawan untuk menghalusinya secara tuntas dan rinci.

Ini kerana amalan rasuah politik ini membabitkan mentaliti serta perilaku manusia – sama ada pihak yang memberi rasuah atau pihak yang merelakan diri mereka untuk dirasuah dalam sesuatu proses pemilihan kepimpinan UMNO.

Cara-cara rasuah ini dilakukan juga jadi kian canggih selaras dengan perkembangan teknologi komunikasi, khususnya SMS dan teknologi transaksi wang secara on-line.

Sebab itulah penyakit ini memerlukan satu pendekatan yang bersepadu, menyeluruh dan berkesan untuk membanterasnya. Ia bukan sahaja memerlukan reformasi pengurusan UMNO di semua peringkat. Ia juga memerlukan reformasi minda, pengukuhan jatidiri serta peningkatan keinsafan manusia-manusia politik itu kepada matlamat teras serta cita-cita perjuangan parti.

Idealisme Luntur

Hasil daripada kajian ringkas yang saya jalankan, antara punca utama politik wang adalah seperti berikut:

Satu: Idealisme perjuangan UMNO yang berlandaskan huruf alif, ba, ta - singkatan kepada agama, bangsa, tanahair – kurang dihayati atau sengaja tidak mahu dihayati oleh sesetengah warga dan pemimpin UMNO. Ini mungkin berpunca daripada kesejahteraan, kemewahan dan kebahagiaan hidup di era Malaysia merdeka.

Dua: Ketiadaan key performance index (KPI) untuk menilai serta meningkatkan kualiti kepimpinan UMNO di semua peringkat.

Tiga: Seluruh jawatan utama dalam hiraki UMNO disifatkan oleh sesetengah warga UMNO sebagai pasport kepada pencapaian pangkat dan darjat dalam kehidupan mereka. Bukannya disifatkan sebagai amanah untuk memperjuangkan nasib serta kehidupan rakyat jelata seluruhnya.

Tiga: UMNO belum mempunyai strategi serta program yang konsisten, terancang, menyeluruh dan berkesan untuk menyemarakkan ideaslisme perjuangan parti di semua peringkat.

Sistem Kuno

Empat: Sistem pemilihan kepimpinan UMNO yang ada sekarang adalah kuno dan tidak lagi sesuai dengan karenah jumlah ahli UMNO yang kian meningkat.

Lima: Ketiadaan prosidur jelas dan tetap dalam pengurusan hal ehwal siasah dan karenah ahli-ahli UMNO di semua peringkat. Perlembagaan parti mengenai disiplin dan tataetika seolah-olah kurang dihormati oleh sesetengah anggota parti.

Enam: Ketiadaan jentera untuk memantau perlanggaran disiplin dan tataetika perjuangan yang menyeluruh hingga ke peringkat akar umbi.

Tujuh: Ketiadaan mekanisme serta kaedah khusus untuk melaporkan kesongsangan perilaku ahli. Ini menyebabkan sesuatu laporan mengenai salahlaku dan perlanggaran disiplin dilakukan secara adhok sehingga menyebabkan wujudnya kes-kes diketepikan kerana kekurangan bukti dan wujudnya elemen-elemen fitnah terhadap sesuatu pihak yang sebenarnya tidak bersalah.

Lapan: Mentaliti bahawa UMNO akan terus hidup, berkembang, kukuh, mantap dan berpengaruh sepanjang zaman – dulu, kini dan selamanya. Ini menyebabkan komitmen sesetengah ahli UMNO memelihara kesejahteraan serta memperkasakan perjuangan parti jadi sambil lewa dan luntur.

Tiada R & D

Sembilan: Wujudnya persepsi bahawa UMNO itu kerajaan dan kerajaan itu UMNO. Ini menyebabkan sesetengah ahli UMNO gagal membezakan peranan kerajaan dan parti terhadap masyarakat.

Sepuluh: Terakhir dan bukannya kurang pentingnya, ketiadaan usaha-usaha penyelidikan dan pembangunan (research and development) untuk memantau perkembangan UMNO, mengenalpasti masalah pengurusan UMNO, mengukur komitmen kepimpinan UMNO serta membuat perakuan-perakuan untuk sentiasa memperkasakan UMNO.

Demikianlah sebahagian daripada punca rasuah dalam UMNO. Saya yakin para pakar yang saya sebut di perenggan terawal dalam tulisan ini mampu menghalusinya untuk memberikan perspektif yang lebih berwibawa dan jelas.

Posting saya di blog ini pada Sabtu, 22 November 2008, adalah diantara gagasan dangkal saya untuk mengatasi serta manbanteras gejala rasuah politik ini.

Kita terus menyalahkan Allah...

Friday, November 28, 2008

Kita terus menyalahkan Allah... daripada Penarik beca http://penarikbeca.blogspot.com/2008/11/kita-terus-menyalahkan-allah.html

Dalam posting bertajuk "Alahai Melayu," saya tulis seperti berikut:
Baru-baru ini, ketika bercakap mengenai orang Melayu dan umat Islam, Mat Sabu bertanya saya, "Allah s.w.t. mengutuskan beratus-ratus Rasul ('a.s.s.), Nabi Muhammad (s.'a.w.w.) berjuang punyalah teruk, adakah nak lahirkan umat macam kita la ni? Ajaran yang kita (umat Islam) amalkan ni, betul ka ajaran Muhammad ka? Ka dah ajaran lain dah?

"Hang tengok la, orang Islam paling mundur, paling lemah, paling miskin, paling rasuah, paling zalim kepada rakyat sendiri, semua yang teruk-teruk. Umat macam ni ka yang Allah dan Nabi Muhammad nak cipta?"

Hari ni, Tajuddin Shah Alam kirim email yang mengandungi herdikan yang sangat keras kepada kita, umat Islam. Fikir-fikirkanlah:

Points to ponder
An Islam columnist on JewsBy: Dr Farrukh Saleem.
The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance columnist

Why are Jews so powerful?

There are only 14 million Jews in the world; seven million in the Americas , five million in Asia, two million in Europe and 100,000 in Africa . For every single Jew in the world there are 100 Muslims. Yet, Jews are more than a hundred times more powerful than all the Muslims put together. Ever wondered why?

Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish.

Albert Einstein, the most influential scientist of all time and TIME magazine's 'Person of the Century', was a Jew. Sigmund Freud -- id, ego, superego -- the father of psychoanalysis was a Jew. So were Karl Marx, Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman.

Here are a few other Jews whose intellectual output has enriched the whole humanity:

Benjamin Rubin gave humanity the vaccinating needle.

Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine.

Albert Sabin developed the improved live polio vaccine.

Gertrude Elion gave us a leukemia fighting drug.

Baruch Blumberg developed the vaccination for Hepatitis B.

Paul Ehrlich discovered a treatment for syphilis (a sexually transmitted disease).

Elie Metchnikoff won a Nobel Prize in infectious diseases.

Bernard Katz won a Nobel Prize in neuromuscular transmission.

Andrew Schally won a Nobel in endocrinology (disorders of the endocrine system; diabetes, hyperthyroidism) .

Aaron Beck founded Cognitive Therapy (psychotherapy to treat mental disorders, depression and phobias).

Gregory Pincus developed the first oral contraceptive pill.

George Wald won a Nobel for furthering our understanding of the human eye.

Stanley Cohen won a Nobel in embryology (study of embryos and their development)

Willem Kolff came up with the kidney dialysis machine.

Over the past 105 years, 14 million Jews have won 15-dozen Nobel Prizes while only three Nobel Prizes have been won by 1.4 billion Muslims (other than Peace Prizes).

Why are Jews so powerful?

Stanley Mezor invented the first micro-processing chip. Leo Szilard developed the first nuclear chain reactor; Peter Schultz, optical fibre cable; Charles Adler, traffic lights; Benno Strauss, Stainless steel; Isador Kisee, sound movies; Emile Berliner, telephone microphone; Charles Ginsburg, videotape recorder.

Famous financiers in the business world who belong to Jewish faith include Ralph Lauren (Polo), Levis Strauss (Levi's Jeans), Howard Schultz (Starbuck's) , Sergey Brin (Google), Michael Dell (Dell Computers), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Donna Karan (DKNY), Irv Robbins (Baskins & Robbins) and Bill Rosenberg (Dunkin Donuts).

Richard Levin, President of Yale University , is a Jew. So are Henry Kissinger (American secretary of state), Alan Greenspan (Fed chairman under Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush), Joseph Lieberman, Madeleine Albright (American secretary of state), Casper Weinberger (American secretary of defense), Maxim Litvinov (USSR foreign Minister), David Marshal (Singapore 's first chief minister), Issac Isaacs (governor-general of Australia ), Benjamin Disraeli (British statesman and author), Yevgeny Primakov (Russian PM), Barry Goldwater, Jorge Sampaio (president of Portugal ), John Deutsch (CIA director), Herb Gray (Canadian deputy PM), Pierre Mendes (French PM), Michael Howard (British home secretary), Bruno Kreisky (chancellor of Austria ) and Robert Rubin (American secretary of treasury).

In the media, famous Jews include Wolf Blitzer (CNN), Barbara Walters (ABC News), Eugene Meyer (Washington Post), Henry Grunwald (editor-in-chief Time), Katherine Graham (publisher of The Washington Post), Joseph Lelyyeld (Executive editor, The New York Times), and Max Frankel (New York Times).

Can you name the most beneficent philanthropist in the history of the world? The name is George Soros, a Jew, who has so far donated a colossal $4 billion most of which has gone as aid to scientists and universities around the world. Second to George Soros is Walter Annenberg, another Jew, who has built a hundred libraries by donating an estimated $2 billion.

At the Olympics, Mark Spitz set a record of sorts by wining seven gold medals. Lenny Krayzelburg is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Spitz, Krayzelburg and Boris Becker are all Jewish.

Did you know that Harrison Ford, George Burns, Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson, Sandra Bullock, Billy Crystal, Woody Allen, Paul Newman, Peter Sellers, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Ben Kingsley, Kirk Douglas, Goldie Hawn, Cary Grant, William Shatner, Jerry Lewis and Peter Falk are all Jewish?

As a matter of fact, Hollywood itself was founded by a Jew. Among directors and producers, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Oliver Stone, Aaron Spelling ( Beverly Hills 90210), Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), Andrew Vaina (Rambo 1/2/3), Michael Man (Starsky and Hutch), Milos Forman (One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest), Douglas Fairbanks (The thief of Baghdad ) and Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) are all Jewish.

To be certain, Washington is the capital that matters and in Washington the lobby that matters is The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Washington knows that if PM Ehud Olmert were to discover that the earth is flat, AIPAC will make the 109th Congress pass a resolution congratulating Olmert on his discovery.

William James Sidis, with an IQ of 250-300, is the brightest human who ever existed. Guess what faith did he belong to?

So, why are Jews so powerful? Answer: Education!

Why are Muslims so powerless?

There are an estimated 1,476,233,470 Muslims on the face of the planet: one billion in Asia, 400 million in Africa, 44 million in Europe and six million in the Americas Every fifth human being is a Muslim; for every single Hindu there are two Muslims, for every Buddhist there are two Muslims and for every Jew there are one hundred Muslims. Ever wondered why Muslims are so powerless?

Here is why: There are 57 member-countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), and all of them put together have around 500 universities; one university for every three million Muslims. The United States has 5,758 universities and India has 8,407. In 2004, Shanghai Jiao Tong University compiled an 'Academic Ranking of World Universities' , and intriguingly, not one university from Muslim-majority states was in the top-500.

As per data collected by the UNDP, literacy in the Christian world stands at nearly 90 per cent and 15 Christian-majority states have a literacy rate of 100 per cent. A Muslim-majority state, as a sharp contrast, has an average literacy rate of around 40 per cent and there is no Muslim-majority state with a literacy rate of 100 per cent. Some 98 per cent of the 'literates' in the Christian world had completed primary school, while less than 50 per cent of the 'literates' in the Muslim world did the same. Around 40 per cent of the 'literates' in the Christian world attended university while no more than two per cent of the 'literates' in the Muslim world did the same.

Muslim-majority countries have 230 scientists per one million Muslims. The US has 4,000 scientists per million and Japan has 5,000 per million. In the entire Arab world, the total number of full-time researchers is 35,000 and there are only 50 technicians per one million Arabs (in the Christian world there are up to 1,000 technicians per one million). Furthermore, the Muslim world spends 0.2 per cent of its GDP on research and development, while the Christian world spends around five per cent of its GDP.

Conclusion: The Muslim world lacks the capacity to produce knowledge.

Daily newspapers per 1,000 people and number of book titles per million are two indicators of whether knowledge is being diffused in a society. In Pakistan , there are 23 daily newspapers per 1,000 Pakistanis while the same ratio in Singapore is 360. In the UK , the number of book titles per million stands at 2,000 while the same in Egypt is 20.

Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to diffuse knowledge.

Exports of high technology products as a percentage of total exports are an important indicator of knowledge application. Pakistan 's export of high technology products as a percentage of total exports stands at one per cent. The same for Saudi Arabia is 0.3 per cent; Kuwait , Morocco , and Algeria are all at 0.3 per cent while Singapore is at 58 per cent.

Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to apply knowledge.

Why are Muslims powerless? Because we aren't producing knowledge.

Why are Muslims powerless? Because we aren't diffusing knowledge.

Why are Muslims powerless? Because we aren't applying knowledge.And, the future belongs to knowledge-based societies.

Interestingly, the combined annual GDP of 57 OIC-countries is under $2 trillion. America , just by herself, produces goods and services worth $12 trillion; China $8 trillion, Japan $3.8 trillion and Germany $2.4 trillion (purchasing power parity basis).

Oil rich Saudi Arabia , UAE, Kuwait and Qatar collectively produce goods and services (mostly oil) worth $500 billion; Spain alone produces goods and services worth over $1 trillion, Catholic Poland $489 billion and Buddhist Thailand $545 billion. (Muslim GDP as a percentage of world GDP is fast declining).

So, why are Muslims so powerless? Answer: Lack of education.

All we do is shout to Allah the whole day and blame everyone else for our multiple failures..

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Understanding the Thinking, Mentality and Philosophy of the Chinese

Saturday, 22 November 2008 11:52


I have to say here that I do not read people's comments since they are too scared to reveal what their level of intelligence and standing in society is. If they do not have an identity, they do not have any views worthy of anyone considering. Worse, one cannot use these comments in one’s research on the subject.

Yes, I am brave enough to sign my name on this article.
by Mansor Puteh drpd Malaysia Today http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=my&cs=mydhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=2&redirect=1&ST=inspiron%20640m%20generic&dgc=ST&cid=33211&lid=783233

INTRODUCTION and DISCLAIMER:

This is an attempt at studying the thinking, mentality and philosophy of the Chinese in the world especially those who live outside of the Chinese world.

When will someone conduct a more serious research on this following the wake of the earlier doctoral thesis a Chinese scholar had done which was later published in a book called, ‘History of Chinese Immigration to Nanyang’ which tells the sorry tales of how the Chinese had to flee from South China to go to Southeast Asia with barely anything on them except for the clothes they were wearing?

The then President of Taiwan, Lee Teng-Hui, called the Chinese in Singapore uncultured as they are descended from the people of South China. This was when he had a spat with the Minister Mentor of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew. Yet, Kuan Yew didn’t bother to challenge the other Lee, almost as though Kuan Yew knew he didn’t have anything to contradict.
But I am going to be charitable and not describe the Chinese in Singapore as what the President of Taiwan had said.

‘MALAYSIAN CHINESE ARE STUPID! – MICHAEL CHICK:
It is unlike Michael Chick, who has an English name, who has written another article with a weirder title - ‘MALAYSIAN CHINESE ARE STUPID!’ which was published in Malaysia-Today. Yet, he was not condemned.

Shockingly, there were many Chinese commentators who agreed with him. The reason being the writer is English. If he was Malay, he would have been condemned.
Many Chinese and other non-Malays have tried unsuccessfully to define what and who the Malays are but all of them fail because their thinking was clouded by their own prejudices and biases.

So Michael is lucky because he is English and his views are considered by the commentators to be superior.

Yes, I do mix more with the non-Malays. I went to a Catholic missionary school where I was the only Malay student in class in most of the eleven years I was there in primary and secondary school.

And yes, I have many close relatives who were former Chinese and Indian Hindus.
In fact, most of the ancestors of the Malays, including the members of the royal families were also Hindus, including Parameswara who became a Muslim in 1414 of the Common Era (CE).
And as I am writing this, I had just seen in the papers of how Michael Jackson who was said to have converted to Islam and now calling himself Mikaeed. He followed in the footsteps of his elder brother, Germaine who became a Muslim in 1989.

Is Michael’s conversion to Islam one strange reaction to Barack Hussein Obama’s becoming president of the United States? It cannot be just a coincidence.
THERE ARE CHINESE EVERYWHERE:

There are Chinese everywhere – in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore and almost all the countries in the world and in different numbers ranging from a few hundred to a few million.
The way the Chinese behave and try to exert themselves differ according to which country they are in and how many of them.

The only difference is in what numbers and percentages and the way the Chinese behave is according to these factors.

If they become larger than the local native population such as in Singapore, they will demand and get the ultimate power to control the whole island and in the process cause the extinction of the Sultanate of Singapura.

Yes, Stamford Raffles called it Singapura, while his successor who could not speak much Malay, mispronounced it as Singapore.

CHINESE IN INDONESIA, THAILAND AND THE PHILIPPINES:

In Indonesia, where the number is smaller and comprising only three percent of the total population of the country, they accept everything including being ‘forced’ to study in Indonesian schools and not make any unnecessary demands on the government, lest they will get it in strange ways.

They even had no choice but to use Indonesian names and speak in the local language.
Only lately, however, are they allowed to have their own television programs in Mandarin and you can now hear the Indonesian Chinese speaking in Chinese – Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien mostly, publicly without being chastised. Only a small percentage of them convert to Islam, and speak the language of the majority there.
In the Philippines, the number of the Chinese is even smaller. And because of that they have no choice but to assimilate with the local population comprising of the Filipinos, even calling themselves Filipinos and speaking in Tagalog and English. They do not speak Chinese or clamor to have their own schools.

And because of that they are able to get some of their own kind appointed as President of the country starting with Corazon Aquino. She does not call herself Chinese and only rarely does so and on any of her visits to China, she would visit her ancestral village in south China.
The same with Thaksin and Samak who are prime ministers of Thailand. Both of them are Chinese, but they do not have Chinese names or are able to speak Chinese. They also have Thai names and do not wish to be referred to as Chinese.

The reason being the number of the Chinese in Thailand is very small. And despite controlling the economy and politics, they cannot exert their Chinese-ness that much, lest they would lose support of the average Thais who are comfortable accepting them for who and what they are.

CHINESE IN AMERICA:

In America, the number of Chinese is also small; they restrict themselves to Chinatowns and find their own entertainment watching movies from Hong Kong and listening to music from this country. They do not have any ambition of forming their own political parties because they know they can never go anywhere.

If there are Chinese who have been appointed to office, they have to run on the Democratic or Republican Party tickets.

In short, the Chinese in America have to assimilate, just as the Chinese in Canada and England. They are too small and insignificant to make any impact.

Yet, they can and are allowed to build their own schools and temples, but they do not want to waste their time doing so; they are more interested to save whatever money they have on their companies and themselves.

CHINESE IN MALAYSIA:

The Chinese in Malaysia, however, are in a special position: their number is larger. At one time they were forty percent of the population with many of them who are actually poor and in abject poverty.

No wonder they refused to return to China where they could not show their newly-found wealth to their relatives. So they chose to remain in Malaya as punishment for their failure to get their proverbial pot of gold here.

Their off-springs were the ones who had to slog so they could become successful and become more fused with the land, unlike their parents who had failed to do so and who still thought they were Chinese nationals owing no allegiance to the country they were now at.

However, over time, this percentage has been reduced to only 25 percent. It is a small percentage, compared to the percentage of the native Malay population which stands at around 60 percent and growing rapidly so that by 2050, it will be 80 percent.

Yet, the Chinese in Malaysia think they can exert themselves and demand all sorts of things without admitting it and pretending that no one would figure it all out.

The Malays have been kind in accommodating their every needs so much so that the economy of the Malays has been in shambles.

With no land, money or property when the Chinese first came here, they started work as menial laborers and renting houses and land which they developed and eventually started owning them. Most of the ‘night-soil carriers’ were Chinese with some Indians and almost no Malay.
And now we can see how many Malay lands where ancient villages and old paddy fields had stood have been redeveloped by the Chinese as their economy expanded. And the Malays have also been too supportive of their economic growth by allowing themselves to be used as the customers of their business, which continued to expand and grow purely on the strength and support of the Malays, without which the economy of the Chinese could not grow at all.
The Malays and their ‘leaders’ continue to be oblivious to this and continue to accommodate every need of the Chinese.

And not enough with this, they are now craving to have political power, too. Many have even challenged ‘Ketuanan Melayu’.

Is it wrong for the Malays to have their own slogans? Is it wrong for the Malays to carry their ‘keris’ in whatever ways they like? Who are the others to ask the Malays not to carry them?
Now it is the ‘keris’; tomorrow it is the ‘songkok’; then what? Bahasa Melayu wants to be described as Bahasa Malaysia, yet they are not interested to master it.

Only those who want to be in politics have no choice but to know this language lest they cannot take part in any political debate. Just like the lawyers who have to use Malay in the court or they cannot fight any case and have to do office work only.

But when will they start to demand the use of English in the courts? This can happen.
So, you, see it is the numbers that make up the equation.

One cannot deny that if the number of the Chinese in Malaysia rises further so that they are more than the Malays, then surely their behavior and demands will become more ridiculous.
MALAY CHIEF MINISTER OF PULAU PINANG!? No Chinese or Indian wants to talk about how Pulau Pinang can also have a Malay as their chief minister. All of them want to ask when a Chinese (not an Indian) can be Prime Minister of Malaysia. That possibility is as good as asking when a Malay can be the vice-chancellor of UTAR and the New Era College.

CHANGING ROAD NAMES - CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION NEXT? The first indication of how the new DAP government of Pulau Pinang will act when the Chinese in Malaysia become more assertive is in how fast they wanted to change road names.

What if they have full control of Malaysia: Wouldn't they also want to change the Constitution, too?

FIXING THE MALAY POPULATION IN SINGAPORE AT FOURTEEN PERCENT

Singapore had a way of balancing the ethnic composition of the races. They knew the Malays have a natural way of expanding themselves, numerically speaking. There used to be only 14 percent of the population of the country when the country left Malaysia – or were ‘sacked’ from Malaysia.

Now the population of the Malays has been ‘fixed’ so that it does not increase. The Singapore government will ensure that this remains so. And they would ‘import’ Chinese from foreign countries particularly the wealthy ones from Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, to ensure that the percentage of the Chinese population remains at 70 percent.

Early Malay leaders were not smart; they did not have evil ideas and insisted on keeping Singapore in the Federation because they did not wish to play the Devil by expanding the population of the Malays so that it exceeds that of the Chinese including those in Singapore by encouraging the immigration of Indonesians to the land.

If they had done this, then surely the population of Malays in Malaysia can be a lot more now and that multi-ethnic strife that we experience today would not happen.
Many Chinese and Indians in Malaysia blame the government for ‘allowing’ Malays from other countries particularly Indonesia to become its citizens or permanent residents which they say is a strategy to increase the population of the Malays.

But they ignore the fact that the Singapore government had been doing it more feverishly so as to ensure that the population of the Malays remain ‘fixed’ at 14 percent.
Yet, the Malays in Singapore do not complain about this. The reason being they are too small and insignificant to say anything.

It’s all about numbers. Go figure this out.

BABA AND NYONYA AND THE OTHER CHINESE

So now you know why the early Chinese who had come to Melaka in the Fourteen Century became known as Baba and Nyonya, who speak only Malay and were able to assimilate with the local Malays.

The reason being they were too few of them – 500 according to the history books and ancient text. And they had come with Princess Hang Li Po who married Sultan Mansur Shah.
With only 500 of them, they had no choice but to speak in Malay so that they could be understood and not rejected. They could not exert themselves.

However, with the tide of immigration of the Chinese in the Nineteenth Century, more Chinese were able to come to Malaya so much so that they were able to exert themselves.
It was fortunate that the Malay rulers had intelligence and were able to think or guess what the English colonist masters wanted to do – which is to displace the Malays in their own sultanates, just like what they had done in Singapore which had become a ‘Chinese country’ as it still is.
If the sultans were not smart enough, the population of the Malays in their own states or sultanates would not form the majority and their position in their own states would become weak. So sooner or later, they, too, would have to go.

The special position of the sultans today is not due to the presence of the non-Malays then but solely rests on the support and strength of the Malays. Therefore, they, too, should be eternally grateful for the Malays for keeping them where they are now, for without them, the sultanates would have been displaced long ago, even without the British doing anything nasty.
So it was good that the sultans were able to exert themselves and got the support of the Malays and outdid the British who were outsmarted until they were forced to sign documents that in effect forced them to leave the country in shame before it became worse than it was for them, and before the whole of the Malay Peninsula became another Singapore – a Chinese state.

CHINESE IN INDIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES

I pity the Chinese in India, Bangaldesh and Pakistan and all the other poorer countries; their numbers are so tiny that they have no choice but to keep quiet. No Chinese would want to migrate there because they know they could not benefit from doing so.
They only want to migrate to countries that are already prosperous so they can take advantage of it, like Australia, England, Canada, New Zealand, so they can be more English and less Chinese.

There is no Chinese representation in the Lok Sabha or the parliament in New Delhi and chances of any of them of ever being appointed chief minister of any of the states in the country is as good as Osama bin Laden being offered American citizenship or permanent resident status.

Melakar Cerita Suka Duka


Friday, November 21, 2008 daripada A Kadir Jasin http://www.kadirjasin.blogspot.com/

Melakar Cerita Suka Duka

HARI ini, izinkan saya berpuisi
Meluah rasa terbuku di hati
Melakar cerita suka dan duka
Tanah Melayu bumi ibunda
Semakin hari dibenci dikeji
Ditertawa dipersenda di desa dan kota
Kerana Melayu semakin tidak berani.

Kerana apa?
Kerana yang berkuasa
Lesu tidak bermaya
Yang diberi amanat
Dan memegang wasiat
Hilang dan sesat
Lupa sumpah dan janji
Tidur lena dibuai mimpi
Tidak peduli lagi perjuangan suci
Kerana selesa berpura-pura
Diracuni harta dan kuasa.

Yang Melayunya berkata:
“Kamilah Bumiputera
Peribumi tanah pusaka
Inilah tempat tumpah darah kami
Di sinilah kami hidup dan mati
Kerana di sinilah terkubur
Nenek moyang kami
Polis dan askar Melayu
Dan perwira-perwira dulu
Datuk Bahaman
Datuk Maharaja Lela
Tok Janggut
Dol Said
Mat Kilau
Tok Gajah
Mat Salleh
Datuk Sagor
Tok Kenali
Dan ramai lagi
Yang tumpas dan mati
Demi bumi dan pertiwi.

Orang India dan Cina
Yang asal usulnya
Pedagang dan buruh ikatan
Jauh dari seberang lautan
Pun menuntut hak yang sama
Menolak kontrak yang ada
Kononnya demi reformasi
Meritokrasi dan globalisasi
Lupa bahawa nenek moyang mereka
Kiblat mereka bumi asalnya
Aspirasinya Parti Kongres India
Kuomintang dan Parti Komunis China.

Tetapi Melayu mudah kasihan
Mudah pula diperkotak-katikkan
Maka oleh British disyaratkan
Terimalah mereka sebagai rakan
Maka dapatlah mereka
Satu juta kerakyatan
Di bumi Malaysia yang merdeka
Tanpa orang Melayu sedar dan perasan.

British hebat putar-belitnya
Mereka tidak buruh Cina dan India
Dari tanah jajahan bernama Malaya
Membanjiri bumi suci mereka
Menuntut taraf warganegara
(Seperti terjadi dengan Orang India dari Uganda)
Maka yang mereka bawa
Dari China dan India
Mereka tinggalkan di Malaya
Kerana Melayu pemurah hatinya
Dan mudah pula lupa.

Sekarang Melayu layu dan lesu
Pertahan hak sudah tidak tahu
Takut, malas dan malu
Menjadi defensif dan apologetik
Hanya berharap kepada kuasa politik
Yang gagal diartikulasi dan diisi
Kerana terlalu lama dibuai mimpi
Tidur lena kerana jenama Bumiputera
Lega dan selesa
Dengan tanah se kangkang kera
Dan panji-panji politik yang hambar warnanya.

Kalau Melayu tidak bangkit
Tidak sedar jiwanya berpenyakit
Jangan salahkan orang lain
Kalau terlondeh baju dan kain
Bogel bagaikan orang gila
Di bumi sendiri yang kononnya merdeka.

Ingatlah permata kata
Nenek moyang kita yang bijaksana
Kerana Melayu kita berbudi
Kerana Islam kita beriman
Maka jika Melayu kenal diri
Jadilah dia orang budiman
Yang harga dirinya
Bukan pada wang berjuta
Tetapi pada budi dan bahasa
Tauhid dan pekerti mulia.

Kerana Melayu mudah lupa
Apa sudah jadi kepada negara?
Bumi ini menjadi tempat buanganPelacur dan GRO dari Yunan
Ke bumi ini konon mencari pelajaran
Pengemis dan Shao Lin Master
Yang entah dari mana datangnya
Sepatah haram bahasa Melayu tidak tahu
Meminta sedekah hilir dan hulu.

Itu belum dikira
Pendatang haram yang berjuta
Dari Indonesia, Burma dan Afrika
Yang masuk keluar sesuka hati
Maka jadilah bumi ibunda ini
Periuk menidih yang isinya basi
Jenayah dan maksiat menjadi-jadi
Kerana birokrasi dibaham korupsi
Rasuah, pecah amanah
Salah guna kuasa dan berbagai lagi.

Melayu sudah jadi pengkhianat
Lupa kepada amanah dan wasiat
Kerana wang, kuasa dan harta
Mereka khianati bangsa dan negara.

Akhir nukilan,
Ingatkan pesanan orang tua-tua
Sesal dahulu kedapatan
Sesal kemudian tidak berguna
Kera di hutan disusukan
Anak di rumah mati kelaparan.