www.wansaiful.com

I found this file yesterday. I think it must be a transcript of a lecture. Hence the language. But, it is a good read anyway.

apa-itu-liberal-dan-apa-itu-liberalisme.pdf

Have you seen the tukang urut adverts in Malaysia? How do they try to convince potential customers? They wear a jubah, a serban, and a little goatee. Lady tukang uruts don a tudung even when advertising ‘urut batin untuk lelaki’. To give a slightly more modern outlook, they put a picture of themselves holding a mobile phone. The more mobile phones they have, the more modern they seem to be. The more telephone numbers they have, the more ‘accessible’ they are! Some people may say “Of course he is not lying….. he looks like a serious Muslim”.

Try looking at how some leaders in our society behave. To hide their (or perhaps, our?) incompetence, they would say “if you have criticisms, please send it directly to me or my committee members. It is in the interest of our society (maslahah jamaah) that we deal with it through the official mechanism”. The hidden message is, if you know of their incompetence, do not let others know about it. Instead, use the mechanism that they and their friends devised so that only they and their friends know about it. Don’t tell anybody else because that may cause a revolt. Just tell them so that they can sweep it under their carpets. And…. wait for it…. they would say that this is , of course, in the interest of our society (maslahah jamaah).

I was talking to a friend the yesterday. He tried to convince me that if a Muslim leader makes a decision which I am not comfortable with, I should keep quiet because it is a matter of ijtihad. The other person may be right, and I may be right too. Or we could both be wrong. But because one person is in a position of leadership, we should not say anything that could damage him ‘for the sake of the society’.

My answer was “I am sorry, mate. That is the very double-standard that keeps corrupt hypocritical people in power!” I said to him, if the coming-from-different-angles argument were to be applied to Malaysia, then he should not criticise any politicians who are not in PAS (he is a PAS supporter). The BN politicians come from a different angle, and he comes from a different angle. Using my friend’s own logic,  he should not say anything against Barisan Nasional because they are merely using different perspectives. Speaking up could damage our country’s leadership and our society.

Of course, my friend disagrees. He said that I should not apply the same moral standards to Barisan Nasional and PAS members. He said, PAS and UMNO are different. My answer was, “I am sorry, mate. That is the very double-standard that keeps incompetent, corrupt, and hypocritical people in power.” It is easy to be obsessed with the munkar that we see outside, while turning a blind eye to the munkar pervasive amongst us. We advertise everybody else’s wrong-doings, but when it happens to us, let us keep it hush hush.

In short, the term ‘in the interest of our society’ or in Arabic ‘maslahah jamaah’ can be abused simply because many of us are either gullible or scared stiff to speak up. Many have been indoctrinated with the belief that we have to look after the interest of the society even if that means tolerating incompetent, untrustworthy, corrupt leaders.

The world is full with such people. If we look just over the last few months, there have been cases where the people in charge of running elections were pressurized by higher powers, their decision was changed by the powers above, candidates were pressurized to withdraw by the powers that be. And what do we do? We keep the power-abusers in place.

And how many times have you heard the powers that be saying “we are open to criticism and suggestion, but all criticisms and ideas seharusnya disampaikan terus kepada kami sama ada melalui email, melalui telefon atau apa-apa medium komunikasi lain yang sesuai, bukan kepada umum kerana kita perlu menjaga keharmonian”? 

What they did not openly say was, please do not tell others about their incompetence and corruption because that would tarnish their reputation! If these people were to become politicians, they would perhaps be the first people to destroy freedom of press for fear of being exposed. Rest assured a few Arabic phrases and Quran verses will be sprinkled into the justification. Abusing Islam is the best way to gain trust from us Muslims. Even the tukang urut knew that!

Keeping these incompetent, corrupt and untrustworthy people in place is only a reflection of our own weaknesses. No wonder we are in such a mess. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

Of course there are honest people out there. Unfortunately the abuse by some damages many. Kerana nila setitik, rosak susu sebelanga.

I look forward to seeing a change, and to seeing how serious new faces want to bring change.

Next issue, if I feel like it: How some people attempted to sweep mistakes under the carpet (to protect their reputations), and how weak leaders took hours to ‘consider’ the blatantly corrupt proposition.  
 

Many of you will not understand what I write below. But I am becoming a bit tired of repeateadly saying the same thing to different people. So, if you have any intentions to phone me up, please check below so that you do not have to waste your free minutes. This is a typical conversation that I have had over the last three days.

Caller: Tak nak jumpa ke?

Me: Tak.

Caller: Apasal? Saya boleh tolong aturkan.

Me: Do you not have anything better to do? What are you expecting. 

Caller: Benda ni penting.

Me: I am not interested. Accept the differences. Use your brain and make up your own mind.

Caller: Tapi tak selesai lah macam tu.

Me: Nak selesai apa lagi? I do not work well with people who betray trust and abuse positions under the disguise of religion.

Caller: Tapi diorang tuduh macam macam kat belakang-belakang. Dah lah tu, salah guna kuasa pulak tu!

Me: And you are still keeping them there? You are no different then.

Caller: But your silence is keeping them there too.

Me: Agree. My mistake. I am about to start speaking up again. But I sympathise with friends who are stuck in the middle. I will take my time to decide.

OK. There you have it. Save your money. Don’t call me if the above already answer your questions. 

Want experience working in a British election?

On 3 May 2007, there will be local government elections in England, local government and Scottish Parliamentary elections in Scotland, and National Assembly elections in Wales.

This is an opportunity for those who live in the United Kingdom who would like to gain experience working on a British election. Usually, there are opportunities to apply to be poll clerks and / or counting clerks.

The positions are usually paid.

If you are interested, contact the democracy department of your local council who can send you an application form. You can find their contact details on your local council’s website. The recruitment process is usually straight forward and no interviews necessary.

Don’t worry… you don’t have to join any political party to apply. So, you can rest assured you are not committing a sin. Unless, of course, after kuliyah Subuh last Saturday you consider it as taking part in jahiliyah. In such case, please refer to your ’scholars’ for a fatwa as you are not allowed to think for yourself.

Malaysia Think Tank London’s new website is now in operation.

Linking to it from your blogs / website would be greatly appreciated.

Good coverage on our NHS campaign in December 06. The printed newspaper provided a slightly longer report.