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Day 3 was a very long day, which actually continued into a very long night.

We started with a press conference by Recai Kutan at Pierrelotti. All the main guests were seated with him at the head-table.

Then, we were taken for a Bosphorus lunch cruise. I was lucky to be seated next to Ahmad Recai, a board member of ESAM. We talked about how ESAM operates and how it spreads its ideas.

But, it being a cruise, we couldn’t resist going to the upper deck to enjoy the marvelous view. The Bosphorus connects the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea. It also marks the meeting point of Europe and Asia. I got talking to more delegates while on the upper deck. So, firstly, here is Temel Karamollaoglu, Vice President of Saadet Party:

And here is the three of us enjoiyng a short chat with Atif Ozbey, Private Assistant to the Chairman of Saadet Party, Recai Kutan.

And here is YB Dr Dzul with Recai Kutan

Then, it was a 2 hour drive to Sakarya to join the celebration of 555th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul by Sultan Muhammad Al-Fatih. This was organised by the Anatolian Youths, another group supporting the Saadet Party, and part of the big Milliegurus movement family. It was held in the Sakarya stadium, and when we arrived, almost 10,000 people were already waiting inside. Ustaz Hadi gave a rousing speech which was very well received by the crowd.

Loyalty to Prof Erbakan, head of Saadet couldn’t be any clearer throughout. Whenever any speaker mentioned him, the crowd roared. And, they chanted “Mujahid Erbakan!” throughout the event.

The event finished late, at about 11pm. We went for late dinner at the nearby restaurant, where I had the pleasure to talk to Irfan from Islamic Society of Montenegro. We left Sakarya just after midnight and arrived back at Turquhouse Hotel at almost 3am. I will upload videos and pictures of Sakarya later. Dr Dzul wants to borrow the laptop..

I managed to find some time to visit a few places today. Pics below:

View of Istanbul from Turquhouse Hotel at Pierrelotti where I am staying:

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Let me start by saying, TAXI DRIVERS IN ISTANBUL ARE CRAZY!!! The one who took me back to the hotel just now did 80 in a crowded pedestrian area!

(The legendary Brother Faruqi is sitting next to me as I type this blog entry(!), so I have to behave)

Now that that’s off my chest, I should say that I arrived in Istanbul airport midnight last night. It was a very good flight. This trip is to attend a formal meeting of Islamic movement leaders from around the world organised by ESAM (Economic and Social Research Centre), the think tank of Erbakan’s Saadet Party. So, in other words, if last month I attended an event organised American conservatives, this time I am attending a meeting of Muslim conservatives.

I am here as part of the PAS delegation, which initially was supposed to be a total of five people. But, due to the situations in Malaysia, only YB TG Dato Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and YB Dr Dzulkifly Ahmad are here. They arrived before me.

The host - ESAM - went all out to honour their guests. To start with, as soon as the flight door opened, Mustafa Kaya, Deputy President of Saadet in Istanbul was already waiting. So, from the flight, straight to the VIP lounge, and then to Turquhouse Hotel in Eyup, all within a relatively very short time. I am in the same room with Dr Dzul for the next few days. So that will give us a good chance to catch up.

The International Muslim Communities Union Congress is an annual conference organised by ESAM. This year is the 17th conference. It’s a great opportunity to rub shoulders with the great and the good of the international Islamic movements from many countries including Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, etc. But the memorable one is when I got the chance to talk to Recai Kutan, leader of Saadet and head of ESAM.

Ustaz Hadi spoke at the opening session this morning. And the discussion session was good. The official report can be seen here in Turkish. I know the picture in the report is very small, but the photographer caught me getting up from my seat on right hand side of the picture. And, if you scroll down the report, you will see that they call me “Malezya İslam Partisi İngiltere Temsilcisi Wansaıful Wanjan”. I have no idea what that means, but I hope it is good!

And these are two more snaps from the first day of the conference.

Malaysiakini and The Star reported that the Malaysian government wants to make the rich pay more for fuel. This reminds me of a story which goes like this:

Every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
. The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
. The fifth would pay $1.
. The sixth would pay $3.
. The seventh $7.
. The eighth $12.
. The ninth $18.
. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men ate dinner in the Restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20.”

So, now dinner for ten only cost $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So, the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six, the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone
would get his “fair share”?

The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being “PAID” to eat their meal. So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
. The fifth man, like the first four now paid nothing (100% savings).
. The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
. The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
. The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
. The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
. The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man - “but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than me!”

“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how progressive tax system works. Tax the rich too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore.

I was in Liverpool again today. More than 10 years ago I was in the City as a student at Liverpool University. Today, I was there to give a talk at Liverpool John Moores University’s Business School.

It was a very short visit. I arrived last night, spent the night at The Feathers Hotel on Mount Pleasant, and left mid-afternoon today. Of course I took some time to visit a few places.

The destination today was Toxteth.
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At lunch on Friday, 16 May 08, YB Dr Syed Azman and YB Dato Kamarudin Jaffar - both of whom were in London - asked if I could arrange a meeting with Waytha Moorthy, chairman of Hindraf. A quick phone call later, the meeting was set in West London at 5pm. It was a good, cordial meeting. I don’t think I should disclose the content of the discussion, but I am sure an official announcement will be made in Harakahdaily very soon.

In any case, I asked Waytha a question that has been burning in my mind - since Hindu Rights Action Force is an ethno-religious grouping, is he not taking Malaysia a step backwards? Waytha, in his usual calm manner, provideed an answer that helped me to understand why things are the way they are. I personally would not do it that way, and I told him that. But at least I understand.

Some pics of the meeting:

And then, on Saturday evening, we had dinner at Ibrahimsa’s house. Joining us was the legendary Brother Faruqi, editor of Impact Magazine.

If you do, click here.

Malaysia Think Tank London and the City Circle invite you to the London launch of Who Needs an Islamic State?

Speaker: Dr Abdelwahab El-Affendi
Date: Friday, 6 June 2008.
Time: 6.45pm - 8.45pm.
Venue: Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, off Edgware Road (nearest tube station is Edgware Road)

Visit www.my-islamic-state.com for further information.

The Undergraduate ParliaMentors Programme is now accepting applications. This is a unique initiative aiming to nurture future politicians and community leaders from the three Abrahamic Faiths. Nine MPs from all three major parties each mentor a group of three students - one Christian, one Jewish and one Muslim - meeting with them on a monthly basis. With advice from their mentors, students develop projects focussing on themes such as political engagement and identity, whilst supported by key political NGOs and think tanks.

The programme
- Provides politics students from Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities with advice and support appropriate for a career in politics.
- Facilitates dialogue and joint working between young people of the three faith communities.
- Provides the participants with purposeful contact with the political world.
- Gives parliamentarians the chance to engage in depth with young people from faith communities.
- Establishes an alumni network of participants of the three faiths studying in the political field.
- Give future leaders the opportunity to understand their role in the political process.
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In September 2004, in his closing speech at UMNO’s general assembly, Datuk Seri Abdullah said “They wanted to know that since Tunku Abdul Rahman has been given the title of ‘Bapa Kemerdekaan’ (Father of Independence), Tun Razak ‘Bapa Pembangunan’ (Father of Development), Tun Hussein Onn ‘Bapa Perpaduan’ (Father of Unity), Dr Mahathir ‘Bapa Pemodenanan’ (Father of Modernisation), what title is to be given to Pak Lah? Pak Lah wants only to be known as Pak Lah. I will carry on my own way,”

I have a different suggestion here: www.malaysiathinktank.org