Show a little kindness

You do not lead by hitting people over the head. That's assault, not leadership -Dwight D. Eisenhower.

When the prime minister of Malaysia went on national TV scoffing at the injuries suffered by his political nemesis Anwar Ibrahim, many were shocked. The PM's facial contortions as he mimicked his condition and made fun of the pain were ridiculous and clownish. His eager dismissiveness that it was only a "little" tear gas was gross.

This shows a clear lack of empathy and a little heartless on his part. He failed to notice and surprisingly, he was seemingly unaware that there were many others of his fellow citizens who were hit by much of the "little" tear gas and suffered the searing and nauseating consequences. It was obvious that the PM himself had never tasted being sprayed chemical laced water and suffocating CS gas. Some remarked that he should try smearing chilli pepper in his eyes and feel the pain. He seems to have a bizarre lapse in reasoning and thus engaged in ludicrous bravado for a captive audience, one which is becoming more and more out of touch with reality and the feelings of people.

He apparently overlooked another former PM's outrageous dismissal of Anwar's infamous black eye beating years ago. The strident former PM was recorded to have said that the injuries were self inflicted which made him look like a farcical comic to the whole world.

Of the recent incident, Anwar himself admitted it was only minor injuries. It would only be groundbreaking and really transformative if the PM would have dropped by and showed just a bit of concern. Of course, it goes both ways and everyone has to have a heart and be considerate to others especially in times of difficulties. Politics should be humane. It should not reach the stage of boiling heat and burning bridges as mature democracies show a sort of special relationship accorded between a ruling party leader and an opposition leader. They have to come to terms if not for themselves; it is for the people of Malaysia.

Kisah Benar

Setiap kali anak saya kembali dari kelas tuisyen, dia akan mengadu tentang guru tuisyen biologinya. Gurunya agak menebal kefahaman politiknya dan bolehlah dikategorikan sebagai seorang nasionalis totok. Masalahnya adalah pegangannya terbawa-bawa pula ke dalam kelas tuisyen itu. Ini menjadikan ramai anak muridnya berasa resah dan gusar terutama anak saya. Kadangkala, guru ini mengeluarkan pandangan-pandangannya yang kesat dan berbaur fitnah di hadapan kelasnya. Jika ada bangkangan daripada anak muridnya, dia akan tegas menempelak dengan menggunakan autoritinya dan terpaksalah anak-anak muda itu menahan telinga.

Apabila anak saya meminta pandangan saya, saya nasihatkan dia terus hormati gurunya dan saya memberitahunya hasrat saya untuk kemungkinan akan memberikan teguran secara terhormat selepas SPM nanti supaya tidak menimbulkan ketegangan antara guru - murid buat masa ini. Anak saya memahami bahawa dia terpaksa membenci perbuatan seperti itu di dalam hatinya.

Pada hari Ahad yang lepas, anak saya kembali dengan riang gembira. Dia menceritakan bahawa di kelas tuisyennya, gurunya mengambil kesempatan untuk mengutuk Tuan Guru Ustaz Abdul Hadi Awang dengan mengatakan,

"Lihat Ustaz Hadi rela menggadaikan jubahnya untuk memakai T-Shirt Bersih."

Secara spontan pula anak saya mencelah, "Tapi, Cikgu, Najib pun tak pakai jubah!"

Seluruh kelas tuisyen ketawa terbahak-bahak. Guru tuisyen tersipu-sipu dibuatnya.

Itulah sebahagian kisah benar polarisasi hubungan dan pola-pola negatif komunikasi akibat terlampau banyak berpolitik tanpa adab dan akhlak, perbahasan bukan pula pada tempatnya serta gagal menyedari bahawa anak murid pun berhak, cerdas dan bebas berfikir juga.

Daulat Tuanku

Alas, His Royal Highness comes to the rescue by issuing a decree and granting an audience to Bersih's representatives. This royal intervention is timely indeed so that the authorities can start to bring back some sanity to this whole sordid affair. The people are relieved that royal wisdom prevails.

Bersih 2.0 is just about legitimate electoral demands which are really quite reasonable in seeking free and fair elections. A strong government committed to democracy would never feel threatened by it. However, maybe the nation's top political leadership were ill advised or became callous, letting loose sledgehammer tactics by trying to stamp out anything that can be remotely connected to Bersih 2.0, activists, T-shirts, colours and symbols.

The relentless backlash was to be expected as any public relations disaster would in an open and interconnected world that we live in where thinking people cherish freedom, reason and level headedness. The mindless spree of detention and intimidation has to stop. Never again should repression and force be resorted to in a civil and peaceful protest.

Let the people go to the stadium safely, let them assemble in free association, let them wear their yellow shirts or whatever decent dress they wish proudly, release the detainees; it maybe a tiny victory but it is a Malaysian first.

Unggun-bersih

Semakin lara kita didera bara –

kita laungkan juga pesan merdeka:

Demokrasi sebenderang mentari

sehasrat hajat semurni harga diri.

Lama resah kita – demokrasi luka;

lama duka kita – demokrasi lara.

Demokrasi yang angkuh, kita cemuhi;

suara bebas yang utuh, kita idami!

Dua abad lalu Sam Adams berseru

(di Boston dijirus teh ke laut biru):

Tak diperlu gempita sorak yang gebu,

diperlu hanya unggun api yang syahdu.

Kini menyalalah unggun sakti itu;

kini merebaklah nyala unggun itu.

Sasterawan Negara A Samad Said

The Colour Yellow

The time sledgehammer tactics were used was by Pharaoh who upon advice by his trusted magicians decreed that all new born male children from the Children of Israel be killed. The Pharaoh envisioned that there shall come a time when a leader shall arise from among the enslaved people to fight and free his nation. In the end, such prophesied leader led his people to freedom and liberation leaving Pharaoh and his wicked men to drown in the Red Sea.

Several years ago the corrupt regime of Hosni Mubarak used underhanded tactics to overwhelmingly win Egyptian general elections by resorting to arresting opposition candidates just prior to polling. Egypt's feared police blockaded electoral posts where opposition supporters were strong in order to prevent them from voting. However hard they tried, Hosni and his evil men could not stop the Arab Spring from happening.

The was a time not so long ago when green was designated enemy of the state. It may look ridiculously childish but these colour-phobic fanatics got their way and pressured many authorities, designers, architects and even oil giant Petronas to acquiesce to be forced to change their colours, their logos and building facades. These changes were not cheap.

When people are threatened and arrested just for wearing certain shirts, symbols and colours without any legal gazette against them, it just goes against common sense and civility. Lessons from our own past and our cherished democracy are not learnt. Mature political reasoning and even handedness are thrown out in favour of brute force and intimidation. There is no need to overreact and reach boiling point.

When National Laureate A Samad Said is hauled up for purportedly reciting poetry, something is greatly amiss in this lovely land of ours. We can be sure by now that Pak Samad wears yellow.

The One Sen Minister

From grappling with flip flopping on the PPSMI issue, missing the challenge of education for language tussles, our overly ingenious minister has suggested the reintroduction of the one sen coin to beat inflation.

First and foremost, he is way out of his league and jurisdiction here for he is not minster for finance, consumerism nor industry. He apparently fails to grasp economics, inflation and pricing mechanisms. He seems not to understand money and the sustainability of currency and its own costs.

He supports the lifting and removal of subsidies which was intended to buffer prices and control inflation. He intends to support hiking up power and electricity prices which will hit manufacturers, suppliers and consumers very hard. He shall be complicit to the removal of further subsidies which will cause costs fuel to rise. All of these efforts shall contribute directly and have compounding effects to inflation and rising prices.

He goes on to say prices were caused by changes in the global climate Then comes the shocker of an advice, Malaysians should control their expenses and learn to increase their own food supply.

The people shall be burdened with spiralling costs, things will be beyond their means as their purchasing power shall be tremendously reduced over a short period of time.

In the meantime, the Malaysian opposition leader said the “alarming” 4.9 per cent rise in food prices from January to April this year compared to the same period last year suggested that there would be a “repeat [of] the pain of 2008”, when food prices jumped 8.8 per cent following sudden fuel price hikes. He says that if this pattern persists for the remainder of the year, 2011 will register the second-highest food price increase for the people to bear since 2006. This would mean food prices have increased by 30 per cent since 2005 while average wages have only gone up 2.6 per cent during the same period, he pointed out. The former finance minister said that there was a “direct correlation” between the government’s subsidy cuts and the persistent food price increases registered so far this year. He also slammed the government for offloading the financial burden of the country’s economic mismanagement to the people.

Meanwhile, spineless consumer associations get into the fray by incredulously suggesting that the people be prepared and get used to it. This means according to one cartoonist, to spend RM 1 for 2 cakes instead of the present 3! Where have the consumer activists with the conscience of the majority in their hearts gone to? This is just like the other overly witty minister who perversely suggested that Malaysians get used to slander and incitement. Where do these people come from.

Finally and the only thing offered by our overly bright minister is a one sen rationalisation to carry in your pocketful of holes at the end of the day.

Give us back our subsidies and you can keep your one sen.

Mat Zain says Najib risks losing Muslim support over Datuk T

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — A retired senior police cop today warned Datuk Seri Najib Razak of a severe Muslim backlash if he failed to punish the “Datuk T” trio for “ridiculing” Islam when they attended a recent sumpah laknat ceremony in a mosque wearing bulletproof vests.

Former KL CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim said Najib could fault no one if he loses the confidence of the country’s Muslims by displaying his willingness to protect his “friends” at the expense of insulting Islam.

“YAB (Yang Amat Berhormat) cannot blame anyone if the Muslims in the country, who are not few in number, have lost their confidence in YAB.

“Moreover, when there is an increase in the number of civil service, army and police retirees, many of whom are Muslims, who are beginning to feel cheated and enslaved and more doubtful of YAB’s direction and ability to lead the government…. this is not a very good development for YAB,” he wrote in his letter to the prime minister today.

Mat Zain said that it would be a clear case of power abuse if Najib (picture) chooses to protect an offender for his misdeeds simply because he considers the latter an ally.

“In Najib should refuse or deliberately find for excuses not to take lawful action against the three, then it will not only be deemed that he has abetted in the crime and conspired with the offenders, but he also appears to be fanning the fires of hatred,” he said.

Najib, he said, would also be allowing himself to be deemed a leader who has betrayed and ridiculed Islam.

“It is even more distressing that YAB has allowed a person, whom his own Cabinet regards as an individual who has not only insulted Islam but also abused power, is corrupt, a cheat and a rapist, to bring pornography and prostitution to the house of God,” he said.

Mat Zain was repeating his accusation last week that “Datuk T” — Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik and Datuk Shuib Lazim, the trio behind the recent sex video caper — had violated section 295 of the Penal Code when they attended Shazryl’s sumpah laknat ceremony at the Masjid Amru Al-As in Sentul wearing bulletproof vests.

At the time, Shazryl was swearing on the Quran that the man in the 21-minute sex video was Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Mat Zain complained that their actions had created the perception that the situation in the mosque was unsafe.

Section 295 states that “whoever defiles any place of worship, with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such defilement as an insult to their religion” will be jailed for up to two years and/or fined.

Mat Zain said that if the trio were to be charged under syariah law or the Penal Code for their actions, the case would not affect police investigation on the video itself.

“The two cases are separate,” he said.

He said that even if the identity of the man featured in the video was to be revealed, it would not free the trio from blame for insulting the mosque and ridiculing Islam.

“These two matters are separate criminal offences.

“Other than that, YAB and the Attorney-General have no power or right, according to any law, to indemnify the trio and free them from any criminal liability,” he said.

Mat Zain also insisted today that Utusan Malaysia’s reported claims of a purported Christian uprising against the Muslims was “artificial” in nature.

He pointed out that it was unprecedented in the country’s history that the Christians, who represent the minority group, had risen to usurp Islam from its position as the religion of the federation.

“In my opinion, only irrational Muslims who fear their own shadows will believe and view seriously this likelihood,” he said.

Mat Zain also reminded Najib of the killing of Othman Talib at Felda Lubok Merbau, Padang Terap, Kedah, in 1985, which he said was the result of an “intense political turmoil” during the Padang Terap election campaign.

He explained that he knew the full details of the incident as he had been installed as the Padang Terap district police chief just three days before it occurred.

“As a Muslim, I was saddened to see a group of Muslims weeping and mourning the death of a fellow Muslim, while at the same time, not far off, there was another group of Muslims who cheered as if celebrating a war victory.

“Even more distressing is that there were other rogues proclaiming themselves as Muslims who took the opportunity to ignite the fires of hostility among those of the same race and religion,” he said.

Mat Zain added that he hoped the event would bring Malaysians to realise that it is not the followers of Hinduism, Buddhism or Christianity who were trying to destroy Muslims but the Muslims themselves.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves and not find a way out by issuing threats and attempting to intimidate those who are innocent,” he said.

By Clara Chooi | May 19, 2011, The Malaysian Insider