Peluang Perdana Menteri Anwar Menyemak Semula Syariah

 Peluang Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim Menyemak Semula Syariah

M. Bakri Musa

 

Kepada dunia luar, Malaysia ialah Menara Berkembar Petronas yang berkilauan. Itulah gambar yang sering di lampirkan dalam majalah dan iklan pelancongan. Pada saya, gambaran Malaysia, khasnya rakyat Melayu, yang lebih tepat ialah Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur yang bangsat dengan latar belakang Menara yang mengagumkan itu.

 

            Gambar yang lebih tepat ini patut memalukan kita, terutamanya pemimpin Melayu dari sultan dan menteri hingga ke imam dan penghulu. Adegan yang menggelegar itu merangkum dan menggambarkan keadaan masyarakat kita. Itu patut menyedihkan kita memandangkan kuasa negara di terajui oleh Melayu tampa dicabar sejak merdeka.

 

            Kampung Baru melambangkan masaalah masyarakat kita yang jauh lebih besar. Yakni, bangsatnya keupayaan serta tanpa kecerdikan masyarakat kita untuk mengkaji dan menghasilkan penyelesaian yang berkesan. Kemunduran Kampung Baru, seperti juga tanah rizab Melayu diseluruh negara serta peruntukkan khas untuk Melayu di bawah MARA dan Tabung Haji mithalnya, bukanlah kekurangan modal kewangan seperti yang dikatakan oleh cerdik pandai kita. Sebaliknya ia disebabkan oleh pengetahuan dan akar fikiran mereka yang lemah dan mandul. Petualang utama dan paling besar ialah kerumitan undang-undang pusaka Islam yang merangkap serta menjerat berpanjangan harta kaum Islam yang langsung tidak memberi hasil apa pun. Bahkan harta itu akan terus merosot nilainya. Renungkan sekarang harta yang sedemikian terperangkap bernilai berlebihan RM 105 bilion!

 

            Walaupun sekarang sudah ramai pakar ekonomi Melayu dan kegilaan mereka untuk "mengIslamkan" mata pelajaran itu, tetapi malangnya tidak ramai yang berani atau berminat untuk menyelesaikan masalah pokok ini yang mencolok. Sebaliknya mereka heboh berbangga dengan kemajuan negara tanpa memikirkan atau sengaja melupakan sumbangan penting dari kaum bukan Islam. Teliti sahajalah pengambilan cukai kerajaan.

 

            Sementara itu ulama kita heboh dengan ketaksuban mereka kepada Akhirat dan sibuk mempertahankan Syariah kononnya daripada musuh-musuh tertentu. Saksikan perhimpunan terbesar baru-baru ini semasa perbicaraan Mahkamah Persekutuan mengenai kononya cabaran terhadap enakmen Syariah Kelantan. Jika mereka tidak sibuk menunjuk perasaan tetapi tekun membersihkan tandas masjid dan sekolah di kampung mereka, itu lebih bermakna dan mungkin memberi lebih faedah. Mereka sibuk dengan perkarayang mereka yang mereka fikirkan akan membawa mereka ke Syurga. Sama ada itu benar atau sebaliknya, Allah hu Allam!

 

            Keputusan Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim baru-baru ini (21 November 2023) menubuhkan jawatankuasa khas untuk "memperkasakan dan meningkatkan status mahkamah Syariah," walaupun berniat baik tetapi akan hanya meningkatkan sahaja nada mereka yang sekarang menganggap mahkamah syariah sudah pun terancam. Yang lebih penting ialah untuk memastikan supaya kes tidak berakhir di mahkamah (syariah atau sivil). Mahkamah ialah untuk menyelesaikan pertikaian. Lebih bermafaat jika kita tumpuhkan upaya supaya masaalah diselesaikan tanpa ka mahkamah.

 

            Ini boleh di capai dengan membuat undang Syariah lebih terang serta jelas, dan menyesuaikannya dengan keadaan semasa dan tempatan. Malangnya Syariah sekarang gagal dalam hal ini. Ini tidak mengejutkan sebab hukum syariah yang kita warisi sekarang berdasarkan atas norma dan budaya masyarakat Arab zaman kuno. Sebaliknya keutamaan mestilah untuk menterjemahkan atau mengubahsuai undang-undang dan adat resam pusaka Islam (dan undang-undang Islam lain) kepada keadaan semasa. Yakni, kita mesti merangka syariah baru yang lebih sesuai pada masa dan keadaan sekarang. Kita mesti mengagungkan dengan terus terang kehendak atau pilihan peribadi seseorang tanpa halangan. Perintah Al-Quran tentang harta pesaka yang kompleks itu hanya berlaku apabila seseorang meninggal dunia dalam keadaan tanpa berwasiat.

 

            Timur Kuran dalam bukunya, “The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East,” menonjolkan undang-undang pusaka Islam sebagai punca menghalang perusahaan Islam daripada terus berlangsung selepas kematian pengasasnya.

 

            Islam pada masa dulu lagi sudah penuh dengan cara yang di kemukakan oleh ahli ulama serta cerdik pandai untuk membezakan antara riba dengan alat yang perlu untuk mereka berniaga. Antaranya ialah sistem kredit atau pinjam meminjam. Itu perlu bahkan ia asas utama cara perusahaan dan perdagangan. Kredit (atau hutang menghutang) bukan hanya untuk mereka yang berniaga sahaja. Bahkan rakyat biasa pun perlu dan berhak diberi alat kredit. Mengikut Muhammad Yunus, pakar ekonomi Bangladesh yang memenangi Hadiah Nobel Keamanan, kemudahan kredit adalah satu hak asasi manusia.

 

            Kitab sulam Arab penuh dengan cara dan inisiatif ekonomi yang produktif untuk mengatasi (atau sebenarnya untuk membatasi ikatan ketat riba). Cara itu masih berkekalan sekarang walau pun alat dan cara itu yang tidak pernah disebutkan dalam Al-Quran. Itu juga membuktikan kecemerlangan pemikir orang Islam awal. 

 

            Pertimbangkan konsep peredaran berbanding dengan bertakung (seperti air). Bila mengambil air sembahyang (berwuduk) kita mencari air yang mengalir. Air yang bertakung di sifatkan najis. Begitu juga dengan kekayaan; ia mesti terus beredar. Harta yang bertakung atau terperangkap adalah satu pembaziran, dan Allah tidak menyukai itu. Perdagangan, profesion yang dihormati dalam agama kita, pada dasarnya adalah pengedaran kekayaan; begitu juga dengan zakat dan sedekah. Perbelanjaan untuk orang miskin, selain daripada membantu mereka, melaksanakan peranan penting ini untuk mengedarkan dan dengan itu membersihkan kekayaan.

 

            Konsep "halaju wang" atau “velocity of money” dari segi ekonomi moden ialah satu ukuran kerancakan atau keteguhan ekonomi. Peranan penting bank ialah sebagai satu alat untuk mengedarkan wang dan kekayaan serta mencantumkan mereka yang mempunyai wang dengan mereka yang boleh menggunakannya untuk menjalankan perusahaan mereka. Ini adalah satu pengantara kewangan yang penting dalam pembangunan ekonomi, yakni, kekayaan yang beredar. Tunjukkan kepada saya satu masyarakat yang bangsat dan saya akan tunjukkan kepada anda satu masyarakat yang tiada mempunyai sistem perbankan yang berkesan. 

 

            Umat Islam hari ini taksub dengan riba tetapi gagal membezakannya daripada konsep seperti nilai masa wang (satu ringgit hari ini tidak sama nilainya dengan yang setahun lalu), pulangan pelaburan, dan peranan bank dalam mengedarkan kekayaan.

 

            Cerdik pandai Arab pada masa dulu telah merakam berbagai alat untuk mengatasi masalah riba dengan menggunakan konsep dan idea yang tidak disebut pun dalam Al-Quran. Antaranya ialah waqaf. Ia mendahului perbadanan moden seperti konsep syarikat sendirian berhad (atau limited liability corporation dalam zaman moden) supaya membenarkan sesuatu keluarga dapat mengekalkan kekayaan mereka melalui keturunan, selain daripada melindungi harta pesaka mereka daripada di rampas oleh pemimpin dan sultan. Ini dinyatakan oleh Benedict Koehler dalam bukunya, “Early Islam And The Birth Of Capitalism” (Islam dan Timbulnya Kapitalisma).

 

            Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim adalah satu-satunya pemimpin yang berkaliber dan berkebolehan untuk membawa golongan Islamis yang berfikiran kuno tentang riba dan ekonomi kepada fikiran yang sesuai pada Abad ke-21 sekarang. Saya harap dia akan memanfaatkan kedudukan uniknya untuk berbuat demikian, dan bukan untuk melawakan mereka. Mari kita bersama mendoakan semoga Perdana Menteri Anwar berjaya.

 

Cast From The Herd Excerpt # 105: Where is Canada?

 Cast From The Herd:  Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia

M. Bakri Musa

Excerpt # 105:  Where Is Canada?

My grandfather wanted to know more about Canada, about how big and how cold the country and what snow was like. I related the hugeness of the country by stating that when it was sunrise on the west coast, it was already past midday at the eastern end of the land. He had difficulty comprehending that. 

            My grandmother did not share my grandfather’s curiosity. She was content with her little world of the kampung; her garden and fruit trees, as well as her friends and family. She said, with no sense of melancholy, that as she was old and I would be gone for a long time, she would not see me again. She was stooped from osteoporosis but otherwise mobile and healthy, so I never considered her as being frail. When you are young, you do not fathom what old means. 

            My grandfather chided her that matters of when our time would come were best left to Allah. Only He knew; meanwhile we should make the best possible use of our time on earth to worship Him and follow His commands. 

            As it turned out my grandmother was right. A few months after I left, she fell by the river and never recovered. My grandfather died a few years later from prostate cancer. He spent many a day at the new University of Malaya Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, for pain control, a particular burden with that disease. During his hospitalizations he would never tire of telling his doctors that he had a grandson in Canada training to be one of them. He also told them that he would like to live long enough so his grandson could treat him. My grandfather died in 1969, the year I graduated. 

            This penchant to tell the world that your child or grandchild is or would be a doctor is an affliction peculiar to those families with their first physician member. 

            As I walked out of my grandparents’ house the next morning, I did not feel any different from any other day. I went to my parents’ house for a bath and then joined the family for breakfast. My grandparents too joined in. My luggage was already packed into the car. The last picture taken at our village home was of me holding my sister Hamidah’s first baby, Mahadi (Eddy), only a few months old. As I write, Eddy has just recently retired after a successful career in banking. Today he is also a proud grandfather.

            Then as we were ready to leave, my grandfather gathered us all in front of the house for a final prayer. Then he led us out of the gate where I said my goodbyes to him and my grandmother. I do not remember any tears from them or me. They had the same expression they had when they left for Mecca – graceful acceptance. As for me, it felt as if I was off for a short visit to my sister’s place in Kuala Lumpur and that I would be back once the weekend was over. 

            That evening my brother-in-law Ariffin took me to the popular pasar malam (night bazaar) at Kuala Lumpur’s Kampung Baru. My father was uneasy about that. He felt that on the eve of an important journey I should pause and reflect, and not be engaged in extraneous activities. That was his habit. When everyone was ready he would pause and ask whether we had forgotten or should remember anything. I found this a useful practice. It is amazing how often we had forgotten our keys or to turn the oven off. 

            I was fortunate to have had a long time to prepare for my trip. Decades later, my nephew Aslan’s bride-to-be, Masetura, was also awarded an overseas scholarship. The bureaucrats at the ministry sat on her file and notified her only at the last minute. She and her father had to rush around preparing for the trip. The upshot was that he had a fatal accident in one of those frantic errands. There is never a good time to have an accident, fatal or otherwise, but one just before your daughter was about to go abroad would be particularly tough. 

            With Ariffin’s persistence and my assurance to be extra careful, my father relented about my going out that evening. Perhaps he realized the futility of trying to stop me; the next day and beyond I would be on my own. 

            My father was always reluctant to forbid me from taking a particular course of action; he preferred only to express his views and then leave it to me to make the final decision. If he were to decide for me, and then if I were to go against his advice, I would be committing two sins. One is for doing the deed, which must be not good to begin with as he disapproved of it, and the other, for going against parental advice. In Islam, the second is often the greater sin. Thus he would never say an absolute “no” to my request but merely advise against it. He did not want me to carry the double burden of guilt should something go wrong. 

            The pasar malam was packed; the stalls went on forever, selling all varieties of goods. Ariffin tried to interest me in an overcoat saying that I could never get a better bargain elsewhere. I remembered Ivan Head’s advice, the Canadian embassy official I had met earlier, about style and finding something warm enough. So despite the temptation, I bought nothing. When we returned, my father was relieved. 

Excerpt # 106:  My First Airplane Trip

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Unique opportunity To Refashion Syariah

 Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Unique Opportunity To Refashion Syariah

M. Bakri Musa

 

To me the iconic picture of Malaysia is not that of the Petronas Twin Towers, as is typically seen on glossy tourist brochures, rather the squalor of the Malay settlement of Kampung Baru with the imposing Towers in the background.

 

            That should shame Malay leaders from the sultans on down. That jarring scene encapsulates and portrays the current pathetic state of our community, made that much more lamentable considering that the major levers of power in the country have been in unchallenged Malay hands since independence.

 

            Kampung Baru is emblematic of a far greater problem; our lack of intellectual capacity to analyze problems and come up with effective solutions. The issue with Kampung Baru, as with all Malay reservation lands as well as other assets reserved for Malays (as under MARA and Tabung Haji), is not lack of financial capital, as the conventional wisdom would have it, rather the lack of intellectual efforts at solving the major obstacle facing Malays today – the bewildering complexity of Islamic inheritance laws that have trapped Muslim assets under needless prolonged probates. About RM 80 billion worth of assets are thus frozen!

 

            Despite the plethora of Malay economists and the frenzy of “Islamizing” the discipline, few have addressed this critical glaring issue. Instead we have been deluded by Malaysia’s glittering development, forgetting the significant if not overwhelming contributions of non-Muslims. Scrutinize the government’s tax receipts.

 

            Meanwhile our ulama, their obsession with the Hereafter aside, are busy defending the Syariah against phantom enemies. Witness the recent mass gathering during the Federal Court’s hearing on the challenge to Kelantan’s Syariah enactments. If those demonstrators had just stayed back in Kelantan to clean up the lavatories of their local masjids and schools, they would have done a far more beneficial service. As to whether such activities would land them in Heaven, their central preoccupation, Allah hu Allam (Only Allah Knows!)

 

            Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s recent (November 21, 2023) setting up of a special committee “to empower and elevate the status of the Syariah court,” though well intentioned, was misplaced. Far more important to make sure that cases do not end up in the courts (syariah or otherwise) in the first place. Courts are there to resolve disputes. More sensible to prevent them from arising in the first place.

 

            Making Syariah laws clear, explicit, and relevant to current realities would do much to achieve that. Unfortunately Syariah fails miserably in this. No surprise there as its norms are based on medieval Arab society. The priority is not to “modernize” or “strengthen” Syariah courts, rather to make Islamic inheritance laws (and other Islamic laws) as simple and explicit as possible, putting a premium on an individual’s unhampered personal choice. The complex Qur’anic injunctions apply only when someone dies intestacy(without a will).

 

            Timur Kuran’s  The Long Divergence:  How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East, singles out Islamic inheritance laws as the culprit preventing Islamic enterprises from surviving their founders.

 

            Classical Islam is replete with brilliant innovations and enduring productive economic initiatives not mentioned in the Qur’an, testimony to the brilliance of those early thinkers. Consider the concept of circulation, as opposed to stagnation. When performing ablution we seek flowing water. Stagnancy is unclean. Likewise with wealth; it must be kept circulating. Stagnant or trapped wealth is a waste, and Allah does not like that. Trading, an esteemed profession is Islam, is at its essence the circulating of wealth; likewise with zakat and charity. Spending on the poor, quite apart from helping them, performs this crucial role of circulating and thus purifying wealth.

 

            Modern economists’ “velocity of money” as a measure of the vibrancy of an economy reflects this wisdom. Banks, and other financial intermediaries' critical role in economic development is precisely this – circulating wealth. Show me an undeveloped country and I will show you one without an effective banking system. Yet Muslims today are obsessed with their superficial comprehension of ribaa, failing to differentiate it from such concepts as the time-value of money ( a ringgit today is not of the same value as the one a year ago), returns on investment, and modern banks’ role in circulating wealth.

 

            Another classical concept, again not mentioned in the Qur’an, is waqaf or trust. It predates the modern corporation in allowing families to maintain their wealth through generations, quite apart from protecting them from predatory rulers, as stated by Benedict Koehler in his Early Islam And The Birth Of Capitalism.

 

            Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is the only leader with the caliber and standing to bring these present day medieval-minded Islamists to the 21^st Century. I hope he would leverage his unique standing to do just that, and not to humor them. The only Muslim leader who has the courage to do that today is Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Bin Salman. Pray that both would be successful.

Cast From The Herd Excerpt # 104: Getting Ready To Leave For Canada

 Cast From The Herd:  Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia

M. Bakri Musa

Excerpt # 104:  Getting Ready To Leave For Canada

            Hujan emas di negri orang, hujan batu di negri sendiri

            Marilah sama kita menyemberang; burkat Illahi pantang dijauhi! 

 

            [If theirs be blessed with showers of gold while ours blighted by thunderous hails,

            Together we shall cross the ocean; the blessings of Allah we must avail.]

                        A twist on a familiar Malay saying. 

September 15, 1963, a Sunday, the day I was to fly out of Malaya to begin my merantau. My parents decided that it would be best for me to leave my village the day before and stay at my sister Hamidah’s house in Kuala Lumpur. That Monday September 16th was the official declaration of the new Malaysia, a public holiday; thus a long weekend. 

            Limited to only two suitcases, I had a ready excuse not to include the many things my mother wanted me to carry, like her kampung fried chicken so I would have halal meals on the plane. How sweet and thoughtful of her. I had earlier discussed with my Imam halal diet to allay my mother’s concerns. My father, as usual, viewed things practically. He said that with the hefty price of the ticket, the airline could throw in a free meal or two. 

            I was looking forward to eating airline food, in fact any Western food. Long brought up on traditional Malay fare, my palate now yearned for the delights of other cuisines. The only “steak,” the epitome of Western food, I had ever tasted was at a Chinese restaurant in Kuala Kangsar. It was more burnt meat. 

            That last evening in the village I slept in my grandparents’ house to share some quiet moments with them, especially my grandmother. She had had little time with me in the past few weeks what with my hectic preparations. I arrived while they were at their isha’a (late night) prayer. It was longer than usual. Typically those long sessions were on Thursday evenings (the beginning of Friday; in the Muslim scheme of things, the holiest day of the week). After finishing their prayers, my grandfather turned to me and said that he and my grandmother had just said a special prayer for me. 

            He did that often in the past as when I would be sitting for an important examination. Somehow that evening his statement touched me. He told me that I had done my part in studying hard and obeying the rules Allah had laid down upon us through our great Prophet Muhammad (May the Blessings of Allah be Upon Him). Only after we had done our part should we turn to God and pray for His blessings and protection. 

            “When you are far away in Canada,” he continued, “we wouldn’t know what dangers you may face. You’ll have to assess those and prepare yourself. There is nothing that we could do from here. Our contribution would only be our prayers.” He then reminded me of the wisdom of our Prophet, s.a.w.,:  First tie your camel securely; only then pray to Allah that it does not escape. While others may pray for me, only I have the sole responsibility to make sure that my camel is first properly secured. 

            Over the years I had been in many dicey situations:  flipped over by a horse, caught in a winter storm, and stranded in a canoe in the middle of a lake during a summer squall. In each of those instances I would ask myself whether I had prepared myself well ahead of time. Did I learn how to handle a horse before I rode the beast? Did I have survival gear in my car before setting out in mid-winter? Did I have my life jacket on before heading out in a canoe? In short, did I first secure my camel properly before leaving it? 

            In those instances where I had not, I promised to do so the next time, and prayed that He would forgive me this time. On the occasions where I was fully prepared, I also prayed to seek His protection and blessings. That gave me the equanimity to face challenges and adversities. 

Next:  Excerpt # 105:  Where  Is Canada?

My Village Imam's Profound Observation And Advice

 Cast From The Herd:  Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia

M. Bakri Musa

Excerpt # 103:  My Village Imam’s Profound Observation And Advice

            At that last kenduri for me I asked my Imam if he had any pointers or du’as for me when dissecting human bodies, de rigueur for medical students. Caught by my unexpected question, he raised his palms towards me as if apologizing. 

            “I don’t know!” After a pause, he repeated his answer and added, “That is a new world for me,” he confessed. “I do not even know where to refer you. I can tell you how to prepare a body for burial, but that is not what you are asking.” 

            Then after a long pause and recognizing his unsatisfactory response, he continued. “Those cadavers are not just dead bodies. You are learning from them even though they cannot teach you as a living teacher would. Nevertheless they are your teachers, functionally.” Then pondering on what he had just said, added, “As such, you should treat those bodies as you would your teachers.” 

            Profound, and not just on that point! 

            To me my Imam was a repository of theological and spiritual knowledge. Yet there he was, humble and freely admitting to what he did not know. Later as a physician I take to heart the lesson my imam had unknowingly imparted upon me that evening. I do not hesitate telling my patients that I have not yet found an answer to their ailments. An “I don’t know or yet know ” response is far more preferable and satisfactory than telling my patients that there is nothing wrong with them. 

            As for the cadaver being my teacher, I regretted that I was less than faithful to my imam’s sage advice. At medical school I, like my fellow classmates, had treated the cadaver as just another specimen, as with the rabbit in my earlier biology classes. My humble and belated heartfelt apology to that unknown soul who gave me literally his body so I could learn. May the Good Lord bless his soul, and forgive me for my cavalier attitude! 

            Fast forward to today, at many enlightened American medical schools, the students and faculty have a special dedication ceremony at the end of their anatomy class to pay their respects and honor those selfless souls who had generously donated their bodies so would-be doctors could learn. It would have been quite a legacy had I listened to my Imam then and started that tradition at my old medical school way back then. Alas, I missed a splendid opportunity. 

            Who would have thought that a simple kampung Imam with an equally simple village education and experience would have such profound observations and equally sage advice?

            Today, Malay Imams are highly educated; many sporting doctorates from impressive universities. Few however can match the wisdom and humility of my old kampung Imam Mondot.

Next:  Excerpt # 104:  Leaving For Canada

Syed Siddiq Class Act In Resigning From MUDA Presidency

 Syed Siddiq Class Act In Resigning From MUDA Presidency

M. Bakri Musa

 

November 9, 2023

 

Syed Siddiq’s press conference on November 9, 2023 when he announced his resignation as president of his Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA, an acronym meaning young in Malay) was a class act. He had earlier been convicted by the High Court for money laundering, criminal breach of trust, and two other charges. He is now free pending appeal. 

 

            Thanks to the quirks of the Malaysian constitution, Siddiq remains a Member of Parliament representing his Muar district which he won since the 2018 election. In his first term he was appointed Minister of Youth and Sports at age 25, the youngest federal minister ever. Quite an impressive start!

 

            Had Siddiq been in the Indian Parliament, he would have to resign his parliamentary seat upon conviction regardless of his appeal status. India adopted that rule in 2013.

 

            In resigning as his party’s leader, Siddiq set a new level of conduct for the political class. It was not a surprise that his press conference where he announced his resignation received many favorable comments on social media.

 

            Much as I admire his performance, I felt that Syed Siddiq, like so many bright young Malays, is wasting his precious talent. If I were privileged to be his mentor, this is what I would have advised him. When he graduated from law school I would have encouraged him to further his studies and not be satisfied with his first degree. Get accepted to a prestigious university to pursue his LLM or PhD. He would have no difficulty getting funding for that.

 

            Then find a job with a high-powered law firm to get some real life experience, and with that, some money in the bank to take care of his future family. Then only should he consider entering politics. It is unfortunate that so many bright young Malays today think that their first degree is enough. They lack adequate mentoring to advise them otherwise.

 

            Young Malays today have a limited horizon and think that the only way for them to serve their community is through politics. Malay politicians are a dime a dozen; not so with Malay entrepreneurs, professionals, and scientists. You serve your community far more effectively through those routes. What Malaysia needs are smart politicians, not run-of-the mill types adept only at stirring the masses with their Ketuanan Melayu fantasies and delusions. Malays already have a glut of those types.

 

            Over my decades in America I have been privileged to meet many smart young Malays. Unfortunately many are in a rush to return home to “help my people,” and think politics is the only path to that end. Alas many of them ended up like Syed Siddiq, their talents squandered. Think of the good Syed would have done had he become an accomplished lawyer and fight for citizens like what Siti Kassim is now doing. 

 

            Today young Syed faces some very serious punishments. Let us hope he has some seasoned lawyers representing him.

 

            MUDA is now helmed by its Vice-President, Amira Aisya, another young lawyer. As one of the few non-race-based parties (the other being Anwar’s Keadilan), MUDA should be confident of its own winning strategy. That is what Malaysia needs today. Focus on building the party and quit forming alliances. Start on your own. Prepare now in time to contest the next major election which should be the Sabah one in about two years time. In the meantime strengthen the party. Building a political party means recruiting members. 

 

            One way to showcase that you are indeed a novel party with fresh innovative ideas would be to introduce term limits for your officers, and have the equivalent of local primaries to select candidates for state and federal elections. Separate yourself from existing stale political parties where the folks at headquarters would select the candidates. Instead, have your local members select your party’s electoral candidates. Practice local democracy. Then you would have candidates who would pay attention to their local constituents instead of sucking up to the party’s apparatchiks at headquarters. That is the curse of PAS, UMNO, and the other established parties.

 

            MUDA’s top priority now should be to establish branches in every federal and state constituency. Recruit local accomplished personalities who share your views to join the party. Begin by sharing the party’s vision of Malaysia with the rakyat.

 

            For those other bright young Malays, let Syed Siddiq be a cautionary tale. There is a vast and exciting field out there to serve your nation outside of politics.

Cast From The Herd Excerpt #102: A Thanksgiving Kenduri

 Cast From The Herd:  Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia

M. Bakri Musa

Excerpt # 102:  A Thanksgiving Kenduri

Before leaving for Canada my parents hosted a kenduri for me. The evening began with the usual communal Maghrib(early evening) prayer with our family Imam Mondot leading it. The imam was piety and humility personified. Leading a prayer is a singular honor and tradition would have the host do it. Whenever Imam Mondot was our guest, he would always point to my father to lead it when asked. My father would decline the honor; after all he specifically invited the imam. Then Imam Mondot would suggest my grandfather. Only after going through such rituals of polite decline a few more times would Imam Mondot lead the prayer, as he did that evening. 

            There was a rhythmic quality to his recitations; his soft, melodious voice gave gravity and solemnity to the occasion. You knew that he was contemplating the meaning of each verse and not merely going through the ritual. After the prayer he recited some supplications, all in Arabic, and we all responded with a collective “Amen!” even though we did not know what they meant. Then speaking in Malay and looking me straight in the eye he said that the collective prayers he had just led expressed the good wishes of all those present, as well as the many who were not. It was their collective appeal to Almighty Allah that He would bless and guide me along the straight path. When said in Malay and in his soothing voice, it was much more meaningful. Those kind words touched me immensely. 

            I have always admired this softness and subtlety of my culture, as with the ritual declining of the honor to lead a communal prayer. Like everything else taken for granted, we would notice it only when there is a departure. Then it would be jarring; bordering on the obscene. 

            I once saw a picture of Abdullah Badawi leading a congregational prayer of his ministers soon after he became Prime Minister. Standing behind him was the mosque’s imam. I could just imagine him, in the traditional humility, of offering the Prime Minister the honor to lead the prayer. The greater magnanimity if not humility would be for Prime Minister Abdullah to decline so the honor would then fall on the imam. Had the Prime Minister done so, it would have been the highlight of that imam’s career, a legacy he could keep telling his grandchildren, “I once led the Prime Minister in prayer!” 

            That Prime Minister Abdullah did not, exposed his lack of class. It was worse. His advisors had that picture of him leading the prayer splashed all over the media, a staged image of a secular leader also being a spiritual one, a pretentious attempt to be in the grand tradition of our Prophet (May Allah bless his soul!). That was crass, made more vulgar in the context of soft Malay values. 

            At that kenduri my fellow villagers saw a different me, not the little boy who used to bicycle around the village but a young man ready to merantau. I was not the first from my village to go abroad. None however, had gone to Canada. Imam Mondot asked where that was, and I replied that it was at the other end of the world, beyond England and next to America. Even in the remotest villages they had heard of those two countries. Then he asked whether Canada was like England, meaning, “white man” country. After confirming that, I added that both America and Canada were once British colonies but now independent, just like Malaya. 

            “So it’s not just us brown folks who want to be free,” he added. “Those white folks in America and Canada too wanted their independence, even from their own kind.”

            Very perceptive! The corollary to Imam Mondot’s sharp observation is even more valid. Often the most brutal oppressors are our own leaders; witness Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Chairil Anwar’s Aku, like all great poems, encapsulates a universal truth. 

            It was during these post-prayer banters that one could readily appreciate the social-bonding value of these kenduris. In addition, as James C Scott observed in his book Weapons of the Weak:  Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance, it is during such sessions that those in positions of authority would hear of the community’s problems first hand, before it is too late! As with any bull session worthy of its name, those were also the times when the major crises of the nation and indeed the world would be solved if only those villagers were to be in charge! 

            In feudal times such kenduris were hosted by the aristocrats; only they had the resources. Such social rituals were what held society together, a chance for the leaders to know of the rumblings down below before it was too late. Today, the new Malay elite try to hang on to such traditions, the only problem being that their kenduris have been ‘modernized’ and held at plush hotels, with engraved invitations no less. 

            Communications on such occasions are one way, with the new lords pontificating and the guests listening, or at least pretending. With head tables and seating assignments, the spontaneity is gone, and with that meaningful interactions between host and guests. This is a major factor contributing to the increasing disconnect between the Malay masses and their leaders, as so perceptively chronicled in James C Scott’s book mentioned earlier.

Next:  Excerpt # 103:  A Village Imam’s Profound Observation And Advice