Longing For An Enligthened Discourse On Hadith

 Longing For An Enlightened Discourse On Hadith

M. Bakri Musa

 

Discussions on hadith are heavy on establishing their authenticity through recitations of their long chain of narrators (isnad), less on relating their contents (matin) to the Qur’an, or the lessons that could be applied to contemporary challenges. 

 

            The typical discourse is heavy on mindless recitations of ancient Arabic texts. Never mind that your listeners cannot comprehend that. The purpose is less to enlighten, more to dazzle them.

 

            Dr. Maza’s recent long lecture in Kangar to launch the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Imam Nawawi’sForty Hadith Module was typical. Cut out his rhetorical flourishes and glut of gratuitous Arabic, and his talk could have been reduced to under 20 minutes. His cluttered slides were but distractions.

 

            As a result, many of his sharp observations were missed. His searing criticism of the mushrooming Tahfiz schools and their half-baked teachers consumed with their desert attire was spot on. Likewise his praise for Chinese schools and their well-trained teachers and disciplined milieu. He also condemned the pecuniary peddling of religion by contemporary ulama. That they are as yet not as avaricious as American evangelicals is no comfort. 

 

            Preachers have yet to appreciate that the adult’s attention span is limited. Inundating them with factoids serves little purpose. Those long droning presentations reflect another far more significant reality–lack of appreciation of the value of time, specifically that of your audience. A culture that does not value time suffers a severe handicap.

 

            The Zimbabwean but ethnic Arab Mufti Menk once gave a three-hour lecture in Kuala Lumpur, mesmerizing his audience in debunking the familiar hadith “seek knowledge even if you have to go to China.” At least Maza’s two-hour talk covered five! Menk conceded the first part of the hadith as that was also in the Qur’an. It is the ‘going to China’ bit that he scoffed. How could a 7^th Century Prophet have heard of China any more than he could of Kuala Lumpur, he mocked to the delight of his gullible audience.

 

            Meanwhile, an Indonesian high school student Bina Izzatu Dini was intrigued by that hadith, what with everything from sejadah (praying mat) to the model of the Kaaba being made in China these days. She discovered that, contrary to Mufti Menk’s brash ignorant assertion, Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w., being a trader before receiving his prophethood, would have heard of China as the ancient Silk Road traversed north of Mecca.

 

            Bina Dini’s curiosity and subsequent essay won her a scholarship to a Chinese university. Regardless of whether that hadith is sahih or not, she benefited directly in exploring it. And she did not have to wait till the Afterlife! That was also a far more beneficial exercise than arguing on the veracity of what was said (or not said) a millennium and a half ago! 

 

            When MOE introduced Nawawi’s Forty Hadith Module into schools last year, non-Muslim students were exempted, suggesting that Imam Nawawi’s wisdom would benefit only Muslims. That would be akin to asserting that studying Socrates would benefit only atheists, or Greeks!

 

            Ponder Nawawi’s first pick, “actions be judged by intentions.” That could stimulate a lively discussion a la Socrates. Consider that you tried to kill someone but your shot missed and instead killed the tiger that was lurking behind your target, ready to pounce on its victim but for your shot. Your intention was evil but your deed proved otherwise.

 

            Deeds are clear; motives and intentions, less so. When the Soviets sent Sputnik into space in 1957, that triggered America to launch its own very expensive program. America’s motives were realpolitik–not to be outmatched by the Soviets in this potential new and powerful military arena. Anything but pure! Thus many, especially clerics, argued that the funds would be better spent on earth.

 

            Today with satellites, we can predict the weather with better accuracy, guide planes more safely, and I can converse on video with my grandchildren ten thousand miles away. Quite a bounty regardless of the initial warped motive for America entering the space race.

 

            Framers of the American constitution had the noblest intention to be inclusive when they inserted “We, the people” in the preamble. However, their deeds were otherwise. That “we” referred only to property-owning white men. Only now it is being expanded to be truly inclusive.    

 

            How do you square those with “actions be judged by intentions?” 

 

            In the ensuing endless lectures, seminars, and in-service programs accompanying the launching ofForty Hadith Module, I have yet to hear these critical questions asked, or the universality of those hadith explored.

 

            No surprise that non-Muslims are turned off, mocking MOE’s intention of providing “ a positive impact as well as real picture of Islam’s universal values and its practices in a pluralistic society in Malaysia.” On the contrary, non-Muslims see the Module as another “Islamization” ruse.

 

            Rumi would not have been the most widely read poet today had Coleman Barks not universalized Rumi’s essence and message by using neutral rather than overtly Islamic words. Thus God and Supreme Being for Allah so non-Muslims could relate to Rumi’s wisdom. 

 

            Introducing the hadith module was a good deed; MOE’s intention, less so. It is less to bring Malaysians together through exploring the universality of Forty Hadith, more a misguided messianic dakwah to Islamize our schools, and thus sow divisions among citizens.

The Hijra of American Muslims

 The Hijra of American Muslims

M. Bakri Musa

 

Updated; originally published in Malaysiakini, April 23, 2002.

[Awal Muharram, the beginning of the Muslim lunar calendar year 1446, began after sunset July 7, 2024.]

 

American Muslims have something in common with the exalted first generation Muslims. That is, most of us have undertaken our own hijra (migration). The hijra of Prophet Muhammad and those early Muslims (praise be upon them) was such a seminal event that the Muslim calendar began with that date. 

 

            The Prophet’s message of monotheism, social justice, and egalitarianism–the essence of Islam–was very much against the prevailing social order. This was the Age of Jahiliyah (Ignorance), where idolatrous worship, outright slavery, female infanticide, and hordes of other unsavory activities were the norms. Mecca, then a flourishing trade center, was marked by gross inequities, usurious practices, and rampant materialism.

 

            Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w., knew that Islam would frontally challenge the existing social order. Even though he was committed to Allah’s cause, nonetheless he had no intention of destroying his community in order to save it, to use a Vietnam-era maxim. He was fully cognizant of the intense opposition from the existing power structure. Thus the forcing of his divine message would result only in further turmoil, a civil war. His mission was to save, not destroy society.

 

            Fortunately the pagan Arabs of Medinah saw the wisdom of the Prophet and invited him to mediate their dispute. Finding an opportunity of a welcoming reception, our prophet decided to migrate to Medinah, the hijra. From there Islam spread, eventually to win over Mecca and beyond.

 

            The Prophet chose that particular moment to migrate because of a revelation instructing him to do so. Meaning, the hijra was a positive mission to establish the first and exemplary Muslim community, and not a negative one of escaping from persecution at Mecca.

 

Saved By Many Miracles

Despite the divine directive, the migration was far from smooth. The non-believers in Mecca would prefer that the Muslims be destroyed. Thus, the Muslims had to leave in small groups and under cover of night to avoid detection. Tradition has it that the Prophet was saved in his hijra through a series of miracles. One had it that when he and his companion Abu Bakar took refuge in a cave, they could hear the footsteps of the pursuing Meccans. Just then a spider began spinning a web at the entrance of the cave. When the Meccans peeked into the cave and found the web intact, they concluded that no one could possibly be in there. Hence the special place spiders have in Islamic beliefs.

 

            Present-day non-native American Muslims are emulating the best tradition of the Prophet in undertaking our own migration. There are many reasons why we leave the land of our birth. Those can be divided basically into that of “push,” and the other, “pull.”

 

            Many are simply pushed out of their native land, ending up as refugees on American shores and elsewhere. That was the fate of Muslims from East Africa escaping the tyranny of Idi Amin; the Bosnians from the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans; and the Chiam people of Cambodia and Vietnam from the vengeful communist regimes. These were truly brave Muslims.

 

            It is the duty of Muslims to leave places where they are persecuted and suppressed even if that were to involve forsaking their homes and properties. In Surah An Nisaa, (4:97) (approximate translation), “When the angels take the souls of those who die in sin, they say, ‘In what plight were ye?’ They replied: ‘Weak and oppressed we were on earth.’ They say, ‘Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to move yourselves away from evil?’ Such persons will find their abode in Hell. Allah spares only those who are weak and oppressed, men, women and children who have no means in their power, nor could they find a way to escape.”

 

Better Opportunities

The second group are those who are not pushed out but instead are attracted to the better opportunities afforded in the West. America gives us the freedom to practice our faith without interference. Its commitment to human freedom as enshrined in the Bill of Rights is very much in the spirit of Islam. America also provides unlimited opportunities to pursue knowledge and self-improvement. America has been described as a land of second chances; I believe it is the land of many chances.

 

            One particular group of immigrants is deserving of our praise–Islamic scholars. These brilliant individuals are persecuted and not allowed to develop their talent back in their native land. In America they are welcomed with open arms and given every opportunity to pursue their knowledge and spread their wisdom. As a result, America and Islam are blessed with the flowering of their scholarships.

 

            I believe that the second renaissance in Islam will occur in America. That also comports with my understanding of the Qur’anic verse alluding to nur arising from the west. I take nur to mean enlightenment and not the literal sun. Throughout history, Islam flourishes only where there is freedom. America provides that.

 

            The losers are the Muslim nations that do not value the gems within their midst. Such scholars as Ebrahim Mossa from South Africa now at Notre Dame University; Abdullah Na’im from Sudan now at Emory; and the late Pakistani-born Fazlur Rahman of the University of Chicago, bring fresh insights into Islam. They have given us a better understanding of our faith. Major American universities now have endowed Chairs in Islamic Studies. These scholars are indeed doing the cherished work of dakwah for the cause of Islam.

 

            Horrific 9-11 tragedy did and does not in any way alter the scene. American Muslims were similarly tested earlier in the 1970s during the Iranian hostage crisis.

 

            With freedom comes, naturally, differences in views and opinions. Those are healthy. Americans more than anyone else have learnt to live with our differences peacefully. Indeed, Islam teaches us to be tolerant. Allah had created this earth with its diversity of inhabitants, reminding us, “And among His signs is the creation of the Heaven and the Earth; and the variations in your languages and your colors.” (Surah 30:27). We must learn not only to accept this diversity but also to embrace and celebrate it.

 

            The democratic tradition is the very essence of Islam. Allah will not allow his community to be in error, goes a hadith. We are more likely to arrive at the right and wise decision through consensus–the essence of the democratic process–rather than by the decree of a powerful leader.

 

            For those who think that migration is unpatriotic, ponder this beautiful verse from Rumi:

 

            Muhammad says love of one’s country is part of the faith.

            But don’t take that literally!

            Your real country is where you are heading,

            Not where you are from.

            Don’t misread that hadith. . .

            It’s right to love your home place, but first ask,

            Where is that really?

---

Dr M BAKRI MUSA is a surgeon in Silicon Valley, California and the author of, among others, The Malay Dilemma Revisited:  Race Dynamics in Modern Malaysia. His views on Malaysia, as well as his adopted land America, can be stated thus:  Ours is a diverse nation; we can accept and celebrate this reality or by default, it becomes a liability.

End The Endless, Wasteful Monthly Ministry Assemblies

 End The Useless, Wasteful Monthly Ministry Assemblies

M. Bakri Musa

 

It is time for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discontinue his predecessors’ practice of having monthly grand staff assemblies. All ministers are now having these wasteful time-consuming assemblies. Those gatherings are reminiscent of my weekly school assemblies of yore, except that mine were brief, with no wannabe poets as masters of ceremony torturing us with their cutesy pantun.

 

            Watch the videos of these assemblies on social media, and the colossal waste of time and loss of productivity from work interruptions would be obvious. Imagine the many offices and public service counters left understaffed and overwhelmed during those assemblies!

 

            Prime Minister Anwar’s speech last Tuesday July 2, 2024 at the Finance Ministry was illustrative. While he was mercifully brief (about twenty minutes), but with the long preamble together with the obligatory Qur’an recitation and pantun reading, the event lasted over an hour. Add the inevitable social chatter before and after, and the colossal waste of time would be obvious.

 

            The Master of Ceremony proudly announced that there were over 700 staff members present. You can bet that they were not lowly-paid time-scale keranis but lavishly remunerated departmental heads and other “Superscale” officers.

 

            Anwar did not reveal anything new in his speech, nothing that he had not uttered umpteen times before and elsewhere. That is, the importance of combating corruption and rationalizing subsidies. Those should not be news to his staff, nor do they need to be inspired. Instead they should be inspiring the public through their examples. Attending those useless assemblies on government time was far from that.

 

            I am not against pep talks and rah-rah rallies to inspire the troops but not at taxpayers expense. If done on company’s time, make sure that it would benefit the organization. A classic example of that was Apple’s Steve Jobs showcasing a new product. He used those occasions not only to praise and inspire his employees but also to garner millions worth of publicity and precious advertising, as well as create buzz among technies.

 

            Anwar is a masterful orator and has an important message to deliver. His target audience however should not be his staff but the general public. His staff should support him in that crusade by themselves being exemplary efficient public servants.

 

            Unlike him, Anwar’s ministers are not so blessed oratory-wise. I watched a recent Ministry of Education (MOE) Assembly. This time it was its civil servant head instead of the Minister addressing the gathering. He droned on for over an hour discussing mundane issues as staff evaluations! He could have saved everybody’s time and many resources by simply issuing mass e-mails or newsletters.

 

            Of even greater significance, he said nothing about MOE’s current initiative, announced only a few days earlier, of seeking public input for its forthcoming massive review of the education policy.

 

            A month earlier the Minister herself addressed the staff. While she did not outdo her civil service head in the length of her speech, nonetheless hers was long enough, more than twice that of Anwar. In her half-English, half-Malay together with gratuitous sprinkling of Arabic (par for the course for Malays these days), she devoted a significant portion of her talk on how much she learned from Stephen Covey’s book on trust. As for her listeners’ attention, the only applause she received was when she announced salary increases!

 

            Dispense with these wasteful monthly assemblies. Emulate our first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. He used to have a weekly formal press conference following his cabinet meeting where a particular minister (whose issues were the subject of the earlier deliberations) was at his side to elaborate.

 

            Those were also occasions to showcase a minister’s talent as well as to inform the public of major initiatives. Last week would have been an opportune time for Anwar to have the Minister of Education at his side to discuss the proposed education review.

 

            These regular press conferences would also preempt the current frenzy of Anwar’s ministers rushing to the nearest microphones at the slightest provocation to comment on some trivial matters when they should be busy quietly doing their work. Let your results do the talking. Those grand assemblies are nothing more than officially-sanctioned excuses for officers not to be at their desks. Nothing said by those ministers that could not be communicated more effectively, efficiently, and at a much lower cost through e-mails or newsletters.

 

            Anwar’s oratorical skills notwithstanding, he too should avoid frequent public appearances. Those are taxing in so many ways, more so for us in the geriatric group. Focus on a few critical issues. Results and successes would speak volumes and trump eloquent speeches every time. Ponder the fate of that master orator Sukarno intoxicated with his soaring rhetoric,  or the leader Nong in Shannon Ahmad’s short story “Ungkapan” (sloganeering) consumed with his endless political jingles.

 

            More to the point, Ministers should be the chief executives of their respective ministries, not their cheerleaders or press release officers.

 

Malaysia Has Lost A Wonderful Creative Talent In Mansor Puteh

 Malaysia Has Lost A Wonderful Creative Talent In Mansor Puteh

(To Allah we belong and to Him shall we return!)

 

July 7, 2024

I am saddened by the sudden unexpected death of filmmaker Mansor Puteh from a single motor vehicle accident early Sunday morning July 7, 2024. He was 77 years old.

 

            Mansor came into my world in December 2005 although I would never meet him till over a decade later in 2017 on the occasion of the launching the Malaysian edition of my Liberating The Malay Mind in Shah Alam.

 

            I was very much touched by his personal story of having miraculously survived a lethal bone cancer diagnosed when he was studying at Columbia University. I penned an article on his battle that appeared in The Sundaily, Sunday edition, on December 9, 2005 (pasted below).

 

            Since returning to Malaysia, sans his graduate degree in Fine Arts (Filmmaking), he had become a regular blood donor. Many had benefited from his literal gift of life. Perhaps that was his way of repaying his gratitude for having survived his cancer.

 

            Over the years he had kindly kept me up to date on his work, often sending me clips of his films. I am also grateful for his many kind and penetrating comments on my articles, always perceptive and also always courteous. He never hesitated in pointing out my misinformation and countering my arguments when he disagreed with me, and did so ever so gently and politely.

 

            Most of all I treasured his many anecdotes he had of our first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, as his family was close to him. He released a documentary, “The Residency Years,” about the Tunku. I was thrilled when he gave me a copy of it.

 

            Mansor was very much aware that he was a medical miracle, or more correctly, God’s. Bone cancer is a lethal disease more so back then. He had led a full life, contributing to his art and more to the hundreds who had benefited from his gift of regular blood donations. 

 

            I last heard from him just a month ago commenting on one of my articles. His sharp critical sense was very much in evidence. His e-mail in part reads:

 

            “I lodged a complaint with JPA who oversees all government agencies and told them why all officials of Finas are those who are not qualified in film. They say they are investigating the matter. I also lodged a complaint with Kementerian Kewangan and asked them how they just give Finas grants every year without knowing if the officials in the film agency are qualified.

 

            Finas is given RM30 million a year for the 300-400 staff and other expenses, yet the only known official duty they are doing is to disburse RM20 million in grants to film producers. This can be done by any bank.”

 

            That was Mansor Puteh. Always sharp, always critical, and always unafraid to voice his views. The nation has lost a great and creative talent! May Allah bless his soul!

. 

 

 

Persistence Personified–Mansor Puteh

M. Bakri Musa

SunDaily Weekend Edition Dec 9, 2005.

 

This spring [2006], author and filmmaker Mansor Puteh will be returning to Columbia University to present his portfolio in fulfilment of his Masters In Fine Arts (MFA) degree. There is nothing newsworthy there, except for the fact that the last time that Mansor was on campus was over two decades ago.

 

            Students do drop out of universities even at the Ivy Leagues, as Bill Gates did at Harvard and Vice President Richard Cheney at Yale. That did not seem to interfere with their subsequent careers. Taking time out either between high school and college or between undergraduate studies and graduate school is quite common for American students. If he were an American, Mansur would be in good company. For a Malaysian however, his decision to leave his studies two decades ago just shy of his graduation for his MFA must have caused his family severe anguish. I can imagine the scene when he returned home! He certainly would have been branded–and made to feel–a failure.

 

            Mansor did complete his studies except for the formality of his thesis project. He submitted this later from Malaysia, but thanks to the reliability of the local Postal Service, it never reached his supervisor in New York.

 

            Talent, like water, has a way of finding its own level. Meanwhile Mansor has written 57 books; he intends to make that 60. He also has scores of movies and television dramas to his credit. Impressive!

 

            Mansoor does not need his MFA; his accomplishments speak for themselves. The fact that Columbia willingly accepted him back revealed the flexibility of American universities. I cannot imagine a local university entertaining such a request.

 

            For his dissertation, Mansor will present his forthcoming film, Malaysian Snow, based on his novel. It is about two young men from a kampung who attended the same American college. One , an albino, decided to stay back and passed himself as a Caucasian; the other returned home. Years later, their paths again crossed  As for the ending, read the book or wait for the movie!

 

            Mansor’s personal story is both illustrative and instructive. The fact that he pursued the Fine Arts was itself unusual. That choice is not usually on the radar screen of Malaysians. It is drilled by parents and teachers that our young should pursue “real” degrees, meaning, those that would assure them a good job. To Malaysians, music and the fine arts are frivolous subjects. Fortunately MARA Institute of Technology had a program in Fine Arts. There, Mansor’s American lecturers recognized his talent and encouraged him to pursue his studies.

 

            His acceptance to Columbia should have been a cause for celebration and pride for MARA considering that it was a young institution and eager to highlight the achievements of its graduates. No such luck!

 

            Nor were the authorities eager to fund him. At a time when the government was sending thousands of Malaysian students to third rate universities abroad, one would have thought that someone admitted to the graduate program at an Ivy League institution would have grabbed the attention of the authorities.

 

            The number of Malaysians, especially Malays, accepted to elite universities is miniscule. That being the case we should shower those select few with offers of scholarships. That this was not so is a sad commentary on how we treat talent. 

 

            A few years ago a young Malay lawyer was accepted to Harvard’s prestigious LLM program. MARA’s excuse for not giving him a scholarship was that Malaysia does not recognize the American legal system, and thus its degree and training! Obviously the authorities do not value superior education.

 

            Mansor suffered through the usual culture shock of being in graduate school and living in New York. That his classmates represented the best of America and indeed the world only increased the challenge and anxiety. The reward for him was that the luminaries in the field of filmmaking taught him well.

 

            An unfortunate illness rather than academic difficulty caused him to disrupt his studies. It is an enduring tribute to the strength of the human spirt that despite the bleak prognosis of his bone cancer hanging over him, Mansor was able to lead a productive and creative life.

 

            Faced with a harrowing personal dilemma two decades ago, Mansor rightly put his physical health ahead of his studies. He overcame that considerable obstacle; this second hurdle of submitting his thesis project was but a mere bump on the road. Mansor’s story is an inspiration for us to pursue our dreams despite the barriers.

Masa Depan Pendidikan Malaysia 2026-2036

  

Masa Depan Pendidikan Malaysia 2026-2036

M. Bakri Musa

July 3, 2024

 

Saya mengalukan usaha Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM) untuk mendapat pandangan ramai sebelum mengkaji semula dasar pendidikan negara yang baru untuk menggantikan Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Negara (PPPM) 2013-2025 yang hampir ke penghujungnya. Rancangan baru ini khas untuk pendidikan sekolah. Sistem Pengajian Tinggi berada di bawah kementerian berasingan.

 

            Usaha baru ini digelar "Masa Depan Pendidikan Malaysia 2026-2036." KPM mengeluarkan kenyataan awam pada 24 Jun 2024 mengenai perkara ini dan telah pun menyediakan laman maya khas untuk mengambil sumbangan daripada rakyat (https://www.moe.gov.my/pelanpendidikan2026/public).

 

            Saya memuji KPM kerana merancang masa panjang (yakni sedekad) dan tidak terpaksa menghadkan ke dalam jangka masa lima tahun seperti Rancangan Malaysia. Dasar pendidikan mengambil masa untuk berkesan, dan hakikatnya ditanggung lebih lama selepas itu. Malaysia masih mengalami akibat yang kurang baik kerana terburu pada masa dulu untuk tidak memberatkan pengajaran Bahasa Inggeris serta menamatkan atau mengurangkan perangan Tingkatan Enam.

 

            Selaras dengan cita KPM untuk menggunakan “whole society approach” serta yang “comprehensive and holistic,” saya mempersembahkan tiga cadangan. Pertama, bereskan lapan maya yang ada sekarang; ke dua, dapatkan pandangan yang luas daripada mereka yang berkaitan dengan pendidikan; dan ketiga, keluarkan laporan pendahuluan selepas mendapat semua persembahan. Selepas itu ikuti dengan mengadakan mesyuarat terbuka dan menjemput mereka yang telah menyumbang idea penting. Hanya selepas itu baharulah keluarkan dasar muktamad. Kemudian sebagai usaha berterusan, adakan satu badan khas untuk memantau pelaksanaan serta mengkaji keberkesanannya.

 

            Yang paling mudah ialah membereskan laman maya yang sedia ada. Apa yang ada sekarang terlalu terhad dan susah memuatkan cadangan dan rencana melainkan yang ringkas dan pendek sahaja. Ruang untuk memasukkan pandangan dan rencana perlu diperluaskan untuk memuat sekurang-kurangnya 2,000 aksara (atau 250 perkataan) serta dengan pautan untuk memuatkan persembahan yang lebih panjang, serta mengambil langkah supaya fail yang bercacat virus dan berniat jahat tidak boleh dipautkan. Juga, bahagikan penyerahan ke bawah tajuk tertentu seperti kurikulum, Bahasa Inggeris, Bahasa Melayu, STEM, latihan guru, dan perkara umum.

 

            Lebih terbaik jika diadakan laman maya khas berasingan dan tidak berkait dengan laman maya KPM untuk mengehadkan kerosakan sekiranya berlaku serangan virus digital. Siarkan semua penyerahan dan juga jemput dan kumpulkan makalah yang tersiar di laman maya lain.

 

            Jemput pandangan daripada kumpulan tertentu seperti Persatuan Guru dan Ibu Bapa, Majlis Profesor Negara, organisasi majikan, serta ketua universiti awam dan swasta. Mereka paling terkesan dengan keluaran sistem persekolahan. Mereka mempunyai banyak pemerhatian dan cadangan yang berguna. Persembahan mereka boleh dibuat dalam Bahasa Melayu atau Inggeris, tetapi ringkasannya yang tidak melebihi 250 perkataan mestilah di dalam ke dua Bahasa.

 

            Kakitangan KPM patut mencari makalah serta rencana dan ulasan tentang pendidikan di Malaysia (yakni “Google”), baik di dalam penerbitan ilmiah atau umum. Masukkan makalah yang berkaitan (tertakluk kepada peraturan hak cipta) kepada laman maya khas KPM itu. Lebih baik lagi ringkaskan sahaja kandungannya. Jemput pengarangnya serta pakar tertentu yang lain untuk memberi persembahan selanjutnya. Saya telah pun membaca banyak rencana serta ulasan dalam tempoh masa yang singkat sejak siaran akhbar MOE.

 

            KPM harus mengkaji keputusan murid tempatan di peperiksaan Program for Internasional Student Assessment (PISA) serta Sijil Persekolahan Malaysia (SPM). Kaji perbezaan antara negeri, kawasan (bandar dan luar bandar), sekolah kebangsaan atau jenis kebangsaan, dan malah juga antara Bumiputra dan bukan Bumiputra.

 

            Beberapa tahun yang lalu apabila keputusan PISA pelajar Amerika merosot, itu mengejutkan negara. Akibatnya berpuluh profesor dan pemikir mengkaji kelemahan itu dan menyelidik cara untuk membatasinya.

 

            Di Malaysia tidak ada minat atau tekanan untuk melaksanakan dengan berkesan sesuatu dasar dan keputusan. Kelalaian itu terdapat bukan hanya dalam pendidikan. Oleh sebab itu rancangan yang terbaik terus menjadi sia-sia dan terbengkalai kerana tidak dilaksanakan dan dipantau dengan cekap.

 

            Mengikut cadangan di atas, saya memuatkan sumbangan saya ke laman maya KPM seperti berikut:

 

“1.  Hentikan SPM serta kelas Assasi dan Matrikulasi. Lanjutkan tahun persekolahan ke Tingkatan VI, menghadkannya ke satu tahun. Salurkan dua tahun terakhir persekolahan kepada jurusan akademik, am, dan vokasional seperti di Republik Jerman. Tingkatan VI lebih murah lagi daripada Assasi dan Matrikulasi. Mengadakan Tingkatan VI akan meningkatkan taraf akademik sesebuah sekolah. Membatalkan matrikulasi juga akan menamatkan perdebatan perpecahan yang berulang berlaku mengenai kemasukan. Tambahan pula, banyak masa terbuang selepas peperiksaan SPM, dan dengan itu banyak kehilangan ilmu dan tabiat belajar semasa cuti panjang yang berikutan. Orang kaya sudah tentu mendaftar anak mereka dalam kelas persendirian. Akhir sekali, hentikan menghantar pelajar ke luar negara selepas SPM. SPM hanya bertaraf sekolah menengah rendah di negeri maju.

 

            2. Hadkan 70 peratus tempat di sekolah berasrama penuh kepada mereka dari keluarga B40. Kepada yang lain, kenakan bayar kos penuh berdasarkan skala gelongsor mengikut pendapatan keluarga. Tubuhkan sekolah harian bestari tanpa hostel di bandar, juga istimewa untuk murid dari keluarga B40. Tiada hostel maknanya lebih murah.

 

            3. Adakan kelas menggunakan Bahasa Inggeris sepenuhnya (full immersion classes) untuk tiga tahun pertama di sekolah terpilih di kawasan luar bandar. Disana tahap Bahasa Inggeris dalam masyarakat sekeliling amat rendah dan tiada peluang untuk murid menggunakannya. Alberta, Kanada, berbuat demikian untuk menggalakkan dwibahasa (Perancis dan Inggeris) dalam kalangan penduduknya.

 

            4. Tubuhkan Maktab Perguruan yang menggunakan Bahasa Inggeris seratus peratus untuk melatih guru-guru Bahasa Inggeris.

 

            5. Beri elaun khas untuk guru Bahasa Inggeris dan STEM, serta mereka yang berkhidmat di luar bandar. Umpamanya, seorang guru Bahasa Inggeris yang mengajar di Kenawit boleh menggandakan gajinya. 

 

            Butiran selanjutnya terdapat dalam buku saya “An Education System Worthy of Malaysia” (2003) dan “The Rot in Malaysian Education” (2023). Saya sudi memberi percuma sebagai fail pdf. Hubungi bakrimusa@gmail.com.”

 

            Begitulah persembahan saya, tidak lebih daripada 280 perkataan dan 2000 aksara, termasuk ruang kosong!

 

 

Future of Malaysian Education 2026-2036

 Future of Malaysian Education 2026-2036

M. Bakri Musa

 

It is commendable that the Ministry of Education (MOE) is seeking public input to its planned review of the nation’s education policy, specifically the school system. Higher Education is under a separate portfolio.

 

            The exercise, dubbed “Future of Malaysian Education 2026-2036,” is to replace the current Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025. The Ministry issued a public statement on June 24, 2024 to this effect and has devoted a specific website for this purpose (https://www.moe.gov.my/pelanpendidikan2026/public).

 

            I am pleased that MOE is taking a decade-long time span and not be forced into the usual Five Year Malaysia Plan’s constricted time frame. The effects of an educational policy take some time to be effective, with the impact felt even longer afterwards. Malaysia is still reeling from the negative consequences of its much earlier rash decision to deemphasize English and Sixth Form.

 

            In line with MOE’s “whole society approach” as well as its “comprehensive and holistic” intent, I suggest three immediate improvements to MOE seeking wider public input. First, upgrade the current website; second, seek the views of interested and impacted organizations; and third, issue a preliminary report after all the submissions and then have public hearings specifically inviting those who had contributed significant ideas. Only then issue and adopt a final policy. Then as an ongoing undertaking, have a special body to monitor the implementation as well as effectiveness.

 

            The easiest part is improving the website. The current one is too limited, designed not to get substantive input, rather tips and brief suggestions. As such it needs to be expanded, with the submission window upgraded to handle at least 2,000 characters (about 250 words) together with a link to upload longer submissions, taking the necessary precautions to prevent maliciously corrupted files being uploaded. The current submission site is simply a blank space. I suggest dividing the submissions into headings as with general, curriculum, improving language, STEM, and of course “others.”

 

            It would be prudent to have a separate dedicated website unrelated to MOE to limit damages in case of a digital virus attack. Post all submissions; invite public comments and post them too on the website.

 

            Apart from Parents Teachers Groups, consult the National Professors Council, employer organizations, as well as university chancellors of both private and public institutions. They are most impacted by the products of the school system. As such they should have many useful observations and suggestions. In seeking public input, I would have those submissions be in either Malay or English, with a summary of under 250 words in both Malay and English.

 

            Designate MOE personnel to “google” articles and commentaries on Malaysian education, both in scholarly journals as well as general publications. Again, post the most relevant ones (subject to copyright rules) or better yet summarize them. Invite their authors to expand on their ideas. I have already read many commentaries in the brief period since MOE’s press release.

 

            MOE should analyze the current as well as past performances at the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) as well as the terminal school certificate (SPM, its Malay initials) examinations. Tease those figures with respect to geography (states, rural versus urban), types (national versus national-types and religious), and yes, even race. Decades ago when PISA scores of American students plummeted, there was a national outcry triggering professors and think tanks to analyze areas of weaknesses as well as strengths.

 

            The bane of Malaysia is lack of effective implementation and stringent monitoring, and not just in education. Even the best laid plans would come to nothing if not competently implemented and monitored.

 

            Following my own suggestion, I submitted in Malay (with the English version below) to the MOE website:

 

            “1.  Terminate SPM as well as Assasi and Matrikulasi. Extend the school year to Form VI, truncating it to one year. Stream the last two years into academic, general, and vocational a la Germany. Form VI is cheaper and would elevate the academic standards of a school. Cancelling matrikulasi would end the current recurring divisive debates over admissions. Further, much time is wasted after SPM examination, with much attrition of knowledge and study habits during the hiatus. The rich of course enroll in private classes. Lastly, quit sending students abroad after SPM. It is only middle school caliber.

 

            2.  Reserve residential schools to mostly students from B40 families. The rest would pay full costs based on a sliding scale according to the family’s income. Establish comparable less expensive “magnet day schools” in urban areas, also for B40 students.

 

            3.  Have all-English immersion classes for the first three years in selected schools where there is low level of English in the community. Alberta, Canada, does this to encourage bilingualism (French and English) among its Anglophone residents.

 

            4.  Set up an all-English medium Teachers College to train teachers of English.

 

            5.  Special allowances for teachers of English and STEM, as well as those serving in rural areas. Thus a teacher of English in Kenawit could effectively double her salary. 

 

            Further details are in my books An Education System Worthy of Malaysia (2003) and The Rot in Malaysian Education (2023) available for free as pdf file from me at bakrimusa@gmail.com.”

 

            There you have it, my submission, way under 250 words and 2000 characters, including spaces!

 

Terjemahan Al-Quran Yang Indah Serta Menangkap Maknan

 Terjemahan Al-Quran Yang Indah Serta Menangkap Maknanya

M. Bakri Musa

27 Jun 2024

 

Ulasan buku: “The Qu’ran: A Verse Translation” (Al Qur’an:  Terjemahan Berpuisi), MA Rafey Habib dan Bruce B Lawrence. Translation Edition Liveright (Bahagian WW Norton), New York. 700 ms, Februari 2024. Kulit keras US$32.80. 

ISBN 978-8-87148-499-Z

 

Terjemahan Al_Quran dalam Bahasa Inggeris sekarang melebihi 140, dan terus berkembang dengan pesat. Kebanyakannya muncul hanya dalam beberapa dekad yang lalu. Di kulit buku ini tertulis, "Kitab asas Islam diterjemahkan buat pertama kali dalam cara puisi Bahara Inggeris." Memang betul!

 

            Rafey Habib ialah seorang Muslim, penyair, serta Profesor Bahasa Inggeris di Rutgers University, Amerika Syarikat, sementara Bruce Lawrence seorang mukmin tetapi bukan Islam, dan Profesor Pengajian Agama di Duke University. Kedua-duanya mempunyai hubungan istimewa dengan Malaysia. Berdua adalah bekas Fulbright Scholar, Habib di Universiti Islam Antarabangsa pada tahun 2005 dan Lawrence di Universiti Malaya pada 1995.

 

            Catitan e-mel Habib yang ditulisnya semasa dia berada di Malaysia menghiburkan serta mendedahkan cara hidup sehari, seperti bagaimana hendak berbicara dengan pembantu rumahnya yang tidak tahu Bahasa Inggeris. Beliau juga melemparkan beberapa pemerhatian yang tajam terhadap suasana akademik di Malaysia. 

 

            Habib membawa “… landasan luasnya dalam kesusasteraan Barat, estetika, teori kesusasteraan, dan falsafah, bersama dengan pengalamannya sendiri sebagai seorang penyair” manakala Lawrence pula dengan “…pengetahuannya mendalam dan intim tentang teks al-Quran, serta sejarah terjemahannya dalam konteks sejarah Islam yang kaya.” Dan dengan penerbitan yang terkemuka, sudah tentulah jilid ini teristimewa. Oleh sebab Habib seorang penyair, saya tidak akan mengutip rujukan al-Quran yang kurang memuji atas kaum penyair dan puisi amnya.

 

            Pada pembaca, perhatian yang pertama dengan buku ini ialah reka bentuk muka halamannya yang ringan dimata. Biasanya Al-Qur'an padat dengan tulisan, tidak mengendahkan perenggan atau Surah yang baru. Jika satu ayat berakhir dekat dihujung kertas, ayat seterusnya akan bermula di situ. Tiada jarak langsung atau sebarang pengaturan yang mudah di pandang. Sebaliknya, keindahan susunan muka halaman dalam jilid ini menjemput kita membaca! Kesetiaan ke atas harga kertas hanya dengan mengadakan teks dua lajur. Walaupun demikian, jilid ini menghampiri 700 halaman, termasuk lebih daripada 70 muka surat pengenalan, nota awal, glosari, dan 99 nama Allah, semuanya penuh dengan maklumat.

 

            Dari segi gaya bahasa, jilid ini tidak seperti terjemahan Yusuf Ali yang penuh dengan Bahasa Inggeris kuno seperti kata “Ya” dan “Thou,” kononnya berlagak cara dan meniru Shakespeare.

 

            Jelas sekali “Al-Qur’an bukan sahaja bersifat estetik dan muzikal, tetapi maknanya tidak dapat dipisahkan daripada bunyinya…. Walaupun Al-Quran bukan puisi, ia jelas lebih daripada puisi,” tegas penulis. Malah yang pekak nada pun akan dapat menghargai keindahan pendengaran dalaman dan irama intrinsiknya. Jika mengaji dengan suara yang endah, ia akan membawa air mata ke pendengar.

 

            Pengarang menggunakan istilah "Tuhan" menggantikan "Allah," satu amalan yang juga dipakai oleh ramai penterjemah terdahulu. Tetapi apabila Coleman Barks melakukan sedemikian dalam terjemahan puisi Rumi, ramai yang menuduh dan mengutuk Barks atas alasan dengan sengaja dan secara halus merendahkan "keIslaman" puisi Rumi. Seperti yang ditulis oleh Rozina Ali dalam majalah The New Yorker, memetik rakan sekerja Rafey Habib dan ulama Sufi di Rutgers, Jawid Mojaddedi, "Rumi yang digemari orang sangat cantik dalam Bahasa Inggeris, tetapi balasannya ialah mengikis unsur budaya dan agama."

 

            Tidak, itu bukan satu harga yang perlu dibayar, sebaliknya faedah yang melimpah ruah. Rumi hari ini ialah penyair yang paling popular serta di sanjung tinggi di Barat. Saya tekankan pandangan ini kerana Malaysia kini heboh dengan kontroversi penggunaan istilah "Tuhan" dan "Allah."

 

            Inti Al-Quran ialah al-amru bi-l-maʿrūfi wa-n-nahyu ʿani-l-munkar (Surah Ali Imran 3:104 dan beberapa lagi). Pentafsiran Habib dan Lawrence: "menyuruh kepada yang makruf, dan melarang yang mungkar." Begitu juga Yusuf Ali, manakala Abdel Haleem, "mengesa apa yang betul, melarang apa yang salah." Terjemahan saya mempunyai aliterasi yang menarik, “Biasakan yang biak, jauhi yang jahat!”

 

            Surah Al Fatihah 1:5 diterjemahkan begini: “Hanya Engkau kami sembah; dan hanya kepada Engkaulah kami memohon pertolongan.” Saya merasa kurang senang dengan istilah “hanya” yang kedua itu. Al-Quran menggesa kita untuk membantu dan menolong sesama. Meminta pertolongan hanya dari Nya sahaja akan bercanggah dengan itu. Apabila anda sakit, anda meminta pertolongan doktor, kemudian berdoa agar dia merawat cara betul. Semasa saya kecil dan kemudiannya sebagai pakar bedah di Malaysia, saya dapati beberapa orang kampung yang maut akibat meminta pertolongan hanya daripada Tuhan. Saya lebih selesa dengan terjemahan Yusuf Ali yang tanpa eksklusif dan hanya, yakni ". . . Bantuan Anda kami cari!”

 

            Bagi Ayat 1:6 pula, “Tunjukanlah kami ke jalan yang lurus.” Kata “ke” itu juga tidak selesa untuk saya sebab itu bermakna kita sekarang tidak berada di jalan yang lurus. Fitrah kita, mengikut Al-Quran ialah ke arah kebaikan. Saya lebih berminat ke arah istilah "Kekalkan kami ke jalan . . . ." Itu membayangkan kita sudah berada di jalan yang lurus sekarang, dan teruskan sahaja!

 

            Bagi "arahan yang paling melenting kepada kaum wanita," yakni Al Nisa 4:34, Habib dan Lawrence menterjemahkannya seperti berikut: ". . . Tetapi, jika kamu mengesyaki kemungkaran daripada mereka [bermaksud isteri], nasihatilah mereka dahulu, kemudian berundur dari katil mereka, kemudian gunakan paksaan [yang tidak berbahaya].” Tidak berbahaya seperti menyebat dengan mi rebus? Terjemahan Hossein Nasr pula lebih kejam, “. . . pukullah mereka;” Abdel Haleem, “. . . kejam mereka;” Yusuf Ali, "bantai mereka."

 

            Mendiang jurutera Syria Muhammad Shahrour memberikan tafsiran yang agak berbeza serta menyegarkan. Kepada beliau, ayat itu tidak ada kena mengena dengan perhubungan antara suami isteri, sebaliknya pemimpin dan pengikut mereka. Kata ganti nama khusus jantina adalah perkembangan kemudian dalam linguistik bahasa Arab, katanya. Justeru ayat tersebut lebih merujuk kepada pengikut yang menderhaka kepada pemimpin mereka. Semasa perang, itu boleh mengakibatkan hukuman mati; begitu juga dengan masyarakat Mafia.

 

            Semasa beliau berada di Stanford University, Ebrahim Moosa yang sekarang Professor di University of Notre Dame, pernah menasihatkan jemaah kami di Morgan Hill, California, seperti berikut. Jika anda merasakan bahawa anda sudah menguasai dan memahami dengan penuh Al-Quran, itulah masanya anda mati. Selepas membaca “Al-Quran: Terjemahan Berpuisi,” saya rasa banyak lagi yang perlu saya pelajari. Saya berdoa kepada Allah, dan hanya kepada-Nya, semoga Dia memberi saya umur yang panjang serta sihat untuk meneruskannya. Amin!