THE SO-CALLED LIBERALISM.

Served these Malays right , and by this I mean the minority of the Malays ! --the so-called Liberal Malays .I say this because now, one by one the opposition leaders are blatantly trying to limit the special rights of the Malays , even though they know that Malays were accorded special privileges as enshrined in the constitution.

What do the Malays in the opposition party do ? Nothing ! They just let things be because these Malays desperately need the support of their fellow opposition party members in order to have a shot at forming the next government. They are envious of the Barisan National government ; they want to have administrative powers , they want to be in charge of the country. Thus they would even sell their souls just to gain political support. The sad thing is , they do not only sell their souls ,but in the process they sacrifice the whole Malay race !

Malays who used Islam to woo their fellow Muslims into voting for them do not want to openly admit that they are privately worried about the present situation. Rather as a matter of ego and perverted lust for power , they rallied behind their co-opposition members and instead attack UMNO , a Bumiputra-based political party.

Of course , these Malays won't admit that they are betraying their race . Instead they claim that they are just being liberal , and that Liberalism is a good attribute !

The seeds of 'liberalism' has been sown. Some of the younger Malays are already influenced . They feel proud that they are ' generously' advocating giving up their rights in the name of liberalism. The are moving on with the times- so they claimed . They are the new Malays. The are the champions . They are the heroes.

Allah SWT forbids that these champions, these heroes, these liberals succeed ; otherwise the very survival of the Malay race is at stake.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS......

The order of the day this time around often send shivers down my spine . Revelations after revelations surface to stare us in the face. Malaysians do not spare one another's feelings any more.Name calling with racial overtones are rampant , and provocations are thrown around like there is no to-morrow. Are we now more matured and liberated - or are we no longer afraid to play with fire ?

I longed for the days when we were more respectful of each other . People were more guarded with their lexicology , semantics , figures of speech and what have you even though they had their fair share of outbursts. The government provided the guiding principles and the people were more conforming , each party playing the political game within the underlying perimeters of responsibility.

To top all this we had the privilege of having a legendary Prime Minister , who just knew what to do in the events of potential threats to our security and well-being . Used to be , I felt so secured under the care of our very own Tun Mahathir . Anytime something unpleasant cropped up , I always felt like a child with a protective father . I knew that if anything threathened the security or the political stability of our beloved land , Tun Mahathir would know what to do and what to say.

Of course Tun would sometimes spelt out unpopular polices within the government or within his own party . People would be fidgeting and sometimes running on edge , but in the end Tun would wind up the restlessness with his wisdom and everything would fall in place.

Alas this sense of ease is no more . The term of government , in between the time after Tun left and Dato'Seri Naib took over , has changed the political landscape drastically . Things sort of went the wrong direction . People were uttering semi seditious comments as if that was the way of life . It was scary , to say the least.

I am counting on Dato' Seri Najib , our beloved Prime Minister to put things right . I know it is a tall order , but God willing we can succeed .

I longed for those good , old days when we were one big tolerant family . I will go on dreaming regardless.

UNITY OF THE MALAYS ?

Can the Malays from different political standings unite ? I don't think so .

See, I don't use the overstated word ideologies , simply because I don't believe that all political parties in Malaysia have ideologies . One case in point : there is this political party which professes to be the be all and the end all of the religious practice of a certain group , but in reality it is worst than most.

This talk of unity and co-operation among opposing political parties , vis a vis UMNO and PAS had better cease. As long as this individual from PAS has a say in the discussion , this discourse is not going to happen . This individual is filled with vengeance and hatred towards UMNO , thus his decision is not guided by reasons but emotions. It baffles me as to why leaders in UMNO want to even CONSIDER exchanging views with PAS in the first place !

UMNO is gradually taking back its prodigal sons to its fold. It's president is trotting in the fast lane and the masses are warming up . So why bother dealing with this so-called unity talk with PAS - at least for now ?

UMNO may respond to this discussion agenda once this pathetic PAS individual is no longer among the PAS ruling hierachy.

THE BLAME GAME

UMNO has been around since 1946. The party has been accepted by the people ever since , as seen in the trust given to form the Federal government and the majority of the state governments. The leaders are generally very principled and committed .

The opposition parties who won the state elections in 2008 are now feeling the strain of governing their charge. Prior to this it was so easy to criticize the ruling party and inciting others through hate campaigns.

Now the tables are turned ! The opposition are nursing their wounds . Defects and cracks in their administration and party have surfaced on the double. The executives are feeling the burden ; those who voted them to power are disillusioned , party members and cronies are ill at ease and either complaining loudly or scribbling on the walls.

So , how do the opposition powers - that- be handle this situation ? Easy. Find someone to blame; and what better entity that the Barisan National ! Any wrong move is covered by the claim that this is the 'inheritance' from the past BN government . Any wrong doing committed by their officers would be attributed to the lessons learnt from the BN . Anything and everything negative would be subtly implied to be the fault of the BN in one way or the other . HOW CONVENIENT ! In actual fact the opposition leaders and members have reared their ugly heads. Most of them are corrupt and rotten to the core. On top of that they are inefficient , ineffective and ill suited to the positions they hold . Along with these traits they are also arrogant and recalcitrant.

Don't these people even have a shred of decency in them ?

Let us hope that this will serve as a wake up call for all those people who had made the wrong decisions in voting the opposition in during the last general election !

THE MALAYS IN PERSPECTIVE.

I guess we, Malays, are a very compromising lot. We have to be, cause time and again some political fanatics among us just sit back and watch while our culture and even our religious principles are ripped apart. Worst, there are even Malays who come forward and lay down excuses in favour of our perpetrators!

What is happening exactly? Why do some of us swallow hook, line and sinker the excuses given by politicians who manipulate issues to their benefit. I can give many examples.

The ruling by the Federal Court (picture above) with regards to the Rightful Mentri Besar of Perak .....The Malays insult the Judiciary, badmouth the royal institution and just refuse to accept the inevitable.

The controversy regarding the initial ban on procession in respect of Prophet Muhammad's birthday. Some individual even went to the extent of trying to justify not having the procession, much to the ire of fellow muslims.

Of course the list goes on and on but unfortunately one is not at liberty to disclose more for fear of treading on forbidden ground viv-a-vis 'contempt of court'.

Suffice to say that we, Malays are very accommodating, very soft hearted and very, very gullible.

WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?

THE STUBBORN AND THE RECALCITRANT

The ruling by the Federal Court with regards to the rightful Mentri Besar of Perak has struck a negative chord among some sore losers.

They claimed that :

The majority of Perakians still support the opposition group

Their leaders still enjoy the respect of the people

They would win the 13th General Election

and so on and so forth

To these recalcitrants I say ........DREAM ON !

BARISAN NASIONAL TO THE FORE......

The Federal Court has spoken! Alhamdulillah, Dato' Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir is the rightful Mentri Besar of Perak and Barisan Nasional is yet again the ruling party. I have never doubted that in the first place.

After the initial display of frustration and indignation, those on the other side of the political divide have come to their senses and relented, albeit grudgingly.

Right from the start the writings on the wall were very glaring. It was just that some quarters chose to ignore them and continued living in their own fanatical and make-believe world.

Now that the last legal recourse has closed, everyone, particularly Perakians, is ready to move on. The Mentri Besar and his team will no doubt fulfill the obligations of the Barisan Nasional government like they have always done. The policies are in place, the administrators are raring to go and the people are eagerly waiting for the full implementation of the 'rakyat didahulukan pencapaian diutamakan' slogan, which have received rave reviews from the masses.

Ironically, it was reported in the media that some quarters had put forward certain conditions to the government if they were to cooperate with the ruling party (and this was stated after some of these pathetic individuals have bared their souls against the Federal Court's ruling). Conditions? Tut-tut! What were they thinking? Who are they to set conditions? I believe Dr. Zambry and his team are all set to perform their dues with the full backing of the Federal government and, more importantly, the majority of Perakians who, no doubt, are sick and tired of the despicable antics of some misguided dissenters. So to these dissenters .... take it unconditionally, or leave it. See if the majority cares!

To Dato' Seri Dr. Zambry, I have only this to say 'steer your ship, Captain, and may Allah always be with you! '

MY PERAK , YOUR PERAK

February 9th 2010 is D-Day (Decision Day that is) for all of us, particularly in Perak. The CEO aka the Mentri Besar of Perak will be decided and proclaimed by the court then.

It is my utmost hope that YAB Dato Seri Dr. Zambry bin Abdul Kadir would remain as the Mentri Besar.

He has all the qualities and the the capability to propel Perak to greater heights, having proven his worth ten times over in the twelve months that he has led the BN government in Perak. He has excelled in all spheres of government administration, be it economic, social and what-have-you.

Let us all pray that victory for BN would prevail in Perak. We need all the development that the state has to offer , steered by the able leadership of the present state government.

You and I, Perakians in particular, deserve nothing less !!

THE INDISPENSIBLE TUN DR MAHATHIR

Ever wonder why Tun Dr Mahathir is so special? I do ....... lots of time . In the final analysis , I do earnestly believe that Tun is Allah's gift to us, Malaysians !

Tun's fearless expose' of events and collabarations , hitherto unknown to all and sundry , shakes us to the bone. I just marvel at the vast field of resources available at Tun's disposal. All this boils down to one important fact - Tun Mahathir commands a lot of influence, visible or not, that inspires him to continue giving his best to the country.

Examples abound as to Tun's wisdom and foresightedness; latest his posting about the sale of land to Singapore, which triggered our government's action towards the guilty party.

Tun's selflessness in devoting valuable time and energy during his retirement is manifested in his endless presentation of ideas and comments for the sole reason of trying to make this country a better place to live, even though he sometimes gets punches and brickbats in the process.

So in view of all this, I am of the opinion that Tun Dr Mahathir should be given a more significant role in our government. YAB Dato' Seri Najib is a very effective Prime Minister, much more superior than his immediate predecessor, and very dynamic in his leadership of the government. Thus I firmly believe that our former prime minister, Tun Mahathir , would be accorded a meaningful place in our administration. It is truly a waste if we do not give ourselves this chance.

Unfortunately , there are people who are obsessed with Mahathir bashing. They profess to speak 'for the people', condemning Tun Mahathir in the most cruel ways, when in actual fact these 'condemners' are themselves nothing compared to Tun Mahathir and do not even command any significant following. What is obvious is that they see Tun Mahathir as a statesman with a huge following in Malaysia and the world over; and thus Tun Mahathir's contribution in the form of ideas and suggestions to the ruling party will render the government more popular. These group of people are in fact blinded by their own arrogance, and motivated by their political agenda.

Fortunately, people in general are again warming up to Tun Dr Mahathir. Those frustrated individuals can hang their heads in shame and pray that they will be forgiven for all the nasty things they say about Tun Dr Mahathir, the slanders, the insults and what have you.

May Allah grant Tun Dr Mahathir a long and blessed life ahead..

RAGE AND RESPONSIBILITY; AND WISHFUL THINKING.

Almost everybody is angry today, albeit for different reasons. But they have something in common. The anger, and to a certain extent uncontrolled rage, stemmed from the same issue: the use of the word 'ALLAH'.

The situation now is very delicate and precarious. Malaysians of all race and religion should come together and listen to reason. Religion is our guiding principle in life; we should strengthen our faith and resolve to seek divine help to ensure our peace and stability will prevail during this turbulent time.

In the midst of all this turbulence, I cannot help but wish that we don't have to undergo all this tension and uneasiness. I wish that some quarters would just let things be and not challenge sensitive order put forth by the government. What's the big deal about not being allowed to use a word that is so sacred to another religious group when there is easily another terminology that could be used without any restriction?

Moreover ALLAH is not synonymous with God. According to the theory of Semantics, the classification of objects in terms of words used to denote them differs from language to language and culture to culture. Thus, why the obsession to challenge? Is this about ego? Or is this just curiousity to see what happens when one throws a stone at the hornets' nest? Shouldn't one listen to one's mother when she says to ' let sleeping dogs lie '? I wish people are more matured and responsible! But then , responsibility is a lonely word!

I further wish that some quarters who profess to be the guardian of Islam would not adopt hypocrisy as a way of life, proclaiming different convictions on the same issue to different audience. I wish those people being hoodwinked to - in villages and congregations would not be so fanatic to these political leaders and once and for all see them for what they really are.

Sadly in the aftermath of the ruling on the use of the word ALLAH by The Kuala Lumpur High Court recently, rage rules over reason as advocated in the alleged arson cases involving churches. Arson is deplorable and highly-charged religious extremists should be restrained.

Ironically, instead of working together to ease the situation, certain irresponsible parties are quick to point fingers at their political opponents. They know for a fact that this not the work of UMNO, yet they see this as an opportunity to discredit their opponents.

As the Prime Minister says UMNO is a responsible party. So where do you get off pointing fingers at UMNO? And worst, some people insinuate that this is the fault of the government. Please refrain from slander and unsubstantiated accusations? No religion in the world would tolerate this.

Lastly, let us all search our souls. Let our eyes see reality. Shed our fanaticm. Pray that we can ride through this storm unscathed. Pray that all our fellow Malaysians cherish our peaceful co-existence and hope that our nation's security is in no imminent danger.

In all this happenings, I wish the government would hold on to the Internal Security Act. No revision and no amendments! This is not the time yet. This act is not only relevant, but imperative in a multi racial and multi religious society like ours. This is a fact. So live with it!

Breakfast @ Putrajaya

Woke up this morning feeling very adventurous. The most important meal of the day had to be special, I figured. So me and my other half settled ourselves in Edi's and Shikin's 4 by 4 and headed for the administrative centre of our nation - Putrajaya!

All four of us were agreed on one thing ......the mother of all breakfasts had to be nasi lemak, so we proceeded to Prescint 8. The was this place that Edi thought was the most popular nasi lemak joint in all of Putrajaya because the queue here was always endless.I picked a whole plate of nasi with condiments and what-have-you on the side. Alas , the sambal was too sweet ! It was a real letdown. What's the matter with this stall operator and others like him? Were they trying to 'corrupt' the taste buds of our younger generation; or were they on a mission to inflict the nation with diabetes?

We then headed for home but as luck would have it, enroute out of Putrajaya we happened to pass through Prescint 9. From afar I could see a wonderful dome-like canopy covering a very spacious area. It was incredible! Looked almost like one of those high end coffee joints that our Malaysian yuppies were accustomed to. I had to check this place out.

Chairs were neatly arranged around clean white tables encircling stalls serving authentic Malaysian food. It was well before lunch break so most of the food was being cooked. There were Nasi Ambeng, Lempeng Kelapa , Otak-Otak and a host of other mouth watering dishes. Plus , the Malay kueh was something to die for!

But that was not all. I noticed something out of the ordinary too. Was it my fancy or were all the food operators neatly dressed and carried themselves very professionally ? Most of them were either middle-aged; with one or two a little over sixty. They blended so well with the customers that I could easily mistook them for one. It was a pleasant departure from the norm. Now wasn't that really something?

TOK MAT, SOMEONE WE COULD COUNT ON.

My condolences to the family of the late Tan Sri Mohamad Rahmat (above). His demise has touched the hearts of many, me included.

I have had the priviledge of knowing Tok Mat through my father way back in the sixtees. My late father and Tok Mat were political buddies though their ages were twenty years apart. My family and I were very touched when Tok Mat appeared at my father's solat jenazah and proceded to join in the Saf.

Almost eight years later, I asked to meet Tok Mat, who was then the minister of information on a political matter. He recognized me instantly and invited me to his office with the glass walls and amazing view. He took immediate action by instantly calling the subject of my predicament, a very, very powerful political leader - who happened to be home during his lunch break..

I was privy to their conversation and I was truly fascinated by the way Tok Mat handled the conversation in my favour. Well, Tok Mat was very, very powerful too because the other leader relented and saw my side of the argument. That was something very meaningful to me and to this day I hold Tok Mat in high esteem.

Tok Mat is gone now answering the call of Allah. May Allah bless your soul. AL FATIHAH.

ALLAH AND THE SCIENCE OF MEANING

It is apparent that there is an air of uneasiness, to say the least, among the Muslim population ever since the ruling was made regarding the use of the word Allah. The government have cautioned the people to be very, very careful when dealing with this issue considering the emotions and challenges that are affected by the ruling.

ALLAH has always been used by Muslims here & worldwide to mean God in the context of the Islamic religion. The muslims' call for solat five times a day is always preceded by 'ALLAH HUEKBAR' lending credence to the argument that this is the terminology used by the muslim world.

Interestingly, in the realm of Semantics (the study of meaning), the naming of persons or objects, for instance, depends very much on the language, culture and interest of the speakers. A famous linguist, Professor F.R. Palmer ( Emeritus Professor of Linguistics Science, University of Reading ) once argued that .....'The classification of objects in terms of the words used to denote them differs from language to language. If, for instance, we take the English words stool, chair arm-chair, we shall not find precise equivalents in other languages.The French word 'fauteuil' might seem to be equivalent to English 'arm-chair', but whereas the presence of arms is probably an essential characteristic for 'arm-chair' that is not necessarily so for 'fauteuil'.

It can, however, be maintained that there are no real synonyms, that no two words have exactly the same meaning. Indeed it would seem unlikely that two words with exactly the same meaning would both survive in a language or culture.

So is ALLAH synonymous with God ?

Just a little something to ponder on ....... !