Betul ke Pas penyelamat dunia dan akhirat?

The Malaysian Insider published an amusing but interesting article in it’s ‘rencana’ section titled, ‘Betul ke Umno penyelamat dunia dan akhirat?’

The reason why I find the article interesting is because of the irony of it. If you switch a few notable terms in the article (like say, from Umno to Pas) you would realise that the pot is calling the kettle black. To prove my point, I would post here the ‘edited’ version of the article in bold with the switched words underlined and in green. You can view the original article here.

(The article is in Malay but since most of my readers are Malaysians and this is a local issue, I would not bother to translate the article. My apologies to all non-Malaysian readers.)

Tuduhan bahawa kerajaan mempolitikkan isu Syiah yang dihebohkan sekarang ini tidak ada asasnya. Itu hanya permainan politik pimpinan Pas yang kini semakin terhakis daripada pandangan rakyat.

Note: The original article states that the issue between Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah (Sunni) and Syiah “has nothing to do with the faith (akidah) or the Islamic struggle” and the argument is wrong because the differences between the Sunni and the Syiah is on the basis of faith itself. Both Syiah and Sunni do not acknowledge the other in their beliefs.

Pemimpin yang menggunakan nama parti Islam sejak pilihan raya yang lalu sehingga sekarang ini tidak pun mengamalkan cara pemerintahan menurut kehendak Islam itu.

Orang Islam dalam Pas itu telah dan masih melanggar pantang larang sebagai seorang Muslim itu. Ketandusan idea politik mereka menyebabkan ada pihak yang mahu di kalangan kita orang Islam ini bergaduh, kerana sejak beberapa ketika dahulu Pas itu ‘survive’ di atas perpecahan orang Melayu yang beragama Islam itu.

(According to the teaching of Islam, Pas and Umno whose members are Muslims, must sit down and discuss (bermuzakarah) on matters related to Islam. When UMNO agrees to the idea; Pas’s leaders are divided into two teams and a number of leaders who vocally support the muzakarah idea were either kicked out of the party and being labelled as traitor.)

Note: In this article, Aspan Alias wrote that the Malays are generally Muslims. This is incorrect because Article 160 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia clearly defines a Malay as a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language and conforms to Malay custom. Thus according to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, a Malay has to be a Muslim in order to declare themselves as a Malay.

Malahan Pas yang didaftarkan pada tahun 1951 dahulu diasaskan oleh perpecahan orang Melayu dan kini ahli Pas semakin berpecah. Pas tidak mungkin ‘survive’ dalam situasi tenang dan aman, kerana jika keadaan politik itu aman, maka Pas takut rakyat memberikan fokus untuk menilai prestasi mereka terhadap rakyat.

(Until the end of the video, Ustaz Azahar, a popular Pas figure, did not dare to give the true answer to the question of how true is the fact that PKR (an ally of Pas) practice Liberalisme of Religion for not only PKR but a number of Pas’s key leaders are also liberal Muslims.)

Pas sentiasa merasakan mereka sedang berjalan dalam keadaan gelap gelita dan sunyi dan terpaksa membuat bising dengan menyanyi atau membakar mercun untuk memecah kesunyian yang amat mereka takuti. Semasa kampung saya belum mendapat kemudahan eletrik, keadaan pada malam hari amat gelap.

Sesiapa yang berjalan di dalam gelap itu merasakan di depan dan belakang mereka ada hantu atau harimau dan berbagai-bagai lagi yang mereka takuti. Selalu saya mendengar di jalan-jalan kecil yang sunyi dan gelap gelita itu anak-anak muda menyanyi dengan sekuat hati bagi memecahkan kesunyian dan menghilangkan sedikit rasa takut dan gementar itu.

Bermacam-macam lagi saya dengar. Ada yang menyanyikan lagu P Ramlee, malah ada juga menyanyikan lagu Mat Sentul. Ada yang membakar mercun dan berbagai-bagai cara untuk menghilangkan rasa takut itu sementara sampai ke rumah atau tempat lain.Pendeknya mereka akan berbuat bising untuk menghilangkan rasa takut itu.

Tetapi sekarang keadaan itu tidak berlaku lagi kerana elektrik sudah sampai di setiap rumah dan di jalan raya pula sudah ada lampu yang dipasang oleh Lembaga Letrik Negara atau sekarang ini TNB. Anak-anak muda sekarang tidak tahu kerana mereka tidak mengalami keadaan itu. Lahir mereka ke dunia ini sudah ada lampu eletrik dan air.  ‘Air dalam bosi, potik ditopi di tongah menyalo’.

Tetapi masih ada lagi manusia yang masih mempunyai rasa takut dan tidak meyakinkan itu, tetapi bukan dirasai oleh orang kampung saya. Perasaan itu masih ada di dalam jiwa pemimpin Pas dan ramai ahli-ahlinya. Perasaan takut seolah-olah ada hantu di depan dan di belakang dan dalam kesunyian mereka itu membuatkan mereka mencari apa sahaja jalan untuk memecah kesunyian untuk menghilangkan rasa takut dan gementar itu.

Mereka sekarang tidak menyanyikan lagi lagu P Ramlee atau Mat Sentul, mereka menyanyikan lagu ala rap yang bertajuk, ‘Undi Pas Masuk Syurga’. 

Mereka mahu menghilangkan rasa takut mereka dengan berbuat bising. Selalunya orang yang penakut ini akan bercakap besar dan garang seperti yang kita dengar di kalangan mereka yang entah macam mana duduk di atas dan memimpin kita itu. Pemimpin seperti ini terpaksa melakukan banyak perkara pelik bagi menutup kelemahan mereka yang mudah dilihat oleh orang ramai.

Kenapa Pas memilih untuk menjadikan isu agama sebagai cara mendinding diri mereka daripada kejatuhan itu diketahui ramai? Pas tahu cabaran kepadanya ialah Umno. Parti itu merupakan parti yang digeruni oleh Pas walaupun dalam ucapan pemimpin mereka, mereka cuba untuk melindungi rasa takut mereka dengan kata-kata ego dan pengecut mereka. Mereka tidak berani untuk menunjukkan jiwa besar dengan mengakui kelemahan mereka.

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Pas sarat dengan pemimpin palsu yang hanya menunjuk-nunjuk kehebatan mereka sedangkan rakyat semakin hari semakin memahami hakikat ini. Mereka menyembunyikan kekayaan mereka supaya rakyat tidak tahu adalah hasil manipulasi kepercayaan dan wang rakyat juga dalam sistem pentadbiran yang begitu sarat dengan penipuan dan salah guna kuasa itu.

Bagi saya, isu tuduhan Pas ini tidak elok kita abaikan sahaja kerana ia dipergunakan oleh Pas yang mengaku Islam tetapi larangan Islam itu dilakukan secara terbuka. Bagi mereka, Pas sahaja yang dibenarkan melanggar segala kehendak agama itu.

Pas seolah-olah maksum dan tidak ada siapa yang mesti meragui mereka. Dan yang lebih dahsyat lagi merekalah pejuang dan pelindung agama kita.

Mereka lebih hebat daripada aulia dan anbia yang ditugaskan menjaga dunia dan alam ini selepas kewafatan Nabi Muhammad lebih seribu tahun dahulu.

Bagi mereka Pas adalah segala-galanya. Tidak makbul doa seseorang itu dan tidak sampai hajat sesiapa pun tanpa dikehendaki oleh Pas. Pas sahaja yang menentukan nasib semua orang dunia dan akhirat.

Saya baru sahaja tahu yang dunia dan alam ini diwariskan kepada Pas untuk menjaganya. Kalau tidak ada Haji Hadi, Nik Aziz dan Mat Sabu serta Khalid Samad, tentu kacau-bilau dunia ini.

Kalau boleh, masukkan Anwar Ibrahim sekali sebaris dengan mereka, mungkin pasti kita semua selamat di dunia dan akhirat. Mati kita mungkin mati dalam iman, bak kata P Ramlee dalam filem Ali Baba Bujang Lapuk. Di akhir kalam nak mati pun kita akan bangun seketika, dan senyum.

Mengikut jalan cerita dalam filem itu mereka yang sudah merompak pun mati mereka dalam iman. Itulah cerita yang dilakonkan kembali oleh pemimpin-pemimpin Pas sekarang ini. Selamat menonton!

(By the way, I have never heard an Umno leader claiming “Umno penyelamat dunia dan akhirat”, have you?)

Reminder: I did not write this article; I simply ‘switched’ the words 😀

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Polilemik Isu Kalimah Allah by Naser Disa

Lim Guan Eng, representing the Christians, had demanded to be allowed to use the word Allah to depict the Christian God, arguing that it is their right to call their God with any name they wish to; in their efforts to divide the Muslims. The Muslims across Malaysia should stand together despite of their different political views to say “NO!” to their demands. Watch this video to learn why.

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• Selangor’s MB Must Obey The Sultan Or Resign – Naser Disa (ahmadalikarim.wordpress.com)
• Ngeh Koo Ham, Majlis Syura Ulama PAS And ‘Kalimah Allah’ (ahmadalikarim.wordpress.com)
• Kalimah Allah: Pakatan Rakyat Violated the Federal Constitution (aimanamani.wordpress.com)

Malaysia Is Not, And Has Never Been, A Secular State

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said that MALAYSIA has never been declared a secular nation and the Federal Constitution made no mention of the word ‘secular’.

He was replying to John Fernandez, Seremban’s Member of Parliament from the DAP party (DAP-Seremban), who wanted to know if Malaysia was a secular state based on a Supreme Court decision in 1988.

Nazri said the position of Islam as a federal religion was also noted in several provisions under the Con­stitution, which include the development and propagation of Islam amongst Muslims and that civil courts had no jurisdiction over the powers of Syariah courts.

“There is also the oath taken by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Sche­dule Four to preserve Islam at all times,” he added.

Based on Article 162 of the Constitution, Nazri noted the 1988 Supreme Court’s decision in Che Omar did not declare the country as a secular nation although secular laws were used.

He also noted the words used in context of Article 162 referred to laws that were passed prior to Independence and were stated as ‘existing laws’ rather than ‘secular laws’.

This is not the first time the issue had been brought up. The members of the opposition parties had always claimed Malaysia to be a secular nation despite that in the Article 3 (1) it had been clearly stated that Islam is the Religion of the Federation.

Since the definition of secularism itself is the ‘indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations’, it is impossible to say that Malaysia is a secular country when it has already been stated in the Constitution that ‘Islam is the religion of the Federation’. Thus this is contrary to popular belief that Islam is simply the ‘official religion’ of Malaysia which it is only subject to ritual and ceremonies.

Uncle Haji Mahamad Naser Disa of the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council legal bureau and Uncle Azril Mohd Amin of the Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia had numerous times spoken to clarify this matter (see: Hijrah Minda: Agenda Transformasi Islam by Uncle Naser Disa). Uncle Zainul Rijal, president of the Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia had recently written an article on the place of Islam in the Constitution which was published in The Malaysian Bar and Utusan Malaysia.

He wrote that according to the experts of the Constitutional Law of Malaysia, there are seven main factors which formed the backbone of the Federal Constitution, the first one being Islam as the religion of the federation, and that each of them cannot be eroded from the Constitution. In fact, all of these seven factors should to be defended by all parties, be it a leader or even the ‘rakyat’ themselves. (read more here: Kedudukan Islam)

Despite this fact, the Democratic Action Party wrote in its manifesto (on the DAP Website: Vision & Mision): “DAP remains unswerving in its commitment that Malaysia shall remain as a democratic, secular and multi-religious nation.” One may question why the leaders of the opposition parties insist on claiming Malaysia is a secular nation. The way I see it, this is their dirty tactics and ploys in order to achieve their goals; to dethrone Islam of its place in the federation and to declare Malaysia as a secular country like Singapore (see Sang Saka Malaya Controversy)

Thus saying, as long as the current Constitution stands without being change, Malaysia shall remain standing as an Islamic nation whether or not it agrees DAP, PAS or PKR.

Does Ngeh Koo Ham Respect Islam

Just days ago, Ngeh Koo Ham, Perak DAP chairman had humiliated the Muslims by asking if the Muslims (are) wasting too much time and energy on the protests against the disgraceful  film, ‘Innocence of Muslims’ in respond to UMNO Youth YB Khairy Jamaluddin’s call for a peaceful protest over the film in Kuala Lumpur. The film which was directed by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (or his pseudonym Sam Bacile) insults the Prophet Muhammad, portraying him as a womanizer, child abuser and a fool, and Islam as a whole.

As you may have recalled, not only did he make such an insulting statement but when first criticized, he refused to apologise saying that, “There is no doubt that I condemn the video but my tweet was a question and not a statement as some have claimed, belittled Islam.”

If the statement isn’t belittling, all that I can say is that it certainly humiliates. The statement had obviously portrayed the Malaysian Muslims to be ‘over-sensitive’ over the film by holding out peaceful protests. But if protests are simply a waste of time, why are the opposition parties so obsessed with the ‘Bersih’ and other demonstrations?

On the 26th of September 2012, Ngeh once again insulted the Muslims by tweeting ‘Pertama kali saya dengar minum kopi mesti ada label halal. Manusia jgn tambah tambah syarat,membebankan. Tuhan membebaskan.’ (This is the first time I’ve heard that coffee needs a halal label. Humans shouldn’t make up more rules, it’s burdening. God liberates) when the vice chairman of the Unit Pidato Pemuda BN asked him why does his white coffee comes without halal certification. Not just that, when the person corrected him, saying that coffee too needs to be certificated as halal, Ngeh retorted by tweeting, “Tuhan tak kata bagitu. Lain negara tak ada sijil halal bagaimana ? Minum kopi haram ?” (God did not say so. How is it for countries without halal certifications? Would drinking coffee be haram?)”

Ngeh chose to ignore the fact given by Armand Azha PJU that the Old Town White Coffee they were referring to also serves food apart from coffee. Ngeh may spin the story but the Quran had clearly stated that Muslims should only eat foods which are ‘halal’. The ‘halal certificate’ acts as a guarantee for the Muslims to consume food which have been examined to be free of any haram substances, as I had mentioned in my previous post ‘Halal Labeling’. When a product had not been proven as ‘halal’ through the certificate issued by a trusted body, there is a possibility that the food may contain a certain amount of non-halal substance. So, the official halal logo will assists the Muslim consumers in buying goods that are compliance to the halal criteria.

I remember that See’s Candies of California only took a few days to respond to my father’s email and they gave him a very detailed account of their chocolate making process as well as the nature of the ingredients used. See’s Candies has a batch of products which were made by only plant-based products and were manufactured separately to protect it from being contaminated by the animal-based product. And they answered the email respectfully, very much unlike what Ngeh said in his tweet despite the fact that my father is a foreigner and Muslims are only a minority in the United States. See’s Candies that produces very delicious chocolates is not owned by a Muslim but although being unlike the DAP leaders who need the votes from the Malaysian Muslims, See’s Candies still care to respect the rights of its Muslim customers.

It is funny to think of how a leader like Ngeh, who lives in a Muslim-majority country does not understand nor respect the importance of halal labelling. Not only that but Ngeh dares to challenge what is right in according to Islam. And it is even fishier when PAS had always claimed that the DAP leaders understand Islam even better than the UMNO leaders do.

I firmly believe that products and restaurants such as the Old Town White Coffee must be avoided by Muslims for three reasons, one is that we have no confirmation on the halal status, secondly is that we as Muslims we need to fight for our rights to proclaim the verification of a halal product and last is to make sure that we only support the companies (either owned by Muslim or non-Muslim) that support and understand our needs and requirements as a Muslim consumer. We should support companies such as Carrefour – who even employs an ustaz or a religious officer for the purpose of controlling the verification of their halal products even for imported goods even despite the fact that the company is not owned by a Muslim. It is our duty to make sure that the foods and drinks that we consume will be good for us.

Sang Saka Malaya Controversy: Is Pakatan Behind the Red and White Flag?

As I mentioned in my earlier post, ‘Malaysia… A Republic Nation?‘, the demonstrators of Janji Demokrasi or Janji Bersih caused a controversy when they caused havoc amidst the Merdeka Day celebration on the night of 30th August.

The group in which most wore the yellow t-shirts were seen displaying and waving red and white flags which they called Sang Saka Malaya instead of the Malaysian flag, Jalur Gemilang. To add insult to injury, they even distributed pamphlets demanding for Malaysian flag to be changed from Jalur Gemilang to Sang Saka Malaya.

Opinions vary widely on the matter with a few saying that it is the youths’ rights to learn and to introduce to others the so-called historical flag while most insisting that the action is against the ethical values of Malaysians, showing no respect to the country, as well as endangering the harmony of the country.

Now, who is behind the Sang Saka Malaya?

With the obvious association between Bersih and Pakatan Rakyat, most speculated that the Pakatan Rakyat is behind the incident and that Sang Saka Malaya would be the new Malaysian flag chosen by the Pakatan Rakyat if they ever succeeded in their mission to ‘tawan Putrajaya’. A blogger, Serigala Selatan who owns the Singa Selatan blog claimed that he and a friend, ‘Zairi Shafai’ are the ones who were responsible for these flags and that he wasn’t representing any political party. Anwar Ibrahim also denied claims that Sang Saka has got anything to do with Pakatan Rakyat.

“Dia nak kaitkan Pakatan Rakyat, adakah kenyataan saya yang menyatakan kita tidak mahu bendera malaysia? Ada kenyataan Tuan Guru Hadi Awang? Ada kenyataan YB Kit Siang? Tidak ada. Bagi kita bendera Malaysia, bendera Malaysia” (In order to associate (the flag) with Pakatan Rakyat, have I ever made any statement saying that we do not want the Malaysian flag? Is there a statement from Hadi Awang? Is there a statement from YB Kit Siang? There’s none. To us, the Malaysian flag is the Malaysian flag.)

But does anyone still remember what DAP assemblyman, YB Manoharan Malayalam wrote in his facebook last year about our Jalur Gemilang? He wrote that, “Pakatan will come up with a new flag” for the reason that our Jalur Gemilang is ‘too BN than Malaysian’ and “the flag must go” in referring  to the current Malaysian flag.

Ironically, Anwar’s employee Najwan Halimi also wrote a surprising statement on his personal blog, Riwayat Hayat:

“saya persembahkan design terbaru bendera Malaysia bagi menggantikan Jalur Gemilang bernama Sang Saka Malaya” (I present the latest design of the Malaysian flag, Sang Saka Malaya which would replace the Jalur Gemilang)

(please note that the page had since been edited and the ‘announcement’ had been deleted from the post)

And if that is not enough to contradict Singa Selatan and Anwar Ibrahim’s statement, Hishamuddin Rais who is one of the main organisers of the Janji Bersih demonstration even made an announcement on his blog, tukartiub, telling people to bring and wave the Sang Saka Malaya at the demonstration. Hishamuddin Rais is also one of Anwar’s close associate.

“Kibarkan Sang Saka Malaya, Merdeka dari jajahan UMNO” (Wave the Sang Saka Malaya, free (the country) from UMNO)

Hishamuddin Rais, Najwan Halimi and Manoharan Malayam are all members of the Pakatan Rakyat and yet their words seem to be shouting to the world that yes, we are the ones behind all this and we are proud of it. In fact, while denying the fact that Pakatan Rakyat has anything to do with Sang Saka Malaya, Anwar Ibrahim went on to support the actions of waving the Sang Saka Malaya during the Merdeka celebration saying that it is the youths’ rights to bring back the old flag, claiming that it is a good idea to educate the public about our struggle for independence. He went on further to associate the Sang Saka Malaya with the independence fighters hence to justify and to prove that not only there is nothing wrong with the actions but their initiative should be praised by the public.

So are the rumours true that Sang Saka Malaya would in fact be made the new Malaysian flag if Pakatan Rakyat were to win the coming general election? In the first place, why must Malaysia need a new flag? But if it is true that they want a new flag, why must they choose Sang Saka Malaya which was used by the leftist group that was rejected by the majority of Malaysians even before our independence?

What else are they secretly planning to change if they gain the power? And what are their true agendas behind all their questionable actions? Would Malaysia still be a peaceful sovereign country or would our beautiful country be turned into a chaotic republic, breeding rebels with anti-establishment mentality?

Please read the history of Sang Saka Malaya to find out who had use the flag before our independence hence to try to see the light in why this flag was brought out again after more than 55 years. Click here to read a good article written by Professor Datuk Dr Ramlah Adam of University Malaya on the history of Sang Saka Malaya (unfortunately it’s in Malay).

Is Halal Food Too Unbearable For The PKR’s Non-Muslim Members?

A few days ago a poster advertising a ‘Jamuan Makan Malam bersama Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’ caused an uproar among Muslim bloggers and blog readers alike. According to the poster, you have the choice to pick between halal and non-halal food at the event. Such an act is unheard of in Malaysia, especially not from any political parties in the course of ‘selling tables’ when it also involves their Muslims supporters.

In the first place, why would there be the need to serve non-halal food during a PKR dinner when there will be Muslims attending the function? Is this one of PKR’s ways to promote religious pluralism and Muslim liberalism as a platform towards introducing secularism in Malaysia? Of course, PAS may agree with the above statement if such an act was committed by UMNO leaders.

By the way, isn’t that against the first of the three objectives of the Common Policy Platform from the Buku Jingga?

To defend the Federal Constitution, Islam as the religion of the Federation while other religions can be practiced peacefully anywhere in the country, the special position of the Malays and the indigenous peoples anywhere including Sabah and Sarawak, and the legitimate interests of other races in accordance to Article 153.

Consuming non-halal food is against Islam and if Islam is the religion of the federation, non-halal food are not supposed to be served during such events. Yes, at the moment they are not the ruling government but do they have any respect for their Muslim members? And how about the religious obligations among their Muslim organising committee and other party leaders? If those Muslim leaders has no respect toward their Muslim brothers and sisters, is there any guarantee that they would fulfill the promises as in reference to Article 153?

Why didn’t Mapim or PAS say anything about this matter? Isn’t Mapim the one who accused Najib of being the ‘father of secularism in Malaysia’ because of the ‘K-Pop’ event? So, why didn’t they say anything now when the dinner organiser clearly humiliates Islam and shows no respect for the Muslims? Or did the, ‘RM500/table (non-halal)’ just appeared on the PKR poster out of nowhere just like how the K-pop dancers appeared on stage at the ‘Bertam Nite’ dinner?

Again, is it a must to serve ‘non-halal’ food at such function? And what is the real status of the claimed to be ‘halal food’ that would be served? If the ‘halal food’ is to be prepared by the same restaurant or caterer that also cooks pork in the same kitchen, will the food be really halal? Restaurants or caterers that also offer pork in their menu are not eligible to request for the ‘halal’ status from JAKIM as pork is a ‘najis mughallazah’.

How could the PKR Muslim leaders agree to the idea of selling ‘non-halal’ tables? Don’t they know that it is ‘haram’ to do so; or is ‘haram’ only applies to UMNO and BN?  Or do the Pakatan Rakyat’s non-Muslim leaders and members cannot eat ‘halal food’ hence ‘non-halal’ food must be served for them?

I am very sad and sorry for the Muslims who would be buying tables or attending the event. And as for the Pakatan Rakyat leaders, if they can do all these now, it would come as no surprise if they would dare to take worse actions against the Muslim Rights if they were to be able to ‘tawan Putrajaya’. May Allah help all of us and protect our beloved Malaysia from being ruined by those who are hungry for power and don’t really care about us, the majority peaceful loving Malaysian citizen.

HIMPUN v.s. Bersih: Does PAS Really Support Islam?

I used to have very high regards for the opposition parties, particularly PAS and PKR until recently. My childhood memories even included shouting ‘Reformasi! Reformasi!’ at the top of my voice while riding my little tricycle. I saw Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of PKR as the ideal leader for Malaysia. During his days in ABIM, Anwar was credited for doing a great job in promoting hijabs among the Muslim women. One of my teachers once told me that during her younger days, she was made fun of because she wears hijab; during the older days we can hardly see Malaysian women in proper hijab. PAS (meaning the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party) was formed with a mission to fight for Islam and to uphold Islam in Malaysia. Therefore, I used to firmly believe that if PAS and PKR could work together to form a new government, it would be really great for Malaysia.

But recent events made me doubt my strong belief and trust in PAS and PKR. Was it fair for PAS to falsely claimed that Himpunan Sejuta Umat or HIMPUN (an event organised by Muslim NGOs calling the Muslims to strengthen their faith and to fight against apostasy) as an UMNO’s political agenda while giving full-support towards Bersih, a ‘demonstration turned riot’ led by an LGBT fighter asking for fair and clean election.

As an Islamic party claiming to fight for an Islamic government, PAS should not only took part but also supported HIMPUN as it was an important Islamic program. And as for PKR who claims that the current government is not Islamic for being led by corrupted leaders who cheated in the past general elections, why can’t their Muslim and ‘Islamic’ leaders especially Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim support HIMPUN, even if their non-muslim leaders would not?

Even Datuk Ibrahim Ali (not that I am a fan of his), whom the opposition leaders refer as  ‘frog’, attended the event to support his Muslim brothers and sisters. Of course, he wanted to be one of the speakers at the event, but even after he was ‘denied’ the honour, he still attended HIMPUN, proudly sitting with the mass crowd despite of his flamboyant self. And not just that, he even used his influence to promote the event and brought along the members of his NGO in full spirit. Ibrahim Ali may be a frog for some people but when it comes to his faith, he knows that as a Muslim, he needs to protect Islam.

If a flamboyant ‘frog’ can put aside his ego for the sake of Islam, why can’t the supposedly honourable Muslim leaders of PKR and especially PAS at least voiced out their support towards strengthening the faith of Muslims? PAS president, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said to the press just before the event that (because) he respected the organisers’ wishes to keep HIMPUN as a non-political event, he will not be attending HIMPUN and advised all PAS members to follow suit.” It was an odd indeed; but what makes it more confusing is the fact that he and other PAS senior leaders gave Bersih their full-support when Bersih is also a non-political event. PAS’s spiritual leader even made a call to all Muslims to attend Bersih 3.0 rally; not only saying that it is a must(wajib) for Muslims to do so but even admitted that he provided some of them with some pocket money. Or did they took those actions to humiliate the Bersih 3.0’s organisers since Bersih 3.0 was led by an LGBT fighter? But of course it would make sense if the rumours were true that Bersih 3.0 is actually the opposition parties’ political agenda to tarnish the reputation of the current government with the hope to paint the Malaysian government as cruel, injustice, corrupted and against the freedom of speech.

PAS should do all it takes to fight for Islam, after all their party’s mission slogan is (or was?) to implement the Islamic law (hudud) in Malaysia; claiming that Malaysia under the current government is a secular country. Later, they even accused UMNO was behind HIMPUN, which was a big white lie! Why must they choose to policalise everything? And what is wrong for Muslims to sit together as an ummah(a muslim) disregarding their different political stances at such events? Earlier, PAS youth chief made a statement giving full support for HIMPUN but he was silenced by Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s strong statement against HIMPUN. Wouldn’t PAS be gaining political mileage if they support HIMPUN, instead of fibbing and twisting stories? Perhaps HIMPUN is not Bersih(clean) enough …. for it was not a political event.

However, Datuk Dr. Hasan Ali who was one of their state government’s excos attended the event not as a political leader but in his personal capacity as a Muslim individual. Ironically, he was shortly sacked from the party for (as quoted by PAS president) “based on Datuk Hasan Ali’s action which have wronged and damaged the party’s interest as provided for in PAS constitution”. I (and I believe, many others) give high respect to Dr. Hasan Ali for he dared to go against the odds to support Islam despite of PAS’s orders that prevented their members from attending HIMPUN.

It seems very clear that PAS isn’t true to their words to uphold and fight for Islam. Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat(PAS spiritual leader) and Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS president) made lots of questionable statements; some were even contrary to the teaching of Islam. It is such a shame if the ‘rumours’ is true that PAS uses Islam for their own political gains to win the Muslim  (who are the majority of Malaysian) votes in achieving their dreams to lead the country or as they fondly say ‘menuju Putrajaya’. Instead of upholding Islam, their conducts shows the opposite. The worst is, the Malays are torn apart.

Halal labeling

Muslims should make sure that they only consume halal food. In Food Facts, I had voiced out my concern regarding the free use of illegal halal labels on food products in Malaysia. The worst is, some of those products are actually questionable in their halal status.

Living in a multiracial country, Muslim consumers must be knowledgeable and well informed on this matter. Since the halal labeling is considered only as a ‘ticket’ for a big and profitable business by some, consumers must be smart as not to fall in their ‘traps’. The government and the islamic authorities must be more serious in handling this matter for halal food is actually a basic need for Muslim.

I guess honesty and responsibility are the keys in solving this problem. If those in halal food business are honest and responsible, we won’t be facing all these problems at all. But since some people are driven only by making money, we as the consumers have to fight for our rights.

I’m happy to say that not everybody are greedy, dishonest and irresponsible. There are people who took pride in being honest even though they are non-muslim. See’s Candies of California (whose candies and chocolates are truly delicious) only took a couple of days to respond to dad’s e-mail regarding the (very) detail of their chocolate making process and the nature the ingredients used. And an owner of a slaughter house in Australia  fired one of his Muslim staff after the guy was caught drunk on his night off. The reason given was – since the company slaughter halal meat, a person who do not follow the true teachings of Islam is no good for the job.

If only everybody are honest and responsible the world will be a better place for all of us; regardless our religions. But since cheating and taking advantages of others are the ways of lives for those who only value power and money – life is hard. Is it really important to have the halal label on food product? I guess the labei is important for Muslim as well as other labeling on food product; as long as halal label means the food is halal for Muslims.