KONSERT = STADIUM MERDEKA?

Pada hari ini genaplah 51 tahun gema laungan MERDEKA! sebanyak 7 kali ( kalau tak salah) di stadium merdeka. Dengan dipertontonkan kepada seluruh rakyat Tanah Melayu, kemudian Malaysia stadium merdeka mencatatkan sejarah tertubuh sebuah negara berdaulat. Hasil perit jerih pejuang-pejuang kemerdekaan tercatat di sini.

Namun demikian, stadium merdeka sudah tidak wajar dinamakan stadium merdeka. Setelah beberapa kali stadium merdeka menjadi lubuk untuk merendahkan martabat kemerdekaan negara. 2 tahun lepas konsert Inul diadakan disini dalam bulan ogos, tahun lepas konsert Gwen Stefani juga rencana disini, malah pada tahun ini Inul juga rencana melakukan konsertnya di tempat yang sama juga tetapi berjaya dihalang. Tidak selesai disitu 2 hari sebelum kemerdekaan konsert Avril juga dianjurkan disini.

Mengapa bila detik kian menghampiri Ramadhan dan Kemerdekaan mesti dicemari dengan kekotoran sebegini. Dan yang menjadi mangsanya adalah stadium merdeka, tempat yang mencatat sejarah dan menjadi lambang sebuah nostalgia negara merdeka.

Aku disini menutup dengan 2 jalan keluar, pertama di tukar nama stadium merdeka kepada stadium ...., atau pilihan yang kedua batalkan saja hasrat itu, iktibar pada masa akan datang. Kalau ini berlaku lagi pada ogos yang akan datang...

Read more »

HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE

Alang-Alang Peluk Pekasam, Biar Sampai ke Pangkal Lengan !

Read more »

The Colonial Legacies on Islam in South East Asia from Contemporary Perspective.

Sepetang bersama Surin Pitsuwan, Setiausaha Agung ASEAN, Mantan Menteri Luar Thailand, seorang muslim yang mendapat didikan awal pondok di selatan Thai.
(Surin, Brian Yap, Penulis dan Yusmadi)

MOHD SAIFULLAH MOHD ZULKIFLI

The region of South East Asia has become one of the largest Muslim region in the world, where it is constitute of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei as the majority Muslim countries. Meanwhile Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Burma and Cambodia as the largest minority in the countries. With this large number of Muslim population it made Muslim as the most significant and influential religion in the region.

In 16^th Century, European Colonial power begins to arrive in this region and start to colonialised most of the territory in this region. Portugese, Dutch, Spanish, and British colonised including, Malaya, Melaka, Singapore, Indonesia, Acheh, Filippines, Moro, Sulu. The colonial power start to divide the areas by demarcating boundaries trough mutual understanding and with this Muslims was gradually marginalised.

Marginalisation is the main legacies of the colonial’s power. In the case of Malaya, Muslim who is precisely Malays were marginalise with other immigrants, Chinese and Indian. Under the policies of ‘Divide and Rule’, which later course the rise issues of Citizenship, Special Rights, religion and races. Compare to Dutch, British are less restrict the exercising the practice of Islam. Dutch in Indonesia are very much control Islam, where they imposed restriction upon Ulama and the Religious institution, and secondly is that they tried to making the culture system in making Indonesia hand over its large quantity of economy to Dutch.

In the case of Muslim in Philippines, Muslim was marginalised by Spanish, particularly the place of majority Muslim was given to Americans in Mindoro and Visyas. Muslim was pushed to subservient to foreign power, and the economy and political rights was violated. Moro province was made an American Military post. The case in Southern Philippine, was merely similar to Southern Thai, were they were actually invaded by Siam, of Thai.

These legacies of colonial power cause very much influence in contemporary Islam in South East Asia. Because of that legacy, Muslim was marginalise and violated in its own land. The struggle of Muslim in defend and demand their rights were express through various means, either through violent armed guerrilla warfare, peaceful participation of democratic political means, or acquit rectitude of encourage greater adherence to Islamic prayers and other religious rituals.

Reference

Syed Sirajul Islam. 2005. The Politics of Islamic Identity in Southeast Asia. Thomson Asia Pte. Ltd, Singapore

K.S. Nathan and Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Eds. 2005 Islam in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asia Studies. Singapore

Read more »

FORUM MEMELUK ISLAM PERLU DILAKSANAKAN SECARA TERTUTUP OLEH MEREKA YANG SELAYAKNYA

FORUM MEMELUK ISLAM PERLU DILAKSANAKAN SECARA TERTUTUP OLEH MEREKA YANG SELAYAKNYA

Dalam keadaan masyarakat yang terbuka dan kompleks pada hari ini, kita tidak boleh bersikap apologatik dan prejudis kepada aspek perbincangan dan dialog.

Kita juga tidak boleh mengambil pendekatan 'sapu sampah ke bawah tikar' atau 'selimut ke atas, kaki ternampak'. Kita perlu selesaikan masalah yang ada dalam negara secara matang dan tulus. Atas dasar prinsip keadilan, dengan tunjangan ilmu yang benar masalah-masalah pokok dan dasar harus diselesaikan. Cuma sedihnya, masyarakat dan pemimpin kita pada hari ini hanya mampu menyelesaikan masalah peringkat permukaan 'surface', atau masalah ranting bukan masalah pokok dan penyelesaian masalah yang komprehensif.

Perbincangan dan perbahasan terhadap permasalahan pokok ini harus diselesaikan secara bersemuka dan matang, serta hanya melibatkan mereka yang ahli, selayaknya, pakar dan diadakan secara tertutup.

Tertutup disini bukanlah kerana untuk menyembunyikan sesuatu dan agenda disebalik agenda, tetapi untuk memastikan kebenaran itu berada di tempat mereka yang selayaknya agar tidak timbul salah faham dan ketegangan.

Dalam hal murtad yang berlaku pada hari ini penulis berpendapat ianya perlu dibincang dan dibahaskan. Kita sudah tidak boleh bersikap tutup sebelah mata. Cuma perbincangan seperti ini perlulah dilaksanakan oleh mereka yang selayaknya. Dalam hal ehwal ummat Islam, termasuk isu murtad ini sebenarnya memerlukan mereka yang ahli 'autoriti' dalam hal ini. Mungkin Jakim bersama-sama NGO-NGO Islam perlu duduk semeja dan menganjurkan perbahasan dalam hal ini, bukan dianjurkan oleh mereka yang celaru dan ‘oppurtunis’ dalam masyakat kita.

Kita juga perlu bersikap jujur bahawa pada hari ini masih banyak berlaku kelemahan dan kelompongan dalam hal ehwal ummat Islam, termasuk kepada mereka yang digelar 'Saudara Kita'. Kita mungkin sensitif apabila mereka ini meninggal dunia, perlu dilaksanakan dalam cara Islam, tetapi sewaktu mereka masih hidup hal ehwal kehidupan Islam mereka masih banyak yang diabaikan. Justeru sebenarnya penyelesaian dan pendekatan komprehensif perlu dilaksanakan oleh pihak berwajib dalam isu ini.

Forum dalam isu murtad ini perlu dilaksanakan tetapi mestilah menuruti lunas-lunas kebenaran dan keadilan, secara tertutup dan dianjurkan oleh mereka yang berautoriti dalam agama Islam.

MOHD SAIFULLAH MOHD ZULKIFLI

Exco Penerangan Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM)

UIA Kuantan, 8.8.08

1.57 am

Read more »

THE RELATION OF RELIGION AND POLITICS IN THE CASE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

The aspect of religion and politic played very important roles in ancients civilisation. There are three natures of relationship between these two which can be classified as identical where it did not clearly define the authority, roles of religion and the society, the second nature is separation where it usually known as secularism where human are the ultimate source and sole of reference and the third nature of these relationship is balance, where the roles of religion and society are clearly define and given its due, the political elite plays as the administrator and did not claimed as someone as divine.

In the case of Mesopotamia we could classify the nature of relation ship of religion and politic as Identical at the first stage where the temple community ruled the society. Temple community that combine both political and religious authority in the Sumerian society where it manipulate the religious factor to claim the right of authority for submission from the people as ruler. Temple community claimed that they was the chosen people from god to govern the society and to determine everything, what is right and wrong for the society.

In this sense, the roles of religion and politics, are manipulated and not clearly define thus makes the Mesopotamian Civilisation as Identical. Later after the emerged of monarch, which replace the authority of temple community, Sumerian society became a secular society which separate politics and religion. Temple community became temple which only served the aspect of spiritual in the society. Religious did not possess any authority in political aspect. The monarchy has the absolute authority over the people.

The monarch start to expand their authority and territory where they conquered other monarch including Akkadian, Urf and Babylion. It later became a huge empire that ruled by one authority name Hammurabbi. This emergence of empire developed a new concept that very much Humanocentric, called Great Society that focused on human factor that determine everything. Trade, Rule of Law, System of Society, Governance, and communication was only based on human factor and the roles of god and religion is absence and rejected.

In answering the question why, it is due to the negligence of guidance in defining the roles of religion and politics and t understand the concept of creation. Politics and religion could easily manipulated and misused to gained the authoritative power. Temple community they regard themselves as the divinely chosen by god as god mediator where it posses the power to determine what is god will. On the other hand, monarch possess that ultimate human authority that reject religion in governing the state.

Based on this matter we could conclude that Mesopotamian civilisation is a Transcendental in political approach where it used Identical and Separation in nature.

Read more »