Sunday, September 28, 2008

Article in Star Mag Today - Zubedy for Unity

Sunday September 28, 2008
Zubedy for unity
By ROUWEN LIN

His muhibbah advertisements have become a quirky staple in newspapers every festival. Just who is Zubedy?


WHAT prompts a company to splurge for eight consecutive years (and counting) on advertisements commemorating a day that is barely acknowledged publicly?
Malaysia Day (on Sept 16) might be in the pages of history books but it has yet to claim its place in the hearts of Malaysians.
But Anas Zubedy does it for unity.

“I feel strongly about promoting the message of unity because I feel it is my calling. Everybody has their calling; mine is to unite people,” he says.
He explains that “Malaysia gave me the opportunity to be a universal child” and that while “other people have to travel to experience different races and cultures, we have it right in front of us, but we are not reaping it.”

Anas, who is a boyish-looking 44, has dreamt of uniting people ever since he was young and he credits this to his upbringing and early exposure to different cultures.

The son of a “simple shop assistant” and a housewife, Anas grew up in Penang and was no stranger to racial and cultural diversity.

In his younger days, he befriended a Eurasian family. At age 10, his best friend was an Indian boy and in lower secondary school he hung out at a Punjabi friend’s place in the evenings. Anas was a favourite with the older folks who fawned over him during Chinese New Year because he was a non-Chinese kid who could chatter fluently in a Chinese dialect.

Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Anas Zubedy with his advertisements in the background. – KAMARUL ARIFFIN / The Star

“I celebrated Chinese New Year and used to do what the other Chinese kids would do. I tended to get more ang pow (red packets) than them because I could speak Hokkien. I used to gamble, too, you know, until I decided at age 10 that it wasn’t a good thing to do,” he laughs.

Fun times, indeed, for a young Malay boy but it was not all plain sailing as not everyone was equally colour-blind.

He found that there were times when the kids would try to exclude him from their games because he was not “one of them”. But, at the same time, there were many who declared that they would not play if he was not allowed to join in.
“So, I learned from a very young age, while I was marginalised - just a little bit - that there are no bad races, but only bad people,” he says.

Culture vulture

Anas studied at Penang Free School before earning his degree in public administration at Universiti Malaya. Now the managing director of Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd - a human development and soft skills training consultancy - he adopts a firm stance on highlighting the similarities and shared values of our multi-racial community through his company’s festive advertisements and products.

Anas is often asked about his rather unusual family name. His typical response is “Don’t identify me with a place or nationality. I would rather be known as a typical Malaysian guy who likes laksa and teh tarik.”

That’s not the only thing he likes. He embraces cultural differences with gusto and says that it is the mindset of the individual that determines whether these differences are perceived as irritating or pleasing.

For instance, while the clamouring of church bells, the boom-boom-boom of drums and chanting of prayers may irritate many, it is music to his ears.
“When I bought a house, one of the selling points for me was that it faced Chinese and Indian temples, and behind it was a mosque. The only missing link was a church,” he says.

He adds that wherever he travels, he seeks to experience different cultures. He is perfectly happy to sit down and watch a procession of a certain faith amble pass for the entire day, if that is how long it takes.

“Take a trip to Sabah and Sarawak the next time you go on holiday,” he urges. “We Peninsular Malaysians forget about them all the time, and that’s wrong. That’s the reason why we (he and the company) are so much into Hari Malaysia. We need territorial integration - something we don’t have enough of - and they (people in Sabah and Sarawak) are the nicest people in the world,” he enthuses.
For him, the one thing he has been itching to do is to make merry with the locals during their Hari Gawai celebration.

“I haven’t had the chance to do that, and I really want to, even though I don’t drink tuak (rice wine).”

Anas says that we should endeavour to take our Malaysian concept of open house a step further if change is to happen.

“I think we should open our minds to all the other races and learn from each other. It will be good if we can move from rumah terbuka to hati terbuka dan minda terbuka (an open heart and mind).”

Adding values

Aside from the Malaysia Day advertisements each year, Anas’s company take out ads during Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Christmas, Wesak and Vasakhi.

Zubedy’s advertisment for Malaysia Day last year.
The sheer amount of time, effort and money invested has garnered criticism from some people who are unable to understand why he does what he does. Anas shrugs it off.

“The idea behind these advertisements is that they show shared values of all our traditions. We also do that in our products. To make Malaysia a more united country, we need to highlight our similarities and shared values, and not our differences.

“If I have a lot of money, I’ll have billboards with all of this. I’ll have television advertisements and I’ll have contests. Anas will be a brand that sticks to promoting unity no matter what because at the end of the day we all belong to the same God - many colours, one race,” he declares.

And in light of unity, the current political situation and racial tension in Malaysia saddens Anas. He pleas for the politicians to get their priorities straight and stop bickering. What matters more, he says is the economy and political stability.
“Anwar and his people should practise good governance in the five states they have and not try to take over the country. The March 8 elections are over - wait until the next elections,” he says.

He adds that the people, too, should accept the election results.
“The BN very clearly won. This is democracy: they did not win hands down, but like it or not, they still won - so we should let it be and move on.”

Regardless of who we support, Anas thinks we should not resort to name-calling (such as the infamous “najis” and “babi” on certain politically-inclined blogs).
“I think this is really immature. We need to understand that there are many parties but we are still one nation. In Parliament, we may be on oppostite sides but are not enemies. I have this in my latest advertisement and I think these are the things we should really push for,” he says.

Nurturing young minds

Anas, who is single, is concerned that if racism is given free rein to settle in the impressionable young minds of children, then all hell will break loose.

“The situation will become worse and worse and one day we will end up turning our children to war. We don’t realise it, but we are already doing it,” he says.
Both sides of the coin have to be presented to children to ensure that they grow up to be well-balanced individuals and not be stuck in the rut of narrow-mindedness.

“Children are our shared responsibility and maybe our generation has gone through things that have made us a little unhappy with each other, but that doesn’t mean we should transfer it to the next generation,” he says.

And this quirky chap has yet another revolutionary suggestion up his sleeve: that a lower price should be quoted for those who ensure that their neighbours are of a different race from them when they buy a house.

“Based on my experience, at the end of the day it’s all about socialisation. The reason why this (the yearn to promote unity) happened to me was that I grew up in an area where I could meet many races,” explains Anas.

In retrospect, he muses, it was the awareness instilled in him at a tender age that enabled him to visualise things from a wider perspective.

“Though my family was poor in terms of wealth, we were rich in terms of love. And in terms of exposure and learning about other cultures, I was a millionaire,” he says.

Thanks to The Star and Rouwen Lin for helping me spread the message of Unity!

Anas Zubedy


Have A Meaningful Aidil Fitri

Peace,

This Hari Raya let us remember that the Quran wants us to know that there are Many Prayers but only, One God.

"Those who have been driven from their homelands against all right for no other reason than their saying. “Our Sustainer is God!” For, if God had not enabled people to defend themselves against one another, [all] monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques - in [all of] which Gods name is abundantly extolled - would surely have been destroyed [ere now]. And God will most certainly succour him who suc­cours His cause: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty" - Quran 22:40

and,


There are Many Colors, One Race (the above are my team at zubedy) and God made us different so we can recognize each other.

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).
Quran 49 : 13

Let us go see and celebrate the beauty in our diversity and get to know more of each other as we celebrate His Creation this Aidil Fitri.

Peace,

Anas Zubedy

Monday, September 22, 2008

Let's learn about other Traditions - Buddhism

Religious Communities working together for global justice and Peace
The Buddhist Perspective

By
Vijaya Samarawickrama

Scope of the Paper

I propose to examine this topic from three perspectives: that of economics personal development and conflict

The Economic Perspective

Contrary to common perception, the Buddha did not preach against the acquisition of wealth. He emphasized that sufficient wealth to meet basic needs is a condition for a householder to live a noble life. In the Cakkavatti Sihanada Suttra, the Buddha declares that people resort to violence because their basic material needs are not provided for. We can easily see that the greatest conflict occurs among the poorest nations where people are ignorant, angry and frustrated because they are denied the basic necessities to live decent lives. If governments as well as multi national corporations concentrated on channeling all their resources to uplifting the social conditions of the people, then they will not need to resort to violence. We all agree that the real underlying reason for most wars today is economic—the competition for oil or the ownership of land, for example.

The Buddha declares that one must not work for the welfare of oneself alone. In order for us to ensure our own well being, we must also ensure that everyone around us is happy as well. This is realistic.The most well known Buddhist benediction is “Sabbe Satta Bhavantu Sukhitattha: May all beings be well and happy”. Note that the reference is to ALL beings and not to members of the Buddhist community alone. Every living creature that shares this planet with us has the right to protection and security. In this scheme of things, man is not seen as having any more rights than other creatures. When one sees oneself as part of a vast cosmic whole, then one will be less likely to defend one’s own interests at the expense of others.

The two key pillars of Buddhism are Wisdom and Compassion. With wisdom we learn to understand the nature of the Self and the Interrelatedness of all beings. From that wisdom arises the desire to work selflessly and tirelessly for the benefit of everything that inhabits this planet. It is by promoting the welfare of others that we can enjoy happiness. With wisdom also we extend our love not only to those who share our beliefs and concerns, but it is extended IMPARTIALLY through the practice of Metta, loving kindness, and Karuna, compassion.

Peace at the Individual level

No one can expect the community to be at peace if the individuals who form that community are disturbed or unhappy. The ultimate aim of Buddhism is to help every individual human being to attain the perfect state of nirvana, which is not someplace one goes to after death but a state of mind in this life utterly free from hatred, delusion and ill will…a state of supramundane peace. This state is to be attained by self effort through the development of wisdom and the purification of the mind from the defilements of ignorance, greed and ill-will. Religion is merely a means to an end which helps the individual to purify his or her mind, just like a raft is merely used to cross a river. The external trappings of organized religion—the temples, rituals and so on, are abandoned when one sees with wisdom that they only serve to separate mankind. At that level one does not see one’s religion as superior to others. Wisdom produces a mind which is suffused with Loving kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity which cuts across all boundaries.

When one is at peace with oneself then one works selflessly to extend that peace towards all other beings, human and non-human.

Buddhists firmly believe that if all human beings are taught to discard their narrow sectarian loyalties, to respect all forms of life and to promote the welfare of all beings impartially then true peace can be attained at a personal level and it can be extended to encompass the entire universe.

To do this governments and multi-national corporations must develop the wisdom to create a spirit of cooperation to promote the physical welfare of all by guaranteeing freedom from hunger and poverty for the whole world. Religion for its part should strive to promote the concept of the oneness of mankind, to respect the beliefs of others, to destroy envy and hatred in individuals, to find inner happiness and in this way to ensure spiritual well being. Justice is experienced when all of humanity enjoys material and spiritual happiness.

The Perspective on Conflict

The Buddha categorically denounced all forms of aggression so clearly that he left no room for anyone calling himself a Buddhist to engage in conflict for any reason whatsoever. On one occasion, when his own relatives were poised for war to decide who had the right to use the waters of a river for irrigation, the Buddha asked. “What is more important, the waters of this river, or the blood of your kinsmen which will be shed in battle?” Note that he did not offer to arbitrate, because he clearly demonstrated that both sides were misled in resorting to violence to settle their disputes.

On another occasion he declared:

“Hatred cannot be appeased by hatred
By love alone can it be quelled”


According to the Buddha the greatest miracle (in fact the only miracle) that can be performed on earth is when the mind of a violent man is turned towards thoughts of compassion and non-violence.

The Buddha saw no benefit to be gained from going to war for any reason. To him even victory is the cause of suffering

“Victory breeds hatred
The defeated live in sorrow
The peaceful live happily
Having given up both victory and defeat”

Only by developing the wisdom to see others as ourselves can we overcome aggression:

“All fear the rod
All fear Death
Realising this
One should neither strike
Nor cause to strike”

Conclusion

The Buddhist perspective on this topic is that it is not religion, but the selfishness and greed of human beings which threatens peace at all levels. The solution to the problem is to empower those who work for the material benefit of all the peoples of the world impartially, and who strive to spread knowledge which breaks down artificially created barriers between nations and peoples within a nation. Religious leaders must sincerely teach that all human beings belong to the same family and are equally deserving of consideration. Some people may argue that it is unrealistic to think of a world which can exist without conflict. This is because we are so used to the idea that violence is the only way to settle disputes and conduct our affairs that we refuse to accept more civilized modes of behavior. It need not be that seeing the other person’s point of view is necessarily a sign of weakness. It calls for greater wisdom and nobility to see good in others, irrespective of their beliefs. What the world seriously needs is to develop a new mindset, to explore the possibility of living peacefully with our neighbors.

Religion is still relevant to the world today. But its relevance can only be manifested if the religious and political leaders of the world develop the wisdom to see all the members of the human race as one, with the same desire for peace, although they have different world-views. We must develop the wisdom to recognize that progress can only be possible if we acknowledge the reality that, just like the five fingers on the hand are the not the same, different understandings of the problems of human existence will prevail for a long time to come. Our hope for the future, if religion is to continue to be relevant, is to recognize the principle of unity within diversity and teach our followers to let others live in peace. As the theme of our conference iterates, religious communities must have the wisdom to work not only for the benefit of their particular religions alone, but to transcend doctrinal differences. We must recognize our common aims and pool our resources to work for the general welfare of all beings while maintaining our diverse beliefs. In Zen Buddhism, disciples are urged not to look at the finger, but to look at the moon which it points to. We all have the same aspirations for mankind, let us not waste precious energy and resources arguing about which of our scriptures can point better to the truth. At a mundane level all our religions have organizations to promote freedom from hunger, ignorance and want. What we need to do now is to come together and pool our resources if we wish to genuinely work for the welfare of humanity, with no ulterior motives. Religious organizations have an obligation and indeed, the power to persuade governments and multinational corporations to reduce their lust for profit at the expense of human and natural resources.

We salute the brave and right thinking people all over the world, irrespective of their religion and their nationality who have demonstrated that violence, hatred and selfishness will not benefit anyone. If the participants of this conference agree on that principle, then we could declare that our deliberations have been successful.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Hari Malaysia Celebration - As Featured in The Star

Saturday September 20, 2008
Star Metro
Great time at Malaysia Day party
By OH ING YEEN

THE staff and clients of Zubedy, a training and development firm, had a great time at the Malaysia Day party hosted by the company at its training suite in Wisma Wim in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, on Sept 16.

It was the 8th year the company organised such a party to commemorate Malaysia Day.
The floor of the small but cozy training suite, covered with traditional mats, was decorated with cultural items such as tea lights, oriental umbrellas and colourful lights entwined with an organza hanging from the ceiling.

Those present had fun learning how to make ketupats and chose their own Henna designs. Each of them was given a scented book mark at the aromatherapy corner.
Zubedy managing director Anas Zubedy said in his welcome speech that both the Merdeka and Malaysia Day celebrations should be kept free from partisan politics.

“We should make it a tradition that the 17 days from Merdeka Day on Aug 31 to Malaysia Day on Sept 16 should be a time for an active and deliberate endeavour to unite, look for similarities and shared values. They should be days of truce,” he said.

According to Anas, the company has been hosting Malaysia Day celebrations since 2001 as it believes in the values of unity.

“This year’s theme ‘Many colours, one race’ was chosen as it is easy to remember. The concept is that we’re all one race, so people can unite. We don’t deny our own ethnicity but we also belong to one human race,” he said.

Guests enjoyed the sumptuous feast and took their fill of the multi-cultural cuisine. Beef, however, was not served as the company respected the religious beliefs of the Buddhists and Hindus. Instead, vegetarian dishes were served.

The guests were also treated to a host of performances.
Facilitator Sharon Ng had the audience in stitches with her standup comedy on Malaysians and even took a jab at herself.

“I have many cysts in my body, not my physical body but my mental body. I’m a racist, sexist and passivist. I’m even racist towards my own race, the Chinese,” she joked.
The company’s multiracial employees also talked about “10 good things you can tell your children about other races”.

It is obvious that Malaysians are passionate about food as among the 10 good things, food is top of the list. Bidayuh make the best pangkang (lemang), Kadazans make the best tapai (rice wine), Malays make the best sambal belacan, etc,

Guests were also fascinated by an Iban cultural dance. The live performance of P. Ramlee classic songs by the “Zubedy Idols” brought back nostalgic memories.

Students of the Kelly Dance School received enthusiastic applause and acclamation from the guests for their cultural dances. Guests took home goodie bags containing colourful bangles, a bookmark, notebooks and a T-shirt designed specially for Malaysia Day.

One of the guests, Zainifah Ahmad, said Malaysia Day should be made a public holiday. “This is a very significant event, and it is high time that everyone celebrate Malaysia Day, too, instead of just Merdeka,” she said.

Mohd Hedzri P. Jaafar said it was the second time he was attending a Malaysia Day celebration at Zubedy and he enjoyed every moment of it. “It is something refreshing. Everyone is just talking about Malaysia Day but not many know the story behind it. More people should be made aware of it,” he said.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Picking up Umi at the airport






This blogpost is now featured in the book, The Quran and I :)

Monday, September 15, 2008

Have A Meaningful HARI MALAYSIA - Please spread this Message of Unity

Our full page Hari Malaysia advertisement in The Star September 16th 2008


My Hari Malaysia Speech at Zubedy's Hari Malaysia Celebration

Salam Sejahtera.

Thank you for sharing with us this day of Unity … Hari Malaysia.

Let me go direct to the point.

Today, Malaysians are divided as never before. We need to make things better

As many of you know, for many years my organization (zubedy) and team have been highlighting the message of Unity each September 16th via our full page adverts, our Hari Malaysia activities and gatherings like this gathering today.

Regardless of whom we support, we must agree that Hari Merdeka 31st August and Hari Malaysia 16th September should be kept out of politics.

Better still we should make it a tradition that from August 31st right through September 16th a total of 17 days be made a time of active and deliberate endeavor to unite, look for similarities and shared values and days of truce
.

Please let me repeat myself. Keep Hari Merdeka 31st August and Hari Malaysia September 16th free from politics! No matter which side you support.

So, let’s do this together.

Today 16th September 2008, Hari Malaysia,

Let us agree that …

There are thirteen states, and only one Malaysia
There are many parties, but we are one nation
While we may differ, we are not enemies
We can be critical, but not offensive
We shall seek and embrace truth, and reject deceit
We shall not take sides based on partisan views

Because wrong is wrong and right is right, no matter who does it

Let us all oppose corruption, racism and bigotry
Unite for one future, free from sleaze, discrimination and poverty;
Multiplicity is God’s creation; let us replace race with Unity
Let us see Unity in diversity, and learn to love all, because
When we dislike the other, we dislike part of God’s design,


We are One
We may greet each other in different ways, what we are all trying to say is:
I am pleased to meet you, my brother, my sister Malaysians

For there are

Many lamps, One Light
Many hearts, One Spirit
Many prayers, One God

Many Colors, One Race.

Have a meaningful Hari Malaysia

Let us add value,

Anas Zubedy
Managing Director
Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd


Bahasa Malaysia Version

Salam Sejahtera.

Terima kasih kerana sudi bersama kami pada hari perpaduan ini…Hari Malaysia.

Benarkan saya berterus-terang.

Kita tak pernah berpecah-belah seteruk akhir- akhir ini. Keadaan ini kita harus perbaiki.

Sebagai sedia maklum, organisasi zubedy dan team saya sudah bertahun-tahun menonjolkan mesej Perpaduan pada setiap 16 September melalui iklan – iklan kami, aktiviti-aktiviti dan majlis-majlis sebagaimana majlis kita pada petang ini.

Tak kira siapa yang kita sokong, marilah kita bersama-sama setuju bahawa Hari Merdeka pada 31 Ogos dan Hari Malaysia 16 September di bebaskan dari politik.

Lebih elok kalau kita mengtradisikan setiap hari dari Ogos 31 hinggalah September 16 iaitu sejumlah 17 hari, kita secara aktif dan tekun menjadikan hari-hari untuk bersatu, mencari kesamaan dan nilai-nilai yang dikongsi bersama dan berdamai.

Benarkanlah saya ulangi mesej penting ini. Bebaskan Hari Merdeka 31 Ogos dan Hari Malaysia 16 September dari politik! Tak kira siapa yang kita sokong!

Marilah kita bersama-sama berikrar..

Hari ini 16 September 2008, Hari Malaysia,

Marilah kita setuju bahawa …

Kita ada 13 negeri, tetapi satu Malaysia
Berbagai parti, satu kerakyatan
Walaupun kita berbeza, kita bukan musuh
Kita boleh mengkritik, bukan mencemar
Mari mencari kebenaran, dan menolak penipuan
Jangan sekali-kali berat sebelah pada mana-mana pihak

Kerana yang salah tetap salah dan yang benar tetap benar, tanpa mengira siapa

Mari kita menentang rasuah, perkauman dan prejudis
Bersatu demi masa depan, bebas dari penipuan, diskriminasi dan kemiskinan
Kepelbagaian itu ciptaan Tuhan; ayuh gantikan dengan Perpaduan
Perpaduan yang dalam kepelbagaian, cintakan semua kerana
Apabila kita bencikan yang lain, kita menghina ciptaan Tuhan

Kita Ummah Wahidah
Cara kita berucap agak berbeza, namun apa yang ingin diluahkan adalah;
Saya gembira bertemu denganmu, saudaraku seMalaysia

Kerana

Berbagai pelita, hanya Satu Cahaya
Berbagai jiwa, Satu Azam
Berbagai doa, Satu Tuhan

Berbagai Warna, Satu Bangsa

Salam Hari Malaysia

Salam Sejahtera,

Anas Zubedy
Pengarah Pengurusan
Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Creating a World Without Poverty

I am currently reading Prof Muhammad Yunus' book Creating a World Without Poverty and finding it inspiring. The Grameen (meaning village) Bank he founded is very clear in its goal - help the poor in Bangladesh to get out of poverty via micro credit mainly to women. His idea on micro credit and giving loan to the poor has lifted more than 100 million families out of poverty. His work is a must read!!


One of the interesting feature in the system is the Sixteen Decisions - a set of social and personal commitment that each new member must pledge to follow if they want to be a borrower. Thus it is not just the credit that change their lives but also something deeper, good principles for the human spirit. Here are the Sixteen Decisions -

1. We shall follow and advance the four principles of Grameen Bank --- Discipline, Unity, Courage and Hard work - we shall follow and advance in all walks of our lives.

2. We shall bring prosperity to our families.

3. We shall not live in dilapidated houses. We shall repair our houses and work towards constructing new houses at the earliest.

4. We shall grow vegetables all the year round. We shall eat plenty of them and sell the surplus.

5. During the plantation seasons, we shall plant as many seedlings as possible.

6. We shall plan to keep our families small. We shall minimize our expenditures.We shall look after our health.

7. We shall educate our children and ensure that they can earn to pay for their education.

8. We shall always keep our children and the environment clean.

9. We shall build and use pit-latrines.

10. We shall drink water from tubewells. If it is not available, we shall boil water or use alum.

11. We shall not take any dowry at our sons' weddings, neither shall we give any dowry at our daughters wedding. We shall keep our centre free from the curse of dowry. We shall not practice child marriage.

12. We shall not inflict any injustice on anyone, neither shall we allow anyone to do so.

13. We shall collectively undertake bigger investments for higher incomes.

14. We shall always be ready to help each other. If anyone is in difficulty, we shall all help him or her.

15. If we come to know of any breach of discipline in any centre, we shall all go there and help restore discipline.

16.We shall introduce physical exercise in all our centres. We shall take part in all social activities collectively.


Friday, September 12, 2008

Come Join US Celebrate Hari Malaysia This Tuesday!

Come buka puasa and join us this September 16th, Hari Malaysia Celebration! Once again Hari Malaysia falls during the fasting month. Like last year, let's share the joy of buka puasa together regardless of colour, creed and religion.

Celebration : Hari Malaysia 2008 (our day of unity and shared values)
Ticket Price : RM 35.00 per pax
Theme : Many Colors, One Race
Date : Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Time : 6.30pm - 8.45pm
Dress code : preferably Malaysian Traditional Costume or office attire *

Venue : zubedy (m) sdn bhd
zubedy training suite,
Wisma WIM, 3rd Floor,
7, Jalan Abang Haji Openg,
Taman Tun Dr. Ismail,
60000 Kuala Lumpur.

Please indicate if you prefer vegetarian food in your RSVP.

To find out more about Hari Malaysia, please visit http://www.zubedy.com/

Limited place, first come first serve basis.
*Please dress in comfortable clothes suitable for a "muhibbah" buka puasa meal
RSVP
Kindly email to ilyani@zubedy.com or call 03 - 7727 0758 before 14th September 2008

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Overcoming The Prevailing Uncertainty - by Dr Chandra

OVERCOMING THE PREVAILING UNCERTAINTY

As the coalition that is at the helm of the nation, the Barisan Nasional should take the initiative to overcome the atmosphere of uncertainty that has prevailed since the 8 March 2008 General Election. As a first step in that direction, it should invite the Pakatan Rakyat to participate in a heart to heart discussion which will attempt to achieve an agreement between the two sides on the following:-

1) Acceptance by both the BN and the PR of the outcome of the 8 March 2008 General Election as the expression of the democratic will of the people. This acceptance of the popular will can be embodied in a written accord signed by the principal leaders of both the BN and the PR which would state explicitly that the Federal government and the various State governments should be allowed to govern effectively without being subjected to the constant threat of a backdoor ouster through defections and the like. Of course, petitions against specific electoral verdicts will still be heard in the courts whose decisions will have to be accepted by all concerned.

2) Support from both the BN and the PR for anti-hop legislation at the Federal and State levels that would require an elected legislator to resign from his/her seat in Parliament or the State Assembly if he/she decides to quit his/her party or coalition. The legislator who has resigned would be allowed to re-contest the vacated seat. This would require amendments to existing legislation.

3) Commitment from both the BN and the PR to make the well-being of the rakyat their highest priority. Such a focus is vital at a time like this when Malaysians, like people in so many other parts of the world, are faced with major challenges arising mainly from the global crisis in financial markets, fuel and food (the 3F Crisis). Towards this end, the BN government should invite the PR to nominate 6 representatives (two from each party) to sit on the National Economic Council. The goal would be to get everyone to work together to resolve the problems facing the nation.

In the spirit of Ramadan the BN leadership should reach out to the PR. And in the same spirit of Ramadan, the PR should respond positively. There will be no losers in such a meeting. The only winner will be the Malaysian people.

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar.
Kuala Lumpur.
10 September 2008.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

I need your help for this September 16th Hari Malaysia

Dear friends and fellow Malaysians,

I need a little favor from you. I need you to send the message below to all your friends, family and contacts. I would like to make Hari Malaysia a day of Unity (you can copy this entire post and email it wholesale).


As many of you know, for many years my organization and team have been highlighting this message each September 16th via full page adverts in The Star and our Hari Malaysia activities and gatherings.

Today, Malaysians are divided as never before. We need to make things better.

Regardless of who we support, we must not tolerate behaviors where a fellow human being like Najib is called Najis and Anwar, BABI (so called acronym for Brother Anwar Bin Ibrahim) by immature and irresponsible people. We must be aware that the web is also open to our young. Even a ten year old have access to the blogs! It will only help create a mentality that cannot tolerate differences.

We need to impose better standards. We need to be One in this.

Please use whatever powers you have with you, your email list, your blog, facebooks, church or buddhist groups, mosque committee, hindu sangam, social clubs, etc and help me make things better. Zubedy as an organization is still too tiny to make a big impact. I need your help!

Your power is just a click away, use it. We will be featuring the message in our full page advert in The Star on this 16th but your efforts will carry the message further than I can ever dream of.

Thank you very very much!

Let us add value,

Anas Zubedy

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Today 16th September 2008, Hari Malaysia,

Let us agree that …

There are thirteen states, and only one Malaysia
There are many parties, but we are one nation
While we may differ, we are not enemies
We can be critical, but not offensive
We shall seek and embrace truth, and reject deceit
We shall not take sides based on partisan views

Because wrong is wrong and right is right, no matter who does it

Let us all oppose corruption, racism and bigotry
Unite for one future, free from sleaze, discrimination and poverty;
Multiplicity is God’s creation; let us replace race with Unity
Let us see Unity in diversity, and learn to love all, because
When we dislike the other, we dislike part of God’s design,
We are
One
We may greet each other in different ways, what we are all trying to say is:
I am pleased to meet you, my brother, my sister Malaysians

For there are

Many lamps, One Light
Many hearts, One Spirit
Many prayers, One God
Many Colors, One Race.

Have a meaningful Hari Malaysia

Let us add value,
Anas Zubedy
http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com

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Hari ini 16 September 2008, Hari Malaysia,

Marilah kita setuju bahawa …

Kita ada 13 negeri, tetapi satu Malaysia
Berbagai parti, satu kerakyatan
Walaupun kita berbeza, kita bukan musuh
Kita boleh mengkritik, bukan mencemar
Mari mencari kebenaran, dan menolak penipuan
Jangan sekali-kali berat sebelah pada mana-mana pihak

Kerana yang salah tetap salah dan yang benar tetap benar, tanpa mengira siapa

Mari kita menentang rasuah, perkauman dan prejudis
Bersatu demi masa depan, bebas dari penipuan, diskriminasi dan kemiskinan
Kepelbagaian itu ciptaan Tuhan; ayuh gantikan dengan Perpaduan
Perpaduan yang dalam kepelbagaian, cintakan semua kerana
Apabila kita bencikan yang lain, kita
menghina ciptaan Tuhan

Kita Ummah Wahidah

Cara kita berucap agak berbeza, namun apa yang ingin diluahkan adalah;
Saya gembira bertemu denganmu, saudaraku seMalaysia

Kerana

Berbagai pelita, hanya Satu Cahaya
Berbagai jiwa, Satu Azam
Berbagai doa, Satu Tuhan
Berbagai Warna, Satu Bangsa

Salam Hari Malaysia

Salam Sejahtera,
Anas Zubedy
http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com



Friday, September 5, 2008

Who won in Permatang Pauh?

Permatang Pauh… and the winner is …

….PAS!

Immediately after the PRU 2008 in March, I suggested to some friends in Penang (Chinese guys who voted for the opposition) that the true political party who won was actually PAS, not PKR or DAP and definitely not the PAKATAN. They were a little confused but the Perak MBship helped them understand things a little better. My take is simple. Amongst all the political parties today, the most organized and the one that is most clear of its goal is none other than PAS. They also have quality leaders across the levels within the party, nationwide both for the state leadership as well as nationally.

PKR is overly dependent on the cult of Anwar – take him out of the equation and the PKR brand may just be deadish, DAP is a still a NATO party (even today after months of managing Penang - just listen to the debate between LGE and Dr KTK) and UMNO the largest party in the Parliament (actually UMNO has the most number of seats) is in shambles. So here comes the slow and steady PAS.

Now, why Permatang Pauh is a PAS win?

I say that PAS was instrumental in ensuring Anwars’s win especially in countering Saiful’s Quran swearing act. As I said in an earlier blog, that act is really big to Malay-Muslims. Deep inside the Malay- Muslims’ heart they still believe that the swearing is a dashat thingy but the Ulamaks have special powers in the Muslim psyche. And they managed to upturn it!

That is why Anwar owe PAS taikos big time. If you look at the PAS’ ceramah with Tok Guru seated cooly and with calm authority at the center flanked with his party stalwarts (and Anwar terperosok di belakang; Anwar actually looked like a little boy-teenager eagerly allowing the ‘adults’ to speak for him) you understand the power of the Ulamaks- a powerhouse based on religiosity – not money, not positions, not tenders or APs, not charismatic speeches and definitely not empty promises. In matters of religion, the hereafter and God a simple gentle whisper from a Tok Guru is more powerful than Anwar’s fiery speeches or the BN’s election machinery!!!

Anwar may have won the Permatang Pauh seat, but PAS just won the leadership of the Malays. My take is this. If Anwar managed to swing enough MPs to topple the BN… it may be immediate or just a little later … the PM ship goes to PAS. Now … that will be a real interesting twist in Malaysian Politics! Having a PM from a non-raced based political party with religion as its powerbase. The coming of PAS ... jeng!jeng!jeng!

Anas Zubedy
http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com