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Saturday, June 22, 2013

World Interfaith Day/Book Launch at zubedy - Speech




Y.Bhg Dr. R Rupa Saminathan

Y.Bhg Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana

Y.Bhg Archbishop Tan Sri Datuk Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam,

Y.Bhg Dato’ Dr. Ismail bin Ibrahim

Y.Bhg Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

Ladies and gentlemen and fellow zubedyans

PEACE BE WITH YOU J and Happy WORLD INTERFAITH DAY.

Zubedy is a for profit organisation that combines business goals with a social cause. We have a deep conviction that profit must be balanced with ethics. Our vision is to unite people and get people to work together. Our mission is to add value to everyone that we interact with.

Today we at Zubedy are very excited and humbled. As you would have noticed on our wall at my right, a collection of Zubedy festive advertisements; we have since 2001 spent considerable energy, time, talent and money featuring great spiritual and religious leaders of the past on Chinese New Year, Vaisakhi, Wesak, Aidil Fitri, Deepavali, Christmas and also Hari Malaysia.

By featuring exemplary men and women like Chinmayananda, Chuang Tzu, Mahakassapa, Mata Khivi, Francis Asisi and Muhammad Iqbal we hope to introduce moral ethical role models to the Malaysian public.

Today we are humbled and honoured by the presence of such exemplary men and women right here in our midst – on this auspicious occasion to celebrate the World Interfaith Day, launching a book that deals with an interfaith perspective towards making this world, our world, a better place.

We are really excited about publishing this book. This is because the content of the book matches many of the values that Zubedy takes to heart, practices and tries to emulate. The book talks about religion and economy and how people should deal with the moral ethical approach surrounding the two.


Furthermore, the book has deep ideas on how our different religion and spiritual traditions can help organise the economy with a win-win approach - both for profit and social justice. These ideas are worth considering.

At Zubedy we are confident that religion and spiritual traditions have a very important role to play for modern men. Religion and spiritual traditions offer a rich and vast history of accumulative knowledge on how to manage people and how to assist them achieve their potentials – for free.

Any smart businessman would love to get such good advice especially free of charge. It is simply good business sense.

We see knowledge and the technology of religion and spiritual traditions as not only essential but practical for daily living. That is why we always end our Corporate Adverts with … I Quote -

“At zubedy, our programs draw strength from shared values and traditions. We believe that at heart, all Malaysians want good things for themselves and for their brother and sister Malaysians, simply because our nation cannot prosper as a whole if some of us are left behind.”

Un-quote.



This takes us to another faith based conviction.

We believe wholeheartedly that our shared values within our religious and spiritual traditions are able to unite us, act as a platform for peace and prosperity. And we in Malaysia have the unique God-given gift to have these traditions embedded in our daily lives – as a Malaysian. For example, accordingly Prophet Muhammad asked the Muslim to quest for knowledge even unto China. But here in Malaysia, the Chinese are our neighbors. J

Yes, we have Hindus, Buddhists, Confucians, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims in our family and as friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc. We must stop and ask, have we made full use of this God-given opportunity? How far have we stepped forward? What must we do next? Where we can go from here?

Before I end, I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words about a campaign Zubedy has mooted. It is the #SaySomethingNice Campaign.


The idea and campaign started a few years ago to act as a safety valve in a mosaic nation like ours.

With #SaySomethingNice campaign, we suggest to spend 17 days from Hari Merdeka to Hari Malaysia encouraging truce and showcasing the best about our nation.

During this short period, we ask Malaysians to portray Malaysia in a positive light; a time to appreciate, a time to bershukur, a time to forgive, a time to accept each other. A time to subvert our greed for power, ego and money.

But this year we want to make it a bigger campaign. We want to make it a HEALING campaign.

Since 2008, for 5 years our country has been split into extreme partisan blocs where we throw hurtful words at each other. This has wounded many hearts and the vibrancy of our peaceful society.  We need to heal ourselves.

We need to focus our energy on putting back love, respect, and dignity in this country. To heal our nation, we need to work hand in hand, heart in heart. Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Muslims.

This campaign will need all the help we can get and it is time for us to harness the love, peace and wisdom from our religious and spiritual traditions and bring them to the forefront of national unity and prosperity.

I would like to say thank you, thank you and thank you to -

Y.Bhg Dr. R Rupa Saminathan

Y.Bhg Datuk K. Sri Dhammaratana

Y.Bhg Archbishop Tan Sri Datuk Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam,

Y.Bhg Dato’ Dr. Ismail bin Ibrahim

Y.Bhg Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

To all of you especially the Team that have worked hard to make this day a success. Aizat the team leader, Dayah, Din, Najib, Dayana, Syuhada,  Syiqqin and fellow zubedyans.

May I end by sharing with you the

Quran chapter 5 :48

“To each among you have we prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah. it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute.”

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu.

Anas Zubedy
Kuala Lumpur


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