ISA update - Prime Minister's courageous move by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

For those who value freedom and justice Prime Minister Dato Sri MohdNajib’s sweeping changes to laws that have fettered Malaysian democracy for decades is the greatest Malaysia Day gift that they could have wished for.

Civil society groups have for long asked that the Emergency Proclamations be rescinded; that the Internal Security Act (ISA) be abolished; that the law requiring a publisher to renew his licence on an annual basis be revoked; and that the freedom to assemble peacefully be concretised. These issues were discussed in depth last year in a series of dialogues initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Through his courageous move, the Prime Minster has shown that he is responsive to the people’s aspirations. He realises that this is the sort of political transformation that will take Malaysia to greater heights.

There is no doubt at all that Dato Sri Najib is a transformational leader committed to values and principles that are pivotal for sustaining progress and success in the 21^st century.

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar,

Chairman,

Yayasan 1Malaysia.

15 September 2011.

ISA update - Towards a brave new Malaysia by Karim Raslan

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak may have appropriated core Pakatan Rakyat issues with his Sept 15 civil liberties announcements, but more crucial is whether Malaysians are ready to face up to the challenges.

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak surprised Malaysia on Sept 15. In one fell swoop, he appears to have turned the civil liberties agenda into a Barisan Na­­sional initiative.

Announcing plans to abolish and/or amend the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) as well as other laws, Najib has cleverly appropriated core Pakatan Rakyat issues.

In doing so, he has also demonstrated that Umno is capable of renewal. Indeed, the party of Merdeka – as I’ve always argued – is infinitely more diverse than many realise or wish to acknowledge.

After all, it ranges from figures such as Deputy Minister of Higher Education Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah at the moderate end of the spectrum to hardliners such as Deputy Education Minister Dr Puad Zarkashi.

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The ISA update: 3 good articles to read

Peace,

I would like to share 3 good articles:

1. A new dawn beckons by Shad Saleem Faruqi

The Prime Minister’s announcement on a number of changes to the country’s laws, including ending the Emergency, will have massive positive implications.

THE Prime Minister’s speech last night evoked the kind of hope and exhilaration I felt many decades ago on Aug 28, 1963, when I heard American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver his “I have a dream” speech at the steps of Lincoln Memorial.

The Prime Minister pointed to a number of changes that he intends to bring to the country. Many of these proposals will have massive positive implications for the country’s legal system, its administration of justice and the sovereignty of law over personal discretion. He promised that:

> The emergency proclamations that are in operation will be presented to Parliament for annulment;

> The Internal Security Act will be repealed but replaced with two security laws framed under the Constitution’s anti-subversion provision of Article 149;

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2.Winds of change blowing by Bunn Nagara

THE relief that greeted the Prime Minister’s announcement that the Internal Security Act (ISA) 1960 and other repressive laws would be abolished was difficult to define for several reasons.

First, nobody expected Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to have gone so far in throwing off decades of unjust laws. When it happened, it took time to sink in, after more than a generation of having to endure those laws.

Second, mention of two new laws to replace the ISA tempered the plaudits from critical observers. Would that mean returning to square one through a bait-and-switch?

Third, those who had banked on the Government retaining the ISA in some revised form were caught unawares. Regardless of their own views of it, they insisted there would be little change, seeking to vindicate themselves and “save face”.

All these have been efforts to adjust to a new national reality post-ISA. A fourth reaction comes from political opportunism: robbed of their thunder, the Opposition tried to diminish the significance of the Government’s move.

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3. Dawn of a new era by Wong Chun Wai

Najib deserves credit for his move to reform some of the country’s most unpopular laws.

IT was the best gift for Malaysians on a special day. It is also a reminder that the nation has grown up and that we should move forward, leaving our baggage behind.

In a nutshell, the Prime Minister has stepped out of the shadows of his predecessors. It is a major step into the future. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak couldn’t have chosen a better day to make the announcement to do away with some of the country’s most unpopular laws.

It surely has not been easy. When bits of news filtered out about his Malaysia Day speech, there were doubts as to how far he would go.

Those who were privy to inner-circle discussions on how the speech would be crafted crossed their fingers and hoped there would be no last minute changes.

After all, as a politician, the Prime Minister has to balance the needs of the conservatives, right wingers and liberals within his party and also the Barisan Nasional coalition.

The PM understands fully how much the world has changed. The global political landscape has been altered drastically and the lessons to learn are that if leaders cannot change, the people will change them. There is plenty to learn from history, some very recent too.

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Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's takes an one page ad on " no political donations until Washington cleans up its act"

Too Much? Starbucks CEO Takes Out Full Page “No Political Donations” Ad In NYT

We’ve been impressed with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s ability to spread his “no political donations until Washington cleans up its act” message. In just a few weeks, he’s had over 100 CEOs — many of whom were big donors before — sign a pledge to stand with him in the no-giving promise. Today, he’s taken it a step further. He’s taken out a full page ad in the Sunday New York Times. Has he gone too far?

The ad isn’t a splashy call to arms, but rather a simple letter explaining his opinion of the government and his disappointment. No flashy colors or fonts here — just a pale yellow background and a letter that looks like it was written on a typewriter.

Following last week’s announcement that the country created zero jobs last month, Schultz strikes a timely chord with his letter:

click here to read more on the letter

On The Concept Of Paradise And Hell by Asghar Ali Engineer

Friends often ask me what do you think about paradise and hell? Are these spaces located somewhere out there wherein people would enter according to their deeds good or bad? Or are these mere symbols as those who believe in batini (concealed meaning) of Qur’an? Are these places wherein people would eternally abide in physical sense? In fact it is like people used to ask the Prophet (PBUH) about the Day of Judgment

It is important to note that Qur’an, like other scriptures, is more symbolic than descriptive though not altogether symbolic. No scripture could be mere descriptive in order to remain eternal. Symbolism both makes it multi-layered in meaning as well as eternal in application. The scriptures should make sense equally for ordinary people as well as those who have attained great heights in knowledge. Scripture, if it is means only for highly knowledgeable would leave ordinary people uninspired and if it is flat in description and without layers of meaning would not enthuse highly knowledgeable.

Thus what the Qur’an says about paradise and hell (jannat wa jahannam) should be inspiring for both lay persons as well as knowledgeable. And indeed it does provided we take description of paradise and hell both in literal as well as symbolic sense, its literal as well as concealed sense. There is one more aspect which one must be aware of and sufis have often emphasized that aspect. Sufis believe that one must not do anything for greed or fear i.e. for reward or punishment.

This is symbolized in the famous story of Rabi’ah Basri, the noted lady sufi saint. One day she was carrying burning flame in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When people asked her why are you doing this, she replied I want to set fire to paradise with this burning flame and put our fire of hell with this bucket of water so that people stop worshiping Allah for greed of paradise or fear of hell. A true worshiper would do that for neither but for its own merit. More of this little later.

Qur’an is wonderfully balanced book in terms of its symbolism and flat descriptive language. An ordinary reader benefits from it as much as one who has achieved great heights of knowledge. The rationalists found it as much useful as blind followers but there was great difference between the two in terms of its understanding. The m’utazila (rationalists of Islam), the Isma’ilis (those who believed in hidden meanings along with literal) and the sufis understood the Qur’an very differently from other literalists (zahiris).

For zahiris (literalists) paradise and hell have been described in vivid details in physical sense, like a place where there will be eternal gardens with canals of milk and honey flowing therein etc. and hell with burning fire causing great physical pain and nothing can rescue them from there. Both would be eternal. The whole description is quite tempting about paradise and that of hell inspires great fear. Description of hell is so fearsome that one can start trembling.

However, those who are knowledgeable treat this more symbolically and dive in for deeper meanings. The Qur’an calls paradise place of peace and security and it says :We will root out whatever of rancor is in their breasts – they shall be as brethren on raised couches, face to face, Toil shall but afflict them therein, nor shall they be ejected there from.” (15:45-48)

Firstly paradise is a state in which a believer would be feeling perfectly at peace and secure. There will be no fear or feeling of doubt, restlessness and fear. Only a person who is perfect in his/her faith can have such stage of mind. A doubter, an sceptic, without perfection of faith cannot feel so secure and peaceful at heart. The sufis talk of insan-e-kamil i.e. a perfect being. Their whole effort is to achieve this state of insan-e-kamil and such person is perfectly at peace with himself.

Also, there are stages of perfection and one has always to try to achieve higher and higher stage of perfection. It is not correct to say that paradise is a place of rest and enjoyment. Far from it. It is a place of constant e3fforts to raise oneself in higher degrees of perfection. Thus Qur’an says, “But those who keep their duty to their Lord shall have high places, above them higher places, built (for them)” (39:20). Thus paradise is not at all place of eternal rest and enjoyment but that of spiritual efforts for further stages of perfection.

It is abiding in the sense that these are ceaseless efforts and once you achieve one stage of perfection there is no looking back and one goes on and there is great enjoyment in making these efforts. More such efforts and more one feels at peace with oneself.

Similarly hell is, for those who are people of deep knowledge, a state of mind in which one is far from perfection in ones faith but in a constant state of doubt or even hypocrisy and thus remains in a state of torment and it is fire of doubt or hypocrisy which keeps on tormenting him/her and as those who rise in a state of perfection in case of paradise, one keeps on falling lower and lower in case of hell. Greater the depth of fall, greater the torment. However, Qur’an provides for what it calls taubat al-nusuh (sincere repentance which can redeem one of this torture.

One always has a choice either to rise higher and higher in a state of perfection or fall low and low in a state of lowest of low.

Hari Malaysia 2011: say “ Sorry and thank you” campaign.

Dear Brother and Sister Malaysians,

I need your help to spread this Hari Malaysia message (through twitter, Facebook, blog,email & etc.)

We at zubedy are launching a ‘say sorry and thank you’ campaign as a meaningful way to celebrate September 16 this year.

Our Hari Malaysia advertisement, to be published this Friday the 9^th of September, will act as the launch of the campaign leading up to September 16. We have attached it here with this e-mail.

There seems to be a pervasive sense of antagonism amongst our people today. This campaign seeks to nullify these negative effects, to call upon our people to choose to be the bigger person, to choose to say ‘sorry’ for the hurts caused and to appreciate each other for the sacrifices we have all made.

We ask you to join us in spreading the message of this campaign either by creating your own message following a similar theme, or forward our message as it is below.

Thank you.

Have a meaningful Hari Malaysia

Let us add value,

Anas Zubedy

Have a meaningful Hari Malaysia

"The primary goal of nation-building must be for the purpose of humanity, a fellowship of virtues, and collective wellbeing, regardless of race, ethnicity and religion."

-Almarhum Ustaz Hj. Fadzil Noor (1937 - 2002)

Do it for Unity: Let's Say 'sorry' and 'thank you' to each other

Next Friday, September 16^th, we celebrate our forty-eighth Hari Malaysia. On this day of Unity, let’s ask forgiveness for the hurts caused. And let’s celebrate by saying ‘thank you’ for the good things we have done for each other.

We have much to be thankful for. As a nation, we are many times richer today. Our poverty levels have been reduced to a minimal percentage. More than ninety percent of our people can now read and write. Death at infancy has been significantly reduced. And we have lined our cityscape with beautiful skyscrapers.

Yet, it will not be an exaggeration to say that many of us, brother and sister Malaysians, feel a sense of kecil hati. It seems as if we are a nation of wounded hearts.

Some of these feelings can be traced. As people living together while keeping our distinct cultures, our consciousness of race is sometimes higher than our national consciousness. Some of our hurts are somehow seen from a racial angle. Each community may feel as if our sacrifices have gone unappreciated. And each of us may respond by saying if we are not appreciated, we can also choose not to appreciate others.

But we cannot allow this tit-for-tat to go on. We need to turn the other cheek. We need to choose to be the bigger person. Somebody must mengalah.

The fact is, all of us have given a lot to make this country what it is today. This is our Malaysia; we built it together. This is a reality that no one can challenge or change.

This Hari Malaysia is a good time for us to say ‘sorry’ and to say ‘thank you’ to each other. Let’s make it a day to mend broken hearts.

At zubedy, we want to initiate this say ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ campaign. We hope that you will also download this message, use it, add your own ideas to it, and share it with others.

As our custom puts it, kalau ada salah dan silap, tolong maafkan.

To all Malaysians, from all walks of life, who give of themselves everyday for the good of our nation – Thank you. To our foreign friends also who work alongside us – Thank you. If we take away even one of these parts, we will no longer be Malaysia. And that is something we never want to happen.

Thank you, thank you and thank you. Because of you, Malaysia is, and will continue to be, a great nation.



Let us add value,

Have a Meaningful Hari Malaysia

Karpal: Mat Sabu must retract remarks

YB Karpal was being nice to say that Mat Sabu is an asset to Pakatan. As I posted in my FB last week, he is a liability to PAS (and Pakatan).

GEORGE TOWN: DAP national chairman Karpal Singh today called on PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who is better known as Mat Sabu, to retract his ill-adviced remarks on the Bukit Kepong incident that happened on Feb 23, 1950.

Karpal said if Mat Sabu retracts his remark immediately, then he can arrest the negative political implications on Pakatan Rakyat from getting worse.

Speaking at a press conference in Air Itam, Karpal said Mat Sabu’s remarks, in which the PAS leader allegedly hailed the communist attackers as ‘independent heroes’, can be “very damaging” to Pakatan political prospects, especially with the general election around the corner.

He said Mat Sabu’s alleged remarks were also insensitive to the families of the victims.

“Mat Sabu should retract immediately and maybe explain his remarks.

“He should do it to assuage the feelings of families of those who perished in the attack.

“On whether he wants to apologise or not, I will leave it to his good senses,” said Karpal, the Bukit Gelugor MP during his constituency visit.

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Umno finds reprieve in Mat Sabu’s Bukit Kepong remarks

September 1, 2011

by Dr. Dzul

By Shannon Teoh (TMI)

September 01, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 — Whether or not Mohamad Sabu’s interpretation of the Bukit Kepong tragedy is accurate, it has opened the door for Barisan Nasional (BN) to go on the offensive after months of scrambling to control the fallout from inflation and the July 9 Bersih rally.

Despite Malays swinging back to the ruling coalition since Election 2008, Umno sees the recently-elected PAS deputy president as a “battering ram” that could yet break its hold on the majority race.

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