Aren't We All Malaysians by Mujahid Yusof Rawa - Foreword by Anas Zubedy

“And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colours: verily in that are Signs for those who know.” – Quran 30:22

Peace,

Mujahid and I have been friends since our Form Six days at Penang Free School. We were in the same class. I am also familiar with Mujahid’s late father, Yusof Rawa, the president of PAS in the late 80’s and his more forward thoughts compared to his contemporaries regarding PAS policies. I have always kept abreast with Mujahid’s journey and some of our ideas resonate each other.

At zubedy, our core value is uniting people. Anybody who chooses the same undertaking albeit different approaches is our friend. As far as we are concerned, any Unity movement or endeavour is above politics. We encourage every political body, business organisation, NGO, and civil movement to have their own Unity initiative and Unity cause. zubedy has been promoting Unity with our ‘Many Colors One Race’ platform which we live by and incorporate into everything that we do when we deal with our clients, staff, family, and friends. Furthermore, zubedy believes in adding value to everything that we undertake. Mujahid’s ways reveal how Islam adds value to the Malay race. In this book, Mujahid demonstrates how the Malays are universally connected to the rest of the world through Islam.

As Mujahid heads PAS’ National Unity Committee, he is PAS’ trustee to explore the dynamics between the Muslims and non-Muslims. As such, we support this gap-bridging effort that cuts across all races and religions because it sits well with our Unity endeavour. Personally, I feel this collaboration creates a cross-introduction for both zubedy and Mujahid. He is lesser known among the English-speaking Malaysian circles, especially the English-speaking middle class intelligentsia. These circles are instead familiar with the zubedy brand, while PAS’ members are more familiar with Mujahid. I see this book as a synergy between the zubedy brand and Mujahid’s ideas. I hope this collaboration will benefit Mujahid and his ideas for Unity among Malaysians. I want Mujahid and the likes of him to be heard.

Mujahid puts forth a number of interesting stories of Malaysian Unity in this book. I like the story about him and his Indian friends, Selvarajoo and Chandran. While he had a crush on an Indian girl, his Indian friends were into Malay girls. This close bond with friends of a different race is something I know well about. My best friend, Jubal was an Indian. In the book, Mujahid also speaks about how his mother developed a beautiful friendship with an old Chinese lady who sold eggs for her living.

In the 3^rd chapter, Mujahid recollects how the Malays and Chinese in Penang protected each other during May 13. The two races worked hand-in-hand to ensure everyone’s safety from vigilantes on that day. This first-hand experience gives us a peek into the untold long-existing unity between different races in Malaysia. This story substantiates what zubedy has been saying about May 13. We have been calling for the re-colour of May 13 because we know that the episode does not represent how we stand together as Malaysians. While a few tried to upset the racial harmony that we have always had, millions of us have prevailed together in proving that we are indeed one.

Another thing that strikes me is Mujahid’s loving and caring nature and what a wonderful Abi (father) he is to his children. Mujahid treats everyone around him with tenderness and compassion. I was touched when I read about how he jokes around with his wife and children. Also with how their entire family sobbed in the car when they had to move back to Penang from Melaka because they felt like they were leaving behind their own flesh and blood. These stories give us an understanding on why Mujahid is a strong advocate of racial and religious harmony. Also more than that, I hope these stories will demystify the pre-conceived image of Muslim leaders that many hold. A Muslim leader is like Mujahid; open, loving, compassionate, intelligent, and able to mix around with people from all walks of life with ease.

My respect for Mujahid is founded on many things. One of them is his willingness to go against the current and highlight unpopular issues even within his own circles. Apart from sharing the similar experience of having close friends from different races, Mujahid and I also share similar views on the Quran and the Constitution being separate entities. We both have stressed on many occasions that it is an insult to the Quran if one regards it as the Constitution because the former is revealed by God while the latter is man-made. Mujahid took a big risk in saying what he said and that to me is praiseworthy.

This is a book on Unity by a PAS leader. And as PAS in one of the players in the political arena, it is good for people whether they are PAS supporters or not, to read it. The stories and ideas stomached all over the next 179 pages may ring well with you, or not; but I believe we have it in us to agree to disagree. Thinking Malaysians must understand that the underlying issue is not within partisanship. I understand everyone has their own ways to achieve their goals, but there are people who are hardcore or while there are those who are moderate. The hardcores tend to favour exclusivity while the moderates embrace inclusiveness in their approach.

We need to work with the inclusive ones. We need to give our support to the inclusives in every political party. We support them not for their politics, but for their Unity endeavours. At the same time I am happy to meet more inclusives such as Mujahid from all parties whether they are from Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. I want to meet them and assist in publishing their books. As Mujahid said in this book, “Politics is not all about finding the opportunity to attack the opposition; mature politics is looking for best solutions”. At the bottom of it, it’s not about which side we are on. It is about choosing the inclusives among them. The real battle is between the exclusive and the inclusive, the extreme and the moderate.

Mujahid and I once had a makan together at Mahbub Restaurant, Bangsar where we discussed how PAS would be like in the future. I suggested that for PAS to become a national party that incorporates all Malaysians, they need to find a way to work with the non-Muslims, to include them as an equal partner within the PAS family. I also suggested Mujahid to write a book about the possibility of having non-Muslim PAS members. I am waiting for that book.

I wish Mujahid and anybody like him the best in his endeavours to unite Malaysians.

“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 Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).” - Quran 49:13

let us add value,

anas zubedy

Catching up is hard to do By Soo Ewe Jin - The STAR

It may be diplomatic to promise to catch up with friends, but make sure you really find time to do so before it is too late.

WHEN someone says, “Let's catch up one of these days”, without specifying the time, you can be sure the day will never come.

A friend posted this on his Facebook and I have to agree with him. He is a man who is always on the go, and I am sure the “catch-up” phrase is very much a part of his life.

I first met him outside a hospital in Subang Jaya. I was waiting for a taxi after visiting a friend, and he came up by my side, in his spiffy white Beemer, rolled down the window, and called me by name.

I was surprised because he was a total stranger to me. Well, apparently, I was not a stranger to him because apart from being a fan of Sunday Starters, he also knew some of my friends, which included my relatives as well.

He offered me a lift and suggested lunch along the way. I was impressed. It is rare that a chance encounter would develop into a meaningful conversation over lunch where we do not even look at the clock.

Chances are, if you were to bump into someone you know along the busy highway of life, you may exchange a few pleasantries, and then say that diplomatic phrase, “Let's catch up one of these days.”

Like most people working and living in the Klang Valley, my schedule is often full. But whether it is full by choice or by circumstances, it surely cannot be so inflexible that it is unable to accommodate any unexpected appointment.

Is your attendance at an after-work meeting, for example, so vital that it cannot be interrupted for a friend who wants to catch up with you?

I have written many times in this column about how we are blessed with the same 24 hours in a day, yet our lives can all be so different depending on how we use those precious hours.

All of us are not only getting older by the day, but basically inching closer to the end of our life.

If we do not catch up with the people who matter, and the things that are truly important, the day will come when it will be impossible to do so.

Like many from my generation, we grew up at a time when we expect friends and relatives to drop by unannounced, the same way we also drop in on them without any prior appointment.

We seem to have lost that and I think we are the poorer for it.

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Invitation to JUST In- House Forum "Foreign Hands Influencing Domestic Affairs in Malaysia?

Dear Friends,

JUST cordially invites you to the forum "Foreign Hands Influencing Domestic Affairs in Malaysia: Assessing Western Support of Political Movements & Figures".

We analyze the history and conduct of organizations such as the National Endowment for Democracy and the Open Society Institute in Latin America, Russia, and the Arab Spring to assess their role and objectives in Malaysia- 

JUST would be grateful if you wish to participate in this event 

The details are as follow:

Date: 26.1.2013 (Saturday)

Time: 10.30am - 12.30pm

Venue : JUST Office 
              JKR 1258 Jalan Telok,

           Off Jalan Gasing,

           46000 Petaling Jaya.

     

Speaker: Mr. Nile Bowie

"Nile Bowie is a twenty-three year-old American political analyst, activist and researcher currently residing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Bowie grew up in New York City and is the son of two distinguished art photographers who established themselves by photographing America’s poor and destitute. Bowie left the United States at nineteen years old to pursue photojournalism; he gathered what money and belongings he had and departed with the hope of resettling in South East Asia. As a political analyst, Bowie has explored issues of American foreign policy and its influence on militarism in the Islamic world, China’s emerging role as global power, and inter-Korean stability and security. Bowie has appeared in television and radio interviews and has published numerous articles and photographs in outlets such as Russia Today, the New Straits Times, the Asia Times, the Tehran Times, and the Center for Research on Globalization; he has published photographs and reports from China, India, Yemen, North Korea, Iran, Myanmar, and Malaysia."

RSVP before 24th January 2013 as seating is limited.

TWZ - Senyum Sokmo

                                                         

“Senyum sokmo” is a phrase commonly associated with the state of Terengganu. The phrase can roughly be translated as “always smiling”. And this is quite true; Terengganu locals do have this certain kind of joie de vivre – a cheery disposition to life – about them.

But we are not going to discuss them per se. It is their ever smiling nature that is the highlight of today’s discussion. This merry and jovial attitude is something we strongly encourage to others, especially those who deal with other people for a living – like those in customer service and sales.

Smiling is not just about the physical aspect of moving the tips of your lips upwards to create a pleasing look; it is more importantly about the pleasant aura that the smile exudes to other people. In simpler words, it’s not about what you portray on your face, but what others feel from your smile.

Many may trivialise the true power of smiling in communication. Some may say, “Yes, we know this already” or that, “This is not something new”. But most people understand the need only on the physical aspect of communication, when you’re interacting face-to-face.

The truth is, smiling is even more important on the subconscious level – smiling in your mind. It is very important to smile, even when you are communicating indirectly. The physical smile will translate into a ‘smiling mind’. Try smiling when you are making a call or typing an email. The recipients will feel like they are receiving a message from a soothing and congenial ‘voice’.  

When the message is covered with a warm and friendly aura, the recipients are more likely to help you and maybe even to open up many opportunities for you and your organisation. This is the true power of “senyum sokmo”!


 “Nothing beats smiling when you communicate. It will make your life easier, get your point across better, and help you get things done faster. Even if you need to deliver bad news, when you smile, everything will turn out ok.  Even if you don’t feel like it, just smile.”  

‘Aizat Roslan  
Personal Assistant

 “Smile makes a lot of difference. It brings a positive vibe to the person I’m meeting with and makes communication smoother, more positive. It is very rare that your smile wouldn’t be reciprocated. It is engaging and highly infectious. It costs you nothing to smile. So why not?”

Nurul Huda Shahriman Shah
Sales Executive

 “As a trainer, smiling plays a very important part in making me look welcoming, loving and humble. This opens the ‘main door’ in participant engagement. A sincere smile has the ability to change the mood and make people feel better.”

Anuprakash
Learning Facilitator

The World Didn't End

It is 2013 and the world didn't end. The new year's eve was indeed worthy of celebration - we managed to survive yet another year (as well as a supposed apocalyptic end) and now at the starting line of a brand new year.

But in our joy and refreshed vigour, let us not forget that this is a new year, a new beginning. And also remember that the world didn't end on 21 December 2012, which means that the world continues. We have about 360 over days to brave through before we reach the next starting line. 360 over days to account and plan for.

In one of zubedy's main training program, Making A Difference, we introduce a system called PEISM to track and plan for your year and beyond. To explain this may take a while, but you need to set your goals for 2013. So here are certain easy pointers to help you begin with the task:

• SWOT. Most people would be familiar with SWOT analysis. This analysis helps to more accurately deduce our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Do one based on your 2012 and you'll better understand your needs.

• Know. You must always be in the know about your own self. In the words of Peter Drucker, "...a person can perform only from strength." Take whatever you gathered from the SWOT and start identifying your strengths and think of ways to develop them further.

• Think big, act small. Look at the year not just as 2013 but as a component of your entire life. So look at the bigger picture and dream a bigger dream. A helpful trick in 'dreaming' is to think of stretching - stretch your dream to the furthest extent without tearing it apart from reality.

• Just do it. Whoever came up with that tagline for Nike is a brilliant person. It sums up the entire core of human drive. The message is simple, clear, and poignant. No point in analysing and planning big for the future if you don't act on it. Just. Do. It.

Based on the above, we hope you will take that first step to reclaiming your destiny and future from fate. The future is not set in stone after all.

Happy New Year! 

_________________________________________________________________

zubedy (m) sdn bhd is a human development and training consultant. We offer many in-house and public programs on various soft as well as technical skills. Our 'Making A Difference' change management program has been taught to and benefited by many GLCs,  MNCs, SMEs, and many other organisations.

Ethnicity And Corruption by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar - Yayasan 1 Malaysia

There is no correlation between ethnicity and corruption. This is a simple truth that has been proven over and over again right through history.

Take Malaysia as a case in point. The corrupt can be found in all communities. Those who have been convicted in court for this crime from the earliest days of our Independence come from different ethnic backgrounds. Some are from the public sector; others are from the private sector. The givers and takers of bribes --- and the go-betweens --- constitute a multi-ethnic community! This is the incontrovertible evidence before our eyes.

And yet there are Malaysians who foolishly, and perhaps even deliberately, attribute corruption to a particular community. They are wittingly, or unwittingly, reinforcing a malicious communal sentiment. Communal sentiments of this sort are a huge barrier to national unity. They run deep and wide in our society.

It is a shame that when such sentiments are expressed openly --- as was done recently by a political neophyte from an opposition party --- very few within the educated segment of Malaysian society are prepared to publicly denounce such narrow, shallow thinking. A couple of individuals from the community that was targeted spoke up but hardly any intellectual or analyst from the other communities was incensed enough to condemn the politician’s outrageous remark linking corruption to a community. What is really disappointing is the deafening silence of those commentators and activists who on other occasions are quick to expose any alleged act of corruption or to censure the slightest hint of a communal slur.

Why the silence on this occasion? Is it because they too subscribe to the politician’s erroneous link? Were they quietly delighted that the politician had smeared his own community with such a reckless comment --- a comment that they would not be able to make on their own, given ethnic sensitivities?

It is important to raise these questions because one of the major obstacles to national integration is the tendency among many of the educated to subordinate fact and reason to
what is essentially a communal consideration which is invariably camouflaged as a concern for integrity or justice or human rights.

It is imperative that educated Malaysians, whatever their ethnic affiliation, overcome their concealed, camouflaged communalism and address national challenges with honesty and sincerity if they are earnest about strengthening the sinews of solidarity that sustain this multi-ethnic nation of ours.

Touched by rescuers - The STAR

I AM writing to express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to a group of young undergraduates/post graduates who selflessly rescued me from the brink of death on Nov 25, during a trail excursion to Gunung Nuang in Ulu Langat, Selangor.

On that day, I joined a group of 15 experienced hikers up to Gunung Nuang.

On the way up I had fallen several times owing to the muddy trails caused by the persistent rainfall from preceding days.

We reached the top at about noon and after spending about an hour resting and taking in the view, we made our way down.

As my wife and I were the slowest in the group, two of our friends stayed behind as “sweeper” to ensure that no one was left behind – also the motto for our group known commonly within the trail hiking community as the DDG group – Die Die Go.

An hour-and-a-half later I reached a stretch which was too steep for me to continue on foot, so I sat on the ground and tried to inch my way down using my butt.

Thinking back, I should have turned and climbed down “face in”, a mode advised and preferred even by experienced climbers instead of trying to inch my way sitting down “face out”.

Until now, I still can’t recollect what caused me to roll uncontrollably a few seconds after I sat down. It seemed like eternity.

All I could remember was feeling my body knocking against several large rocks while going down.

My descent was stopped when the side of my head hit a a large rock and due to the impact, I was spun sideways and came to rest next to a tree trunk.

My wife later told me the whole area where I came to a stop, including my body, was splattered with blood. There were three deep cuts on my forehead and the side of my face near my left eye. My spectacle was broken in the fall.

Fortunately for me, a group of about five hiking enthusiasts, including Syed Alif Iskandar Syed Zainal Abidin of UiTM Engineering Faculty, who were strangers to us were right behind.

Like angels from heaven, the group descended towards me in double quick time and did an assessment on me within seconds when I came to a stop.

Days later I could not help by recollect with admiration the tenacity and bravery of these boys.

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