I AM AGAINST DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL

The power to take away a human person’s freedom, to forcibly separate a person from loved ones and home, to keep him or her away from his or her caregivers and ready medical care, to keep him or her from  business, livelihood, and gainful employment so that he or she can pay his or her bills and service his or her loans, to keep him or her from society at large and the company he or she wishes and elects to keep, to shut him or her away for years on end without having to prove his or her guilt in a publicly-conducted court of justice- this kind of arbitrary power over any human person irrespective of age, gender, class, ethnic origin or creed is excessive, immoral and unconscionable.

For this reason, the Internal Security Act (ISA) needs to be abolished and such an arbitrary instrument of near absolute power must never remain in the hands of any government professing any political persuasion, creed or manifesto.

Any such power vested in any select group of individuals, regardless of any profession of good intentions, is a temptation that inevitably and invariably leads to abuse and self-serving lines of action. No spouse, parent, teacher, boss, community, family,  clan, police, army, religious or government chief should ever be entrusted with such sweeping powers over other human beings.

The ISA which legalises detention without trial does violence against a whole host of human rights.

Much can be said for reform of the judicial system in any country and much can and should be done to reform our country’s judicial system. But justice in a court of law is intended to guarantee an opportunity for an accused person to defend himself or herself and tell his or her own side of the story. This guarantee is removed by the ISA.

Human society cannot speak about security at family, community or national level if fundamental civil liberties are removed from the equation. The history of human civilizations is strewn with the disasterous consequences of arbitrary, heavy-handed acts against humanity. Human history teaches again and again that the end does not justify the means.

Mere human beings no matter how smart, sincere or well-meaning should not assume God’s role and usurp God’s throne.

 

THE PALESTINIAN TRAGEDY: ONE CHRISTIAN’S RESPONSE

I am a Christian. As such my response is one Christian’s response to the Palestinian tragedy. I speak for myself.  I have asked no one or group permission to speak. I represent no one or group but myself.

My birth year coincides with the UN resolution which brought statehood status to Israel which unfortunately also contributed to much of the problems faced by the Palestinian people. Hence, my personal interest and concern for the Palestinian people has been over a long period of time beginning as soon as I became educationally of age.

First and foremost, the current situation in Palestine is a humanitarian tragedy with many lives lost and families separated and properties damaged and serious threats of fearful diseases. The Gaza strip is experiencing a colossal complex humanitarian emergency which requires immediate and continuing large-scale humanitarian response. Such a humanitarian response should and must be supported by all regardless of ethnic, religious or political persuasions. Humanitarian response supersedes   any  and every  loyalty we human beings may have. There are many Christians in Palestine. But I would have responded (in speech and deed) even if there were only Muslims in Palestine. Regardless of ethnic origin, religious creed or nationality, as human beings we must respond to the sufferings of other human beings.

The Palestinian tragedy encompasses tragedies of various categories and combinations.

Humanitarian tragedies have human causes. We should be wary of blaming humanitarian tragedies merely on nature or the devil. We human beings are often to blame for the tragedies which plaque other human beings. A mixture of arbitrariness and injustice and arrogance and a good measure of ignorance combine to bring about human tragedy.

Let me illustrate with the declaration of war on Iraq. George W. Bush citing (unproven) WMD and Iraqi complicity with Al Qaeda’s attacks on USA launched a war on Iraq ending his speech with “And may God bless America”. As a Christian I was appalled and incensed by such narrow self-serving partisanship. You are about to visit a country with the state of the art weaponry and wreak havoc and calamity on its people and all you could think of is your own country? God should only bless your people but not the people you are about to bomb?

God is brought into the picture. God is on America’s side. America is blessing the rest of the world by carrying out God’s agenda. According to some sources, the American president had even claimed that God had spoken to him about invading Iraq and Afghanistan. Bringing God into unethical, unwise, and unfair decisions is religious blasphemy (not religious truth).  As a Christian I don’t want any leader of any nation to hijack my religion and force God Almighty into his particular smallness of heart and mind. You want to make war do so in your own name and take responsibility for it yourself. Don’t drag God into the equation to justify your own human decision.

Israel without American backing would not have been able to do what they have been doing to the Palestinian people over so many generations.  I am appalled as a believer in Jesus Christ at the fact that in giving undying support to Israel, America has the backing of so many American Christian churches and people. 

I believe that many human tragedies including the Palestinian tragedy have arisen through a combination of misplaced patriotism on the one hand and mistaken religious theology on the other hand. These are deadly combinations resulting in untold hardship and misery to countless human beings.

Misplaced patriotism is the cause of wars throughout human history. It gives rise to chauvinistic arrogance and irrationality. Other people commit wrong not us. It is these other people and nations who do bad things not us. Blame the other person or people and take no responsibility for yourself or your nation.  I can do no wrong and the other person can do no right.

Unquestioning Christian support for Israel is the result of weak bible knowledge resulting in bad theology.  For me as a Christian the “new Israel” expounded in the New Testament of the Holy Bible is not synonymous with the political Israeli state of today. Israeli membership with the United Nations isn’t the same thing as the aspiration and intention of biblical prophecy.  To believe that the belligerences of the Israeli state today is somehow sanctioned by the God of both Old & New Testaments of the Holy Bible is simply bad theology and does not represent Christian Faith and Truth. As a Christian I owe the present Israeli state no allegiance of automatic support. Like all other nations, the Israeli as well as the Palestinian states must accept their own responsibilities for whatever wrongs they have humanly committed. The good which any nation commits is to be credited in the same way as any wrong they commit is to be summarily condemned. Let no nation claim biblical status and act against the very values and principles which God commands of every human being.

Lest it should be said that as a Christian in Malaysia my views on the Palestinian issue is influenced by an Islamic-centric view, let me quote an American Christian source. In 2002, a letter was addressed to the US President from over 40 evangelical Christian leaders. (I apologize for its length but it is only fair to quote them in full.) In it, the evangelical Christian leaders wrote:

“Dear Mr. President,

We write as American evangelical Christians concerned for the well-being of all the children of Abraham in the Middle East – Christian, Jewish and Muslim. We urge you to employ an even-handed policy toward Israeli and Palestinian leadership so that this bloody conflict will come to a speedy close and both peoples can live without fear and in a spirit of Shalom/Salaam.

An even-handed U.S. policy towards Israelis and Palestinians does not give a blank check to either side, nor does it bless violence by either side. An even-handed policy affirms the valid interests of Israelis and Palestinians: both states free, economically viable and secure, with normal relations between Israel and all its Arab neighbors. We commend your stated support for a Palestinian state with 1967 borders, and encourage you to move boldly forward so that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for their own state may be realized.

We abhor and condemn the suicide bombings of the last 22 months and the failure of the Palestinian Authority in the first year of the intifada to stop the violence against Israeli citizens. We grieve over the loss of life, particularly among children, and the suffering by Israelis and Palestinians. The longer the bloodletting continues, the more difficult it will be for both sides to reconcile with each other.

We urge you to provide the leadership necessary for peacemaking in the Middle East by vigorously opposing injustice, including the continued unlawful and degrading Israeli settlement movement. The theft of Palestinian land and the destruction of Palestinian homes and fields is surely one of the major causes of the strife that has resulted in terrorism and the loss of so many Israeli and Palestinian lives. The continued Israeli military occupation that daily humiliates ordinary Palestinians is also having disastrous effects on the Israeli soul.

Mr. President, the American evangelical community is not a monolithic bloc in full and firm support of present Israeli policy. Significant numbers of American evangelicals reject the way some have distorted biblical passages as their rationale for uncritical support for every policy and action of the Israeli government instead of judging all actions – of both Israelis and Palestinians – on the basis of biblical standards of justice. The great Hebrew prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, declared in the Old Testament that God calls all nations and all people to do justice one to another, and to protect the oppressed, the alien, the fatherless and the widow.”

(Among the signatories of this letter were such recognizable names as Richard J. Mouw, Tim Dearborn, Ronald J. Sider, Leighton Ford, Steve Hayner, Luci N. Shaw, Richard Stearns, Peter Kuzmic, David Neff, Philip Yancey, a few of whom I know personally.)

The role of religious belief in the affairs of state is a given but this being the case, leaders of nations as well as religions (Christian and Muslim) must do their homework and ensure that their knowledge of their respective Holy Scriptures and the theologies based thereon must be more sound and accurate. Otherwise, their “religious” conclusions and pronouncements can only sow discord and incite divisions and inspire unending conflicts. (Chauvinistic stance and rhetoric can only make matters worse and postpone further the day of liberation. I believe that a chauvinistic stance hurts more than it benefits the Palestinian cause in the same way that a chauvinistic Israeli stance hurts even the legitimate Israeli case.)

Let us pledge our support to alleviate the undue sufferings of all human beings in West Asia. Let us pray for peace not war. Let us strive for solutions beyond our rhetoric.

(An address given at the recent C.O.M.P.L.E.T.E. (COALITION OF MALAYSIAN NGOS AGAINST PERSECUTION OF PALESTINIANS) on January 18, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur)

 

 

ONLY GOD KNOWS

When we human beings come to the limits of our finite minds and admit to our own deficient capabilities and abilities, we say, “Only God knows”.

 

In the face of some mind-boggling and heart-chilling happenings, it is hard to think of a more accurate expression than this to describe the superlative crimes which have been committed for whatever reason.

 

In fact, as a human being with all my limitations and shortcomings, I fail to even begin to understand let alone come to terms with the headlines which stare at me these days: the Mumbai attacks and the sentencing of a person to 18 years imprisonment which rewakens us to the crimes committed against a domestic worker years ago.

 

To say, “Only God knows” is of course to acknowledge that God is the Final Judge in everything and in all human affairs. Ultimately it is God’s judgment which counts for absolute truth. Some who were found by human institutions of justice to be guilty may in fact and truth be known to God to be innocent and some who have been found innocent by these same human institutions of justice in God’s eyes may be guilty. The ultimate truth is with God.

 

So are the motives and reasons why human beings such as we are do what they do. This as well as the human reasoning that comes with human actions deemed necessary.

 

What failings of a domestic worker deserve a hot iron on her back and breasts and hot water on her legs? And what will it profit an employer to resort to such sadistic weapons as hot water and hot iron? What can drive a human being to perform such horrific acts upon another human being? What motive or reason could cause an educated professionally-employable human being to throw all cautions and control to the wind so as to do something which will exile her to eighteen years of incarceration and worse still plunge her entire family into helpless anguish?

 

In this particular case the accused is publicly proclaimed by her lawyers to be a staunch Christian. If so, and if the court’s judgement is on target, this will send a chill in the leadership of Christian churches throughout the country and raise the question of the real quality and effectiveness of our religious activities and where we might have failed in nurturing the flock.

 

But the Christian Church along with the whole adult population of the country will need to reflect long and hard about how we treat our employees at home and at work. Subordinates including those from abroad are human beings with God-endowed dignity and self-worth. There is no way that atrocities performed on any human being can ever be justified or sanctioned by any cultural or religious creed or community.

 

As for the Mumbai attacks, the regularity of such seeming sporadic war on ordinary civilians does not make us get used to the sheer monstrosity of such casual destruction of human lives. Again many questions can and must be raised concerning how any political or religious cause or objective could be furthered by the taking of human lives. Can any end be justified by such means?   

 

In Malaysia, some famous or infamous cases await completion or their day (or years) in court. Some have gone to the extent of swearing their innocence outside of the court system. As always, motives and why some people do what they do against other human beings are at the core of these matters.

 

On all of the above, I end as I had begun: God has the final say in all this.     

 

Jesus said, “Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” (Luke 12.3)

 

 

 

SLEEPLESS IN MALAYSIA

It was an honour to join many other concerned Malaysians to greet RPK and show support for him when he arrived at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court in the morning of October 6. As he alighted from the unmarked and heavily tinted police van, it was good to see the man who through his writings have been voicing the concerns of many Malaysians and to be satisfied that despite the gross injustice mounted against him, he was reasonably healthy and composed.

But seeing him, I had three concerns which weighed heavily on me through the entire day and night. So, being unable to shake off this heaviness and not succeeding in my attempts to sleep, I sit instead to write this, commencing at 1.20 and finishing at 3.35AM, still SLEEPLESS IN MALAYSIA.

 

MY FIRST CONCERN arose from my observation (a visual image) of a husband and wife, a couple, forcibly separated from each other by the infernal Internal Security Act effected by the decree of just one man who had no need to justify or argue or defend the reason why RPK should be detained without trial. By the mere act of affixing his signature on the detention order, a Malaysian family was separated from their father, and a Malaysian wife was separated from her husband. This separation was graphically enacted by Marina the brave wife, with the rest of their sympathisers, on one side, and RPK the detained husband on the other side of the line formed by the police (who were performing their duty).  

 

My SECOND CONCERN arose from the irony of the situation being enacted at the PJ Sessions Court on the morning of October 6. All of us Malaysians who have joined our voices against the wicked ISA have always been saying that if the authorities had any issues to take against anyone, the proper thing to do would be to proffer charges against him or her and try him or her in court.

 

RPK was charged with committing sedition at the PJ Sessions Court on May 6 at which time the trial date was set for October 6. (The sedition charges are in relation to a statutory declaration he had made implying that certain individuals of high standing were present at the scene of the killing of a Mongolian woman.)   

 

So there we were on the morning of October 6 at the PJ Sessions Court for the start of this sedition trial. But the air was thick with Malaysian irony. Because on September 12, RPK was arrested under the ISA and on September 22 the order for his two-year detention without trial was signed which saw his despatch to the detention camp in Kamunting (in my hometown of Taiping). So on the morning of October 6 we who were present witnessed the merging of two legal opposites involving the one and the same person: RPK the ISA detainee without trial was brought to court so that the RPK who was being charged with sedition could be tried in court where he would have the chance to defend himself.

 

I want all Malaysians to think and chew over this. This cruel paradox which renders those of us with conscience SLEEPLESS IN MALAYSIA while those who were responsible for all ISA detainees’ immoral detention are seamlessly sleeping through the nights (as well as the days).

 

MY THIRD CONCERN which so consumes my never resting mind is the fact that in effect the person who was to stand trial on October 6 was detained under the vicious ISA twenty-four days before he was to appear in court. Again I want all Malaysians to think and chew over this fact and sleepless we should all be. Think of the injustice of it all.

 

Let me put it in relevant graphic easy-to-understand way. Your young son or daughter is forcibly removed from home and freedom and then twenty-four days later after sleeping in the most uncomfortable room he or she has ever experienced in all of life and feeding on the most unsavoury meals ever compared to mother’s cooking, he or she is brought under heavy guard to sit for his or her SPM or STPM or University exams. Do you think your son or daughter will do well under the circumstances? Do you think this would be fair to your dear one for such an important test?

 

So it is with RPK. Forcibly removed from home, from loved ones and subjected thoroughly to all kinds of interrogation, without freedom of when and where to sleep and what to eat. Removed from his own dining room. Removed from free access to his lawyers, not being able to pick his own time when he could consult with his lawyers and for how long he wished to spend with them. And then, twenty-four days later, to be brought to the court to commence his defence against the charge levelled at him. 

 

Is this fair? Can this be fair? This is Malaysian justice? A grave injustice has been committed. Always a disadvantage is intentionally placed in the way of those who dare to make their voices heard. The odds are always against them. There is no fairness. The playing field is never level. 

 

How can I or any of us sleep who care about such fundamental issues of freedom? 

 

I want all Malaysian MPs to think and chew over this. HOW DID MALAYSIA COME TO THIS?  HOW CAN THOSE WHO SIT IN PARLIAMENT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS? You owe your constituents who elected you an answer. Now.

 

The truth must and shall prevail.

 

AI IS MALAYSIA’S PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1

It is clear to many Malaysians that the country is not doing well these days. Inflation is climbing, business is slowing, foreign investors are said to be looking elsewhere. The in-country political climate is not good. The outlook is bad. Many are worried.

Who is to blame? THE ANSWER IS AI.

AI is to blame for most ills. The most influential factor in Malaysian affairs-  the economy, politics, governance, environment, social relations- is AI.

It is AI’s moves, or rather non-moves, which has cast a giant shadow on our land and is clouding our very future.

AI HAS TO BE STOPPED.

But how do we stop AI? Many have tried but failed. It is easier said than done. In thesame way, many have tried giving up smoking, for example, but there have been few success stories.

AI is stubborn rather like the blow-up toy which is weighted down. You punch and strike it any number of times and each time it rebounces to its original upright position. You just can’t seem to put AI down.

Sometimes when we say we want something done, something important, critical to our own wellbeing, we fail because we are looking in the wrong places. We don’t achieve what we want because we never seem to focus on that which can help us succeed. Like the character in the children’s story book who is looking everywhere else for his spectacles except where they happen to be, where he is wearing them around his very eyes.

We blame others but not ourselves. Actually the ills of our land involves us and not just others. Because AI is something to do with us. AI is in us, in our system, in our very own bones.

AI is the twin trouble which plagues much of the human race, irrespective of nationality, creed, colour or gender. It is here in Malaysia as in the rest of the world. It is the twin cousins which causes trouble by doing nothing.  Two cousins. APATHY is the name of one, INDIFFERENCE is the name of the other. AI in short.

Together they render normally intelligent, educated, thinking, active, resourceful human beings impotent, careless, and uncaring.

Apathy is a condition characterised by “lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal, lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness”. I will let a great man help us understand indifference:

 

Two days after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, Elie Wiesel said: “If there is one word that describes all the woes and threats that exist today, it’s indifference. You see a tragedy on television for three minutes and then comes something else and something else. How many tragedies have we had recently? Chernobyl, the earthquake in El Salvador. . . And then there are the wars and those still in jail in Communist countries. Because there are so many tragedies, a sense of helplessness sets in. People become numb. They become indifferent. Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil. The opposite of love is not hate, it’s evil. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference. Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies. To be in the window and watch people being sent to concentration camps or being attacked in the street and doing nothing, that’s being dead. One should not, one cannot, one must not turn one’s back on memory. It is an exalted way of seeing one’s life in its totality. Of course, there are tragedies, but there are also ways of winning battles and overcoming despair.”

Truly great people are not infected or affected by AI – Apathy, Indifference. RPK, Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Syed Husin Ali to name but a few. Yet even we who are supposedly their supporters have been only too quick to fault them and blame our woes on them. Sure they may have faults but when they don’t deliver or seem to disappoint us at times, we must realise that it is not for want of effort or concern on their part. With their comrades these men fight tooth and nail for our cause. They are trying to overturn fifty years of history to bring about desirable change to our country.

They are not held back by apathy-indifference. It is not for lack of effort that they have yet to install a new government. Their efforts have brought our country very close to substantive change which we crave. They have not failed us.

It is we who have failed them. We must stamp the encroachment of AI. We must fight AI in our own selves. That is the answer to the evil of ISA, bad governance, and all the ills which the arrogance of the powers that be have dumped on this land driving so many Malaysians to misery and untold suffering.

TO FIGHT THEM, WE HAVE TO FIGHT OUR OWN SELVES AND EXORCISE  APATHY-INDIFFERENCE FROM OUR VERY BEINGS.

 

PURPOSELY COINCIDENTAL

Some people seem to have a serious problem of saying sorry. But I have no qualms in saying sorry for indulging in my habit as a former English Language teacher to define two words which is essential vocabulary for followers of Malaysian politics.  Admittedly, to some this is bothersome. But here goes: “Coincidental” means “happening by or resulting from coincidence; by chance such as a coincidental meeting.” On the other hand, “purposely” means “intentionally; deliberately as in He tripped me purposely; with the particular purpose specified; expressly as in I wore that suit purposely to make a good impression.”

Put these two words together and we have PURPOSELY COINCIDENTAL which is another example of an “oxymoron” which means “an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect.” That is, the coincidence is purposely planned!

Many such examples of purposely coincidental events are found in Malaysian politics of late. One such case is when the accuser of the opposition candidate swore by the Quran that his allegation is nothing but the truth one day before Nomination Day of the recent by-election. But of course, said he, it was planned without thought of the by-election. The timing was purely coincidental.  

So was the sudden drop of fifteen sen in petrol price during the by-election campaign despite no less a national leader than the PM saying that such a drop should not be expected.

So was the DNA Bill swiftly passed in the recent parliament session when many MPs were campaigning at the site of the by-election.   

And now, the Back Benchers MP trip which coincides (that is, is coincidental) with the fasting month and the commemoration of the 45^th year of the birth of Malaysia.

So if you are an MP from Sabah and Sarawak, this most important study trip will take precedence over your presence in marking September 16 in your respective state capitals and/or constituencies.

So if you are a Muslim MP, the fasting month is the best time for overseas travel and will not pose special problems for religious duties to be performed. Besides the constituents with whom you have been scheduled to break fast with will understand the sudden cancellation and loyally wait for you next year.

Please be sure to hand your international passports for the purpose of making your travel bookings.  (Strangely, for all the countless travels I have made to all five continents never once was I required to submit my international passport  as a requirement for making my travel bookings. But then of course I am after all just a small-fry and have no knowledge what the big people like our YBs have to do to get their travel bookings done.)

These are minor coincidences, I beg your pardon, I mean inconveniences which the average MP should be well able to cope with. Duty calls and to the study tour you must go. “It is an agricultural study trip. We are looking at how technology is being used to increase farm output. When we return, we can use knowledge we gained for our budget debates,” said the chief organiser.

However, for a purposeful trip such as “agriculture study”, it seems rather strange that as of September 4th the destination has yet to be ascertained when the travel itself will take place no later than mid-September. Up to four different destinations have been variously mentioned: New Zealand, Australia, China and Taiwan. Well I guess the gracious hosts in any number of countries will no doubt be able to make the necessary arrangements in a jiffy and ensure a truly educational tour.

Well then, here’s wishing our YBs a happy and fruitful journey! Now and again leaving the country and seeing other people’s country can be refreshing and eventful. Here’s to purposely coincidental happenings! It is the way to go. For the organisers, that’s better than leaving things to chance, I beg your pardon, I mean change.

 

 

PENNYWISE, POUND FOOLISH

In days gone by when school textbooks were English both in language and origin, we were taught the intricacies of monetary values in terms of pound, shilling and pence.  To be pennywise, pound foolish is to be senwise but ringgit foolish which is to mean we could be so taken up about  being overly concerned or “cautious with small amounts of money, but careless with larger amounts …” So if a person  “spends very little on food during the week, then blows all his money drinking on the weekends”, we may say that he really is penny-wise, pound-foolish.

This idiomatic saying is about getting the bigger picture and understanding better what exactly it is we wish to achieve.

We of course have many examples of this here in our own backyard. For example, let us say  I want some people to go away from the country and leave the whole country to me and my own kind. If this is my objective and without thinking things through I just say to them, “Go back to the Timbuktu you have come from!”,  the effect may in fact be the opposite of what I had set out to achieve. These people’s reaction would more likely be to dig themselves deeper in and stay put. Instead of turning the heat on the people I had targetted, in effect, the heat will now be on me. And that is why those who behave in this way usually have to leave the country themselves. Ironically, those they had asked to leave stay put and instead they themselves have had to leave the country for a time. Thus, not only have I failed to achieve what I had set out to do, the situation is now worse for me than it was before.  

Take another common example. If my objective is to get others to embrace my own relgious philosophy and practices, it would be “pennywise, pound foolish” for me to apply brute force to stop them from discussing some ramifications of my religion, for example, on their social life. In fact, it is only when others discuss my religion that I will have the opportunity to clarify some common misconceptions they may have of it. To ban others from talking about my religion will have a counter effect as many parents are finding out when they use their perceived authority and try to force their religion on their children in a myriad of misguided ways.

Today, there is a most critical issue for us Malaysians to consider. The time has come when we are asked what kind of nation we wish to be: to have more of the same or to effect change for the better. The time has come for us to set ourselves on the path to fundamental changes in the way we define who a Malaysian is, how the nation’s wealth is to be shared, how our children will be educated, how government contracts will be awarded, how we prioritise government spending, how we conduct our elections, how the police and judiciary should function, how ACA should prioritise who they should target their investigations on (only the small or especially on the big fishes?), how to restore pride to all citizens regarding their nation, how to listen and pay heed to the people’s cries, how to integrate east and west Malaysia, how to have freedom of information, how to rid ourselves of the abominable laws and the shameless ways in which they have been used against perceived “opponents” of the state. The list goes on.

In considering change, I must not be so naive as to expect that there will be no inconvenience of any sort to my normal routine. I must understand that change can, in the transition period, cause some hardship and pain. In choosing change, I must give up something relatively smaller in order to gain something much bigger and worthwhile. Some relative sacrifices have to be made. When I have my house painted, some furniture must be moved, the place will be a mess, and smell of new paint may irritate my nostrils. Change cannot be had without some tolerance for some things I normally will not care for.  There may be some uncertainties and no matter how well managed, the markets may be nervous. Some effects will be worse than others.

In facing this, I must not turn inward and instinctively become even more inept in managing myself and my instincts and my resources and fall victim to the “pennywise, pound foolish” effect. To have the pounds, I need to give up my pennies. The higher goals, the bigger good must be my focus. For that, I welcome the coming change.

 

WILL I SWEAR ON THE BIBLE?

In folk understanding of religion around the world, a superstitious regard for sacred books such as the bible can still be quite strong or influential. For example, some people in America did not quite believe that the astronauts actually walked on the moon. I came upon this posting on the internet: “Here is a video of some guy trying to get the astronauts to swear on the bible that they walked on the moon. Not a single one would do it. That kinda has to make you think a little. Granted this guy is obnoxious as hell but still, alot could be put to rest if they just did it.”

 

There is no common tradition among Christians to involve the bible in disputes or claims or to prove one’s innocence or honesty. Churches do not encourage such use of the bible. You don’t go to the priest or pastor in church and swear your innocence over the bible.

 

So if someone alleges (that is “declares without proof”) that I have done him or her wrong and insists that I should take an oath on the bible to prove my innocence, I would not. For very good reasons. I believe that in doing so I will in effect be promoting a superstitious sentiment about the bible. I will be encouraging the belief of people like those American folks that had the astronauts sworn on the bible it would have given credence to their claim of walking on the moon. I revere the bible as God’s word and its rightful place in the life of serious Christians is to reveal God’s will and truth and as such serve to guide my path and conduct. To use such a sacred book as the bible to satisfy someone else’s misguided superstition about it is only to cheapen and dishonour it.

 

Besides if I do so, I will be contributing to quite a comic situation. First, someone accuses me of wrongdoing and takes an oath on the bible saying that he is telling the truth. Then, pressure is exerted on me to reply by doing likewise, that is, I in turn must take an oath on the bible that I did no such wrong thing.

 

So if I do so, what will we have? Two persons both taking an oath on the bible that they were telling the truth. So all of you standing by witnessing this drama, what will you be thinking or doing? We all come back to square one, that is, each of you from the outside will still have to decide which one of the two of us is telling the truth.

 

It is one thing for some American folks to believe that had the astronauts been prepared to take an oath on the bible, they would have believed that the astronauts actually did walk on the moon. It is another thing altogether that in today’s Malaysia, we actually have some people, among whom are some very prominent people, promoting the idea that unless Anwar Ibrahim takes a solemn oath on the koran, his protestations of innocence will be suspect.

Is it too much to hope that a nation which aspires to VISION 2020, will have a more reliable way to measure truth than to take the word of a person on the basis that he has sworn on his choice of a sacred book?

In my earlier posting, HOW WE USE SACRED BOOKS, I wote: “The degree of honesty of any oath-taking is dependent on personal sincerity and a person’s fear of God rather than our hand on a mere book. By the mere act of my swearing on a bible, those who have legitimate grievances against me could draw little comfort or assurance since my swearing on a bible is a very easy thing for me to do. All it requires is a functioning limb rather than a functioning conscience.”

So despite the pressure, were I involved in this sorry drama, I would still not swear on the bible.

 

 

DON’T BE LOUD

With the spotlight on the venue of the forthcoming parliamentary by-election, the tempo of life in an otherwise ordinary neighbourhood has increased manifold. Urbanites who are pouring into the area in droves will greatly alarm and inconvenience the locals. No doubt some locals will benefit from increased business. For a time, some locals may bask in the focus placed on them.

But the inconvenience may soon far outweigh the benefits. The infrastructure of essential utilities- electricity, water- and roadways and accommodation are pushed to the fullest limit.

Everything in life has limits. Inconvenience will soon precipitate adverse reactions. This too can have impact on the by-elections results. Yes the Permatang Pauh carnival is built around a by-election. And in an election, registered voters are the people who matter. Only they can cast their vote. The battle will be won (or lost) not by which candidate will be able to garner the majority of supporters but by the number of registered voters who will cast their votes for a particular candidate.

With the number of non-voting supporters almost matching the number of registered voters, for sure the visitors will soon outlive their welcome. Irritate these registered voters and you may lose the election for your candidate.

If indeed this by-election will shape the direction of politics for the entire nation, supporters for the possible future leader of the nation should think quick and deep about their continued presence in PP. They need to be asked (and to ask themselves) what they are doing in PP. Will their continued presence add value to their candidate’s campaign? Do they have specific roles to play or are they there to take on the atmosphere or gain experience to put into their cv? A battle-field is not a place for by-standers or curiosity-seekers. Better for saudara candidate that excess humanity leave the scene to those who are there to do their work. Don’t consume electricity and water or occupy roadway and parking. Come away and follow the campaign through alternative media like Malaysia Today.

For those who remain to really assist the campaign, be very careful of how you tread in PP, how you talk, how you behave. Put on ordinary clothes, choose agreeable colours, always and in every situation be courteous, considerate and respectful of the locals. Beri laluan dan ruang kepada orang kampung. Adopt local customs and ways.

Yes we have an important message to convey to voters but do so in the fashion of the new politics we are trying to usher in. Don’t take on the bullyish, crude, arrogant, hooliganish manners of the outgoing regime. Reformasi is our goal but it is not just a word we shout on the street but a manner of behaving and dealing with the local folks. To be convinced they need to see us as reformed people with refined manners.

During the People’s Revolution of the Philippines, the most astounding scene which will be forever etched in my mind and heart, is that of the nuns- calm, steady, quiet, sure, confident and ever-smiling- going from soldier to soldier putting a stock of flower into the barrel of their guns.

Don’t give any one cause for concern. Don’t annoy anyone. Don’t alienate anyone. Don’t be arrogant. Don’t be rude. Don’t be domineering or dominating or obnoxious. In short, DON’T BE LOUD.

 

SLOW TO ANGER

In these uncertain times when no one of us can be blamed for thinking that the country is fast going under, there is wisdom in our respective sacred books which can help us to achieve justice and keep the peace. Regrettably, more often than not, religion is blamed for bringing about the opposite effects and the undesirable results.

The truth of the matter is that this undesirable situation we Malaysians find ourselves in is more often than not less to do with what the Sacred Books actually say but how we who read them interpret and apply them.

One of the more strange but unfortunately more common conduct of those of us who claim to be religious in our respective ways is the curious feeling we have of having to defend our respective faiths. This feeling that our beliefs and, by extension of that, our God need to be defended is a religious phenomenon found in all religious circles through all ages.

The notion that God needs vigorous defending by me who is but His mere creature is a psychologically mind-boggling concept and in my saner moments should show me how ridiculous I am and can be or have been.

Who needs to defend who? In many places in the Bible, it is clear that it is us human beings whom God has often found necessary to defend. When I am called upon to do any defending, the Bible speaks in such fashion: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:16-17, Holy Bible). That is the defending I am to be doing.

Where the Bible may even speak of the idea of defending the faith, I take it that it means not physical action as such but through the civil and intellectual means of clarifying and explaining the faith as well as the spiritual means of healing and deliverance (from evil).

In religion of any and every kind, the tendency to be mistaken about how to “defend” or advocate for our respective religion of choice is ever present and alas, only too potent. When in our religious faith we get it right, the result is sublime. When, alas, we get it wrong, the result is torturous, bizarre, bigoted and everybody suffers. Including the very religion we profess to defend.

The best promoter of religious faith is good conduct. It has been said: “Your action speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you are saying.” Bodily and verbal violence is not virtuous conduct by any religious measure. It is only too easy for me to react to the anger demonstrated last weekend with anger of my own. But anger begets anger. Our prayers must be for conduct which will build bridges which can connect us and bring us together.

I leave it to experts of the respective religions to expound the wise, rational, wholesome and virtuous exhortations found in their respective Sacred Books. It is critical that those who truly know their respective religions should speak up for the very survival of the Malaysian society.

For myself, in the after gloom of last weekend’s reminder of how fractious our Malaysian society has become, when rationality and religious calm were abandoned, I found solace in these sacred words which is exactly what our nation desperately needs:

“Know this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.”

(Letter of James 1.19-20, Holy Bible)

The preacher that is me is sorely tempted to elaborate on these wise sayings. But let me for once resist the temptation to add my own human words to these Holy Scripture which is more than capable of speaking for itself.