CIUM TANGAN.

The illusion of power: Why we must remain humane no matter our role

 IN life, many of us take on roles that carry influence and authority – whether as judges, lawyers, ministers, CEOs, police officers, or public servants.

These positions command respect, sometimes fear, and often come with perks that give the illusion of personal greatness. But therein lies the danger: it is easy to be carried away by the outward respect and forget that it is the position, not the person, that is being honoured.

Since my teenage years, I have had a keen interest in observing people and the unfolding of their lives. I noticed how some were gentle and humble in power, while others became arrogant, cruel, or dismissive of those beneath them.

Over time, I also began to see how life has a way of humbling even the most powerful – especially those who allowed the intoxication of authority to get the better of them.

I find it sad to have observed that many individuals fall into the trap of losing touch with who they really are. They become so usurped by their roles or positions that they mistake their titles for their identity.

It is a dangerous illusion. Because if they live a long life, they may eventually be subjected to the silent torture of being alone with someone they do not know – themselves.

The outer world fades, and what remains is the question: Who am I without the power? And for some, that question becomes unbearable.

History has shown us that not only have highly revered political leaders suffered unhappy and hollow final years, but many others with prestigious positions – senior judges, senior civil servants, corporate giants, popular leaders, celebrated academics – have met similar fates.

Their earlier years may have been filled with recognition, influence, and admiration. But when retirement comes and the applause fades, many are left restless, bitter, or even depressed – especially if they had never cultivated their inner lives or relationships beyond their titles.

Take, for example, the stories of once-feared leaders or senior government officials. Many of them, upon retirement, find themselves lonely or forgotten.

The late President Suharto of Indonesia, once one of the most powerful men in South-East Asia, spent his final years in near-isolation, facing public anger and legal scrutiny over corruption.

The reverence that once surrounded him turned into silent disapproval and, in many quarters, public disdain. It wasn’t just political backlash – it was the natural reaction to the way he exercised power.

In Malaysia, we too have seen powerful individuals – ministers, corporate figures, enforcement officers and so on – who once appeared untouchable, but ended up facing court charges, social rejection, or quiet retirement without the fanfare they once enjoyed.

The respect, the headlines, the invitations – all of it vanishes quickly once the position is gone. And for those who did not prepare inwardly – who mistook the prestige of the post for personal greatness – it becomes a very bitter realisation.

Compare this with individuals who remained grounded even at the peak of their careers. Former South African president Nelson Mandela, for instance, is remembered not just for his political role but for his humaneness, his humility, and his ability to forgive. Even after stepping down, he continued to be revered – not for his title, but for the character he embodied. Then there is Mahatma Gandhi. That is the kind of legacy worth leaving behind.

One can also think of those in simpler roles – teachers, nurses, smalltown mayors –who treat people with kindness, dignity, and fairness, despite not having national recognition or massive power.

Strangely enough, their legacy often lasts longer in the hearts of those they touched than the fame of those who climbed higher but treated others poorly.

Ultimately, it is not power that defines us, but how we behave when we have it. Life has a rhythm that cannot be avoided.

Old age comes. Retirement comes. Even memory fades. And the inner punishment for those who were cruel or self-absorbed in power often comes not in courts or newspapers, but in silence, regret, and the emptiness of a soul that spent too much time chasing applause and too little time nurturing humanity.

So let us remind ourselves: no matter our role in life – whether as a senior judge, minister or a street cleaner – treat others with basic human decency. Be kind even when you don’t have to. Be humble even when people praise you.

Use your influence to make others’ lives easier, not harder. Because when the world stops clapping, all that remains is the truth of who you are.

And that is what life eventually reveals.

Knowing this, for those who choose to take the seemingly difficult but righteous road, I say: continue. Walk it with quiet strength. You may not always be praised, and you may even be misunderstood. But at least you have avoided the delusion.

You are living in alignment with your conscience and with the laws of nature that favour balance, integrity, and inner peace.

That, in the end, is the real success.

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Senior lawyer Dato Sri Dr Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos is the founder of Rapera, a movement which encourages thinking and compassion among Malaysians. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

Bermulanya Kerajaan Pakatan Harapan

Malaysia telah membuktikan pada diri nya sendiri bahawa ia berkeupayaan untuk menukar kerajaan melalui proses demokrasi tanpa sebarang keganasan atau ketidakstabilan politik. 

Mulai 9.30 malam, 10hb Mei, 2018, Malaysia mempunyai kerajaan Persekutuan yang baru.

Sebelum saya  menulis selanjutnya, ingin saya memperingati diri saya serta mereka yang rela di peringati akan satu kebenaran.  Sifat manusia yang masih berilusi dengan “kebolehan” nya semata2 adalah dimana yang menang akan bergembira dan merasa mereka hebat dalam percaturan. Pihak yang kalah pula akan bersedih serta berada dalam kesesalan yang samar2. Kedua-dua manusia seperti ini lupa akan satu kebenaran hakiki bahawa Allah jua yang memberi “kerajaan” kepada siapa yang Dia sukai.  Kebenaran ini jelas dalam Surah Al Imran ayat 26:

“Katakanlah: "Wahai Tuhan Yang mempunyai kerajaan, Engkau berikan kerajaan kepada orang yang Engkau kehendaki dan Engkau cabut kerajaan dari orang yang Engkau kehendaki. Engkau muliakan orang yang Engkau kehendaki dan Engkau hinakan orang yang Engkau kehendaki. Di tangan Engkaulah segala kebajikan. Sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Kuasa atas segala sesuatu”.

Ahli politik juga harus beringat bahawa apa yang boleh menghilangkan kuasa mereka dengan sekelip mata adalah faktor yang sama yang mengakibatkan Iblis diusir kebumi  iaitu kesombongan atau keangkuhan (Surah Al A’Raaf : ayat 11-13).

Sebagai Muslim saya beriman bahawa ayat2 di atas memperingati Kita bahawa kuasa dan kemuliaan bukan sesuatu untuk di banggakan tetapi satu amanah yang di berikan kepada manusia2 yang dipilih oleh Pencipta nya.

Maka, pada 10.5.2018, Allah telah memberikan amanah kepada kerajaan PH untuk mentadbir Negara Malaysia.  Dalam amanah ini, terdapat harapan Rakyat yang amat besar. 

Dimana kemenangan PH membawa perubahan baru dalam lanskap politik Malaysia, Rakyat juga mengharapkan ia akan membawa perubahan yang bermakna, efektif dan berguna dalam pentadbiran Negara.

Kerajaan yang di pilih adalah kerajaan Semua Rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira kaum, agama atau kelas ekonomi.  Maka, kerajaan ini tidak boleh membeza-bezakan “anak2” (Rakyat) berdasarkan kategori2 yang disebutkan tadi. 

Pengagihan sumber2 Negara harus lah adil dan saksama diantara anak2 nya dengan mengambilkira keupayaan masing2. Saya percaya Rakyat dahagakan perkara2 perkara-perkara tersebut:

.

1. Mengwujudkan satu bangsa Malaysia dimana Kita dapat bersama2 menuju kearah satu “Malaysian Dream” sebagai satu keluarga yang punyai sikap keihsanan (compassion)
2. Reform dalam sistem pendidikan dari segi isi kandungannya, kaedah pengajaran, kos dan sebagainya,
3. Penghapusan rasuah 
4. Mengwujudkan suasana politik dan ekonomi dimana rakyat yang rela berusaha dapat mencari nafkah yang halal tanpa birokrasi yang membebankan
5. Merapatkan perhubungan antara pelbagai agama serta mengwujudkan suasana ukhuwah di kalangan umat Muslim untuk membanteras kegilaan taksub mazhab dan sikap “keterlaluan agama”.
6. Benar2 mengambil langkah untuk menangani masalah kos rumah murah dimana berlaku banyak penipuan dan penindasan terhadap mereka yang berpendapatan rendah dan miskin. Juga saiz rumah kos rendah perlu di nilai semula kerana saiz kini berada dalam zon kezaliman.
7. Melakukan reformasi perundangan untuk merombak kembali undang2 yang menindas martabat manusia dan memastikan undang2 adalah adil
8. Memberi perhatian yang lebih daripada sekarang kepada golongan kanak2,  yang kurang upaya dan juga warga emas - perlu merangka polisi2 yang khusus;
9. Mengenal pasti masalah2 yang di hadapi wanita2 terutama ibu tunggal, keselamatan, keadaan  bayi terbiar dan sebagainya.
10. Melihat kembali kontrak kerajaan seperti pembinaan Jalan raya dan sebagainya yang berat sebelah pada rakyat.
11. Kerajaan yang telus, bertanggungjawab, dan “engage feedback” Rakyat dalam polisi2 yang berpengaruh besar.

INi lah di antara yang saya fikir utama dalam minda dan harapan rakyat yang sempat saya berkongsi.

Saya berharap Kerajaan PH ini akan berpegang pada janji nya untuk berkhidmat pada rakyat sebaik mungkin serta di rahmati Allah.

Salam.

Tengku Razaleigh 2010 - "It's Time To Wake Up"

One of the best speeches I have heard from a political leader in this country !

 It is like a Rapera mindset !



Peace !

Everywhere is War: European Warlords Strike Again - This Time in Mali

By Gerald A. Perreira

Until the philosophy
that holds one race superior
and another inferior
is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned
Everywhere is war

Anyone listening to the imperialists and corporate media reports/analyses of what is taking place in Mali,   will be left feeling confused. But we know that confusion and commotion are an integral part of the imperialists’ game plan.

Both the Bible and the Quran warn us that the devil is the author of lies and confusion.

The Hon Elijah Muhammad taught us to recognize the nature of the devil and how the devil operates in the contemporary context. He taught us to see the devil not as some mythical figure, but as a reality, a   living force moving amongst us, who knows its time is up and will do anything to maintain its rule upon the earth. This worldview is way outside the bounds of Western discourse, but integral to an understanding of what is really taking place in Mali and across the region.  

The situation in Mali is not that confusing – actually it’s as simple as this:

Go back many years. Imagine you are the Brother Leader, Muammar Qaddafi. Your goal is one of a unified, strong Africa, able to throw off the yoke of imperialism and neo-colonialism. You know that Africa’s liberation cannot be realized without unity, and also that the first step on this long journey is to rid Africa of its remaining inept, neo-colonial regimes.

Leading the African Union meant that Qaddafi had to deal at a state to state level with the very neo-colonial regimes that he also knew had to be removed. To further complicate the matter, Qaddafi had long-standing and strong relationships with a number of liberation movements, revolutionary organizations and parties throughout Africa, that were opposing the neo-colonial regimes in some of these countries.

All sides of the political and ideological divide knew this about Qaddafi – that he had assisted liberation struggles throughout Africa, and for that matter throughout the world, with the sole intention of achieving African liberation and the victory of the oppressed worldwide. That his intentions were genuine was clear, since in many instances, under his leadership, Libya provided assistance to groups which definitely did more harm than good to Libya’s geo-political interests, simply complicating things for this often beleaguered nation.

I recently heard a National Geographic travel writer, trying to pass himself off as an expert on North Africa, and in particular, Libya and Mali, saying that Qaddafi played one tribe off against the other. What nonsense!

When I hear European journalists and some African factotums talking about Qaddafi playing one tribe off against the other, then I realize that we have to tell this story. Muammar Qaddafi was listened to by all sides, which is why he was so often asked to mediate in negotiations to resolve conflicts. Only someone who had not been at these meetings, and did not understand the ancient and complex nature of the African environment, could dismiss what Qaddafi was doing as ‘playing one off against the other’.

On Our Own Terms – African Solutions to African ProblemsThose involved in the struggle for African unity know that mediating in the affairs of tribes cannot be achieved within the confines of the Westminster model of governance. Qaddafi was struggling to make peace in Africa in order to lay the groundwork for real development and liberation. As already mentioned, he understood that the only way for Africa to be free was for Africa and Africans, on the continent and in the Diaspora, to unite into a power bloc, and he also knew that it was imperative to apply African solutions to African problems.

The Libyan Jamahiriya, emerging as it did out of an African-Arab cultural environment, does not separate the individual from the community, but rather sees both as interdependent and part of an integral whole. In such a worldview, values which solidify and integrate the community are emphasized, while at the same time recognizing the rights, responsibility and role of the individual. This is in contrast to the liberal democratic tradition of the European community of nations or so-called ‘developed world’, where the individual is considered ‘absolute’ and where rugged individualism is encouraged.

In this framework of inter-connectedness, the prosperity of one means the prosperity of the other. Instead of pitting the interests of the individual and the community against one another, as is found in both capitalist and communist states, African communalism, or what Qaddafi refers to as ‘natural socialism’, recognizes the interests of all.

African philosopher, Polycarp Ikuenobe points out that:

‘While Africans recognize that individuals have natural rights, which derive from their natural individuality, interests and desires, these rights and individuality would be abstract and meaningless except when they are contextualized, made substantive, given material contents, and made meaningful in the context of a community.’

The detached, atomized individual is a European concept and is alien to the African traditions of Ubuntu, Ujamaa and Ishtirakiyah, principles which form the foundation of  systems of governance based on African communalism  or what was referred to in the Libyan Jamahiriya as ‘natural socialism’.

Where the multiparty system, emerging as it did out of the European cultural and historical context tends to fragment and divide, the Jamahiriyan system seeks to build social cohesion, unity and partnership.

In the Green Book, Qaddafi outlines clearly the social architecture that derives from what he understands to be a ‘natural order’:

The tribe is an extended family that has grown as a result of procreation. The tribe is in effect, a large extended family, and it then follows that the nation is the tribe that has also grown as a result of procreation. The nation is a large extended tribe; and the world is the nation that has diversified into a multitude of nations. The world therefore is an enlarged nation.

The relationship that binds a family together is the same relationship which binds the tribe together, the nation and the world. Nevertheless, the larger the multitude of people, the weaker this bond becomes… This is a sociological fact, denied only by the ignorant.

…This is why it is very important for the human community to preserve the cohesion of the family, the tribe, the nation and the world, in order to profit from the advantages, benefits, values and ideals yielded by the solidarity, cohesion, unity, familiarity and love of the family, tribe, nation and humanity...the tribe provides its members with the natural benefits and social advantages that the family provides for its members, for the tribe is a secondary family. It is worth mentioning here that an individual may sometimes behave in a dishonorable manner that a family will not condone: yet because the family is relatively small in size, this individual will not be aware of its supervision. In contrast, individuals, as members of the tribe, cannot be free of its watchful eyes.’

Qaddafi understood the primacy of ‘culture’ and that the cultural context is the foundation out of which all ideologies and social systems emerge.  He agreed with the view of Afrocentric psychologist, Wade Nobles, that culture is ‘a general design for living and patterns for interpreting reality’. That is why he chose to work so closely with traditional leaders/chiefs throughout Africa and the Tuaregs of the Sahel. Both groups had managed to keep their African traditions/culture alive, despite having been marginalized under colonialism and by successive neo-colonial regimes. This conception of culture is also why, from the outset of the Al Fateh revolution in 1969, Qaddafi necessarily rejected the Western multi-party parliamentary system and Western ideologies.

In 2010, at a meeting in Tripoli, Qaddafi addressed 175 traditional leaders from across the African continent. He told them that ‘African traditions were being replaced with Western culture and that multi party politics was destroying Africa’.   The chiefs agreed, accusing Africa’s political leaders of ‘neglecting traditional values and marginalizing Africa’s indigenous institutions.’

Yahaya Ezemoo Ndu, leader of Nigeria’s African Renaissance Party and Chairperson of the newly formed Pan-African international, ARM, in a recent interview, quoted Professor Catherine Achaolonu-Olumba, when he warned Africans that if they failed to recognize the importance of their own culture and cultural institutions, they would never achieve liberation:

‘To all Africans, Blacks and all deprived peoples all over the world, we say culture is everything! Those who took your cultures from you took everything from you. Your culture is your life, your past, your present, your science, your religion, your closest link to the One True God. You are your culture and your culture is all you have – it is your link to all knowledge available in the Universal Mind of the Creator. Your culture is you…’

Ndu went on to say:

‘Most of the problems confronting Africans are traceable to inappropriate governance systems. The Western World, led by the United States, has been forcing electocracy down the throat of Africans, claiming that it is ‘democracy’, while in fact, the United States does not experience, and has never experienced true democracy’.

There are over 100 tribes in Libya alone innumerable tribal groups throughout Africa. The concept of the ‘tribe’ is misunderstood in European political discourse, and tribal forms of organization are automatically dismissed as being backward and having no merit. However, as Qaddafi rightfully acknowledges, family and tribe are the basis of all African societies and tribal forms of organization will never be relinquished. The current nation-state borders in Africa are colonial constructs, and often secondary to indigenous concepts of tribe and tribal nations. That is why tribes do not always recognize nation-state boundaries drawn up and left by the colonizers, and furthermore why some tribes, even if they exist across a number of ‘nation-state’ borders, can be considered as constituting a nation in and of themselves.

This is one of the reasons why the imposition of the alien system of multi-partyism into Africa, where tribal loyalties are so honored, has led to disaster. Political parties can never demand the loyalty and support that one’s tribe can. Eventually, the multi-party system exacerbates any tribal conflict that exists and even creates tribal conflict where it did not previously exist. It actually works against the existing indigenous forms of social organization, creating chaos and failed states.

Abd-l Alkalimat points out the contradiction of importing the very systems which have been used to destroy us:

‘The basis for our social, political and economic systems can better be found among the communal traditions of our people rather than among those who have used their systems to oppress if not annihilate us.’

The success of a given system is entirely dependent on whether the particular system in place is in tune with and meets the needs of the people it is meant to serve.

As Africans, our struggle must be focused on achieving our inalienable right to self-determination – to develop our own political and economic systems and put in place our own political structures, free of interference from the outside world. Only we can turn the tables – only we can achieve our own liberation from systems that continue to keep us in a state of dependency and disarray. 

Talk is cheap…
Bringing about the kind of unity, prosperity, and dignity that could lead to an independent and democratic United States of Africa is a long and tumultuous journey, which not everyone would have the courage to embark on. Theory is one thing, and a vital component, however, concrete action has to start somewhere. Qaddafi and the revolutionary Libyan Jamahiriya put Libya’s wealth where their mouth was and began to work with others to support the coming together of Africa, by upgrading telecommunications systems, enhancing infrastructural development, engaging in joint commercial projects, building educational institutions, providing healthcare, advancing  loans to African governments, and the setting up of African based lending institutions with plans for an African currency, which would have put an end to our continued dependency on the Euro/American Empire and their financial institutions.

Much analysis is produced by those who are not actively engaged in the struggle to change the world, but engaged only in interpreting it. They provide us with endless academic critiques of those who are active, finding fault with everything.  The late African revolutionary, Kwame Ture, always said, ‘never to waste our energies in lengthy conversation or debate with anyone who was not actively involved in the struggle for liberation in one way or other, since they would never be able to fully understand the issues at stake and would necessarily be dealing only with abstraction.’

Anyone who is engaged in struggle knows that the world is a brutal and complex arena. African unity is a journey that is fraught with overwhelming challenges that cannot always be resolved the way we would wish. This is not to act as an apologist for mistakes made, but simply to acknowledge that if criticism is to be constructive then it must be part of a discourse that is anchored in the reality of what it means to fight imperialism and injustice on all its fronts in 2013.  

The intellectual warrior, Franz Fanon understood this, based on his own involvement in the Algerian struggle for liberation, when he boldly claimed,

'Everybody will have to be compromised in the fight for the common good. No one has clean hands; there are no innocents and no onlookers. We all have dirty hands; we are all soiling them in the swamps of our country and in the terrifying emptiness of our brains. Every onlooker is either a coward or a traitor'.

As we say in the Caribbean – ‘yuh think it easy?’

The Mali story…When the progressive leader, Amadou Toure, was elected president of Mali in 2002, Muammar Qaddafi welcomed him onto the scene. Toure believed that African conflicts/problems should be resolved within the framework of the African Union and he supported the vision of a United States of Africa. In such an environment, Qaddafi was able to broker a peace agreement between the Tuaregs and the Toure administration. Qaddafi had offered the Tuaregs what no one else had – to live in Libya with all of the benefits that that brought – free healthcare, education, housing etc. This was a gift to the Tuareg people and also in line with Qaddafi’s understanding of this part of the world outside of the boundaries of the artificial borders created by colonialism. In fact, the Libyan Jamahiriya had authorized Africans from all over the continent to cross its borders freely.

Once Qaddafi was murdered and Libya was handed over to the current barbaric alliance of Arab supremacists, monarchists and Al-Qaeda affiliated Wahabi-Salafi heretics, the Tuaregs, many of whom had been integrated into the Jamahiriyan military since the early 70s, had no choice but to return home.

What happened next?The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), largely made up of Tuareg returnees, laid claim to a land mass in Northern Mali which they call Azawad. They claimed Azawad as their ancestral homeland and it came under their jurisdiction with little opposition from the Malian army.

In 2009, there was a major Tuareg uprising against the Malian government and Muammar Qaddafi was asked by both sides to play a mediating role. During these negotiations, President Toure made a number of concessions, promising to address the legitimate long term grievances of the Tuareg. These promises were not honored, and with Qaddafi no longer there to guide and mediate, and the Tuaregs now being forced to return to Mali, they had no choice but to claim their homeland. 

  

Muammar Qaddafi inspects troops wearing  traditional Tuareg dress

President Toure quickly realized that a military solution was not possible and agreed to enter into negotiations with representatives of the MNLA. Days later, seemingly from out of nowhere, we saw a full blown coup in Mali. The US trained coup leader, Captain Amadou Sanogo, opposed the idea of Tuareg autonomy. At the time of the coup he claimed that President Toure was benefitting financially from the drug trade, suggesting that this was why he was ready to make concessions to the MNLA. This was untrue. For one thing the MNLA are not the ones who are involved in the expansive and lucrative drug trade in the Sahel – in fact they oppose it. It is well documented that the drug traffickers are Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and their front organizations across the region. That is why Qaddafi said that the so-called rebels in Benghazi were not only Al-Qaeda affiliated but were on drugs. It is interesting to note that Captain Sanogo was photographed recently with US ambassador, John Price, and the two were said to be laughing and talking like long lost friends. President Toure ended up in Senegal.

Next Move…
Also, from out of nowhere - Salafi militias enter Mali - Ansar Al Dine and the Movement for Unity and Jihad. Groups never before seen or heard of in Mali – made up primarily of non Malians and backed by guess who? Correct, the Gulf State Pretenders to Islam and NATO. They had one shared objective – to crush the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), since they shared Qaddafi’s vision for a united Africa and would have set up a Jamahiriya type state - Azawad style. The MNLA also adhere to an Islamic theology of liberation, rather than the Wahabi aberration parading as Islam, that the Gulf States and their imperialist backers depend on for their continued repression and plunder. The setting up of such a liberated zone would have provided a refuge for those loyal to Qaddafi and his ideas.

And so, they got rid of Toure and all hope of a peaceful solution to the issue of an autonomous Azawad and they unleashed their dogs of war, the Islamists, into Mali to beat back the progressive National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). The MNLA, however, were too clever to be seduced into an all out war with these foreign and reactionary Islamist forces, financed by one of the biggest sponsors of terrorism, the Qatari ruling elite, so they melted into the population, as only a liberation force with the backing of the people can do.

The MNLA had made it abundantly clear from the outset that they had no interest in seizing any territory outside of Azawad, including the capital Bamako, or causing havoc in Mali. This further ruffled the imperialists, since there is nothing they dislike more than the prospect of peaceful, progressive African based solutions to African conflicts.

With no MNLA to fight, the Islamists then proceeded to wreck havoc in Mali as they do everywhere they are deployed, and went on a killing spree and the French invaded to reign in their own proxy army,   definitely not to save Malians from the brutality of the Islamists.  The French realized that they had better reign in the dogs of war they themselves had unleashed, lest, unsuspectingly, while using the Islamists to prevent the huge deposits of uranium, which France depends on for their continued energy supply, from falling into MNLA hands, the Islamists themselves stole Mali from under France’s nose.

European Warlords in Re-scramble for African ResourcesUnfortunately for Africa, we have everything that the US and Europe want and need. The story is not as complex in Mali, or for that matter throughout Africa, as they would have us believe - actually it is quite simple – the lifestyle enjoyed by Europeans on this earth – life as only they know it - is over without unfettered access to African resources.

With Qaddafi out of the way, one of the biggest remaining threats to their free reign in Africa is African resistance movements which are loyal to his vision. Groups such as the MNLA and JEM are high priority targets for imperialist military operations and their killer drones, a weapon straight out of their own Sci-Fi, which enables them to kill by remote control.  The US, imposing itself as the judge, jury and executioner, has killed thousands of human persons this way, while at the same time posturing as the world’s leading democrats. Their world is undeniably bizarre and Orwellian. 

Unmanned Predator Drone firing missile

It is estimated that there are over 60 Drone bases in the US alone and more than 60 across the globe.  The most recently installed Drone base is in Niger, Northwest Africa. The plan is for such bases to be installed throughout the continent. US president, Barack Hussein Obama, has shown himself to be little more than a warlord and black only in color. Mentally incarcerated, he is the perfect candidate for the role of first black US president – and what a public relations coup: to have a black man at the helm when re-colonizing Africa.

While the Euro-American ruling elite plunder the world’s resources, cynically paying lip service to the ‘American Dream’, the tragedy is that Barak Obama seems to believe in it. He has taken it upon himself to target for execution, at whim, anyone, anywhere in the world, whom the Empire deems necessary to exterminate, in order to maintain White Supremacy. Make no mistake: the White House is still the White House.

 Licensed to Kill

 It is reported that John Brennan, whose official title is Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and Assistant to the President, draws up the weekly list of those targeted for assassination by drones. These lists are then signed off by the President at a meeting of ‘counterterrorism security officials’ (War Council) held every Tuesday, now dubbed ‘kill list Tuesdays’ in White House circles.

Last year one of those targeted for assassination was Dr Khalid Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of the largest groups within the Sudanese Revolutionary Front. He and some senior members of JEM had also been forced to leave Libya and were working to establish a liberated zone in Kordofan.

Only days ago, Tahir El-Faki, a spokesperson for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), accused the Bashir regime in Khartoum of transporting Salafi jihadists from Mali to North Darfur. He added that some of them had already been in Darfur before being moved to Mali last year. It was reported that the ‘Jihadists’, who are from different countries in the region, including Niger, Chad and Algeria, had been transported using Qatari airplanes. Africa is up for grabs.

And finally, there is the hugely threatening factor of China’s rise as an economic superpower on the global stage. However, China, which is also completely dependent on African resources for its continued economic growth, has an entirely different approach. Not interested in military expansion, they pursue economic and commercial expansion instead. In contrast to the Euro/American Empire, China is willing to negotiate a fair deal within a win-win framework, and is therefore becoming a preferred trading partner for many African states, especially those who want to free themselves from their dependence on economic relations with the unjust and hypocritical Empire. To disrupt the increasingly closer ties between China and Africa is a priority for the imperialists, and so an already crumbling Empire, threatened with its own extinction, is now in full military swing.

Malcolm X knew the enemy well:

‘…when you and I begin to look at him and see the language he speaks, the language of a brute, the language of someone who has no sense of morality, who absolutely ignores law – when you and I learn how to speak his language, then we can communicate. But we will never communicate talking one language while he’s talking another language. He’s talking the language of violence.’  

Fact is they will never stop warring for Africa’s resources until we Africans put an end to the fight ourselves. That is why imperialism can only be buried once and for all in Africa…

And until that day,
The African continent
Will not know peace,
We Africans will fight - we find it necessary -
And we know we shall win
As we are confident
In the victory
Of good over evil

ReferencesIkuenobe Polycarp, Philosophical Perspectives on Communalism and Morality in African Traditions, Lexington Books, OX, UK, 2006

Ndu, Yahaya Ezemoo, Africa’s Role in the Global World, African Executive Magazine, Online Edition, February, 2011

Nobles, Wade, Africanity and the Black Family, Black Family Institute Publications CA, USA, 1985

Qaddafi, Muammar, The Green Book Ithaca Press, UK, 2005 (first published 1975)

Shabazz, Malik (Malcolm X), By Any Means Necessary, Pathfinder, NY, USA, 1970

Title, opening and closing remarks from a speech delivered to the United Nations General Assembly by Haile Selassie in 1963, and later put to music by Robert Nesta Marley. 

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Gerald A. Perreira is a founding member of the Guyanese organizations Joint Initiative for Human Advancement and Dignity and Black Consciousness Movement Guyana (BCMG). He lived in Libya for many years, served in the Green March, an international battalion for the defense of the Al Fateh revolution and was an executive member of the World Mathaba based in Tripoli. He is the International Secretary for the newly formed, Afrocentric Pan-African International – ARM (African Revolutionary Movement).

This article originally appeared at BayView, National Black Newspaper at this website: http://sfbayview.com/2013/everywhere-is-war-european-warlords-strike-again-this-time-in-mali/

Aftermath of Bersih 3.0 and The Mirror

How could I not follow Bersih 3.0 when my guys and gals from MobTV.My have so bravely gone to get live coverage for the people of Malaysia? It is after all a group of NGOs – all non-partisan – trying to exercise their right of free speech and freedom of assembly as enshrined in the constitution. Dato’ Ambiga, the co-Chairperson of Bersih and the steering committee, promised a peaceful rally. 

Rapera is all for peaceful expressions of views or even dissent by thinking and responsible citizens. However, Rapera is unambiguously against violence among its citizens. 

Around about 1pm, when I had to go off from the Bersih event, I was happy to note that the event was peaceful and almost carnival like. I was pleased, at that moment that my worst fears of confrontation had been proven wrong. I was confident that the Bersih crowd will not go beyond the barricades that was erected around Dataran Merdeka (DM). 

However, as events unfolded subsequently, my fears were unfortunately proven correct – political parties and several irresponsible quarters hijacked the Bersih event and turned it into of Malaysia’s most violent and shameful exercise of freedom of assembly.  This is why I had always held  that it is not politicians that can save the Nation but savior citizens or Raperas.

You can just youtube to see the shameful behaviours by some of our citizens, whom, I would say should be prosecuted under the law for their irresponsible and violent behaviours. At the same time, the behaviours of any police officers who had been over zealous in exercising their power should also be investigated. If this does not happen, there will be these accusations: Firstly, that politicians are exempted from the law. Secondly, that there are agent provocateurs arranged by Barisan Nasional and hence they are not prosecuted. Thirdly, that there is selective cover-up.  

Many I met seem to believe that PKR has simply hijacked the event in the most irresponsible way and are contributory to the violence and rioting that ensued. This has to be verified by PKR itself. Many people I 

know already perceive PKR as a party that would do anything to wrestle political power.

 Politicians and political parties should have just stayed out and let it be an NGO event.

In retrospect I wonder if all these unwanted events would have occurred if the Datuk Bandar had simply not interfered with Bersih’s intention to sit-in at the Dataran. I had voiced the view before that Bersih 3.0 is unstoppable and so the most logical thing for the authorities to do would be to simply provide police protection for the sit-in and for them to facilitate the event. The moment I heard that DBKL took the position that DM was off limits for Bersih 3.0, I was concerned that this may be a catalyst for disaster.  In fact, I was of the view that even the “occupydataran” by the students should have police or DBKL protection instead of the opposition they had experienced. These are after all college kids learning to exercise their right of expression, even though they may not be correct on the issue.  Such “training” if properly “guided” may make them mature Raperas in the future.  However, old methods of exercising authority seem to die hard. My views too seem to have fallen on deaf ears or “dinosaurous” ears!

On another perspective, one must also ask why was there such a huge turnout? How and why did so many people turn up for the event? On one hand, it is heart warming to note that more and more Rakyats are beginning to learn that they cannot depend on ANY politician but on themselves.

Hence, if I am the ruling party, I would not be automatically defensive. I will embrace the Rakyat’s interest in the well being of their Nation. On the other hand, if I am the Opposition, I will not automatically gloat and think that I have the support of the people. I will be wary of the way I serve in politics. This and other such events could very well be a sign that the Rakyat seriously do not trust politicians anymore, which is a good thing. This is, in my view, taking back control of the destiny of our home, our Nation.

Freedom of expression and assembly aside, the sanctity of the law must also be protected. There is simply no excuse for any irresponsible persons to destroy or to cause to destroy or incite anyone to destroy public property which, we must remember, belongs to the Rakyat. I believe that the genuine Bersih folks are peaceful. Hence, the urgency of prosecuting the culprits who have marred the exercise of a fundamental constitutional right.

May peace always prevail among us.

NEXT: Bersih 3.0 and A Cleric (God Willing)

Future Kedah Fatwa Cannot Be Challenged.

The Star (17.4.2012) reports as such:

“Future fatwa by Kedah mufti or fatwa committee cannot be challenged in court

ALOR SETAR: Future fatwa issued by the Kedah mufti or Fatwa Committee cannot be challenged in court under an amendment to the Mufti and Fatwa (Kedah Darul Aman) Enactment 2008 passed by the Kedah State Assembly on Tuesday.

A new section - Section 22A - inserted in the enactment states that a fatwa decided by the mufti or Fatwa Committee, whether gazetted or not, cannot be challenged, appealed, reviewed, denied or questioned in any civil court or syariah court.

The insertion was among the amendments passed unanimously by the House on Tuesday.

In tabling the bill for the amendments, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak said it was to clarify the membership of the Fatwa Committee and to give conclusiveness to any fatwa decided by either the mufti or Fatwa Committee”.

(see http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/17/nation/20120417194848&sec=nation )

If the above report is accurate, with one stroke of the pen, the PAS Government of Kedah has made the future fatwas of the Mufti or the Majlis Fatwa absolute.  

A few men, namely the Assemblymen of Kedah has decided for all the Muslims in Kedah that the fatwas (or legal opinions) of the Mufti or a group of people in the Majlis Fatwa is absolute and cannot be challenged by anyone.

There is no questioning the opinions or the legal reasoning of those paid to be in the religious authority in Kedah.  It cannot even be reviewed.

Fatwas in this sense carries a religious connotation and hence, it now becomes part of the Syariah Law of Kedah.  Please note how the Syariah Laws expands as a result of human handiwork.

Now let me ask if the Prime Minister, the most powerful man in the country can be questioned on his actions? Every constitutional and criminal law student will tell you that in certain occasions, he can not only be questioned but be charged in court if he had acted, for example, unconstitutionally or criminally in office.

Under administrative laws, you can challenge, appeal and review the decision of any civil servant in the Courts of Law in Malaysia. This is through a process called judicial review. This process is allowed because the law recognises that civil servants, even with the best of intentions may make mistakes or err in their judgement. Some may be influenced by irrelevant factors in making a decision or arriving at an opinion (fatwa!).

But obviously, the Kedah Assemblymen are confident that neither the Mufti nor the members of the Fatwa Committee can err in their judgement or make mistakes. They are held to be infallible.

The Muslim in Kedah, therefore has no choice in the matter. He has to dispense with his conscience and his reasoning and simply follow the fatwa which now has the power of “Syariah” Law.

A Muslim who knows the Quran, may want to ask where the following verse figures in this episode:

068.036  What is the matter with you? How judge you?

068.037  Or have you a book through which you learn-

068.038  That you shall have, through it whatever ye choose?

068.039  Or have you Covenants with Us to oath, reaching to the Day of Judgment,

(providing) that you shall have whatever you shall demand?

068.040  Ask you of them, which of them will stand surety (guarantee) for that!

068.041  Or have they some "Partners" (in Godhead)? Then let them produce their

"partners", if they are truthful!

Since no Malays in Kedah have protested against the Bill, it must mean that they are happy with it.

Peace.

Silap Mata PAS silap dibaca????

PAS (Parti Agama Semalaysia) tidak lagi perjuangkan “Negara Islam”? Bahaya ulapol dalam masyarakat. –Bahagian Dua

PAS telah berjaya mewujudkan pelbagai kekeliruan dikalangan umat Islam sejak kewujudannya didalam medan politik diNegara ini. PAS telah menonjolkan dirinya sebagai sebuah parti politik yang “memperjuangkan Islam” walhal hasil kewujudannya menunjukkan yang sebaliknya. Ungkapan seperti “agama suku, politik suku” mungkin bunyi sebagai satu ungkapan yang pandai, namun apabila dikaji, ia adalah satu gimik yang bukan sahaja meleset tetapi tidak bertanggungjawap.  Dengan ungkapan itu sahaja, PAS telah berjaya untuk memecahbelahkan umat Melayu kepada dua puak yang bermusuhan semata-mata untuk politik.  Lain lah sekiranya perpecahan itu diakibatkan kerana fahaman Islam yang berbeza kerana ini tidak akan mencetuskan permusuhan.

Ungkapan sedemikian mengabui mata terhadap isu yang lebih penting – iaitu perbezaan diantara mempolitikkan agama dengan berpolitik berpandukan kepada prinsip-prinsip Islam. Bertahun-tahun saya amat hairan mengapa PAS tidak pernah dicabar dalam hal ini. (Saya kira kerana ketika itu ramai orang Melayu termasuk ahli-ahli UMNO sendiri termakan dengan “kehebatan Islam” PAS!) Terdapat perbezaan yang amat ketara diantara keduanya seperti terdapatnya perbezaan besar diantara Muslim dan munafik. Seorang Muslim berusaha menjalankan kehidupannya berpandukan ajaran-ajaran Allah. Seorang munafik pula mungkin tampak lebih Muslim daripada seorang Muslim yang ikhlas, namun ianya adalah duri dalam daging.

Orang Muslim yang faham Al-Quran tidak mempertikaikan bahawa Islam itu syumul dan merangkumi segala aspek kehidupan termasuk siasah. Perkara yang dipertikaikan ialah tindakan membalut dengan “jenama Islam” dan kemudian memperalatkan agama demi politik. Perkara yang dipertikaikan ialah sikap sombong dan ganas yang dipamerkan terhadap pihak-pihak yang berlainan pandangan dan tafsiran. Perkara yang dipertikaikan ialah sikap taksub dan assabiyah yang digalakkan. Perkara yang dipertikaikan ialh sikap sombong yang mengandaikan bahawa Allah hanya memberi hikmah memahami ayat-ayatnya kepada hanya dirinya atau kumpulannya sahaja.

Ekoran kehadiran PAS ditengah-tengah medan politik dengan berjenamakan “Islam” membantu melahirkan pelbagai mitos. Perkara yang paling malang ialah mitos yang dipanjangkan iaitu sarjana-sarjana berkelulusan dalam pengajian Islam yang pelbagai semestinya amat arif dan jujur dalam pandangan mereka mengenai Islam. Adakah kita juga akan mengatakan bahawa sarjana-sarjana kelulusan undang-undang atau perubatan semestinya akan menjadi peguam atau doktor yang amat berilmu dalam undang-undang serta perubatan dan akan mengamalkan bidang masing-masing dengan ikhlas semata-mata kerana Allah?   Sudah tentu tidak.

Maka, kenapa akal kita menjadi buntu bila berhadapan dengan hujah sarjana kelulusan agama bahawa mereka dan hanya mereka sahaja yang diiktiraf oleh Allah untuk mengupas hal-hal berkaitan dengan Islam? Sarjana-sarjana Muslim silam dan pemikir Muslim silam yang hebat sumbangan mereka tidak bersikap sedemikian dan bersikap amat merendah diri sekali.

Berbalik kepada ungkapan “agama suku dan politik suku” yang merupakan sedutan ucapan Presiden PAS Ustaz Abdul Hadi Awang pada 7 april 1981 di Kampung Benggol, Peradong, Kuala Terangganu.

“Percayalah saudara-saudara sekelian,

“ Kita tidak perlu masuk Buddha, Kita tidak perlu masuk Hindu, Kita tidak perlu masuk Kristian, Tapi kita menjadi kafir dengan mengamalkan 'politik suku, agama suku'”.

Memang saya setuju jika ada sesiapa yang mengatakan bahawa didalam politik, kita harus ketepikan ukuran-ukuran atau prinisp-prinsip Al-Quran itu adalah tidak benar. Al-Quran itu adalah Al-Furqan atau pembeda atau pengukur yang harus digunakan oleh setiap Muslim dalam segenap kehidupannya.  Muslim wajib menggunakan ukuran “Islam” dalam kegiatan politik. NAMUN, ia tidaklah harus memperalatkan atau memutarbelitkan ajaran-ajaran Allah untuk tujuan politik semata-mata. Ia juga tidak harus bertindak sebagai seorang Firaun yang memaksa fahaman agamanya keatas orang lain. Ia juga tidak harus berkelakuan seperti “sounds like Islam, looks like Islam but it is not Islam” dan kemudiannya memaksa orang lain menerima fahamannya!

“Katakanlah, "Masing-masing sedang menunggu; maka tunggulah, dan sesungguhnya kamu akan mengetahui siapakah orang-orang yang di atas jalan yang datar, dan siapa yang mendapat petunjuk." (Quran: 20:135)

Memandangkan inilah firman Maha Mengetahui, mengapa pula kita manusia manusia kerdil mahu mendabik dada sebagai “pejuang Islam” dengan terus menghukum orang lain tanpa penilaiaan, tanpa hikmah? Memang “Kita tidak perlu masuk Buddha, Kita tidak perlu masuk Hindu, Kita tidak perlu masuk Kristian” untuk jadi kafir. Orang yang lebih bahaya daripada kesemua ini ialah orang-orang munafik yang nampak, yang bercakap, yang berpakaian seperti kita tetapi bukan dari kita. Orang-orang munafik ini sanggup selawat keatas Nabi serta bersyahadah bahawa “Muhamad adalah Rasul Allah”semata-mata untuk mencapai tujuan duniawai mereka. Walaupun mereka mengucapkan syahadah ini, mereka bukan lah Muslim.

“Apabila orang-orang munafik datang kepada kamu, mereka berkata, “Kami mempersaksikan bahawa kamu benar-benar rasul Allah.” Dan Allah mengetahui bahawa kamu adalah benar-benar rasul-Nya, dan Allah mempersaksikan bahawa orang-orang munafik adalah benar-benar pendusta-pendusta” (Quran 63:1)

Maka ungkapan-ungkapan yang bunyi sebagai pandai dan “Islamik”, terutama yang diluahkan diatas pentas politik tidak semestinya menepati prinsip prinsip yang terkandung didalam Al-Quran. Begitu juga janganlah kita begitu mudah teruja dengan ceramah yang dipenuhi dengan bahasa Arab tanpa menilainya terlebih dahulu. Jika kepetahan bahasa Arab itu ukuran utama untuk beriman maka semua orang Arab akan menjadi orang-orang yang beriman dan tanah air orang-orang Arab itu akan menjadi model ikutan seluruh dunia. Ini tidak berlaku sehingga kini selain daripada huru hara politik dan penindasan rakyat marhain di Negara-negara Arab.  Seringkali ceramah-ceramah ini bertujuan untuk melanjutkan pengaruh dan kedudukan ulapol-ulapol didunia ini walaupun ianya dipakej dalam balutan agama.

“Dan antara manusia, ada yang ucapannya terhadap kehidupan dunia menarik hati kamu, dan dia bersaksikan Allah atas apa yang di dalam hatinya, padahal dialah yang paling degil dalam pertengkaran” (Quran 2;204)

Saya percaya pengaruh ulapol-ulapol serta peranan ulamak-ulamak agama yang jumud semakin menurun dengan peningkatan pengetahuan Muslim terhadap ajaran Al-Quran. Sebenarnya saya dapati semakin ramai umat Muslim di Malaysia semakin meluat dengan ulapol-ulapol dan beberapa ulamak agama yang bersikap sebagai pemonopoli ajaran Allah seolah-olah mereka akan berserta masuk kedalam kubur orang lain untuk menjawap bagi pihak mereka.   Sikap sombong mereka yang berkelakuan sebagai gedung ilmu muktamad juga berbahaya dan bertentangan dengan ajaran Allah didalam Al-Quran:

"Katakanlah, "Sekiranya laut adalah dakwat untuk Kata-Kata Pemeliharaku, tentulah laut itu habis sebelum Kata-Kata Pemeliharaku habis, walaupun Kami mendatangkan pengisian semula yang serupa dengan itu." (Quran: 18:109)

Ulamak-ulamak agung masa lampau merupakan cendekiawan yang cinta pada ilmu dan berusaha mengupas secara ikhlas maksud ayat-ayat Al-Quran serta mengkaji hadis-hadis yang diperolehi. Namun, mereka tidaklah berani meletakkan diri mereka sebagai Maha Mengetahui kerana mereka akur kepada hakikat bahawa ilmu yang dimiliki manusia sentiasa terhad berbanding dengan tidak terbatasnya ilmu milikan Allah. Maka ulamak agung masa lampau beriman kepada ayat berikut:-

“Yang mendengar perkataan, dan mengikuti yang paling baik daripadanya, mereka itulah orang-orang yang Allah memberi petunjuk kepada mereka; mereka itu, merekalah orang-orang yang mempunyai minda” (Quran 39:18).

Sekiranya PAS diukur berdasarkan Al-Quran, saya percaya akan jelas bahawa PAS bukanlah suatu harakah yang memperjuangkan ajaran-ajaran Islam selain daripada menjadi parti politik yang bermain dengan senitmen agama. Perkara ini amat mudah dibuktikan dengan merujuk kepada sumbangan PAS selama 50 tahun lebih kepada Negara serta membandingkannya dengan ajaran-ajaran dalam Al-Quran.Cuba ahli-ahli PAS merenung soalan-soalan berikut dengan hati yang terbuka:-

1)      Apakah sumbangan PAS terhadap meningkatkan martabat wanita serta menghentikan pelabagai penindasan ekonomi, social dan undang-undang yang dihadapi oleh kaum hawa ini?

2)      Adakah suatu “tamadun” atau pembangunan manusia yang boleh dibanggakan dilahirkan diKelantan sehingga kini?

3)      Apakah sumbangan PAS terhadap keharmonian rakyat Malaysia yang berbilang bangsa dan agama?

4)      Apakah sumbangan PAS terhadap hak-hak binatang dan alam semula jadi dimana seorang Muslim sedar bahawa semua itu pertanggungjawapkan diatas bahu seorang Muslim?

5)      Apakah sumbangan PAS terhadap pembangunan undang-undang yang adil didalam Negara ini? Pernahkah mereka mengwujudkan satu jawatankuasa untuk mengkaji samada undang-undang “sibil” itu bertepatan dengan prinsip prinsip Islam, umpamanya atau mengambil sikap simplistik bahawa segala gala yang datang daripada tanah air Arab atau Parsi itu semestinya “syariah” yang konsisten dengan Islam?

6)      Apakah sumbangan PAS terhadap meningkatkan fahaman Addeen Allah (Islam) dikalangan umat Muslim dalam Negara ini?

7)      Apakah sumbangan PAS didalam perpaduan atau keharmonian dikalangan umat Muslim dalam Negara ini?

8)      Apakah sumbangan PAS didalam bidang ekonomi, pendidikan, keadilan, perancangan pengangkutan, pentadbiran baik dsb dalam Negara ini?

Saya boleh senaraikan banyak lagi soalan kepada parti ini yang sekian lama bermain silap mata dengan rakyat yang kurang arif dalam Al-Quran kononnya “membangun bersama Islam”. PAS harus faham bahawa bukan sahaja “politik suku, agama suku” itu boleh menimbulkan pertikaian, namun “macam-macam lain suku, agama suku” juga boleh dipertikaikan.  

Sebenarnya PAS harus tukar namanya kepada Parti Agama Semalaysia kerana ia begitu licik bermain dengan sentimen agama untuk kepentingan politik.

Salam.

(Saya percaya dan berdoa supaya sahabat-sahabat saya didalam PAS tidak tersinggung dengan tulisan saya diatas kerana tujuan saya bukanlah untuk menyinggung. Sekali lagi saya mengulangi, saya kenal sahabat sahabat dalam PAS yang cuba sedaya upaya untuk menjalankan kehidupan mereka berlandaskan ajaran ajaran Allah.  Maka artikel ini bukan ditujukan kepada mereka. Namun, Jika tidak setuju dengan pandangan saya diatas, harap kemukakan pandangan alternatif untuk renungan kita bersama)