2011 UNITED NATIONS 66th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

I am glad I went to the 66th Anniversary celebrations of the United Nations today at the Renaissance Hotel in my capacity as an executive member of the International Movement for  just World (JUST).

Mr Kamal Malhotra, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Malaysia delivered a good and comprehensive speech. I was touched by the piano performances by  autistic children, one as young as 7 years old who played "We are the world'. These children were trained by a very talented young man, Mr Brian John Yim, who himself delivered an excellent piano piece at the event. These performances by autistic children tends to educate people on autism. I was explaining autism to a few people  who did not know  what it is later because I have some experience dealing with such children.

In the speech by Mr Kamal Malhorta,  he congratulated the Prime Minister of Malaysia for doing away with the emergency proclamations so that "Malaysia can return to the normal operation of the constitutional system". He noted that "Democracr is clearly linked with a set of essential rights, liberties and opportunities must necessarily exist. For democratic proceses to gain ground and be sustained, such rights, freedoms and opportunities must necessarily exist".

 Without a doubt, the United Nations, though it had always suffered various criticisms from diverse groups, continues to give hope to the world that it can unite countries with a common purpose.

The whole world is facing diverse challenges from economics to weather and as the United Nations Secretary General has said, "in these turbulent times, there is only one answer: unity of purpose".

All the UN member countries have to have that sense of unity and the will to face the challenges ahead to make this world a better place.

Peace !

Peace !

Why Drag Lim Guan Eng's Son into Politics?

I really do not know whether it is true or not personally. YAB Lim Guan Eng has denied it. The school apparently has denied it too.

I am not really concerned with the truth or otherwise of the allegation here. If it is false, then the allegations are defamatory, evil and highly immoral.

Assuming it it true,  it gives rise to several important issues and reflects upon the political ethics and culture that our country has.

What is the relevance of a 16 year old boy's misadventure with the leader's standing or lack of it? Does it mean that if your children are "bad", you are bad too and that you must have failed as a father or a leader? Admittedly, there are cases where the children's misadventure may reflect on the parent's negligence. However, it is not always the case.
 
Every reasonable person should know this particularly a Muslim.

The Quran relates histories and events that show that the misadventure of a sibling or a child does not reflect on the parent.

Prophet Abraham was a believer while his father was an idolator (Quran 19:46 to 47). The stark difference in faith did not lead Prophet Abraham to curse or hate his father. Muslims do not judge Abraham by the faith of his father. In fact, Abraham is held up as a good example of a man of faith (Quran 16:120)

Prophet Noah embarked on to the Ark but his son did not believe him and had refused to heed his command. (Quran: surah 11 verses 42 to 43). Do we judge Noah as a weak prophet because he was unable to convince his own son? Therein is a lesson for those who have total faith in Allah and serve Allah only (not political interests).

Prophet Lut is held up in high esteem by the Muslims and Allah relates of what happened to his wife who was among the disbelievers. Allah did not save her from the calamity that befell Lut's people (Quran  11:81). No Muslim will ever judge Lut by his wife's disbelief.

The Quran liberates the human mind from such evil traps of judging one individual by the act of another.  However, when we serve gods like politics other than Allah, we fall into such traps too. The Satan whispers and fitnah (defamation) becomes alluring.

Let us leave the 16 year old boy alone.

Lets salvage politics from the sewerage it has gone into.

Peace.

End Of Gaddafi, Victory for US, Britian and French Businesses

Now that we are told that Muamar Gadaffi, who was famous for his third theory "The Green Book" has been "successfully" killed by the NATO forces, one has to ponder again - this is whose victory?

Unlike Egypt which saw a popular uprising, were there any signs of these in Libya? The manner in which "stability was restored" in Libya is starkly reminiscent of how "stability" was restored in Iraq - by destruction of building and killing of thousands of lives by the military might of three powerful nations.

Very soon we are going to hear "efforts at restoring" Libya and its economy. The very State that was destroyed by the conquerors will be "redeveloped" by them. Good business.

What about the Libyans?

When will this game of conquering countries that are rich in natural resources ever end?

Peace !

Murtad Dan Bandar Oxford

Oleh Prof Madya Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

"Saya menganggap Bandar Oxford ini jauh lebih indah dari kebanyakan bandar lain di UK dan Eropah, termasuk London. Bahkan tiada bandar yang seumpamanya di dunia muslim kita. Ia sebuah bandar ilmu. Kebanyakan mereka yang sibuk berjalan pantas di jalan-jalan Oxford ini ialah pelajar, pengajar dan pengkaji.

Lebih empat puluh kolej ilmu bersejarah lagi berprestij di bandar ini. Penuh sejarah, penuh sumbangan melahirkan tokoh-tokoh besar. Bandar ini penuh dengan aktiviti ilmu di sana-sini setiap hari; seminar, diskusi, forum dan pelbagai. Dalam pelbagai perkara dan bidang, yang mungkin sebahagiannya terlarang dalam negara kita disebabkan unsur ke’jais’an kita. Amat rugi jika ada sesiapa yang datang ke sini tetapi tidak mengambil peduli tentang aktiviti ilmu yang pesat."

Anda harus membaca artikel sepenuhnya dengan klik disini.

Salam.

Pawns on the Chessboard

Those who wrote about these things never really “succeeded” in the normal worldly sense. They never made the pot of gold which they could, judging by their intelligence and perceptive ability. They were either written of as mad people by the majority or made to be seen as insane by the powerful institution. Either way, it is business as usual for those who fear to b exposed.

Who are these people? Other than “mad” or “insane”, they have been labeled as “poets”, “conspiracy theorists”, “philosophers” or just plain trouble makers.

For example, if I was to tell you that in the capitalistic democratic society, your choices have actually been well pre-planned for you, you will certainly call me a nut case. You will point to many of your own personal experiences where you actually find that you actively make choices. You just went to the supermarket and bought the groceries that you choose. You bought the car that you wanted with the loan from the bank that you chose.  

You even chose the type of house that you wanted win the location that you chose. 

And you will tell me many more of your experiences just to shut me up and prove me wrong – that you actually have choices and that you actively make those choices.

Well, let me ask you this – if you create a maze with only five exits, and then you place two white mice into it.  One of the mice comes out of exit A and the other exit D, would it make any sense for the mice to argue that the each made their own choices which exit to come out from? Possibly, we could grant the mice that. They did make a choice. However, did they have the choice of being in the maze or having to chose only from 5 exits or even the structure of the nature?

NO. I am not talking about divine determination. That is completely another thing. I am talking about the act of determining how you live by a select powerful and very wealthy few.  That your lives are purely accidental and consequential to theirs.  

Let me ask you this and please put the so called market forces argument aside. Did you actually have a say in the supermarket, the roads, the houses, etc, etc that is affecting your lives and your families?

Did you vote that the houses that are being build and at those prices are exactly what you wanted?

I suppose you cannot really confidently say that you thought out or agree to the bank loan system of house ownership and the kind of health care that we have? And the list goes on.

I have not even talked about whether you have a choice over your beliefs.

Sit back and honestly think to your self – how much choice did you exert in shaping the environment that we live in?

Can you even dream of doing that? 

Madness !!!

Peace.