Critical Thoughts

It is good to read this report from TMI which quotes the PAS President at the 57th Muktamar 2011 reaffirming the Islamic ideology that, contrary to the munaafiqun secularists’ claims, Islam and politics are one. There is no such thing as “separation of state and religion” where Islam is concerned, it just does not enter into the Muslim psyche at all.

“Umno only wants to retain power and not uphold the Malays and Islam because Umno Malays still support Barisan Nasional even when PAS candidates contest against the MCA and MIC but many non-Malays have shown their commitment to PAS by voting for our candidate,” he said.

He added that it was PAS’s responsibility to continuously introduce the teachings of Islam to the people and free them from the shackles of ignorance and political injustice.

“Allah has demonstrated that all nations that have held steadfast to Islam have become leading nations in the world… While Muslims from any nation that have left Islam even though rich became destructive, cruel, weak and are not qualified to lead and eventually will be destroyed,” he said.

To me, this is the biggest difference between UMNO and PAS. UMNO is (mis)using Islam to achieve political power, whereas PAS uses politics for Islam’s gain.

Published recently on The Malaysian Insider. This is my story.

If the principles of jus soli were strictly enforced in the country, I wouldn’t even be registered as a citizen of Malaysia. Thirty-one years ago, my father was working for a multinational corporation based in the Sillicon Valley and he brought his young bride along. I suppose I was conceived during this time. I was born in San Jose, California in the United States.

I even have a US birth certificate and a US passport (expired in 1988) to boot. The US recognises dual citizenship so I have no doubt that I am already recognised as a citizen of the US. But because my parents had the foresight to register me at the US Embassy in Washington, DC using Borang W, I became a Malaysian citizen at birth. My father could have made the decision to stay. But he didn’t. He came home to Malaysia with his family in tow.

I grew up in a middle-class family and was for most of my life based in Penang, having been enrolled into a private school (Sekolah Sri Inai). The majority of students were non-Muslim Chinese, I was only one of the very few Muslim students around in the whole school.

Regardless, I had a lot of inter-racial contact and I count a lot of non-Muslims and Muslims alike as among my closest friends during this time period. Back when we were children, the issue of race and religion did not count for much, not even during the 1990s.

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I have been keeping a low-profile where online Islamic activism is concerned throughout 2010, due to the running of my online internet business as well as preparing for my marriage. The latter has been successfully completed and the former is stable enough for me to make a formal return to the online Islamic scene. For months I have not said anything about this fraudster, liar and charlatan who calls himself mahaguru58. I had the most unfortunate experience of knowing this character between 2006 – 2008, but I did not realise the malevolence behind his charade of “Islamicity” or how it would play out in the end.

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The effects of UMNO rule due to secularism, no doubt.

10 couples caught naked daily on Terengganu beaches

KUALA TERENGGANU: As many as 10 couples are caught daily by anti-vice volunteers along the Tok Jembal and Teluk Ketapang beaches, which are increasingly becoming favourite haunts for sexual trysts.

Many of them are said to be students from institutes of higher learning.

A volunteer, who requested anonymity, said most of the couples were caught “doing it” behind coconut trees, rocks, inside cars and even openly on the beaches.

“For non-Muslim couples, we could only advise them on the sensitivity of their action to the locals but Muslims caught will be produced before the Syariah Court,” he said.

He said anti-vice officers would go to places identified as “hot spots” to catch the culprits in the act.

“We listen for sounds of heavy breathing and kissing.

“We then move in and aim our torchlights on the couples. In most cases, they are caught naked.”

The officer said the procedure was to wait awhile before approaching the couples so as to get evidence for prosecution purposes.

“I have daughters and I feel sorry for the parents of these couples,” he said, adding that the youngsters had betrayed the trust of their folk who hoped their children would excel in their education.

And I feel sorry that after all the good the previous PAS state government did for the state, Terengganu will now have to drop that “Iman” word and consider a name-change.

This is a reminder to the leaders of my political party to be always be wary of the “old guard” from DAP. It is true that currently we are together in an alliance called Pakatan Rakyat, and I would not have it any other way. The other alternative would be to join the ultra-racist party called United Malays National Organisation, and we certainly cannot have that! However, at the same time, there are idiots in the Demons After Power people which are full of people inclined towards Islamophobia. But I’ve always believed that those “enemies” are almost always more honest than the so-called “friends” who hide their keris behind their backs in order to wait for the opportunity to stab you from behind.

As the saying goes, “keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer”.