| Muslim students, challenge yourselves! |  |  |  |
| Posted by admin | |
| Monday, 07 January 2008 13:48 | |
| An introduction to a speech on "student idealism" delivered at the annual gathering of the Malaysian and Indonesian Muslim students in Washington D.C., USA., December 2007. (PART 1) A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE Assalamualikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Peace and Blessings to all of you. May Allah Bless our gathering and grant us wisdom and serenity amidst this increasingly chaotic world in which the powerful amongst us continue to trample over the powerless. May we see this trend reversed, in our lifetime. I thank you for inviting me to me speak on something which makes me feel twenty years younger – on "student idealism", on what is it, and what to do with it. I love the word "idealism". It brings us right to what the Greek philosopher Plato said about the difference between "forms" and "appearance". Of what the Hindus say about "Maya" and the troubled "yuga" in which Prince Rama would come back to bring salvation. A world in which the "rapper" and the "hip hopper" would say "for real…my dude?" Twenty year ago, when I was very young, when I was president of the Malaysian Student Association and then of the Southeast Asian Student Association in an American university in the Midwest, friends and I used to explore issues of what to do when we have ideals. Countless hours of dialogues amongst friends of all races and nationalities, coupled with our obsession with the topic of the impending collapse of the dreaded apartheid system in South Africa and the subsequent release of Nelson Mandela – hundred of hours of these — yielded in us some sense of idealism. We studied the secret mission, logic, and innerworkings of the American multinational corporations in propping up dictators around the world. We studied what President Dwight D. Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex". We were passionate about all these, blending what we learned in the classroom – knowledge gained from professors of the anti-Vietnam war era – with what we can possible do as "citizens of the world" imbued with the idea of universal human rights. The Internet and the World Wide Web was beginning to take shape. As you know, both were developed out of womb of the US Military – under a project called DARPA-NET. The Internet began with 5 computers talking to each others, sharing military intelligence. That was the consequence of the evolution of Cybernetics Theory. We read philosophy, politics, race theory, and radical sociology – to get a better grasp of what we mean by being a committed student of idealism. With two good friends of mine – one Chinese and one Indian, one a student of Engineering and the other of Philosophy and Psychology — we would have our summer midnight strolls along the man-made river across our campus – talking about issues and possible resolutions. Never had we thought that Malaysian politics would have gotten worse. We spoke up against racial discrimination, corruption, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. We spoke for equal opportunity and the respect for all cultures. We questioned almost everything, true to the meaning of academic freedom we were cultivated in. We were in America. We had the freedom to do that – speak at forums where Malaysian officials visit to speak of this or that program the government is doing. I remember on one occasion when Datuk Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was visiting the campus as Education Minister, we had to announce our name and our Identity Card (IC) number in public if we wanted to ask questions. That was way before Malaysian students all over the world had to sign the Surat Akujanji and be in an oath-taking ceremony to pledge loyalty to whoever the leader is and however he/she conducts himself or herself as a leader. Signing it, like many of us are beginning to experience, will take away your rights to seek outside help in case your fundamental rights as a citizen, under Article 10 is violated, as in the case of the student in UPM whose laptop was taken away. He was not allowed to seek the help of a lawyer. Have things changed these days? Especially in our public universities back home? Your guess is as good as mine. Your analyses too might be better than mine, since you are in contact with friends back home. How privileged you are to be able to sit in classrooms in your Liberal Arts and Social Science classes at Rutgers, Syracuse, Stevens, University of Chicago, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, etc. wherein your professor will never call in the Special Branch or the FBI or the SWAT team or the Ninja Turtles everytime he/she hears someone badmouthing President George Bush or any of the members of his family, including his dogs. America has its major flaws but democracy is constantly reinterpreted. We might even have the first woman president or even better, the first African American president from an Opposition party. This is something we can also look forward to in Malaysia – the radical changing of paradigms without much damage done to our national psyche. People here do not panic when there is a possible or imminent change in government. They just continue living and they cheer when a politician gets jailed for corruption and abuse of power. As long as the economy's fine, as long as the streets are safe, and they have a job, things move on. And now, America is excited about the prospect of electing Barack Obama as its first African-American president; one whose background and accomplishments is reflective of the emerging spirit of the "new multicultural America". We ought to learn from this: to celebrate the coming of a true "multicultural Malaysia" in which the "special rights of ALL Malaysians" should be fought for by all those who has laboured for this nation for fifty years. We can no longer remain a racialized nation. America is fed-up of the militarism of the Bush regime. Malaysians need to be fed up with the ethnocentricism of its political culture. Change -- radical change now -- is the word. This is the essence of American pragmatism one can learn from. As a nation being colonized by the British and as one which is founded upon the principles of a republic, Americans speak up for universal human rights as well. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere, as many Americans now believe. Democracy here is a "lived experience" permeating even in the lives of young children in the classroom in which children are encouraged to speak up, ask questions, or even disagree with the teachers. As students we must understand not only how fragile the world has always been but how changes happen across time and space. We are seeing exciting changes happening in Malaysia. No longer are people keeping silent — after 22 years of being silenced. The old regime is slowly crumbling, being deconstructed, making way for a newer world order in an age wherein change and complexity is the norm. Wealth and power are merely ephemeral constructs and very fragile these days. What happened to Marcos, Thaksin, the Shah of Iran, Suharto, or even John Howard of Australia can happen anywhere in the Asian state. Money and Machiavelli can't but happiness or political stability. Ethics and spirituality can do a better job. Never take stability for granted, nor geographical boundaries as constant. What happened to Singapore in 1965 can happen to Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, or even to the tiny kingdom of Perlis in 2025. We must be ready to manage change and perhaps direct its energy to our heart's desire, with Fate conspiring. In this postmodern world, anything is possible – boundaries shifting, the wealthy and the powerful hunted down for corruption and finally jailed for life, campuses and classrooms becoming an arena for free-flowing exchange of ideas however radical and ridiculous these ideas may be. We might even see all forms of university programs that teach racism through indoctrination and singing outdated propaganda songs about a child playing with fire, banned. We might even see politically-appointed educational leaders removed and replaced by those interested in freeing our universities. We might even see students of all races sit together during lunch breaks and at dinner tables, talking about how to feed to poor of all races and how best to build a future postmodern republic that is founded upon peace, anti-elitism, virtue, social justice, and deeply meaningful inter-cultural understanding. I am a dreamer — after seeing many nightmares in broad daylight. It seems that we are living in two worlds – one that allows us to speak out our mind in this forum and not get hunted down, and one that makes us afraid to even think of how to express our idealism. This is the world of America on the one hand, and Malaya on the other. I call it Malaya because we are still a colony – colonized by ourselves and the structures we have allowed to be installed and become institutions and ultimately institutionalized and alienate us. Malaysia declared its Independence fifty years ago – but it remains a state that merely declared its Independence. Some say that we are evolving into a 'police state". It is up to you to characterize what this state means. In relation to all these then, what is an ideal Muslim student and the nature of idealism he/she embodies? How must he/she function in a world that demands not only racial and religious tolerance but a synthesis of ideas foundationed upon idealism whose flame will not be allowed die? How do we train ourselves to become what I call radical, world wise thinkers who must think like a social futurist? We shall explore this further. At the end of this talk I am more interested in how you come up with more radical questions than the responses to the propositions I made. Comments (14)  ... written by turun padang, January 07, 2008 19:11:50 We shall explore this further. At the end of this talk I am more interested in how you come up with more radical questions than the responses to the propositions I made. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Dr. As you put it, malaya not malaysia... do you actually think after 50 years of - acting without thinking, - divide and control, - your race against my race, - thou shall not ask (Akta Rahsia) - thou shall not act (ISA) - thou shall not think (Akta University) you actually think there will be someone here (in Malaysia) will actually put up a thinking cap & think or even dare to take up your challange? (I don't even dare to bet my money on 'if anyone in malaysia'- actually understand why they should ask questions to begin with) report abuse disagree 6 agree 11 ... written by macaufan, January 07, 2008 19:15:47 tompios, it's just a tip of d iceberg. there are more serious issues happening rgt here rgt now. as long as this umno regime is around, this regime will encourage & 'menghalalkan' all this racist action against others! even those muslim who are from PAS also 'kena kau-kau' hitting fr umno regime too ! it's time for all malaysian to stand up & unite to topple this corrupted umno regime & gomen change by this coming GE. report abuse disagree 5 agree 11 ... written by Dominic, January 07, 2008 21:00:07 Malaysia is truly amazing! We have the best brains and we too have the brain of a `mad dog`,one that only know how to bite at any slightest distraction! Unfortunately the best are left in the closets instead of putting to good use . We are doing the exact opposite of our Singapore counterpart. No wonder they are always better off than us. There`s so much the politicians can do if ONLY they have the interests of the ordinary rakyat at heart. No matter how much criticism we poke at them ,they wl still be around playing their brand of politics. Unless and until we all spread words around especially the rural folks on why they must vote the Bn out and in with the opposition,there`s no point in posting articles after articles. Please ,please Mr president of DAP,PAS,PKR, please do something now before its too late. For the sake of our future and that of our childern,forge ahead with a united opposition and bring down those `satan`. Their quality as a leader is MINUS ZERO..good only to tame the wild crocodile!!!! report abuse disagree 5 agree 8 ... written by wongnoball, January 07, 2008 21:52:53 Dear Dr. Azly Rahman, I am not a graduate. But as far as I am concerned, if I am not handicapped or mentally retarded, I wouldn't look for any special hand-out or privilege, because that is very SHAMEFUL as far as my culture is concerned. Those graduates from the State must be the cream of all the Bumiputra. However, once they come back to Malaysia, I am not surprised that most of them will still follow the model of our national son-in-law. May be that is the exclusive characteristic of our BOLEH culture lah.  report abuse disagree 6 agree 7 ... written by Bunda, January 08, 2008 15:11:43 Dear Dr Azly, Like yourself, I too was a student in the US 20 years ago. There were only 5 Malaysians on campus, but we had a vibrant International Student Body. It appears that only in America did I see a Palestinian and an Israeli sitting together having makan. We Malaysians too were more muhibbah, and no issue was considered too sensitive for rationale discussion. When one chap blithely declared that all the problems in Malaysia were caused by a certain race, you can imagine the thumping he got from everyone else to show evidence of this chauvinistic view. Needless to say, this young ciku, then a freshman, chose his words more carefully and wisely. But, you are right. The US and Malaya are two very different countries. When the bruhaha about Malaysians living in trees was published in an encyclopedia, my professors actually asked us if this was true. Being true Malaysians, we said with a straight face, "Yes, of course, we live in tress. However, we do have carpeting, piped water, air-conditioning, and satelite TV." They, of course, knew that we were pulling their legs. Imagine if we did that in a Malaysian univsersity... the student would be pulled up for sedition at the very least.  report abuse disagree 5 agree 11 ... written by sharkpitt, January 11, 2008 17:31:52 written by Tompios, January 07, 2008 | 17:22:18 Dear Dr. Azly Rahman, That is a truest spirit of Islam. One week ago, a friend of mine lost her job in UITM. It is painful experience for her since the department coordinator gave her thoudsands job's security promises. But then, she got a letter telling her to stop teaching. Why? Because, she is not a Muslimah... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- MasyaAllah,how sad.for some reason i do feel that uitm is insensitive.there is this one billboard citing uitm as the last defence for bumiputera...something like benteng terakhir memartabatkan bumiputera....though i was once a student mind you,i don't feel belonged and i don't fit in.i just felt that they are trying too hard to mold you into this robot melayu thing majiggy.not even as muslims first.melayu first.....erk!tak minat sih.muslims are tolerant people.malay ultras?go ask UMNO goons. oh and fahmi reza http://10tahun.blogspot.com/ have just published the people's constitution vs federal consitution.and i you haven't watched the inspiring short documentary...man!which planet are you from? report abuse disagree 5 agree 5 ... written by charcoy feng, January 14, 2008 16:59:17 Dear Dr Azly, You and RPK will be the essence of changes to come..... If it ever happens. report abuse disagree 7 agree 0 ... written by Fart Fart Wah, January 22, 2008 13:18:35 AS LONG AS POLITICS IS MIXED UP WITH ISLAM...IT IS GOING TO BE A DING DONG THING... YOU CAN SEE THE RESULT IN THE OTHER ISLAMIC COUNTRIES... oNE GOOD EXAMPLE IS SPAIN WHICH WAS A MUSLIM COUNTRY ONCE..TODAY ITS GDP IS HIGER THAN THE ARAB MUSLIM STATES..WHY???? IF A TUDONG WITH A VERY TIGHT SKIRT AND PANTS MAKES YOU A MUSLIM?? COME AND SEE OUR SEXY MALAY STUDENTS...THE TUDONG IS OUT AT NIGHT AND YOUSEE THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE.. YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE LEADERS WHO USE ISLAM TO CLING TO POWER...AND THE PEOPLE MUST NOT BE AFRAID OF THE MUFTIS AND THE ULAMAS. RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE CAN BE LEARNT ...UNLESS THE MUSLIM IS STUPID.. YOU MUST LEARN TO QUESTION YOUR LEADERS AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS TOO...AS CAN BE SEEN THEY ARE NOT THE ONES DYING IN SUICIDE BOMBS...ASK..OSAMA TO BE A SUICIDE BOMBER...CAN HE??? POWER CORRUPTS...IT IS NOT MONEY ONLY...SO RELIGIOUS POWER ALSO CORRUPTS SUCH POWER MUST BE CONTAINED AND QUESTIONED. IF NOT YOU HVE FATWAS...ONE AFTER THE OTHER AND THE ISSUE OF HALAL THIS AND HALAL THAT... IN THE 1960S AND 1970S MUFTIS AND ULAMAS WERE PEOPLE WHO SAW THAT MANKIND WAS ONE..NOT BROKEN INTO SEGMENTS..LIKE WHAT IS BEING DONE NOW...BLOODY FOOLS.. report abuse disagree 2 agree 6 ... written by Task Force 101, January 25, 2008 09:50:28 Great. JUst great. Here we are in MT and across the country slowly as Msians trying to bridge the gap betw Muslims and Non-Muslims, all racesa, along comes THE BIGGEST CHICKEN S**T. Why did not say, Msian students challenge yourselves. I know your audience are Muslim students but you should have at least indicated that you do not see religion! Listen, if you feel so much for your country, turun padang la. COme down to the battefield called Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Melaka and Kota Bahru la. Stop sitting in your little house in DC, walking at the Reflecting Pool, Jefferson Memorial or the Smithsonian to get inspiration and tell us in the battle field what to do. Why did you not write, Msian students challenge yourself? Why are you such a religious bigot? Why are you still playing the same song of UMNO which we as Msians are trying to erase and bring a new way of thinking not along racial or religious lines. Azly, if you have anything betw your head and your legs and love this country, then turun padang sekarang. Kini masanya! report abuse disagree 0 agree 6 ... written by Malas-yu, January 25, 2008 19:03:53 Students donot accept blindly the religion you are taught. Three examples: Mufti Salim Ahmed Qasmi has issued a fatwa against the Indian actor Salman Khan. It is because Salman had permitted Madame Tussaud, the world famous wax museum in London, to display a wax work of him. Mufti Qasmi is the head of the Diodand Seminary in India. He says that it is against Sharia Law. This is from the head of a religious school. His students will accept this fatwa because they dare not question. A fatwa was also imposed on Sania the Indian Ladies Champ for playing tennis. Look like the Indian muslims are also enemies of Islam. A Muslim book shop assistant in UK refused to serve a customer because the customer bought a Bible saying that it was against her religion. The common denominator in all these cases is Islam rather than the people of the three nationalities. They accepted blindly a version of Islam. The list is endless. So it is the religion rather than the people. Decide what is wrong with these types of people and don't be like them. Stop Malaysia becoming a land of Body-snatchers and Moral Police and Thought Police. Stand up for equality for all in Malaysia who have contributed its development and not discrimination in favour of the majority. Put on your thinking caps. Be students not dummies. report abuse disagree 1 agree 1 ... written by Dr Azly Rahman, January 26, 2008 05:55:11 Dear "Task Force", Your point well taken. The speech can also begin with "MALAYSIAN students, challenge yourselves... learn from the beauty of each others' religion". Each speech text nonetheless is tailored to its own unique audience. The philosophy is simple though: do not think like a racist nor a religious bigot. Each one too struggles differently to spread the message of peace, tolerance, social justice and harmony. I chose to write from far. I'm only good at this. report abuse disagree 0 agree 0 ... written by Yen Moy, January 26, 2008 07:28:09 Muslim students challenge yourselves. The Malay muslim can't do it. They will never able to do with the current status quo. Once a blue moon they may get the best out of a Malay individual and only to be snapped up the West or corrupted to the core. From my understanding the Goverment has been assisting the Malays since May 13 it does not matter the rich or the poor Malays. What happen if you keep feeding them? No they not lazy I disagree to that. The Malays have forgotten how to hunt and the killer instinct is gone. Look at the chineses or the Indians, are they bunch of crooks? Yes because they are good hunters they camouflaged to the background with a killer instinct so to survive. So the Chineses and the Indians need not more encouragement it is now in-built on them the minute they are born. CAN THE MALAY MUSLIM STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA CHALLENGE THAT? BRING IT ON. report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by CatV5, January 30, 2008 16:10:34 Yen Moy I second you. Those new generations need to be trained just like the lion train her cub. The problem is the lion and the cub is at a Malay government zoo, always got fed, no need to hunt.. That zoo must be destroyed first. report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 Write comment This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comment. You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet. |
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That is a truest spirit of Islam. One week ago, a friend of mine lost her job in UITM. It is painful experience for her since the department coordinator gave her thoudsands job's security promises. But then, she got a letter telling her to stop teaching. Why? Because, she is not a Muslimah. Country like Malaysia will always has first class citizen and it is Moslem. Think? What happen to the government hospital during Hariraya puasa in 2006? Is it almost cramp, right? Why? Most of the workers are Moslem. This is only one example. I think most new intake for government servants are Moslem. Non-Moslem applicators 90% rejected!!