HANTU H1N1 DAN IMAGINASI MANUSIA

Oleh – Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Salam, kepada para bloggers dan pembaca blog syok sendiri ini!

Imaginasi manusia itu merupakan suatu kuasa yang cukup menakjubkan!

Cara dan kaedah kita menggunakannya itu, bergantung kepada individu itu sendiri. Jika imaginasi itu bersifat “syok sendiri”, ianya mungkin membawa kepada jalan yang agak diragukan.

Namun, ada juga imaginasi yang dibangunkan berdasarkan kepada inspirasi dan juga keinginan untuk melihat masyarakat dan bangsa itu diinjakkan darjatnya ke tahap yang lebih tinggi.

Saya tergerak untuk berbincang mengenai imaginasi ini berdasarkan kepada satu sebab, iaitu rasa ralat dan jelik melihat terlalu banyak drama dan filem yang diterbitkan di Malaysia ini, ratanya berkisarkan kepada kisah seram (baca hantu dan dunia ghaib) dan lain-lain.

Mungkin ramai yang akan berhujah kita diharuskan percaya kepada benda-benda halus. Benar, tetapi aqal yang dikurniakan Tuhan kepada kita juga menyuruh kita berfikir dengan logik, apakah kita perlu tunduk kepada benda halus atau sebaliknya?

Mungkin ramai yang akan berhujah menyebutkan tentang hukum hakam mahupun Rukun Iman. Bagi saya, mereka ini sekadar ingin “menghalalkan” apa yang difikirkan dan ditegakkan oleh mereka selama ini, iaitu wujudnya “entiti” atau kata lain hantu dan makhluk halus!

Saya tidak menafikan bahawa makhluk halus ini wujud. Malah, ianya berada di depan saya, semasa saya sedang menulis pojok ini.

Ianya keluar dan masuk ke dalam tubuh saya, tidak lain tidak bukan ialah udara! Tidak juga ketinggalan kuman dan pelbagai lagi spesis halus yang ada disekeliling kita.

Selain daripada itu, kuman H1N1 yang merupakan salah satu daripada "makhluk halus" yang sudah nyata merbahaya telah kembali menganggu masyarakat kita, seperti yang dilaporkan di sini.

Masyarakat kita pada kelazimannya, lebih takut dan gentar kepada sesuatu yang diwujudkan oleh imaginasi mereka (baca hantu!) dan langsung tidak gentar dengan “hantu” H1N1 ini. Para peniaga misalannya, mereka masih lagi mengamalkan pendekatan “tidak apa” di dalam menjaga kebersihan makanan yang dijual.

Hantu, makhluk halus dan H1N1. Semuanya kian mengganas. Hantu dan makhluk ganas ini hanya mengganas di dalam imaginasi kita, seperti watak Freddie Krueger dalam filem Nightmare in Elm Street (I don’t care whether its the new version or the old one!).

Namun kuman H1N1, mengganas di dalam diam dan jika tidak dijaga kesannya adalah amat lebih buruk dibandingkan dengan “hantu” di dalam imaginasi kita!

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection

THE MALAYSIAN MENTALITY TOWARDS PUBLIC AMENITIES

By – Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Salam, to fellow bloggers and readers of this fetish blog!

Let me be frank, I am quite skeptical towards the mentality of Malaysians, especially on their attitude towards public amenities.

More often than not, Malaysians with itchy fingers just love to destroy public property. There is a probability that these offenders might be suffering from mental disorder, we can’t even tell. Even then, there was a research being conducted on vandalism in Malaysia, to determine how bad the problem is!

When the Deputy Information, Commu¬nications and Culture Minister suggests that local museums should feature more interactive displays as reported here, all I could say is that this will lead to more quandary and problem!

There is no doubt that this is another way to increase the public interest to visit the museum (Imagine,  having to view in a 3D display, the final battle between Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat, Jose!) and for them to experience it first hand through the reenactment of the Pangkor Treaty via interactive display. Or, visitors are able to “interact” with the late Tunku through the marvelous technology of the hologram!

There are numerous ideas, opportunities to explore with and wonderful gizmos to enliven public to visit the museum and to understand history.

However, there is one point that will always remain unanswered; how to determine those equipments can still be fully functioned, a day after its launch?

This is something for us to ponder with.

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection

LESSON LEARNT IN MOVIE MAKING

By – Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Salam, to fellow bloggers and readers of this low esteem blog!

I have always enjoyed watching classical movies. Having said that, I wouldn’t go too far and declared myself a huge fan of Charleston Heston (though I enjoyed watching his acting in Planet of the Apes and the Tenth Commandments) or Clark Gable!

My favourite classical movies are basically the ones released during the late 60’s and 70’s. The late 60’s and the 70’s were considered by some as the era of development that help to create the popular culture. A lot of basic foundation for the present culture was molded from this timeline.

Anyway, more often than not I would go and visit the illegal DVD shops (let us all be honest for once and admit that we will never find the rare or interesting movies sold at the mainstream shops!) to look for the rare movies and have always been left frustrated with the result of my finding.

There are hardly any shops that have a catalogue of rare and classical movies sold in their place!

It is frustrating when the owner gave me a blank stare when I asked him movies such as American Graffiti (among the first movie directed by George Lucas and one of the earlier movies by Harrison Ford), Badlands (Charlie Sheen played the anti hero character for this one!), The Night of The Living Dead (the original version directed by the legendary zombie movie maker George Romero!), The Shootist, The Conversation and many more.

They sometimes can't even tell the difference between the title of a movie with the title of a game for the X-Box or PS3!

There have been quite a number of intellectual debates in Malaysia to determine whether movies are made merely for entertainment or with intellectual purposes. It is quite frustrating when there are Malaysians who still perceive that the movie making industry is something that can derive easy profit (or money making, Jose!) and have left out the esthetical value of art or whatever left in it!

A lot of hype has been said on 2 Alam, the first movie produced by DR Movie Production. I dared not said much about it. First of all I hardly know what the movie is all about as the synopsis and plot are very sketchy.

Secondly, I am worried that the so called Fenomena DR Rozmey might wash me off from the popular culture!

I kind of dislike with the way of promotion been potrayed in the media for that movie. It is merely an act of cheap publicity! We hardly even know how well the movie is under the helm of two unknown directors, Hairie Othman and Ed Zarith Z. Lokman. The former was known for his below average acting whilst the latter is the son of the famous director who can make movie just by a blink of an eye!

We need to be realistic sometimes and to study first the social needs. The producer has already made a mockery of himself when he decided to set upon his target of collecting RM12 million from the movie. It is quite intricate to reach the kind of collection with the present economic situation (people rather spend RM11 for a plate of rice) and the producer may need more than 2 Alam to achieve it!

Otherwise, the film will in the end find its fate on the same league with all of the failed movies ever made or produced in Malaysia.

The movie making industry is not only about making profit or gain popularity. It is a visual recorded document that will be viewed and carefully studied by future generation.

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection

PEMIKIRAN KREATIF

Oleh - Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Kadangkala, apabila kita terlalu memikirkan soal-soal logik kita akan mengabaikan pemikiran kreatif.

Tanpa pemikiran kreatif, kita tidak mampu keluar dari kepompong kelaziman. Maka mereka yang berfikiran kreatif tidak harus merasa rendah diri dan dipencilkan oleh masyarakat.

Ini termasuk mereka yang mempunyai kelayakan di dalam bidang seni, seperti saya!

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak mengakui bahawa Barisan Nasional tidaklah sekreatif dan progresif seperti yang dinyatakan di sini. Apa yang tepat ialah mereka yang berada di dalam bidang seni ini kadangkala mempunyai pemikiran yang lebih tajam dan lebih peka daripada orang lain!

Saya yakin, selepas ini akan ada golongan tertentu yang akan mula membuka mata dan telinga terhadap golongan “manusia” kreatif ini.

Saya yakin, akan ada juak-juak tertentu, di dalam usaha mereka untuk berada di dalam “radar” Perdana Menteri, mencadangkan supaya diwujudkan institut pemikiran kreatif atau lebih memberikan ruang yang luas kepada masyarakat berfikir secara kreatif.

Itulah lumrah, rasanya. Sudah terhantuk baru mengadah.

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection.

THE UNSANGKARABLE DEFEAT

By – Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Salam, to fellow bloggers and readers of this self pitiful blog!

The title above is actually a poor attempted humor by me on which it was originally taken from the word sangka or expect!

It has been a week of callous defeat for Barisan Nasional and for Malaysians generally!

The National Front a.k.a Barisan Nasional has lost its seat in the recent by election, held in Kuching, Sarawak. This is a major setback for BN as it was the first time they lost in Sarawak by election since their formation in 1974.

Our badminton national team had lost to China in the Thomas Cup tournament. To add salt to the wound, it happened on our own soil.

Whilst the latter lost was an expected one, especially when the Japanese team had successfully beaten our team to top the Group B spot in the tournament, the National Front had lost a seat which was considered a traditional seat for them and this was indeed an unexpected one!

In reality, BN can no longer enjoy the comfortable position they have been enjoying all this while in Sarawak, for that matter in Sabah as well!

The Prime Minister himself might have taken aback by the defeat in Sarawak, especially when he once claimed that both Sabah and Sarawak are BN’s “fixed deposit”. It was an unpleasant moment for him as he had to sit through and watched two humiliating defeat; the national badminton team being thrashed out to China in home ground and BN’s crush to DAP by a slim majority in Sarawak.

There are plenty of rooms and spaces for BN to win back the hearts and minds of Sarawakians, especially in identifying and determining major issues that causes them to desert them. Why is it, after so many years, the Chinese decided to reject BN?

Even during the political turmoil that had taken place during the 10th General Election where BN almost lost to the then Alternative Front (AF), it was the vote from the non Malays who had saved BN from being humiliated by the AF!

I quote a sentence from a poem written by the fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad; “What went wrong?”

I am neither a political analyst nor an expert in presenting economic analysis. But as a humble bystander, I believed that the politics of hate, installed by certain groups of people about the Government has slowly begun to bear fruit!

It might be a good moment for the Prime Minister and his cohorts to dwell with and to identify major issues that need prudent attention from the Government! Or perhaps the economic sluggish were one of the issues contributed to these trends of Chinese voting against the BN.

In order to boost the economy, more opportunities should be given to the non Malays with a hope that they will be able to accelerate back the economy performances.

Having said this, we must ensure that all are not lost to the Bumiputera if more rooms are given to the non Malays to exceed in their businesses.

By saying the statement above, some may find me a racist lot but for me, I stand to my words.

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection.

PRASANGKA

Oleh - Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Sejak kebelakangan ini, ramai orang mula memperkatakan mengenai intergriti Polis Diraja Malaysia.

Ada yang mempersoalkan mengenai ketelusan mereka, kesungguhan mereka di dalam membasmi jenayah dan tidak kurang yang mula merasa sangsi dengan kecekapan pihak Polis. Bagi saya, ini membayangkan bahawa kebarangkalian untuk orang ramai mulai hilang kepercayaan terhadap polis adalah amat tinggi sekali.

Bagi saya, kes Allahyarham Aminul Rashid yang telah ditembak mati oleh pihak polis baru-baru ini telah menambahkan lagi kebencian dan barangkali terhakis lagi kepercayaan orang awam terhadap polis.

Bagi saya, ini merupakan satu situasi yang amat-amat membimbangkan! Seandainya orang ramai sudah mula tidak percaya kepada pihak Polis ada juga kebarangkalian yang orang ramai akan mengambil keputusan sendiri bagi menyelesaikan sesuatu masalah.

Ini termasuk menjadi seperti seorang vigilante, atau dalam erti kata lain menjadi Paul Kersy, watak yang dipegang oleh Charles Bronson di dalam filem bersiri Death Wish. Paul Kersy telah mengambil keputusan untuk menjadi vigilante selepas keluarganya dibunuh oleh penjenayah dan disebabkan merasa bosan dengan kerenah birokrasi, beliau mengambil keputusan untuk “menghukum” penjenayah tersebut dengan caranya tersendiri.

Kita terpaksa menerima hakikat bahawa jenayah di Malaysia sekarang telah meningkat secara mendadak. Semakin banyak bandar-bandar baru dibuka, semakin banyak kes-kes jenayah berlaku. Ini termasuk dengan kebanjiran pendatang-pendatang halal dan haram ke Malaysia. Ia telah memburukkan lagi keadaan dan menjadikan keadaan ini semakin tidak terkawal.

Saya bukanlah meletakkan satu prasangka awal bahawa pendatang-pendatang ini merupakan punca kepada peningkatan kes jenayah di Malaysia. Tetapi hakikatnya, apabila kurangnya projek-projek yang dibangunkan, mereka yang kebanyakannya datang ke Malaysia bekerja di sektor tersebut terpaksa menjadi penyangak dan penyamun, demi untuk sesuap nasi.

Maka, pihak Polis terpaksa menjadi lebih berhati-hati di dalam mengawasi keselamatan kita. Setiap perkara yang mencurigakan ini akan ditangani dengan pelbagai “precaution” atau andaian. Dengan kata lain, segalanya bertindak berdasarkan kepada “worst case scenario”.

Ada masanya kita perlu meletakkan kaki kita di dalam kasut mereka, atau dalam bahasa lain; “putting our feet in their shoes” dan berfikir kembali, bukankah kita juga ada masanya bertindak atau mempunya prasangka terhadap orang yang tidak dikenali? Sebagai contoh, adakah kita akan menghentikan kereta jika kita melihat sebuah kereta yang rosak berhenti di tepi jalan dan menawarkan pertolongan kepada tuan punya kereta tersebut? Saya jangkakan tak mungkin ramai yang akan berkata ya.

Begitu juga, pada pendapat saya di dalam kes yang telah berlaku di Shah Alam baru-baru ini. Senarionya mudah, apabila sebuah kereta itu dipandu dengan keadaan yang agak merbahaya dan mencurigakan, tiada cara lain yang harus dilakukan melainkan terpaksa bertindak secara paksaan.

Di dalam kes Allahyarham Aminul ini, itulah yang telah berlaku.

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection.

A VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCES

By - Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Salam, to fellow bloggers and readers of this self proclaimed blog!

It has been awhile since the last time I posted my writing in this blog. I however, did notice a lot of incidents have taken place during my absence from the blogging world. What attracts my attention most was the news of the late Amirul Rashid Hamzah, a 15 year old boy who was shot dead by the authorities (i.e – the police).

The incident above was indeed an unwelcome one, both for the family of the victim and the police. None of this might happened if (just to make an assumption) Amirul had called up his parents first or any of his eldest siblings to follow and help his friend rather than taking the risk of driving the car without his parents’ consent!

I quote John Mc Clane, the anti hero character played by Bruce Willis in the Die Hard series; “Man! I am a guy at the wrong place and the wrong time” would be the perfect jargon to describe the whole scenario!

First of all, I would like to clearly state my stand on this incident where Amirul’s parent, the police force and the public should be put on blame.

We can’t put the entire blame on the police force as their reaction was based on the present circumstances. Anyone who is in that position would resort to necessary force to diffuse the present situation they are facing with. The police were responding based on a situation where the late Amirul was driving recklessly and this could jeopardize the safety of the public.

Aminul Rashid was a victim of circumstances. He was a boy who was at the wrong time and place. If we looked at the report made by his friend here, it is clearly showed that the late Amirul had a noble intention of helping his friend, who was having a problem with his bike. All the poor boy wanted to do was to pick up his friend and send him home.

According to the report, in the course of action Amirul had accidently grazed one of the cars parked there. When the owner of the car realized what had happened, he took a chase with Amirul, accompanied by his friends on motorcycles.

I strongly believed that the poor boy was more worried of his safety from the bunch of guys who was chasing him and feared that they might beat him!

The main problem that we are facing in hand is when the public tends to become a vigilante and will take action based on their own judgment!

I am sure we will be seeing the same case again and again in near future, for as long as the society refused to change their mindset, we will forever remain a victim of circumstances.

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection.

HULU SELANGOR: PENENTU KEPADA PERCATURAN MASA DEPAN?

TERKINI: BARISAN NASIONAL AKHIRNYA BERJAYA MENAWAN KEMBALI PARLIMEN HULU SELANGOR DENGAN MEMENANGI MAJORITI SEBANYAK 1,725 UNDI. 


Oleh - Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Salam, kepada para bloggers dan pembaca blog syok sendiri ini.

Hari ini, Ahad 25 April 2010 adalah hari penentuan. 

Penentuan kepada maruah dua pihak. Kepada semua retorik yang telahpun disampaikan.

Para pengundi di kawasan Hulu Selangor akan menentukan halatuju buat PKR dan juga BN. Ianya juga akan membentuk kepada scenario politik pada Pilihanraya Umum ke-13 kelak.

Pakatan Rakyat, biarpun telah mengadakan satu konvensyen mockup pada akhir tahun lepas masih lagi gagal meletakkan calon yang dilabelkan sebagai calon Pakatan Rakyat dan bukan calon PKR! 

Mungkin ianya nampak seperti remeh tetapi lihatlah dari sudut ini, apakah konflik yang berlaku di dalam PKR langsung tidak memberikan kesan kepada gabungan Pakatan Rakyat secara umumnya? Atau mungkin, pengundi langsung tidak melihat perkara ini dan hanya ingin melihat PKR sahaja yang menang?

Ianya perlu diambil kira dan dilihat secara teliti kerana pada akhir cerita, semua ini akan membantu di dalam menentukan apakah Pakatan Rakyat akan mampu membentuk kerajaan perpaduan (seperti yang digambarkan dan diwarwarkan) seandainya rakyat memilih mereka pada PRU13 atau akhirnya ianya sama seperti pakatan-pakatan terdahulu yang tidak lebih daripada a marriage of convenience?

BN, dalam masa yang sama harus menentukan apakah mereka berada di atas landasan yang betul atau perlu melakukan perubahan bagi menyempurnakan atau fine tuned visi dan misi mereka. Strategi lama seperti turun padang ini ada yang berkesan dan ada yang tidak. Terpulang kepada kawasan mana yang difokuskan.

Ada yang berpendapat, jika ingin mendapatkan bantuan yang sebenar-benarnya mereka hanya perlu menunggu menjelangnya pilihanraya umum atau kecil. Pada masa itulah segala masalah akan pasti beres!

Pengundi sekarang sudah semakin matang dan bijak. Itu, haruslah kita akui. Mereka mungkin atau tidak mungkin mengundi sesuatu pihak tetapi apa yang pasti pada akhirnya periuk nasi dan juga perut masing-masing yang akan menjadi penentunya!

Soal-soal seperti skandal itu dan skandal ini, kesalahan lampau calon itu dan ini hanya sebagai substance sahaja. Bukankah masyarakat Malaysia (Melayu secara khususnya!) memiliki sifat pelupa?

Parti tertentu misalannya ini, yang memperjuangkan wadah Islam, telah beberapa kali membuktikan bahawa prinsip itu tidak penting. Percaturan kuasa yang lebih didahulukan, maka prinsip boleh diketepikan asalkan matlamat itu tercapai. Ada unsur Machiavellian di sini.

Pada pendapat saya jika kita hendak melakukan perjuangan, prinsip itu cukup penting kerana tanpa prinsip kita akan menjadi tersasar dan terserong dari perjalanan asal.

Persoalannya sekarang, apakah kita lebih mementingkan prinsip atau perut? Jawapan itu hanya ada dan terletak di sanubari kita.

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection

THE DRUNKARD SKELETON IN THE CLOSET

By - Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Salam, to fellow bloggers and readers of this self pitiful blog.

Everyone make mistakes. Even some of the readers of this self indulging blog have done at least once a horrible mistake or commit terrible sins in the past. No one in this world can proudly say they have not done anything wrong, let alone are at liberty to call themselves a saint!

We have choices, either to remorse or repeating it, again and again!

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, the PKR candidate who is contesting in the Hulu Selangor by-election, has said here that he regretted with the mistakes he had done in the past and would want to bury the skeleton in his closet deep inside the Hulu Selangor soil, so to speak!

I believed everyone has a right to say they have regretted and would want to put those sins in the past.

The main issue here is not about exposing Zaid’s drinking habits or the amount of wealth he owned but about the spirit of true competition and integrity one has, in order to gain major support from voters. We all know PKR is taking a risk by putting a candidate to contest in a place where he had hardly or perhaps never stepped his feet on!

But in the end, it is up to voters to decide whether Zaid, Kamalananthan from Barisan National or the other two Independent candidates will be the most suitable person to carry their voices in the august house.

This is also an acid test for Barisan Nasional to decide whether the party is still relevant for the rakyat or not. I really hoped “Macha” Kamalananthan from Barisan Nasional, wins this election with a bigger majority, compared to the 2008 general election where Datuk Palanivel lost the seat on a wafer thin majority to the late Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad from PKR.

BN has started the campaign on a wrong foot when they highlighted Zaid’s misdeed. There is no doubt that there are Muslim MP’s from both the Government or Opposition in the Parliament are drinkers or have dreadful drinking habit.

By exposing Zaid’s misdemeanor, BN has allowed a floodgate of negative stories by the Opposition who are skillful in manipulating sensational stories. They will definitely be using it to counter back BN’s exposure!

All and all, may the best man wins!

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu - The Salam Connection

YM (BUKAN YAHOO MESSENGER!)

Oleh - Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Salam, buat para bloggers dan pembaca blog syok sendiri ini!

Izinkan saya untuk tertawa dahulu selepas membaca berita menarik di sini.

Dah, saya dah selesai ketawa. Memang kata orang, seronok jika kita ketawa banyak-banyak. Menghilangkan stress dan sebagainya. Sekarang, bercakap seorang bukan lagi dilihat sebagai perbuatan kurang siuman. Tanyalah mereka yang menggunakan hands free yang mempunyai kelebihan Bluetooth!

Jalan lain (Or anyway!), masyarakat kita (khususnya Melayu!) cukup terpegun dan mudah teruja jika mereka berurusan dengan sesiapa yang mempunyai gelaran. Bukan, bukan gelaran seperti Limah Jongang, Awang Spanar, atau Awang Trasher! Tetapi gelaran seperti YBhg. Datuk, Tan Sri, Datuk Seri, Tun mahupun Yang Teramat Mulia sekian, sekian dan sekian.

Hanyalah kerana pengakuan itu dibuat, orang tanpa sebarang usul periksa terus mengiakannya dan mengakui hamba Allah itu sebagai anak angkat kepada seorang kerabat diraja!

Bagi saya, secara peribadi gelaran hanyalah sebagai satu bentuk self indulgence buat mereka yang tidak mempunyai keyakinan diri yang tinggi. Masyarakat kita, Melayu secara khususnya mungkin mempunyai sifat feudal yang terlalu menebal lalu cepat merasakan inferior kepada mereka yang mempunyai gelaran. Kisah di atas adalah contoh klasik kepada perkara ini!

Saya ingin menarik perhatian berhubung dengan pengalaman saya berurusan dengan sesetengah orang yang mempunyai gelaran ini. Rakan baik saya, Datuk Ahiruddin Attan,  tidak mahu saya memanggilnya Datuk walaupun beliau layak berbuat demikian. Naib Canselor USM, yang mendapat gelaran Tan Sri oleh YDP Agong lebih selesa dipanggil Prof. Malah bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad di dalam surat-surat mahupun kad-kad Aidilfitri yang dihantar beliau kepada saya lebih selesa menggunakan hanya “Dr Mahathir Mohamad” dan tidak pernah pun gelaran “Tun” diletakkan di dalamnya.

Mereka adalah golongan yang merasakan bahawa gelaran yang diterima mereka ini hanya sesuai digunakan di dalam majlis-majlis rasmi sahaja.

Saya berharap selepas ini, pihak tertentu jangan terus lekas melakukan tindakan melulu, hanya kerana seseorang tampil dan mengakui dirinya kerabat Diraja mahupun Sultan! Kita jangan terlupa dengan kisah seperti ini.

Bagi saya, apa ada pada gelaran? Kita harus ingat, sistem kesultanan Melayu ini bertujuan untuk memelihara martabat dan juga maruah bangsa Melayu selaku bangsa yang bertamadun, sejak dari zaman dahulu kala lagi. Janganlah kita sewenang-wenangnya mengakui diri kita ini sebagai Sultan, hatta kita ini mempunyai warung Mee Sultan, seperti di Pulau Pinang sekalipun!

Ini termasuklah kepada mereka yang membeli gelaran tertentu. Gelaran ini tidak mempunyai apa-apa sebarang kesan signifikan sekalipun. Adalah lebih mulia jika seorang itu, yang hanya di panggil Encik atau Tuan mempunyai jasa kepada masyarakat daripada seorang Datuk Seri, Tan Sri mahupun Tun sekalipun yang jasa mereka tidaklah segah yang disangkakan!

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection.

THE INTERFAITH COMMITTEE

By - Hesmel Faznee Faisal

Salam, to fellow bloggers and readers of this syok sendiri blog!

The Star has reported here that the Government had given a green light for the establishment of the Interfaith Commitee.

I believe the interfaith committee will able to resolve a lot of religious misunderstanding between us. This positive development on creating religious understanding among us jived well with the concept of 1 Malaysia!

However, I am slightly disenchanted when the person chosen to lead the Committee is not amongst the religious scholars but someone who still have a political inkling. The reason given for the choice was that person has good contacts with various religious leaders (A lame excuse, don’t you think Jose?)

Why can’t the Government choose a credible scholar?

I have names that I think would become the most suitable candidate to become chairman for the Council. Prof. Dr Mahmud Zuhdi (when is he going to get the Professor Emeritus title?) for one, is known to have a very liberal and progressive thinking on Islam, can be a good candidate.

Or perhaps the outspoken Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin, who dared to challenged the forever orthodoxy thinking ulamaks and last but not least, the ever misunderstood scholar and at the same time my mentor Dr Kassim Ahmad for that matter!

It may sound judgmental but to lead this kind of committee, one must prepare to listen and have an open heart to all sorts of arguments. One cannot be seen as too rigid or being bias towards one religion (we have to admit the fact that people who have less knowledge in their own religion will become too protective towards their religious beliefs!).

Coming from this point of view, I believe that the names mentioned earlier are really suitable to contain in any arguments presented by members of the council.

I have to say that I am a bit skeptical when seeing organizations such as JAKIM and IKIM representing Islam. As someone who is very close to Dr Kassim Ahmad and understood well on his arguments towards hadith, I don’t think those who are from JAKIM or IKIM for that matter, can come up with any solution or conclusion, in regards to religion misunderstanding. 

Dr Kassim had tried to have an intellectual discourse with the two agencies but was often being let down by them. Or in other words, they refused to engage in the discourse with him!

And now, they are in a council where religous matters are subject to discussion!

As long as they dared not change the way people perceived the role of the ulamaks, they will not be able to resolve anything!

The fact that some ulamaks who have being using religion for the sake of fulfilling their personal gain, be it in political or personal agenda is quite disturbing! I don’t think JAKIM or any of the Islamic agencies are really doing their best to tackle this problem!

From my personal point of view as a Muslim, to understand Islam one must study it from all aspects and dare to question things that are considered forbidden by the ulamaks, in order to get a better understanding of their own religion!

The extremists for example, tend to think that those who are not from the Syiah sects are less Islamic, vis a vis.

If the Government is serious in tackling the issue of religious misunderstanding and committed to establish a truly functional Interfaith Council, they must first ensure that members for the council comprises of people who have no interest whatsoever with the Government nor have any direct link with it.

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection