I have a dream

Those who understand English would understand that I meant ‘let’s pretend’, or ‘hypothetically speaking’, or, as the Malays would say, ‘katalah’. I did not say that DAP did want to do this. I also did not say that Zul Noordin was correct. I was saying, even if DAP does plan this and even if Zul Noordin was correct, so what? What is wrong with that? Why can’t we dream? Why can’t we wish? Why can’t we aspire?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using non-violent civil disobedience. King has become a national icon in the history of modern American liberalism.

A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history. He also established his reputation as a radical, and became an object of the FBI's COINTELPRO for the rest of his life.

In 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through non-violence. In the next few years leading up to his death, he expanded his focus to include poverty and the Vietnam War—alienating many of his liberal allies with a 1967 speech titled "Beyond Vietnam". King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., called the Poor People's Campaign.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986. Hundreds of streets in the U.S. and beyond have been renamed in his honour. (Wikipedia)

See the video on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V57lotnKGF8

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In my article yesterday, ‘Why change will never come’, I said: Okay, let us say that DAP does plan to turn Malaysia into a Christian State. So what? What is wrong with that? PAS wants to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State. Do we make a police report against PAS and demand that they apologise? Has PAS committed a crime by aspiring for Malaysia to become an Islamic State? So why is it wrong for DAP to aspire for Malaysia to become a Christian State?

Many responded by saying that I have missed the point and that the point is the Member of Parliament for Kulim–Bandar Baharu, Zulkifli Noordin, lied and that DAP did not say it wants to turn Malaysia into a Christian State. Some even argued that a Christian State does not exist so it would be impossible to turn Malaysia into a Christian State.

If that is your argument then it will be equally impossible to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State because an Islamic State also does not exist. If it does exist then can you tell me what it looks like? Even the Muslim scholars are not able to define an Islamic State or agree on what an Islamic State looks like.

So, what is an Islamic State? Define it!

No doubt, in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, it does say that Islam is the religion of the Federation. Well, Christianity, in particular the Church of England, is the religion of the United Kingdom, although it is not stated in the ‘Constitution’. But it is the ‘law’.

At least Malaysia’s Constitution does not prevent a Buddhist, Hindu or Christian (or non-Malay) from becoming the Prime Minister. The Constitution is silent on that issue. In the UK, not only must you be a Christian, but you must also be a Protestant Christian. A Catholic cannot sit on the ‘throne’ -- whether as the Prime Minister or the Monarch.

That is the law in England, while it is not law in Malaysia but merely ‘by convention’ (kelaziman, as the Malays would say). So, in that sense, Malaysia is more liberal than the UK although I do not see in the near future a Chinese Christian or Indian Hindu becoming Malaysia’s Prime Minister in spite of that being nothing wrong from the legal aspect.

The next point I want to talk about is the part where I said: Okay, let us say that DAP does plan to turn Malaysia into a Christian State.   

Those who understand English would understand that I meant ‘let’s pretend’, or ‘hypothetically speaking’, or, as the Malays would say, ‘katalah’. I did not say that DAP did want to do this. I also did not say that Zul Noordin was correct. I was saying, even if DAP does plan this and even if Zul Noordin was correct, so what? What is wrong with that? Why can’t we dream? Why can’t we wish? Why can’t we aspire?

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. He had an aspiration. He had a wish. But it took 46 years before Martin Luther King, Jr. saw his dream come true. And because he had a dream they murdered him. Hence even having an aspiration is considered a crime. So he did not live to see his dream come true.

But it has to start from a dream. You need an aspiration. And you should not be killed just because you have an aspiration.

Hence, if there are people who aspire to see Malaysia become a Christian State what is so wrong with that? I am not saying that there are people who aspire this. I am saying that even if there are, what’s wrong with having such an aspiration?

It may never happen. We may never even see Malaysia turned into an Islamic State. Malaysia may remain a Secular State until the end of time, or at least until you and I are all dead. But that should not stop us from dreaming or from having an aspiration.

I am sure many of you also aspire to become millionaires. Most likely most of you will die in debt. Hardly 1% of you are going to become millionaires. But carry on aspiring. Dream of the day you will become a millionaire with so much money you don’t know what to do with it.

It is probably never going to happen. But I am not going to whack you for dreaming. It is good to dream. Dreams keep you going. The day you stop dreaming is the day you die although you may still be breathing.

Take note, though, that aspiration minus the perspiration is no bloody good. Then it would be, as the Malays say, angan-angan or daydreaming. You start with an aspiration. But then you need to work on these aspirations. If not, nothing is going to happen.

We all dream of a better Malaysia. That may never happen, of course. Malaysia may not get any better but in fact may even get worse. But if we do not dream of a better Malaysia then that means we do not care a damn about what happens to the country. In the end your dreams may not come true. But that should not stop us from dreaming.

It is better we die with a dream than die having wasted our time here on earth. And Martin Luther King, Jr. died with a dream but did not waste his time here on earth because 46 years later what he dreamed about happened. The US finally saw the African Americans get elevated from second-class citizens to residents of the White House.

And you know what? They did not even need to rename the White House to the Black House.