What are you prepared to sacrifice?

The Eid al-Adha ritual should nourish one's faith, helping to develop tolerance and other moral qualities.

COMMENT

The Feast of Sacrifice that Muslims celebrated last week commemorates Abraham’s sacrifice of a lamb that God provided for him in place of the son he was ordered to kill in a dream. It was a reward for his willingness to obey the command. He had passed the test of obedience.

In the Muslim tradition, the sacrifice is not an obligation, but it is encouraged. The sacrificial meat is divided into three portions. One third is kept for the consumption of immediate relatives, a third is given to neighbours and friends, and the rest is given to the poor.

This ritual has two purposes – to affirm piety and to enable charity. How often do we translate the ethos of sacrifice into our daily lives?

Sacrifice is not just about donating meat to the poor, or tending to the sick. The act of sacrificing should nourish one’s faith, helping to develop moral qualities like tolerance, determination, patience, commitment, resolution and inner strength.

There are many types of sacrifices.

Malaysians complain about the GST and being forced to tighten their belts. People may complain about high prices, but they are not willing to sacrifice their overseas holidays, their expensive lifestyles or their club memberships.

In April 2013, 52-year-old Ong Ai Sam was stabbed whilst jogging at Bukit Gasing with her 17-year-old daughter. Two men, armed with knives, stopped the pair and ordered them to hand over their belongings. Ong blocked the path of the men and told her daughter to run to safety. Ong paid for this selfless act with her life.

Malaysia Day fell on September 16. The men of the Sarawak Rangers and other armed forces personnel saw active duty during World War II, the Emergency and the Confrontation. The Red Shirts rally should not have been allowed to proceed and destroy the significance of Malaysia Day. They sullied the memories of the men who gave their lives so we can live in relative peace and harmony.

Dance producer Bilqis Hijjas released some Bersih 4 balloons bearing the words “Democracy, Free Media and Justice,” which landed close to the platform on which Najib Abdul Razak was officiating an event at the Pavilion shopping mall. Bilqis was charged with demonstrating “insulting behaviour.” She has denied any wrongdoing. When she released the yellow balloons she knew her action could result in the sacrifice of her freedom.

One young mother, Fatima, is prepared to return to her abusive and philanderer husband so that she and her four young children may have a roof over their heads, her husband’s family’s honour is preserved and her children can claim to have a father. Social stigma and a lack of help in her village forced her to remain with him. Her friends realise the dilemma she faces, but Fatima says she is prepared to sacrifice her safety and mental state for the sake of her children. Is she stupid, desperate or selfless?

Umno-Baru members Anina Saadudin and Khairuddin Abu Hassan tried to force Najib to answer allegations related to the 1MDB issue. Anina filed a suit against Najib over the RM2.6 billion donation found in his account. Umno-Baru secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor sacked her from the party, forcing her to sacrifice her membership. A travel ban was imposed on Khairuddin, who has been detained, without trial, under the Special Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012. He wanted Najib to answer allegations of irregularities in 1MBD.

These two Umno-Baru members were punished as a deterrent for other party members who might consider acting in a similar fashion. Will they see true justice?

In Sungei Buloh prison sits an ill man who was once a powerful politician. Some people claim that Anwar Ibrahim realised the error of his ways during his first imprisonment at the end of the 1990s. He was eventually released and tried to reform Malaysia. He is the only person who has been able to get three political parties with different ideologies to form a coalition and fight for the people.

Anwar’s rivals found that he was a threat to their survival and various attempts were made to undermine him. He was later found guilty in a second sodomy case. Critics say the charges were trumped up and the court case a masterpiece of incompetence, corruption and ineptitude.

Today, two of Anwar’s political rivals, Najib and former PM Mahathir Mohamad, are fighting one another for control of the nation and its wealth, whilst the coalition he formed appears to have disintegrated. Was Anwar’s sacrifice in vain or will people power be able to defeat the tyrants and traitors?

Mariam Mokhtar is an FMT columnist.