WE refer to “The real Malay Dilemma” (Sunday Star, Aug 26) by Siti Kassim. Siti’s rambling diatribe against Malay Muslims can be reduced to two baseless, provocative, insulting and defamatory allegations, namely:
1. Assimilation of Islamic values in governance is responsible for Malay backwardness and inability to compete with other races; and
2. Malays, constituting 60% of the population, are unproductive and parasitical, depending on the industry and labour of the remaining 40%, Chinese and Indians.
On the assimilation of Islamic values in governance, Siti questions whether “a Malay society, more insular and superstitious in thought... can compete on a fair footing with the rest of the Malaysian non-Muslim population.” She writes that Malays have been given preferred places in universities, GLCs and the civil service for over 40 years, resulting in “uncompetitive universities, a significant pool of unemployable Malay graduates and with most being employed by the civil service... failed GLCs and ...corrupt administration...” She asks if more religion would help and continues, “This has been the unintended consequence of the assimilation of Islamic values in governance.”
What evidence has Siti got to link the above allegations of Malay backwardness to the so-called Islamisation? Has she conducted any studies or consulted reports and research findings to come to that conclusion? Her claim is just hot air driven by prejudice towards Islam.
There has been no assimilation of Islamic values in governance as provided by the syariah. Having prayer rooms in government offices, teaching Islam to Muslim students in schools, broadcasting azan on TV or having an Islamic TV channel do not make governance Islamic. The Malaysian state is based on a constitution drafted by secular jurists and not on syariah. Most government leaders and top bureaucrats, products of Western education, are very much influenced by secular ideas and ignorant about Islam and its contributions to civilisations.
It is the separation of the moral from governance under a secular system that has facilitated the corruption, abuse of power, nepotism and cronyism of our government leaders and administrators. So, why blame Islam?
Siti condemns Malays as parasites. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines a parasite as a person who is lazy and lives by other people working and giving them money.
Siti writes that the majority of Malays are satisfied with their lives and carry on being religiously obsessed because they have been “able to live off the teats of the government in one way or another”.
She continues: “Thirty per cent to 40% of the population cannot sustain 100% of us. You need the remaining, at least majority, of that 60% (Malays) to be able to truly contribute economically and not be consumers of tax from the minorities. And religion is not an economic contributor. It is an unproductive consumer of epic proportions with no returns.”
Obviously, she has not heard of Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. To Siti, Malay businessmen, professionals, workers, farmers, fishermen, civil servants, police and soldiers do not contribute sales tax, income tax, road tax and other taxes payable under our laws. They are only “consumers of tax from minorities (Chinese and Indians)”. In other words, they are parasites. This is an insulting and provocative lie!
She claims that the transformation of Malaysia from an agricultural to an industrial nation with liberal economic policies was “powered by an industrious non-Malay population and the liberal segment of the Malay society”. She must have been blinded by prejudice not to see the role played by millions of Malay workers, engineers, surveyors, architects, policymakers and administrators in the industrial development of Malaysia.
Good public education and healthcare services are essential to becoming a developed industrial society. In 2016, Irina Bokova, then the Unesco director-general, praised Malaysia for “leading the way in South-East Asia in fostering inclusive and equitable education as the basis of sustainable green growth”.
And in his message on 2018 World Health Day, WHO regional representative Dr Lo Ying-Ru Jacqueline stated that Malaysia has been acknowledged globally for its high-performing health system based on a well-trained workforce, excellent infrastructure and quality service delivery.
Since independence, infant death has fallen by more than 90% to 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2016. Maternal mortality has also decreased by 89% between 1963 and 2013.
Who are these “well-trained workforce”? Mostly “unemployable Malay graduates” from “uncompetitive universities” and other institutions.
Who are the members of “the liberal segment of the Malay society” who powered the industrial transformation of Malaysia?
Are they those who are blond and advocating “separation of religion and government; religion must be a private matter and kept private; take out religious education from the public arena”?
Or those who call for recognition of homosexual, gay and lesbian rights; criminalisation of polygamy and decriminalisation of adultery; and free sex?
Sorry Siti, if there was any contribution from this deviant group, it was very minimal as many of them look to green pastures outside Malaysia and migrate. The rapid transformation of the Malaysian economy has been powered by patriotic devout Malay Muslims and the minorities, Chinese and Indians.
It is not the Malays who face a dilemma in engaging the modern world because their religion teaches them to seek success in this world and in the hereafter (Quran 2:201). It is Siti who faces a serious dilemma on whether to decolonise her thinking and become a true Malay Muslim or remain a Western secular clone.
MOHD AZMI ABDUL HAMID
President
Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organization
Endorsed by:
Syekh Ahmad Awang, chairman, International Union of Muslim Scholars Malaysia
Syekh Abdul Ghani Samsudin, chairman, Secretariat for the Assembly of Ulama of Asia
Assoc Prof Dr Roslan Mohd Nor, secretary-general, Ulama Association of Malaysia
Datin Ustazah Aminah Zakaria, chairperson, Persatuan Persaudaraan Muslimah Malaysia
Hj Baharudin Masrom, secretary, Kongres Ummah
Dr Mohamad Ali Hassan, committee member of SHURA
Prof Dr Rahmatullah Khan, committee of MaSSa
Dr Abdul Rahman Ahmad, committee of SUARA
Datuk Abdullah Mad Din, former director of Islamic Division, Ministry of Education
Datuk Hadzir Md Zain, former deputy director-general, Implementation Coordination Unit, JPM -Star
Siti Kasim ni tak tahu ke civil law di Malaysia kini sedang memasuki zaman2 gelap dan suram? Kes rasuah Khir Toyo dan LGE, Jalan cerita hampir sama, kronologi hampir sama, TAPI keputusan mahkamah AMAT BERBEZA, BERBEZA macam LANGIT DAN BUMI, seorang meringkok dalam penjara, seorang lagi lepas bebas? Apakah ini yang dinamakan KEADILAN UNDANG2 di Malaysia?
ReplyDeleteSiti Kasim ni tak tahu ke yang hukum rotan civil yang ada di Malaysia ni bersifat BARBARIAN, GANAS dan TIDAK BERPERIKEMANUSIAAN berbanding hukum rotan syariah? Hanya satu rotan civil boleh membuatkan kulit pesalah koyak atau mengelupas, memudaratkan dan mungkin juga boleh membawa maut. Ianya sama sekali berbeza dengan rotan syariah...
ReplyDeleteMohon maaf jika postingan ini menyinggung perasaan anda tapi saya hanya mau menceritakan pengalaman pribadi saya yang mengubah kehidupan saya menjadi sukses sekarang. dulu Saya bekerja di Singapura, tapi saya tidak menyerah dengan keadaan saya, tetap ikhtiar. Dulu pengen pulang ke indonesia tapi gak ada ongkos. sempat saya putus asa,gaji pun selalu di kirim ke indonesia untuk biaya anak sekolah, sedangkan hutang banyak, kebetulan buka-buka internet mendapatkan nomor whatsapp Mbah Suro +6282354640471 katanya bisa bantu orang melunasi hutang melalui jalan Pesugihan Dana Ghaib. dengan keadaan susah jadi saya coba beranikan diri hubungi dan berkenalan dengan beliau Mbah Suro, Dan saya menceritakan keadaan saya. Beliau menyarankan untuk mengatasi masalah perekonomian saya dengan Pesugihan Dana Ghaib nya. Dan alhamdulillah benar-benar terbukti nyata hasil nya sekarang. terima kasih banyak ya allah atas semua rerjekimu ini. Beliau juga bisa bantu seperti Pemasangan nomer Togel,pelet, dll
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, Siti Kasim's geng is a minority among Malay Muslim soceity of Malaysia. However, they are loud in making their presence noticed. During Bersih rallies, th participants among LGBT activists were around 50 in mumbers. However, they made a lot of noise and drew a lot of attention.
ReplyDeleteWe need to counter Siti Kassim with intelligent engagement and arguments such as this rebuttal by Sdr Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid here.
Taking a hard line approaches by cursing, condemning, insulting or punishing would only elevate their struggles and bring negative perception or perhaps sympathy....
kah kah kah, who is right ??? Kah kah kah if Siti is wrong?? Why the situation is existing as deccribed by Siti ?? ?????? Pening pening to seek for answers.
ReplyDelete