A CLASS ACT BY PROF TAJUDDIN RASDI. AND MY MESSAGE TO NON MUSLIMS.

 

 

In today’s article, my wife and I, two Muslims born in Malaysia, would like to ask for forgiveness from all our Malaysian brethren, whether we know them or not, whether our paths have crossed or not. 

We ask forgiveness for the sake of our religion, for the sake of our children and grandchildren and for the sake of our country, that Malaysians can forgive the excesses and kurang ajar behaviors as well as threats to life and property from those Malays who know not their own Prophet, their own God and their own religion that they are so bent in protecting. 

We ask that Malaysians show patience and act with kindness towards all Muslims. The greatest weapon against cruelty, bigotry and arrogance is simply forgiveness, patience and kindness. There exists no weapon in the arsenal and knowledge of man that can overpower those three acts of humanity. Gandhi had proven it and Reverand Martin Luther King. The real power of faith is in those three, not in threats, not in cruelty and certainly not in selfishness.

As we enter the final third of the month of Ramadhan, said to be the 10 holiest and most sacred, many Muslims will be spending time in mosques throughout the night hoping for the Lai-latul-Qadr or the Night of Power. It is said that Allah’s Mercy and Blessings would flow in this night till dawn and if one were to capture that night then all of our sins may be forgiven by Him. 

For my wife and I, we are two Muslims who will look first towards asking forgiveness from all Malaysians who have been tested grievously by the Stocking incident that has cost Malays to act beyond and against the norms, value and faith of Islam.

As I watch the video of a man who was said to be an Ustaz berating a lone Chinese woman trembling with fear, I feel suddenly a dark gloom overcasting the celebrations of Hari Raya this year. 

The darkest gloom for me during Hari Raya was my first heart attack in 2018 when I did not know whether another one would end my life while I waited for my bypass surgery. But the gloom I felt after watching that video created a heaviness in my heart as I confided my feeling to my wife. She too said that she is embarrassed and felt ashamed to meet her doctors who are mostly non-Muslims and face them after the insults, threats and incitement of the past few weeks thrown by Malays against our fellow citizens.

In this Hari Raya, I had planned to invite many non-Muslim friends to my house in Kajang. The thought had filled me with joy as I was healthy, and I can afford to do so in style. But when the stocking incident became worse to dangerous, I felt like dark clouds had encircled my house and I felt, for the first time, ashamed and embarrassed to come face  to face with those whom have helped me in my life but that they are going through such a rough and uncertain time of racial, political and religious unrest. 

We can blame Akmal or UMNO but I know for a fact that most Malays are like Akmal and it is easy to rally a populist call for a short term gain at a cost of nation destruction. Both my wife and I do not have any political backing, economic strength or even social standing but all we have is the sincerity and sadness of our hearts at the way this issue has been blown out of proportion.

I know that the asking of forgiveness from two insignificant individuals who are Malay and Muslim may not amount to much in the greater scheme of things but that is all that we have.

I had wished and prayed that there would be many Malay professors, muftis and ustaz to back our call for ceasefire on this issue but none, save one mufti from Penang, did.

We may still have a country, we may still have a parliament and we may still have our cars and houses, but without respect for each other, do we still have a nation?

Thus, to all my colleagues at UCSI University, to all my teachers and friends in St. Marks Primary Butterworth (1969 to 1974), St. Marks Secondary, Butterworth (1975 to 1976), SMJK Hua Lian (1976 – 1980), to my physicians, salespersons, bankers, lawyers and police men, may the paths crossed testify to our beliefs in one another and also our forgiveness from and to one another. 

As Malaysia faces a somber trial of faith and perseverance, let us use the power of patience, forgiveness and kindness to stem the tide of mistrust, cruelty and bigotry to still have faith in our nation, even if it means with just the small number in our hearts.

I pray that all good Malaysians tell their children that these dark days of Ramadhan, that they saw two lights of hope, faith and joy from two simple Muslims who stand out against a majority of those who dishonor the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and also the words of our forefathers, bersatu teguh bercerai roboh.

Salam Hari Raya and Lai-latul-Qadr to all Malaysians and maaf Zahir dan Batin

 

My Comments : Thank you to my regular reader Sam Z for sending me this article.

This is a truly from-the-heart piece of genuine expression by Prof Tajuddin and his wife which I hope will be read by all Malaysians. There is much kindness which overrides the good Professor's despair.

However readers of this blog will know that I am not so kind with my words. On the top right hand corner of this page you will see the cover of my 18 year old book 'Malaysia and the Club of Doom - The Collapse of the Islamic Countries'. I wrote that in 2006.

Even from before I wrote that book there was never a lull-in-the-storm in the collapse of the Islamic societies around the world. (I refer Islamic "societies"). But since the foolishly named 'Arab Spring' of 2011 the collapse of the Islamic countries and societies all around the world has begun accelerating. We are actually in the midst of this acceleration right now.

In 2009 Usain Bolt set the 100 meter Olympic and world record at 9.58 seconds. If you are running above 10 seconds, do not even bother sending your track team to the Olympics. Just stay at home and run around your own track or run around the Lake Gardens. You are losers.

This is what is happening to Muslim societies all over the world. In this 21st century the non-Muslim world is running at 9.58 seconds. What does this mean? It means that Usain Bolt, who is a Jamaican christian, knows how to put on his socks, tie the shoelaces on his running shoes and he wears running shorts that are comfortable for speed.

But if you cannot even tie your shoe laces properly, or you want to burn down the store that sells socks or you cannot agree on what should be the length of your shorts then you certainly are not going to endure the hours and years of painful commitment and training that makes world champions. You are losers. 

You definitely need not voluntarily "get out of the way".  
You will be automatically pushed into the dustbin of history. 
Like 'space-occupying-lesions'. 
Which is a polite medical term for tumours.

What should the non Muslims do? 

NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOU TO GIVE UP. 
I REPEAT : NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOU TO GIVE UP.

When other people are falling down so badly now is the time for you to excel. 

Do not gloat, do not show arrogance, do not show (too much) displeasure, do not feel too saddened but excel in your lives. You must show the best example of how to be good human beings.

There is an English phrase 'pick up the slack'. 

PICK UP THE SLACK | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary  idiom (also take up the slack) to improve a situation by doing something that someone else has not done or not completed: With our best player injured, other players have to pick up the slack.

When a rope that is tied to something to hold it tight is becoming loose then you must tighten the rope. You must pick up the slack. 

When the entire society and country should be pulling their weight to move the society forward but unfortunately one part of socety just keeps falling down, you the non-Muslims have no choice but to 'pick up the slack'. 

Now is not the time to turn away, to despair or even to feel frightened. 

Just work harder, produce more, be a better people, be more polite, be more trustworthy, be more reliable, be the manifestation of honesty. In other words just show the best example. Be the Usain Bolt. Run at 9.58 seconds or better. 

WHY? Because you have to pick up the slack. If you dont then the society and the country will indeed collapse. Those who keep falling down will pull everything down with them.

Plus if you show a better example, there is a wonderful side effect, a huge by-product  - you become even more wealthy. (Someone has to make those white socks. If it aint gonna be them, then its gotta be you.)

What will that achieve?

 

The answer is TRUST.  By being more productive, by being more efficient, by being more  reliable, honest and predictable you will earn the TRUST of the society and the country.

 

Where else would I go to buy a pair of white socks?

 

When all else is falling down, now is the time to ramp up the TRUST that society can have in you. So you have no choice. Wake up earlier, go out and start your day earlier. Be productive, be good, be the best example in your dealings with your customers, your neighbours and your society.  

Pick up the slack. Because no else will.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.