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Isinbayeva felled, James rockets in Daegu Posted: 30 Aug 2011 09:25 AM PDT DAEGU, South Korea, Aug 30 — Yelena Isinbayeva today became the latest victim of a curious curse at the world athletics championships, while Grenadian Kirani James lit up the track in the 400 metres to become the third youngest ever world champion. Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva packs her equipment after failing to progess in the final. — Reuters pic Russia's pole vault queen Isinbayeva turned in a miserable performance in front of 40,000 spectators at Daegu's stadium, but James, who turns 19 on Thursday, was sensational in chasing down champion LaShawn Merritt on the home straight. James has only a handful of senior races to his credit and his exuberant victory will thrill compatriots back home in Grenada. There was no cheer for Britain a year before London hosts the 2012 Olympic Games, though, as their biggest hope for gold on home soil, Jessica Ennis, lost her heptathlon title. Isinbayeva graced the cover of today's official programme on day four — and like the cover stars on each of the previous three days of competition, the Olympic champion and world record holder suffered a shock and ignominious exit. Day one featured Olympic and defending world pole vault champion Steve Hooker, who exited without completing one successful jump. Day two's cover showcased Usain Bolt, and he was disqualified from the men's 100m final. Yesterday was the turn of Cuba's Dayron Robles, who was stripped of gold for bumping in the 110m hurdles. Optimistic Isinbayeva Isinbayeva at least got off the ground, but her failure to clear 4.80 metres was a poor showing from one of athletics' genuine greats. Instead Brazil's Fabiana Murer took gold with a distinctly lukewarm 4.85m, way short of Isinbayeva's 5.06m world mark. "I am very disappointed I lost again but it is okay . . . and I am optimistic for next year," said Isinbayeva, who held the world title in 2005 and 2007 before losing it two years ago. "I came here expecting to medal. I am going to jump higher and higher." These gripping Daegu Games have so far been shaped by high drama and disqualifications — notably world's fastest man Bolt and the burly Robles — but finally athletic performance was the focus. James did not disappoint, surging past American Merritt just before the line to claim victory in a personal best time of 44.60. Olympic champion Merritt, who has just returned from a 21-month ban for doping, had come round the final bend with what looked like a comfortable lead before being beaten by James's finish. "It's a great feeling, but it's great just being here representing my country," James told reporters. "I was just trying to relax and finish strong." Kirani James (right) shakes hands with LaShawn Merritt, pipped into second in the 400 metres. — Reuters pic James's coach Harvey Glance, a former Olympic sprint relay champion, paid tribute to the champion. "He's a freak of nature," American Glance told Reuters. "At 18 he's the first to make a final and then he goes out and wins the 400 metres. He's destined for greatness." Weak finish For Ennis, it was a weak finish that did in her chances. Three poor javelin throws that never got beyond 40 metres left the British athlete trailing Russia's Tatyana Chernova with only the 800 metres left, and she was never going to beat Chernova by the nine seconds she needed to become the first Briton to retain a world title. "It's a silver medal so I can't beat myself up too much but I obviously wanted that gold," said 25-year-old Ennis. "I haven't shed any tears yet but I might. After the javelin I knew I'd thrown it away." One athlete you would bet the farm on in 800 metres, though, is Kenyan Rudisha. The rangy Masai simply ran from the front and nobody could catch him, winning in a time of 1:43.91 ahead of Abubaker Kaki of Sudan. "I am very happy," said Rudisha, who is unbeaten over 800 metres since the 2009 worlds. "Having the world title is very important to me, more important than the word record. The title will remain with you for the rest of your life but the record can be broken." — Reuters

Arsenal sign Park Chu-young from Monaco Posted: 30 Aug 2011 08:15 AM PDT South Korea's Park Chu-young controls the ball during a training session in Rustenburg in this June 18, 2010 file photograph. He is Arsenal's first signing in the wake of Sunday's humiliating 8-2 defeat at Manchester United. – Reuters pic LONDON, Aug 30 – South Korea captain Park Chu-young became Arsenal's first signing in the wake of Sunday's humiliating 8-2 defeat at Manchester United when he joined from French club AS Monaco. Manager Arsene Wenger has been under pressure to strengthen his squad after the club's poor start to the Premier League season and the 26-year-old striker could be the first of several signings before the transfer window shuts tomorrow. "We are delighted to have signed Chu. He will add true quality to our attacking forces and will be a valuable addition to the squad," Wenger told Arsenal's website (http://www.arsenal.com) today. Park, who played in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups for his country, scored 25 times in 91 appearances for Monaco. He replaced Manchester United's Park Ji-sung as South Korea captain earlier this year. "I am very honoured and I feel very happy to be at Arsenal. It is a dream to be here and I am really proud to be an Arsenal player. Now I just want to show how good I am and prove myself," said Park, who will wear the number nine shirt. "In my opinion this is a great club, now I have to show what I can do on the pitch. I will do my best, I will never give up, I will show heart, I will give everything and I hope (the fans) will support me." Arsenal have managed just one point from their opening three league matches and have been hit by the sale of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri to Manchester City since the start of the season. The Gunners have also been linked with Werder Bremen and Germany central defender Per Mertesacker as Wenger tries to bolster a defence that was torn to shreds by United. – Reuters

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Red carpet out for star-studded Venice film festival Posted: 30 Aug 2011 10:02 AM PDT VENICE, Aug 30 — The red carpet is out and builders are putting the finishing touches to the Venice film festival venue ahead of tomorrow's glitzy opening, when George Clooney's political drama "The Ides of March" has its world premiere. The 2011 edition of the world's oldest film festival promises a rich line-up of eagerly awaited movies and A-list stars, many of whom will hope the high-profile launch puts them on the road to awards early next year. For the next 11 days, the Lido island across the water from Venice hosts the toast of global independent film making, as well as thousands of journalists and paparazzi who come to follow their every move. The sweep before the red carpet, in front of a sign reading "Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica la Biennale di Venezia 2011", near the Cinema Palace in Venice, August 30, 2011. The 68th Venice Film Festival will run from August 31 to September 10. — Reuters pic Festival director Marco Mueller is looking forward to a programme that suggests Venice can still compete with Toronto's cinema showcase, which overlaps for several days and is a cheaper alternative for Hollywood studios. "It is a programme that tells you how much support we get from the artists, the film makers . . . and it proves that Venice really stands as a major platform to create a special kind of visibility," Mueller told Reuters. Donning their tuxedos along with Clooney tomorrow will be co-stars Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffman, followed later in the festival by Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Matthew McConaughey, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and pop superstar Madonna. "I don't recall a time when so many people have been so excited by a line-up and that is across the board," said Jay Weissberg, film critic for Hollywood trade publication Variety, who is a Venice festival regular. The line-up of 22 competition films and dozens more eclipses 2010's low-key event, and Venice is aiming to repeat the success of 2008 when it launched "The Hurt Locker", which went on to win six Oscars including best picture. Polanski absent Among the most hotly anticipated titles is "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", an adaption of John Le Carre's spy novel starring recent Oscar winner Colin Firth as well as Gary Oldman and John Hurt. Other standout titles in competition include Briton Andrea Arnold's take on the Emily Bronte novel "Wuthering Heights", US director Ami Canaan Mann's "Texas Killing Fields" and William Friedkin's "Killer Joe". In "A Dangerous Method", Canadian David Cronenberg explores the rivalry between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud as a young woman (Knightley) comes between them. Roman Polanski worked on the screenplay for his latest movie "Carnage", featuring Winslet, Jodie Foster and Christoph Waltz, while under house arrest in Switzerland last year. The 78-year-old was eventually freed after the Swiss authorities decided not to extradite him to the United States, where he is still wanted for sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 in Los Angeles. "Yes, of course, I think . . . if he leaves France it's only to travel to Switzerland and Poland so of course when I met with him and told him how much we love the film . . . it is sad that he is not here," Mueller said. "But three out of his four lead cast will be here and that will create a sensation because it's really a sensational film." Acclaimed Russian director Alexander Sokurov brings "Faust" and Hong Kong's Johnnie To presents "Life Without Principle", a story touching on the economic crisis and its effect on ordinary people. Outside the main line-up, Madonna makes her second foray into feature films with "W.E.", a drama loosely based on divorcee Wallis Simpson, whose relationship with Britain's King Edward VIII led to his abdication in 1936. Egyptian documentary "Tahrir 2011" covers the revolution and overthrow of the old regime, Philippe Faucon explores radical Islam in "La Desintegration", and Al Pacino plays himself and King Herod in "Wilde Salome". Steven Soderbergh promises an all-star cast including Damon, Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Law and Paltrow in "Contagion", about a lethal airborne virus that spreads panic. — Reuters

Translating ‘Colombiana’: How not to include ‘penis’ in movie title Posted: 30 Aug 2011 08:25 AM PDT LOS ANGELES, Aug 30 — Puns are fine, but don't go too far: that's the advice the government has for film distributors of foreign product in Taiwan. Star Zoe Saldana of "Avatar" fame, seen here arriving for the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, August 28, 2011: Within a whisker of an anatomic no-no. — Reuters pic It's de rigueur, of course, that when it comes to translating titles of Hollywood films into French, or German, Japanese, or Chinese, one must make sure to check with the local censors first. But the Taiwanese distributors of the upcoming film "Colombiana" — starring "Avatar" actress Zoe Saldana — learned this the hard way the other day when they were informed by the public morals minders that the first Chinese-language title they offered up in Taiwan was, how shall we say, a no-no. Hollywood movies usually get fairly good translations when their titles move to overseas markets, and the distributors try to keep the original sense of the English title — but sometimes things go awry. If you've ever spent much time in Japan, you will know how some Hollywood product gets "translated" into weird nihongo. Talk about lost in translation! But it's all in fun and no harm is ever intended. To give you an example, in Taiwan, a few years ago, the Tom Hanks vehicle "The Green Mile" was shown at cinemas across the nation, but with a Chinese-language title that called it "The Green Miracle". It just made better (poetic) sense to frame it that way in Chinese. Calling it "The Green Kilometre" just didn't make the cut. When translators are asked to render English movie titles into Chinese or Japanese, they must have a deft touch and mind their p's and q's as well, especially when it comes to public morals, such as they are. In the recent case of "Colombiana", the local translation team innocently decided to call it "Hei-lan-jiao" (黑蘭嬌) in Mandarin, which literally means "black orchid beauty". Nothing wrong so far. You couldn't ask for a more poetic or eye-catching title. But there was one catch that the Catchplay distribution company in Taipei didn't figure into the equation. The Chinese "pronunciation" of the new title sounds a bit like the Taiwanese dialect pronunciation for "dick". Well, penis. Can I say that here? You see, in Taiwan, multi-ethnic and multi-racial nation that it is, there are several languages on the table at any one time: the national, government-authorised language of Mandarin Chinese, the local dialect of Hoklo Taiwanese (spoken on a daily basis a bit in the way that Yiddish was used long ago in pre-war Germany) and several other "mother tongues" used by various ethnic groups.  And in the Taiwanese dialect, "Heilanjaio" sounds very close to the Hoklo word for dick. Enter the public morals minders. The government, good people all, said the new title was, and I quote in translation: "A violation of public morals". The new title was deemed "inappropriate". But in its defence, the distributor told reporters in Taipei that they didn't do it on purpose or to cause a public uproar, noting: "Our translation came from the movie's story itself, in which the killer draws a picture of a 'black orchid' on her victims each time she takes revenge." But since Taiwan's popular TV shows are notorious for puns and word games that mingle the various spoken languages used here, often crossing boundaries and running afoul of the morals police, one must be careful at all times when translating movie titles lest the little ones — under 18, that is — and the conservative older crowd don't like the sound of certain things. So, Taiwan being a free and democratic nation, a decision was made to retitle the movie as "Hei-lan-sha" (黑蘭煞), which means ''black beauty evil" — and does not pun on penis. The government's public morals committee of the Department of Motion Pictures urged translators of movie titles to be more careful in the future, noting: "While film promotion and marketing needs to be creative and eye-catching, one must also consider public perceptions, and in this recent case, the title went too far." The final decision about the title brouhaha was made by a five-member panel that included local academics and several women's rights groups. The Luc Besson-Olivier Megaton film opens nationwide in Taiwan next month, according to industry sources. — Reuters

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You don’t get older, you get better — really Posted: 29 Aug 2011 08:56 PM PDT TOKYO, Aug 30 — Jokes about creaky knees, thinning hair and spreading — or vanishing — waistlines have long been an inevitable, if unwelcome, part of watching the birthdays pile up. But it shouldn't be that way, argues Wendy Lustbader, who maintains that youth, with all its insecurities and confusion, is more of a burden than the golden age society says it is, with aging far from a gloomy decline. File photo of Ayako Shizo (centre), 85, tapping a therapeutic robot named Paro as she sits with other residents at the Suisyoen retirement home in Iwaki, Japan on July 28, 2011. — Reuters pic "I'm so disgusted by the pervasive dread of ageing that everyone has, and the constant joking about it and everybody looking at later life as if it's just a dead zone, with nothing going on," said Lustbader, a former social worker and author who herself is in her late 50s. "But it's really the opposite. When you really get to know elders, when you hang out with them as much as I have, it's the elders who really feel bad for the young people because they have so much suffering to go through." To illustrate this somewhat unusual view, in the centrepiece of her recent book "Life Gets Better" Lustbader relates the story of telling a group of fellow travellers on a tour bus, most of whom were young, that they shouldn't worry because "these are the worst years of your lives." Looks of obvious relief greeted this, and several of the young people later came up to her and confessed to having felt depressed and suicidal, but that her words helped. "We are just in such dread, we just think this must be the good part and what's coming later must be terrible. Lots of things get hurt with that attitude," she said. Lustbader argues, through a series of real-life examples from her years as a social worker and therapist, research findings and personal experience, that as people age they let go of a lot of the worries of their youth. In addition, the experiences of life — both bad and good — teach acceptance and enjoyment of what people actually have, rather than what they might hope for, with priorities often shifting from material things to people. "So many things that really seem to matter so much when you're younger just don't matter, and that's why we get so much freer ... All the elders talk about this sense of freedom," she said. But not everyone manages to negotiate their later years with contentment. People who are too self-centred to build long-standing relationships may find themselves alone and unhappy, with Lustbader forced to include her own late mother in their number. In addition, the ageism of many Western societies, where seniors are regarded with pity and often patronised — in contrast to the respect given them in places such as Mexico and Asian nations — makes things tough as well. Lustbader also emphasises that she doesn't want to play down the undeniable physical difficulties of ageing, noting that losses in mobility and strength are losses that do have to be grieved. This all leads ultimately to an almost Buddhist acceptance and added zest for the good in life because people also know about the bad. "That's what a lot of older adults come to because of all the things they've been through," she said. "There's so much about getting older that we can't know until we're there, the interior part of it. We only see the exterior when we're young, and we're fooled by that." — Reuters

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Populariti Najib: Muhyiddin tolak andaian Anwar, BN tak anggap ‘serius’ Posted: 30 Aug 2011 02:56 AM PDT PUTRAJAYA, 30 Ogos – Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin menolak andaian Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bahawa penurunan terus populariti Datuk Seri Najib Razak petanda sokongan kini sudah mula beralih kepada Pakatan Rakyat. Malah, Muhyiddin (gambar) juga mengetepikan hasil kajian Merdeka Center yang diumumkan semalam sambil berkata kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) tidak memandang "terlalu serius" penemuan kajian itu kerana ia lazimnya bergantung pada saiz responden digunakan. Ketika ditemui pemberita di Shah Alam awal hari ini, Anwar mendakwa kemerosotan populariti Najib menunjukkan pengundi mula beralih kepada Pakatan Rakyat. Bagaimanapun menurut Ketua Pembangkang itu sokongan di kawasan luar bandar kekal elusif ekoran "propaganda berlebihan kerajaan" BN. Populariti Najib menjunam ke paras 59 peratus – penurunan dari 72 peratus, paras paling tinggi, yang direkodkan pada Mei tahun lalu, dipercayai berhubung kait dengan perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 yang diadakan awal bulan lalu. Kajian terbaru Merdeka Center menunjukkan arah aliran populariti Najib terus mengalami penurunan daripada 72 peratus pada Mei 2010 kepada 69 peratus November lalu, 67 peratus pada Mac tahun ini dan seterusnya ke paras 65 peratus Mei lalu dan yang terbaru 59 peratus. Kadar populariti Najib pernah turun sehingga 56 peratus pada September 2009 - lima bulan selepas menjadi perdana menteri Malaysia yang keenam. "Seramai 59 peratus rakyat Malaysia mengatakan bahawa mereka berpuas hati dengan prestasi Najib, dalam kajian (kali) ini enam peratus lebih rendah berbanding 65 peratus direkodkan pada Mei tahun ini," kata Merdeka Center. Kajian terbaru ini dikendalikan sebulan selepas perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 di ibu negara. Pada Mei 2009, iaitu sebulan selepas menjadi perdana menteri, populariti Najib adalah 45 peratus dan ia melonjak kepada 65 peratus pada Jun 2009 sebelum menjunam ke aparas 56 peratus pada September tahun yang sama. "Ia tidak semestinya betul," kata Muhyiddin, yang juga timbalan pengerusi BN ketika ditemui sempena majlis rumah terbuka Aidilfitri, di sini hari ini. MENYUSUL LAGI

MB Selangor: Laporan Jais serbu gereja siap akhir Sept Posted: 30 Aug 2011 01:57 AM PDT SHAH ALAM, 30 Ogos – Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais) akan melengkapkan laporannya berhubung serbuan kontroversi ke atas gereja Methodist Damansara Utama akhir bulan depan, kata Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim hari ini. Menteri Besar Selangor (gambar) berkata, Jawatankuasa Pendengaran akan mengadakan pertemuan dengan Jais dan wakil-wakil dari pertubuhan bukan kerajaan Harapan Komuniti, yang menganjurkan majlis makan malam pada 3 Ogos lalu, dua atau tiga kali lagi. "Dari sudut Jais, mereka berpandangan bahawa mereka ada kes prima facie," kata Khalid kepada pemberita pada majlis rumah terbuka di Dataran Bangunan SUK di sini hari ini. "Harapan Komuniti (pula) berkata ia hanya satu pertemuan," kata beliau lagi. Kata Khalid, beliau tidak dapat memberikan sebarang rumusan selepas pertemuan pertama jawatankuasa itu minggu lalu atas alasan langkah sedemikian tidak adil kepada kedua-dua pihak memandangkan Jais belum lagi mengeluarkan laporan penuh mengenai serbuan tempoh hari. Jais berkata pihaknya hanya mengadakan pemeriksaan, bukannya serbuan sebagaimana didakwa, ekoran aduan bahawa ada usaha untuk memurtadkan Muslim di gereja itu. Seramai 12 hadirin beragama Islam menghadiri majlis makan malam pada 3 Ogos lalu. Pada 25 Ogos lalu, Harapan Komuniti berkata pertemuan dengan Jawatankuasa Pendengaran berjalan dengan "baik". Harapan Komunit yang menganjurkan majlis makan malam muhibah di Gereja Methodist Damansara Utama dekat Petaling Jaya pada 3 Ogos lalu – sebelum ini berkata doa kesyukuran, lagu keagamaan dan kuiz tentang Islam diadakan pada program itu tetapi menafikan adanya usaha memurtadkan umat Islam yang hadir. Sebelum ini, Khalid berkata pertemuan Jais dan Harapan Komuniti dibuat untuk mendapatkan penjelasan mengenai pemeriksaan itu. Khalid juga berkata Jais akan menyerahkan satu laporan lengkap berhubung pemeriksaan itu kepada jawatankuasa itu dan bukan terus diserahkan kepada Sultan Selangor. Harapan Komuniti juga sebelum ini berkata mereka tiada sebarang hubungan dengan Gereja Methodist Damansara Utama sambil menegaskan dewan gereja digunakan hanya untuk majlis makan malam.

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Masalah instituisi zakat dalam perspektif Posted: 29 Aug 2011 05:39 PM PDT 30 OGOS — Isu konflik Jais dan Gereja Metodis Damansara Utama (GMDU) telah membuka ruang kepada berbagai permasalahan lain, antaranya melibatkan persoalan instituisi penguatkuasa Islam dari sudut perundangannya dan arahtuju pendekatannya dalam menjalankan tugas-tugasnya. Begitu juga persoalan yang timbul dari sudut usaha Pemerintah dalam menangani persoalan murtad yang menjadi topik panas mendasari konflik Jais vs GMDU. Topik yang mendapat liputan besar selepas perhimpunan aman Bersih ini turut mengheret persoalan instituisi zakat yang dikatakan gagal menangani permasalahan kemiskinan yang diambil kesempatannya oleh pihak gereja untuk "memurtadkan" umat Islam. Saya tertarik untuk menyentuh persoalan zakat walaupun kegagalan instituisi ini bukanlah segala-segalanya punca kepada berlaku pemurtadan dan tidak adil pula untuk kita sekadar melontarkan sesuatu alasan tanpa memberi penilaian yang objektif kepada apa sebenarnya yang berlaku di sebalik "kegagalan" ini. Al Fadhil bekas Mufti Perlis, Prof Madya Dr Mohamad Asri Zainal Abidin (Maza) lantang mengheret permasalahan disebalik konflik Jais vs GMDU kepada instituisi zakat di mana Dr Maza mempersoalkan ke mana pergi duit-duit zakat yang seharusnya membela umat Islam yang miskin dan susah sekaligus menghalang mereka daripada menjadi mangsa pihak gereja yang mengambil kesempatan di sebalik kemiskinan di kalangan orang Melayu Islam. Dr Maza juga memberikan buah fikirannya secara umum mengapakah kegagalan ini berlaku namun tidak menyentuh secara spesifik instituisi zakat negeri manakah yang dimaksudkan. Sebelum saya membuat sedikit komen kepada heretan Dr Maza ini, saya ingin menyinggung beberapa perkara yang membabitkan permasalahan murtad yang dikaitkan dengan soal kemisikinan. Isu penglibatan pihak gereja yang mengambil kesempatan "menolong" orang susah di kalangan umat Islam bukan sahaja berlaku di Malaysia malah perdebatan ini mendapat perhatian oleh ulamak dan umarak di seluruh dunia Islam khususnya di negara-negara Islam yang miskin. Perdebatannya bukanlah tentang bantuan yang dihulurkan tetapi persoalannya ialah "mengambil kesempatan" dari bantuan tersebut untuk memurtadkan umat Islam. Setiap bantuan yang dihulurkan mestilah ikhlas dan tidak boleh berselindung di sebalik bantuan niat untuk menukar agama seseorang. Alasannya mudah, agama mana-manapun, baik Islam seharusnya mempamerkan kekuatan agamanya melalui hujjah intipati agamanya untuk meyakinkan orang ramai dan bukan melalui "paksaan". Mengambil kesempatan atas kemiskinan untuk seseorang menganut sesuatu agama adalah bentuk "paksaan" yang lembut dan semestinya ditolak cara ini. Di atas dasar ini, apa juga cara yang tidak lahir dari keyakinan kepada intipati agama tertentu tetapi melalui kaedah lain untuk memeluk sesuatu agama seperti secara sihir atau atas dasar percintaan semata-mata antara pasangan yang berlainan agama boleh dianggap sebagai merobek ruang kebebasan beragama dan telah mencemarkan erti pemelukan agama yang sebenarnya. Ya kita tidak menghalang pihak gereja untuk membuat kebajikan, yang semestinya ditentang ialah berselindung di sebalik bantuan dan kemiskinan orang lain untuk memurtadkan orang yang sudah beragama. Dalam Islam peruntukan zakat kepada "mualaffatu qulubihim" (muallaf) walaupun diperuntukan dalam bentuk wang ringgit mesti difahami di atas premis bahawa seseorang itu sudahpun jinak hatinya dengan Islam (walaupun belum Islam lagi) melalui dakwah intipati Islam yang telah dijalankan dan peruntukkan itu bukan kerana kemiskinannya tetapi kerana menghargai hatinya yang sudah berjinak dengan Islam. Pada zaman Umar Ibnu Khattab r.a, definisi muallafatu qulubuhim diberi makna baru apabila mengikut ijtihad beliau, hanya yang baru memeluk Islam diberikan peruntukan zakat dan bukan yang belum Islam tetapi jinak hatinya dengan Islam. Hari ini pengagihan zakat secara resmi kepada muallaf adalah mengikut pendefinisian Umar r.a. Sebab itulah, adalah satu kesilapan untuk kita menganggap zakat asnaf muallaf adalah kerana kemiskinan dan sebab itulah para mualaf juga harus memahami bahawa mereka tidak boleh selamanya mengharapkan peruntukan zakat atas asnaf ini kerana dikhuatiri bahawa mereka memeluk Islam semata-mata kerana kepentingan duit ringgit dan bukan kerana keyakinan kepada intipati agama Islam. Berbalik kepada persoalan "kegagalan" instituisi zakat, kita seharusnya menilai permasahan ini secara "attributive" demi mencari jawapan yang objektif dan bukan emotif. Saya bersetuju bahawa instituisi zakat tidak memaksimakan keberkesanan peranannya, tetapi ada beberapa persoalan yang harus dibereskan terlebih dahulu untuk insitituisi ini menjadi berkesan. Saya yakin Dr Maza sebagai bekas Mufti Perlis lebih arif mengapa ini berlaku kerana saya mengandaikan beliau berada dalam jawatankuasa urusan zakat di Perlis satu ketika dahulu dan tahu bagaimanakah pengurusan zakat di sana. Ataupun mungkin pembaca artikel beliau boleh berkongsi pengalaman bagaimana usaha yang telah beliau jalankan untuk memaksimakan keberkesanan pengagihan zakat di Perlis satu ketika dahulu supaya negeri lain dapat mempelajarinya. Bagi memahami instituisi zakat, kita seharusnya memahami keabsahan kerangka institusi ini wujud dan apakah undang-undang yang melindungi kewujudannya selaku instituisi serta bagaimanakah struktur insitituisi zakat ini berfungsi dan apakah cabaran-cabaran yang dihadapinya dalam menjalankan tugas secara berkesan. Dari sudut keabsahan wujudnya zakat sebagai instituisi, pada awalnya ia berada kepada kuasa majlis agama masing-masing dan bagi negeri-negeri Melayu, Sultan atau Raja-raja Melayu adalah pemegang amanah kepada kutipan dan pengagihan zakat. Pulau Pinang yang tidak mempunyai Raja Melayu contohnya, adanya Peraturan Fitrah Pulau Pinang 1962 dan kemudian Peraturan Pungutan Zakat dan Fitrah Pulau Pinang dalam tahun 1979. Penubuhan PUZ (Pusat Urus Zakat) di negeri-negeri lain pula adalah sebahagian daripada usaha menswastakan institusi zakat bagi mempertingkatkan keberkesanannya. Setiap negeri mempunyai keabsahan undang-undang zakat sendiri kerana ia berada pada kuasa kerajaan negeri masing-masing. Malangnya di sebalik instituisi zakat dianggap sebagai mempunyai peranan besar dalam masyarakat ia masih "menumpang" sistem yang sedia ada. Dengan kata lain ia bukan berada pada arus perdana yang memimpin usaha-usaha membasmi kemiskinan tetapi ia hanya menumpang satu sistem lain yang menganggap instituisi zakat hanya satu bentuk instituisi keagamaan untuk umat Islam menjalankan tugasnya. Walaupun ada peruntukan enakmen penguatkuasaan namun ia longgar apatah lagi dengan kekurangan tenaga kerja pihak yang mengendalikan zakat. Jadi untuk kita membuat andaian kegagalan tanpa melihat kerangkar besar kewujudan institusi zakat itu dan kengkangan yang ada kepadanya adalah sesuatu yang tidak adil. Struktur zakat sebagai sebuah entiti organisasi yang berdaftar di bawah Pendaftaran Syarikat turut memainkan peranan dari sudut keberkesanan. PUZ Pulau Pinang contohnya dipimpin oleh Pengerusi bersama dengan 10 lembaga pengarah. Seorang CEO dilantik sebagai Pengurus Besar PUZ yang mengendalikan pentadbiran eksekutif PUZ. PUZ dari sudut Jabatanya terdiri daripada Jabatan Kutipan dan Pemasaran, Jabatan Pengurus Besar, Jabatan Agihan dan Pembangunan Masyarakat. (rujuk http://www.zakatpenang.com). Masalah yang dihadapi antaranya ialah Lembaga Pengarah tidak berperanan menentukan halatuju PUZ secara strategik, ini adalah kerana perlantikan Lembaga Pengarah adalah perlantikan politik dan kurangnya tumpuan untuk memimpin halatuju insitituisi zakat. Selain itu saya setuju bahawa budaya institusi zakat ini terperap dengan perintah-perintah dari orang politik atau pihak tertentu dan kerana itu pihak pengurusan lebih tertumpu untuk menyedapkan orang-orang politik dan pihak tertentu daripada memainkan peranannya secara berkesan. Apa yang berlaku ialah sesuatu bantuan itu hanya tertumpu di DUN tertentu kerana digunakan untuk meraih sokongan politik, akhirnya sasaran bantuan sebenarnya tersasar atau bantuan hanya di tempat-tempat tertentu sahaja. Kewujudan PUZ dan pengaruh politik negatif akan senantiasa menggagalkan keberkesanan PUZ di mana sahaja mereka berada dan siapa sahaja yang menguasai kerajaan-kerajaan negeri. Saya mencadangkan supaya hubungan PUZ di mana-mana dengan politik mestilah atas dasar rakan bijak yang boleh membantu halatuju PUZ, bukan "tuan" yang menguasai halatuju PUZ. Kalaupun ada input daripada ahli politik mestilah bersesuaian dengan halatuju PUZ dan bukan PUZ tunduk kepada selera ahli politik. Secara hubungannya, organisasi PUZ hanya berhubung dengan Jawatankuasa Qaryah dari sudut maklumat dan data tentang orang-orang miskin dan yang memerlukan pembelaan. Tidak dinafikan Pusat-pusat khidmat DUN dan Parlimen pun mempunyai senarai, jikalau itu boleh membantu maka penyelarasan yang baik akan melahirkan rakan kepada PUZ untuk memaksimumkan pengagihan zakat kepada yang layak. Dengan cara itu PUZ mempunyai rakan lain selain dari saluran biasa yang mungkin tidak mampu membekalkan data yang menyeluruh. Dari sudut cabaran-cabaran yang dihadapi, masalah paling besar pengagihan ialah data yang tidak lengkap dan sistem pungutan data yang konvensional, dengan kata lain tidak ada data yang terkumpul secara statistic dan tersusun. Dalam hal ini PUZ Pulau Pinang memulakan langkah awal dengan menubuhkan Jabatan Statistik dan bekerjasama dengan amil-amil dengan membekalkan mereka maklumat yang mereka perlu untuk mencari data fakir miskin. Amil-amil yang hanya dianggap pengutip zakat seharusnya ditingkatkan perananya menjadi ejen-ejen yang dibimbing untuk mengutip dan memantau data-data yang dikumpulkan. Selain itu cabaran sumber manusia yang tidak mencukupi untuk mengendalikan organisasi zakat turut menjejaskan keberkesanan fungsinya. Bagi instiuisi zakat yang diswastakan seperti Pulau Pinang, organsiasi ini bergantung kepada sumber kewangan dari bahagian Amil dan kerana itu ia perlu berhati-hati membelanjakan bahagiannya. Kerajaan negeri seharusnya memperuntukkan geran untuk pengurusan PUZ negeri supaya mereka dapat menguruskan keperluan sumber manusia dengan lebih berkesan. Perbelanjaan sesetengah PUZ yang mewah dalam perjalanan-perjalanan ke luar negara turut menjejaskan perbelanjaan yang berhemah. PUZ Pulau Pinang baru-baru ini mengorak langkah berhemah apabila mengurangkan bilangan peserta ke luar negara dalam lawatan resmi Lembaga Pengarah dan pentadbiran ke Timur Tengah. Paling besar cabaran ialah membuat perubahan kepada aspek budaya organisasi PUZ yang seharusnya bersikap professional. Cabaran trek budaya dalam mana-mana organsiasi memang sukar tetapi kita tidak ada pilihan. PUZ Pulau Pinang telah mengorak langkah dengan kertas yang dibentangkan untuk melakukan pembudayaan semula dalam satu pemukiman 3 hari untuk menilai semula dan memperkasakan peranan. Trek pembudayaan akan memberi kesan kepada satu lagi aspek penting untuk PUZ melonjak ke arah reformasi iaitu meningkatkan kepercayaan kepada instituisi zakat. Ini termasuk membudayakan ketelusan pengagihan dan perbelanjaan serta menjadi pilihan umat Islam untuk menyumbang zakat mereka. Maksud saya, kerana kurang kepercayaan ada di kalangan masyarakat Islam yang lebih selesa membayar zakat kepada pihak lain. Saya amat bersetuju instituisi zakat dipertingkatkan mutu profesionalisma, saya bersetuju instituisi zakat direformasikan dan saya setuju orang politik membantu halatuju zakat dan bukan menggunakan zakat untuk kepentingan politik mereka dan yang utama ahli lembaga pengarah zakat semestinya membekalkan kepimpinan dan dasar strategik bagi melicinkan perjalanan pentadbiran zakat. Saya cuma tidak bersetuju apabila kenyataan yang umum tidak membantu peningkatan instituisi zakat dan lebih buruk ia akan terus menghilangkan kepercayaan orang ramai terhadap insititusi penting untuk umat Islam hari ini. Negeri-negeri yang sedar peranan yang sepatutnya dimainkan oleh instituisi zakat seharusnya membebaskan zakat dari cengkaman pengaruh politik mahupun individu tertentu, zakat bukan milik pihak tertentu tetapi milik umat Islam yang diamanahkan untuk dikendalikan pengurusannya dan pentadbirannya kepada pihak tertentu. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Magnificent Manchester Posted: 29 Aug 2011 05:21 PM PDT AUG 30 — 8-2? Eight? Ocho, huit, acht, lapan... however you say it, Manchester United's victory over Arsenal on Sunday afternoon was astonishing. When I wrote on Saturday that we could expect to see United notch another victory to pile more pressure onto Arsene Wenger, I was envisaging something along the lines of a routine two- or three-goal victory. Certainly not eight. Let's put it into perspective: it was the first time that Arsenal have conceded so many goals in more than a century; it was only the fourth time that United have scored so many goals in nearly 1,000 games since the Premier League was formed in 1991. It was the most any team has conceded in the top flight since Spurs put nine past Wigan nearly two years ago. All things considered, pretty remarkable stuff. So why did it happen? The reasons are many and varied: Arsenal were missing eight or nine players due to injury or suspension; Arsenal's defending was appalling; Arsenal were fatigued from their midweek trip to Udinese while United were fresh after having a week to prepare; United's new-look team is oozing with confidence; and United scored some outstanding goals, the likes of which normally come along once or twice in a month rather than four in an hour. Of those, the most pertinent are points one and two. Arsenal badly, desperately, achingly, need reinforcements in a number of areas because the depth of their squad is totally inadequate. Although they are perhaps unfortunate to be missing so many players at the moment, injuries and suspensions are an unavoidable part of football. They happen; therefore, be prepared to deal with them. At the moment, Arsenal are most patently not. The signing of South Korean striker Park Chu Young from Monaco is nowhere near enough to satisfy the Gunners' needs — he's a reasonable player but nothing special (not good enough to prevent Monaco from being relegated last season, for example) and Arsenal have more pressing needs at the other end of the pitch. In addition to Young, Wenger needs to sign, I would suggest, a reliable and confidence-inspiring goalkeeper, a reliable and confidence-inspiring central defender, a left back, two defensively inclined central midfielders (preferably possessing the ability to tackle rather than foul) and a striker who might get close to 20 goals in a season to relieve the burden on Robin van Persie. And he's only got two days to do it, because the transfer window closes tomorrow night. Oh dear. Then, if I may take you back, there's point two: Arsenal's defending. At Old Trafford on Sunday, it was embarrassingly poor, and cannot be excused by the fact that it was such an inexperienced back four. Look at the first goal: two defenders and the goalkeeper left it to each other, allowing Danny Welbeck to steal in and nod home. Then the second goal: OK, a wonderful shot by Ashley Young, but he only had the ball in the first place because of a terrible headed "clearance" by Armand Traore. And so it went on. This was basic, schoolboy stuff, and it was lacking. Arsenal were poorly drilled, with no palpable organisation, game plan or spirit, and that has to come down to the manager. Monsieur Wenger's reign at the Emirates is under real, serious pressure for the very first time. Perhaps that's exactly what he needs; perhaps he has been too untouchable for too long. The astonishing manner of United's victory served to overshadow the exploits of their neighbours, Manchester City, earlier in the day. After all, Roberto Mancini's team only managed five goals, not eight, even if they came away from home against an opponent in far less disarray than Arsenal. City's hero against Spurs was Edin Dzeko, who is a totally transformed player from the overweight, clumsy figure who bumbled his way around the country towards the end of last season. Having benefited from a full pre-season with his new team, the Bosnian striker is now looking fit, confident, and justifying the £30 million (RM146.7 million) transfer fee that brought him to Manchester from Wolfsburg. At White Hart Lane on Sunday, Dzeko emphasised his transformation with a "connoisseur's" hat-trick — one with his left foot, one with his right foot, and one with his head — before rounding off a magnificent all-round performance with a stunning left-footed curler from 25 yards in the dying moments. With Kun Aguero, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Adam Johnson already within the City ranks, the last thing Premier League defences needed was for Dzeko to find his feet as well. They are looking a formidable force, and the Premier League is already starting to resemble a two-horse race between the Manchester clubs. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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