The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Tak bolehkah Mahfuz bertanding di Sungai Limau? Posted: 17 Oct 2013 05:55 PM PDT
Saya tidak pasti adakah nama Datuk Mahfuz Omar termasuk dalam senarai calon PAS dalam Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) bagi mengisi kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) yang dikosongkan oleh allahyarham Tan Sri Azizan Razak? Jika tidak, eloklah namanya disenaraikan sama. Sebagai Pesuruhjaya PAS Kedah, Mahfuz tidak boleh menamakan dirinya, tetapi pengundi Sungai Limau, pimpinan PAS Kedah dan PAS Pusat boleh melontarkan pandangan itu. Pengiriman Mahfuz ke situ adalah isyarat pertama bahawa PAS nekad dan bertekad mengambil semula Kedah dari tangan Menteri Besar, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir. Mukhriz cuba memulakan tindakan balik ke Kedah apabila salah seorang Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Barisan Nasional (BN) di kawasan Jerlun cuba dilucutkan kerana dikatakan absen tanpa kebenaran bagi sidang DUN. Mukhriz menawar diri bagi berdepan dengan pentadbiran Pakatan Kedah dari dekat. Maka kini PAS perlu menampilkan pencabar terkuat untuk Mukhriz dalam rangka mengambil kembali negeri itu. Memang pengirimannya bagi menjadi Pesuruhjaya baru PAS Kedah adalah isyarat bagi menggantikan Ustaz Azizan bukan sekadar pemimpin PAS Kedah bahkan sebagai pemimpin rakyat dan Kedah selepas ini. Pembangkang Kedah sekarang memang memerlukan orang baru seperti Mahfuz bagi menjadikan Mukhriz yang mula membesar itu jadi kecil semula. Dengan Mahfuz jadi Adun baharu Sungai Limau, akan dilihat ancaman besar buat Menteri Besar Kedah dan masyarakat umum dalam dan luar Kedah, malah akan dapat diyakinkan betapa PAS bersungguh dan bersedia untuk merampas negeri itu semula. Tidak bererti Kedah tidak ada orang lain untuk mengenepikan Mukhriz dan Umno, tetapi PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat jangan bazirkan keberadaan Mahfuz itu. Dia boleh memberi tekanan tambah bagi menyempitkan masa depan dan masa selesa Mukhriz. Mukhriz kini sedang menempah kedudukan lebih kuat dalam politik Umno bila dia bertanding Naib Presiden Umno. Jika dia menang satu daripada tiga kerusi naib itu, maka pancangnya di Kedah bertambah kukuh. Maka yang lebih padan menghadapi batang hidungnya ialah seorang pimpinan nasional PAS juga. Ketika PRK Sungai Limau nanti Mahfz masih Naib Presiden PAS lagi. Ini boleh memberi potensi mudah bagi Mahfuz untuk menguasai DUN itu. Mengirim dia ke situ bukan untuk mengambil kerusi yang mungkin boleh disandang oleh pimpinan tempatan yang berpontesi. Mahfuz sudah ada kerusi Parlimen yang lebih berdaulat daripada Adun, tetapi penampilannya bukan untuk menambah kerusi YBnya, tetapi PAS perlukan persediaan dan kekuatan paling maksima menentang Mukhriz yang juga beraura nasional. Mahfuz pernah ada pengalaman yang berguna menghadapi bapa Mukhriz di Parlimen, maka kini dia perlu menggunakan pengalaman menangani anak bapa itu di DUN Kedah. Dia bukan orang asing bagi kawasan sekitar Sungai Limau dan Yan. Sebelum menjadi MP Pokok Sena dan sebelum menjadi Pesuruhjaya PAS Kedah, dia sudah biasa dengan kawasan itu dan dikenali oleh semua orang di situ. Mahfuz adalah orang yang boleh dilihat di mana-mana bukan sekadar di Kedah bahkan di Kuala Lumpur dan di luar Kedah. Jika kita selalu tengok dia di Kuala Lumpur seolah-olah dia tidak pernah balik ke Kedah. Bila kita tengok dia di Kedah, maka seolah-olah dia tidak pernah tinggalkan Kedah. Untuk lima tahun ini perlu Mahfuz itu dimanfaatkan di Kedah dan dia mesti dimanfaatkan semaksima mungkin. Atas hisab dan congak politik itu boleh Mahfuz dicalonkan bagi menggantikan Ustaz Azizan di Sungai Limau. – 18 Oktober, 2013. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. | |
| A rose by any other name would smell as sweet Posted: 17 Oct 2013 03:50 PM PDT
Call me murtad (apostate), I don't care. Call me syirik (polytheist), I don't care. Heavy accusations in Islam, these two. I hope the accusers have the necessary proof, evidence and criteria to do so. I, an official Muslim, hereby publicly declare that I have no problems with other religions aside from Islam using the word Allah to refer to God. Most of the times when I write my column, it is to address a readership that is as wide and as general as possible without targeting too specific a group. But this week, I am writing to Muslims in particular (err, but if you are an infidel, you can still continue reading!), and especially Malay Muslims. As Muslims, we are obligated to believe in the existence of the prophets and this includes the prophet Jesus, who brought to the world Christianity, and even Moses who brought Judaism. As a Muslim, we are also obligated to believe in the existence of the holy books and this includes the Bible which taught Christianity and the Torah which taught Judaism. And, when we believe in all this, we also have to believe that all Abrahamic religions come from one God, and in Arabic (the main language of Islam's Quran) the word is Allah. So, when an argument is made that Christianity and Islam are two different religions, no one can deny it. It's true. These are two different religions. But when it comes to God, both these different religions refer to the same God. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet (oh crap, did I just objectify God as a rose?). Ahh, how I wish this simple explanation isn't so cliché. Unfortunately, it is. It is a simple explanation that has been preached so many times over so many years. And why do some Malay Muslims still choose to ignore this? I believe it is because they are stupid, ignorant and just plain arrogant too. I once shot a short documentary on this same issue many years ago. I interviewed lots of people, from the editor of the Herald, to Islamic scholars, and members of the public. What hit me the most was a comment made by a Malay Muslim man who looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s walking along the streets of Taman Tun Dr. Ismail in Kuala Lumpur. He said that he knows Allah is just an Arabic word for God. He knows that the Malay word "Tuhan" also means the same thing. He also knows that in many parts of the world, the word Allah is used by many other religions including Christianity, and this is particular true in Arab-speaking countries. "But in Malaysia, the word is used by Malay Muslims and it should be exclusively for Malay Muslims. I don't care!" he says as a matter of factly. I really don't want to be judgmental. But tell me honestly if that comment by that Malay Muslim man doesn't reek of "please judge me negatively now!"? So it's obvious that the reason why Christians cannot use the word Allah is not religious at all. It is not stated anywhere in the Quran, nor has it been mentioned by the prophet Muhammad. Then, what is the reason? From everything that I've observed regarding this matter, I have to say that in my humble opinion as a loud-mouthed journalist and columnist, the reason is political. In my humble opinion, it is a way for Malay Muslims to show that they are the dominant race and everyone else who are not of that status should be put in their places. It is sad to see this happening, but I think that I still have faith in Malaysia and the Malaysian people in the grander scale of things. For every stupid, ignorant and arrogant Malay Muslim out there, there are even more rational, intellectual and moderate thinking ones. The country needs to be inclusive to ensure proper progress and developent. Its serves no positive purpose isolating other fellow Malaysians based on race and religion. Malaysia does not belong exclusively to the Malays or to Muslims. And neither can a particular word in a particular language. Get real people. Do you think that God even gives a damn what word in what language people use to refer to him or her? - October 18, 2013. *This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. |
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