The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Barang naik, hidup makin tertekan Posted: 16 Dec 2013 04:01 PM PST Shukur mempunyai lebih 30 tahun pengalaman sebagai wartawan dan bekerja dengan pelbagai media. Beliau kini pencen tetapi menjadi pemerhati politik yang tegar. Ketika pemimpin negara, keluarga dan sahabat-handai mereka hidup bermewah-mewah, rakyat semakin derita, hidup makin sukar kerana harga barang naik, menyebabkan jurang miskin dan kaya semakin luas. Ini tidak baik bagi sebuah negara, apalagi seperti Malaysia yang tanahnya subur, hasil buminya banyak, di mana sepatutnya rakyat menikmati kemakmuran ini. Namun disebabkan salah urus tadbir negara, rasuah, pembaziran, kronisme, penyelewengan dan sebagainya maka kebobrokan ekonomi pun berlaku, mengakibatkan rakyat biasa menderita. Semua kepincangan ini sedang berlaku dan orang besar negara bersilat lidah mempertahankan kenaikan harga barang, yang kata mereka sedikit saja dan memang wajar. Banyak lagi kenyataan yang sangat dangkal dan bersifat membodohkan rakyat diucapkan oleh pembesar negara. Dalam suasana jurang miskin-kaya ini semakin luas, maka dilihat segelintir pihak saja yang hidup selesa, malah bermewah-mewah, naik kapal terbang ke sana ke mari, makan minum di hotel ternama, atau di kelab elit yang eksklusif, mendiami kawasan elit di bandar besar, bermain golf, menjadi ahli kelab mewah, memiliki kereta mewah pelbagai jenis dengan pengawal keselamatan 24 jam. Bagaimana mereka menjalani hidup mewah ini, daripada mana sumber pendapatan mereka. Mungkin di antara mereka ada yang mendapat rezeki sumber yang halal, tetapi bagaimana yang lain. Mereka yang hidup bermewah-mewah ini terpisah daripada masyarakat dan tidak tahu derita sangsara rakyat. Umpamanya kehidupan mangsa banjir di pantai timur baru-baru ini. Sementara di kawasan rakyat biasa - di mana-mana - di rumah teres harga murah atau flet dua bilik di mana lifnya selalu rosak, sampah-sarap bersepah, kes jenayah sering berlaku, maka di sanalah rakyat miskin bandar ini menjalani kehidupan. Ada yang bekerja sebagai kerani biasa, buruh berpendapatan amat kecil, membuka warung nasi lemak di penjuru jalan, bekerja sebagai pengawal keselamatan dan pelbagai lagi. Atau penduduk jauh di pedalaman yang kerjanya menoreh getah atau mengambil upah mengait kelapa, mengail ikan dan menangkap udang di tepi pantai, atau membuka warung di penjuru jalan. Inilah golongan rakyat biasa yang menderita disebabkan kos hidup terus naik meningkat. Mereka yang amat terkesan dengan kenaikan harga barang keperluan, apatah lagi tempoh persekolahan anak akan tiba tidak lama lagi. Maka belanja persediaan anak ke sekolah dan seterusnya belanja persekolahan sangat membebankan. Kini sudah kedengaran tambang bas sekolah akan naik sehingga 40%. Kelmarin, kesatuan pengendali bas sekolah mengumumkan pihaknya akan mengenakan surcaj tambahan 40 peratus ke atas kadar tambang apabila penggal persekolahan bermula bulan depan, sekiranya kerajaan tidak mendedahkan kadar baru bagi perkhidmatan itu. Gabungan Persatuan Bas Sekolah (GPBS) meluluskan usul tersebut dalam mesyuarat agung tahunannya baru-baru ini ekoran kegagalan Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat menjalankan semakan semula tambang. Langkah itu juga diambil selepas kerajaan mengumumkan pengurangan subsidi harga diesel pada September lalu yang menurut GPBS menyebabkan pengusaha bas tertekan untuk meneruskan operasi. Presien GPBS, Amali Munif Rahmat, berkata Lembaga Pelesenan Kenderaan Komersial kali terakhir membuat semakan harga tambang pada Ogos 2009. Katanya, SPAD sepatutnya membuat semakan setiap tiga tahun atau apabila berlaku langkah drastik seperti kenaikan harga minyak diesel. Sementara itu, Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar membayangkan kenaikan kadar tol tahun depan di mana, katanya, tidak dapat dielakkan. Dalam keadaan beberapa kenaikan diumumkan sebelum ini, termasuk harga petrol, gula, tarif elektrik, pengumuman baru kenaikan tol ini dilihat satu lagi beban yang terpaksa ditanggung rakyat khususnya pengguna lebuh raya. Baru-baru ini juga, Abdul Wahid berkata, telah tiba masanya untuk kadar tol dinaikkan kerana perkara itu terkandung dalam perjanjian konsesi antara kerajaan dan syarikat konsesi lebuh raya. Kenaikan itu, katanya, sepatutnya dibuat pada 2011 lalu seperti terkandung dalam perjanjian konsesi, bagaimanapun tidak dinaikkan dan kerajaan membelanjakan RM400 juta untuk membayar pampasan untuk mengekalkan kadar sedia ada. Desas-desus mengenai kenaikan tol bermula ekoran kenyataan Menteri Kerja Raya, Datuk Fadillah Yusof bahawa terdapat semakan semula kadar tol pada tahun hadapan daripada segi perjanjian antara kerajaan dengan syarikat konsesi lebuh raya. Ada media melaporkan kenaikan kadar itu dijangka berlaku antara 30 sen sehingga RM1, tetapi tidak menyatakan untuk jarak perjalanan sejauh mana. Ada 13 lebuh raya yang terlibat dalam semakan semula kadar tol itu. Bantahan rakyat banyak di alam Facebook, umpamanya mereka berkata: "Sekarang? giliran pemimpin BN balas budi sokongan rakyat dengan 'hadiah' kenaikan segala benda. Nak tunggu kedai kopi di kampung jual nasi lemak RM30 sebungkus, karipap RM10 sebiji, roti canai RM25 sekeping baru nak bantah. Terima Kasih BN kerana 'Dahulukan Rakyat'...." "Hidup BN, rakyat didahulukan...," komen seorang lagi pengguna, Nan Manjoi dalam Facebook. Golongan elit yang hidup bermewah-mewah tidak akan terasa kenaikan harga barang. Ini kerana mereka tidak pernah ke pasar, ke kedai runcit, makan di warung atau di kedai mamak. Mereka makan minum di tempat eksklusif, kediaman mereka juga di kawasan eksklusif, keluar negeri tidak putus-putusnya, malah membeli-belah di luar negeri. Mereka terpisah dengan rakyat dan tidak akan merasakan pedihnya dengan kenaikan harga barang. Demikian jurang miskin kaya semakin meluas di Malaysia dan nampaknya ini dibiarkan terus berlaku, pada ketika ramai umat Islam melupakan pesan di dalam ajaran Islam supaya harta kekayan itu jangan beredar di kalangan sekelompok orang saja. Siapakah yang hendak memberitahu keadaan ini, di manakah ustaz, mengapa mereka membisu seribu bahasa. Takkanlah dalam Islam itu hanya soal akhlak, memikirkan ganjaran pahala di akhirat semata-mata. Takkanlah bahan ini saja yang hendak diberitahu di dalam kuliah agama di masjid dan TV. Bukankah rasuah, pembaziran, penyelewengan dan seumpamanya itu perkara mungkar yang juga wajib ditentang. Mengapa kuliah agama 'membisu' dalam perkara ini? - 17 Disember, 2013. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. | |
| Posted: 16 Dec 2013 03:53 PM PST
The ongoing religious persecution of Mat Sabu and many others before him portends a grave future for religious freedom in this country. We are not only denied political freedom (in the manner that governs the media and the electoral process), but also liberty in matters of personal belief. We are already witnessing a new wave of attacks against Shias which are more commonly associated with the Middle East and Pakistan. Sunni-Shia warfare has turned the Muslim world upside-down with senseless killings and now it has arrived on our shores, thanks to our Minister in charge of security. I believe that religious freedom as a legal right has been denied, bastardised and distorted in this country. Many years ago, when Kamariah Ali and her husband pleaded before the judges to allow them to be the kind of Muslims that they understood God meant for them to be, they were denied. The judges ruled that the State had the right to define Islam, and that only this version was acceptable. The judges went on to say the State also had the right to punish those who deviated from this version of Islam. So Kamariah Ali spent many years in jail for following her conscience. When her husband died the State would not grant him a proper burial ground, so Kamariah had to bury him under her house. The State obviously did not consider him to be a Muslim who deserved a proper burial, yet it believed it had the power to punish him for being a "deviant" Muslim. The State had its cake and ate it too: one day it declared a person a bad Muslim who needed to be punished, and the next day it declared that this person was not a Muslim. And the judges agreed! A few of us cried foul. There is either religious freedom under the Federal Constitution or there is none. Today there is none, which explains why something like the "Allah" issue was able to unfold before the world's disbelieving eyes. Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and Sunni warriors are probably willing to die for the akidah but there are other believers who are also "brave" enough to die for their beliefs. That is why we have religious wars and that is why we have suicide bombers. In countries with secular constitutions like the US and England, Muslims do not kill each other. They can be Sunni or Shia or whatever they want, so long as they do not break the law. Religious freedom is important because it protects all believers and this is the only way to prevent religious wars. Zahid should reconsider the idea of wiping out Shias in Malaysia if he really cares about peace and stability in the country! What happened to Mat Sabu and others like him would never have come to pass if our judges had been brave enough to base their decisions on the law. They would have then ruled that Kamariah Ali had the right to religious freedom, even as a "deviant" Muslim. But these judges felt they had to be Muslims themselves first, which only closed the door to real religious freedom and opened another one for religious persecutors to walk through. Our so-called "moderate" country is actually religiously-fascist. It's up to Malaysians either to allow this trend to continue or to defend religious freedom. When I first said Mat Sabu should not bother to defend himself when he was accused of being a Shia, my Muslim friends felt he needed to, regardless of the quality of evidence his accusers could provide. They felt that being a Shia was bad for his image. I, on the other hand, believed his response should have been, "It's none of your business. I say I am a Sunni but if you think I am not, do what you want!" Whether Mat Sabu is a Shia or a Sunni is of no concern to Zahid or anyone else. If Zahid and Jakim think Shia are not Muslims, then why not petition the OIC and the UN and whatever international body they think is appropriate, to bar Iranians from doing the pilgrimage to Mecca. Take on the central stage of the Muslim world if you truly want to be a Sunni warrior. Do not bully local Muslims like Mat Sabu. It's up to Muslims in this country to decide for themselves what kind of Muslims they want to be. I believe they have that right under the Constitution. I am a Muslim and that's all there is to it. The State may define Islam as the Sunnah Wal Jumaah variety, but that definition cannot supersede Article 8 in the Constitution on religious freedom. The state can advise on what variety is "pure" but it cannot punish Muslims if they prefer a different variety. Punishment is God's work, not government officials', and that's central to a country that has a secular Constitution governing matters of faith. And Malaysia is secular. This is the principle of religious freedom, and even as Muslims we have that protection and that right in this country. Whether Muslims like Mat Sabu and other Malaysians want to reclaim that right is up to them. This country will eventually explode like Lebanon and Syria if the Prime Minister is only interested in fast trains to Singapore and trade agreements. We have had many disturbing incidents such as Memali, the Al Ma'unah movement and other "deviant groups". Religion is not important just to Zahid but to many people. Everybody believes theirs is the true faith, and is therefore better or purer. Everybody believes God has asked them to do what they can to protect the faith. To add to that, we have vested interests who will promote a particular belief to preserve their rule. The Saudi King, for example, would not last a day if the Shia controlled the Middle East. It's political power play, with nothing religious about it. So how do we manage this potentially difficult and dangerous conflict? The Prime Minister says he is a moderate. If that is true then he should speak out a lot more about the subject in Malaysia. He should also have Ministers who are moderate and capable of engaging with difficult subjects. He should defend the Federal Constitution, but not as it is interpreted by the Muslim Lawyers Association. On the other hand if he were to have more Sunni warriors are in the Cabinet, the fast train to Singapore will have fewer passengers. Of that I am sure! – December 17, 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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