Shawal...Are the Camels pregnant?

In the tenth month of the Islamic calendar, the camels are supposed to be carrying a fetus, since shawwal means to lift or carry (according to wikipedia although the arabic word for carry is raffa'a). We are now one week into the month of Shawwal, and Muslims especially in Malaysia are still celebrating aidilfitri. It's the month of open houses, especially for political leaders and the the rich businessmen, out to reward their supporters or clients as the case may be.

The open-house can really be a huge occasion for feasting and tightening up the relationship or promoting a leader's public relations. An elderly Auntie of mine was so happy when she attended the aidilfitri open-house reception at a Menteri Besar's home and had the opportunity to shake hand with the leader, "which had never happened before in my life" she announced with pride and joy. We can see huge smiles and appreciation expressed by those who attended the leader's open-house, captured in color photographs and splashed as headline news in the media.

There certainly are more of such pictures than that of a leader visiting an impoverished home and giving some new clothes or household furniture to the occupants. What you can see more often are pictures of richly dressed leaders handing over angpows to visitors to their homes.

The OIC extraordinary summit meeting is over and the killing goes on in Syria and elsewhere in the Muslim counties. I try to follow the news coverage as much as possible since the first day of aidilfitri but I don't see much of Muslim leaders in the Arab world spreading the spirit and joy of aidilfitri to their countrymen. Maybe our coverage of events on those countries was inadequate but what we could hear was more of political talks than efforts to spread the joy of aidilfitri. Is there no injunction by Allah SWT or examples set by the Prophet SAW for Muslim leaders to do just that during the month of Shawwal?

The main purpose of zakat fitrah is to enable the poor to join in the celebration of aidilfitri. Perhaps that objective would be achieved if the material and financial help to be given to is given before the end of Ramadhan itself. If given later how could they celebrate the aidlfitri itself on the 1st of Shawwal? Such matters, I'm sure, are too small and petty for OIC to deal with. But there are thousands upon thousands of Muslims out there devoid of any means to celebrate aidilfitri and some are facing starvation, even while other Muslims are having parties and open-houses.

Allah has ordained that the rich be the protectors of the poor. Are they fulfilling that obligation?

OIC Extraordinary Summit on the Eve of Aidilfitri..

Well, Ramadhan al-mubarak is coming to a close. In this holy month, the "syaitan" (satan), according to Islam, are imprisoned or locked in. It follows then that they will be back or the prowl, leading Muslims away from the rightful path, to do mischiefs and other destructive acts once Ramadhan is over.

Very appropriately KING ABDULLAH BIN ABDUL-AZIZ,the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia had called for the fourth Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to examine the situation of the Muslims in many countries of the Islamic world, intensify efforts to confront the situation, address the sources of discord and division, reunify the Islamic ummah, and promote Islamic solidarity.

We all know that many Islamic countries have just undergone some traumatic uprising in what is called the "Arab Spring" or a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests against the government which began on December 18,2010. Thousands have been killed in bloody clashes between voluntary and government forces, more than 20,000 in the case of Syria. It really appears that satans had been let loose and the month of Ramadhan had not been able to restrain them. If the killings and the massacre of innocent women and children could happen during the month of Ramadhan when satans are supposed to be shackled, one can imagine what will happen when they are let loose again.

The Aidilfitri would be a good reason to stop the fightings and the massacres in the Muslim countries.It's a day of celebration to mark the end of the fasting month and a month of intensified prayers and submission to Allah.It is a day that should be respected by non-Muslim just as the Muslims respected Christmas, the New Year and other festive days of the non-Muslims.

It would be wonderful if the OIC could stop bloodshed in the warring Muslim countries with the advent of Aidilfitri, as a first order of priorities..Help the traumatized and impoverished people to be able to celebrate the occasion with some food and financial assistance.Addressing the sources of discord and division, would be a very complicated and long-term task. So is reunifying the Islamic ummah and promoting Islamic solidarity. OIC had been at it for many years without achieving any observable success.
Why not try to reduce the sufferings of those at war first. Only a good result in that area will lend support to the other long term goals mentioned.

Muslim all over the world on the other hand should be ready to help their brothers and sisters in accordance with the principle " kullu muslimina ikhwatun". This is a duty which a good Muslim is obliged to undertake. If that cannot be done, then the whole "training" which Ramadhan was supposed to give then, has failed. Muslims all over the world must first uphold the full spirit of Ramadhan to be able to pacify the deeply troubled Islamic world after the "syaitans" are let loose again.

A Night of Heavenly Visitation....

Muslims believed that in the last ten nights of Ramadhan, there could be a heavenly visitation from the messengers of Allah SWT (subhanahu wataala), when the sky is lighted up with Godly illumination and the trees will bow low in deference to the sacred presence of all the signs of Allah. That is the night of Lailatul Qadar which all Muslims sought and craved to see - a gift which will be awarded to the most faithful of Alllah's servants.

None of the Prophet's friends and the Ulamas had experienced the visitation or made such a claim, although strange happenings had been seen. In what shape and form, no one had described in any detail testifying to the Sufi's claim that the experience of being in Allah's presence is never describable.

As we approach Aidil Fitri, the shopping malls and arcades are agog with cheap sales, fantastic discounts and the echoes of Hariraya songs. But the decorations are not as colorful, resplendent and ornate as those welcoming Christmas, the New Year of the CNY.
Muslim don't display sacred or venerated religious figures in honor of their festive occasions.Restraint and the middle road are always preached in all forms of action and celebration.

Nonetheless the huge shopping malls in the city are said to be flooded by visitors and shoppers from up-country, while the roads are also jammed up by their visits." Who are they?" I asked a friend who made the claim. "Felda settlers!" came the quick reply. "They have received so many financial bounties from the government after their investment company head been listed on the share market." I know that Malaysians with an income below RM3000 per month had also received cash packets from the government, But I doubt if the amount is enough to pull them to the high=class dropping Malls. To Jalan masjid India shopping haven, maybe. The military, police and civil servants had also received a raise and a bonus. They are also adding to the human traffic jams in the shopping malls, I believe.

In spite of all that, I feel that the festive mood is not as cheerful and boisterous as before.There seem to be too many unanswered questions and doubts about everything in the air. From politics, economy to sporting and social events. There's a murmur and a rumbling which disturbs the festive mood, even concerning the logo and motto adopted by government for the coming Merdeka Anniversary celebration...

Maybe there are too many NEW things being done by government too quickly with too little attention to the grassroots' opinion. Remember that the consultation labs conducted under the NKRA scheme of things do not include the men-in-the-street but most ly senior executives in the private and public sector. Can they really represent the thinking of the average Malaysian citizen? At the village community level, do the village development committee members as selected by the local power house represent the villagers as a whole? Indeed there could be a serious communication gap developing at various levels in the new scheme of things.

Ramadhan Again...

The Imam or Preacher at the mosque always asked the question: Did you come out of the month of Ramadhan last year as a changed man (or woman)? If not the month most special in Islam is here again and this is your chance to cleanse yourself from the evils of life, renew your faith in Allah SAW and seek His clemency. For, this could be the last Ramadhan al-mubarak in your life.

Some ulamas described Ramadhan as a Training Instituiion where good Muslims learn to face the hardships of life with patience and earn bountiful credits for whatever good deed that one does in the month.All prayers and good deeds ( Amal Soleh) will be rewarded 700 or more times than what is usually awarded in the normal month and abstaining from what is prohibited by Islam will earn one the same enhanced bonus.

Yes, we see Muslims thronging the madrasahs and mosques to overflowing capacity in Ramadhan , especially at night until after the marathon prayer session (taraweh) and the al-quran recital ( tadarus). There will be talks and lectures given by various Imams through the month.

But what do we see in the day especially late afternoon? People thronging the Ramadhan Bazaars, now found all over the country, to buy all kinds of goodies and delicacies for breaking their fast at the setting of the sun. You can find all the varieties of traditional and modern cookies and dishes being sold, so much so that non-Muslims also take advantage of the fare. You'll never find such offerings at any other time in the year. For all food connoisseurs in the world, this is the best time to visit Malaysia and tickle your taste-bud to no end.

I am sure that even in the war-torn Muslim countries, this is a time to cease fighting the evils of the world and politics, and concentrate on fighting the inner evils of the soul, if you've not already sold it to Satan. Why,you can even try to reprieve it if that has already happened. For the warlords and evil-mongers it's time to dig ( I quote Ken Wilber in Boomeritis) "beneath the veneer of civilized madness to find, it is devoutly hoped, an original human goodness long buried by the brutalities of a modern world rubbed raw by viciousness."

We still hear people saying that the Muslims are belligerent and warlike in nature. Talk to them in this fasting month, share their thoughts and reflections, their values and their ideals. You'll find that they are among the most friendly people in the world. Of course there are the extremists and fundamentalists - even the average Muslims could not see eye-to-eye with them.

A Beautiful.Cold and Rainy Morning....

We all love a bright sunny morning, with birds and bees fluttering in the breeze and people hurrying to their offices to start work. On weekends many of course will not witness the morning sun, perhaps remaining in bed until ten or even later. Then preparing oneself for lunch or an outing....

So, who appreciates a cold, rainy morning? Ever thought of that?

What about the housewives who have so many things to clear up in the house from unwashed linen, crockeries, the fridge stuffed-up with left-overs, the rooms which have not be vacuumed for some time, the floor which had not be stripped off from heavy carpeting for months with dust collecting everywhere, the furniture which had not been rearranged for ages, etc, etc? There's enough work for three rainy days or more.

What about the tired executives who had not been able to sit and read in their studies for months? Catch up on the news, the cinemas, the sports, and the neighbors.The wife and the children could fill you in better then the radio or TV. Of course now you have the Internet and Facebook.Anything worthwhile knowing should be in the FB, Twitters etc. etc. Just keep surfing the internet the whole morning and afternoon, before you fall asleep. Hey, you get damn tired surfing the net you know!


I'm surveying the neighborhood from my window, the houses, the trees and the hills all shrouded in a hazy, wet, but transparent blanket. Today is a weekday and most of the abled bodied men and women must be keeping busy in the office. chit-chatting around with colleagues or clients with a cup of hot coffee in their hands or attending a meeting. How many years of our life are spent in that way? Only the house-wives and non school-going children must be at home with the maids, forced to remain indoors by the rain and drizzle.

So...what's beautiful about it? For those who are at home, think my friend. It's one of the rare occasions when you can be by yourself watching Nature refresh itself in a cold bath, relieving itself from the heat of sin and mayhem generated by human beings. Perhaps the war mongers in war-torn countries will stay at home today, and not think of killing people. Perhaps the murders, the thieves and the criminals in society will stay home and make love to their life-partners, thus enjoying the pleasures of loving people rather then victimizing them.

For the rich and wealthy, go on, wallow in your comfortable den with lots of food and drinks to enjoy, while the poor and hungry in war-torn countries seek shelter somewhere from the cold and rain , nursing their empty bellies.

Exploiting the Hillside

Ravishing the hillside to develop scenic high-rise buildings, bungalows and other housing units, is now a common sight. Lush green and soothing hillsides are suddenly "raped" by huge bulldozers exposing large tracks of raw brown earth for several months or even years before the construction of concrete jungles are begun. before the construction of concrete jungles are begun.

That's modern development, folks, the way to creating a modern, progressive nation,full of scenic urban centers and housing development.Such rape of the green virgin forest can occur even in the center of large tracks of virgin jungle to lay the foundation of a new city. Every country in the world has been doing that. Some wisely, some in an idiotic and unscrupulous fashion.

Malaysia is reputed to be the 21st most biodiversified country in the world, about 60% of which is covered by virgin forest some 130 million years old.We've some 2,199 endemic species of forest vegetation 18% of which are threatened with extinction.As a result of land development, especially on the hilly slopes adjacent to the city centers, there has been a spade of landslides and land-spills in recent years, some of which killed hundreds of people with high-rise towers and bungalows crashing down or being buried in mud.Building construction on hill slope with some 20 degrees ingredient has been prohibited but you can still see it being done. After all any hillside can now been terraced with the giant tractors and caterpillars available. Even a 90 degree slope can be filled in and reduced to a 15-20 ingredient.

So, don't be surprised if a scenic green hill some hundred yards away from your house suddenly sports a red-brown scar which kept increasing until it swallows the whole hill. Some months later a brick, steel and glass jungle with grow its place.

No, nobody can stop this from happening unless we want to build houses on the trees.But like the time when Felda was biding residential homes for the settlers, must the ground be leveled and cleared of all beautiful tress before construction begins. Can't we allow some of the glorious green crowns to remain. The giant tress can also help to ensure that landslide dan landslips will not happen. More importantly we don't destroy nature's beauty entirely by replacing it with our odd idea of a beautiful housing scheme in the development of a modern, urbanized nation.

Are We Reviving the Subsidy Mentality?

Close to a general election the government - any government for that matter - will be in the mood to woo public support with a lot of financial assistance and monetary gifts. Ask in the spirit of the election campaign or a protest movement, and thou shall be given. This is in addition to a spade of citizen-friendly projects and programs stretching beyond the life of the current government, to ensure that it will be voted back to power.

This is a political culture of the world and there is no way of hiding the fact nor should we feel ashamed about it.

But in as far as as Malaysia is concerned, the people especially the Malays, had just been salvaged from the subsidy-mentality syndrome. There was a time when everything has to be subsidized by the government to allow the lower income group to catch up with their more prosperous friends and neighbors. There was a time when every little development project to be undertaken by villagers needed government support and financial assistance.There was a time when there was a quota reserved for the the less privileged community - the Malays- in almost every aspect of government policy from public housing to study awards and places in the universities.


That time is now gone. The poorer Malays in the rural areas are now expected to buck up and compete with the other economically more advanced communities. The subsidy mentality was to be wiped out and replaced by a more self-reliant and progressive attitude.

But now the financial assistance programs, a new form of subsidy though they sometime involve a once-over programs, are back. Students have been given an RM100 assistance and an RM200 book coupon to ease off the financial burden of their parents. BRIM I had given an RM500 hand-out to those earning less than RM3000 pm and there is a promise of BRIM 2 and3. Many funds have been set up to help the SMS entrepreneurs and petty traders. Just announced is a program to supply a pair of new tires per year to registered taxi drivers.

And what is little known except to the economically educated population of the country, several Banks, Commercial Houses and Business Enterprises have been receiving huge assistance and bail-outs ( in other words subsidies) from the government to keep going. The government, i.e. the public, are now subsidizing the money-earners and wealth-spinners of the nation which are supposed to help the public. And these private sector people boast of high salary and huge bonus every year - salaries and alliances which the government cannot match.

So, are we not reviving the subsidy mentality not only among the lower income and less progressive people but also among government-related institutions, companies and business bodies in the country? There is certainly a case for the former. But do we have a case for the latter whose executives live in palatial homes, drive luxury cars and be regarded as corporate executives?