Silent is the Better Option

The Prophet pbuh said in his hadith: “Man kaana yu’minu billahi wal yaumil aakhir falyaqul khairan au liyasmut: which means, “those among you who believe in Allah and the day of hereafter, they need to say good things or they just need to keep quiet”.

Nowadays, there are a lot of people who like to talk and discuss openly on the subject matter that they are not really familiar with and I am referring herein to Islam.

It is very scary to read articles or postings by those who are not familiar with Islamic subject matter as these people tend to liberalise Islam according to their own understanding. Sometimes they talk nonsense when they talk about Islam. This is simply because they do not have in depth knowledge on the subject matter. The subject matter here refers to the method a fatwa is reached at and not the yoga.

All these happen because they fail to see yoga from Islamic point of view and what they did was to see the fatwa from yoga point of view. What I mean here is if they look at yoga from Islamic point of view, they will find elements in yoga that may cause syirik and pluralism i.e. to associate Allah with something. However, when they look at the fatwa from yoga point of view, they will find that yoga is a just a form of exercise which may be good to our body and boost our spirit and Islam does promote healthy life style. So, there is nothing wrong with yoga and everything is wrong with the fatwa. But one thing they may forget or tend to forget is that the end does not justify the means.

So, my advice is if you do not familiar with Islamic subject matter, it is best for you to keep quiet and keep your mouth shut.

Is UMNO Supreme than Islam?

2 days ago, the UMNO Supreme Council decided to sack Zaid Ibrahim from UMNO after the latter was found to have attended various oppositions' functions held recently. It was reported that: -

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“Umno Information Chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib said the supreme council’s decision was unanimous as every member agreed Zaid’s transgression was too serious to be forgiven.”

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Muhammad Taib was also quoted as saying “Furthermore, it was obvious that he had wanted us to act against him. Otherwise, why would he have kept attending opposition parties’ functions while at the same time claiming to be an Umno member?” And he further stated that “By being seen with opposition leaders not just once, but many times in the course of a very short time, he was daring us to take action. It also looks like he was supporting their cause and that is unforgivable”.

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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/4/nation/2719228&sec=nation

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I don’t care with what is happening in UMNO, as to me, the way our politicians are playing politic makes it dirty. I don’t care who get sacked from UMNO but I find the reason for UMNO’s Supreme Council’s decision in sacking Zaid Ibrahim to be contradicting with their stance about inter-religious relationship vis-a-vis "kongsi raya".

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Zaid Ibrahim was sacked for attending the oppositions’ functions and by physically being present, the UMNO Supreme Council was of the opinion that Zaid was supporting the oppositions’ cause. So, to UMNO Supreme Council, what matter was Zaid’s presence at the functions and not his reason for being presence.

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However, if we take a look at the issue of “Kongsi Raya” where we have joint celebration between Aidilfitri and Deepavali, the Mufti of Perak, SS Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria requested the government to review the “kongsi raya” concept as it is said to be against the Islamic teaching, However, the government especially the UMNO flers did not agree as they said that the celebration of “kongsi raya” was just a matter of social gathering without any worshipping elements.

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http://www.agendadaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_cf43139d-3132372e-fe30af00-6c0f1de3

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So, when the Muslims celebrate other religions’ festivals, the UMNO flers said it is ok because it is done in the name of social gathering and multi racial harmony and that does not affect the Muslims' faith, but when their members were seen to be at the oppositions’ functions, why can’t they just take it as a social gathering? Why must they look at it seriously and from different angle as having supporting their cause”? Why can’t they look at the issue of Muslims celebrating Aidilfitri with other festivals such as Deepavali as supporting Hindu?

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So, in a nutshell and indirectly, the UMNO flers are saying that in one sense UMNO is supreme than Islam. While UMNO can tolerate in putting the holy Aidilfitri at the same level with other religions’ festival, they can’t just do the same when it comes to their own party.

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Now, why do I support the stance taken by the Mufti of Perak regarding the “kongsi raya” concept? Allow me to explain.

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In Islam, Muslims are taught that there is no God but Allah and the Propohet Muhammad is his Messenger. As such, whoever worships anything but Allah will go to hell in the hereafter. As Muslims, we are also thought that Islam is a divine religion whose teaching came through divine revelation from Allah through His angle, Jibril. As such, in that sense, Islam should be put at the highest level as compared to other religion. This is what we as Muslims should do. Put Islam in the highest and noble place in our life. As the Prophet said in his hadith, “Islam ya’lu wa la yu’la ‘alaihi” which means “Islam is high and there is nothing (religion) higher than it (Islam).

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Now, let me talk about festival. Each religion has its own festival. The Hindus celebrate Deepavali, the Christians celebrate Christmas and the Muslims celebrate Aidilfitri and Aidiladha, so do other religions. Why do we need festival? What is its significance in the eyes of the respective religion? Religious festival is the time the people of each religion celebrate their victory.

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While Aidilfitri marks the victory of the Muslims for fasting during the whole month of Ramadhan and Aidiladha marks the event where Allah instructed Prophet Ibrahim to slaughter his son but later replaced with an animal called “qibas”, Christmas is celebrated to mark the birthday of Jesus and Deepavali is celebrated to mark the homecoming of Lord Ram after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over the evil demon-king Ravana. So, when we celebrate (in the true meaning of celebration) other religions’ festivals, we as Muslims are in deed celebrating their victory moment and by doing so, we are supporting their cause. So, when we have joint celebration or “kongsi raya” between Aidilfitri and festivals of other religions, we are actually putting Islam in the same level as the other religion. As an analogy, will we joint the birthday of the King or the PM for that matter with that of the poor or the commoner? The answer is strictly no (though it is not wrong for doing so) because the King or the PM is higher in ranking as compared to the commoner. So, the same treatment should be given to Islam. Celebration of religious festivals is not a mere celebration. It involve the ritual ceremony and more importantly we are said to be supporting their cause vis-à-vis their victory moment.

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What is the danger of having this “kongsi raya concept”?

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To me, we just need to open the floodgate and expect the disaster to happen later. It will happen and it is just a matter of time. First, we started with the concept of “kongsi raya”, which according to the UMNO flers is a mere social gathering, so nothing wrong. The Muslims’ faith will not erode by merely “celebrating” Aidilfitri with other religions’ festival. However, once we started to have the joint celebration, people tend to go further and do more. That is the human nature. The more you give, the more they ask. As the Malay proverb says, “Bagi betis nak peha”. I have seen a lot of Muslims who wore the Santa Claus outfit during Christmas and the Muslims who have a “nandek” on their forehead during Deepavali. To them there is nothing wrong because it was done in the name of racial harmony. Like it or not, all those are factors that may later erode our faith conciously or unconciously because by doing so, the Muslims are actually and really celebrating other religion’s/races’ festival and supporting their cause.

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While Islam does not allow Muslims to celebrate (the real celebration with ritual ceremony or a sign to support their cause) the festivals of other religions, it is permissible for Muslims to visit their non-Muslim neighbours during their religious festivals in the name of neighbourhood spirit provided that they do not engage in any ritual ceremony or any act that support their cause.

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The bottom line is, it is very important to draw the line very clearly between the do’s and the don’ts for Muslims as far as the inter-religious relationship is concerned but sad to say that our leaders do not bother about all these, not even the Imam Hadhari, and yet they allow it to happen all in the name of social harmony and social gathering. If nothing is done now, do not be surprise if in the future or perhaps in the near future, there are Muslims who do the hand movement on their chest to indicate the crusade as the Christians always do and put on the chain with crusade object without any guilt feeling. They may take it as a fashion or something like that.

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Allah said in the Qur’an, “Wa lan tardha ankal yaudu wa lan nasara hatta tattabi’a millatahum” which means “the Jews and Nasara will not give up until you (Muslims) follow their path”.

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Ya Allah…please save the Muslims and Islam.

Blog @ RTM1

I have just finished watching Blog at RTM1. It is aired every Sunday at 8.40pm for 2o minutes. I have watched the programme twice (including tonite). Basically the programme focusses on issues surrounding the blogging world with the main focus is on the type of issues normally discussed in the respective blogs.
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The first time I watched Blog was when RTM1 called the blogger by the name of Ahiruddin Atan @ Rockybru. I have been following his blog ever since I started blogging to get the latest news on mostly political issues, which is sometimes not highlighted in the newspaper. Almost everyday, I make it a habit to visit his popular blog at http://www.rockybru.com. That was a couple of months ago since Rocky apeared in the programme.
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As for tonite, the guest blogger appeared in the programme was my university friend i.e. Budiey or his real name Baharuddin Che Wil. So, it goes without saying as to why I watched the programme tonite. Budiey or also known by his long commercial name as Budiey Isma Alifi is a full time blogger who blog about local entertainment and local artists. So, the issues discussed during the programme was on local entertainment. You can visit his blog at http://www.budiey.com.
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Frankly speaking, I do not follow the programme at all. I watched it twice not because of the programme but because of the guest bloggers that appeared in the programme. So, I do not know for sure what is the main motive RTM1 is having this programme. But whatever it is, I wonder if RTM1 will call the most popular blogger in Malaysia that is none others than the great Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who is blogging at www.chedet.com. It is interesting to watch Tun throwing out his idea again in TV.

Aqiqah

Berikut adalah soal jawab agama yang saya petik secara keseluruhan daripada Utusan Malaysia online bertarikh 30 November 2008 di http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=1128&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Bicara_Agama&pg=ba_03.htm. Ini juga sedikit sebanyak sesuai untuk dijadikan bahan bacaan lanjutan dari posting saya yang sebelum ini bertajuk "cukur Jambul". Klik di sini http://rozaimims.blogspot.com/2008/11/cukur-jambul.html.
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SOALAN: . Baru-baru ini saya mengadakan majlis akikah untuk anak lelaki saya yang baru saja dilahirkan. Mengikut hukum anak lelaki harus korbankan dua ekor kambing, jadi saya telah pun menunaikannya.
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Ketika majlis ini berlangsung ada juga tetamu bangsa Cina yang hadir. . Adakah sah akikah saya yang dimakan oleh tetamu bangsa Cina itu? .
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JAWAPAN: . Tiada tegahan dalam mana-mana nas secara qatie (muktamad) sama ada di dalam al-Quran mahupun hadis-hadis Rasulullah SAW yang sahih yang boleh difahami bahawa orang bukan Islam tidak boleh memakan daging akikah. .
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Selagi mana tiada nas yang secara sorih (terang) yang menegah maka selagi itulah perkara itu dilihat suatu yang tidak mutlak dari hukumnya. Apa yang perlu difahami di sini ialah hukum melaksanakan akikah itu sendiri. .
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Di samping itu daging akikah yang dimasak dengan sedikit rasa manis itu diharapkan agar perangai dan budi pekerti anak tersebut akan menjadi elok dan baik. (Al-Majmu’: 8/322). .
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Pengertian akikah menurut syarak .
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Akikah dalam pengertian syarak ialah binatang ternakan yang berkaki empat (binatang an’am) yang disembelih ketika hendak mencukur rambut kepala anak yang baru dilahirkan, sama ada disembelih pada hari ketujuh atau selepasnya. .
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Falsafah tuntutan menunaikan akikah adalah sebagai tanda kesyukuran seseorang setelah mendapat anugerah cahaya mata yang dikurniakan oleh Allah SWT. .
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Justeru ia lebih baik di kongsi sesama Islam. Ini kerana ia juga seumpama satu peringatan kepada yang lain untuk berakikah juga untuk anak mereka (jika belum). Bagi bukan Islam, tiada peruntukan akikah. .
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Hukum melakukan akikah itu adalah sunat muakkad, iaitu sunat yang sangat digalakkan dalam syarak. Perkara ini bukan sekadar nas semata-mata malahan boleh dilihat sebagaimana perbuatan Rasulullah SAW ketika baginda mengakikahkan cucundanya Hasan dan Husain r.a. .
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Ia bukanlah perkara yang wajib dilakukan kerana hal ini pernah ditanyakan kepada Rasulullah, lalu baginda bersabda yang maksudnya: “Allah tidak menyukai kedurhakaan, seolah-olah Baginda tidak suka menyebut nama itu (akikah). Baginda bersabda: “Barang siapa yang dikurniakan baginya anak, lalu dia ingin menyembelihkan untuk anaknya maka sembelihlah untuk anak lelaki dua ekor kambing yang sama keadaannya dan bagi anak perempuan seekor kambing”. (riwayat Abu Daud).
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Maksud hadis daripada perkataan (suka atau ingin menyembelihkan untuk anaknya) itu menunjukkan tidak wajib melakukan akikah, melainkan jika akikah itu dinazarkan baharulah ia dipanggil akikah wajib. .
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Dalam hadis yang lain, sabda Rasulullah SAW: “Anak-anak tergadai (terikat) dengan akikahnya, disembelih (akikah) untuknya pada hari ketujuh (kelahirannya) dan diberi namanya serta dicukur rambutnya”. (riwayat at-Tirmidzi) .
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Terdapat dua pendapat dalam menghuraikan maksud hadis “anak tergadai dengan akikahnya” di sini. .
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Pendapat pertama mengatakan bahawa jika tidak diakikahkan, anak itu akan terbantut atau terhalang pertumbuhannya, tidak seperti anak-anak lain yang diakikahkan. .
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Pendapat kedua .
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Pendapat kedua mengatakan bahawa maksudnya ialah anak itu tidak akan memberi syafaat kepada kedua ibu bapanya pada hari kiamat kelak jika dia tidak diakikahkan. Pendapat kedua ini adalah pendapat Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, dan pendapat ini dilihat pendapat yang lebih utama. (Mughni al-Muhtaj: 4/369) .
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Akikah disebut dalam hadis yang bermaksud: Bersama bayi yang lahir itu akikah, maka kerana itu mengalirkanlah darah (sembelihan) untuknya, dan jauhkan baginya segala kesakitan (godaan syaitan). (riwayat Bukhari). .
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Ini bermakna: “Setiap anak perlu dipajakkan (terhutang) dengan akikah, disembelih untuknya pada hari ketujuh umurnya, dan diberi nama dan dicukur rambut kepalanya”. (riwayat Ashabus Sunan) .
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Akikah itu pula dari sudut bahasanya adalah tolakan iaitu tolakan dari gangguan dan godaan syaitan. .
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Adapun persoalan mengenai memberi makan atau dimakan daging akikah oleh bukan Islam tidak mencacatkan amalan akikah. Biarpun daging akikah itu dimakan oleh bukan Islam, akikah itu tetap sah dan tidak perlu diulangi. .
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Sebenarnya perbuatan kita melabelkan hidangan dengan ayat hidangan untuk orang Islam sahaja adalah tidak wajar. Seolah-olah kita memperkecilkan tetamu yang datang ke majlis keraian kita dengan tidak mengizin mereka menjamah apa yang dihidangkan oleh tuan rumah. Sedangkan bukan Islam muslim boleh memakan daging akikah. .
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Setiap ibu bapa atau ahli keluarga apabila mengadakan majlis tersebut mereka mengharapkan doa yang ikhlas daripada sanak saudara dan sahabat andai atau jiran tetangga yang datang bertandang ke majlis itu. .
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Jika yang diundang itu bukan Islam sekurang-kurang kita dapat menghampiri mereka dan memahamkan bahawa Islam tidak menghalang pergaulan dan penglibatan bukan Islam dalam majlis yang diadakan oleh orang Islam. .
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Ini sekurang-kurangnya memberi peluang kepada kenalan kita yang bukan Islam mengenal amalan yang terkandung dalam agama yang suci ini.
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Catatan: Bahagian yang diterangkan (bold) adalah oleh saya.

Fatwa on Yoga

The latest fatwa issued by Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan on the banning of yoga among Muslims had attracted mixed reaction with majority of it condemning and criticizing the fatwa. I have read postings in various blogs and the comments therein. It is scary in deed to get to know how people think about Islam nowadays. The fatwa issued by Majlis Fatwa can be debated openly and criticized by even those who are not well verse in the subject matter. More so, the Indian community was so upset with the fatwa. Nowadays, people are very sensitive but they are being sensitive unnecessarily or should I say over sensitive. The fatwa only concerns the Muslims and the banning is only for Muslims, nothing to do with the Hindus or those who profess other religions. It is still ok for the non-Muslims to do yoga. Islam does not prohibit them from doing so. So, I do not understand why the Hindus were upset with the fatwa to the extent that Samy Vellu wanted to meet the PM (this one must be politically motivated) and that Hindu Sangam said that the Majlis Fatwa should consult them before issuing the fatwa. http://www.hindusangam.org.my/news/index.php?id=105. Who are they at the first place to talk about the do’s and the don’t’s in Islam? To certain extent, the non-Muslims should refrain themselves from getting involve with any fatwa issued by Muslim scholars unless they become a Muslim. Otherwise, it is insensitive of Islam to make it haram for the Muslims to eat pork and to slaughter cows especially during Hari Raya Haji/Qurban. The fatwa here is not about not respecting other religion but about the do's and the don'ts in Islam.
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Not only the non-Muslims criticizing the fatwa, there are also some quarters of liberal thinking Muslims condemning the fatwa. It is a major problem when we fail to look everything and anything from Islamic point of view. If we were to look at everything with liberal mind set, don’t be surprise if one day the Islamic teaching will become “irrelevant” and “obsolete” to the people. That is why there are Muslims who are, not only that they do not appreciate the fatwa issued, they even condemn the said fatwa and in doing so, they did it worst that the non-Muslims did.
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In Islam, there are things that we can’t think of its rationale but we are obliged to follow. That is why Allah said in the Qur’an, “la tas’alu ‘an ash yaa’I in tubdalakum tasu’kum” which means “do not question something that if explained to you will add to your confusion (lead to many other questions)”. For example, why do Muslims have to fast during Ramadhan and not on other months? That alone is difficult for us to understand the rationale behind it and yet we have to do it because it is a divine revelation. So, in this yoga issue, while I am not saying that it is not something that we can’t debate, the issue has been deliberated by Muslims Scholars in the country. If at all we want to debate, we need to have in depth knowledge as to why we need a fatwa, how does fatwa arrived at, things and factors that need to be considered in issuing a fatwa. If we do not understand all these, it is not for us to debate. We may ask questions for clarification but not to debate it. Giving an example here, fatwa is issued only on issues that have no clear ruling in the Qur’an and Sunnah. But there are liberal thinking Muslims, in condemning the fatwa on yoga, said the Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan should issue fatwa on issues that are more important such as corruption. That alone shows their lack of understanding or ignorance about Islamic teaching as corruption is obviously prohibited (haram) in Islam. As the Prophet pbuh said, “ar raasyi wal murtasyi finnar” which means “the person who give bribe and the person who receive it, both will be in the hell”. As such, you don’t need fatwa on that!!!
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There are also a lot of Muslims who asked this question i.e. is our faith is too fragile that can be easily swayed by just doing yoga? My answer is simple. It may not directly swayed our faith and aqidah but slowly and indirectly it may. At first we just do yoga for the purpose of exercise. Yes, nothing wrong. But later when we feel that yoga can do this and can do that for us and started to believe in yoga, that may erode our faith and aqidah because in Islam it is Allah who determine the good and the bad for us. It is not yoga or any other things. And when we started to believe in yoga, we may tend to learn further about yoga and in doing so, we may end up doing the mantra and without us realizing it, we may have be “one with god (their god and not our God [Allah])”. So, why do not we prevent it from happen? After all, prevention is better than cure.

Another point is that why do we bother to compare our fatwa with that of other countries’? Does it mean that since other countries do not issue any fatwa banning yoga, we are prevented from doing so? It must be understood that in Islam, differences of opinion is allowed. So, it is ok for the Muslims scholars in Malaysia to think that yoga is haram in Malaysia though the scholars in other countries disagree with such opinion. The fact that other countries do not make such a ruling, it does not negate the effect of the fatwa issued in Malaysia. In Islam, we have four schools of thoughts i.e. Hambali, Maliki, Shafi’e and Hanafi. In Malaysia, we follow Shafi’e and does it mean that those who follow other school of thoughts are not Muslim? The answer is obviously “NO”. The Prophet pbuh said in his hadith, “khilaafu ummati rahmah” which means “the differences of opinion among my followers is a blessing”.
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For those who want to know more about fatwa, please click here http://www.e-fatwa.gov.my/

Cukur Jambul

Selepas kelahiran bayi, kebanyakan masyarakat Melayu di Malaysia akan mengadakan satu majlis yang dipanggil “cukur jambul”. Majlis “cukur jambul” ini kebiasaannya dimulakan dengan majlis berzanji/marhaban oleh kaum lelaki sebelum diikuti dengan majlis tahlil dan doa selamat. Semasa majlis berzanji/marhaban dijalankan, bayi tersebut kebiasaannya akan dibawa mengelilingi kaum lelaki yang sedang berzanji/bermarhaban tadi sambil rambutnya (bayi) dipotong sedikit demi sedikit sebagai simbolik “bercukur jambul”. Namun ada juga jemaah yang tidak memotong rambut bayi tersebut tetapi sekadar mengusap kepala bayi tersebut seolah-olah memberi restu kehadirannya di muka bumi ini. Walaupun “cukur jambul” menjadi amalan masyarakat Melayu di Malaysia, dimanakah pula kedudukannya (amalan cukur jambul) di dalam ajaran Islam? Adakah “cukur jambul” ini merupakan tuntutan agama ataupun ia hanyalah adat semata-mata?
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Menjadi amalan Nabi Muhammad (saw) memberikan nama kepada cucu-cucu baginda dan membotakkan kepala mereka pada hari ke-7 kelahiran. Terdapat juga hadis-hadis yang mengesahkan amalan Rasullullah tersebut. Oleh yang demikian, hukum bagi membotakkan kepala bayi dan memberikan bayi tersebut nama pada hari ke-7 adalah sunat kerana ia selari dengan sunnah Rasulullah (saw). Selain daripada itu, ibubapa juga diwajibkan mengadakan aqiqah sebagai tanda kesyukuran kita kepada Allah di atas kurniaan bayi yang baru lahir. Aqiqah diadakan dengan menyembelih binatang peliharaan seperti lembu, kerbau dan kambing. Walaubagaimanapun, binatang peliharaan seperti ayam, itik dan burung tidak boleh dijadikan sembelihan bagi tujuan aqiqah.
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Maka amat jelas bahawa amalan “cukur jambul” yang dilakukan oleh kebanyakan masyarakat Melayu di negara ini bukan merupakan satu ajaran Islam dan tidak pernah diamalkan oleh Rasulullah. Apatah lagi memberi restu kepada bayi tersebut kerana bayi tersebut dicipta oleh Allah untuk hidup di muka bumi ini. Jadi siapakah kita untuk memberi restu atas apa yang diciptakan oleh Allah? Walaupun saya amat tidak bersetuju dengan “pemberian restu”, saya berpendapat bahawa amalan “cukur jambul” ini diadaptasikan dari amalan Rasulullah (saw) yang membotakkan kepala cucu-cucu Baginda pada hari ke-7 kelahiran.
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Walaubagaimanapun, terdapat segelintir masyarakat Melayu yang kurang faham atau tidak faham dengan apa yang dimaksudkan dengan “cukur jambul”. Bagi mereka ini, “cukur jambul” memadai dengan mengadakan majlis berzanji/marhaban sambil “jambul” bayi tersebut dipotong sedikit sahaja tanpa membotakkan kepala bayi tersebut. Mereka juga berfahaman bahawa majlis “cukur jambul” “wajib” diadakan bagi menyambut kelahiran bayi.
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Melalui pengalaman saya sendiri, saya pernah dijemput oleh seorang rakan untuk menghadiri majlis “cukur jambul” anak beliau yang baru dilahirkan. Walaubagaimanapun, atas sebab-sebab yang tak dapat dielakkan, saya terpaksa menolak jemputan tersebut tetapi saya berjanji akan pergi melawat anak beliau yang baru dilahirkan. Jadi, seminggu selepas majlis “cukur jambul” tersebut, saya telah pergi melawat bayi tersebut dan saya mendapati bahawa rambutnya masih lebat. Apabila saya mengajukan soalan kepada rakan saya tentang mengapa rambut bayi beliau masih lebat sedangkan “cukur jambul” telah diadakan seminggu yang lalu, beliau mengatakan kepada saya yang beliau rasa “sayang” untuk membotakkan kepala bayi beliau itu.
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Bagi saya inilah akibatnya jika kita membuat sesuatu dengan hanya mengikut orang lain tanpa mengetahui tujuan asal apa yang hendak kita lakukan itu.
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Jadi apakah pula hukumnya “cukur jambul” ini? Jika kita mengadakan majlis “cukur jambul” dan seterusnya membotakkan kepala bayi tersebut sambil menjamu selera para tetamu yang hadir, bukan sahaja kita mendapat pahala sunat membotakkan kepala bayi, malahan kita juga mendapat pahala menjamu para tetamu. Namun, sekiranya kita benar-benar sekadar “cukur jambul” dan tidak membotakkan kepala bayi kita, maka apa yang kita lakukan tidak selari dengan sunnah Rasulullah (saw) dan seterusnya kita tidak mendapat apa-apa ganjaran daripada Allah (swt) kecuali pahala menjamu makan para tetamu.
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Jadi nasihat saya kepada semua para pembaca agar istilah “cukur jambul” ini tidak lagi digunakan kerana ia telah menyebabkan kekeliruan dikalangan masyarakat Melayu di Malaysia sehingga ada yang mengadakan majlis “cukur jambul” tetapi tidak membotakkan kepala bayi tersebut. Malahan ada yang lebih teruk lagi apabila mereka tidak mengadakan aqiqah iaitu satu tuntutan dalam Islam. Maka akhirnya, kita hanya melakukan tuntutan adat tetapi meninggalkan tuntutan agama. Walaupun mengadakan "cukur jambul" sekadar membawa maksud kita tidak mendapat sebarang ganjaran, apa yang saya khuatirkan sebenarnya ialah pemahaman masyarakat Melayu pada masa akan datang di antara tuntutan adat dan tuntutan agama. Tidak menjadi sebarang masalah untuk mengadatkan tuntutan agama tetapi akan menjadi masalah besar jika kita mengagamakan tuntutan adat.
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Beberapa hari lepas, saya mendapat jemputan dari jiran saya melalui sms yang berbunyi seperti ini, “Salam Hormat…Dijemput hadir ke majlis kesyukuran & cukur jambul puteri saya pada 15 Nov 2008 pukul 1.00tgh…”. InsyaAllah, saya akan menghadiri majlis tersebut petang ini. Cuma saya terfikir apakah majlis ini sekadar “cukur jambul” atau benar-benar melakukan amalan Rasulullah membotakkan kepala bayi? Atau apakah perlu saya memberikan “restu” saya ke atas ciptaan Allah (swt) semata-mata bagi menjaga hati jiran saya itu?

Home Minister Acted Beyond His Jurisdiction in Issuing Detention Order

The High Court has freed Raja Petra or better know as RPK from ISA detention. In making the ruling, the Judge has said that the Home Minister i.e. Hamid Albar (emphasise is mine) had acted outside his jurisdiction when he issued the two-year detention order under Section 8(1) of the ISA.
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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/7/nation/20081107094618&sec=nation
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Based on the news report, the basis for the Judge’s ruling really attracted my attention simply because he said the Home Minister acted beyond his jurisdiction. Come to think about it again, why did the Judge made such reasoning when Section 8 (1) of the ISA clearly gives power to the Minister to detain a person for a period of maximum two (2) years? So, based on the provision of Section 8 (1), Hamid Albar, in issuing the detention order should have been said to have had acted within his jurisdiction. The only thing that I can think of as to what does the Judge meant in his reasoning is the second part of Section 8 (1) which says that the detention order may only be made if the Home Minister is satisfied that the person may be prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or to the maintenance of essential services or to the economic life thereof.
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I 100% agree with the Judge, not because I admire RPK, but because to me RPK is not a threat to the nation but perhaps he is a threat to certain individual (it goes without saying who the individual is). As such, the Judge is correct in saying that Hamid Albar acted beyond his jurisdiction because he cannot detain a person under the ISA if such person is just a threat to an individual, no matter how powerful that individual is.
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Now, in doing so, don’t you think that Hamid Albar had abused his power conferred under the ISA? I believe he did. So, in such a situation, what remedy does RPK or any detainees of rthat matter (which was wrongfully detained under the ISA) have for the time they spent in the detention centre? I would say none unless they take the trouble to sue the Home Minister and the government of Malaysia, which to me, will not help them in any way because of time consuming. But can the authority take action against the Home Minister for abusing his power under the ISA? As far as I know, there is no provision for that. So, the Home Minister and the government can still make wrongful detention order in the future and let the court decides if the order is being challenged. Legally, it may be a right process but to me it is a broad daylight abuse of process of law and power.
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I have posted an article on ISA. Click here http://rozaimims.blogspot.com/2008/09/internal-security-act.html

RM10.5 Million Paid to 5 Former Judges

As reported in the Malaysian Bar website today: -

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The government had paid out RM10.5 million in ex-gratia payment to the five former judges who were tribunalised for alleged judicial misconduct. Former Lord Presiident Tun Salleh Abas alone received RM5 million, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat.

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Read here

http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/bar_news/berita_badan_peguam/gov_t_paid_out_rm10.5_million_in_ex_gratia_to_five_former_judges.html

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I am not here disputing the fact that payment had been made to the judges, if at all the government thought that was the best thing to do. But I was puzzled when there was such an understanding between the government and the judges/their families not to disclose the amount paid to the public. They must remember that whatever payment that were made was using the public's fund, i.e. your money and my money and why on earth we should not know the figure?

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And now it has been made public that the 5 former judges were paid in total of RM10.5 million with Tun Salleh Abas alone received RM5 million, which means the other 4 judges received a total of RM5.5 million. It is not sufficed for the government to just telling us the final figure. We have every right to know how did the government arrived at that figure? Bearing in mind that those judges were all paid their pension by the government.

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I am hoping that the government will come clear on this or at least for some MPs, opposition or the ruling party to urge the government to disclose the formula.

Guess...

What is an act which is a crime and punishable if attempted but not a crime and not punishable if committed? I am not talking about the Islamic law here.

Is Money Everything?

Most of us say that money is not everything. In other words, there are things that money can't buy especially when we talk about happiness. But sad to say, there are people who thought that money is everything. Money can buy happiness and money can solve problem.
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More often than not, we see the life of the rich people are not as good and as happy as we thought it should be. Why not? They have money. They can do whatever they want because they have money. But they do get divorce. They do have family problems. They do have social problems. They do have all sorts of problems. And all that happen while they have money. So, money, while it is essential to have it in our daily life, wrong way of using it may cause disaster. So, there are things that money can't buy such as happiness and problem solving.
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As such, I am puzzled when the Melaka government announced a new incentive of RM1,000 to be given to men who take a poor single mother as their second wife provided that they do not divorce their first wife. And not only that, the same amount will also be given to those who get married before they reach the age of 30. The reason behind this? According to Ali Rustam, it is an effort to curb social ills such as illicit sex and Mat Rempit.
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Read here
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/1/nation/2429033&sec=nation
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To me, whatever the reason is, it does not and will not solve the problem. In fact, it will create more problems such as people get married for the sake of money and once the get the money, they will get divorce. It is like an income. Further, it will cause the young generation to hve the wrong understanding on the reason behind marriage. Once they get married for the wrong reason, there will be more divorces, thus causing injustice to the parties involved especially the female and it will also lead to more social problems. People should get married when they are ready to bear the responsibility and not because they want the incentive. Ali Rustam may think what I write is crap but from my own personal experience, there are people who are willing to do anything, I repeat anything to get the money even to the extent of divorcing their wife of more than 20 years of marriage. I had a case whereby a client of mine wanted a divorce because he wanted to bring China doll into the country. According to him, he could only do so if he is single. And of course, he was paid for it. I can't remember the figure but I can assure you, it was a handsome figure. And to my surprise, his wife agreed. In fact he brought his wife and daughter to my office to sign the divorce paper. That was a proof that people are willing to do anything for the sake of money, even to get married before the age of 30 or marry to a poor single mother.
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People should get married in the most sincere manner and not for monetary purposes. As such, I do really hope for Ali Rustam to have a better faculty of understanding in proposing any policy for the state. He should use his sense and brain and not be blinded by money. I thought awarding a Datukship to Shah Rukh Khan was the worst that Ali Rustam could do but I am wrong. But I do hope that Ali Rustam to stop from making stupid proposal at this juncture.

Razak Baginda a Free Man...

The Shah Alam High Court here this morning acquitted Razak Baginda from the murder abetment charge in the infamous murder case of Altantuya Shaariibu. This decision was arrived at after the High Court found that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against Razak Baginda at the end of the prosecution's case.

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However, C/Insp Azilah Hadri and Kpl Sirul Azhar Umar, members of the Special Action Squad (UTK), were not as lucky as Razak Baginda when they were ordered to enter their defence against the murder charge.

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Read here

http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/legal/general_news/altantuya_case_razak_acquitted.html

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So, as at now, Razak Baginda is a free man unless the prosecution decides to appeal against the acquittal.

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The big question mark (should both Azilah and Sirul be found guilty at the end of the day for murdering Altantuya) that need to be answered remains as "who instructed Azilah and Sirul to kill Altantuya by using explosive C4 bomb? If not Razak Baginda, then who?" You guys can keep on speculating. To me it does not make sense if at the end of the day the Court found both Azilah and Sirul guilty of murder with the person who abet the murder is still at large.

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The police needs to reopen the investigation file to find out who instructed the murder. If at all Azilah and Sirul are guilty for murder, the motive for the murder lies with the person who instructed the murder.

Bandung Photos

In the plane already but we were informed by the Pilot that we had to wait for another 20 minutes before we could take off. But to make it worst, for reason best known to Airasia or at least, its Pilot, the aircond was not on. The passengers already making noise and have to use the menu as a fan. Even their stewardesses were seen fanning using newspaper. To certain extent, it had spoilt my son's excitement to be on the plane. Wll, that is Airasia, I believe. They need to cut costs wherever and whenever they can even to the discomfort of their passengers

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This is my second son...hot! hot! hot! air cond anyone?
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The millionaires in the photo. Announcing the arrival of...yes, after suffering at the early stage, we finally safely landed at the Bandara Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung. Alhamdulillah...
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First place we went was this place called Rumah Ibor. Nice place to stay if you are in Bandung. Located in Jalan Dago, which is one of the shopping heaven in Bandung.
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Our first meal in Bandung. It was sunda food in a nice restaurant called "Bumbu Desa". It was here that I had my nasi liwet (pronounce as "liwat" ["sodomy" in Malay])
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Varieties of Sunda foods
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Burp...I was full already...time to leave Bumbu Desa and do shopping
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A mosque in Cipaganti
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Bandung version of Coffee Bean. In fact better taste than Coffee Bean. I tried and it was really nice and cheap. It costs me only Rp10,000 which was equivalent to RM3.70 per glass.
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In front of Rumah Mode, one of the famous factory outlets in Bandung. Shopping time had just started...
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One of the factory outlet in Jalan Setiabudi (not in Damansara Heights, ok)
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One of their transportations, which I find it unique (forgot to ask what they call it)
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Our first dinner in Bandung. A very nice cozy restaurant located on top of a hill called Lisung. Our seat was facing Bandung. From the restaurant we can see Bandung. It was a really nice view. And the food was good. I ate Sup Buntut Bakar Pedas. Don't get me wrong. Buntut means ekor. In the photo are my family, our friends (first met them at the airport upon arrival and immediately became friends) Jan and Josa and our Tourist Guide, Amir.
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Another photo in the restaurant

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.Another photo in the restaurant
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View outside my hotal lobby. One thing that caught my attention was the Bandung folks determination in doing their business. Those in the red shirts were students from Maktab Perguruan Besut in Terengganu (was on their study trip to Bandung) while the rest was the Bandung folks selling their products/souvenirs like key chain, pen, telekung, etc, etc. They won't simply give up if you say "no" to their products. They will keep on pursuading you to buy until you get into your car. Even when I was at the lobby, they waived at me to come out of the lobby to look at their products.

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Tired waiting for mama to do the shopping. Take a short break.

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My wife was busy doing the shopping at Pasar Baru while my two kids were busy with their own activity. Well, vacation to Bandung is all about shopping. So, kids need to find their own activities within the little space they might have.
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Pasar Baru Trade Center, which consists of 7 floors with really a lot of shops in it selling shoes, clothes, etc, etc,...at a very cheap price. We spent our time from 9.30am to 4.30pm only in this place and we did not even visit all the shops. Friends of mine, Jan and Josa managed to shop only at Level 1 from 9.30am to 4.30pm. It tells you how crazy you can be when you are at Pasar Baru.
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Masjid Uswatun Hassanah located on the roof top of the Pasar Baru Trade Centre
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Bandung from the roof top of Pasar Baru
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In front of our hotel, Mutiara Hotal Bandung
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Scenery on the way to Tangkuban Perahu
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Scenery on the way to Tangkuban Perahu
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My kids with our second Tourist Guide, Mahatirta Adikusumah at our hotel
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My family and our first Tourist Guide, Amir Budi Prasetyo. Photo taken at Jalan Dago.
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Look at the 5th menu from the top.
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Upon arrival at Tangkuban Perahu. This is a "mandatory" place to snap a photo as a proof that we have been there. Tangkuban Perahu is a volcano which is still active and explode every 20 years. According to my tourist guide, Maha, the Dutch made a tunnel to channel the lava to the sea, so as to lessen the explosion risks.
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Another view on top of Tangkuban Perahu
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The transport provided for tourist to go to the peak of Tangkuban Perahu. It costs Rp10,000 per person but we paid only Rp10,000 per pick up because my tourist guide knows the driver
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Tangkuban Perahu. The peak resembles a "perahu" (small boat with paddles) in an upside down position but because the fog was so thick, we were not able to see it.
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A view from the top of Tangkuban Perahu
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In front of the Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia mosque where we stop for Zuhur prayer
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At the entrance to the Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. Photo taken on the way back to Bandung from Tangkuban Perahu

Petrol oh Petrol!!! The Never Ending Issue

As reported: -
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The drop in the local retail oil price expected at the end of this month will not exceed 15 sen. Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad who disclosed this, said a drop of that amount was made to avoid sudden losses, especially for the petrol station operators nationwide.
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http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/bnm/20081025/tts-shahrir-oil-bm-993ba14.html

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Frankly speaking, I do not know how exactly the petrol station operators doing their business. But from what I know, they only earn a small percentage of the petrol sold to the consumers. the petrol station rental is based on their petrol and diesel’s sales volume.
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But what really puzzled me with the above news report is that is it real that a sudden drop of oil prices can cause sudden losses to the petrol station operators nationwide? If it is true as reported, then logically speaking, these petrol station operators must have recorded a huge profits when the price of the petrol was increased from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70 per litre. So, if they have recorded such a huge profits, why can’t they suffer losses? I wonder why???

Bandung

I was in Bandung, Indonesia with my family from 20-23 October 2008. I bought airaisa goholiday package, which was very cheap. I spent only RM1,300++ to cover for my hotel accommodation and return flight for me, my wife and my two little kids. Bandung is a shopping heaven. I brought around Rp4,600,000.00 (which was equivalent to RM1.500.00) and that was not enough because there were so many things to buy at a cheap price. I have a lot to share from shopping, the people, the road, the food, the interesting place and the traffic but not at the moment. I will do that later.

Nurul Huda Abdul Gani's Rape and Murder Case - Accused Acquitted of Murder

My posting herein may draw unhappiness and unsatisfactory feeling but I do hope that you read my posting with open mind and do not cloud yourself with emotion feelings.
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On 16/10/2008, the Federal Court acquitted Mohd Abbas Danus Baksan of murdering a 10-year old girl, Nurul Huda Abdul Gani. The Federal Court’s decision draw mixed feelings and reactions among the people with many quarters are not happy with the decision. To better understand what happened, let me take you to revisit the case.
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http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/legal/general_news/nurul_huda_murder_case_acquitted_on_grounds_of_insufficient_evidence.html
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On 17/1/2004, the whole nation was shocked to learn that a cute 10-year old girl by the name of Hurul Huda Binti Abdul Gani of Gelang Patah Johor was brutally gang raped, sodomised and strangled to death. Police's investigation brought to the arrest of a Security Guard by the name of Mohd Abbas Danus Baksan who, at the time of the alleged crime was manning the security booth of Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s main substation in Kampung Pekajang, Tanjung Kupang, Johor Baru. The heinous crime was said to have been committed by Mohd Abbas on 17/1/2004 between 9.20am and 1.00pm. Police’s investigation also revealed the presence of two (2) other persons who were unnamed. In fact, when Mohd Abbas was first charged in court (for murder), he was charged of committing the offence with two (2) other persons who were unnamed.
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In this case, Mohd Abbas was charged for rape and murder. In his trial for rape in the Sessions Court, he admitted to committing the offence, thus was sentenced accordingly. However, during his trial for murder at the High Court, he did not admit to committing the offence but putting the blame on two (2) other persons namely Suyaimi and Jojo. While Suyaimi was made a prosecution's witness, Jojo's whereabout could not be established. After hearing 26 witnesses and producing 29 items as evidence during the 21-days trial, the High Court found him guilty for murder, hence he was sentenced to death.
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http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/8/28/nation/8775746&sec=nation
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He filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal against his conviction (on murder). In the Court of Appeal, the appellant’s (Mohd Abbas) main argument was that the Judicial Commissioner at the High Court had failed to sufficiently appreciate the prosecution’s evidence and the appellant unsworn statement when arriving at his findings. In particular, there was insufficient appreciation of the circumstantial evidence relied on by the prosecution. The Court of Appeal, in dealing with the issue raised by the Appellant said that the circumstantial evidence relied on by the prosecution was sufficiently corroborated and inference was made against the Appellant. As such, the Court of Appeal dismissed the Appellant’s appeal and upheld the punishment meted out by the High Court i.e. death sentence. Mohd Abbas lodged an appeal with the Federal Court against the decision of the Court of Appeal.
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http://www.kehakiman.gov.my/judgment/coa/latest/Crpp%2042%20Mohd%20Abbas%20bin%20Danus%20Baksan%20v%20PP%20%20(J-05-71-04).htm
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Now, after the High Court and the Court of Appeal found Mohd Abbas guilty for murder, what made the Federal Court in a unanimous decision differed from the two (2) previous Courts?
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In criminal case, there are two (2) elements that must be proven by the prosecution during the trial i.e. the mens rea and the actus reas. Mens rea means the intention to commit the crime and actus reas means the action, which causes the crime to be committed. If the prosecution is only able to prove only one (1) of the two (2) elements mentioned above, the Court may acquit the accused or punish him/her with a lower punishment. On top of that, the prosecution's burden of proof is "beyond reasonable doubt". "Beyond reasonable doubt" means there shall be no single doubt in the prosecution's case and what the accused need to do is to raise at least one doubt (which is reasonable) to throw out the prosecution's case. There was a joke to illustrate what is “beyond reasonable doubt”?. An accused was charged for murder and knowing very well that he is going to lose his case, after the Court resume the proceedings and before the Judge delivering his decision and sentence, the accused stood up and told the Judge that the victim (that had been murdered) is on the way to the Court room and should arrive shortly. The Judge took the trouble and interestedly waited for the victim to walk in. After waiting for a couple of minutes (and the victim was still not walking into the Court room), the Judge told the accused that he (the accused) was bluffing and the Court was going to deliver its decision. The accused stood up and told the Judge that he had managed to raise a reasonable doubt and therefore, he should be acquitted. The Judge was stunned and the accused explained that if the Judge believed that the prosecution had proven the case "beyond reasonable doubt", the Judge should not believe in what the accused said about the victim coming in to the Court room.
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Now, in this case, Mohd Abbas was jointly charged for murder with two (2) others who were unnamed. There appeared to be the presence of a third person (which was believed to have been Jojo) in the crime scene when the crime took place. This was further supported by the fact that there was a semen stain on a straw mat at the crime scene which does not belong to Mohd Abbas and Suyaimi. The said semen stain belongs to an unidentified male individual. So, in this case, it is not disputed that there was a third person other than Mohd Abbas and Nurul Huda at the crime scene when the crime took place. The prosecution in proving the case against Mohd Abbas at the High Court was relying on the circumstantial evidence in that: -
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(a) Mohd Abbas was alone at the guardhouse when the victim’s body was found;
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(b) The victim’s path to the shop from her house and return journey would have led her past the guardhouse;
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(c) Mohd Abbas’ demenour when approached by the victim’s family members whereby he claimed that he did not see the victim (when the fact that the victim’s body was lying motionless in the guardhouse’ toilet);
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(d) Mohd Abbas’ demenour in not allowing the police to enter the TNB main station area; and
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(e) Though Mohd Abbas claimed that it was Suyaimi and Jojo who murdered the victim, Mohd Abbas was said to have supposedly to help the girl and informed the police of the crime committed by Suyaimi and Jojo as alleged by him, which he failed to do. It only serves to suggest that he killed the victim and was trying to conceal the evidence.
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Now, to me personally, the circumstantial evidence mentioned above does not form conclusive evidence that Mohd Abbas did murder the victim. All it suggested was that Mohd Abbas was present at the crime scene when the crime took place. Though it was said Mohd Abbas should help the girl and inform the police if at all it was true that it was Suyaimi and Jojo and not him who killed the victim, to me Mohd Abbas would have his own reason for doing so. In this case, he admitted to have raped the victim. As such, it makes sense for him not to cooperate with the police and the victim’s family members (even to the extent that he might try to conceal the evidence) because he had raped the victim. The fact that he was alone at that point of time would added to his fear, as he could be charged for murder too, a crime he claimed that he did not do. So, with due respect, I beg to differ with the argument that Mohd Abbas’ uncooperative demanour can only suggest that he killed the victim, a crime he denied of committing, as it can also suggest that he raped the victim, a crime which he admitted at the Sessions Court.
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So, in this case, the Federal Court was of the opinion that the presence of a third person, which have been proven but that third person’s whereabout could not be established only serves as a doubt in the prosecution’s case. This is because, there was no direct evidence to prove that Mohd Abbas killed the victim (as what the prosecution had was only circumstantial evidence) and that the presence of the third person could also suggest that there was always a possibility that the victim was murdered by that third person. So, while Mohd Abbas admitted to have raped the victim, there was just no conclusive evidence to suggest that he killed the victim. So, in that sense, the Federal Court found doubt in the prosecution’s case and as I mentioned above, the defence (Mohd Abbas) just need to create one reasonable doubt to throw out the prosecution’s case and he did.
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And as I mentioned earlier, the decision by the Federal Court invited mixed reaction from the people. They just could not believe that the criminal involved in heinous crime against a helpless 10-year old girl escaped the gallows. Even the family members of Nurul Huda was shocked to learn that Mohd Abbas is still alive, as they thought that he (Mohd Abbas) had been hanged already.
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However, I have to tell you this. Law is not about common sense. Law is not about emotion feelings and law is not about logic. Law is governed by the rule of law. What I mean is that when we deal with law, we should not use our emotion while common sense and logic is not all. A simple example, a man who had consensual sexual intercourse with a girl aged 15 years 364 days has committed a statutory rape but a man who had consensual sexual intercourse with a girl aged 16 years 1 day is not committing any offence. Reason being because under the law, girls under 16 years of age are minor, hence under the law, they do not have the capability to give their consent but girls of 16 years of age and above are said to be able to give their consent. If we think about it, does that really make sense? In this instance, the two (2) girls’ age was different by three (3) days only but does that really make a different with their capability to give their consent? No right? But the law says it is. To me it does not make sense and is not logic but that is the law. So, in Nurul Huda’s case, while we, the people believe and thought that Mohd Abbas should have been found guilty of murder, the law takes different view and it is because the law does not based on emotion, logic and common sense as we thought it should be. The law looks at the rule of law vis-à-vis evidence surrounding the case.
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While I agree with the finding of the Federal Court, I am not too sure who killed Nurul Huda. It could have been Mohd Abbas who killed her but the evidence tendered in Court does not suggest so.
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In the end, it is better to acquit ten (10) guilty persons (as they shall receive their punishment in the hereafter) than to punish an innocent person (as this may cause great injustice).