WE are once again celebrating Malaysia’s 58th anniversary of its independence from the series of colonialism, invasion and confrontation. From that moment on, Tanah Melayu, as it was once called, become a prosperous country, blessed with wealthy natural resources, and move forward becoming among the developing nation and leading country in ASEAN today.
By the bloodbath and sweats of our forefathers, patriotic fighters and faithful citizens of this nation, we managed to recover what was stolen ever since the invasion of the Portugal in 1511 which marked the downfall of one of the most civilized Muslim territorial land and provinces, Kesultanan Melayu Melaka. We recover our autonomy to decide on our own, and Malays as the majority Muslim citizens together with diverse nationals are entrusted with this mission to rebuild centuries old civilization and pride of Islamic sanctity and sovereignty.
For that important mission, our founding fathers bestowed upon us a legacy which we uphold until today, the very pretext of the constitution, providing Islam as the religion of the federation and protecting the rights of Bumiputeras including majority Malays. It is more than a vested power, it comes with great responsibility to shape this country according to the social contract and social context of its original principles.
Bersih 4.0 spoils the mood and mode
However enthusiastic we are in the midst of the Independence Day celebration, we are misled and preoccupied with the organization of Bersih 4.0. What is supposed to be momentous and rejuvinating on 31st August 2015 is now spoilt by the very event seeking to overthrow an elected leader during the two days on 29th and 30th August 2015.
Please do not be so naive thinking that I am defending him, but that is how the system works here. It is now Bersih 4.0 and yet the very person they are demanding for resignation is seated in his position comfortably at a great cost on their own including the protestors. Do we see effectiveness of this rally?
No, it is reported that the number reduces from the previous Bersih rally and that many former Bersih participants did not come again only to realize the very purpose of Bersih and its real bearing on its goals. Not to mention recent polls show that there is racial imbalance in Bersih 4.0 dominated by Chinese that is 80%, that it is claimed to be Chinese DAP rally, and that Bersih is also joint and supported by liberals.
We should be focusing on Merdeka celebration and embrace its true meaning but it is now overshadowed by the opponents of the government who dream of power through Bersih 4.0. We have a system of democracy to which we are bound and clean and fair elections is one of the criteria of a successful democracy which is only powerfully evident during general elections through cast of votes. That is the proper mode of changing or taking over a government and Bersih 4.0 is not one of them.
Witnessing Raba’ah
Mubarak regime was overthrown. Later came a prominent Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi becoming the first ever elected President of Egypt and we thought the time had come for democracy to flourish and make the country prosper. It was impressive that Mubarak regime retained its power for 30 years under tyrant administration and lack of national modernization, not even development.
When democracy was first introduced but in favour of an Islamist leader, and through almost 1 year of his governmental policy and change which were predominantly deemed as so-called Islamization, the US felt uncomfortable and began its quest to overthrow the President, and so overthrow the democracy, through protest and rally participated by its agents within the country, alongside the liberals, secularist and evangelist Christians.
Where did we stand when that bloody and eye-opener event took place? Where do we stand now? Do we fight for democracy per se or should we fight for Islam?
It is heartbreaking to see fellow Islamist among NGOs such as IKRAM and ABIM and the newcomer political party Gerakan Harapan Baru to stand beside the proponents of Bersih who are also proponents of liberalism, secularism, pluralism, and non-exhaustive human rights, among others the political parties DAP and PKR, the Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), Lawyers for Liberty, Sisters in Islam (SIS) and even the Bar Council.
They were the ones who proposed COMANGO demands and lobbied the Westerners during the Universal Periodic Review of human rights, they are the ones who seek changes in what was intended for protection by the founding fathers; Islam’s position and the rights of Bumiputera and Malays, they are the ones who stand by Obama when he elsewhere is supporting Israel to wipe out the Palestinians, and they are funded by the very entity who brought down the light of Islam in Raba’ah which witnessed thousands of syaheed (may Allah grant them so).
The true change
So, to whom do we leave the fate of our country? It is more than restoring peace and justice, it is about putting it in the right direction when it gets lost along the way. We do not correct mistake by doing another mistake; we simply need to go back to the origins. As an expert at Cairo’s al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies commented;
“Without Islam, we will not have progress. When Western countries built their own progress, they didn’t go out of their epistemological or cultural history. Japan is still living in the culture of the samurai, but in a modern way. The Chinese are still living the traditions created by Confucianism. So why do we [Muslims] have to go out of our history?”
What does Bersih or rather the people who lead the wave desire to achieve? Clean and fair elections are upon us only if the people change. The problem is not with the system, it is with the people. No matter who is in power, they may use it against the best interest of the country, even against justice and morality.
But is Bersih truly clean and fair on its account? No. They are externally influenced and admittedly funded by the likes of National Endowment of Democracy and National Democratic Institute. Their basis of change do not reflect the aspiration of our founding fathers but more of color revolution nurtured by dominant powers. We do not need outside powers and agendas to guide ours. We are now independent and we do not go through centuries of colonialism only to get caught in it again.
Clean and fair election is only medium of deciding who should be leading the nation, but for Muslims we seek to protect the sanctity of Islam with whatever means at hand, that is democracy. Because, after all, we do not fight for democracy but we fight for Islam and we cannot put our faith in Western blocks and its agents within, or Islam and its purpose in this world will perish. Prophet Muhammad said;
“Islam is at the highest, and nothing is higher than Islam”.
Does Bersih seek to protect sanctity of Islam? No. they are led, funded and joint by liberals and secularists. They wish nothing for Islam except mere equality. It matters not to them if Islam is not put in its rightful and constitutional place, or if Muslims are not protected from wild ideologies and lifestyle. But to us it matters, and who should be the ones who defend it other than us?
Our last hope
The time has come for our nation to refer to the history. Not just the period of pre-independence but centuries long heritage. This was a land where the people submitted themselves to the system and governance of Islam, its underlying values were that of Islam and we ought to regain it.
We were not losers. We were once warriors of the land, preserving its peace on soil and above the seas. We had good ties with other cultures and civilizations but we tended to and believed in ours. Now, we are the last hope. Regain our consciousness and create our own path for a better change for the better. Allah says in the Quran;
“It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although they who associate others with Allah dislike it.” (At-Tawbah : 33)
Danial A. Shaari
Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
The University of Adelaide
Australia
Penulis berhak untuk ulas ‘Bersih4’ ini but jangan terlalu ‘bias’ if penulis tidak berada dalam situasi rakyat yang sebenar.
Please jangan mention about Agama & Bangsa dalam topic ini. Perlu terima hakikat, ramai malays yang nak join but ‘terikat’ cos berkerja or ada link lain dengan kerajaan.
Hak orang Melayu tetap termaktub dalam perlembagaan negara, tak kan mampu dipadamkan pun. Berbicara la pada perkara yang lebih penting atau bicara la secara saksama. Jangan satu perkara disentuh secara mendalam but satu perkara lain yang hampir sama pula, disenyapkan..
A – “Kalau tak suka, keluar Malaysia”
B – “Orang Cina boleh balik China. Orang India boleh balik India. Kita (orang Melayu) nak pergi mana?”
Hanya yang sayangkan bangsa Melayu saja faham maksud tersirat di sini. Saya harap saya tak perlu lalui zaman penjajahan seperti orang2 tua dahulu. Saya sayang Tanah Melayu dan saya tak rela ia jatuh ke tangan bangsa lain!!!