11 July, 2008
Yes, let us force Muslims to pray five times a day. Let us also make sure that non-Muslim houses of worship are denied water and electricity. That is the Islamic thing to do. That would make Muslims better Muslims.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The Temerloh High Court today ordered that the hearing over the non-supply of water and electricity to a Jahut church in Kampung Pasu to proceed as planned on August 15.
It threw out the respondents' – the Temerloh District & Land Office and the Pahang State Government – preliminary objection to the hearing on the basis of the application by the Orang Aslis being submitted late.
However, the Jahut Christians will still have to worship by candlelight as Judge Datuk Abdul Halim Aman refused to order the respondents to establish water and electricity supply pending a judgment on the case.
"Who knows how long this case will drag on? The defendants have not even filed their affidavit yet," Annou Xavier, one of the counsels for the Jahuts told The Malaysian Insider.
The group of Jahut Christians from Kampung Pasu, led by village elder, Wet bin Ket and his son, Yaman bin Wet, are seeking a judicial review over the local district and land office's refusal to supply their village church with water and electricity for the past 2 years.
The villagers, who embraced Christianity in 2000, built the church in Wet's backyard with his permission in 2003. But it was demolished by the local authorities who ruled that they were erecting an illegal structure as they had not obtained proper approval from the authorities.
In 2006, they won RM35,000 as compensation to rebuild their church, which they also use as a tuition centre for their school-going children, and as a nursery for the younger ones.
Xavier said that the reasons given by the local authorities are that the building was erected on land not gazetted and that the building was erected as a place of worship without the approval of the local district and land office.
The Orang Asli are however contesting that decision based on their native rights. -- THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
Kelantan plan to make govt staff pray 5 times a day
A Malaysian state governed by a conservative Islamic party plans to compel Muslim government workers to pray five times a day as required by their religion, an official said yesterday.
Chief Minister of north-eastern Kelantan state, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, said Muslims who shirk their prayer obligations 'are not fearful of Allah and are susceptible to committing bribery and other sins'.
Kelantan is planning to introduce a law forcing Muslim government workers to pray five times a day, said the minister's aide Anual Bakri Haron. He said details on how to enforce the plan would be finalised in time.
Kelantan has been ruled since 1990 by the conservative Parti Islam SeMalaysia, which has implemented strict morality rules, such as banning gambling, nightclubs and rock concerts. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS
PAS Youth today backed the Kelantan government's proposal on the prayer requirement in the appointment and promotion of civil servants in the state.
Its chief, Salahuddin Ayub, in a statement issued today, said the move, besides instilling fear of God among civil servants, would also deter them from engaging in corrupt practices, like bribery, breach of trust and misappropriation.
He said despite various measures by the government, including law enforcement, white-collar crime, like bribery, misappropriation and power abuse continued to be on the rise.
"It is not wrong for us to have laws or the police, the Anti-Corruption Agency, the Public Complaints Bureau, etc, but if we can educate the people to observe their religious teachings, the problem not only can be reduced, but eliminated.
"If the government is to neglect the responsibility, the people are free to do whatever they like," he added.
On Monday, Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said that only Muslims who performed the obligatory five daily and Friday prayers would be considered to be future leaders, heads of departments and civil servants in the state. -- BERNAMA
Comparing MT today with the MT of yester-years, I am happy to see that RPK has softened his Islamophobic stance. No doubt the political pressure is on him, but he clearly can no longer get away with defiling Islam with his ill-conceived rants and mere conjecture.
Changes are coming to Malaysia, but they are not the kind that RPK can be proud of. He may deem to have had an affect in popular opinion and direction of future government, but the results will not be what he has been working towards. Governments have an apparent way of resisting pressure. Reverse psychology is clearly a winner here.
Good luck,
Dawud ( dawudfarquhar@walla.com )
In the first place, I do not defile Islam. I defile Muslims. And in case many of you do not understand the difference, let me assure you that there is a difference. But seriously, do you even need me to do the dirty job of defiling Muslims? I mean, Muslims are handling that job very well by themselves they do not need my help one bit. What further damage can I do to Muslims that they already do not do to themselves?
I am all for forcing government servants, political leaders, policemen, etc., to pray five times a day if that makes them better people. How it is going to be enforced is another matter. I remember, when we were still in school back in the 1960s, we had to line up and march to the mosque to pray. But did we pray? Of course not! We certainly did all the movements required in the prayers but we were not praying. We were play-acting like in a pantomime.
The school prefects were not concerned whether we actually prayed. They just wanted to make sure that we all lined up, marched to the mosque two-by-two, and then stood up, bowed, prostrated, etc., in the mosque in synch with the rest of the congregation. In short, we were obligated to perform the physical movements attached to the prayers although what we were really doing was just exercising akin to yoga and with a total absence in heart and mind.
Would forcing government employees of the Islamic faith to pray really make them better people? Would, for instance, they agree that since the prayers are personal between you and God, then for every minute you take off from work to perform your prayers, it will involve a salary cut? What about switching off the lights and air-conditioning when you pray? The rakyat are paying for all these facilities from the tax they pay so you are misusing the rakyat’s money when you pray instead of work -- so the proper thing to do would be to reimburse the cost of these facilities or not use these facilities when you are praying.
On that same note, government employees should also stop using the office phone to make personal calls, or government vehicles to send their children to school or wife to market, and much more. Any use of government assets, facilities or time for your personal purposes, praying included, is an act of corruption. Note that the one-time Director of the Commercial Crime Division, Ramli Yusof, is currently on trial on a charge of corruption for using a government asset for his personal purposes. So it is considered a crime and everyone of the more than one million government officers are committing corruption, the majority of them Muslims.
One sad fact I have noticed is that many, if not most, of the Muslims who commit corrupt acts, pray. They not only pray five times a day but they never miss their Friday congregation prayers as well. And it is not only on Friday that they go to the mosque. They go as often as they can and almost every night after breaking their fast during the month of Ramadhan.
What is even more interesting to note is that their wives are ‘decently’ dressed with headscarf (tudung) and all. They also go to Mekah to perform their umrah and/or haj as often as they can, time and money permitting. But they are corrupted as hell. And they don’t even mind taking bribes from pork sellers, pubs, gambling dens, brothels and loan sharks.
Yes, these Muslims pray. These Muslims pray five times a day. These Muslims even go the mosque to pray. And, as often as they can, these Muslims go all the way to Mekah to pray in front of the Ka’abah.
But these Muslims pray wearing clothes bought by money earned through corruption. These Muslims drive to the mosque in government cars paid for by the taxpayers or personal cars bought from bribes. These Muslims fly to Mekah every year or twice a year to pray in ‘God’s House’, not paid for by their hard-earned salary, but paid for from bribes from pork sellers, pubs, gambling dens, brothels and loan sharks.
Yes, let us force Muslims to pray five times a day. Let us also make sure that non-Muslim houses of worship are denied water and electricity. That is the Islamic thing to do. That would make Muslims better Muslims. And the fact that most of the corrupt Muslims are Muslims who pray five times a day should not discourage us from forcing Muslims to pray five times a day.
And I do not defile Islam. I do not even need to defile Muslims. They do not need my help when they are doing a very good job themselves.
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