Strange Animal Behaviour Again

By Syed Akbar Ali

Days before the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, large numbers of sardines turned up dead in California. Even after the earthquake, there were swarms of sardines close to shore near Acapulco in Mexico. Here is some interesting fish news:

"Last Friday (25 March), a 300-pound eagle ray leaps onto a boat off the Florida Keys. On Sunday (27 March), a 375-pound mako shark jumps onto a boat off Texas. What's up with the leaping sea creatures? Has Aquaman's telepathic message been scrambled? Are the buddies of "Jaws" seeking revenge? Are we going to need bigger boats? Actually, "many ocean animals do jump out of the water when either chasing prey or trying to elude a predator," Timothy J. Mullican, vice president of zoological operations at the Georgia Aquarium, said in an e-mail to CNN. And the eagle ray and mako shark are both known jumpers, he said."

Maybe it is all just a coincidence. There is video of the 200-300 pound stingray 'flying' out of the water. It must have been something really scary to propel a 200-300 pound ray right out of the water into a boat.

The shark is even more impressive. That is the picture of the Mako shark above. It weighed almost 400 pounds and jumped over 15 feet to get from the water into a boat, all by itself. Again it must have taken some agitation to make a shark want to do that.

It wont do any harm to be on the lookout. Florida and Texas sit around the Gulf of Mexico.

Another "Friend" Turns

By Syed Akbar Ali

The Bloggers that I know and associate with are a mixed bag. We had dinner last nite with some other friends and had a good long yarn. Among them is a former PKR supporter (who is slightly smaller than a Kancil - its not Dog, Parpu or the guy in the beret). But last nite he used language about you know who, which if I repeated them here, I would be sued for libel.

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He has seen the latest movie production and hence the 'unrepeatable' language. What all these folks share in common is the feeling that they were taken for a ride. It makes them feel really silly when their hero turns out to be much less than a full loaf. The latest "friend" to join this category is this Datuk Eskay. Before that it was Zaid Ibrahim. Before that it was YB Zaharin. Before that it was YB Zulkifli Noordin. The list is long. Even the lawyer Sulaiman A. is not associated with the guy anymore. (Talk is Sulaiman did not get straight answers to simple questions).

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The guy that impresses me most is YB Zulkifli Noordin. For years, Zul took some trouble to look like his hero. The little goatee beard, the language, the style of talking was all a mimicry of his hero. Zul's law office is in Wisma Yakin, just footsteps away from my office. During the reformasi demonstrations of 1998 - 2000, Zul was well known here as a 'street agitator'. He would get into fisticuffs with the Police. I believe he has suffered arrest too. At that time, he was well known among the street vendors here, whose 'cause' he used to champion. You can say that Zul was a tough guy, ready to fight for the common man.

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But now, even Zul Noordin has packed up and left. And he was expelled from the PKR. I find this completely ming boggling.

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Now Datuk Eskay has turned against his hero too. There is an interesting article on Datuk Eskay at Malaysian Insider. If you have not read it already, you can see it here. Its not about Eskay but about FIVE QUESTIONS which Eskay has asked. They seem quite simple straight forward questions, the type of questions a lawyer may ask his own client - to help him prepare for the case..

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Here are the questions :

• Pertama, in the last two years, how many times have you been to Thailand?
• Kedua, who greets or awaits your arrival in Thailand?
• Ketiga, which hotel do you stay at, in Thailand ?
• Keempat, what did you do in that hotel room?
• Dan kelima, who paid for all the hotel bills?

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Folks, think carefully. Is this the future Prime Minister that you want to lead this country? A fellow who will probably be spending the remainder of his life warding off these types of questions.

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Which hotel?

What did you do in the hotel?

Did you know this male?

Did you know that female?

Isnt that you in the video?

Where is your watch? (By the way, where is that watch, the one in the wife's possession)

Why are you refusing to give your DNA?

Why are you refusing to swear on the Quran?

Who is your alibi?

Where is the original copy of your passport?

Where are your Twitter messages for these two hours?

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What do you think folks? Shouldnt the future leader be pondering things like China's intended investment in thorium nuclear reactors? What in God's name are thorium nuclear reactors ? If they are developed, what will they do to the geopolitics of oil and energy security in Asia in say the next 30 years?

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What will happen to the Middle East if Israel develops cheap technology to extract 250 billion barrels of Shale oil that have been discovered inside Israel. (Saudi Arabia has 260 billion barrels of oil).

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After Khaddafy and Ali Abdullah Salleh fall, will Syria be next? If civil unrest spreads to Saudi Arabia what will happen? If there is civil war in Saudi Arabia, will the hajj pilgrimage be affected?

What will happen to the Islamic countries? Will people run amok in the Islamic countries, if the hajj pilgrimage is cancelled?

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You know simple questions like that lah. (Folks, I think we should all start thinking about these questions too. Thinking is free. Just read up a little and be informed)

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Instead the future leader is being asked questions like 'who paid your hotel bill in Thailand?' or 'what did you do in the hotel room in Thailand?' Malulah.

Another Giant Leap ...

Syed Akbar Ali

"Kerajaan Negeri Perak akan mematuhi keputusan Jawatankuasa Fatwa Negeri Perak berhubung pengharaman tarian poco-poco, kata Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir. Beliau berkata, selepas fatwa dikeluarkan, semua pihak perlu menghormatinya dan tidak mempersoalkannya.

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Dr Zambry berkata demikian ketika mengulas laporan sebuah akhbar mengenai kenyataan Mufti Perak, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, bahawa Jawatankuasa Fatwa Negeri Perak telah memutuskan tarian berkenaan sebagai haram.

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Harussani dilaporkan berkata tarian tersebut diharamkan kerana ia mempunyai unsur kepercayaan agama lain iaitu Kristian selain pemujaan roh dan pewartaan fatwa itu akan dibuat tidak lama lagi."

Sordidness, the Consultative Council And Videos

By Syed Akbar Ali

There is a rather sordid story in the Christian Bible called the Curse of Canaan. Sometimes known as the Curse of Ham, the father of Canaan. Or also known as the Curse of Noah. The Bible says Noah was the father of Ham, hence the grandfather of Canaan. (I am just going with the Bible narrative, jangan marah saya ok, both Christians and Muslims. Keep cool)

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Canaan was Noah’s grandson who was cursed by Noah to forever be a slave (and black skinned too, according to some Bible commentors, which according to other commentators led Christians to indulge in slavery, especially of the black African people).

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The script from the Bible goes like this :

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Genesis Chapter 9, verses 20 - 28

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20 Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard.

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21 He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.

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22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

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23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.

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24 When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him.

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25 So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers.

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26 He also said, “Blessed be the LORD The God of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.

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27 “May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.

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28 Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.

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29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.

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Here is a gist. Noah had three sons Japheth, Ham and Shem. One day Noah got drunk, became naked and then dropped off to sleep in a drunken stupor. His son Ham saw his drunken father sleeping naked inside the tent and then told his brothers Shem and Japheth about it.

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The brothers then took a garment, walked in backwards so that they need not see their father’s nakedness and covered him up. Later when Noah got up from his drunkeness he became angry at Ham (the son who first saw him naked and reported it to his other brothers) that he cursed Ham’s son Canaan to forever be a slave ! !

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Now this is the narrative in the Bible. Beyond this it is all interpretation, guessing and opinions.

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Why was Noah so angry at Ham? Here are many views (bukan saya cakap ok, all these are from Christian commentors, so please jangan marah saya).

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1. Ham blew the whistle on Noah’s drunken nakedness

2. Ham informed his brothers and the camp about Noah’s drunken nakedness

3. Ham sodomised his father Noah when he was drunk and naked !!

4. Ham castrated his father Noah who was drunk and naked !!

5. Ham stared at his drunken father’s genitals, and so on.

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These ideas and more have been suggested, refuted, accepted and rejected by rabbinical and Bible scholars for 1900 years now. So these are NOT my views ok. (I dont believe them either - please respect my beliefs too).

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Anyway Noah got so angry that to punish his son Ham, he cursed Canaan instead, who was the son of Ham - to forever be a slave.

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So here is the sequence : Noah got drunk - Noah became naked - Noah slept in a drunken stupor - Ham saw his father’s drunken nakedness - Ham told his brothers about it - Noah gets angry at Ham - Noah curses Canaan for eternity.

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Since then most Christians have defended Noah’s curse upon Canaan. They lay the blame on Ham and even on Canaan (the young grandson who was possibly in playschool, not aware his drunken grandpa was about to slam him with a curse).

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The reasons are obvious. Noah was a Prophet, a Saviour, a “good man”, a leader of his people. Even if he got drunk or got naked, he could do no wrong in the eyes of the followers. He had to be defended at all costs (to their morality and their principles).

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So the commentors started shooting Ham, the messenger who ‘exposed’ the sordid news about his father’s drunken nakedness. Some commentors have even justified the curse against Canaan the grandson, by quoting Exodus Chapter 20 : god can “visit(ing) the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation of those that hate me”. So that’s why its called Canaan’s Curse.

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So shoot the messenger. The drunkenness, the waywardness is to be covered over. Tis our Prophet, our Saviour.

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Now here is some more recent news about a drunken and naked father who went beyong cursing his own son. This is from yesterday’s Star :

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Naked, drunken dad stabs son to death

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PETALING JAYA: A youth who insisted that his naked and drunken father put on his clothes was stabbed to death after the father and son got into a heated argument.

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Razak Kumar, 20, died at the scene after he was stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife on Sunday.

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Should the boy be blamed for scolding his drunken and naked father? Where are our principles? Now here is some more news from The Star. Click here.

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Council frowns over ‘sad and sordid episode’

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PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism has voiced its discomfort over the latest sex video scandal which has been hogging the limelight lately.

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“We are disheartened and uncomfortable with the whole episode. The longer this issue drags on, the greater is the damage to Malaysia's image internationally,” its president Rev Dr Thomas Philips said.

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In a statement yesterday, he said the council wanted the Government to take “swift and firm action” against the people behind the scandal.

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He said the “sad, sordid episode” had once again brought Malaysia to prominence for the wrong reasons.

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“It does not inspire the younger generation to trust the political process or to observe cultural, religious, social and moral norms.”

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First off it looks like a concerned statement by a group of religious types. But a little closer reading suggests more deliberate intent, couched in clever language.

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In Malaysia everyone takes sides politically. Even the individual members of the Consultative Council will have their political views. It is not a crime to have political affiliations, no matter which side you support. This is a free country and it is a democracy. Feel free to support any politician or political party of your choice.

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Let me assure you that there are still enough people in this country who will make sure that this freedom will always remain. (Though I don’t know if democracy will still exist in this country if the Pakatan Rakyat takes over, especially PAS with their theocratic crap, the dynastic politics of the fathers and sons, wives and daughters - but those are my views lah. I am also entitled to my views you know)

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It is not a secret that some folks in the Consultative Council, particularly the Catholic Church feels much gratitude to Male Y for his support of the Church over the Allah issue as well as the recent Bible issue. The Church perhaps sees more robustness in the congregation if Male Y comes to power. They see him as their prophet and saviour too (lower case lah).

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But isn’t it a “sin” in the Bible to support sexual promiscuity and aberrant behaviour ? (An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign ... Mathew).

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Ok first lets digress. I don’t believe in ‘sin’ as a concept. ‘Sin’ is an English language word that is taken from a Biblical idea. A ‘sin’ can only be forgiven by the priest or religious man. It is a simple control mechanism. By telling you that you have sinned, the religious men control you and in the process they take your money from your pocket.

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But anyone can know right from wrong. The good from the bad. You don’t need a religious man to forgive your wrongs. You right your own wrongs. You don’t need a religious man to tell you what is good or bad either. You know what is good. Your fate is in your own hands. Plus your money stays in your own pocket. (Do you see now why the religious folks really dislike me?)

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Now lets get back on track. The Consultative Council “voiced its discomfort over the latest sex video scandal”

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Friends, the video is just the messenger. Even the people who exposed the video are only messengers. There are real people INSIDE the video doing immoral things that you as the good fathers of your communities should frown upon. You have not said a word about those immoral acts. So where exactly is your “discomfort“? Where is your morality?

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Please do not hold the view that the manner in which the video was exposed or the gentiles who exposed it makes the contents of the video any less sordid. Certainly there must be some principles available to discern the difference.

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The Council says, “It does not inspire the younger generation to trust the political process ..”

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What has the political process in this country got to do with philandering Philistines, adulterous gentiles or the whores of Sodom whose actions have been caught on video ?

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If people do wrong, commit crimes or commit “sin” and someone knows about it, then is it right or wrong for the people who have come to know about the wrong to tell their community about it? Are the Ten Commandments not valid anymore? The Bible still says ‘you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife’ and that “you shall not engage in whoredom“.

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The Consultative Council “wanted the Government to take “swift and firm action” against the people behind the scandal”.

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People BEHIND the scandal? I say, what about the people INSIDE the video? So if you see a man sleeping with his neighbour’s wife, it is a bad thing that is happening. Yes or no? So what do you do? Keep quiet? The Old Testament in the Bible even says ‘stone the adulterers to death’. It also says kill the sodomists. You dont stone adulterers to death anymore neither do you kill sodomists. But is it a good thing or a bad thing to warn your community about your philandering neighbour?

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Or do you bend the rules if the philanderer is a wannabe king whom you favour? Tomorrow it could be another neighbour’s wife or daughter who may be coveted by the same king. In the modern era, what if you found a video tape recording of your king’s philandering? Should you keep it to yourself?

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The duty should be to warn the community. Even if you yourself are a philanderer, it does not make your testimony or your witness any less. The Catholic Church all over the world has been hit by a very sordid mess of a scandal involving lecherous priests who molested boys, girls and the women of their own cloth. That sordid scandal is not over yet. Does it make the testimony of the priests or the Church any less? Is it more scandalous to talk about the Church scandals but less scandalous to cover it up?

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Yes it is up to the community to verify the truth or falsehood of things. This is what is being done now. The Police are in the picture. We await the results of their investigations. But please do not be hypocrites. Why do I say this ? Because the Consultative Council has made it clear that they “wanted the Government to take “swift and firm action””.

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Ok. My question is what if the Police come out and say that the video is true and not fake? Will the Consultative Council accept this answer? Will the Council be making any statements to thank the Government? Or will they be making a hasty retreat? Dont be hypocrites.

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I am tempted to say this because there were no statements from the Consultative Council when the sordid Chua Soi Lek video hit the Internet? Or was there cheering in the pews? Yes Chua Soi Lek owned up to the video but why not at least make an encouraging statement for the people to move on. Even the philandering Jimmy Swaggart cried on Evangelical TV. He was instantly forgiven, and the cash donations poured in again.

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Can I be blamed if I come to the conclusion that Chua Soi Lek’s political affiliation did not make him worthy of any conciliatory statement? It would seem that the colorful principals have rather colored principles.

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This political turmoil in the country will come to an end and to a conclusion. I believe the truth will prevail. It always does, if not today then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, certainly the day after. And people will remember where we stood. People will also remember what we stood for. It is important that we remember this too.

Answering Artane About 'Ulama'

By Syed Akbar Ali

A reader called Artane sent me some comments about 'ulama' in reply to another post a few days ago. Artane's comment has also been replied by some others. Today I want to revisit this issue which actually concerns how Muslims are programmed to think. I have written about this subject before on June 27, 2010, you can refer my Blog No Such Thing As "Ulama" Class In Islam.

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First here is Artane's comment in full.

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Artane said...Assalamualaikum Mr. Syed, I think some of us here may have gone beyond their capabilities to comment on Islamic issues. Why am I saying this? I can tell a few reasons.

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Some of us are openly mocking these ulama'. Yes, I know what you guys think of them. And yes, they are human too. But here is what you may miss. They learn about these things. They are trained about these things. They may graduate from different schools, may have different thoughts, but they have their own reasons why (unless they are "paid" to think and speak).

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Now think of them as professionals; doctors for example. There are many doctors in the world. They graduated from different schools. Some may have failed repeatedly, but they may still become doctors. Now, when they are practicing, you come in with a set of undiagnosed, mysterious symptoms. If you go to 10 different doctors, you may be diagnosed with 10 different things. You find an immunologist, he/she may think it's an infection. If you find an oncologist, he/she may think it's a cancer. It's a matter of interpretation. And they have their own reasons why. You may get cured or you may not.

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Now you may get frustrated with the different diagnoses and everything. But is it OK to diagnose yourself based on some articles you find or from something you read? Can that beat all those years of medical training? If everyone can do that, why bother having doctors? We have books, we have internet, we can buy anything online, why bother training doctors?

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The same thing happens to these ulama'. Not only now everyone can fly, everyone can claim to be ulama'. They want to rationalize things based on what they know. If you really want to be an ulama', go take the course for 5-6 years, then when you graduate you can claim to be one. I can also diagnose a disease based on symptoms, but I never claim to be a doctor. I also do have opinion on religion but I never claim myself to be an ulama' or claim that I'm better than them in their profession.

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My point being, don't go caterwauling in blogs about your opinion on Islam. You have something to say, gather your proof, make your case to the ulama' you want to address. Or go look for second opinion. Same as with doctors, when you are not satisfied with the diagnosis, go make your case with evidence to the doctor, or get a second opinion. Then not only you can ascertain the truth, but you can also correct the perception of the ulama' and ultimately the society if you are correct.

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Well, I made my case here. Thank you for your time.

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Salam Artane. And thank you for your comments. First of all, by coincidence, I received the following piece of writing by one Dr Djohan Effendi just a few days before I wrote that Blog where you have posted your comment. Dr Djohann alo talks about the 'ulama'. I will reproduce his views in full (which I agree with) before adding my own comments later.

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"Teman2, dalam percakapan ini kita berulang kali memakai perkataan ulama. Dalam pemahaman dalam masyarakat kita ini kata ulama dimaksudkan mereka yang memiliki pengetahuan keagamaan bahkan seringkali disamakan dengan fuqaha atau ahli2 fikih.

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Bahkan juga ada yang memahami bahwa perkataan ulama hanya khusus untuk kalangan umat Islam yang memiliki pengetahuan keagamaan Islam. Bagaimana sebenarnya perkataan ulama itu dipakai dan dipahami di masa Nabi?

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Dalam al-Quran perkataan ulama dipakai dua kali, pertama dalam surah 26 (asy-Syu'ara) ayat 197 yang menyebutkan tentang ulama Bani Israel. Dus kata ulama justru dipakai untuk kalangan Yahudi.

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Yang kedua dipakai dalam surah 35 (al-Fathir) ayat 28 yang menegaskan bahwa yang sesungguhnya yang takut kepada Allah itu di kalangan hamba-Nya adalah ulama.

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Siapa yang dimaksud dengan ulama dalam ayat ini dapat kita bisa baca selengkapnya bunyi ayat tsb. Bahkan dimulai dari ayat sebelumnya.

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Bunyinya: Apakah engkau tidak melihat bahwa Allah menurunkan hujan dari awan, lalu dengannya kali keluarkan buah2an yang beraneka ragam warnanya. Dan di gunung2 terdapat garis2, putih dan merah, bermacam2 warnanya sedang yang lain hitam pekat. Dan begitu juga di antara manusia, binatang dan ternak, ada yang berbeda2 warnanya. Hanya orang-orang yang berilmulah (al-ulama) dari kalangan hamba2Nya yang takut kepada Allah. Sesungguhnya Allah itu Yang Perkasa dan Pengampun.

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Dari kontek ayat ini maka perkataan ulama lebih merujuk pada para scientist atau ilmuwan.

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Lalu bagaimana dengan ungkapan yang menyatakan "al-Ulama adalah pewaris para Nabi" (al-anbiya, jamak)? Kata ulama di sini pun tidak membatasi maknanya hanya para ahli ilmu agama.

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Mungkin lebih mendekati pada kata kaum intelektual, kaum terpelajar/cendekiawan. Sebab dalam sejarah kaum muslimin kemudian dikenal katagore "ulama`us-su`" atau ulama jahat yang sepengertian dengan istilah "pelacur intelektual".

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Dan kalau kita menyimak peri kehiudupan para imam mujtahidin seperti empat imam madzhab, mereka bukan hanya ahli ilmu agama tapi juga ilmu2 lain seperti sejarah, sastra dsb, dan mereka juga memiliki integritas moral yang teruji.

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Mereka tidak menghamba pada penguasa. Keempat imam mazhab misalnya menghindar dari penguasa dan bahkan disiksa dan dipenjara oleh khalifah di zaman mereka.

Billahit Tawfiq wal Hidayah. Dr Djohan Effendi"

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Now here also are replies by two other commenters to Artane.

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Anoynymous said : Artane ni lahir tahun berape agaknya.Tak ikut perkembangan parti Pas zaman tahun 80an. Masa tu isu kapir menkapir ulama PAS yang ungkitkan. Pas tu tambah dgn sembahyang 2 iman, kahwin tak sah dgn pak iman UMNO dan macam2 lagi. Adik beradik putus sedara sebab fatwa ulama Pas. Bapak aku seorang guru agama bila cuba memerangkan kepada abang dan kakaknya yg gila Pas tentang Islam dan bila jatuhnya kafir seseorang terus diputuskan sedara macam tu. Bila dah nak mati, baru lah si abang & kakak mau berbaik semula. Kau punya comparison ulama dgn doktor langsung tak betul.Pakai logik je. B*d*h.

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1munafikmalaysia said...Artane, ISLAM is for all. It's not 'Hak cipta terpelihara Ularmak". BTW which university did prophet, the caliphs and the friends of prophet graduate from? If they can interpret the Quran what's stopping anyone else doing so. Is there an injunction in the Quran that says so? I think there is a verse that says the quran is made easy to understand and is there anyone willing to learn.Read surah Al Qamar :17 and Al Baqara:185 If something is easy to understand why do we need a third party to tell me what it says. You analogy with Medicine is childish at best. Medicine changes with time. New things are discovered old things are discarded. Are you saying that ISLAM also changes with time?? God has given us a brain so that we can think for ourselves.

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Now here are my comments: First of all I agree that trying to compare the 'religious people' with doctors is childish. I am sorry but it is reflective of the immature thinking that has become religious education among Muslims all over the world. As time wasting as it is, I wil have to dwell on this 'comparing with doctors' issue too.

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I use the words 'religious people' and not ulama simply because I dont think the religious people are ulama. From a Quranic point of view the two are not the same. Please read my previous Blog on this : No Such Thing As "Ulama" Class In Islam.

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As I have written in that article, and as Dr Djohan Effendi also points out, Surah 35:27-28 defines an ulama:

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Surah 35:27-28 "Do you not see (Alam tara) that GOD sends down from the sky water, whereby we produce fruits of various colors? Even the mountains have different colors; the peaks are white, or red, or some other color. And the ravens are black. Also, the people, the animals, and the livestock come in various colors. This is why the people who truly reverence GOD are those who are knowledgeable (ulama). GOD is Almighty, Forgiving."

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The people who see or observe :

i. the cycle of rain are meteorologists

ii. those who study plants, fruits, flowers are agronomists, plant biologists and horticulturalists

iii. those who study the colours and types of rocks on mountains are geologists

iv. the people who study the birds are ornithologists

v. those who study humans are anthropologists, medical doctors, biologists, scientists

vi. those who study livestock and animals are veterinarians and animal biologists.

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The Quran says the people who see all this Nature and observe all this Creation and appreciate all this handiwork of the Creator are called the 'ulama'. Clearly then this is a description of scientists. An ulama is therefore a scientist.

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The word science comes from the Latin word 'scientia' which means knowledge. And the arab word 'ulama' is the plural form of 'alim'. Alim comes from the arabic word "Ilmu" which ALSO means knowledge or science.

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An alim is therefore a knowledgeable person and ulama is plural meaning 'many knowledgeable people'. Ulama are therefore scientists who study everything around them and appreciate all the things that the Creator has created in this universe. Those are the ulama. I dont think today's religious people can be called ulama at all.

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But will a Book such as the Quran fail to provide a proper name for the priests of religion, those guys who wear beards and robes, who dress funny, talk funny and behave funny who are part and parcel of every "religion"? Here is the Quran again :

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Surah 9:31 "They have set up their religious leaders (habar) and rabbis as lords, instead of GOD. . . "

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The Quran refers to 'religious leaders' and the priests as HABAR. The Quran does not refer to them as 'ulama'.

Habar are the religious priests who wear strange clothes, wear beards, speak strange and say that they are "closer to God". They can promise things like the keys to paradise. They are best given doodle pads to draw on and be locked up in asylums. If allowed to roam free, they can become "mursyidul am", ayatollah, pak sheikh and so on (in extreme cases).

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Now lets talk about Artane's comparison of religious people with doctors. A doctor is a man of science. A knowledgeable person, a real ulama. It is a strict requirement of science that you must criticise, argue, ridicule, poke holes in scientific findings. The scientists thrive on this.

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Whenever a scientist discovers something new, they must publish it in scientific journals. Then other people will read what they have discovered and criticise it. If the new discovery can withstand all the criticism, only then it becomes established as scienctific knowledge. Then the doctor who discovers something new in medicine or a new treatment will not call you 'sesat' or a deviant just because you criticise him.

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On the other hand, the religious people, who dont know anything about science or logic or dont appreciate science or logic, will call you 'sesat', 'kafir', etc if you criticise them. You cannot disagree with them at all. And then the funny thing is there are so many types of religious people. You have shiah, sunni, wahhabi, sufi, tablighi, ismaili, alawite, ahmadiah, tareqat, arqam etc etc. They all say that if you question them, you are sesat or deviant.

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This is not Islamic behaviour. That is why the religious people are often childish and immature in their reasoning capabilities. They are definitely not the same as doctors and scientists who thrive on questioning and criticism.

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Now lets go back to something else that Artane said : "

Some of us are openly mocking these ulama".

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So, does this mean that it is ok to mock other people? This is what I understand from the religious people. They dont make any noise if someone mocks others. For example if you mock Tun Dr Mahathir, well that is ok by many religious people. One assh*le religious munafiq even said that 'Tuhan juga mencarut'. So he said that it was ok for another assh*le to write a filthy book criticising Dr Mahathir using words like puk*mak !! To me these are pengikut ajaran setan.

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So be careful. The indoctrination that you can mock other people, but it is not ok to mock the religious people is munafiq or hypocrisy.

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Now let us go back to the doctor example. This is a very bad example and it shows incapacity to think in a logical manner. It is reflective of the type of indoctrination that is dished out by the religious people. This is why the Islamic countries are in the Club of Doom. Over the centuries, the religious people have destroyed the peoples' capacity to think.

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A doctor goes to medical school where he studies the most rigorous science for five or six years. Usually only the best and the brightest from any society even qualify to study medicine. You must have a string of As in your high school exams before you can enter medical school. On the other hand, for centuries now, it is always the practise that those young people who have no other options or have little chance of going to medical school. university, college, teacher training, joining the army or the police will end up going to religious school. It is usually the last option, they have no more choice.

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In other words, religious education usually absorbs or attracts the least capable people from society.

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A doctor is trained to think logically and scientifically. As a scientist, a doctor's entire thinking process runs on logic. There must be a logical reason why a person got sick. Lets study the symptoms. Lets logically identify the causes. Even if we cannot identify the exact cause, thens lets rule out other reasons that we know of. This is the logical and scientific method. This is science.

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And as I said, the doctor will be most happy if you criticise him. He will not call you murtad, sesat, kafir and other such things if you dont agree with him. He will not say that you will go to hell if you disagree with him or if you prove him wrong.

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Now the religious people, who were usually school dropouts or the intellectually less capable from among society who cannot qualify to go to medical school, will say that 'Kita tidak boleh gunakan akal'. I have heard this a hundred times.

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So the religious people dont like logic. They insist that you cannot use logic to answer anything. This is just one of the many reasons why you cannot compare a doctor and a religious person. You are comparing apples with oranges. Tak boleh. It is also very insulting to compare doctors with the religious people. A doctor studies for five or six years in a very tough scientific curriculum, which keeps changing all the time.

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This is also the same reason why you cannot compare a medical doctor with a magician, David Copperfield, a witch doctor, a bomoh or pawang. They are also very dependent on "tidak boleh menggunakan akal".

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Some religious people believe (I think this is from the Shiah) that during the time of the Prophet, the moon was split in two. And then one half of the split moon fell in the backyard of Saidina Ali's house. (The Shiah use this story to say that it was a petanda that Saidina Ali should be the true Khalifah, and not anyone else).

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Now a belief like this cannot rely on logic. It must be an illogical belief. You must rely on the conept of "tidak boleh menggunakan akal" to believe that the moon actually split and that one half of the moon then fell in Saidina Ali's backyard.

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Think logically, in the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, it was just one earthquake which caused all that damage in Japan. The earthquake was caused by the movement of just a small part of the tectonic plates under the sea.

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Imagine what would have happened to the earth if the moon had split in two? Or that one half of the split moon had fallen into the Pacific Ocean? The entire world would have been destroyed. But this is thinking logically. We know the moon did not split in two because the moon is still there in the sky above us.

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If you want insist on "tidak boleh menggunakan akal" then you might agree with those people who say that Saidina Ali's backyard was big enough to accomodate half the moon that fell down ! !

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The same concept applies if you insist in believing the children's nursery rhyme :

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Hey diddle diddle,

the cat and the fiddle.

The cow jumped over the moon

and the dish ran away with the spoon.

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You can insist that the cow did jump over the moon, but that would be based on the concept of "tidak boleh menggunakan akal". It will not be accurate (or fair) to compare such illogical beliefs with medical science which runs on pure observation, science and logic.

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So Artane, you now have to choose, which 'tidak boleh menggunakan akal' you want to follow? The Shiah, Sunni, Ahmadiah, Sufi, Tareqat, Tablighi etc. There are so many to choose from. In Malaysia, the religious law (which also is based on "tidak boleh menggunakan akal") decides what you can or cannot be in your religion. Recently shiahs were arrested in Gombak. A man who declared himself a Rasul was jailed for 10 years. And so on.

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But back to the word 'ulama' - surely the scientists, including doctors are the ulama - the knowledgeable people. This is because they observe God's Creation (alam tara) and they use logic.

The “Corruption” Of Lim Guan Eng

By Syed Akbar Ali

This is from The Star. You can read the full story again here

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“Guan Eng: No open tender for WiFi project

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GEORGE TOWN: Only one public-listed company has come forward to provide free broadband access under the Penang Government's free WiFi initiative, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

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He said an open tender system was not offered for the project as the state government wanted a reputable company to take charge.

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“The company has to be public-listed, so there is some sort of guarantee,” he said when asked why there was no open tender for the project.

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Lim said REDtone International Bhd was willing to provide and maintain 750 free WiFi hotspots in public areas in the state without any funding from the state government under the first phase.

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“Under phase two, the state government is paying RM8.49mil to install 750 free WiFi hotspots over the next five years in Penang,” he said after launching the Penang for Japan Disaster Relief Charity Drive at Straits Quay in Tanjong Tokong yesterday”

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I don’t know if Guan Eng will deny this report tomorrow or accuse The Star of misreporting but for today lets go with this news.

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What in the dickens is the meaning of “only one public listed company has come forward” ?

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And I cannot believe this statement : “He said an open tender system was not offered for the project as the state government wanted a reputable company to take charge.”

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Come again? I say kawan, isn’t it the other way around? Didn’t you and Daddy make your career by accusing the BN Government of engaging too much in ‘direct nego’ contracts? Didn’t you and Daddy accuse the BN of denying “reputable companies” chances at contracts by not being open enough ? Now you are doing the same thing maa !! What is happening to you?

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Didn’t you and Daddy accuse the BN Government of using the ’closed’ system to award contracts to less reputable and crony companies? So how does it become ok just because it is you who is now saying that “an open tender system was not offered for the project”?

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If other people do this, you will accuse them of hypocrisy lah. If you do the same thing, its ok ke?

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And what does this mean : “The company has to be public-listed, so there is some sort of guarantee”. What exactly is ’some form of guarantee’ ? Why are you guaranteeing a “public listed company’s guarantee” ?

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Here is the stranger part : “Under phase two, the state government is paying RM8.49mil to install 750 free WiFi hotspots over the next five years in Penang”

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OK so the State Government is paying lah. At the end of the day, public funds are involved. It is NOT free wifi in the true sense. The reputable and very lucky ’public listed company’ is going to get the benefit of this RM8.49 million public funds.

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So where does the “free” come in? The people are not getting “free wifi” lah, they are paying for it - using RM8.49 million of public funds. Jangan klentong ok.

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Guan Eng, if it is really free, then ask the “reputable” company to use their own money lah - not RM8.49 million public funds. Let them earn back their investment from advertisements and stuff. And still provide “free” wifi to the public. Baru lah betul-betul free.

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Otherwise, this model is nothing new lah. The State pays the infra cost or CAPEX cost. Then the ‘reputable company’ operates it. And they also sapu the ad revenues. Plus it is also a monopoly - they will solely cover Penang Island (from which they must pay the operating expenditure). So please tell us how much or what exactly is this “reputable company’s” own investment in the project? Sendiri punya duit ada masuk tak? Don’t tell me they are coming in for free?

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The RM8.49 million CAPEX is paid by the State and it is a monopoly - so they should be able to make money.

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I say kawan, isn’t there another name for this type of business model? Isnt it called the Dasar Ekonomi Baru? Also known as the New Economic Policy?

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You know - where the gomen pays for the capex, then they get the bumi company, through ‘non competitive tender process’ to run the business? Haiyya apa beza sangat, Guan Eng?

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“Under phase two, the state government is paying RM8.49mil to install 750 free WiFi hotspots over the next five years in Penang”

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Five years to wifi 750 hotspots? So who gets free wifi first? Maybe CM’s office gets it first, then CM’s house, then Pakatan constituencies, then the others? If you are paying the RM8.49 million up front, but it still takes five years, someone may get some free lunches. People in Penang say the quality of the free wifi is going to be debateable.

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Having said that, everything does cost money. I think Guan Eng is finding that out. I hope Guan Eng can make the free wifi in Penang work as good as or better than Streamyx etc but at RM8.9 million. That would be an achievement. I really hope Guan Eng succeeds in this. Then we can kick the butt of Telekom and the other service providers.

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But it is not easy to run a State. It is more difficult to run a country. Jangan cakap besar. Don’t go around accusing others of being corrupt, incompetent, not transparent etc when you yourself end up saying "an open tender system was not offered".

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It would appear that you are learning the ropes very quickly indeed.

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