Ford Celebrates 350 Millionth Car In Thailand

RAYONG, Thailand (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says its Focus small car is on track to become the best-selling car in the world this year, trumping the Toyota Corolla.

Ford sold 489,616 Focus sedans and hatchbacks worldwide in the first half of 2012. That was almost 27,000 more than the perennial best-seller, the Toyota Corolla.

Ford made the announcement at its assembly plant in Rayong, which opened in May to build the Focus. 

The Thailand plant, which is one of Ford's most advanced, has the capacity to produce 150,000 cars per year for sale in Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and other countries in the region.

Ford's recently revamped Focus is sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. 

At the plant Friday, Ford executives were also celebrating the production of the 350 millionth vehicle Ford has made since its founding 109 years ago.

My comments : The latest Ford Focus sells for about USD16,200 in the US (about RM50,000).  The car delivers about 40 miles per gallon or 7.1 Litre per 100 km. Anyone knows the price in Malaysia? I think it will be in excess of RM115,000.

It is interesting that after 109 years of existence, the Ford Motor Company will be producing its 350 millionth car in Thailand. It is not only a great success for Ford but it is also a great success for the Thai motor industry.

They began at around the same time that we did in the 1980s. In just 30 years Thailand has become the world's largest producer of 1 tonne pickup trucks. They also produce numerous car makes including Ford of course.

With our infrastructure, our comparatively large car market plus our location in this part of the world it will not be difficult to match the Thai motor industry. It is still not too late. Just follow the Thai model.

It is said that if we remove all the duties and taxes on cars then the Government will lose about RM8.0 billion in revenue.  So because of this little fact, we will continue paying among the highest car prices in the world. So that the Government will not lose RM8.0 billion in revenue a year.

But if we remove all the unnecessary taxes and duties on cars and we build a motor industry like Thailand, the entire economy will earn much, much more than RM8.0 billion per year. The Government too will be able to recoup much more than RM8.0 billion from all the other economic activity, the spinoffs and a much bigger motor industry - all of which will generate earninsg and taxes.

Here is a question to ponder : dont you think that the Thai motor industry generates more than RM8.0 billion in annual revenues to the Thai Government from all the factories, the manufacturing jobs, the supplier chains, the steel mills and parts suppliers that have grown up to feed their motor industry?

Updated : The Majapahit Influence

The Blog Ipoh Malay says that in Ipoh someone raised this flag. This is the old Sang Saka flag which was crafted by some 'pro - republic' groups before Independence. They wanted Malaysia to become a republic, like Indonesia. These would have been the proponents of 'Indonesia Raya' and such.

 Sang Saka Flag

For your information, here is the flag of the Indonesian Republic the Sang Saka Merah Putih. You can see that it is almost identical. 

  Sang Saka Merah Putih Republik Indonesia

Here are some other flags that are also based on the Sang Saka Merah Putih. Firstly here is the flag of the Republic of Singapore. It is most certainly based on the Sang Saka Merah Putih.

 Bendera Republik Singapura

The Indonesian Sang Saka Merah Putih itself has a very long history. It goes back to the time of the Javanese based Hindu Majapahits (1100 AD - 1500 AD), the East Javanese based Hindu Kediri (1100AD - 1200AD) and even to the earlier Sumatera based Sri Vijaya (600AD - 1000AD). Here is one version of the ancient Majapahit flag. 

 Umbul-Umbul Majapahit

The Majapahit flag also existed in just a "two stripe"  merah putih. Here is a representation side by side. 

Just like the Sri Vijayas before them, the Majapahits ruled over the entire Nusantara from South Thailand to present day Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Northern Australia. Here is a modern day composition of a Majapahit flag and a Majapahit Empire by an obviously wannabe Majapahit. 

Here is another flag - this is the UMNO party flag. Again it is also based on the Majapahit Merah Putih. We can see that the people of this area, including the Singaporeans, have not forgotten the history of the region.

Finally here is our own flag, the Jalur Gemilang. 

 The Jalur Gemilang bears much resemblance to the American flag the "Stars & Stripes" which is also called 'The Old Glory' (Gemilang Lama??). You can see it here.

Or could it be possible that the Majapahit flag also influenced the American flag. And here is an update. This is the flag of the East India Company:

Just like our flag the East India Company flag also has seven red stripes and six white stripes.

Merdeka

Selamat Menyambut Hari Merdeka folks. Lets fly the flag everywhere. You know why? Its the only flag we have. Its our flag.

Hitler' clothing store stirs anger in India

The owner of an Indian clothing store said Wednesday that he would only change its name from "Hitler" if he was compensated for re-branding costs, amid a growing row over the new shop. 

The outlet, which sells Western men's wear, opened 10 days ago in Ahmedabad city in the western state of Gujarat with "Hitler" written in big letters over the front and with a Nazi swastika as the dot on the "i".

"I will change it (the name) if people want to compensate me for the money we have spent -- the logo, the hoarding, the business cards, the brand," Rajesh Shah told AFP.

He put the total costs at about 150,000 rupees ($2,700).

Shah insisted that until the store opened he did not know who Adolf Hitler was and that Hitler was a nickname given to the grandfather of his store partner because "he was very strict".

"I didn't know how much the name would disturb people," he told AFP by telephone from Ahmedabad. "It was only when the store opened I learnt Hitler had killed six million people."

Members of the tiny Jewish community in Ahmedabad condemned the store's name, while a senior Israeli diplomat said the embassy would raise the matter "in the strongest possible way."

My comments : I think this Indian guy knows much more than he is admitting. It is difficult to believe that a businessman would not know who was Hitler. I think he knew that this name would get him free publicity - which it certainly has.

Section 114(a) Of The Evidence Act

The amendement to Section 114(a) of Evidence Act is another piece of unthinking legislation that has been passed by the Gomen. And it appears that the Gomen itself is uncertain about this amendment. Otherwise why would the Prime Minister ask for the Cabinet to discuss the amendement again?

PM: Review Evidence Act

PM Najib tweeted that he has asked the Cabinet to discuss a controversial amendment to the Evidence Act 1950.

“Whatever we do, we must put the people first,'' he said 

Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Senator Gan Ping Sieu said the new law would “cause hardship to innocent agents caught up in a case of Internet abuse, such as hacking, identity theft or even pranks such as Tweet-jacking'”, as well as Internet service providers like cyber cafes.

“For example, if an irresponsible individual comes to my Facebook page and posts a defamatory message or hate remark, will I be held responsible even though the comments did not originate from me?” asked the MCA vice-president.

And of course the Minister in charge of this amendment or explaining it to the public is no other than Nazri Aziz. Nazri must have either been dropped on his head when he was a child or he was accidentally left inside a refrigerator as a baby. Nazri was behind suspending that MIC MP for six months without pay in 2008. Do you all remember that incident? 

It is true that the present set of laws do not allow for easy conviction of what can be deemed to be "offensive words" written on the Internet. And there is very good reason for that.

My view is that other than making a threat  against someone's life or threatening to cause or inciting to cause someone physical harm I dont see how any crime can be committed simply by typing words on a keypad. How can words, no matter how offended someone may feel about them, hurt anyone?

In Malaysia, Internet offenses are quite new. The Courts have not convicted too many people because the Courts want solid, irrefutable evidence that the person charged  actually typed the offending words using his or her own hands on the keypad. This is often very difficult to prove.

Also how do you catch people who post things from a Cyber Cafe? Or from Starbucks? And starting Friday, the new GO KL buses will offer free WiFi on board. So if someone wants to post something that is offensive (or criminal) he can still post it from Starbucks, from MyMart, from a CyberCafe or from a GO KL bus. In such event will Tan Sri Vincent Tan be charged in Court? He is the owner of Starbucks. Or will Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar be charged in Court? He is the Chairman of SPAD which will soon be running GO KL buses with free WiFi on them.

What if someone borrows his friend's I Phone to post something that later turned out to be criminally offensive? Who do you charge in Court? According to the new amendments to the Evidence Act the owner of the I Phone will be charged. OK so the Prosecutor's job has become easy but has justice been served? You did not get the real "criminal".

What if the house phone is registered in grandma's name and her 24 year old grandson posted something offensive on the Net? Grandma will have to go to jail. Grandson gets to visit her in jail. Hishamuddin Hussein said 'thinking people' will not object to this amendment. Hisham please go get an MRI done.  You must satisfy yourself there is something other than air between your ears ok? Seriously bro.

And these offences can be easily circumvented by technology too. What if IP strings (your telephone link) becomes redundant? What if you can send Internet messages thru your TV connection thru a satellite hook up? We do not know how the communications technology will evolve tomorrow. For example the technology has long existed where TNB can read your electricity consumption by sending and receiving messages thru the electric wires. Pun boleh.  Technology keeps changing. 

I think the amendment is being done because the Prosecutors want to make their work easier.

If an offense has been committed, the person who is the owner of the telephone connection (grandma for example) will be charged in Court. Case closed. Everyone can go home and sleep soundly. Grandma is already in jail. But what about the real culprit? "Thinking people"  must worry about the real culprit.

Except for Hisham and Nazri. Their view is "as long as someone goes to jail for the 'offense' - it is job done."  Whether justice is really served or not, itu semua belakang kira. Thats why I think both Hisham and Nazri should be X rayed - every three months.

I think the real reason the Cabinet wants to amend the Evidence Act is because they want to protect themselves. This is the Billionaire's Club remember. Remember all the NFC Lembu Condo exposures? Well with this amendements to the Evidence Act, it may frighten people from writing such things on the Internet.

This amendment to the Evidence Act protects the Billioanire Ministers as well. Their turf is protected. If someone says something about the Ministers that is not fully accurate, they can be charged in Court. Well if the culprits use some thinking, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar or their own grandmas can go to jail. The culprits can still go Scot free. This amendment does not really solve much. It creates new problems because the wrong people (your grandma for example) may be put in jail.

Animals In Our Society

Here is some sick news. It involves a former PKR party leader in Pahang who has now joined Kita. 

Party leader, son held over incest 

JERANTUT: Police have detained a senior leader of an opposition party and his son on suspicion of having committed incest. Jerantut Police deputy chief DSP Zakaria Kasim said the leader and his 14-year-old son were detained on Aug 22. He said the victim delivered a baby boy three days ago at a maternity home in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. “The two suspects were released yesterday on police bond,” he said Tuesday. He also said that police had taken DNA samples for tests from the two suspects, and the results would be known in a week. - Bernama

The Unspinners has a picture of the Pakatan sex fiend here.  Here are The Unspinners with the story :

• pemimpin pembangkang sumbang mahram calun PKR DUN Damak PRU 2008, Muhammad Nur bin Jaafar. Muhammad Nur bekas Ketua PKR Jerantut mengikut Zaid Ibrahim menubuhkan KITA. kini Ketua KITA  Jerantut. bersama anak lelakinya tuduhan merogol anak perempuannya sendiri. 
• laporan polis dibuat jururawat hospital di luar negeri Pahang setelah mangsa melahirkan anak. 
• Mangsa telah mengaku dirogol bapa sendiri pada tahun 2011 di rumahnya di Batu Balai.
• Suspek abang kepada Dr Hamzah Jaafar calun ahli Parlimen PAS bagi Jerantut. 
• menunggu keputusan ujian DNA bagi mengesahkan suspek sebenar. 

Folks. The Unspinners has written an article about all the sex scandals as well as affairs and hanky panky that has gone on or is going on with the Pakatan guys and women. PKR, PAS and DAP seem populated by sex crazy people. . You can see pictures and read about a long list of these escapades in The Unspinners here. The news about this mad man and his son in Pahang is just another one on this long list. Yes I know UMNO and the BN fellows are not exempt but they dont go around claiming they are "holier than thou" angels. 

But raping your own daughter and making her pregnant is something you cannot express easily in any language.  Zaid Ibrahim should say something about this guy - if it is true that he is Kita's ketua cawangan in Jerantu

Bill Nye : Do Not Mix Religion And Education

Hi folks. This is a You Tube of the famous "Bill Nye the Science Guy". In the 1990s my young sons would hardly miss an episode of  "Bill Nye The Science Guy" on TV. Here he is again  speaking up in favour of Science. Do listen to the video, it is very short.  This is an Islamic video.

Bill Nye is worried about the influence of the religious folks on children in the United States. There are still quite a few of them in the US.  The difference (or rather the similarity) is that in the US the religious people are Bible thumpers. There is a 'christian' theme park in the US which shows human beings coexisting with the dinosaurs. This is scientifically impossible because dinosaurs lived tens of millions of years before humans.  The human being, homo sapiens, has a history of less than 500,000 years (approx.)

Bible thumpers say that is a huge error because (according to their Bible) the earth was created 6,666 years before the current date. So the dinosaurs could not be more than 6,666 years old too. Of course this is another 'tanpa menggunakan akal' situation. If we use logic and thinking we cannot accept such beliefs. But if we indulge in 'tanpa menggunakan akal'  then we too can accept that dinosaurs were created not more than 6,666 years ago.  Fruitcakes were invented shortly after that.

But Bill Nye is not going into so much detail about religion. He is not arguing about any specific religious beliefs, including creation versus evolution. 

Bill Nye is simply saying let the kids go through the education system first. Let them learn the physics, the biology and the chemistry and complete their education without being confused by religion. Once they have grown up then they can go and seek their religious knowledge - (on their own time and on their own money - these are my words).

Bill Nye also makes a prediction - he says in about 200 years religion will die a complete death. I think this will happen much earlier.  The question is how painful will the process be? Looking at Malaysia for example our Government schools are becoming like PAS religious madrassahs.  (Yo doh, it is PAS that is benefiting the most from the "Islamic-cessation" of school learning ok).  Ours could be a more difficult and painful process.

Government school now starts with a baca doa, kids are thought to enter the toilet with their left leg and exit with their right legs. The guru agama can overrule even the headmaster in decision making in the school. Girls cannot play volleyball, they cannot run, school concerts cannot do this, cannot do that and all sorts of religious crap.

Sejarah studies are filled with incredible stories about "Islamic history" - which no one can verify whether they really happened in the manner written in the sejarah books. There are only 'pros' taught to the kids with no contrarian views or criticism allowed. (Because it is religious lah).  

And much of the information is not relevant to anyone. Much of the information only seeks to highlight differences between the Muslims and the non Muslims. Or they are designed to make the Muslims feel good that a long, long time ago my great heroes threw dirt in the face of your heroes. Its not history, its just a macho thing.

Since we are a Constitutional Monarchy,  I believe it will be more relevant for us to study the history of Oliver Cromwell, with all the pros and cons - he chopped off the King's head in merry old England - and expedited the idea of 'Constitutional Monarchy'.  It will also be useful to study in precise detail the nation building and reformation under Meiji Japan, with all the pros and cons.  And maybe the near miraculous rebirth of industrial Germany under Adolf Hitler - also with all the pros and cons.  Then history will be more relevant to us in the modern age.

When we were living in the 1960s and 1970s (where api, air tak ada, where emak bapa kita pun tak tahu baca atau menulis, where people still mandi berkemban di tepi sungai) the rest of the world was also not too far advanced. Even the British banks still used huge Ledger Books to record every deposit and withdrawal. There were no computers then.

At that time, if you believed that dinosaurs were created just 6,666 years ago you were not much different from your neighbours who believed that once a year, after a full moon, trees would magically bend down on one particular night. Those were all illogical "tanpa menggunakan akal" beliefs.  You can only accept such things when you do not use your akal. 

What saved us at that time (1960s, 1970s) was that we did NOT teach too much of these illogical beliefs in the Government schools.  During my time there was very little agama taught in school. Before my time, there was almost none. We learnt agama at home on our own time from our parents and from the 'kelas mengaji Quran' as well as from the Masjid. 

School was devoted to learning useful subjects. My fondest recollection was learning at ACS Ipoh (up to Form 1) and Form 4 & 5 Science at the Melaka High School.  At the Melaka High School in 1976/77 Science was taught with military precision. We first had the theory taught in class. Then we would march to the lab and perform Science experiments about what we had learnt in theory. The lab experiments gave us visual confirmation of the theory from the chemistry, biology and physics. It was just so interesting. Those of us who were more inclined would go to the library and read up more about what we were learning. 

We were not confused about masuk tandas angkat kaki kiri, dinosaurs were created 6,666 years ago and stuff like that. That is why in Malaysia today the generation of the 60s and the 70s are still balanced and more reasonable.  Those who went to school in the 80s and 90s onwards have become something else - especially the Muslims.  They have become Taliban.  The younger generation is becoming even more Taliban.

The big difference between the 1960s/1970s and the present time is that the world has changed at light speed. The Internet, Twitter, satellite TV, You Tube, TED Talks, globalisation are here inside our bedrooms.  We are really living in a super modern age. And people of all shades, colours, cultures meet everyday, mix around, do business together, work and play together. In Perth, Australia, Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and even Kuala Lumpur the mix of human beings is fantastic. 

Now is the time to teach universal, inclusive values to our kids which will help them mix easily and freely with their fellow human beings of different cultures and races. Not uncommon, ridiculous, backward,  dunggu, false, exclusive and even satanic values that make our kids feel like strange aliens among other human beings.  We are not equipping our kids to survive in the 21st century.  

Let the kids go through the education system first. Let them learn the physics, the biology and the chemistry and complete their education without being confused by religion. Once they have grown up then they can go and seek their religious knowledge - on their own time and on their own money.

Yet, sadly what we see is that in the 21st century, some people are just getting to warp speed about angkat kaki kiri, kismis ajaib, air jampi, hantu, polong, who-doed, no who-doed, agama this and agama that.  Bila duit minyak habis nanti, nak gembala unta pun dah tak boleh dah. Lagi ramai dunggu dari unta.

Slinky Sam Buses

The city of Dresden, Germany will soon be getting a monstrous addition to its public transportationsystem that can only be described as a train on wheels. Designed by Fraunhofer IVI and the Technical University Dresden, the three-section Autotram Extra Grand bus is 98 feet long and can carry 256 passengers, but doesn't require any special training for its driver.

Said to be as easily maneuverable as a commonly sized bus, the Autotram Extra Grand makes use of a computer system to aid its driver with turning. The system's primary purpose is to ensure that the rear section of the bus precisely follows the front and middle sections at all times. In addition to the sophisticated guidance system, the bus incorporates green technology in the form of a hybrid gas and electric engine that can travel five miles operating purely on battery power.

The Autoram Extra Grand will hit the streets of Dresden in October after completing safety testing outside of the city. Its makers say that they've already received inquiries from other cities around the world about getting their own versions of the bus, since it costs much less to put into operation and maintain than commuter rail systems, yet still carries a massive amount of passengers.

Can we get some of these to ply the Federal Highway say between KL and Shah Alam? Plus other main arteries around the city? Cities like Chicago had these buses since the 1970s. They were called "Slinky Sams". Other places called them 'slinky buses' or 'articulated buses'. They can take 150 to 250 passengers at one go and are wonderful tools to clear large numbers of people from the city centres during rush hours.

Education Issues 2 : Universities As High Income Generators

The graphic here shows what is called a Space Elevator. This idea was first mooted in 1895 by a Russian scientist. Scientists say that this Space Elevator is now possible using present day technology.  This is just an introduction. Just two things to note - that straight line in the picture represents a "tether" or cable that goes straight up from the Earth's surface into outer space. That "tether" is about 35,000 km long !! Secondly they need to put this 'Space Elevator' somewhere near the Equator - to secure what is known as a "geo-stationary" orbit. That is where Malaysia can play a role - we are closer to the Equator than Sri Lanka, a suggested site for a Space Elevator.  Perhaps we can discuss this some other time.

I would like to talk about our universities. So far I have been invited to attend two Round Table discussions on Education. I thank the Government for inviting me. I appreciate the Government inviting me to these Round Tables because I am usually a little loud at these meetings - I say what I want to say.  I make no apologies but I believe I speak for everyone, especially the common man, tak kira bangsa, agama, bahasa and etc. Education is so important.

I would like to share some of these discussion points. I must tell you that so far there is almost unanimous agreement that English should be made the medium of instruction at least for Mathematics and Science subjects. Some others and myself have even suggested that we just revert to the English based education system that we had up to the 1970s. (There was nothing wrong with it, why go and change something that was not broken?)  Hopefully all these ideas are really absorbed by the Government and not just a ruse to make people like me feel 'syok sendiri'.

I have also repeated more than once that we should take religion out from the schools. Religion and religious education should be left to parents on their own time and their own money. Religion is causing serious damage to our young kids and it is also causing serious polarisation in our Government school system.

Anyway here is something else I suggested at one of these Round Tables - but very briefly only because I did not want to monopolise the discussion. We have to gear up our universities and colleges to produce engineers, scientists, technologists and graduates who are market oriented and who have market skills from the day they graduate.  One of these methods is by organising 'technology based' competitions on a periodic basis. 

Plenty of funds are made available to public universities to conduct research. But we do not see or know how much of the money was spent, how the money was spent or  what  marketable products were produced. (One day I will share some scary stories in this area as well). 

If the product of some scientific research or technology becomes marketable it means two very, very big things. First the science or the technology (which are two very different things) have connected with the marketplace. A useful product has been made. 

Secondly (and more importantly) the students, the professors, the lecturers and the university too - all those who were involved in the project - would have learnt about competing and surviving in the marketplace.  

This exposure and understanding of market forces is very important especially for our country, where the very confused "Proton School of Management" which insists that "paying higher prices for cheaper products"  is actually a good thing - is still quite dominant.  ("Beli mahal jual murah itu bagus").  This is the 'tongang terbalik' business philosophy.

Anyway my suggestion is that our public universities (and private universities as well if they have the money)  organise annual or bi-annual technology contests to see which university or accredited college  can design and produce the best  

1. small internal combustion engine 
2. small jet engine 
3. small rockets and   
4. robots  
5. etc etc

Here are some pictures :

1. Above here is a small internal combustion engine which can be used in chain saws, lawn mowers, water pumps, generators, food processing and numerous other applications.

2. Above and below here is a small jet engine. The picture below shows the components of a small jet engine.  It is not too difficult to design and manufacture a prototype.

3. This is a  palm sized jet engine which may have marketable use.

4. These  last two pictures show small rockets. They may look small but they can reach 6000 - 10000 feet altitudes.

5. Finally this is a picture of a small robot that has sensors, cameras, computer programs and movable arms that can pick things up. 

Some of these things like the rockets or mini jet engines may not be marketable but that is alright. That does not mean that students and the universities cannot learn about competion and marketing a product by making mini jets and small rockets.

Internal combustion engines, jet engines and rockets require practical application of knowledge in heat, metallurgy, metal cutting, jet and rocket fuel chemistry, mechanical engineering, aerospace technology and of course computer programming. Robotics will develop skills in artificial intelligence, laser technology, sensors, miniature electronics and electric motors. 

These are 'multi-taskers' - meaning a student who can design and shoot a small rocket can find employment in a host of industries including chemical industries. A student who can design and build a robot can find employment in almost any part of the electronics industry including electronic security and surveillance systems.   The possibilities are endless.

Alright, this is not my own brilliant idea ok. For many years there have been similar contests in the United States. Universities and colleges meet regularly to show their latest robot, rocket or jet engine.  Prizes are awarded and students acknowledged for merit (which opens doors for them with potential employers). 

What is important about these competitions is their rules or parameters which impose strict discipline on the students and their professors.

For example the jet engine cannot weigh more than X kilos, must produce at least Y pounds of thrust and must be made under a total cost of US10,000 - or something like that. The rocket cannot exceed X metres in length, must weigh not more than Y kilos fully fueled, must have solid propellants (liquids propellants are too dangerous for students) and must reach a minimum height of Z metres into the sky. Or things like that. 

These rules are similar to market conditions where the market sets strict criteria for a product to succeed.  So the students learn to deliver the best product or the maximum output for the minimum amount of money.  They learn to perform under severe material and financial constraints. They learn to compete.   Unlike the 'Proton School of management'  they learn to produce the highest quality product for the cheapest price. That is the only way they will have a chance of winning the competitions.

And the competitions are repeated every year or every two years. So new students (and their professors) who enter the same competitions have to work on improving the science, the technology, the designs and the manufacturing process for the same product year after year. It builds great amounts of expertise and skill in young students.  

We already have the universities, we already have the students and faculty and we definitely have the money.  So I think this can be done.  

Taliban Beheads 17 For Attending Party

• KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The Taliban beheaded seventeen party-goers, including two women dancers, in Helmand province.
• The bodies found Monday near the Musa Qala district where a party was held on Sunday night with music and mixed-sex dancing 
• The killings came at the beginning of a violent 24 hours for NATO and Afghan authorities in which 10 Afghan soldiers were killed in a mass insurgent attack, also in Helmand, while two US soldiers were slain by a rogue Afghan soldier.
• During their five-year reign the Taliban banned women from voting, most work and leaving their homes unaccompanied by their husband or a male relative.
• Afghanistan remains one of the worst places on Earth to be a woman.
• spokesman said a team had been sent to the site of beheadings to investigate.

Abdal Hakim Murad On Sahih al-Bukhari

By Abdal Hakim Murad

This is a very short "academic" article written by the rising Cambridge "religious" scholar Dr Abdal Hakim Murad of Cambridge University. You can click on the link above for the original article.  First some background about Abdal Hakim Murad.

Dr Abdal Hakim Murad, born in 1960 as Timothy John Winter, is a British Muslim scholar and educator. "Shaykh" Abdal Hakim is currently the Shaykh Zayed Lecturer of Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University, Director of Studies in Theology at Wolfson College, and a doctoral student at Oxford University, where he is examining the relationship between the state and Sufi tariqat in the Ottoman Empire. 

Shaykh Abdal Hakim 

i. graduated with a double-first in Arabic from Cambridge University in 1983. 

ii. study the traditional Islamic sciences at the University of al-Azhar in Egypt for several years

iii. equal number of years in Jeddah

iv. administered a commercial translation office 

v. two years at the University of London he studied Turkish and Persian.

Shaykh Abdal Hakim’s interests include: Muslim-Christian relations, Islamic ethics, Sufism, Islamic theology, Hadith studies, orthodox Muslim responses to extremism, sexuality in Islam, Islam and gender, Islam and the West, British Islam, religious life in Ottoman Turkey, and the Scriptural Reasoning project.

Shaykh Abdal Hakim serves as the secretary of the Muslim Academic Trust (London), Director of The Anglo-Muslim Fellowship for Eastern Europe, President of the UK Friends of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Director of the Sunna Project, which has published the foremost scholarly Arabic editions of the major Sunni Hadith collections.

Here is a picture of Syakh Abdal Hakim Murad. 

• My comments. Using the yardstick of the religious people, Abdul Hakim Murad is very, very highly qualified. Double first in Arabic at Cambridge, years studying at Al Azhar and Jeddah, Director of Sunna Project, Lecturer at Cambridge, Director of Theology at Wolfson College, PhD student at Oxford University. This is his article. It is very short:

Introduction to the translation of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's commentary on selected hadith (published as a booklet by the Muslim Academic Trust)

The booklet intends to introduce non-Arabic speakers to one of the most seminal genres of Muslim religious literature, namely, the hadith commentary. 

It is surprising that no serious translations at present exist from this voluminous and influential body of writing, given that there are few hadith which can be understood adequately without reference to the often complex debates which have taken place concerning them between the scholars. 

• My comment : This article is about hadith commentary or "tafseer" of the hadith. Even the hadith has to be "tafseer".  Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad says that "there are few hadith which can be understood adequately without reference to the often complex debates which have taken place concerning them between the scholars".  In brief, even the scholars had complex debates aka major disagreements. So let us not pretend to know more than these 'scholars' (Nauzubillah - May Allah protect us)

These discussions have included investigations of the precise linguistic and lexicological meaning of the Prophetic speech, studies of the isnad, debates over the circumstances surrounding the genesis of each hadith (asbab al-wurud), and issues of abrogation by stronger or later hadiths or by Qur’anic texts. Sufyan ibn ‘Uyayna, the great early hadith scholar, used to remark: al-hadith madilla illa li’l-‘ulama’: ‘the hadith are a pitfall, except for the scholars.’ For this reason no Muslim scholar of repute uses a hadith before checking the commentaries to ascertain its precise meaning, context, and application. 

• My comment : Lets listen carefully to Sufyan Ibn Uyayna '.. are a pitfall, except for the scholars.’  Dont fall into the pit. That is what is meant by "pitfall".

The importance of this literature may be gauged by the fact that at least seventy full commentaries have been written on Imam al-Bukhari’s great Sahih. The best-known of these include al-Kawakib al-Darari by Imam Shams al-Din al-Kirmani (d. AH 786), ‘Umdat al-Qari by Imam Badr al-Din al-‘Ayni (d.855), and the Irshad al-Sari by Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Qastallani (d.923). 

• My comment : Wow !! 70 different commentaries have been written about just one scholar, Imam Bukhari. And the scholars were still unclear about the subject. Why do I say this? Because there were unending arguments between the scholars.  The debates were not resolved. 

However the most celebrated is without question the magnificent Fath al-Bari (‘Victory of the Creator’) by Imam Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, a work which was the crown both of its genre and of the Imam’s academic career. It is appreciated by the ulema for the doctrinal soundness of its author, for its complete coverage of Bukhari’s material, its mastery of the relevant Arabic sciences, the wisdom it shows in drawing lessons (fawa’id) from the hadiths it expounds, and its skill in resolving complex disputes over variant readings. 

• My comments : So it was Ibnu Hajar Al Askalani (died 1448 AD) who "resolved the complex disputes" about the variant readings of the Sahih Bukhari. I think this is the Nine Volume Sahih Bukhari that you can commonly find in the bookshops today.
• But Bukhari died in 870 AD, ie 578 years before Ibnu Hajar Askalani.  So for 578 years the scholars were in serious disagreement about the Sahih Bukhari collection of hadith.  It took the arrival of Ibnu Hajar Askalani, 578 years later, to resolve these disputes and debates about the Sahih Bukhari.  Wow! The question should be : So for 578 years were the lights turned off in the madrassahs? 
• Just for some perspective 1448 AD was during the reign of Sultan Muzaffar  Shah the fifth Sultan of Malacca.  So until the Malacca Sultanate of 1448 AD you could not walk into a bookshop and buy the "complete" Nine Volume Sahih Bukhari. Because Ibnu Hajar Askalani had just finished compiling it "by hand" in Cairo. There were no printing machines, photocopy machines or Internet or e mail. No other copies were available. 

For Bukhari’s text has not come down to us in a single uniform version, but exists in several ‘narrations’ (riwayat), of which the version handed down by al-Kushmayhani (d.389) on the authority of Bukhari’s pupil al-Firabri is the one most frequently accepted by the ulema. This is, for example, why the new and definitive edition of the Sahih, through the authorized narration of the best-known hadith scholar of recent times, Shaykh al-Hadith ‘Abdallah ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghimari, uses the Firabri version (for this text see www.thesaurus-islamicus.li). Ibn Hajar frequently uses the Kushmayhani variant as his standard text, but gives his reasons, often in complex detail, for preferring other readings where these seem to have particular merit. In doing this he makes it clear that he is authorized, through the ijaza-system, for all the riwayat he cites.

• My comments : The Sahih Bukhari hadith has NOT COME DOWN to us "in a single uniform version, but exists in several ‘narrations’ (riwayat)"  Ibnu Hajar compiled or edited his version of the Sahih Bukhari in the 15th century AD. He based his selection on the writings of another scholar by the name of Al Khushaymani who died in 1001 AD ie 428 years before him.  
• The question is : After the passage of 428 years between Ibnu Hajar and Khushaymani was there a complete, nicely bound volume or volumes of Khushaymani's writings available to Ibnu Hajar?  There were no printing presses or photocopy machines in 1001 AD either. Everything had to be written by hand on pieces of paper, papyrus scrolls and such. So what were Ibnu Hajar's sources of reference for Khushaymani ? I hope Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad can throw more light on this. (I believe this Blog will be sent to him as well). 
• Khushaymani in turn based his material on the writings of another scholar by the name of Al Firabri who had died 69 years earlier in 932 AD.  And 62 years separated Firabri from Bukhari who died in 870 AD.  All this is just for the Ibnu Hajar Askalani version or variant of the Sahih Bukhari which is available today.  The question also arises : What about the 69 other versions or variant readings? What happened to them?
• Abdal Hakim Murad says "For Bukhari’s text has not come down to us in a single uniform version, but exists in several ‘narrations’ (riwayat)"..  What this implies is that the "complete" Nine Volume Sahih Bukhari (commonly found in today's bookshops) does not come to us directly from the hands of Imam Bukhari.  
• It has been filtered, edited, compiled etc through 578 years of Al Firabri, Al Khushaymani and Ibnu Hajar Askalani. 
• I have another question to ask Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad : were any of these 'Sahih Bukhari' material that passed through the hands of 1) Imam Bukhari  2) Al Firabri  or 3) Al Khushaymani  extant  (existing) during the time of Ibnu Hajar Askalani? Or did Ibnu Hajar compile the Fath Al Bari based on the reports or writings of yet more "intermediaries" ?

Imam al-Bukhari 

Ibn Hajar considered the hadith collection of Imam Muhammad ibn Isma‘il al-Bukhari (AH 194-256), entitled al-Jami‘ al-Sahih (‘The Sound Comprehensive Collection’), to be the most reliable of all the hadith collections of Islam. His respect for the compiler was no less total, as is evident from the short biography which he offers of him, which portrays him as a saint as well as a scholar. He recounts, on Firabri’s eye-witness authority, how the imam would make ghusl and pray two rak‘ats before including any hadith in his work, and always carried on his person one of the hairs of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). He 

i. collected his Sahih in Khurasan, and 

ii. arranged it in the sanctuary at Mecca, and 

iii. completed it while seated between the minbar and the Blessed Prophetic Tomb in Madina.

His miracles (karamat) are numerous and well-attested. Once, after helping to build a fortress to defend the Muslim community, he provided the laborers with three small coins’ worth of bread, but even though there were a hundred laborers, there was enough for all. Despite his abstemious personal habits, he was endlessly generous to his students. One of his scribes, Muhammad ibn Abi Hatim, said: ‘When I was with him on a journey we would stay in a single room together, and I would see him rising fifteen or twenty times in a night to light the lantern, and work on an isnad, after which he would lie down again. I asked him: “Why do you impose all of this on yourself instead of waking me?” and he would reply, “You are a young man, and I don’t wish to interrupt your sleep.”’   -  copyright Abdal Hakim Murad

• My comments : How would carrying a 'hair of the Prophet' add any value to the task of compiling historical material? The Prophet died 238 years before Bukhari so where did Bukhari get the hair of the Prophet? And what happened to that piece of the Prophet's hair?
• And imagine buying RM3.00 worth of bread today and feeding 100 people. Gardenia Bakery would go out of business. 
• Before reading Abdal Hakim Murad I did not know that Bukhari collected ALL HIS HADITH in Khurasan. That is what Abdal Hakim Murad says. Folks for your information Khurasan was a district in north east Persia - about 3000 km or 1900 miles from Mecca and Medina. The town of Bukhara was also in Khurasan. Bukhara was the birth place of Imam Bukhari, hence his name "Imam Bukhari".  So Bukhari was able to collect ALL HIS HADITH around his own areas of Bukhara and Khurasan, which was 3000 kilometres away from Mecca and Medina. 
• The Prophet is said to have died in 632 AD, ie 238 years before Bukhari who died in 870 AD.  

• Anyway here are some samples of those "magnificent  crowns of the genre" from the Sahih Bukhari.

Bukhari Volume 5, Book 58, Number 188:  Narrated 'Amr bin Maimun: 

"During the pre-lslamic period of ignorance I saw a she-monkey surrounded by a number of monkeys. They were all stoning it, because it had committed illegal sexual intercourse. I too, stoned it along with them."

• Monkeys were stoning a female monkey. Amr bin Maimun says not only did he see this happen but he even joined the monkeys in the stoning.  Science tells us that some primates can use sticks as tools to dig for termites. But no monkey or primate has the ability to aim and throw stones at any target.  Monkeys simply do not have that hand, eye and brain coordination.

(Bukhari 2:134) The sun rises between the two antlers of Satan.

(Bukhari Volume 4, Book 54, Number 537) Narrated Abu Huraira: "If a house fly falls in the drink of anyone of you, he should dip it (in the drink), for one of its wings has a disease and the other has the cure for the disease."

(Bukhari Kitabul Ta'abir) Seeing a black woman in a dream is the sign of an oncoming epidemic.

(Bukhari, Beginning of Creation 2:231) “The hellfire complained to Allah, "One part of me is eating the other part." So, the hellfire was allowed two breaths - one in summer and one in winter. That is how you see the change of seasons.”

(Bukhari Beginning of Creation 2:237) Adhaan (the call to prayer) puts Satan to flight, expelling gas as he runs away.

(Bukhari, Beginning of Creation 2:244) Rats are the lost tribe of Israel because they drink not the camel's milk, but drink goat’s milk.

(Bukhari, Beginning of Creation 2:245) Five animals are sinful, so kill them even in Makkah: rat, scorpion, eagle, crow, and a biting dog.

Education Issues 1 - LINUS Children

Here is a news report from today :

• Parents urged to work hand-in-hand with teachers
• RANAU: Parents have been urged to work together with teachers to ensure that their children in Primary 1 and 2 master the basic art of reading, writing and  arithmetic (3R) 
• part of the Education NKRA to ensure that children in Primary Year 1 to 3 are literate and numerate 
• must have basic knowledge of addition and subtraction, know Malaysian currency values,  tell time and simple transactions in ringgit and measurements.
• happy to announce that there were no more students under the LINUS programme in Year 3

The last line is the best - there are no more students in this LINUS program in SK Pekan Ranau. Meaning all Year 3 students have the basic 3Rs, can count change, tell the time and know some weights and measures.

But the same is not the case in the rest of the country.  In every school there are usually the half dozen kids (even up to Year 6) who simply cannot read and write. 

I know this because my good wife has been a volunteer teacher handling these LINUS kids (pronounced Lee-nus) for six years now.  There are other issues involved. These kids are a minority in each school but if you add them all up they are quite a few. I think a more concerted effort can be undertaken to overcome their problems. Here are some of the reasons why they cannot read and write. These are real cases :

i. they could be dyslexic (dyslexia). These kids are actually super intelligent but they have learning problems, they cannot focus and cant read or write. People call them stupid but what they need is specialised training methods (action based). They are not stupid.

ii. they could be hyper active children (due to some medical anomaly). They cannot sit still and just cannot focus on anything for more than a second. Medication can help 'calm down' these children so that they can sit down and focus their attention. 

iii. the kids could be non-Malays with absolutely no knowledge of Bahasa Malaysia. Hence everyday in school is just Greek to them. They cannot learn anything because of zero or very poor Malay language skills in a Government school. My wife has met a few of these kids. 

Government schools set aside classrooms for these LINUS kids. But what is lacking are  teachers specially trained to understand them and special equipment. Often teachers just shout at these kids, call them stupid and make them cry. School becomes a worse nightmare for the kids. 

The solution is not easy. Since there are just a few of them in EVERY school, I feel that at least in the urban areas these LINUS kids are quickly identified (latest by Year 2) and then  gathered in special locations (a school, part of a school or on a university campus) where our very limited resources (specially trained teachers, special equipment and different teaching methods) can be concentrated on them. Like all children the LINUS kids respond wonderfully to special attention. Once they can catch up on the reading, writing, counting and other basic skills (say by Year 4), they can be sent back to the normal schools.

It is good if the parents can chip in to help (as suggested by the news report) but lets be realistic - not every parent has the skills, time or capacity to handle a special child. That is why we have the Government.  There is no need for billion Ringgit contracts or Budgets. Just a reallocation and some reorganisation of existing resources should achieve a lot more.