Ramadhan Karim

Assalamu alaikum kepada semua pembaca dan selamat beribadah sempena bulan Ramadhan yang penuh barakah.

Pada kesempatan ini saya ingin memohon maaf kepada semua yang mengenali saya sekiranya ada yang terguris hati sepanjang saya menulis di laman ini atau di dalam apa2 percakapan atau tingkah laku saya. Semoga Allah swt memberkati amalan kita semua.

Wassalam

THE ABOMINABLE ACT OF THE ISRAEL ZIONISTS

Assalamu alaikum to all readers, but a very sad day this is for me.

I have learned today that ships carrying aid on their way to the Gaza Strip have been attacked and plundered by Israeli commandoes who raided the civilian ships at around 4.30am local time, 65km off the Gaza coast.

The ships, dubbed as the 'Freedom Flotilla' were carrying aid cargoes including building material, food and medical supplies, as well as multinational representatives from humanitarian organizations including Malaysian Malay Muslims. Irregardless of the composition of the convoy, the despicable acts of pillage and murder had left 19 civilians dead and the whole watching world aghast.

The very fact that this heinous crime was done in international waters made it all more unbelievable. To set off a media spin, Israel had claimed that their commandoes were set upon by knives and clubs when they descended upon the vessels and had no option but to shoot.

However, their claims did not answer earlier questions on why the raid was executed before dawn, or why did the Israeli military jammed all communications during the operation.

As news began filtering out, it seemed that the commandoes had instead started their move by opening fire at the unarmed civillians aboard the Freedom Flotilla.

My prayers go to all my brothers who are being held captive as we speak, and may Allah swt provide them the strength to overcome this test.


Amin, and Wassalam.

E-Mel Kepada PM Mengenai Ancaman Penyalahgunaan Pasport

Kepada yang dikasihi, YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak,

Perdana Menteri Malaysia

Assalamu alaikum dan Selamat Sejahtera, dan Salam 1Malaysia

YAB Dato' Sri

Pertama2nya, saya ingin mengucapkan syabas di atas usaha YAB Dato' Sri merapatkan hubungan Malaysia dengan jiran serantau di Asia Tenggara. Sememangnya keamanan dan sikap muhibbah di antara negara2 ASEAN merupakan kunci emas kepada kemakmuran ekonomi di rantau ini, suatu matlamat yang saya yakin dapat dikecapi menerusi dasar luar yang dipimpin oleh YAB Dato' Sri dan YB Dato' Sri Anifah bin Haji Aman sebagai Menteri Luar Negeri Malaysia.

YAB Dato' Sri

Pada 18 Februari 2010 yang lalu, dunia telah dikejutkan oleh pengumuman daripada Leftenan Jeneral Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Ketua Polis Dubai, Emiriyah Arab Bersatu yang telah melaporkan penglibatan ejen2 Mossad Israel di dalam pembunuhan seorang warga kelahiran Palestin bernama Mahmoud Abdel Rauf al-Mabhouh, di sebuah bilik hotel lima bintang di Dubai pada 19 Januari 2010. Apa yang lebih memeranjatkan adalah laporan bahawa berlakunya penyalahgunaan pasport oleh ejen2 Mossad yang melibatkan beberapa negara termasuklah daripada Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Jerman dan Perancis.

Sehubungan dengan itu, beberapa negara yang terlibat di dalam isu penyalahgunaan pasport ini telah mengambil langkah perlu melalui penyiasatan yang berasingan. Pada hari ini 24 Mei 2010, Menteri Luar Australia Stephen Smith telah membuat pendedahan hasil penyiasatan Polis Australia dan agensi perisikan negara berkenaan dan seterusnya mengisytiharkan keputusan mengusir diplomat Tel Aviv daripada Kedutaan Israel di Canberra, mirip kepada keputusan yang dicapai oleh London pada bulan Mac lalu.

YAB Dato' Sri

YAB Dato' Sri mungkin sudahpun turut maklum akan sejarah jijik penyalahgunaan pasport oleh ejen2 Mossad ini. Pada Julai 2004, kerajaan New Zealand telah mengenakan sekatan diplomatik terhadap Israel dan telah menjatuhkan hukuman penjara kepada 2 orang warga Israel yang terbabit di dalam penipuan pasport milik kerajaan New Zealand. Pada September 1997, pasport kerajaan Kanada telah turut disalahgunakan oleh ejen2 Mossad ini bagi cubaan membunuh warga Jordan, Khaled Meshal di Amman.

Walaupun kerajaan Malaysia mempunyai dasar yang jelas terhadap Israel, selaku seorang Muslim Melayu Malaysia yang prihatin terhadap kesejahteraan dan keselamatan tanah air, saya ingin melahirkan kekhuatiran saya mengenai isu ini. Negara Malaysia yang sedikit sebanyak bergantung kepada industri pelancongan dan mengalu-alukan kedatangan pengunjung daripada ruang lingkup Komanwel kini berhadapan dengan ancaman ejen2 Mossad yang bertopeng di sebalik kerakyatan jiran Komanwel kita seperti United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia dan New Zealand di samping negara maju Eropah seperti Jerman dan Perancis.

Oleh yang demikian, besarlah harapan agar YAB Dato' Sri dapat mempertimbangkan cadangan saya agar pemeriksaan yang lebih terperinci dibuat terhadap pengunjung yang tiba menggunakan pasport oleh negara2 yang terbabit. Sekurang2nya, saya memohon agar YAB Dato' Sri dapat menimbang tara cadangan agar Kementerian Luar Negeri mengeluarkan kenyataan bimbang di atas isu penyalahgunaan pasport negara2 oleh ejen2 luar (seperti Mossad) ataupun warga Malaysia (seperti blogger pengecut) yang ditunjangi anasir2 kotor yang boleh mengancam keselamatan negara.

Cadangan ini bukanlah berhasrat untuk menolak kemasukan pelancong daripada negara2 terlibat, malahan bertujuan untuk menjaga hubungan baik sekian lama yang dijalin di antara Malaysia dengan negara2 ini, khasnya daripada kumpulan negara-negara Komanwel. Saya ikhlas berharap agar YAB Dato' Sri dapat melahirkan pendirian Kuala Lumpur di dalam isu ini agar kita boleh terus konsisten terhadap isu2 yang membabitkan Israel.

Terima kasih YAB Dato' Sri.


Ikhlas saya

Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta

Assalamu alaikum and Good Day to all Readers

Just this morning I had the privilege to attend the launching of the Productivity Report 2009 and the Productivity Award 2009 Presentation Ceremony held at Subang Jaya and officiated by YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed (TokPa), Minister of MITI. I also had the opportunity to bring along several students to this event which would have given them a good experience as well as networking opportunities. I strongly believe in enriching our youths, as I feel that they are the anchor runners of our nation.

The second session of the event included a 'Highlight Session' with a paper presentation entitled “Achieving Growth Through Productivity” by YBhg Dato’ Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin, Council Member, National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC). The paper above all underlined the concept of the New Economic Model (NEM) which was revealed by the Prime Minister a while ago and highlighted the importance of the NEM as a model to achieve a better standard of living for the 'rakyat'.


During the question and answer question (which was started off by YBhg Tan Sri Dato` Ir Wan Abdul Rahman bin Hj Wan Yaacob, MPC director, on the insistence of the uncouth emcee), I posted the question on the willingness of ISIS, MPC and other governmental departments to go on the ground to explain the objectives as well as the framework of the NEM to university students as they are the ones who are integral to the working of this new model.

To that, Dato' Dr Mahani confessed that whilst there is a need to explain this policy, the NEAC with its limited number of members (with some overseas) are not able to carry out this task. Later, another MPC director, YBhg Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur suggested that Members of Parliament should take the responsibility to explain the NEM to their respective constituencies as it is "...bigger than sending out an astronaut", as it deals with the livelihood of the rakyat.

I see this spectacle of having the right tools but never the right timing never ending. Somehow, commonsense should just prevail. There should be a strong emphasis to explain the NEM to the masses as it affects each and every citizen of this country, including your Malaysian Malay Muslim.

There is a Malay saying: "Tak kenal maka tak cinta" which basically means "to love is to know". A good analogy is a job description (JD) of an employee. How can an employee work effectively if he is not told the specifics of his duties? Similarly, the rakyat in general, and the voting young especially, would want to learn how do they fit in the jigzaw of NEM. As they learn of their roles and the expectations placed upon them, surely their effectiveness in driving the country forward should also develop further.

As I mentioned earlier, I came with a strong and eager contingent of a good mix of students, both local and international, but ended up explaining the NEM myself to them. Surely there are people more ready, willing and able to do this? I thus urge the respective parties to put the agenda of explaining the NEM to the youth of Malaysia as their utmost priority. These young people are after all, the ones who would be carrying the baton at the next lap.


Regards

Weeding out Bad Hats of the Malaysian Higher Education Industry

Assalamu alaikum and Good Day to all

The Star recently highlighted a couple of news on the issue of colleges running programs without valid regulatory requirements. This is an ongoing issue as Malaysia is moving towards the mission of becoming renowned for its institutions of higher learning.

The natural attraction of Malaysia is understandable; being the melting pot of Asian cultures, the country is also blessed with good weather as well as the friendly people who are mostly conversant in English. However, the fertile ambience has also made the country a front for companies intending to make the quick buck, so much so the government of Malaysia is considerably finding it a challenge to nab these institutions in the bud.

There are basic pre-requisites for a college to run a programme; firstly the college must be approved of a license to operate by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) as stipulated in the Private Higher Education Institution Act 1996 (Act 555). An institution should have the license certificate, which is usually valid for a period of five years, publicly displayed. Secondly, the program offered must also be approved. The approval letter should include the details of the program including the duration, the location of conduct, the courses in the program as well as other important information. Sadly though, there still exist colleges who flout these rulings and plead oversight as their escape clause from punishment.

As a Malaysian Malay Muslim, I am thankful that MOHE, especially the Department of Private Education, is continuously taking a pro-active stance in this issue. I urge them to continue acting strongly against these irresponsible institutions which are putting the national agenda of establishing Malaysia as a regional higher education hub in jeopardy. All it takes is a few bad hats to turn cases such as the ones above into bad publicity.

In moving towards a nation supported by the service based industry under the New Economic Model (NEM), the focus on quality and innovation in tertiary education must not be compromised. Thus, we as the public could work hand in hand with the regulatory bodies such as MOHE and the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) to weed out these unscrupulous owners of higher institutions whose only thoughts are centred around making quick profits above anything else. By highlighting higher education-related cases, we are safeholding not only the national interest, but the survival of our children.
 

Regards and WasSalam

The Gambit at Hulu Selangor

Assalamu alaikum and Good Day dear readers.

I nearly fell off my seat when I first heard of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim's (DZI) selection by the PKR bigwigs for the Hulu Selangor by-election which was announced in Serendah on Tuesday night. More surprisingly, the announcement was made in advance of Barisan Nasional's planned announcement on 15 April, which earlier declared their intention to field a candidate from the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

Being an old goat in politics, DSAI could have taken the cerebral option and a safer bet in Dr Halili Rahmat, a neurosurgeon by practice and a local respected figure. However, the glutton that had defined his character all these years reared its head again and BN's bait in the possibility of pitting PKR against an MIC candidate got the PKR supremo hasting an early decision. What a pity, I must say.

On one hand, the liberal DZI appeals to likeminded voters who are cognisant to his views on many issues including his comments on the legitimacy of the steps taken by HRH the Sultan of Perak in resolving the impasse of the Perak State Government.

On another hand, the make-up of the majority rural community would mean that his persona may not be entirely appealing, especially in defending the track record of PKR in dealing with bread and butter issues ever since the party successfully wrested P94 from Datuk G Palanivel (DGP) in 2008.

It is obvious that from the beginning, the BN coalition had already made their calculations prior to the death of the late Hulu Selangor incumbent, Allahyarham Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad. Subsequently, the MIC red herring was thrown intentionally to get PKR all woozy and overconfident. Apparently the gambit tactic is working so far and PKR might regret the naivety of their chief in taking in the bait.

The only block for me to point out on a comfortable BN win at Hulu Selangor is in the stubborness of MIC in sticking to none other than DGP. Although intended to show unity and undivided support for the candidate, this gesture nonetheless gives rise to accusations of putting the BN leadership in a spot. Secondly, by risking the outcome of BN choosing an alternative candidate to DGP, the MIC stands to be ridiculed for having a disillusioned view of the whole scenario in Hulu Selangor and not listening to the sentiments of the voters, who irregardless of ethnicity, are yet to absolve the MIC leadership from the bad handling of issues related to the Indian community. Thirdly, members overlooked for this candidature may decide to field themselves as independents, indirectly challenging the currently weak MIC leadership.

All in all, I see this by-election going into a tight race of sorts. My recent findings through last week's trip to Hulu Selangor showed the level of support for either side is still unclear. Come Saturday however, this would surely change. And perhaps, DZI is DSAI's red herring after all!

Regards and Wassalam.

A Bosnian Pleasantry

It has been about fifteen years since Bosnia-Herzegovina emerged from the rubbles of war devastation which resulted from inter-ethnical atrocities among its three major ethnic components with the true aftermath of this deep socio-political gash still subject to debate. However, an undisputed fact is that Malaysia (having derived from its own experience), had always been acommodating and vocal in its support for a peaceful and just nation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

To this effect, Bosnians hold dear YABhg Tun Mahathir Mohamad (TMM) as head of an international friend and contributor to the rebuilding and subsequent progress of the Balkan country. How fitting then, to coincide with the commemorating of its independence, the community of Bosnia-Herzegovina through University Of Sarajevo (UNSA), has conferred TMM with its distinguished 'Honorary Doctorate of the University of Sarajevo'.

The Dean of the UNSA Faculty of Machine Engineering, Professor Dr Ejub Dzaferovic, had this to say in his proposal submission of TMM's candidacy:

Mr Mahathir proved, in his international activities, his sympathies for Bosnia and Herzegovina and peoples living there, by taking an active role as the 'Ambassador of Peace' in settling down war conflicts, and later, by helping reconstruction and development of our country. He was trying to transpose his positive experience that correct inter-ethnic relations can be achieved only by justice, consistency and economic prosperity, even to the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In order with that, his role has been very active in connecting economy and universities of both countries via international projects. The University of Sarajevo has a very considerable cooperation with universities in Malaysia and with Malaysian companies as well. The cooperation reflects in mutual realization of teaching and scientific projects.

Congratulations to TMM for the award which further enhances the image of Malaysia in the international arena. As a discerning Malaysian Malay Muslim, I am both proud and thankful, and hope that the cooperation between Malaysia and Bosnia and Herzegovina be further deepened, especially in the field of higher education.


Regards and Wassalam