Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Home Affairs: 5,000 jobseekers cannot find work
Rachel Thien
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
THE Minister of Home Affairs has raised concerns over how active jobseekers that are registered with the ministry cannot seem to find employment in the country.
In an interview, Home Affairs Minister Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Badaruddin Pengarah Dato Paduka Hj Othman told The Brunei Times that the 5,000 active jobseekers who are registered with the ministy should not have difficulty getting jobs, since employment opportunities abound in the Sultanate.
"It is undeniable that employment opportunities abound in this country. Eighty-three per cent of the jobseekers are school-leavers with GCE 'O' Levels and lower qualifications. A few are holders of university degrees, diplomas and certificates," YB Pehin Dato Hj Badaruddin said.
Currently, he said, there were many jobs available, but many prospective employees could not be absorbed.
Citing the 2010 employment census, the minister said there are about 80,000 foreign workers in the private sector, excluding domestic workers. "But why is it that the 5,000 cannot be employed or cannot be considered?" he said.
YB Pehin Dato Hj Badaruddin said the ministry, through the Local Employment Workmen Development Agency (APTK), is taking a realistic approach to identify the potential of the jobseekers and whether they are ready to work.
"We are motivating and exposing them to participate in 'on-the-job training' with potential employers, as well as giving them incentives such as allowances during their training," the minister said.
He explained that with on-the-job training, employers would only need to shoulder 35 per cent of the allowance given to the trainees as compensation, while the remaining 65 per cent is borne by the government, provided that the amount is $400 a month or more.
YB Pehin Dato Hj Badaruddin noted that during a recent job expo, only 1,200 jobseekers applied for 2,481 jobs offered.
Out of the 1,200 applicants, only 23 per cent succeeded in their interviews and were immediately absorbed under the training employment scheme.
He added that the APTK will also be evaluating the aptitude and preparedness of job applicants in joining the workforce, provide them work motivation, identify and expose them through on-the-job training for vacancies offered by employers; and setting up meetings with potential employers for working on probation or possible engagements on contract basis and better working environments.
Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times
Employment and Social Protection – A key to sustainable and inclusive growth
4th ASEM Labour and Employment Ministers' Conference
The Conference is the continuation of the past ASEM Labour and Employment Ministers’ Conferences and to follow-up the guidance of ASEM Heads of Governments and States at the 8th ASEM Summit in Brussels, October 2010 on labour, employment and social protection.
With the theme of “Employment and Social Protection – A key to sustainable and inclusive growth”, the Conference has drawn the attention and participation of 150 delegates from ASEM members, relevant international organizations, including the International Labour Organization (ILO), World Bank (WB), United Nation’s Fund for Children (UNICEF), International Organization for Migration (IOM). H.E. Mr. Nguyen Tan Dzung, Prime Minister and H.E. Mme. Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam delivered key note remarks at the opening session of the Conference.
In his keynote remarks, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation of this Labour and Employment Ministers’ Conference, with the theme “Employment and Social Protection – A key to sustainable and inclusive growth”, in creating an opportunity for sharing experience, best practices, and to promote and reaffirm the importance of ASEM dialogue and cooperation in labour, employment and social protection, with an aim to boost economic recovery and sustainable development.
The Prime Minister requested that in the forthcoming time, ASEM needs to enhance the sharing of experience on the development of policies, legal documents on labour and social protection; on strengthening resilience in the face of economic turbulences; on linking social protection, employment creation with reforming growth pattern towards sustainable development; and to strengthen ASEM cooperation in specific areas of employment creation and vocational training, social protection, occupational safety and health, with a priority for disadvantaged groups, including young people, women, and people with disability.
In her address to the Conference, H.E. Mme, Pham Thi Hai Chuyen highlighted the consistent policy of the Government of Vietnam, that is economic growth in tandem with social protection, and the achievements that Vietnam has gained through national programmes and projects, including the National Programme on Poverty Reduction, National Programme on Employment, National programme on vocational training for young people, etc.
Mr. Koos Richelle, Director General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission, in his opening address stressed that "despite the differences, ASEM countries share many concerns relating to the employment and social dimension of their economies. Consensus is emerging on how to meet these challenges – a consensus that covers a job-rich growth, quality employment, in particular for youth and other vulnerable groups, decent work, including occupational safety and health and nationally defined social protection floors. It is crucial to involve the social partners in our efforts as much as possible. Constructive dialogue with the employers and trade unions in the framework of the ASEM Social Partners' Forum showed their readiness to contribute."
The Conference has adopted the Hanoi Declaration, which reaffirms the political commitments of the Ministers on the importance of policies to foster employment and decent work, especially for young people and other disadvantaged groups in the course of economic recovery; of social protection policies, in line with national priorities and circumstances; of strengthening occupational safety and health, and promoting corporate social responsibility.
The Conference agreed that there are opportunities to be harnessed for strengthening ASEM cooperation; and agreed to enhance comprehensive dialogue and cooperation between government agencies and social partners in the development and employment of policies, programmes on employment, social protection, occupational safety and health, with an aim to pursue sustainable and inclusive development.
The discussion at the Conference revealed diversity in the approaches of ASEM members, due to differences in development level, cultural diversity, political system, but also highlighted similarities. The most important thing in common is the goal to develop a better world of peace, justice for everyone. It is also the good faith in cooperation, in respect, to find a common voice. It is this shared goal that makes the success of this Conference and a testimony of our belief in the continued and enhanced Asia – Europe dialogue process.
The discussion outcome and the Joint Declaration will be reported to the Heads of States and Governments at the 9th ASEM Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR., on 05-06 November 2012.
The 4th ASEM Labour and Employment Ministers’ Conference is an foreign affairs event of importance that Vietnam hosts during 2012, and plays an important role in enhancing the position of Vietnam in the international community in general, and contributing to the relationship between Vietnam and ASEM in labour, employment and social protection, in particular.
Dipetik dari - ASEM Info Board
Monday, October 29, 2012
Letters to the Editor: RIPAS mental health unit needs new approach
Dear Editor
ACCORDING to the Minister of Health, Brunei Darussalam, some 11, 000 patients have been registered with the Mental Health Services (BT, Oct 10, 2012).
The number is an alarming development for a small nation with less than 400,000 people and the situation could worsen in the coming months.
I was surprised for what I had seen in RIPAS mental health unit during my stay in the country that made me and my family sad and angry.
As a responsible Muslim, I ask the authorities why they have kept quiet all these years without proper monitoring and follow up action.
It's sad that patients are kept indoors all day. They are not allowed to go out under the supervision of qualified doctors and experienced nurses for a rehabilitation programme so that they could become part and parcel of the community.
Some doctors are good at giving their patients large quantities of medicine to keep them calm but as a matter of fact their health situation continues to worsen.
Some parents have taken them out as they found it hopeless to keep them there.
As a responsible person, I wrote to those in power in the unit that these patients needed to be out doing some activities so that after sometime they could be integrated in the community but sadly my request was declined and they never replied.
Thanks to Allah, here in New Zealand (where my family and I are living), when I write to any minister he replies within a month. This shows how responsible and accountable they are.
I request the Brunei Minister of Health, who is a caring person and has made major improvement in the hospital, to make a surprise visit to the unit to see what is going on or I strongly suggest he send one of his staff members to the unit to observe what is going on and ask the patients about the prevailing conditions there.
He also needs to tell the doctors, especially those who have been serving in this unit for many years, that their time is up for retirement.
The hospital needs the new generation of young Bruneian doctors, working in UK and Singapore, to return home so that they can look after patients who need their urgent help before it is too late.
How far RIPAS management would succeed, only time and history will tell.
Dr Saad Al-Harran,
New Zealand
Dipetik dari - The Brunei Times
Morocco And Jordan: Two Arab Monarchies That Enjoy Their Total Legitimacy – OpEd
By: Said Temsamani
Contrary to what former protests across the Middle East and North Africa might imply, Morocco and Jordan monarchs still enjoy an extraordinary degree of legitimacy in the eyes of their people. Undoubtedly both Moroccans and Jordanians want to see changes within their ruling governments, not complete regime change. This in turn affords those rulers an opportunity to embark on a path of far-reaching political reform without losing their thrones—all the while gaining acclaim at home and abroad.
King Mohammed and King Abdullah have taken serious steps to appease their citizens and introduced wide reforms that give their people a voice in governance. Political measures have been qualified by foreign media as ostensibly bold in both countries. With a few partial exceptions, where the Moroccan monarch has moved his country toward the representative governments that protesters have demanded.
Since their ascension to their thrones, King Mohammed and King Abdullah have set up a model of a new Arab monarch. Their messages were clear and that it is less dangerous for the monarchs to act now and introduce serious political and economic reforms than to wait until the demands are overwhelming and could indeed spiral into an uncontrolled process of change. Their legitimacy would have been at stake and they would have likely faced more severe challenges if they did not act soon.
The need to adapt to a changing environment is now more necessary than ever. The 2011 popular Arab uprisings that spread throughout the region have affected every single country in the region, if not in the short term then several years down the line. For instance, citizens of nominal republics such as Sudan will not continue to tolerate their dictators while they witness history being made by their Egyptian neighbors. The eight Arab monarchies, even those who have scored highly on human development reports will similarly have to face new realities that are taking shape both within their borders and in the region.
Setting up constitutional monarchy, Morocco has initiated a new governing style , that other Arab leaders could possibly follow suit and introduce key amendments to their respective constitutions that will guarantee real democracy, rule of law and freedom of expression. If these constitutional amendments have succeeded in countries like Morocco or Jordan for sure they can witness same success in other Arab monarchies.
In Morocco, King Mohammed VI’s promised reforms that included allowing prime ministers (or rather the President of the government) to dissolve the parliament and chose their own cabinet – These are giant steps when compared to the modest political reforms of his peers in the Gulf who sometimes failed to put an end to protests. Jordan’s King Abdullah has had to replace the Prime Minister again in answer to ongoing protests calling for quick reforms. At a recent interview, Abdullah estimated that it would take two to three years until voters can elect their prime minister. If so, it would be a first for an Arab monarchy.
The transformation of Arab monarchies into constitutional systems is a matter of when rather than if. The alternative may be less appealing to those in power today. Millions of young Arabs erupted on street calling for sweeping reforms. Some had to pay with their lives (or still are as is the case with the Syrians) others marched and demonstrated peacefully and luckily they had reform minded leaders in front of them. They answered quickly their demands and even went further of their people’s expectations.
Without urgent non-cosmetic reform the Arab monarchies will simply be kicking the reform ball forward. Modern Arab history has taught us of the ramifications of perpetual reform delays on monarchies. One year after King Mohammed bold decision to introduce key amendments to Morocco’ constitution, the Arab monarchies are in urgent need of such visionary leadership.
Dipetik dari - Eurasia Review
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Who are the wealthiest world leaders?
As the New York Times is blocked in China for a report on the wealth of premier Wen Jiabao's family, Paul Owen compares the financial worth of politicians around the world
The New York Times has been blocked in China for reporting that premier Wen Jiabao's family have controlled assets of at least $2.7bn (£1.67bn). The report is particular embarrassing for Wen because he has made a point of stressing his modest background.
The issue of politicians' financial worth is almost as sensitive in the US and UK, as voters in those countries continue to suffer from the economic crisis. In the US presidential race, Barack Obama has attempted to paint his opponent, Mitt Romney, as out of touch with mainstream American life partly because of the vast wealth the Republican accumulated during his business career. The president told Romney during one of the presidential debates:
I don't look at my pension. It's not as big as yours, so it doesn't take as long.In Britain Labour leader Ed Miliband attacked David Cameron for giving "a tax cut to millionaires" (in fact it is a tax cut for those earning more than £1m a year) and for benefiting from that tax cut himself, implying that the prime minister was either a millionaire or earned more than £1m a year.
But Obama and Miliband's own estimated wealth, while less than their opponents', arguably insulates them just as completely from the concerns of ordinary taxpayers.
It is very difficult to calculate the true wealth of political leaders; few, if any, are prepared to give comprehensive details of their earnings and assets. However, estimates have been made for most world leaders. Here are the highlights.
Wen Jiabao
The New York Times report that the family of Wen Jiabao (left) has at least $2.7bn (£1.7bn) in controlled assets comes at a sensitive time for China's leaders as they prepare for their once-in-a-decade transition of personnel: recent reports have also claimed that relatives of Xi Jinping, the man expected to be China's next president, had assets worth millions of dollars (that report got Bloomberg blocked in China) and that the family of disgraced politician Bo Xilai had at least £136m in assets.
The Sultan of Brunei
The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah (left), may be the world's richest head of government, with an estimated wealth of $20bn, although Forbes warned:
With only about 25 years of estimated oil reserves left, the Sultan has yet to launch any significant attempts to diversify the Brunei economy beyond oil.A Forbes list of the world's richest royals puts the King of Thailand, King Bhumibol, above the Sultan with $30bn, much of it built up through investments in companies such as Siam Cement and Siam Commercial Bank, although Bhumibol does not have political control of his country.
Sebastián Piñera
Sebastián Piñera, the president of Chile, may be the richest non-royal leader in the world, with an estimated worth of $2.4bn, much of it from investments. Asif Ali Zardari, the president of Pakistan, is thought to be second with an estimated net worth of $1.8bn.
Vladimir Putin
In December the Russian president declared his income as $115,000 and his bank balance $179,612.
But his opponents have claimed over the last few years that he has secretly accumulated over $40bn while in office and is therefore actually Russia's richest man. My colleague Luke Harding wrote in 2007:
In an interview with the Guardian, [Russian political expert Stanislav] Belkovsky repeated his claims that Putin owns vast holdings in three Russian oil and gas companies, concealed behind a "non-transparent network of offshore trusts".Barack Obama
Putin "effectively" controls 37% of the shares of Surgutneftegaz, an oil exploration company and Russia's third biggest oil producer, worth $20bn, he says. He also owns 4.5% of Gazprom, and "at least 75%" of Gunvor, a mysterious Swiss-based oil trader, founded by Gennady Timchenko, a friend of the president's, Belkovsky alleges.
Asked how much Putin was worth, Belkovsky said: "At least $40bn. Maximum we cannot know. I suspect there are some businesses I know nothing about."
As of 2011, the most recent year it has produced figures for, the Center for Responsive Politics, a research group examining the role of money in US politics, estimated Obama's net worth to be somewhere between $1.6 and $7.7m. This is based largely on sales of his bestselling books, Dreams from my Father and The Audacity of Hope. Obama (left) earns $400,000 a year as president, and declared a joint income for himself and his wife Michelle of $1,728,096 for 2011:
Today, the president released his 2010 federal income and gift tax returns. He and the first lady filed their income tax return jointly and reported an adjusted gross income of $1,728,096. The vast majority of the family's income is the proceeds from the sale of the president's books. The Obamas paid $453,770 in total federal tax.Mitt Romney
The president and first lady also reported donating $245,075 – or about 14.2% of their adjusted gross income – to 36 different charities.
The Center for Responsive Politics estimates Romney (left) to be worth between $80.9 and $256m (2011 figures), thanks to his business career and investments. Romney has declared he earned $13.7m in 2011.
David Cameron
The Daily Mail has estimated David Cameron's worth to be £4m, based on the value of the Camerons' London home (estimated at £2.7m) and their constituency home (£1m). Cameron's salary as prime minister is £142,500:
The PM and his wife both come from wealthy backgrounds and enjoy substantial property assets of their own: their London home has been valued at £2.7million and their constituency house at £1million. Mrs Cameron's work as the creative director of Smythson, the upmarket stationers, earned her a £300,000 bonus. Both are in line to inherit fortunes from their parents: the combined wealth of the Camerons' parents has been put as high as £30million.Ed Miliband
According to the Daily Telegraph, Ed Miliband (left) owns property estimated to be worth more than £1m, and is reported to have come into an inheritance from his late father. Miliband has avoided answering questions about how much he is worth, saying only: "I am not going to be getting the top rate tax cut," meaning he earns less than £150,000. As leader of the opposition, he is paid £128,836 a year.
The Saudis
The Saudi royal family, which pools its wealth, is estimated to be worth over $1.4tn as a result of the country's vast oil industry. Forbes reported last year that King Abdullah (left) was worth $18bn, writing:
Another of the relatively few ruling monarchs, King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz is head of a prodigious family and is estimated to be worth about $18 billion. Though there has been rampant speculation on the health of Saudi Aramco (the state-owned oilmonopoly) and the size of its remaining reserves, the Saudi royal family has been quite active in investing much of its oil-generated wealth into other businesses outside the country.Meanwhile Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud topped a 2009 Saudi rich list, and as of this year had an estimated wealth of $18bn, largely from investments.
Dipetik dari - The Guardian
KDYMM: Syukuri nikmat Allah dengan amal perbuatan
Assalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ' Aalameen, Wassalaatu Wassalaamu, 'Alaa Asyrafil Mursaleen, Sayyidina Muhammadin, Wa'alaa Aalihee Wasahbihee Ajma'een, Waba'du
Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Walillahilhamd
MAHA Besar Allah, Maha Besar Allah, Maha Besar Allah, dan bagi-Nya adalah terpulang segala pujian.
Pujian terhadap Allah itu wajib, kerana Dia memang berhak dipuji.
Betapa tidak, bukankah Allah itu Maha Sempurna, serba serbi sempurna?
Zat-Nya sempurna, Ilmu-Nya sempurna, Sifat-Nya sempurna. Maka kerana itulah kita para hamba ini dituntut supaya memuji-Nya.
Memuji Allah bukanlah seperti memuji yang lain-lain.
Memuji Allah bermakna kita mensyukuri nikmat-Nya, sementara mensyukuri nikmat itu pula dihukumkan wajib.
Jika kita menysukuri nikmat Allah, Dia berjanji akan menambahnya lagi, sebaliknya kalau kita tidak mensyukuri nikmat itu, maka berhaklah bagi Allah menimpakan azab-Nya.
Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Walillahilhamd
Mensyukuri nikmat Allah tidaklah memadai setakat ucapan semata-mata, tetapi mesti dibuktikan juga dengan amal perbuatan. Kita dikurniakan harta, di samping lidah kita melafazkan alhamdulillah, Allah juga adalah memerhatikan kita, di mankah harta itu kita gunakan?
Kalau ia digunakan di jalan yang hak, maka kesyukuran kita itu akan diterima. Tetapi jika ia digunakan di jalan yang batil, maka kesyukuran kita itu bukan saja ditolak, malah azab juga adalah sedang menunggu kita. Inilah keadilan Maha Pencipta.
Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Walillahilhamd
Kita ini pada setiap hari dan detik menggunakan nikmat Allah. Udaranya-Nya yang segar kita hirup. Tanpa udara, semua makhluk tidak mungkin hidup. Bumi-Nya juga kita pijak dan air-Nya kita minum. Tanpa bumi dan air itu, di manakah kita dan apa nasib kita?
Pada masa ini, kita sedang memperingati 42 tahun Pertukaran Nama 'Bandar Brunei' kepada 'Bandar Seri Begawan'.
Bandar, adalah bumi tempat kita berpijak dan berjalan-jalan. Tempat membeli-belah, tempat bertugas dan malah tempat kita beribadat. Bukankah di sini ada masjid yang tersergam indah?
Demikianlah fungsi bandar itu.
Kita wajib bersyukur di atas nikmat ini dan perlu berazam untuk melihatnya kekal, supaya dapat pula dinikmati oleh generasi turun-temurun.
Di sinilah kita perlu memahami akan kehendak, siapa yang ampunya nikmat itu. Dia menghendaki kita supaya terus bersyukur dan bertakwa serta tidak mengambil ringan perintah-perintah-Nya.
Khusus dalam perkara bernegara termasuk berbandar, Kita adalah dituntut supaya sentiasa memelihara kesucian negara atau bandar kita itu daripada segala macam bentuk mungkar. Ini adalah amanah dan termasuk juga selaku amanah itu ialah memberikannya imej yang baik dan indah, maksud beta, imej keislaman (Islamic image), lebih-lebih lagi sesuai dengan sifatnya selaku bumi MIB atau bumi Negara Zikir.
Salah satu contoh paling tepat lagi mustahak untuk disegerakan dalam perkara membaiki imej bandar dan malah negara seluruhnya ialah, pada hari Jumaat, di waktu atau jam yang bersesuaian, semua premis perniagaan bisai tah ditutup buat sementara waktu, sehingga selesai menunaikan Sembahyang Fardu Jumaat.
Penutupan ini, selain ia sendiri berunsur imej, ia juga akan mampu untuk mengubati penyakit kuai-libai setengah kalangan pemuda atau belia di pusat-pusat membeli-belah atau di kaki-kaki lima, sedang orang-orang Islam lain sudahpun berada di masjid atau sedang bergerak ke masjid.
Tidakkah, jika perkara ini dibiarkan sehingga berpanjangan, akan mencemarkan imej negara dan malah imej Islam sendiri?
Oleh itu, langkah ini sangatlah wajar dan bahkan menepati tuntutan syara' untuk dilaksanakan. Syara' telah menggesa kita supaya segera menyahut panggilan 'Sembahyang Jumaat' dan meninggalkan sementara urusan jual-beli sehinggalah selesai sembahyang tersebut. Manakala telah selesai sembahyang, kitapun disuruh pula untuk bertibaran semula di muka bumi bagi menjalankan urusan masing-masing (lihat ayat 9 dan 10 Surah Al Jumu'ah).
Dari perintah Allah ini, tidak siapa yang akan rugi malah sebaliknya, dengan negara juga akan beroleh nama yang baik dan imej yang baik serta keberkatan pula boleh kita tunggu daripada Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala.
Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Walillahilhamd
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Selamatkan segera etnik Rohingya sebelum terlambat
Majlis Perundingan Pertubuhan Islam Malaysia (MAPIM), Sekretariat Himpunan Ulama Rantau Asia (SHURA) dan Union of World Rohingya Organzation - UWRO (Kesatuan Organisasi Rohingya Seduia ) mendesak semua organisasi antarabangsa UN, OIC, EU dan ASEAN mengambil tindakan segera ke atas perkembangan terbaru yang berlaku di Arakan, Myanmar.
Perkembangan terkini telah menunjukkan pembunuhan, pembakaran ribuan rumah dan serangan bertalu-talu yang amat dahsyat masih berlaku di serata Arakan. Oleh kerana itu badan-badan antarabangsa tidak mempunyai pilihan lain melainkan menempatkan tentera pengaman untuk mengawal keganasan dengan serta-merta.
Gerakan ‘ethnic cleansing’ yang dijalankan sudah mencapai tahap maksima. Kerajaan Myanmar mengambil kesempatan untuk meneruskan dasar mereka untuk menghapuskan etnik Rohingya Muslim di Arakan.
Presiden Thein Sein berjaya mengaburkan mata dunia dengan berjanji untuk mencari penyelesaian bagi konflik ini ketika berucap dalam perhimpunan agung PBB yang lalu.
Laporan membuktikan keganasan yang dilakukan di kawasan minoriti Muslim terutama di Arakan terus giat dijalankan dengan kerjasama pihak berkuasa Myanmar tempatan sejak 21 Oktober.
Ketika pemenang anugerah Nobel Suu Kyi disanjung , beliau nampak buntu dan tidak bersuara, adalah tidak rasional bagi organisasi bertaraf dunia seperti UN dan negara-negara ahlinya untuk berpeluk tubuh apabila jelas isu "ethnic cleansing" yang berlaku ini dibiarkan. Walhal suatu angkara kejam terus menerus dilakukan terhadap kaum Rohingya oleh pihak berkuasa di bawah perkenan badan pemerintahan Myanmar itu sendiri.
Laporan yang diterima daripada perkampungan Kyauktaw and Maungdaw , menunjukkan seramai 150,000 penduduk hilang tempat tinggal dan kini terkandas di kem-kem pelarian di sekitar lapan buah kawasan dalam Arakan sejak lebih daripada empat bulan yang lalu.
Hampir sejuta penduduk yang terdiri daripada Rohingya, Kaman dan muslim Rakhine yang lainnya bukan sahaja terus terperangkap malah terpaksa hidup dalam ketakutan dek kerana ancaman yang mereka terima saban hari.
Situasi terbaru melaporkan pekan Taht Minbya dan Mrauk U adalah antara kawasan yang paling teruk dimusnahkan. Rumah-rumah milik Rohingya muslim di kampung Yainetay (Zula Fara) di pekan Mrauk U dan kampung Nagara Pauktaw di pekan Minbya habis musnah dibakar.
Ada sumber dalaman dari Arakan yang melapurkan pihak tentera dan polis tidak mengambil apa-apa tindakan untuk menghentikan kekejaman oleh kaum Rakhine dan mereka maseh menghalau penduduk muslim keluar dari kampung.
Melalui kerjasama UWRO kami telahpun menerima laporan yang menggambarkan jumlah serangan yang kian meningkat. Kesemua laporan diteliti mengikut tarikh, masa, lokasi dan nama mangsa. Sebahagian daripada laporan adalah seperti berikut:
1) Kampung Parein yang mempunyai lebih daripada 500 buah rumah musnah terbakar pada 22 Oktober.
2) Paiketay Rwa (perkampungan nelayan) yang mengandungi sekitar 300 buah rumah, 50 daripadanya dibakar pada 21 Oktober.
3) Tharak Rwa di kampung Pann Mraung yang mempunyai hampir 190 rumah di dalam kawasan yang didominasi orang Rakhine, telah habis rentung dibakar pada 22 Oktober; dan
4) Kampung Sudaine Rwa turut dibakar dan kesemua rumah rentung dibakar pada 22 Oktober
Untuk kedua-dua bandar tersebut, sumber menyatakan anggaran kematian menghampiri 100 orang, namun buat masa ini lebih daripada sepuluh yang dijumpai mati termasuk 3 orang Rakhine.
Di bandar Kyaukpyu, dua buah masjid, Anauk Paikseik (kampung nelayan barat) dan Arashi Quarter telah diserang.
Kini, penculikan, penyiksaan and rampasan harta Rohingya oleh orang Rakhine berkembang di seluruh Arakan yang turut dibantu oleh pihak polis dan sami-sami.
Rumah-rumah orang Rohingya, Kaman dan Rakhine Muslim yang berada di kampung Parien di bandar Mrauk U dan Paiketay Rwa (perkampungan nelayan), Tharak Rwa di kampung Pann Mraung, kampung Sudaine Rwa di bandar Minbya semuanya diserang dengan teruk.
Situasi di Yangon juga tidak dapat dipastikan memandangkan sami-sami telah menyebarkan risalah-risalah yang menyalahkan orang-orang Islam yang didakwa mendominasi perniagaan, pembangunan dan kepimpinan. Sumber maklumat mengesahkan ratusan sami-sami palsu bersedia untuk menyerang orang Islam di bandar Mingaladon dan Tinngangyuan.
Di samping Myanmar kini menikmati pengiktirafan dari negara-negara membangun kerana kononnya ia telah mengubah polisi dari penindasan ke atas rakyatnya sendiri. Namun Presiden Thein Sein masih sewenang-wenangnya meneruskan pelan penghapusannya terhadap etnik Rohingya.
Walaupun diplomat PBB, Nambia dan Quintana baru sahaja mengunjungi Myanmar untuk meninjau krisis ini, PBB tetap membiarkan situasi ini berterusan dan sekadar merujuk kepada boneka Pengurusan Hak Asasi Manusia Myanmar untuk membuat siasatan lanjut. Sehingga hari ini masih tiada apa-apa usaha yang dijalankan untuk menghentikan kekejaman yang berlaku.
Krisis semasa ini mendesak OIC dan PBB untuk mengambil tindakan segera. Tiada kunjungan diplomatik setakat ini yang mampu meredakan krisis yang berterusan di Myanmar.
Kami menyeru Tentera Pengaman Khas PBB diwujudkan segera dan dihatar segera ke Myanamr demi melindungi komuniti Rohingya.
Pengumuman baru-baru ini oleh ketua Muslim di Yangon yang menyatakan keputusan untuk tidak melaksanakan Qurban mencerminkan keterdesakan dan kerumitan yang dihadapi oleh Muslim di Myanmar.
Oleh itu, kami menyeru Muslim di seluruh dunia untuk menunjukkan sokongan kepada orang Rohingya dan mendesak OIC untuk menghantar delegasi khas pada hari Raya Aidul Adha dan menuntut Kerajaan Myanmar untuk melindungi orang Rohingya dari serangan yang berterusan ini.
Abdul Ghani Samsudin
Pengerusi SHURA
Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid
Setiusaha Agung MAPIM
Ghiyathudeen Abdul Salam
Setiausaha Agung UWRO
Dipetik dari - HarakahDaily
Ulama perlu berani tegakkan kebenaran
SHAH ALAM - Ulama perlu berani menegakkan kebenaran dalam apa jua keadaan tanpa mengira tempat dan masa.
Presiden Wadah Pencerdasan Umat Malaysia (Wadah), Datuk Dr Siddiq Fadzil berkata, ulama bertanggungjawab menegakkan kebenaran dan keadilan serta tidak berkompromi atau bersekongkol.
Menurutnya, ulama harus berani dan membebaskan diri mereka untuk memberikan pendapat demi kebaikan semua.
"Ulama sekarang lupa tugas mereka sebagai penasihat dan pendidik. Ciri-ciri ulama ialah takut kepada ALLAH, bukannya takut kepada bos," katanya.
Siddiq yang juga bekas Presiden Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) berkata, ulama tradisi Islam tidak merasakan mereka sebagai ulama tetapi diiktiraf berdasarkan ilmu, kewibawaan, integriti moral dan penampilan dalam masyarakat.
"Di samping mendidik, perilaku mereka juga dicontohi. Ulama juga harus menguasai nas(tidak berubah) dan realiti (berubah).
Beliau berkata, dalam keadaan tertentu, ulama boleh mengundurkan diri sekiranya terdapat perubahan di mana jika ulama ada sekalipun mereka masih tidak mampu untuk membuat sebarang perubahan.
"Kita mementingkan perubahan-perubahan yang berlaku dalam realiti. Ulama boleh mengundur diri kerana maruah, jika diteruskan pun akan masih diperkudakan, lebih baik berundur," katanya.
Beliau berkata, apa yang berlaku dalam politik, pendapat tidak penting, sebaliknya pendapatan diutamakan.
"Sekarang, politik wang kuat. Saya khuatir, sekiranya ia tidak dikawal, pemimpin tidak akan ditentukan oleh undi tetapi kapitalis (pemberi dana) yang mengangkat mereka," katanya.
Beliau berkata, ramai pemimpin lupa erti kepimpinan tetapi 'sedap' menjadi orang besar.
Dipetik dari - Sinar Harian, Rabu 24 Oktober 2012 / 8 Zulhijjah 1433
Pemimpin patut ditegur
 |
| Dari kiri: Dr Maszlee, Dr Siddiq, Dr Mohd Asri dan Syahrin pada Wacana Sinar HarÃan Siri Ke-15 di Auditorium Karangkraf |
Bekas Mufti Perlis, Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin berkata, perkara seperti itu perlu dibahas secara terbuka dengan tertib.
Menurutnya, masalah awam yang membabitkan kepentingan rakyat boleh dibahas secara terbuka, iaitu secara profesional dan bukannya dalam bentuk cacian.
"Jadi, mazhab aliran yang mengatakan tidak boleh tegur pemimpin secara terbuka, itu tidak benar. Jika soal kepentingan awam, mereka boleh ditegur.
"Manakala, mazhab yang kata, boleh kata apa sahaja kepada pemimpin, itu juga tidak benar," katanya pada siri Wacana Sinar HarÃan Siri Ke-15, yang bertajuk Peranan Ulama Menasihati Pemimpin, di Auditorium Karangkraf, semalam.
Selain Dr Mohd Asri, dua lagi panel wacana kali ini ialah bekas Presiden Abim yang juga Presiden Wadah Percerdasan Umat Malaysia (Wadah), Datuk Dr Siddiq Fadzil dan Exco Pemuda Umno dan Pengerusi Biro IPT, Syahrin Md Jamaludin, serta dikendalikan oleh Pensyarah di Kuliyyah Ilmu Wahyu dan Sains Kemanusiaan, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), Dr Maszlee Malik sebagai moderator.
Mohd Asri turut mempersoalkan pihak yang melarang ulama untuk membuat teguran secara terbuka kepada pemimpin negara.
Katanya, bagaimana sebuah negara berparlimen tidak boleh ditegur secara terbuka, kerana bukan semua orang boleh bercakap terus dengan pemimpin negara.
"Ada golongan yang kata, ulama tak boleh tegur pemimpin terang-terangan, tetapi merekalah yang tegur ulama terang-terangan.
"Dosa manusia ada dua jenis. Satu, dosa yang memmbabitkan antara dia dengan Tuhan seperti zina, minum arak dan sebagainya. Saya setuju dosa dalam kategori ini tidak patut kita cakap di khalayak awam kerana benda ini boleh diselesaikan dengan dia, banyak hadis yang menyuruh kita menutup aib orang lain," katanya.
Menurutnya, keseluruhan rakyat Malaysia beragama Islam bersetuju bahawa ulama mesti berperanan dan menegur pemerintah.
Katanya, peranan ulama dalam pemerintahan bukan sesuatu yang baru tetapi telah wujud sejak zaman nabi lagi, dan tokoh agama turut diheret dalam usaha mendapat pengaruh politik.
Ketika diminta mengulas tentang peranan ulama pada pilihanraya umum akan datang, belia mengingatkan ulama melakukan perkara relevan bagi baiki kecacatan yang ada dalam pentadbiran hari ini.
Dipetik dari - Sinar Harian, Rabu 24 Oktober 2012 / 8 Zulhijjah 1433
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Amalan Korban: Hikmah, Hukum & Sunnah
Oleh: Dr. Abdul Basit Abdul Rahman
Alhamdulillah segala puji bagi Allah SWT yang telah mensyariatkan kepada hamba-hamba-Nya agar berkumpul pada musim haji di Arafah, dan menumpahkan darah haiwan korban (al-Hadyu). Ia adalah bulan penuh berkat kerana di dalamnya bergabung dua ibadat agung iaitu ibadat haji dan korban yang dimulakan sejak zaman Nabi Allah Ibrahim as lagi.
Firman Allah SWT:
Maksudnya: Dan telah kami jadikan untuk kamu unta-unta itu sebahagian dari syi'ar Allah, kamu memperoleh kebaikan yang banyak padanya. Maka sebutlah olehmu nama Allah ketika kamu menyembelihnya dalam keadaan berdiri (dan telah terikat). Kemudian apabila telah rebah (mati), maka makanlah sebahagiannya dan beri makanlah orang yang rela dengan apa yang ada padanya (yang tidak meminta-minta) dan orang yang meminta. Demikianlah kami telah menundukkan untu-unta itu kepada kamu, mudah-mudahan kamu bersyukur. (Surah Al-Haj: 36)
Haji adalah rukun Islam yang wajib sekali seumur hidup bagi orang yang mampu menunaikannya di Makkah manakala ibadat korban pula boleh dilakukan di mana-mana saja bagi sesiapa yang mampu.
Ibadat korban yang dituntut Islam berbeza dengan konsep korban penganut agama lain. Korban dalam Islam bukan memohon perlindungan daripada mala-petaka atau amalan tolak bala. Sebaliknya ibadat korban adalah ibadat ikhlas sebagai lambang pengorbanan hamba kepada Allah.
Bagi sesiapa yang mampu untuk menunaikan ibadat korban, hendaklah melakukannya, kerana ia adalah sunnah yang sentiasa dilakukan oleh Rasulullah saw dan para sahabat selepasnya.
Untuk memahami ibadat ini kita perlu mengetahui beberapa perkara;
Pertama sekali kita lihat kepada pengertiannya:
Korban atau Udhiyyah dalam bahasa Arabnya, bermaksud menyembelih haiwan yang tertentu jenisnya daripada ternakan yang dikategorikan sebagai al-An'am iaitu unta, lembu (termasuk kerbau), biri-biri dan kambing pada Hari Nahar atau Hari Raya Haji pada 10hb Zulhijjah dan pada hari-hari Tasyrik (11,12 dan 13hb Zulhijjah) bertujuan untuk bertaqarrub (mendekatkan diri) kepada Allah SWT.
Ianya telah disyariatkan melalui firman Allah SWT:
Maksudnya: Maka dirikanlah solat kerana Tuhanmu; dan berkorbanlah.(Al-Kautsar: 2).
Firman Allah SWT lagi:
Maksudnya: Dan bagi tiap-tiap umat sudah Kami syariatkan penyembelihan (korban) supaya mereka menyebut nama Allah terhadap binatang ternakan yang direzekikan Allah kepada mereka. (Al-Hajj: 34).
Melalui hadis pula:
Maksudnya: Dari Anas ra, "Rasulullah SAW juga telah menyembelih dua ekor kibasy putih yang bertanduk besar sebagai korban dengan tangannya sendiri sambil menyebut nama nama Allah dan bertakbir, serta meletakkan kaki Baginda di tengkuk kibasy tersebut." (HR Bukhari dan Muslim).
Rasulullah SAW bersabda yang bermaksud: "Barang siapa yang mempunyai kemampuan tetapi tidak berkorban, maka janganlah ia menghampiri tempat solat kami." (HR Ahmad dan Ibnu Majah daripada Abu Hurairah).
Kata ulama' hadis ini merupakan satu teguran/ancaman kepada orang yang berkemampuan tetapi tidak mahu melakukan ibadat korban.
HIKMAH DAN FADHILAT
Antara hikmah pensyariatan korban adalah:
Korban ialah ibadat. Setiap korban yang dilakukan kerana ibadat mempunyai hikmah dan faedah selain daripada mengabdikan diri kepada Allah SWT. Hal ini samalah dengan ibadat-ibadat yang lain. Ia juga sebagai melahirkan tanda bersyukur kepada Allah terhadap nikmat-nikmatnya yang melimpah-ruah.
Hikmah yang paling jelas dan tinggi nilainya ialah menghayati pengorbanan agung yang telah dilakukan oleh Nabi Ibrahim as yang sanggup menyahut perintah Allah swt untuk mengorbankan anaknya Nabi Ismail as.
Amalan ini adalah rentetan warisan daripada sejarah yang panjang, yang sentiasa diperbaharui setiap tahun dan insya'Allah akan berkekalan sehingga ke akhir zaman. Ia merupakan satu ingatan yang berkekalan tentang satu sikap yang unik dan terpuji yang mungkin tidak akan ditemui lagi di dalam dunia ini. Iaitu keutuhan iman Nabi Ibrahim as serta kepatuhan mutlaknya terhadap Tuhannya Yang Maha Agung. Kedatangannya dulu ke Makkah, lembah gersang lagi kering, lalu meninggalkan keluarganya di situ kerana menurut perintah Tuhannya, telah mencipta satu sejarah agung.
Setelah anaknya meningkat dewasa dan dapat membantu bapanya untuk melakukan kerja-kerja, datang pula cubaan dan dugaan yang amat besar dalam hidup mereka sebagaimana yang diceritakan sendiri oleh Allah SWT melalui firman-Nya ini:
Maksudnya: (Kisah ini berlaku apabila Nabi Ibrahim as mahu meninggalkan kaumnya yang engkar dan tidak menerima dakwahnya) "Dan Ibrahim berkata: Sesungguhnya aku pergi menghadap Tuhanku, dan Dia akan memberi petunjuk kepadaku. (Ibrahim ingin pergi ke suatu negeri yang dia dapat menyembah Allah SWT dan berdakwah). Wahai Tuhanku, anugerahkanlah kepadaku (seorang anak) yang soleh. Maka Kami sampaikan kepadanya khabar gembira dengan seorang anak yang amat sabar (Nabi Ismail as). Maka tatkala anak itu sudah dewasa dan mampu berusaha bersama-sama Ibrahim, Ibrahim berkata: "Wahai anakku,sesungguhnya aku melihat dalam mimpi bahawa aku menyembelihmu. Maka fikirkanlah apa pendapatmu!". Ismail menjawab: "Wahai bapaku, kerjakanlah apa yang diperintahkan kepadamu; insya'Allah kamu akan mendapati diriku termasuk di kalangan orang-orang yang sabar". Tatkala keduanya telah berserah diri dan Ibrahim membaringkan anaknya di atas lambungnya, lalu Kami menyerunya: "Wahai Ibrahim! Sesungguhnya kamu telah membenarkan mimpi itu. Sesungguhnya demikianlah Kami memberi balasan kepada orang-orang yang berbuat baik. Sesungguhnya ini benar-benar suatu ujian yang nyata". Dan Kami tebuskan anak itu dengan seekor sembelihan yang besar. (Setelah ternyata kesabaran dan ketaatan Ibrahim dan Ismail as. Maka Allah melarang menyembelih Ismail dan tidak meneruskan korban. Allah SWT menggantikannya dengan seekor kibasy yang besar. Peristiwa ini menjadi dasar pensyariatan korban yang dilakukan pada hari Raya Haji). Kami abadikan untuk Ibrahim itu (pujian yang baik) di kalangan orang-orang yang datang kemudian. (Iaitu) Kesejahteraan dilimpahkan atas Ibrahim. Demikianlah Kami memberi balasan kepada orang-orang yang berbuat baik". (As-Saffat: 99-110). [Lihat: Makkah al-Mukarramah: Kelebihan dan Sejarah, terbitan Telaga Biru]
Hikmah yang lain juga, ibadat korban menolong orang fakir dan mereka yang berhajat serta mengembirakan mereka, anak isteri dan keluarga pada hari raya. Ini dapat menanam perasaan kasih-sayang antara si kaya dengan si miskin. Seterusnya dapat mengeratkan hubungan persaudaraan antara anggota masyarakat Islam dan semangat berjemaah.
HUKUM
Hukum korban dibahagi kepada dua;
Pertama: Sunat muakkad bagi orang yang cukup syarat-syaratnya ini: Islam, aqil baligh dan berkemampuan.
Kedua: Wajib kepada yang mewajibkan dirinya sendiri samada untuk berkorban kerana mendekatkan diri kepada Allah atau bernazar.
Tujuan korban adalah semata-mata mengagungkan syariat Allah dan merebut peluang mencapai ketakwaan di sisi-Nya. Setiap muslim, sangat dituntut (sunat muakkad) melakukan ibadat korban memadai menyembelih seekor kambing bagi dirinya dan keluarga.
Binatang Yang Disyariatkan Untuk Berkorban
Korban hanya sah dengan unta, lembu (kerbau), kambing dan biri-biri. Inilah binatang ternakan yang dimaksudkan berdasarkan firman Allah SWT dalam surah Al-Hajj: 34 di atas tadi.
Tidak terdapat hadis Nabi saw dan kata-kata sahabat yang menunjukkan terdapat binatang lain yang dijadikan korban selain daripada binatang-binatang tersebut.
Yang paling afdhal ialah sembelih seekor unta, diikuti lembu dan kambing.
Harus berkorban dengan seekor unta atau lembu jantan atau betina untuk tujuh orang. Ini berdasarkan hadis daripada Jabir ra katanya:
Maksudnya: "Kami berkorban bersama Rasulullah saw pada tahun Hudaibiyyah dengan seekor unta untuk tujuh orang dan seekor lembu untuk tujuh orang". (HR Muslim).
Syarat Binatang Korban
Cukup Umur: Umur unta disyaratkan masuk tahun keenam. Umur lembu dan kambing telah masuk tahun ketiga, manakala biri-biri pula telah masuk tahun kedua atau telah tanggal gigi hadapannya sekalipun umurnya belum sampai setahun.
Tidak cacat: Ketiga-tiga jenis binatang korban tersebut tidak cacat yang menyebabkan kurang dagingnya. Juga tidak sah korban kambing yang terlalu kurus, sangat tempang, buta sebelah mata, berpenyakit atau putus sebahagian telinganya.
Setiap perkara yang menyebabkan binatang itu kurus dan kurang dagingnya hendaklah dikiaskan kepada keempat-empat kecacatan tersebut.
Waktu ibadah korban
Ibadah korban mestilah dilaksanakan pada waktu-waktu khusus iaitu pada 10 Zulhijjah selepas solat sunat hari raya sehinggalah tenggelam matahari pada 13 Zulhijjah.
CARA PENGAGIHAN DAGING KORBAN
Cara pengagihan daging korban, menurut kitab Fiqh Manhaji:
Jika melakukan korban sunat, harus bagi yang berkorban memakan sebahagian daging korban dengan syarat disedekahkan sebahagiannya. Tetapi yang afdhalnya ialah dia makan sedikit untuk mendapat keberkatan dan selebihnya disedekahkan.
Dia juga boleh memakan 1/3 bahagian, menyedekahkan 1/3 bahagian kepada fakir miskin dan 1/3 bahagian yang lagi dihadiahkan kepada sahabat handai dan jiran tetangganya sekalipun mereka kaya.
Korban Wajib / Nazar
Jika ia korban wajib pula (nazar atau yang mewajibkan sendiri) para ulama' telah berbeza pendapat dalam masalah ini;
1. Pandangan ulama' Mazhab Hanafi korban nazar iaitu korban wajib adalah dilarang untuk dimakan oleh orang yang berkorban sepertimana memakan anak yang lahir dari binatang sembelihan itu yang lahir sebelum disembelih.
2. Pandangan Mazhab Maliki dan Hanbali adalah harus daging sembelihan korban nazar dimakan oleh orang yang berkorban seperti daging sembelihan korban sunat. Namun, yang paling dituntut adalah dagingnya dimakan sebahagiannya, disedekahkan dan diberi makan kepada fakir miskin. Di sisi Mazhab Maliki dan Hanafi jika daging itu dimakan semuanya oleh orang yang berkorban atau disimpan selama 3 hari hukumnya adalah harus tetapi dibenci (makruh). Manakala Mazhab Hanbali mengharuskan untuk memakan sebahagian besar dagingnya. Pendapat ini disokong oleh sebahagian ulama' mazhab Syafie. [Lihat: Kitab Al-Bayan, Karangan Al-‘Imrani 4/458]
3. Mazhab Syafi'e berpandangan bahawa korban wajib atau nazar atau yang telah dinyatakan tujuannya dengan lafaz seperti "ini adalah sembelihan korban" atau "aku menjadikannya sebagai sembelihan korban" maka tidak harus dimakan dagingnya oleh orang yang berkorban dan tanggungannya. Bahkan adalah wajib untuk disedekahkan kesemuanya. [Lihat Khilaf Ulama' ini dalam: Dr Wahbah al-Zuhayli, Al-Fiqh Al-Islami wa Adillatuhu, jil. 3, ms. 627-630]
Hukum memberi daging korban kepada orang kafir
1. Imam al-Nawawi menukilkan daripada Ibn Munzir Ijma‘ Ulama bahawa adalah harus memberi makan daging Korban kepada fakir miskin Muslim.
2. Mereka berselisih pendapat berkenaan memberi makan daging Korban kepada Ahli Zimmah (orang kafir yang tidak bermusuh dengan Orang Islam).
Imam Abu Hanifah, Al-Hasan al-Basri dan Abu Thaur membenarkannya. Imam Malik pula lebih suka mengutamakan Muslimin. Imam Malik mengaggap makruh memberikan kulit binatang Korban kepada orang Kristian.
Adapun pegangan mazhab Shafie, menurut Imam al-Nawawi, harus memberi makan kafir Zimmi daripada daging sembelihan Korban Sunat, bukan Korban wajib seperti nazar.
Mengikut pandangan Mazhab Hanbali adalah harus memberi daging kepada orang kafir jika ianya adalah korban Sunat. Adapun korban wajib maka tidak diharuskan.
Kesimpulannya, ulama' berbeza pendapat dalam hal ini, sebahagian mazhab mengatakannya haram, ada yang mengatakannya makruh dan Mazhab Hanbali, Hanafi serta satu pandangan dalam mazhab Syafie pula mengatakannya harus kerana ia bukannya sedekah wajib.
Namun satu perkara yang tiada khilaf di kalangan ulama' ialah mengutamakan umat Islam. Oleh itu dalam hal ini, umat Islam perlu didahulukan, tetapi tidak menjadi kesalahan memberikannya kepada orang bukan Islam yang tidak bermusuh dengan kita, Insya'Allah. [Lihat: Imam an-Nawawi, al-Majmu‘ Sharh al-Muhazzab, Jilid 8, ms. 404 dan Al-Fiqh Al-Islami 3/629].
PERKARA-PERKARA SUNAT BAGI ORANG YANG INGIN MELAKUKAN KORBAN
1. Apabila menjelang 1hb Zulhijjah, seseorang yang telah berazam / berniat untuk melakukan ibadat korban, sunat baginya untuk tidak menghilangkan (memotong) bulunya seperti rambut, janggut, misai dan kukunya sehingga dilakukan penyembelihan korban. Oleh itu hendaklah menjaga kedua-duanya dengan baik.
Ini adalah berdasarkan kepada sabda Rasulullah saw:
Maksudnya: "Apabila masuk sepuluh terawal bulan Zulhijjah dan seseorang itu telah berniat untuk menunaikan ibadat korban, maka janganlah dia membuang (memotong) bulu dan kukunya."(HR Muslim).
Kata Imam Nawawi rhm: "Para ulama' berbeza pendapat tentang hukum hadis ini, Imam Ahmad dan sebahagian ulama' Syafei mengatakan haram perbuatan menghilangkan bulu tadi, tetapi Imam Syafei dan ulama'nya yang lain mengatakan ia adalah makruh tanzih (iaitu makruh yang sangat besar dan hampir kepada haram)." [Syarah Sahih Muslim].
Maka sebaik-baiknya bagi kita adalah mengelakkan perkara tersebut dan melakukan persedian pada awalnya lagi untuk menghadapi larangan yang besar ini.
2. Jika mampu secara fizikal, disunatkan kita menyembelih sendiri binatang korban itu. Jika tidak mampu disebabkan uzur atau lainnya, harus diwakilkan kepada orang lain. Jika berpeluang, eloklah menyaksikan binatang korban ketika disembelih.
3. Semasa menyembelih binatang korban disunatkan sebagaimana perbuatan Rasulullah saw: Menghadapkan binatang itu ke arah kiblat di atas rusuk kirinya lalu membaca:
بِسْÙ…ِ اللَّÙ‡ِ، ÙˆَاللَّÙ‡ُ Ø£َÙƒْبَرُ، اللَّÙ‡ُÙ…َّ Ù…ِÙ†ْÙƒَ ÙˆَÙ„َÙƒَ، اللَّÙ‡ُÙ…َّ تَÙ‚َبَّÙ„ْ Ù…ِÙ†ِّÙŠ
Maksudnya: "Dengan nama Allah dan Allah Maha Besar. Ya Allah, binatang ini daripada Engkau dan akan kembali kepada Engkau. Ya Allah, terimalah daripadaku". [Lihat Perisai Muslim: Bacaan ketika menyembelih haiwan].
PENUTUP
Justeru, ibadat korban sangat dituntut kerana manfaatnya kepada orang yang berkorban. Bagi yang masih hidup, ia lebih baik daripada bersedekah dengan harga binatang korban itu. Sesungguhnya mengharapkan keampunan dosa adalah inti pati semua ibadat dalam Islam.
Selain daripada keampunan dosa, ibadat korban membuka ruang dan peluang meningkatkan sikap peka serta prihatin terhadap kebajikan sesama insan, terutama golongan fakir dan miskin. Ramai menganggap daging korban mesti diberikan kepada orang miskin saja dan mempertikai ada orang kaya yang dapat agihan daging korban.
Orang kaya juga diharuskan dihadiahkan daging korban bertujuan mengukuhkan hubungan silaturahim atau ukhuwwah. Rasulullah SAW sentiasa menghadiahkan sahabat Khadijah (kebanyakannya wanita kaya), setiap kali Baginda mengadakan korban sekalipun isterinya sudah wafat.
Ibadat korban mempunyai hikmah tersendiri. Ia bukan semata-mata ibadat untuk memberi makan kepada orang miskin, ia ibadat untuk mendekatkan diri kepada Allah dengan cara menumpahkan darah (binatang).
Hikmah ibadat korban ialah untuk menegakkan syiar agama berasaskan kepada pengorbanan. Agama ditegakkan dengan pengorbanan. Menumpahkan darah binatang simbolik kepada pengorbanan dilakukan.
Semoga syiar ibadat ini sentiasa subur dalam masyarakat Islam sekarang di tempat masing-masing, bukan hanya semata-mata mewakilkan kepada orang lain melakukannya tanpa tuannya merasai suasana berkorban. Wallahua'lam.
Dipetik dari - abuanasmadani.com
Jordan monarch urges Islamists to end poll boycott
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan's King Abdullah on Tuesday called on the country's Islamist opposition to end a boycott of forthcoming parliamentary elections he said would usher in a new era of political reforms.
In an address to a large gathering of opposition and tribal figures at the royal palace, the monarch said the opposition could achieve a wider say in the running of the country by participating in parliamentary elections due on January 23.
"My message to you and to all the political forces if you want to change Jordan for the better, there is an opportunity through the coming elections and through the new parliament," the monarch told an audience of several thousand people from across the political spectrum.
"The door is open to everyone, including the opposition to be in the coming parliament," he told guests who included leaders of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, and the country's most effective opposition.
The monarch dissolved parliament half-way through its two-year term this month and appointed a new government to oversee what he hoped would be free and fair elections.
The Islamic Action Front (IAF) is boycotting the polls, saying the voting system discriminates against it by limiting its electoral gains by under-representing constituencies in heavily populated cities, where its support is strong.
"Those who want additional reforms or developing the electoral law can work under the dome of the next parliament and through the ballot box," the monarch said.
The Islamists and a vocal tribal opposition have led nearly two years of peaceful street protests inspired by the wave of Arab revolts calling for reforming the government and limiting King Abdullah's powers.
The Hashemite monarchy acts as a guarantor of stability among feuding tribes who seek his protection and a balance between the country's citizens of Palestinian origin and native Jordanians. Few people want to topple the king.
Officials accuse the Islamists, emboldened by the ballot box successes of their ideological partners in Egypt and Tunisia, of seeking to monopolise power and to undermine a tribal base that is the backbone of support for the monarchy.
Abdullah warned the opposition not to exploit the grumblings of ordinary Jordanians in an aid dependent country facing unprecedented economic challenges and rising foreign debt.
"We believe in the right of the opposition to be true and original partners in the political process away from opportunism, glittery slogans and exploiting difficult economic conditions and people's emotions," he said.
But in a veiled warning to the Islamists, Abdullah said :"No group is allowed to claim they hold a monopoly over the truth."
Unlike countries such as Egypt and Syria where their fellow Islamists were persecuted, Jordan's mainstream Islamists were allowed for decades to operate to counter left-wing ideology.
In a conciliatory gesture of goodwill, the monarch also pardoned 20 tribal opposition activists who were charged with insulting him publicly in recent protests.
For the first time he openly responded to calls for his removal by a minority of tribal protesters, echoing the rallying cry of the Arab spring wave of revolts.
"Let us talk about some of the slogans that a small number of protesters carried: "Down with the regime ... First what is the regime? The regime is the state in all its institutions."
Abdullah stressed his Hashemite dynasty's credentials as benevolent rulers untainted by the bloody crackdown on dissent witnessed by other rulers in the region.
"Hashemite rule was never for us about holding a monopoly on power, nor about power and its tools, but about supporting state institutions according to the constitution," Abdullah said.
Dipetik dari - The Star Online
Ease Of Doing Business: Brunei In 79th Place
Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam has moved up four places to 79th out of 185 countries in the "Ease of Doing Business 2013" index.
The Doing Business 2013 report, entitled "Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-sized Enterprise", is the 10th edition of the annual report published by the World Bank and IFC, and has seen Brunei improve on last year's 83rd position.
The report also shows that the Sultanate has retained its fourth position among Asean member countries, behind Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
All the rankings in the report are based on the study of 10 indicators of business regulations that track time and costs for government requirements in business start-ups, operations, trade, taxation and closures.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR), reforms implemented under the "Dealing with Construction Permit" indicator are the major contributor to the country's overall ranking improvement this year.
These aforementioned reforms include the improvement of ABCi and the Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Board's operational features with the introduction of risk-based and self-regulatory inspection system and general business processes, which moved the indicator ranking from 88 (adjusted DB2012 ranking) to 43.
The "Starting a Business" indicator has also shown improvement as it moved two ranks to 135. Despite the reform, however, the Paying Taxes indicator moved down by a position to 22 due to better performances by other countries.
In the "Getting Electricity" indicator, Brunei's rank has remained at 29, while under "Registering Property", Brunei has moved down two ranks from 113 to 115.
There has also been a slight drop under the "Getting Credit" indicator from 127 to 129, under the "Protecting Investors" indicator from 114 to 117, the "Trading Across Borders" indicator from 36 to 40 and the "Resolving Insolvency" indicator from 44 to 46.
In the press release, the Chairman of the Ease of Doing Business Steering Committee, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, has welcomed the overall rank, improvement, but also stated that this year's rank is still not good enough.
The minister emphasised the need for more speedy and focused efforts to improve all government business processes if Brunei is to further improve her Doing Business ranking in the subsequent years.
This is because, as evident in the Doing Business report, reform initiatives among the participating countries are very extensive and fast.
The minister also went on to reiterate that the initiatives in the ease of doing business help improve efficiency and productivity in government services and would contribute towards the achievement of Brunei Vision 2035.
In this regard, Pehin Dato Awg Haji Yahya indicated that the steering committee is deliberating on new targets and catalytic strategies for Ease of Doing Business initiatives for Brunei that will also deal with addressing challenges such as the improvement of awareness of reforms activities among the private sectors and stakeholders.
The top 10 performers in this year's Doing Business report, in order of ranking, are Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, New Zealand, the United States, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, Georgia and Australia.
As for the performances of Asean nations this year, in order of ranking, they are: Singapore (1), Malaysia (12), Thailand (18), Brunei Darussalam (79), Indonesia (128), Cambodia (133), Philippines (138) and Lao PDR (163). ~ Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
Dipetik dari - BruDirect.com
Muat turun laporan penuh di pautan berikut,
⇒ http://www.doingbusiness.org/reports/global-reports/doing-business-2013
KDYMM: Terokai bidang kajian, penyelidikan ilmiah
Titah Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam, selaku Canselor Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan sempena Majlis Konvokesyen Kedua KUPU SB Negara Brunei Darussalam Tahun 1433 Hijriah/2012 Masehi pada hari Selasa, 7 Zulhijjah 1433H bersamaan 23 Oktober 2012M, di Dewan Plenary Pusat Persidangan Antarabangsa, Berakas, Negara Brunei Darussalam.
Assalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ' Aalameen, Wassalaatu Wassalaamu, 'Alaa Asyrafil Mursaleen, Sayyidina Muhammadin, Wa'alaa Aalihee Wasahbihee Ajma'een, Waba'du
BETA bersyukur ke hadrat Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala, kerana dapat hadir bersama-sama di Majlis Konvokesyen Kedua Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan (KUPU SB) ini. Beta terlebih dahulu merakamkan ucapan setinggi-tinggi tahniah kepada semua para graduan yang menerima ijazah dan diploma mereka pada hari ini.
Beta berharap, para graduan akan terus meningkatkan ilmu pengetahuan mereka serta berusaha lebih gigih lagi untuk menjadi pakar pengajar di bidang masing- masing dan dalam masa yang sama juga, mempunyai komitmen tinggi untuk menjadi guru agama yang berwibawa.
Ini secara tidak langsung, boleh meningkatkan kualiti sekolah-sekolah agama di negara ini.
Baru-baru ini, beta telah bertitah mengenai dengan Perintah Pendidikan Ugama Wajib 2012 yang akan berkuat kuasa pada 1 Januari 2013. Perintah ini mungkin saja tidak akan menepati sasarannya, jika kita tidak menyediakan guru-guru agama yang berkepakaran tinggi untuk meyokong pelaksanaan perintah tersebut. Kerana itu, KUPU SB perlulah melihat perkembangan ini sebagai satu amanah dengan menyediakan guru-guru yang diperlukan itu.
Menyebut tentang guru agama ini, tugas mereka itu bukanlah setakat menyelesaikan rutin harian semata-mata, tetapi turut menjadi lebih penting, ialah dapat menyuntik kesedaran murid-murid mereka, sehingga menjadi benar-benar manusia yang bertakwa dan beramal soleh. Inilah kewajipan utama KUPU SB itu.
Beta difahamkan KUPU SB telah menawarkan programprogram akademiknya sebagaimana juga pusat-pusat pengajian tinggi lain menawarkannya, seperti Ijazah Sarjana Muda, Ijazah Sarjana, Diploma Lepas Ijazah dan Diploma Tertinggi. Malah Beta juga difahamkan, KUPU SB juga akan menawarkan Ijazah Doktor Falsafah Perguruan Ugama pada awal tahun depan.
Pada asasnya, beta juga turut melihat, rancangan ini memanglah bagus. Tetapi sedikit peringatan, janganlah rancangan saja yang bagus, bahkan natijahnya juga mestilah sama-sama bagus. Maksud beta, jika ada kelulusan, mesti ada pula peningkatan dan semakin tinggi kelulusan itu, sepatutnya, semakin tinggi juga tahap kemampuan, barulah berbaloi kelulusan tersebut.
Beta turut gembira, KUPU SB sejak penubuhannya hingga sekarang, sering dilihat menganjurkan persidangan dan seminar peringkat kebangsaan, serantau dan antarabangsa, di samping aktif menjalin hubungan persefahaman dengan pusat-pusat pengajian tinggi luar negara, ini juga adalah baik, asalkan saja tidak mengabaikan prinsip berhati-hati dari dimasuki oleh pengaruh-pengaruh yang tidak sebulu dengan kita.
Peringatan ini bukan untuk KUPU SB sahaja, tetapi juga untuk semua pihak yang ada kaitan dengan perkara-perkara akademik dan ilmu. Pada masa ini terdapat semacam kecenderungan memanggil penceramahpenceramah daripada luar. Ini juga pada asanya adalah baik, tetapi ia akan menjadi tidak wajar apabila kita mengambil ringan tentang topik-topik ceramah dan siapa penceramahnya?
Kita perlu melihat dulu, apakah relevannya kepada Brunei satu-satu topik ceramah itu dan penerimaannya kelak oleh orang-orang Brunei? Jika topik dan penerimaan itu mungkin merugikan Brunei atau bertentangan dengan kepentingan Brunei, maka tidakkah di sini kita lebih baik jangan melibatkan diri dengannya? Kerana banyak lagi isu atau perkara boleh dijadikan pilihan yang sesuai.
Langkah ini diambil bukanlah untuk menyekat perkembangan akademik, tetapi ia dianggap munasabah dan sihat untuk menyangga perkara-perkara yang tidak diingini yang tidak diduga.
Turut menjadi penting, malah utama kepada KUPU SB juga, ialah bidang kajian dan penyelidikan ilmiah, kerana belumlah dianggap berjaya sesebuah pusat pengajian tinggi itu kalau ia belum atau tidak menerokai bidang ini.
Untuk KUPU SB, bidang pendidikan saja, khasnya pendidikan agama, adalah terlalu banyak isu boleh dikaji. Misalnya mengapakan pendidikan agama itu dianggap penting dan malah wajib untuk dipelajari? Dari segi apakah ia penting itu? Dan kalau betul ia penting, mengapakah Brunei sampai tercicir 50 tahun tidak mewajibkannya? Dan apa kesannya dari 50 tahun ia tidak diwajibkan itu?
Ini semua perlu kepada kajian, supaya kita tahu kelemahan, kekuatan, kekurangan dan kelebihan kita dan kemudian merumusnya sebagai bahan ilmiah yang lengkap dengan saranan-saranan, cara dan panduan, bagaimana ia hendak diperbaiki?
Ini baru satu contoh dari sekian banyak isu. Cuba-cubalah fikirkan dan teroka, dalam bentuk kajian ilmiah.
Untuk akhirnya, beta tidak lupa mengucapkan tahniah dan terima kasih kepada semua pihak berkenaan di KUPU SB ini, khususnya kepada Pengerusi dan Ahli-ahli Majlis Kolej Universiti, Ra’es, pegawai-pegawai utama, staf akademik, pegawai pentadbir dan seluruh kakitangan Kolej Universiti, di atas segala sumbangan dan khidmat mereka yang dicurahkah. Semoa Allah jua yang akan membalas mereka dengan rahmat-Nya Amin.
Sekian. Sekian, Wabillahit Taufeq Walhidayah, Wassalamu'alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Expect more protests, no regime change in Kuwait: analysts
By Omar Hasan
KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait will see more protests and clashes in the wake of an unprecedented demonstration that ended in violence, analysts said on Monday, adding however that regime change is not on the opposition's agenda.
More than 100 protesters and 11 policemen were hurt on Sunday night after a massive anti-government demonstration protesting a controversial amendment to Kuwait's electoral law turned violent.
"Unfortunately, we are heading towards the unknown ... I expect more protests, more demonstrations and more confrontations," political analyst Ayed al-Manna said.
"The regime may declare martial law, leading to an open and bitter confrontation between it and the people," the political science professor told AFP.
Riot police used tear gas, sounds bombs and rubber bullets against the protesters who were estimated to number around 30,000 by independent onlookers, though the opposition claimed some 200,000 were present.
The latest round of political strife was triggered by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah ordering an amendment to the electoral law which the opposition claims is aimed at manipulating poll results.
On Monday, opposition leaders held meetings to discuss their plan of action, pledging to escalate the protests.
Former MP Abdullah al-Barghash told AFP that the opposition will continue its protest campaign until the controversial amendment is withdrawn.
"I think we have entered a new phase in which youths are playing a pivotal role," said independent political analyst Dahem al-Qahtani.
"If no peaceful solution is reached, we could be moving into a scenario similar to (neighbouring) Bahrain," Qahtani told AFP, in reference to sporadic but persistent street protests against the ruling family.
"After reaching this stage, it is very difficult, if not impossible, for the popular movement to back down ... The solution is in real democratic reforms," he said.
In 1962, Kuwait became the first Arab state in the Gulf to draft a constitution and introduce parliamentary elections, but the emir and the Sabah ruling family continue to hold major cabinet positions and enjoy tremendous powers.
The less-than-comprehensive democratic reforms have triggered repeated disputes over the years, leading to the dissolution of parliament on nine separate occasions, six of them since mid-2006.
The opposition, comprised of Islamists, nationalists and liberals, wants to reduce the ruling family's grip on power and on public administration.
They have called for an elected government, new legislation to increase accountability and to fight corruption and the legalisation of political parties, all with the aim of "activating" the constitutional monarchy.
The Gulf state is nominally a constitutional monarchy, but although parliament has legislative powers and monitors the government, it cannot vote a cabinet out of office.
The opposition has accused the government of seeking to involve the judiciary in the ongoing political crisis. In June the constitutional court declared February's legislative election, won by the opposition, as illegal and reinstated the previous pro-government parliament.
Persistent political disputes have stalled development despite abundant oil-driven surpluses of over $400 billion.
Anwar al-Rasheed, secretary general of the Gulf Forum for Civil Societies said protests will not stop in Kuwait without real and fundamental reforms.
"There must be political parties, a premier from outside the ruling family and fundamental political reforms, otherwise we will remain stuck in a vicious circle" of political strife, Rasheed told AFP.
Overthrowing the Sabah family, which has ruled Kuwait virtually unchallenged for over 250 years, is not part of the plan, analysts argued.
"This is totally ruled out. No one has demanded the overthrow of the regime or to change the ruling family," said Manna.
Qahtani said the opposition is working for a "Kuwaiti-style" constitutional monarchy where the people will have a greater say in running their affairs, adding that the protests are also aimed at preventing Kuwait from sliding back into "an absolute monarchy."
"There is a real fear among Kuwaitis that their country could become like the rest of their Gulf neighbours which have no democracy and (political) freedom," he said.
Dipetik dari - AFP
Menjelang kemuncak haji
- Jemaah paling ramai adalah dari Indonesia iaitu 200,000 orang.
- Projek pembangunan bernilai lebih 1.1 bilion riyal telah dilaksanakan di tiga bandar suci iaitu Mina, Muzdalifah dan Padang Arafah.
- Arab Saudi mengerahkan 25,700 anggota pertahanan awam, 6,600 kenderaan dan 18 helikopter untuk berkawal.
- Kira-kira 20,000 petugas kesihatan, 320 daripadanya doktor pakar ditugaskan bersama 80 buah ambulan besar dan 95 ambulan kecil untuk mengangkut pesakit ke pusat-pusat rawatan
- 300 tan air Zam-Zam akan dibekalkan setiap hari.
- Lebih 6 juta buku, filem, brosur dan pita rakaman akan diserahkan kepada jemaah dari Arab Saudi manakala 12 juta naskhah Al-Quran akan diberikan kepada jemaah luar negara.
- Pusat-pusat media menggunakan lebih 32 bahasa turut membantu menyediakan maklumat dan panduan untuk jemaah.
- Masjidil Haram mempunyai keluasan 368,000 meter persegi dan mampu menampung lebih 1.5 juta jemaah.
- Kapasiti tingkat bawahnya telah ditingkatkan tahun ini untuk menampung tambahan 300,000 jemaah dan kerja-kerja sedang dilaksanakan untuk memperbesarkannya.
Dipetik dari - Media Permata
Monday, October 22, 2012
Buddhist Terrorism: No Longer A Myth – OpEd
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui
Last week the Myanmar Post on its front page reported about a meeting of Karen Religious Protection Organization that was held on October 14 in Mae Baung Monastery, Pha-an. The meeting was attended by more than 100 Buddhists including the Chief Administrators from all the nine quarters except the two from the Pha-an Township.
Under ordinary circumstances such meetings should not have raised eyebrows of anyone except that the meeting highlighted what is wrong with the Burmese society these days. The so-called Protection Organization announced four sets of Rules epitomizing intolerance against the Muslims of Myanmar. Zwe Kapin Taung Abbot U Widaza announced the four rules: (1) Prohibiting selling and renting of Buddhist-owned houses, land, farming land, and orchard to Muslims of Myanmar; (2) Prohibiting Buddhist women to marry with Muslims; (3) Buddhists should patronize the Buddhist shops only; (4) Prohibiting Buddhists from allowing themselves to use their names from buying or renting Buddhist-owned houses, land, farming land, and orchard for Muslims. It was also announced that anyone who would disobey the above rules would be punished severely.
These Rules were distributed in the entire Pha-an town the next day after the meeting. It is worth noting here that just before that meeting Karen Prime Minister U Zaw Min had visited the Zwe Kapin Taung Abbot U Widaza. Copies of the Rules were sent to the Karen Prime Minister, Karen State Parliament Chairmen, Karen State Security and Border Affairs Ministry and other Government Officials. The publication of such bigotry-ridden announcement in the front page of a newspaper clearly shows that the so-called reform government of Thein Sein is not serious about peaceful coexistence of all religious communities, esp. when it comes to the Muslim community. Its kowtowing with the chauvinist and terrorist Buddhist monks only proves its hideous character.
Thanks to the smiling image of the Dalai Lama, for decades the West took little notice of Buddhist terrorism that has terrorized millions of people in the South and Southeast Asia where a sizable Buddhist population lives. This, in spite of the fact that half the Cham Muslim population in Cambodia was massacred, and half the Rohingya Muslims had to flee from their ancestral homes in Arakan (Rakhine) state of Myanmar for horrendous crimes of the Buddhist government and population against them. The Khmer Rouge, which killed millions, in Cambodia wanted a Buddhist state, with Norodom Sihanouk as the vicegerent of God and Buddha. Buddhist monks were also accused of inciting violence against Tamil Hindus and Muslims in Sri Lanka. In Thailand, violence against the Thai Muslims by Buddhist vigilantes is a recurring event. Nor should one forget the horrendous crimes of the Buddhist Japanese Army in places like Malaysia and Burma during Second World War against the Muslim populations there [note: Emperor Hirohito considered himself the head of all Buddhists and Taoists]. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims died because of policies that led to mass starvation in the occupied territories.
[The interested readers may like to read the book – Buddhist Warfare, co-edited by Michael Jerryson and Mark Juergensmeyer, Oxford University Press (2009), which examines Buddhist military action in Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.]
As I have noted earlier, ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims of Arakan, in particular, and religious persecution and intolerance against the Muslims of Burma, in general, have become a national project that is participated by all Buddhists inside Myanmar. So, the latest news above about the Karen Buddhists should not come as a surprise. During the military rule of the SPDC, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) – a government ally – was known for its unfathomable hate crimes and persecution of non-Buddhists, esp. Muslims.
In its May 2002 report, the Karen Human Rights Group had reported that when the DKBA formed [in 1994-95] they came and destroyed all the Muslim homes in the Papun district of the Karen State. They then forced Muslims to pay for and construct new Buddhist homes in places that once belonged to Muslims. The DKBA committed similar types of destructions of homes and mosques almost everywhere inside the Karen state.
A Muslim male from the Pa’an district was heard complaining, “When we built our mosque it was 50 or 60 feet [long]. It was very large. It was very big and had two floors. They [the DKBA] destroyed it. We felt very sorry when they destroyed our big worshipping place. They carried concrete and sand when they passed us sitting in front of our houses and swore, ‘Ma Aye Loh Ka La’ ['Indian mother f__ers']. They swore like that. They [DKBA soldiers] didn’t put their clothes on when the [Muslim] women went to carry water from the well. They made a lot of problems. They told us, ‘You don’t have a country. You can’t stay here; go to the Ka La country.’” He continued, “They built one pagoda in the middle of the village. They destroyed the mosque first and built a pagoda in place of the mosque. They destroyed it with a bulldozer and built a pagoda instead. They told us, ‘You have to worship our god first.’ Then our mosque teacher told them, ‘It doesn’t concern us.’ The religions are opposite. Then they said, ‘You can’t stay.’ … They built a Buddhist pagoda. That pagoda wasn’t our affair, but they forced us to carry bricks and sand for it. They made offerings to the Buddha and they ordered us to go and build it ourselves. We then told them that it did not concern us Muslims. They said, ‘No, you can’t stay.’ Then they asked for money for a donation at that very hour and second [immediately]. … They asked for 200,000 Kyat at four o’clock. They were going to kill us if we didn’t give it. There was one monk who said he had a sword, and that if he took it out he couldn’t put it back until he had killed someone. We were afraid of that. The village is a poor people’s village. We asked around here and there to find enough money until we got 200,000 Kyat, and we sent it to them.”
Another Muslim man was heard saying, “On Monday, April 10th 2000, in the evening, there were 500 Muslim houses in T’Kweh Po village to the east of the Salween River. It is to the east and south of Myaing Gyi Ngu [DKBA headquarters]. There is a DKBA camp beside it. They stay there. … They drove the religious scholars out of the mosque. They ploughed and destroyed the mosque with a big bulldozer. A lot of men, women and children were really upset and crying at that time. Then the DKBA leader Lieutenant Pya pointed a gun at the villagers’ heads and said, ‘Tomorrow you have to leave this village. I don’t want to see your faces here tomorrow. This place is not Ka La [Indian] country. The Ka La can’t stay here. The God that you worship is in my hand. You should learn that I am the God that you worship.’ They also ordered the villagers to be vegetarian and to make worship shelves [Buddhist home altars]. The last thing they said was, ‘Are you going to make worship shelves or will you leave this village?’ They demanded for the last time, ‘If you don’t want to leave this village and if you want to stay in this village you have to make a worship shelf and eat as vegetarians.’ They forced them like that. The villagers couldn’t abandon their religion, so they left the village and went to stay in another place. … They forced the Muslims from that village to build a pagoda. They forced them to carry sand and rocks and other things. They only forced the Muslims to do it. After they finished they asked, ‘Are you going to stay in this village and make offerings to the Buddha and eat as vegetarians?’ They asked them to do that. Then the villagers pleaded, ‘Don’t make us do that kind of thing and don’t make us worship like that.’ Then they [the DKBA officer] said, ‘You have requested to worship your religion freely so your religion is in my hands. You should know that your Allah is just me.’ So the villagers felt upset and left the village.”
Another Muslim was heard saying in 2001, “There is nothing in our village. The [DKBA] Army has built a barrack and an Army camp. They built their monastery. They took the land and the flat fields and now they work them for food. We had land and a flat field. We didn’t even have time to go and take the sugar cane and the paddy. They took it all. … There is a mosque in Shwegun village. The mosque is in front of the monastery. There are about 100 Muslim houses in front of the mosque. Those 100 houses were destroyed by a bulldozer. They couldn’t take all of their things. They couldn’t even take their pots and cups. They [DKBA] built a road there after they destroyed the houses. They hit and punched the people who went to go and take their pots and cups. They destroyed all the houses, pots and cups with a bulldozer and made their road. There were two Muslim schools which were also destroyed. … They could have made the road 100 feet wide, but they ploughed down everything, made the road in the middle and now they keep the area around it clear. They don’t allow people to make houses beside the road. They only did that to the place where the Muslim people live. They didn’t do it in any other places. This was in Shwegun at a place where there was no road. … Now they have to stay in other people’s houses. Some of them have made tents to stay in behind the road. They moved there and stay there. They went to stay beside other people’s houses. Some people who had money went to buy land outside [the village]. Some of them moved to Pa’an. The people without money just stayed like that. If they had relatives they just shared their rooms and lived with each other.”
Those Muslims in the Karen state of Burma (now Myanmar) faced hate crimes, religious persecution and coercion on a daily basis. They are fined 5,000 Kyat if they are caught eating meat, and 10,000 or 50,000 Kyat for each goat or cow they are caught slaughtering. They have been forbidden in some areas from even raising animals. Muslims are also fined for fishing. In one instance a Muslim man from T’Kweh Po village was fined by a monk who caught him fishing and then forced to worship the monk.
The KHRG Report quoted a Muslim saying, “We couldn’t find and catch fish in the river. We couldn’t breed chickens. We couldn’t raise animals. The DKBA forbade us. We couldn’t breed anything… We could only raise cows. It was because they [the DKBA] are vegetarian. For example, we went around to find fish in the nighttime and caught some fish. Their monk also went around by himself and if he could catch us he would hit us, punch us and order us to worship him. He didn’t look whether it was a man or a woman. He hit us and punched us and ordered us to worship him. We told him we are not his concern, our religion is Islam. Our Islam says that even if they hit us and kill us, we will worship only Islam. They hit us. For example, if we go and find fish and they catch us with one fish, they fine us 5,000 Kyat. We have to give it. They would have killed us if we didn’t give it. We couldn’t bear this anymore so we came to this side [to the refugee camp].”
Another Muslim was heard saying, “The other thing was that they forced the Muslims who stayed there [T'Kweh Po village] to become vegetarian. Since that time [in 2000], if they saw any people eating animals or if they saw anyone kill a cow, they fined them 100,000 Kyat. They fined anyone who killed a goat 50,000 Kyat. They threatened us. They are going to fine the Muslim people for every animal they eat. There are some villagers who face that kind of problem. There was one Muslim man who went to find fish. A monk arrested him and ordered him to worship him. He was fined 30,000 Kyat because he wouldn’t worship the monk.” [Note: Islam prohibits a Muslim from worshipping anyone but God the Almighty (Allah).]
The SPDC government was well aware of such regular incidents of violence and persecution of the vulnerable Muslims in the Karen state because most of such crimes were committed in front of their officers. They never punished those DKBA criminals who terrorized Muslim lives, nor did they punish the Buddhist monks for their bigotry. As a matter of fact, just as in the neighboring Thailand, Buddhist soldiers routinely carry out their duties undercover, as fully ordained monks armed with guns.
The Buddhist monks inside Myanmar have long been known for their sheer bigotry against the non-Buddhists. In Toungoo on May 16, 2001, a Muslim mosque teacher had his eyes cut out after he refused to worship the monks. He later died. On the same day a Muslim family was burned to death when their house was set on fire by the mob. As we have recently witnessed during lynching death of the ten Tablighi Muslims on June 3 of this year, the police simply stood by and did not held back the Buddhist mob.
The KHRG Report of 2002 also quoted a Muslim living in the Pegu Division, “The monks. They came in the daytime and entered the mosques and destroyed them. But the people [Muslims] there didn’t do anything against them to make them do it. We felt hurt. We felt hurt by the government. Why? Because the government is the administration, so why can’t they control this kind of problem?”
While a new government has come to power, claiming disingenuously to be reform minded to fool the world community, nothing has changed when it comes to hate crimes and religious persecution of the non-Buddhists inside Myanmar. The Buddhist-majority country of Myanmar continues to epitomize racism and bigotry. In this, it has no match in our time!
In recent months, since the massacre of Muslims in Arakan state of Myanmar, thousands of Buddhist monks have been seen marching in Myanmar’s major cities demanding forced eviction of Muslims from this Buddhist majority country. Their monasteries were not only used during the pogrom to store arms and ammunitions to kill Rohingya Muslims and burn their homes, they were even seen leading such raids. They have stopped humanitarian aids to reach Muslim victims of the latest pogrom. They have advised fellow Buddhists not to sell any food items so as to starve the Rohingya people to death. By condoning terrorism against others and participating in such acts, they have become terrorists themselves. Through such acts of intolerance, bigotry and hateful incitement, they have essentially soiled their religion.
Myanmar government wants to keep the Arakan state sealed from the outside world so that its latest genocidal campaign against the Rohingyas can be hidden from public scrutiny. The lucky few foreign journalists who had visited the troubled area in recent weeks were closely monitored and couldn’t conduct their investigations of the latest pogrom freely. Nor does the regime want the presence of international NGOs and human rights groups to provide humanitarian aids to reach the Rohingya victims or monitor the region. Instead, it is stage managing protests by racist monks and their partners in crime – the marauding blood-thirsty Buddhists both inside and outside Arakan – against efforts by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), world’s largest Islamic body, to help Rohingya Muslims.
The monks denounced plans by the 57-member organization to set up a liaison office in northwest Rakhine state. Just hours after the monks dispersed, President Thein Sein’s office announced it would not permit an OIC representation in Myanmar. “The government will not allow the opening of an OIC office as it is not in accordance with the desire of people,” said a statement posted on its website.
The monks were joined by ordinary citizens in Yangon and Mandalay. Some carried placards with the words “get out OIC”, and “no OIC” and said they would hold demonstrations until the government agreed to their demands.
There is little doubt that the entire Buddhist population is playing its criminal role as active participants in this latest campaign to ethnically cleanse the Rohingya Muslims. In a report in August, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said it had found evidence of “state-sponsored persecution and discrimination” against the Rohingyas in the weeks after the violence. The latest announcement from Thein Sein’s office gives further credence to the government cover-ups and its evil plan.
It is high time that the U.N. takes a serious look at what is going on inside Myanmar and stops the criminal regime and its partners for crimes against humanity. Silence of the UN on this matter would be a grave sin and is simply criminal.
Dipetik dari - Eurasia Review
Whither Cambodia’s Monarchy? – Analysis
By Parameswaran Ponnudurai
Ex-king Norodom Sihanouk's death raises questions about the future of the country's royal institution.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen may have acquired from ex-king Norodom Sihanouk some shrewd political skills that have made him Southeast Asia’s longest serving leader today. But now that the charismatic ruler is dead, will the powerful Hun Sen deftly move to dismantle the monarchy to further shore up his position?
This question is obviously in the minds of Cambodians as they mourn the death of Sihanouk, who succumbed to a heart attack this week in his "second home" Beijing while undergoing treatment for cancer.
When he was on the throne, Sihanouk had often clashed with Hun Sen. Their relationship was a rocky one, especially after 1997 when the tough Hun Sen began dominating power in Cambodia and undercut Sihanouk’s influence.
Though Sihanouk cited old age and health problems when he abdicated the throne—for the second and final time—in 2004 in favor of his son Norodom Sihamoni, many believe one of the reasons for his stepping down was his fear that Hun Sen would dismantle the monarchy if they continued to quarrel.
With Sihanouk out of the throne, the monarchy in Cambodia wielded no real power over the last eight years. But it remains a significant institution due to the reverence Cambodians give to the royal family, experts say.
The 59-year-old King Sihamoni, a one-time ballet dancer and cultural ambassador, is seen as completely apolitical and has given little problems to Hun Sen or his senior officials, raising expectations that the 60-year-old prime minister, who has said he will remain in power for another decade, will keep the monarch.
"There is no reason to expect that Hun Sen will act against the monarchy in its present form, despite his occasional highly critical comments on some members of the Cambodian royal family," said Milton Osborne, a Southeast Asian expert at the Lowy Institute, an international policy think tank in Sydney, Australia.
"King Sihamoni has followed a strictly correct role as king without any hint of involvement in political issues. He is relatively young and in good health, and could remain on the throne for many years to come," Osborne said in a blog post.
No threat
King Sihamoni is unmarried and has no children but this does not threaten the succession because Cambodia’s constitution provides for an elective monarchy drawn from descendants of the 19th century monarch, King Ang Duang, said Osborne, who has written an unauthorized biography Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness.
Even though hundreds of thousands of Cambodians lined the streets to pay respects to Sihanouk when his body was flown in Wednesday from Beijing, Osborne points out that the bulk of the population has no personal memory of the "golden" years of the mercurial ex-king and independence hero who helped steer Cambodia through five decades of war, genocide, and disorder.
This could change their perception of the monarchy, he said.
"I think there is a genuine adherence to the monarchy, particularly in the peasantry who see the king still as a very special figure, almost divine to some extent. But in fact the majority of Cambodians have grown up without a powerful monarch in the palace in Phnom Penh and I think that does change the way people look at the institution."
Still, Hun Sen did not take any chances.
Knowing well that Sihanouk was revered at home, the prime minister wasted little time before displaying his affection to the late "King-Father" upon his death.
On learning that the monarch had died in the Chinese capital, Hun Sen immediately flew to Beijing with King Sihamoni to escort his body home.
Then, on returning to Phnom Penh with Sihanouk’s body, Hun Sen accompanied the casket as it weaved through the streets of Phnom Penh on a golden float.
Hun Sen also made sure that Sihanouk received a lavish state funeral.
He declared a week of mourning and ordered that the charismatic leader’s body lie in state at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh for three months during which time the public can pay respects before it is cremated according to Buddhist ritual.
Even stronger
Some believe Hun Sen, who has been at the helm of Cambodian politics for more than three decades and whose administration is often accused of suppressing political freedoms and mistreatment of rights campaigners, will emerge even stronger after Sihanouk’s death.
"This is a new era for Hun Sen," Lao Moung Hay, a former civil servant and professor of law and economics, told the New York Times. "There is no force to restrain him anymore—there are risks for the country."
Prince Sisowath Thomico, King Sihanouk’s longtime private secretary and nephew, told the paper that some Cambodians were worried and afraid after Sihanouk’s death.
"He had such charisma," the prince said. "And now there will be a kind of hiatus. The people of Cambodia will have to wait for the next person who will have that same moral authority."
While Sihanouk may have been a consummate politician and had survived political maneuvering during the bloody Vietnam War and Pol Pot’s murderous Khmer Rouge regime, he is being blamed by some quarters for the extensive powers that have been accumulated by Hun Sen today.
"Not noted in many [of Sihanouk’s] obituaries, however, is one important point," said Joshua Kurlantzick, a Southeast Asian expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"At several times during his reign, Sihanouk made noises about opening Cambodia up to true multiparty democracy, but he never could really do so, preferring instead to keep all parties under the thumb of himself and the royalist establishment," Kurlantzick said.
He acknowledged that at times, Sihanouk’s beneficent monarchical style proved effective—in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s, "he made many judicious and foresighted decisions for his country."
"But though he is hardly the only one to blame for Cambodia’s current political state, his inability to ever move beyond his patrician, monarchical, and authoritarian style left a legacy of big man rule that Hun Sen, for years Sihanouk’s antagonist, has readily adopted."
"Today, in fact, the true heir of Sihanouk is not his son Sihamoni, who sits on a far less valuable throne, but rather Hun Sen, who controls Cambodia the way Sihanouk once did."
Dipetik dari - Eurasia Review
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)