INDEPENDENCE!! - independence for what purpose?

Wearing the Rain

I wear the rain like a dress,

And I drink the golden Sun

From a cup of love.

Whither the worry for tomorrow

When this day is not ended yet?

I wear the dusky sky

Like a bridal train 

Through the aisle of a church,

A mosque, a temple

And a synagogue.

Whither the sorrows for tomorrow

When this day is not ended yet?

................................ 

It is unfashionable to talk about submission. Not when the entire world is motivated towards independence, freedom of choice and individuality. 

In an exchange on Facebook on Malaysia's 56th independence day, a good friend asked me, "Are we really independent?" The question can be answered at many levels of course. The sovereignty of our country, and also the independence of our thoughts, words and actions, as a community and ultimately, as an individual. But to turn the question around, I began to ask myself, independence for what purpose? Freedom of choice and sovereignty to what end?

An ancient friend shared his two pennies worth and said that independence is only worthwhile when one uses one's independence on the path to submission to God. And this is regardless whether they are choices you make while grocery shopping, or as a diplomat in a multilateral summit on international trade. As a common man, minister or a King, we all have our decisions to ponder over.

I guess it is paradoxical... this independence in the path towards submission. But as God Himself revealed in the Holy Quran through divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.)... 

Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil 

and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. 

And Allah heareth and knoweth all things. (Quran 2:256, Yusuf Ali)

Something to think about, sunshine, on this wet Sunday here in Kuala Lumpur. So don't bother about tomorrow, it hasn't happened yet! 

He he he.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

MERDEKA POEM 2013 - Malaysia's 56th Birthday - A Country is an Idea - Zombie States - Our merdeka from our own ego

Merdeka! (with postscript)

If I appear to you ill-used, forgive me.

People have used me, used my name

And said "I am doing this thing

In her name and 

For her sake!"

I don't know what they are talking about!

If I appear to you confused, forgive me.

For people who live with me say one thing

And yet do another,

They talk of compassion, but only for themselves

And those like them,

They talk of progress, but they abuse me

And take me for granted,

They talk of God, but they show no mercy whatsoever,

Confusing information with knowledge,

Confusing knowledge with wisdom,

 Confusing tolerance for weakness...

If I appear to you lost, forgive me.

For how would you feel if people try

To disconnect you from your past?

From your own history,

From the testaments and pledges

That were made on your birthday?

Therefore, if I appear ill-used, use me well,

If I appear confused, end your own confusion,

If I appear lost, learn your own history,

And if ever anyone was unkind to you,

What can I say? I am very, very sorry.

For they do not represent me

No matter what you have been told.

I am Malaysia, 

And this month I shall be 56 years old.

.....................................

The Postscript

And even you would be hard-pressed

To look young and desirable at my age...

So have no fear,

Do not be depressed,

Quell your hate and your rage.

For the bumps and knocks that you feel

Are the bumps and knocks I also feel,

It is the opening of our new chapter,

The turning of a new page.

So Happy Birthday to you

And Happy Birthday to me!

..........................

My birthday. The picture is not colour, but the day was colourful!

Happy Birthday, you are 56! Come, 31st August, we are all 56 years old. We, meaning the 29 million people who live in Malaysia and call themselves Malaysians. Please excuse my poetic license as most people will point out that Malaysia was in fact born on 16th September 1963 when the states of Sabah and Sarawak joined the Federation of Malaya to create Malaysia. But ultimately, the genesis of Malaysia and Hari Malaysia (Malaysia Day, which we also celebrate) can be traced to the Hari Merdeka (Independence Day) on 31st August, 1957. So there.

I am an idea. Yours. 

We are (or should consider ourselves at least) 56 years old because we are born into a country that old. So our life has been moulded in the socia-economic, political and spiritual structure of the state, no matter how independent or free-spirited we may think we are. 

A Country is an Idea. As I reflect at the age of 56, like most people, death doesn't seem like such a distant event anymore. And for my country, I began to wonder about its mortality too. How many years more does Malaysia have left? One? Ten? Twenty? One Hundred? Unlike us humans, where death is inevitable and can be statistically determined, the life of a country can be extended for the foreseeable future, so long as human civilization exists. For a country is in fact a metaphysical entity, an idea. 

The Zombie States. And it can exist so long as people believe and work towards realizing that idea. For some countries, which are categorized by the media pundits as 'failed states' (Afghanistan, North Korea and Iraq spring to mind), they exist in a strange limbo between reality and ideal, where they are still members of the United Nation and retain some semblance of normal stately functions, but are in fact lifeless and soulless... The Walking Dead of Nations. Sad but true. 

I see many countries here. And I see a few more on life-support...

Our Educational & Ethical Deficit. No, I don't think my country has qualified to join the infamous troupe of zombie countries, yet. I think Malaysia still has some life in it, some soul and some ideals. But we gotta arrest our decline in our educational system. That is uber-important. And we also need to redress the professional and ethical deficit of all sectors of public and private life. Yes, the rot is not in the civil service alone, in some sense it is perpetuated and actively encouraged by the private sectors too. In this scenario, everyone who has taken or directly or indirectly benefited from a bribe, whether it is in the tens of millions of Ringgit Malaysia (our currency) or even for a mere RM10.00 is complicit in corruption. But as the saying goes, the fish rots from the head, so all the bosses and leaders must account for their actions and consider the country, the ideals that they are teaching their children and just what sort of future we are leaving for them.

This country , Papa... Did you make it better? Or did you make it worse?

Independence from Our Own Ego. My religion is Islam, my race is Malay, my nationality is Malaysian and ultimately, my species is human. So let us reach out towards one another in the spirit of Merdeka (independence)... to counter the hateful ideology of the ego, manifested in hubris, ugly nationalism, colonialism, corporate slavery and bigotry. For in my book, there is no merdeka more important than the independence from our own ego. And submission to the Love of God the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy.

This is what my Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) teaches me, sunshine. Otherwise, merdeka and independence just becomes a throw-away word with little meaning or life to it. 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Ramadhan is for Sinners (also)

Ramadhan is for Sinners
Life is full of odd ends and bits,
And odd men
With crooked ends
And straight bits,

I found myself coincidentally
With three examples tonight,
With many years of hard drugs,
Mischief and Misdemeanors
Between them.

How pleased I was to be with them,
Completing a quartet
Of sinning believers
And believing sinners.

In this holy month of Ramadhan
It is ours in favour and flavour,
For it is a month especially
Made by the Lord for sinners,

To abstain and to seek forgiveness,
Resting our weary spirit
From all of men’s wickedness.
…………………………

It was some eight years ago that I met Abdullah (not his real name), a gifted musician and Sufi of Hadramaut descent. He led a naughty life when he was younger, a drug-pusher who was not adverse to sampling his own product and being a right nuisance to the local enforcement force in his town, ending up an unwanted guest of the prison and drug rehabilitation facilities.

One day a doctor at the clinic asked him why he was in such a dire strait, being warded for drug overdose. Abdullah only smiled and replied, "It is better to be naughty now while I am young. I have seen old men with their drinking, drugs and womenising. I don't want to be like that. I will reform before that happens to me." The doctor looked surprised and said, "How do you know you will change?" Abdullah, without any doubt assured him, "Oh I am certain (yakin). Maximum by 40 years old I would be good and leave all the things which God forbids! Most probably around 30s. I am certain!"

Today Abdullah is contented, happily married with two kids. He doesn't smoke, he doesn't chase women anymore and he doesn't drink or take drugs. An almost boring pillar of the community, so thank God for his musical talent, humour and ready smile. I first met Abdullah in 2004 at the cusp of his change, the metamorphosis of a soul. But like the caterpillar shedding its skin to become a butterfly, the change in his life was natural, the unveiling of the true spirit after years of stasis.

A happy, hopeful story for a rainy day in Ramadhan, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Merdeka Poem 2012 - An Olympian Independence

Believe it or not, Olympians live in this small kampung house surrounded
by acres and acres of paddy fields.

An Olympic Independence

For the farmers in the paddy fields

Toiling under the burning Sun,

You are the Olympians,

For the constables doing your duty

With no thoughts of bribery,

You are the Olympians,

For the mothers bringing up

Your children with no husbands,

You are the Olympians,

For the salaried men commuting

3 hours a day to feed your family,

You are the Olympians,

For the leaders trying to make a change

In a political party diseased with hubris.

You are the Olympians,

For the inspiring teachers

Working on a paltry salary,

You are the Olympians,

For the civil servants who burn

The midnight oil while others leave early,

You are the Olympians,

For those who stand for what is right

And honour the old ways and traditions,

You are the Olympians,

For those who fight each day to

Protect our sovereignty,

You are the Olympians,

For those, right or wrong, left or right,

Who says, “This country deserves better!”

You are the Olympians,

For the Sultans of Adab,

For the Masters of Servanthood,

You are the Olympians.

……………………….

The London 2012 Olympics is here, and I guess many Malaysians kept awake into the wee hours of the morning to watch the opening ceremony which only started at 3.30am our time. Heche was one and sms-ed me commenting that the Queen 'looked cute'. Right. 

For Malaysia, or at least West Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak joined later), we too shall be celebrating something this month - our 55th Independence Day on the 31st August.

The newspaper and social medias are clogged up with the country's aspiration for gold medal(s) in the London Games. Well, all the of best luck to our athletes.

For me, I would like to congratulate the Malaysian Olympians who are in our midst already. The unsung and unheralded ordinary folks, who make life in Malaysia not only bearable but hopeful. I say this because if we were to believe everything we read in the media and social networks, whether pro-government or pro-opposition, things are, to put it bluntly, appalling. And with the muck-raking and dirty campaigns soon to come with the approaching General Election, Malaysians would be hard put to believe that we are actually 'okay'.

Of course, there is a lot to be done. And a lot to be improved. But don't worry too much. For I believe that you are not alone. As in all things, whether you are fighting to change or to preserve the same, it is Adab (good manners) that defines your agenda and who you truly are. And this is important whether we are independent or still a colony of the British Empire.

Thank you old chum. We will continue from here on. Now... where was I?
Oh yes... Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

Cheers, sunshine. Thank you for dropping in!

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

A Merdeka Poem - Malaysia's 54th Independence Day. Happy Birthday, Baby.

Happy Birthday, Baby.

hey, baby... happy 54th birthday. there is a bit of laughlines on your face and sometimes your eyes betray a sadness. but honestly, i cannot live without you... your moods and your many endearing manner still captivates my heart. There were some who said we won't be together for long, and how happy i am that we proved them wrong. i only hope that i will be given more time to get to know you better, and to be better for you, Malaysia.

To all Malaysians, Selamat Hari Merdeka! To everyone else, come and visit us!

Footnote II: Merdeka Poem 2012, 55th Hari Merdeka Click Here

wa min Allah at-taufiq.

Footnote I - Hari Malaysia 16/08/2011 Poem Here