Monday, April 14, 2008

A Man Deserving of Respect.

There are many men in this present time who is deserving of respect - those whose name are well known, and those who are not. For those whose name are well known, a great majority may hold them in great esteem, while a small few may view them in contempt, perhaps due to some misunderstanding on issues which or may not be personal. These men deserving of respect, are known to the public by name and by sight, with their pictures perhaps flashed in the media regular enough to be recognised.

For those men whose names are not well known however, only the lucky few may know them and their true story. We may see them often, but we do not know them. They may be the stranger we pass by everyday on our way to work - the old man sitting on a public bench; the old woman who walk the distance from her house to the morning market; the akak who vacuums the office carpet every morning; the abang who returns home every morning after his 2nd daily job as a jaga; and even the young man who works as a roadside cobbler, having have to quit school early due to his family's financial situation.

Though this entry is not about the latter - the old man and woman, the abang and akak, and the young man mentioned above - I include them in the introduction to remind myself of them, and a verse from the Holy Quran: Truly the noblest among you in the sight of God is the most righteous among you (atqakurn). 49:13; this entry is about a man who shot to fame recently. Personally, I do not know him at all though I was fortunate to have met him in the most ironic of circumstance, a time of sadness when my mother's elder brother, Arwah Mohd Nor Jetti, passed away.

As I have related in my entry at that time, I had sent text messages of the sad news to many members of the family as well as friends, including people whom I know knew my arwah uncle personally. The message was sent without much thought but for the news itself, and I had not expected this recipient to come. But when he did, I was greatly surprised and greeted him with the respect I have for him since many years before.

Back in 1995, this man stood his grounds against one of Malaysia's most infamous politicians, and was sent to jail. Unlike the Black14 incident which led to DSAI's incarceration and shouts of 'reformasi' echoing throughout the country, very few people stood up for the injustice that was delivered to this man. Sadly, perhaps very few people cared then, blinded by the difference in skin colour, the same blind that caused them not to think that this man stood up for one of their own - a 15year old girl of the same skin colour as them. This man, a man of different skin colour and religious belief, was sent to an 18months imprisonment for the brave stand he took against the head of a State Government! Since then, began my burning hatred towards the hypocrites in ameno and their allies in BN.

But Allah s.w.t. is Most Kind, Most Fair, and Most Merciful towards His downtrodden servants, even if they have yet to acknowledge Him as the One God, and the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. as His messenger. In March 2008, this man who was unjustly imprisoned, became the Chief Minister of Penang. This entry was prompted by the email I received below, and would like to share with my friends here. I would like to think the email as true, as a similar report was written here.

May Allah grant him hidayah to be a Muslim and a Mukmin. May Allah s.w.t. grant us hidayah to be a Mukmin.


From: MUHAMMAD FAUZY BIN MUHAMMAD HIFFNY
Subject: Antara Sayyidina Umar Abdul Aziz & Lim Guan Eng

Cerita menarik yang saya perolehi dari sahabat2 di Kedah dan
Penang ...

Baru-baru ini Guan Eng (Ketua Menteri Penang) turun dan bertemu
rakyat. Dalam ucapannya, dia kata dia nak jadi macam khalifah Umar
Abdul Aziz.

Seorang AJK Dewan Ulama' yang turut hadir berkata (dalam
hati), "Paklong ni dia hanya pandai sebut Umar Abd Aziz. Dia bukan
tau siapa dia Umar sebenarnya. Dia pakai sebut ja kot..."

Tak semena2, Guan Eng meneruskan ucapannya dan sepanjang ucapan itu
dia hanya bercerita kisah kehebatan Umar Abd Aziz. Umar tak ambil
duit rakyat. Umar pulang balik peruntukan kerajaan kepada dia. Umar
padam lampu kerajaan kerana anak dia datang nak tanya urusan
peribadi dan berbagai2 lagi.

Dan Guan Eng kata, sejak sekian lama, Umar Abd Aziz menjadi
idolanya. Dan dia berazam nak jadi pemimpin macam Umar. "Kini saya
sudah jadi Ketua Menteri dan saya berazam akan mengotakan janji saya
untuk menjadi Umar Abd Aziz."

Untuk pengetahuan, Guan Eng tak duduk rumah rasmi Ketua Menteri dan
dia tak ada rumah sendiri. Dia menumpang di rumah bapanya. Bila Mohd
Sabu tanya kenapa tak duduk di rumah rasmi, dia kata, untuk masuk
rumah tu, ia perlu di renovate. Kosnya sekitar RM 300,000.00. Saya
tak rela duit rakyat dibazirkan untuk kediaman seorang ketua
menteri....

Balik semula kpd kisah tadi... Dalam sessi soal jawab, ada seorang
hadirin tanya: Mana tuan tahu kisah Umar Abd Aziz ni. Orang Islampun
ramai yang tak tahu.... Guan Eng jawab, dulu semasa saya di penjara,
antara orang yang kerap mengunjungi saya ialah Dato' Fadhil Noor (Al
Marhum Presiden PAS). Dan dialah yang membekalkan kepada saya buku2
berkaitan Islam, termasuk satu buku tentang Umar Abd Aziz. Bermula
dari situ saya kenal tokoh yang hebat ini.....

Bagaimana kita orang Islam?....

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Bodoh betul la Guan Eng ni. Orang jadi lah macam Saidina mahathir Ibn Koyakutty, tak cukup Seri Perdana buruk dia buat yang baru dengan harga beratus-ratus juta untuk dia bergolek-golek sini sana.

Jadilah macam Saidina Abdullah Ibn Albadawi yang belanja puluhan juta untuk renovatekan istana yang masih baru tu. Mungkin untuk samak najis2 koyakuty kot?

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

i am amazed. admittedly, i myself never heard much of Khalifah Umar Abd Aziz, or simply put it, didnt bother to learn more about him. malu je...

another amazing thing is now only we know how concern arwah Ustaz Fadhil was, even towards his chinese comrades. when he was accused of being the opposite, he was in fact totally the opposite. i was privileged enough though, to get to learn a lot about arwah from a kedahan friend who has been a resident of Anak Bukit all his life.

so anywya, on the earlier part of this entry, i've got this to say; "Even if that one person is not a somebody, does not mean he's a nobody". believe it or not shah, i took this wise words from a sitcom!

muteaudio said...

kerpov,
I was born in Anak Bukit. Maybe I kenal this frined of yours

Anonymous said...

salam shah,
hmm...apa ye? sungguh tak terkata saya.
tergelak kat komen chegu ada la!
i guess, we do learn something here. kuasa dan kekayaan itu satu dugaan, bukan rezeki semata-mata?

jaflam said...

Salam Cakapaje,
There is so much greatness in every aspects of life in Islam but unfortunately many the so called Muslims did not follow them. Worst still the Muslim leaders propagate lifestyle that does not reflect good Muslim and lead the Rakyat astray.

We prayed that Guan Eng if he is truthful to his words and action will be given the Hidayah Allah.

cakapaje said...

Salam Cikgu,

Lol! Those 2 are not deserving to be khalifah at all!

cakapaje said...

Salam kerpie,

Well, too is about the same :) Guess its time we read slightly more. After all, its only a click away.

Regarding Almarhum Ustaz Fadhil, there is so much about him many do not know. A friend mentioned that he was actually one of the most intelligent man in Malaysia with greater vision than many.

Bro, the way I look at some sitcoms, they now try to bring messages across, though many times too subtle to be noticed.

cakapaje said...

Salam Mute,

You, an anak Anak Bukit! Holy Bukit! :)

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Accia,

Kuasa dan kekayaan itu, pada yang saya dah baca, merupakan satu tanggungjawab dan bebam yang berat untuk mereka yang mengetahuinya. Kalau dahulu saya bercita cita untuk menjadi orang besar, kini saya cuba larikan diri. Tapi kuasa Allah dan hendakNya, makin kita menjauhkan diri, makin ia - duniawi - mendekati.

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Dato',

How true are your words, though reflecting on it only bring sadness.

InsyAllah, if he is true to his words, Allah will grant him - and others similar - the hidayah.

baez-kun said...

“Those whom Allah wills to guide, He opens their breast to Islam. Those whom He wills to leave straying, He makes their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies; thus does Allah lay abomination on those who refuse to believe.” (6:125)

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

tumpang lalu boss...

mute,

nama kawan tu Akrom. bekas pelajar KSAH.

cakapaje said...

Salam baez-kun,

Jzkk. That's a most apt verse you quoted :)

cakapaje said...

Kerpie,

Tol kena bayaq brother! Teh tarik bila? :)

tokasid said...

Salam Shah:

I have met Guan Eng several tiesWhile he was MP for Kota elaka and while he was not. At a personal level,Guan Eng is a very humble guy,very down to earth.
Am not suprise with Arwah Ust Sahzil Noor giving books to Guan Eng.

My only hpe is ALLAh showers His hidayah to Guan Eng and others like him sooner or later.

Kerp: Kawan hang budak KSAH? Must be my super-super junior.

Fatin said...

Assalamualaikum,

Hidayah ALLAH dah sampai dah kat YB Lim. Umar Abdul Aziz itu seorang muslim yang sentiasa mengikut sunnah Nabi Muhammad (saw). Dengan mengikuti sunnah Umar Abdul Aziz bermakna YB Lim sebenarnya mengikuti sunnah Rasulullah (saw). Ada ulama' pernah sebut bahawa hidayah senang untuk diterima apabila seseorang itu mengikuti sunnah nabi, contohnya mereka bagi sebab para sihir di bawah Firaun yang disebut dalam Quran senang untuk menerima hidayah ALLAH kerana salah satu faktornya adalah cuba untuk meniru pakaian, gerak geri dan cara 'sihir' Nabi Musa (as). ALLAHU'alam.

Kalau YB Lim minat Umar Abdul Aziz, dia insyaALLAH akan lebih kagum dengan datuknya, Umar al-Khattab (ra) yang Nabi (saw) pernah sebut bahawa sekiranya ada lagi nabi selepas saya, nescaya Umar al-Khattab lah orangnya. Khalifah Umar (ra) adalah pemimpin yang terulung selepas Nabi Muhammad (saw). Cara pentadbirannya memang dikagumi khususnya dalam urusan baitulmal, pemodenan infrastruktur dan keprihatinannya terhadap rakyatnya sehingga sanggup berlapar sampai jatuh sakit ketika tanah Arab dilanda kemarau dan sentiasa berjalan seorang diri di tengah malam untuk mendengar rintihan rakyatnya.

Kalau ada peluang (insyaALLAH awak semua lebih senang untuk mendekati dia daripada saya), bagilah YB Lim baca kisah Khalifah Umar al-Khattab. Bagitau dia bahawa Khalifah Umar al-Khattab adalah datuk kepada Umar Abdul Aziz, insyaALLAH dia akan berminat. InsyaALLAH kisah bagaimana Khalifah Umar masuk Islam pasti akan menyentuh hatinya. Sama-sama kita doakan.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

shah,

teh tarik 3 gelas towards the end of May, together with cikgu and docTA.

doc,

yes, very much your junior. in fact, my closest cousin was a former KSAH student. spent his childhood days in Alor Star. even the late Tunku and drM were KSAH students, kan?

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Doc,

Yes, I believe Guan Eng to be a humble person though by his looks, he may be seen as someone stern.

InsyAllah, we pray that he be given Hidayah...and we too :)

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Fatin,

Fatin, you made a very good point there - many people, myself included, sometimes do get confused between the 2 Khalifah. Thank you for reminding me :)

The other thing, this is the first time I'm reading a Malay comment from you - its a surprising change :)

Pak Idrus said...

Shah, Recently in my Malacca home Tokasid and I had a marathon discussion session and one of the subjects we touch is about the ignorant of the ummah. The first revelation says Read [Surah 96]. So just read and accumulate knowledge. Have a nice day.

cakapaje said...

Salam Pak Idrus,

Thank you, insyAllah, I will follow your advice :)

Fatin said...

I didn't realise that I've written it in Malay. Probably cos I was reading that email about YB Lim written in Malay, so caught up the idea to write in Malay too. Anyway, alhamdulillah to be able to be a Malaysian - my first language is Mandarin (cos Malaysia still allows vernacular schools with my dialect at home is Hakka and later learned Cantonese through TV and Hokkien with friends), my second language is Malay (cos that's my national language or should I say my nation's language), my third language is English (that's why my government is sending me to UK to get improved) and insyaALLAH my fourth language should be Arabic in the near future (that's what Islam encourages me to do). So really, I am proud to be a Malaysian - mixed-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-faith, multi-lingual society yet one nation and I hope it will be one humanity in the future over-seeing the boundaries and identities as we are all equal in the eye of GOD who has created us.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.