Lest We Forget

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullah hi wabarakatuh,

BismillahirRahmanirRahim,

Peace be upon the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.,

In all humbleness, I seek forgiveness from all my friends in the blogging world and as well to any visitors to my blog. I honestly do not think I have the right to write what my heart wants me to, but feel compelled to do so.

All praises to Allah s.w.t., for what was thought by many impossible to achieve, has been achieved. It has been a hard fought battle for all and though many are overjoyed, there are many who are wary of the victory, and yet many more who are feeling the strain of the battle. For those who feel the need to celebrate, please do so but within the constrains of Islam. But as you do so, please remember, this was only a battle and that there is still a war waging. And remember too, that this battle we won today was not fought over 4 long years previous to this day, or 9 since the 1999 General Elections; this victory achieved today was fought for since before Merdeka Day in August, 1957. This was foremost a victory to free the minds of Malaysians from the yoke of colonialism by not only the European powers who were here long ago, but also the colonialism of UMNO and their allies. And remember again please, this was just a step towards the removal of a hurdle, and that there many more - either in wait or thrown in - in the days to come; Do not be overzealous with this victory, nor in the pursuit of another.

For those elected - and as a reminder to myself and everyone - I put here words of Khalifah Abu Bakar (r.a.) soon after he was elected "I have been elected your Ameer, although I am not better than you. Help me if I am in the right; and set me right, if I am in the wrong".

At the same time, I put here an entry taken from Ustaz Zaharuddin (mohon izin Ustaz).


Wassalamu'alaikum warahmatullah hi wabarakatuh.

Tahniah Bagi Mereka Yang

Menang & Peringatan

Oleh

Zaharuddin Abd Rahman

www.zaharuddin.net

Alhamdulillah, keputusan pilihanraya sudah keluar dan masing-masing sudah mengetahui keputusannya. Ada yang menang dan ada yang tewas. Banyak juga keputusan yang di luar dugaan.

Saya menulis tulisan ringkas ini sebagai nasihat kepada mereka yang menang, terutamanya yang BARU menang. Bagi mereka yang sudah lama menang dan menang lagi nasihat yang sama terpakai Cuma ia lebih kuat ditujukan kepada yang baru menang, kerana cabaran dalamannya mungkin lebih besar.

Allh swt telah mengingatkan kita berkenaan ujian yang diberikan datang dalam dua bentuk. Iaitu susah dan senang :-

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ وَنَبْلُوكُم بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ

Ertinya : Tiap-tiap yang berjiwa akan merasakan mati. Kami akan menguji kamu dengan keburukan dan kebaikan sebagai cobaan (yang sebenar-benarnya). Dan hanya kepada Kami lah kamu dikembalikan. ( Al-Anbiya : 35 )

Secara jelas Allah menyebut ujian dengan kebaikan. Maka kemenangan adalah satu bentuk ujian yang amat hebat malah lebih hebat dari yang kalah. Sebagaimana ujian kekayaan sentiasa mampu menjauhkan individu dari Allah dalam pelbagai bentuk.

Justeru, bagi mereka yang pertama kali mendapat kuasa pemerintahan di negeri-negeri tertentu. Cabaran ini pastinya besar. Cabaran membahagikan jawatan, gaji, kuasa penentu aliran kewangan dan pengaruh kerap akan ‘mencederakan' dalaman dan kekuatan perjuangan yang dilaungkan.

Jangan dan Jangan

Kerana itu, secara ringkasnya ingin saya menasihatkan semua yang baru mendapat kedudukan dengan nasihat ringaks berikut : -

"janganlah ada yang mendabik dada bahawa dialah sebab dan punca kemenangan kerana semuanya kemenangan anda datang dari Allah samada untuk menaikkan kedudukan seseorang di sisi Allah atau menjatuhkan kedudukan di sisiNya."

Firman Allah swt :-

فَأَمَّا الْإِنسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ

Ertinya : Adapun manusia apabila Tuhannya mengujinya lalu dimuliakan-Nya dan diberi-Nya kesenangan, maka dia berkata: ""Tuhanku telah memuliakanku' Adapun bila Tuhannya mengujinya lalu membatasi rezekinya maka dia berkata: ""Tuhanku menghinakanku ( Al-Fajr : 15-16)

"janganlah kerusi ‘leather' empuk yang baru diperoleh melupakan anda dengan perjuangan asal"

"jangan kerusi bertanda ADUN atau ahli parlimen, atau Menteri atau exco menyebabkan diri tertipu sehingga terjebak dalam penggunaan kuasa secara salah, perolehan harta secara salah"

"janganlah gelaran YB dan lain-lain gelaran baru menyebabkan anda bertukar sifat dan kelakuan dari peramah dan berjiwa masyarakat kepada berjiwa syaitan yang angkuh dan sombong"

"janganlah pejabat baru yang canggih dan cantik yang sebelum ini tidak pernah dimasuki menjadikan diri terlupa dengan amanah yang digalas di dunia dan akhirat.."

Ya Allah, sesungguhnya ujian sebegini amat besar dan mudah menggoda kecuali bagi mereka yang sentiasa beringat-ingat tentang akhiratnya.

Jawatankuasa Hisbah Pastikan Ketepatan

Dalam sistem ekonomi Islam, jawatankuasa hisbah perlu dilantik bagi memantau perkara ini dari berlaku dalam sesebuah kepimpinan. Setiap perbelanjaan ke luar Negara jangan berboros dan demikian juga perbelanjaan yang lain. Jangan ditiru ‘trend' penggunaan kuasa dan harta yang ada di keliling kita, kerana apa yang buruk tidak boleh sama sekali dijadikan contoh.

Rakyat di sekeliling pasti akan memantau tindak tanduk kerajaan pusat dan kerajaan-kerajaan negeri baru dengan mata terbuka dan minda jelas. Janji dan dasar perjuangan anti rasuah dan lain-lain akan ditagih.

Bagi kumpulan yang memperjuangkan Islam yang menang di negeri-negeri baru, Saya amat harap mereka serius dalam membersihkan akaun, pendapatan dan perbelanajaan kerajaan negeri dari riba. Gunakanlah khidmat perbankan Islam yang ada agar keberkatan bertambah walaupun masih terdapat perdebatan dalam beberap akonsep yang digunakan. Ia jauh lebih baik dari konvensional yang haram riba secara sepakat ulama sedunia.

Tugas Rakyat

Teruskan menegur dengan hemah setiap kesilapan yang dilakukan agar semua yang menang sentiasa berada di landasan yang betul. Sabda Nabi :-

إذا أَرَادَ الله بِالْأَمِيرِ خَيْرًا جَعَلَ له وَزِيرَ صِدْقٍ إن نَسِيَ ذَكَّرَهُ وَإِنْ ذَكَرَ أَعَانَهُ وإذا أَرَادَ الله بِهِ غير ذلك جَعَلَ له وَزِيرَ سُوءٍ إن نَسِيَ لم يُذَكِّرْهُ وَإِنْ ذَكَرَ لم يُعِنْهُ

Ertinya : "Apabila Allah inginkan bagi seseorang pemimpin itu kebaikan, akan dijadikan baginya menteri-menteri ( pegawai-pegawai) yang amanah, apabila pemimpin terlupa ia akan mengingatkan dan apabila pemimpin telah ingat, ia akan membantunya. Apabila Allah menginginkan kecelakaan bagi mereka, dijadikan baginya pemimpin yang jahat, apabila mereka lupa, tidak akan diingatkan dan di ketika mereka inagt, tidak akan dibantunya mereka (laksanakan tugas)" ( Riwayat Abu Daud, 3/131 ; Ibn Hibban ; Al-Bazzar , Al-Haithami : Perawi Bazzar sohih, Majma Az-Zawaid)

Sekadar itu dulu bagi nasihat awal buat semua yang menang.

Sekian

Zaharuddin Abd Rahman

http://www.zaharuddin.net/

9 Mac 08

9.25 pagi.

Entry carried forward...Year of The Rat!

I came back last night around 11.30, but was just plain too tired and sleepy to continue off where I left. A dear friend, MB, had called me after Isyak last night asking me to meet him. Since his voice sounded rather urgent, I decided to check out what was the matter. Turned out to be it was nothing much really, just that MB and wife just wanted to meet me over dinner, and took me to a new Chinese Muslim restaurant in Kelana Jaya. Except, for the week and more before this, I have managed to skip dinner, having a very light meal instead. But it would be impolite to do so last night, and I enjoyed myself a meal of Ramen with Lamb Roast, which I think is a surprise inclusion in a Chinese restaurant menu as none of my Chinese friends eats lamb. But there we were, enjoying ourselves.

Should you ever venture to Kelana Jaya in Petaling Jaya, I would recommend this restaurant. It has a friendly atmosphere with easy parking (at night) and a bounty of food and drinks to choose. The Ramen I had, which was a huge serving served in an equally huge bowl, had a price tag of RM7.50++ only. Considering some eateries now charge RM4.00 for a medium size bowl, I would think the meal I had was inexpensive. Further, perhaps because it is still new, the staff were surprisingly obliging on 2 occasions:
1. The staff had recommended i try Red Bean Milk Shake but instead sent Iced Lemon Tea. Since the colour of the latter was somewhat reddish, and the fact that I did not look proper, I began drinking. When I realised the mistake, I pointed it out to the staff, who promptly sent the correct order and had the house take the mistaken tab - free of charge!
2. MB's order of Rice with Beef Szechuan, tasted too much like lamb to him and he just could not continue. But the house were again obliging, changing the order to another which is more palatable to MB. Again, with no extra charge!
These, and I am sure you would agree with me, is something you rarely find today - the want to serve to customers satisfaction. And were I the one paying the bill, I would certainly not mind tipping the staff, which I think MB did too, as they certainly made up for the service which was a mite too slow. So, if ever you find yourself in Kelana Jaya looking for a meal with nice decor and decently priced menu, I would recommend 'Aladdin'.

By the time I got back, I was just too tired and sleepy to continue writing. Apart from rushing to several places earlier in the day, my leg - again! - was throbbing in pain (apart from the throb in my heart, that is). And early this morning, while the world tried hard to stay sober, Wak and I were making our rounds again to continue off where we left off yesterday.

Today - perhaps after the Lady Doctor had explained what a tandu is - lady luck was with us as we managed to secure 4 interviews within a space of 7 hours! That's not bad when you considered pre and post interview set-up, the interview itself, traveling and the short breaks we had in between. Though there were only about 5 questions asked to each person, you have to bear in mind that they are political personalities with many thoughts to share: Tn Syed Shahrir of MTUC, YB Ng Suee Lim of DUN Sekinchan, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, and saudara Lee Khai Loon of Youth4Change! They were each friendly and open during the pre and post stages, making the interviews a pleasant thing indeed! And if ever you want to watch a Javanese-speaking Chinese YB, do make a special effort to watch YB Ng. I do find him a small delight to watch but fear due to time constraint, webtv8 will be editing a significant portion from each person's time...sigh.

Ok, while I was jabbering one way, my mind was going the other - I still could not accept what tandu meant, and was more or less like that cat there trying to solve the Rubic's Cube puzzle. The lovely Lady Doctor had kindly explained it to me via a text message late last night and it somehow does not make sense. But one would be a great fool to ever question a lady who is not only great in looks, but also a Doctor at that! Then suddenly tonight, I saw Pak Mior's comment confirming the meaning of tandu as explained in the Lady Doctor's text below:
"Royalties usually sit in or on it, while being carried by their servants during travels." Hmm...pretty smart lady this Doctor. She also seem to concur with me that there is a hairline fracture or two somewhere around my ankle which would explain why the swelling has not subsided totally since November 10. Perhaps, I would be wiser to see a doctor friend in Putrajaya Hospital. Hmm...that's a delightful thought.

Anyway, the new year has begun. With it, perhaps, I should rethink and have another look at the priorities in my life. Could it, insyAllah, bring about a catalyst that would lead to...a whole new world?

Together, let us hope and pray for the best. For, though we may plan, none is a greater planner than Allah s.w.t., and only He knows best.

UPDATE 9.48pm
Since kerp had wanted directions to Aladdin, I have scanned and uploaded the restaurant's tissue packing. Its quite easy to find, just make sure you take the first left from where ever you are, and continue doing so all the way. I'm kidding, off course.