2 Reminders and Media Statement

Just a reminder for 2 events and a Media Statement from Doctor Lo'lo'.

First, the Pesta Buku Selangor has begun at the PKNS Complex in Shah Alam. It was officiated earlier today by Puan Mastura, and end on August 3, 2009. For more info, please click here.

On a more serious note - not that the above is not - the Anti-ISA March this August 1, 2009; kindly refer here. Anyone who would like to read in depth the suffering of not only of those who are being held illegally by the stooges of BN, but also the suffering of the families who are left to fend for themselves and not knowing when the father of their children would be realsed, please read Puan Norlaila's account here.

It is interesting to note that a group calling themselves Pewaris and very much pro-ISA, have announced to march at exactly the same time and date mentioned. However, I do wonder if they - those so called supporters of ISA - know what they are getting themselves into, or what their real stand is. Clearly to me, they are there as provocation and nothing else, remembering the blundring oaf of a former Minister who is famous for his stammers and 'erection' (instead of election), who mentioned on live international TV "What if we, we, also march at the same time. C...can you imagine what would happen?" He was referring to the BERSIH March, which is famous to justice-seeking citizens of Malaysia, but infamous to the clowns who wants to keep Malaysia in their tight grips.

And what have the Police to say about this now? Nothing, not a single word! Perhaps they want to wait for a bloodbath to happen before joining in, on Prowaris side, undoubtedly. But enough of that.
With regards to model who has been sentenced to be caned by the Syariah Court in Kuantan, kindly read Doctor Lo'lo's Media Statement as below:

Kenyataan YB Dr. Lo’lo’ isu hukuman sebat ke atas pesalah minum arak untuk membetulkan kenyataan media.

Dari YB Titiwangsa, Doctor Lo'Lo',

Artikel Themalaysianinsider.com bertarikh 23/07/2009 dengan tajuk-tajuk berikut “Outrage Over Caning For Model” dan “Syariah Lawyers Association Regrets Shahrizat’s Statement On Whipping Of Model” adalah dirujuk. Di dalam kedua-dua artikel tersebut ada menyiarkan seperti berikut :

a) Titiwangsa MP Lo'lo Mohd Ghazali, who is also head of the women's wing of the opposition PAS, said that punishment should educate and not cause hurt.
b) Shahrizat said she was shocked by the Syariah Court decision and called for a fair and just punishment.

Meanwhile, Dr Lo'lo was surprised that whipping of women was sanctioned by the Malaysian syariah law adding punishment should be educational, and not to cause hurt.


Petang semalam saya telah dihubungi oleh wartawan meminta saya memberi sedikit komen berkaitan hukuman oleh Mahkamah Syariah Kuantan yang menjatuhkan hukuman sebat terhadap seorang model sambilan atas kesalahn meminum arak. Saya telah memberikan komen saya dengan sucihati megikut pengetahuan saya berkaitan hukuman dan realiti masyarakat Malaysia. Malangnya terdapat pihak-pihak yang melihat kenyataan di akhbar dari konteks yang lain.

Pertama, saya terkejut dengan hukuman yang dijatuhkan oleh Mahkamah Syariah Kuantan ke atas model tersebut. Memang saya terkejut kerana ada juga Mahkamah Syariah di Malaysia yang berupaya menghukum pesalah dengan hukuman sebegitu walaupun peruntukkan tersebut telah lama ada. Tetapi baru sekarang hukuman sebegitu dijatuhkan bagi pesalah kesalahan tersebut. Saya amat bersetuju dengan hukuman tersebut kerana sekurang-kurangnya hukuman tersebut begitu hampir dengan hukuman Hudud.

Di dalam Hudud, hukuman bagi pesalah minum arak adalah 40 kali sebatan malah ada ulamak yang mengatakan sehingga 80 kali sebatan. Sebelum ini tiada Mahkamah yang menjatuhkan hukuman sebegitu walau pun Mahkamah Syariah sepatutnya menghukum mengikut hukuman Allah tetapi di Malaysia ini hukuman yang dikenakan tidak seperti yang ditetapkan Allah dalam Al-Quran dan Sunnah Rasulullah S.A.W.

Apabila Mahkamah Syariah Kuantan menjatuhkan hukuman sebat ke atas model tersebut, ini membuatkan saya terkejut. Bukan terkejut kerana hukuman tetapi terkejut kerana keberanian Hakim Mahkamah Syariah tersebut. Syabas kepada beliau.

Kedua, saya mengatakan sebarang bentuk hukuman yang dikenakan samada denda, sebatan atau penjara, semuanya hendaklah dalam bentuk untuk memberi pengajaran kepada pesalah, bukannya untuk mendera atau menyebabkan kecederaan kepada pesalah. Hukuman di dalam Islam adalah untuk memberikan pengajaran kepada pesalah dan khalayak supaya menginsafi perbuatan itu.

Di dalam kes ini, saya berpendapat masyarakat umumnya masih tidak memahami kaedah bagaimana sebatan ke atas pesalah dilakukan. Adakah ianya dilakukan sama seperti pesalah-pesalah jenayah lain di dalam undang-undang jenayah sivil. Masyarakat umum mengetahui bagaimana hukuman sebat dilakukan ke atas pesalah jenayah sivil seperti di dalam kes pengedaran dadah, merogol, meliwat dan sebagainya.

Adakah hukuman sebat di Mahkamah Syariah dilakukan dengan kaedah yang sama? Inilah kebimbangan yang saya sebutkan kepada wartawan tersebut bimbang hukuman sebat ini dianggap sebagai hukuman Mahkamah Sivil sehingga memberi tanggapan buruk kepada Mahkamah Syariah, lebih-lebih lagi yang dihukum seorang wanita. Ini yang perlu diperjelaskan. Inilah maksud saya bila saya mengatakan hukuman sepatutnya untuk tujuan pengajaran, bukan untuk mendatangkan kecederaan. Saya merujuk kepada "Titiwangsa MP Lo'lo Mohd Ghazali, who is also head of the women's wing of the opposition PAS, said that punishment should educate and not cause hurt."

Artikel ini dengan jelas tidak tepat kerana saya bukan Ketua Muslimat PAS seperti yang didakwa. Justeru saya mengharapkan agar tiada pihak yang sewenang-wenangnya mempercayai sebarang tulisan di akhbar sebelum mendapat maklumat secukupnya. Saya kira sudah sampai masanya pihak berkuasa di Malaysia iaitu UMNO/BN “merotan” Pengurus MAS yang menyebabkan semua mereka yang berada dalam satu-satu penerbangan terlibat secara langsung dengan arak, iaitu dari pramugara/i yang hidang arak sehinggalah pilot yang mengemudi kapal terbang tersebut. Begitu juga perlu “disebat” pihak yang terbabit berpuluh-puluh tahun membiarkan orang-orang Islam terlibat secara langsung dengan arak di hotel-hotel, 7- Eleven, pasaraya-pasaraya dan pekerja-pekerja Islam di kilang Carlberg.

Akhir sekali, SYABAS KEPADA MAHKAMAH SYARIAH KUANTAN dan Syukur Alhamdulillah kepada Puan Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor yang telah menginsafi perbuatan tersebut. Moga Allah menerima taubat hambaNya yang menyesali kesalahan. DI SINI SAYA LONTARKAN PERSOALAN INI KEPADA SEMUA ORANG ISLAM DI MALAYSIA, SIAPAKAH YANG SEPATUTNYA DISEBAT DALAM ISU ARAK DI MALAYSIA??...

Book Review: A Muslim Journalist Dilema

Foremost, a confession: Of late, I seldom buy Malay books. Why? Don't ask me, its just the way it is. Take it or leave it. Then what made me buy this book and give it a review? Let me rephrase the reply on the first question first: I seldom buy Malay non-religious books. Full stop.

If one had been reading The English Section of Harakah print, Sunday editions, one would most probably have noticed LanH's column on the second last page of that section. If so, then one can expect the same tone and writing of this book as in the said column: non-acrimonious and non-vindictive, to the point of almost being non-committal and passive. I may sound rather harsh here for someone I have a deep respect for, but the truth is, LanH is writing about his experience as a Muslim Journalist throughout the 23years of his career as one. He is also writing in the form of a pious Muslim and hence, has put down any firebrand approach which may have the book branded as politically inclined. Political, yes. As the very nature of human management in any society is political (click here), but not politically inclined for any political party. Here, it should be noted that LanH produced this book on his personal accord and that his book had its first print in 2001. Off course, at that point of time, the person writing this review had just experience political awakening, still groping about in semi-darkness, and hardly knew LanH then. But time remedied the situation, insyAllah.

Reading through the book, many of the events LanH described can be seen in our everyday life. Thus, one may be forgiven to think "Hey! I know about this and that!". But the question is not what a person know, but what is the person doing about it?

As mentioned earlier, this book is non-acrimonious and non-vindictive, which may open one's mind to suggestions...not from the writer, but by one's inner self! LanH, after all, is sharing his experience and not trying to be anyone else but himself. Do purchase the book. If anything, it would encourage the writer to produce more. Besides, it does make a good read.

Excerpt below from LanH's blog:

****** Assalamualaikum wbt. Mulai 21 April 2009 penulis menyertakan isi kandungan buku ‘Dilema Seorang Wartawan Islam’ karya dan terbitan sendiri. Buku penulis ini terbuka untuk pembelian melalui pesanan pos. Harga asal RM12; kini dijual RM10 saja termasuk belanja pos dalam negara (Malaysia). Pesanan melalui pos boleh dibuat dengan mengirimkan wang pos atau kiriman wang RM10 kepada ROSLAN HAMID, 952-3 Batu 3, Jalan Muar Semabok, Melaka. Pembayaran melalui bank adalah melalui akaun Maybank bernombor 114011751218. Untuk maklumat, penulis (ROSLAN HAMID) menggunakan nama pena LanH pada kebanyakan artikel. Sekian, wassalam.

Sucaba-NabyaM: A Fiction Come True?

Been wanting to write this since last week itself. Somehow, I keep forgetting about it and was reminded only just now on reading a particular blogger.


One of the best thriller novels I ever read has to be 'If Tomorrow Comes' by Sidney Sheldon. Published some in 1986, it later on was produced as a TV mini-series. However, it has to be said that watching a movie or mini-series, is only half exciting as reading the book itself - any book which TV/Movie producers think is worthy of investment. To me its simply because when one read the book, one is transported into a different era, different world altogether, and that sometimes leave one grasping for air as though it is one himself either chasing or on the run.

Now, since the last time I read the book is almost 20years ago, I have forgotten quite a bit about the story. However, recent events brought the story, or a portion of it, to mind. I tried to google the portion, but found it rather cumbersome and hence, my own narration is as below. Perhaps, after reading it, one might find some uncanny semblance to the event mentioned.

Jeff, is a conman on the run from the Feds as well as the mob.

A professional thief, the Feds want him for pulling high stake heist on prominent people across the globe. He turned to the mob for protection, who in turn, wants something lucrative to come their way. Thus, Jeff promised them a gadget of sorts which would make them millions, if they provide him with the protection as well as a huge sum. The mob agreed, and Jeff played with time until he can figure out what the gadget would be. It did not take him long to make a story and named the gadget as Sucaba.

Running out of patience, the mob put pressure on Jeff and he decided to ask for a portion of the money upfront. The mob agrees but gave the dateline for the next day. That very night Jeff made a daring escape while leaving a box in his room marked as 'Sucaba'. The mob, while enraged by his absence, gleefully open the box only to find that the content is an ancient Chinese calculator!

Sucaba, when spelt backwards gives Abacus. To find out what NabyaM means, do read Tehsin here.

Fiction come true? You decide yourself.

Modern Day Valley of the Blind - Story Review.

While at the pharmacy buying emak's medicine just now, I found this leaflet of a story review. Though the title sounds very much like The Valley of the Blind by HG Wells, this story is supposedly a contemporary version.

In the original story, a one-eyed soldier stumbled upon a valley filled with blind people, i.e. people who are sightless, but not illiterate. In this modern day version, there is no soldier, but there is a valley filled with people who are not only sightless, but illiterate as well. Now, before anyone thinks differently, kindly note that the leaflet of this story is being distributed nationwide and will be published by Valley Fable Master Incorporated, and I am just an interested reader. Anyway, the parallel the 2 stories ends there as from that point onwards, the modern day version has 2 central characters, while the original had only one.

According to the Valley Fable Master, these 2 individuals with the strange names of Anw and Raj, have committed great sins to the citizens of a valley. And for that, the Puppet Doraemon Ringgit Mesia (something like the Gestapo-on-the-string, if I read it right), were directed to bring the 2 to justice. However, the sins committed by both individuals are rather contrasting; while Anw fought against a slander, Raj was accused of making one. But both are already judged guilty by the Unroyal Circus even before the Puppets could draw up the charges.

Another strange thing is that in both cases, 2 different substances with names sounding quite alike was used. While one was organic in nature, the other was synthetic. Still, both are explosives in nature. And by that, I guess the Fable Master meant something more than the kababoom sound normally associated with explosions - a Seefool and a Seefoul.

But not all the citizens of the valley are totally blind. Some, having learned from experience or taught by outsiders, are slowly learning to read (braille, I guess). With that, comes knowledge, and with knowledge, they began to see. But when they did, they had a shock that many cried "Oh no! I don't want to see! Its so terrible and ugly, I don't want to see!" But they have seen. And soon, the Puppet Doraemons will need a longer leash, oops, I mean strings, to bring more people to the Unjustice Department.

I believe if this Modern Day Valley is published, it would certainly be a best seller. The selling point here is the charges against the two individuals. Can't say for sure whether it was an over or under sight by the author, but whatever the outcome, it will certainly create an uproar. I mean, the Unjustice Department certainly cannot find both individuals guilty where one is accused, the other accusing, both against or by different parties. Unless, off course, like any twist in a story, the author comes out with something drastic. So, don't miss out on this story, ye.

Natrah; An Inspiration?

I have at last finished reading Pramoedya's Earth of Mankind. In fact, I had finished reading it more than a week ago but had to put off writing about it due to the PRU12. And no, it was not that I was too busy during the period, but that my mind was very much preoccupied.

Wonderful book it is The Earth of Mankind, with intricate narration of life in early 20th Century in Java, the land of my ancestors. In many ways, whilst reading it, I found I could connect with Minke, the protagonist, and perhaps, even with Pramoedya himself. And were I a far flung descendant of a Javanese aristocrat, I might even find the book enchanting. But hang on, foremost here, I do have to thank our brother Mat Salo for loaning the book to me; thanks bro, I owe you one!

Since the book created a wave of some sort, I thought I might just as well put in my personal review. However, to do that would be most unfair to Bapak Pramoedya as the book I read was the English translation. Thus, the finely crafted words of the author could have been lost during the translation process. And I now find it a shame at not being able to read Bahasa Indonesia well enough for me to appreciate the artistry of Bapak Pramoedya literature. Still, I find the want to comment on 2 incidents in the novel which bears heavily on the story. I won't bore you with the intricate details but just on the surface.

The first incident was the moment when Nyai Ontosoroh became embittered against Mr Mellema, and how the 2 drifted apart, further than the distance between Java Island and Holland, the land where Mr Mellema came from. Nyai, though a concubine, had been treated with love, care and was given Dutch education by Mr Mellema himself. Nyai - who's spirit for living was almost non-existent ever since her own father 'sold' her to Mr Mellema as a concubine - found a new meaning in life and soon responded by becoming a willing partner in all matters concerning her and Mr Mellema, and even bore him 2 children.

The incident that tore them apart was when a Maurits Mellema appeared in their home and accused Mr Mellema of being an irresponsible father - Maurits, is Mr Mellema's legitimate son whom the latter left in the care of his wife in the Netherlands and never return. The unannounced meet caught Mr Mellema totally unprepared and his mind went kaput.

Nyai on the other hand, could not understand why the man she has come to love was unable to defend himself, and her, from the insults thrown; the much earlier betrayal by her own parents helped lay a course for Nyai to hate Mr Mellema almost instantly.

I somehow found that scene shocking as I had, by then, painted a rosy picture of the 2 in my mind; how could 2 lovers be embroiled in hatred on an issue that each could not understand, or as at least one of them - Mr Mellema - could no longer? But as the story unravels and reflecting on the past, I came to admire the strong will built into Nyai Onstosoroh. Mayhap, I could have even fallen in love with the character.

Now, the other incident which I would like to comment about is towards the later part of the book when Annelies, Nyai's daughter and Minke's wife by then, was forced by the Court of Law in the Netherlands, to be taken away from her family and the Island of Java, to a land which the Courts judged as her land - in the Netherlands! A land she has only heard and have never been to!

When I reached that part, I could not but remember a true life incident that took place within the same time frame of that century.

Sometime in 1937, a drama of equally epic proportion unfolded on the Indonesian Island of Java, where a Dutch girl of 5 grew up to become a subject of contention, and bloody feuds that unlike the novel, stretched up to 4 lands and 2 continents. Natrah was, and still is, a sad true tale of a tragic human life which the Courts of Law of a distant land who knows not - nor really cared - about the person and the trauma it would impose on her. The Dutch Court, bereft of a soul that could perhaps have put matters proper, tore Natrah from the conscious life she had known, and threw her into a land of totally alien culture and religious belief. But I cannot go on writing about her without feeling anger and sad about the whole affair. It would better for you to read it yourself here. Perhaps there scores more site of her tragic tale and scores more will be written in the future.

Back to Earth of Mankind, and as I mentioned earlier, I cannot help but draw parallel between Natrah and the book. Perhaps Natrah was, the inspiration for Bapak Pramoedya. But none the less, credits should not be taken away as the book, even as a translation it may be, had me glued for days on end as I snail-read through it. A truly marvelous story which must be read.

Now, will someone please tell me how to get hold of Bapak Pramoedya other titles?

I Have Begun...To Read Pramoedya

Early last evening, our bro MS dropped over my area for a teh tarik and...to loan me his book 'This Earth of Mankind' by Pramoedya Ananta Toer. And for the whole of last night, I did not even attempt to begin reading it. Instead, I placed it standing on my PC table like it was a much clamoured piece of art and stealing only glimpses of it, just like a girl would with someone she finds attractive. But off course, I am no girl nor a lady, but just a man who has taken a sudden mystifying interest about the book.

Early this morning, I took the book into my hands and looked at it from all the possible angles and then allowed my finger to caress the slightly coarse cover. A certain aura envelops me every time I look and touch the book. Then I slowly turn the pages, reading each line, as slowly as I can while fighting the urge to speed read through. No. This will be one book which I will take pleasure in reading it slow. I will savour each word, each line, each paragraph, just as a chef would with the food of his choice. I will immerse myself into this book and am certain I will find it a delicacy to my eyes and mind. When I am done, I will lie on the bed, my senses fulfilled and brimming with delight. And if I feel up to it, I may even write about the book. But to what avail the words of literature busker when compared to a master?

Pramoedya, I have begun reading 'This Earh of Mankind'; will you reveal your mystery to me?

A Petal Falls

Its early in the morning. A gentle mist still clings close to the grounds, and the air is still damp and cold. The sun has just awakened and slowly climbs out of the horizon; its shine, creating shadows on a land that only moments ago was itself a shadow. And all creatures great and small begins to stir, save for the nocturnals.

In a small patch of garden, the plants awake, dripping tiny droplets of dew that settled during the cold night, and the flowers begins it bloom, spreading its petals wide, lending more colours to the land and in the process, making it more beautiful with each touch of the sun's ray.

Nearby, a mother sits with her child, soaking in the warmth of the sun as well as the splendour of this world God Almighty has created. In between the sun's rise on the horizon and several notches above, this garden is a heavenly place for the mother and her child.

I was just browsing the net looking for nothing in particular and suddenly, something triggered my memory of a story I once read as a primary school kid. Somehow, the story fascinated me then. But as the years roll by with life unfurling new events, a child tried to grow beyond his age. And the story that once fascinated him, is pushed to the back of his mind, only to be triggered later by other events that are not even remotely attached to the story - The Purloined Letter.

As I hate reading long materials on line, I just skimmed through the story and found it disturbingly different than the one in memory. Could it have been an entirely different literature I was reading then, or the circumstance I read as a child were? For if the memory is right, then the settings of the story I read then was in London, and not in France as the one I just read.

With the sun climbing ever nearer to its peak, a petal falls to the ground below, revealing a sight that is less in beauty, of small insects scurrying within the flower trying to feed on the nectar or other edibles within. The child cries at such a sight, unknowing that such very acts of the insects allowed the flower to bloom in the very first place.

Forgive me if I am unable to expand on this.

Blue Horizon

It was a by chance buy, one that I am grateful for. Not since reading James Mitchener's 'Centennial' and Alex Hailey's 'Roots' some more than 20 years ago, have I come across a book that's spellbinding and had me fixated. Well, there was Sidney Sheldon's 'If Tomorrow Comes', but that was set in 20th Century. This book, along with 'Centennial' and 'Roots', are epic stories set in a time where anything beyond the horizon's of one's gaze is a mystery very few dared venture, and a taboo for many who do not.

Masterfully crafted words lined the pages of events that were beautifully twisted leaving me to wonder what the next turn of page would lead to. There were times though, I was disappointed - not due to the weakness of the plot - rather due to my anticipation of it. But that, I reckon, is the teasing part leaving me wanting to continue reading until I reach the last page.

Unlike the 2 aforementioned books which were historically-linked, Wilbur Smith draws his own story line in a land once called The Dark Continent. Perhaps due to the continent's stinginess in revealing its history, there were chapters which I would term as murky, especially when the writer tried - perhaps due his own ignorance - to portray Muslims and Islam in a somewhat shady manner. The writer could argue though, that one of the good characters in his book is a Muslim. True. But he also happens to be a Caucasian - a case of white superiority? You draw your own conclusion.

In reading, you may find one or 2 more setbacks which might suggest the writer is an armchair writer - one who writes from knowledge gained from other reads, and not by experience. Still, how can one experience life of a century prior to one? Ironically and coming back to his depiction of Muslims and Islam, were this book written in the 19th century, I would understand it perfectly well. But Wilbur Smith was born in 1933, at the age where instead of war between civilisations, the many people of the world have lost track of their very roots either due to mixed marriage or migration. Hence, a truer picture of Muslims and Islam could perhaps have been written.

Glancing at his biography, he was born in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), which was once considered a buffer state for the then apartheid regime in South Africa, and hence his knowledge of a land that can be as violent as it is beautiful.

Make no mistake though, I love his narration and I do recommend this book to book lovers, as much as I intend to purchase more Wilbur Smith's other titles. What makes his writing appealing to me was that I was moved - transported - to another time and place without any visual corruption as when one watch a movie or mini-series based on a novel. What saddens me however, if ever this title is made into a movie, the production may not stick faithfully to the writing, as was the case of Frederick Forsythe's 'Icon' and many others. So my suggestion to my friends, get the book first; 777 pages of pure reading pleasure.



Just in case there is a mind or two wondering why I am writing this, well, I will soon be parting with the book. InsyAllah, by tomorrow afternoon, it would have been wrapped nicely to be given as a present to someone I hold very dear to me. As a Muslim, I do hold to the belief that when one want to give something (sedekah or hadiah), then it is best to give that one holds dear, insyAllah.

By the way Doc TA, should you ever read this book, I could imagine a young you in Dorian Courtney, one of the central figure of this book. I, would off course be Jim, the nephew and, in spirit, Louisa as the recipient of this book gift tomorrow, insyAllah.

UPDATE 8.06pm
Woopsie! Ter-mistake! Doc, Dorian Courtney is supposed to be about the age you are now - that's young and good looking :)