The woes shadowing the Malaysian political scene has stretched itself beyond the ‘normal’ bickering and shameless exchange of words in the parliament. The buildup of the current sour perception on the leadership begun quite a while ago, however, the defining moment came when The Wall Street Journal reported that RM2.6 billion had been transferred to Prime Minister Najib’s private bank account from an unknown source sometime in 2013. Today, Malaysia is undeniably in a dire political and economic situation. Day by day voices of discontent escalate in many different forms. For example, the opposition is planning a series of huge rallies to be carried out on 29 to 30 August in major cities of Malaysia, namely Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching with the objective of seeking the resignation of Prime Minister and calling for clean governance in Malaysia. Economically, Malaysia has been suffering from a continuous decline of the Malaysian Ringgit (RM) against the USD and other regional currencies. The currency is now at a 17-year low against the greenback, opening this morning at 4.2630 per USD. Under these pressures, the UMNO government decided to ‘strike back’. Choosing the most primitive bond that binds men as a weapon, Prime Minister Najib delivered an emotional speech in the State of Perlis a few days ago. In the speech, he utilized the weapon on the sentiment of the Malays…‘The Malays will become ‘bangsat’ (destitute) if UMNO loses power!’, urging the UMNO members to defend the party at the helm of political leadership. It seems like UMNO have lost all its hopes and is hanging on to the last life line – the primitive bond of nationalism.
Comment:
What is happening in Malaysia is not just a simple case of an individual or a group of individuals messing things up. It’s a classic manifestation of a chronic systemic failure. From the question raised concerning the money which was transferred to Najib’s account to the use of nationalism as a basis for bonding, the problems facing Malaysia can be directly attributed to the secular rules and laws that man adhere to.
Political ‘contribution’ is the term used to describe the money that went into Najib’s account. When the definition of corruption is clouded within the political framework of a secular ruling system, and when power, without limitation, is employed to cover whatever wrongdoings that had been perpetrated by these politicians, ‘corruption’ could easily be transformed to ‘contribution’. This is what transpired in this case. The silence of the so called ‘muftis’ and religious establishments in Malaysia on these issues is deafening! When these men held on to the rule of man, they relieved their responsibilities as the first garrison in the protection of Islam and allow their whims and desires to prevail. And yet they most certainly know that in Islam, corruption and contribution is separated by a clear line!
As a reaction against the woes, thought to be caused by an individual or a group of individuals, rallies are called with the objective of forcing the resignation of Najib and implementation of a ‘clean’ democracy. Those who called for the rallies must realize that even if the opposition has the power, rulers of a system that lacks and neglects the spiritual aspect of life and the nuance of taqwa will not have the motivation and incentive of obeying Allah سبحانه وتعالى. The same situation will repeat and the same futile calls of change will reverberate – again and again!
As for the economic dilemma, the whole idea of basing the economy on interest and fiat money naturally expose economies of nations and the world to monetary shocks. This had occurred over and over again for many years. Unfortunately, lessons are never learned and the problems will recur continuously as long as man decides to hold on to this wicked economic system. In Islam, shocks like this will be rare, if not absent, due to the stability of the monetary and financial system and the dynamism of the economic system.
Finally, the desperation of UMNO in reverbing to the sentiment of nationalism is despicable. Given the power by Allah سبحانه وتعالى, UMNO under such pressure, should have returned to Islam or the very least, aspire to solve the problems that gloom over them with Islam. But no…they decided to play the most despicable card. And this is most certainly a disadvantage on their part.
What Malaysia needs is a real solution. A solution that guarantees stability to the land and happiness to its people. What better solution can it be but Islam, Shariah and Khilafah?
Dr. Mohammad – Malaysia