Pameran kemegahan empayar Mughal di Singapore

Bukan senang nak dapat jolokan seorang lagenda, period lagenda, atau zaman lagenda.

Baik zaman nabi-nabi, jenderal besar seperti Genghis Khan dan Saladin (Salahuddin Al Ayubi) mahupun nak dapat nama bandar lagenda seperti Rome atau Baghdad - hingga kini jadi sebutan ramai.

Mungkin di masa depan zaman Dr M akan dinamakan 'period lagenda Malaysia', atau mungkin juga pemerintahan Nik Aziz Nik Mat di Kelantan.
Lagenda bukan maknanya benda tu baik ke tidak. Genghis membunuh puluhan ribu manusia pun dikira pemerintahan lagenda - hingga hari ini tak habis orang menceritakannya. Lagenda maknanya ia meninggalkan kesan mendalam.


SEJARAH & ILMU ALAM

Masa di sekolah dulu, subjek yang saya minati ialah History dan Geography.
Maths dan Literature pun okay, tapi janganlah Science! Hahaha.
Dulu, cikgu baru ajar Bab 1,2 saya dah nak habis baca buku-buku teks Sejarah dan Ilmu Alam itu semua. Syiok.

Saya kini sedang membaca buku ini - The Rise and Fall of the Great Empires (dah tua-tua ni suka baca buku bergambar, kalau tidak, mabuk).
Dan yang saya suka bawa ke sana sini dulu ialah Warlords.


EMPAYAR MUGHAL

Salah satu empayar lagenda ialah Empayar Mughal di India (1526 hingga 1858).
Ia dikenali sebagai zaman gemilang India zaman dulu.
Nama mereka berasal dari nama orang Mongol yang masuk Islam. Mereka berketurunan jenderal Mongol-Muslim seperti Tamerlane (Timur-i Lang atau Timor the Lame).
 
Zaman empayar Muslim bermula dengan masuknya tentera mereka ke India dengan membunuh ramai orang. Zaman dulu tak pakai undi, ISA atau bayar cukai. Dia pakai pedang tajam. Hahaha.

Tak payah cerita panjang, yang mula masuk ialah kaum Mongol-Afghanistan yang membina Qutb Minar.
Dari mana anda ingat nama 'minaret' (menara muezzin) tu datang?
Kalau anda dah nampak betapa tinggi dan megahnya Qutb Minar di Delhi dan baca sejarahnya, menara yang lain semuanya pendek, jadi dipanggil minaret (anak Minar). 

Pendekkan cerita: Dari zaman itu, maka tumbuhlah Empayar Mughal - mereka lebih dikenali sebagai keluarga beraja yang membina Taj Mahal.


HARTA KARUN MUGHAL DI SINGAPURA

Jika anda nak mempelajari cerita dan kekaguman Mughal ni, kini ada pertunjukkan harta karun mereka di Asian Civilisations Museum di Temasek.
Bermula bulan lepas, akan berlangsung hingga hujung Jun.
Datanglah!
Kalau dah lihat kehalusan seni mereka, baru kita faham sejarah nenek moyang kita (saya, Dr M ada darah India DKK, dan ramai lagi dalam Umno, PAS, PKR dan PAP pun!).


GAMBAR ATAS: Naskah Quran dalam kotak bersalut batu mahal buatan Mughal. Waduh, cantikkkkk sekali!

GAMBAR BAWAH: Taj Mahal dibina oleh Shah Jahan untuk isterinya yang meninggal, Mumtaz Mahal. Diperbuat daripada marble putih.
Tetapi sebenarnya, rekabentuk Taj Mahal (jangan terkejut) di tiru dari bangunan yang diperbuat daripada sandstone warna merah.
Apabila Emperor Mughal bernama Humayun meninggal, isterinya yang begitu sayang dengan beliau, Hamida Banu Begum, membina bangunan ini!
Kini ianya dinamakan Humayun's Tomb (Makam Humayun) yang terletak di New Delhi. Sama kan bentuknya dengan Taj Mahal? Cicit Humayun copy bangunan moyangnya, dan ditambah empat Qutb Minar kecil ('anak Minar').

Jadi kalau pak jantan nak mati, suruhlah isteri binakan makam gini, kat hujung Jalan Ampang.
Atau mak ziza bila nak meninggal kelak, suruhlah pak jantannya bina Taj Mahal kat Kepong.

Lepas tu kita boleh nyanyi lagu Sheila Majid 'Lagenda'.
"Hingga kini menjadi sebutan
Terpahat namamu di ingatan."
"Patah tak tumbuh lagi
Hilang belum berganti
Kau kebanggaan tersendiri"

TAMBAHAN PAGI 10.15AM

Tempat-tempat bersejarah dan cantik giler di seluruh dunia disenaraikan sebagai World Heritage Sites.
Maknanya ia menjadi kebanggaan semua manusia.
Dan juga mungkin sebagai warning - kamu janganlah jahanamkan tempat tu dengan membina bangunan tinggi di keliling dia, atau buka kedai mamak atau hotel betoi-betoi kat sebelah.
Macam kota tua George Town sikit masa dulu bodoh nak bina bangunan tinggi, macam mana nak terus qualify dalam senarai ini? Ada harta tak tau jaga, bongok sakan.

Taj Mahal, Humayun's Tomb dan Qutb Minar (termasuk Agra Fort di Agra dan Red Fort di Old Delhi yang saya dah kunjungi - kedua-dua castle ini buatan Mughal juga) semuanya termasuk dalam senarai glam ini.

Senarai World Heritage Sites kat sini. Singapore satu habuk pun tak ada tempat bersejarah. Malaysia ada tiga - Gunung Mulu saya belum sampai, yang lain dah pun. Anda pun pasti dah kunjungi.

Saya nak 'angkut' Taj Mahal bawa ke Malaysia

Di sini, gambar-gambar kenangan.

Seperti orang berkelana lain, tentu banyak cerita dibawa balik.
Di India, kumpulan kami - 10 orang wartawan dari 10 negara Asean - beruntung besar.
Dapat interview khas dengan businessmen besar India, dan pegawai kanan pemerintah.

1) KK Modi (pemilik low-cost Indian airline Spice, pemilik gudang-gudang rokok terkenal di sana, telecommunications, property developer. Dan anaknya Lalit Modi menguruskan Indian Premier League - liga cricket. Di Negara Gajah, mereka suka cricket lebih dari bolasepak. Dan bintang-bintang Bollywood seperti Shah Rukh Khan, memiliki team cricket).

2) HP Singhania, president FICCI, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry dan bos JK Paper - syarikat besar pulp and paper.

3) Sushil Kumar Jiwarajka, president FICCI Mumbai dan bos syarikat telecommunications.

4) Pegawai-pegawai kanan dari Exterior Affairs Ministry (Kementerian Luar Negeri).

5) Gabenor Maharashtra. Kami melawat rumah gabenor berbentuk colonial cantik di tepi laut di Mumbai. Maharasthra ialah salah sebuah dari 37 negeri di India dan ia negeri terkaya sebab Mumbai dan Bollywood terletak di sini (Malaysia ada 13 negeri dan Selangor yang terkaya).

6) Pegawai kanan Maharasthra.

7) Makan malam dengan wartawan India.

Kumpulan wartawanlah katakan - Bila ada peluang, kami dari Asean merambu tepi jalan nak tengok kehidupan manusiawi biasa di Delhi dan Mumbai.
Cuaca pun sejuk jadi OKlah, cuma Delhi ni tahap pollution (asap dan habuk kenderaan) teruk.
Dan di Mumbai orang miskin yang tidur di tepi jalan nampak di mana-mana.

Cerita-cerita businessmen dan orang politik ni di masa terdekat - sebab saya selalu teringatkan Malaysia dan Singapore, dan apa yang boleh dipelajari dari India.

Satu saja saya kata dulu: India ini di tahap Malaysia dalam pertengahan 1980s.
Tahap political unity dan confidencenya tinggi, dan mereka yakin ekonomi akan berkembang terus.
Malaysia hari ini banyak sangat karenah politik dan cerita busuk, sebab rakyat terlalu cynical. Semuanya suka main tuduh menuduh, bukan nak bekerja bersama perbaiki diri dan negara.
Singapore pun sama dalam tahap cynicalnya dalam isu politik dan ramai menuduh pemerintah naik lemak dan tidor, dan juga perkembangan ekonominya pun dah slow.

GAMBAR:
1) Taj Mahal saya angkut nak letak di kawasan saya di Datuk Keramat, KL.
Hanya tiga bangunan yang membuat saya terkedu bila berdepan dengannya - Baitullah di Masjidil Haram, Makkah (sebab akhirnya nampak bangunan masjid hitam yang menjadi kiblat saya), Dome of the Rock di Jerusalem (sedih sebab tak sangka akan tiba di tempat yang menjadi punca masalah dunia beribu tahun).
Taj Mahal ialah bangunan ketiga. Terlalu cantik bila dilihat dalam bentuk 3-D. Ia seperti cerita Arabian Nights. Betul ke bangunan ini? Besarnya. Macam fatamorgana (mirage). Unreal.
The pictures you have seen of Taj Mahal (Crown Palace) do not do it justice.
Cantik giler.

Kata tour guide: Ia adalah bangunan yang dibina dengan hardest material di dunia.
Diamond ialah material paling keras tetapi tidak ada bangunan diperbuat dari diamond.
Graphite ialah material paling keras yang kedua, tetapi tak ada bangunan dari graphite.
Yang ada ialah bangunan diperbuat dari marble (batu marmar) sepenuhnya, bernama Taj Mahal.
Ia juga menunjukkan kekayaan empayar Mughal - mereka orang Mongol (sebab itu dipanggil Mughal) beragama Islam.

Harga Taj Mahal apabila dibina? 40 juta rupees.
Pada masa itu 1 rupee boleh membeli 300kg beras.
Kau kiralah sendiri sekilo beras harganya berapa sekarang, lepas tu kau kali 300 dan kali 40juta.
Harga beras di Malaysia ialah RM4 sekilo.

Maknanya harga Taj Mahal ikut harga sekarang ialah RM48 bilion!!!
Bilion, bukan juta. Ikut duit Malaysia.
(Sebetulnya lebih tepat jika kita kira ikut harga sekilo beras di Agra sekarang ini).

Eeks! Harga a Petronas Twin Towers ialah US$1.2 bilion (lebih kurang RM4 bilion).
Harga Burj Dubai ialah US$1.5 bilion (RM5.3 bilion).

2) Kumpulan kami.
Berdiri, dari kiri ke kanan - Thailand, Brunei, India, tour guide, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapura, Philippines.
Duduk, dari kiri - pegawai pengiring dari External Affairs Ministry, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, ah moi Vietnam.

Merantau seminggu

Anak,
Pakcik nak berlayar jauh selama seminggu, mulai pagi esok.
Kalau sempat, nak sekali lagi ke kubur moyang, Iltutmish (GAMBAR: Kubur marmar beliau), raja Mamluk yang menyempurnakan Qutub Minar, menara batu tertinggi di dunia - dibina tanpa menggunakan tiang besi. Dan 780 tahun menara ini berdiri teguh (Sejarah Melaka hanya kira-kira 500 tahun).

Dari dinasti Mamluk, ke Khalji, kemudian Tughluq, Sayyid, Lodi, Suri dan yang paling terkenal, empayar Mughal (pembina Taj Mahal).
Tetapi sekarang dah jadi sejarah. Dikalahkan Inggeris kerana mereka berpecah. Jadi minoriti lemah sekarang.
Ada sejarah yang boleh dipelajari di sini.

Pakcik tak tahu dapat peluang update blog ke tidak.
Kerana ada perjumpaan media Asean-India dan perayaan India's Republic Day.
Harap berjumpa lagi.

Ah! Deepavali

About a decade ago, Nike was advertising a pair of shoes that would light up when you walk.
No, this one was not for kids.
They want night joggers to wear 'em (Who jogs at night, eh?)
The idea was that when you are jogging in the dark, the shoes would help pinpoint you, keeping you safe from traffic, presumably.
The pair was called (if I am not mistaken) The Light.

The tagline at the end of the ad:
'You gotta have the Light, if you wanna own the Night'.

Happy Deepavali.
I better put on my sad face, so that my colleagues Nilanjana and Rupali will give me some (diabetic-friendly) sweetcakes.

Malaysia govt takes baby steps to reboot

For a government used to doing its way no matter what people say, I sense a slight U-turn in how it works. Rather, how it wants to work from now on.

Led by parti gebede Umno, this was a government that did not care much about how people feel.
It didn't care much how people on the street reacted, as long as its warlords were kept fat and happy.
Forests of Shah Alam raped? Semuanya okay.
Istana Zakaria looked kinda shady? Other people also made same mistake.
Masjid Kristal and the Monsoon Cup a huge waste of public money? So what?

Or take the street protests: Remember Reformasi of 1998-99?
And just look at how it reacted to the now in/famous Hindraf demo in front of KLCC, and the Bersih protest.
There was always the standard reaction by the politicians, even as the cops were used to keep the peace.
Umno politicians made threatening noises. The poor abang polis were told to mount roadblocks and then dispense teargas and chemical-laced water.

Errr, but why all the use of past tense by me?

- Because, after the initial SOP (standard operating procedure) with regards to the protest by stupid Shah Alam cows using a cow-head, 12 people have been charged in court.
- After a longgggg period of hesitation, the man with the famous Bali Mansion has now been called in to explain how he could afford such extravagance.
And he was asked about the in/famous Disney trips also. You know, the high-end hotels and the rentals of limos, allegedly using money that taxpayers paid.

There will be a lot of sceptics. People who are saying 'this is all for show'.
But if the government didn't do nothing at all, then they will be accused of not listening to the rakyat (though truth be told, often times, the people who call themselves rakyat all belong to Pakatan).

- So, these events, plus the fact that the government bent over backwards recently on the Teoh Beng Hock inquest to listen to this fabled 'rakyat', is a good sign.
We shall see if this is carried through religiously in coming months and years to show that in issues that disgust people. act fast. Even if warlords are rattled.
Then Pakatan will be worried that the Najib administration wants to change the game.

- The next thing to look out for in the turning over of a new leaf for Umno (if that is what it is!), is of course coming very soon: whether it will retain a tainted old warlord in Negeri Sembilan, or pick someone else. Like Isa Samad's untainted son, Najib Isa.

Let's praise a good decision - charging 'em cows

The Malaysian government waffled a bit, took longer than it's thought necessary, but at lat has decided to make a decision.
The cows of the Shah Alam protest will be herded to court. Charged under the Sedition Act for some. I hope so, because they were trying to be really provocative.

The government and the police would otherwise have set a dangerous precedent of allowing illegal protests of causes it likes (in this case showing up the mistake of the Pakatan government) and killing off those that it doesn't like (like.... oh well, there have been so many of them).

The image of the country, battered recently by the Kartika-caning-no-caning case, had been kicked to a new low by the cow-heads.
If you were an investor or even one of those Malaysia My Second Home looker you might have hesitated a bit in the last few weeks. I think the country does not need that kind of image, that of increasing intolerance to other beliefs.
I can tell you, newspapers in India are aghast at what has been happening in Shah Alam. This after a series of controversies involving Hindus and Indians over the years.

So what, you say?
Well, just this, the India middle-class (like those from China) are increasing fast.
If they think Malaysia is an intolerant country that bully their Hindu brothers, they would give Malaysia a miss as a tourist destination.
Their IT professionals (always praised by Malaysian and Singapore employers are being very good yet at affordable salaries) would not come want to come.
At the other end of the spectrum, Indian blue-collar workers might not want to come.
Ultimately, all these would hit the bottomline of Malaysian companies and Malaysians.

Sections 19 and 23 - What some residents say

My colleagues in KayEl who cover Malaysia, correpondents Hazlin Hassan and Teo Cheng Wee, covered the riotous Shah Alam town-hall meeting featuring MB Khalid Ibrahim and his much-booed exco last Saturday.
The duo then traipsed through Sections 19 and 23 Shah Alam to sample some voices.
A complex issue it is.
But then, that is what administering a state is like - the opposition used to cause much trouble when government machinery moved in to oust squatters everywhere and in trying to close down temples and suraus - in the name of human rights and human dignitiy (and they're right too, most times).
Now being the government, they are feeling the heat of being shaken up by Umno and MIC. So why complain? Why the bloody double standards?
Just resolve it already.


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WHAT THE RESIDENTS SAY

The relocation of an Indian temple from one area in Shah Alam to another has turned into a highly charged issue in Malaysia. The Sunday Times visited both Section 19 and Section 23, and spoke to residents there.

SECTION 19

'When we first moved here, we were told the temple would soon make way for houses, but that never happened. We'll be happier if it's moved because the roads here get congested during major Indian festivals. But we're used to it. Everyone should learn to be tolerant.'
- Housewife Jenny Kam, 54

'I think we've been fair. When they asked us to move, we said okay. If we really wanted to stand our ground, we would have insisted on staying in Section 19. But now, how can we move to Section 23? We'll be scared.'
- Flight attendant Ramesh Gopal, 42, one of the temple's committee members

'We have complained for nearly 20 years, but the former menteri besar Khir Toyo just ignored us. Now they are blaming Pakatan Rakyat. Who wants a temple in front of their house? It's noisy, and you can smell it when they burn offerings.'
- Madam Zainah Jamingan, 47


SECTION 23

'Everything was okay. This problem was brought on to us. It's better not to place the temple here. Let everyone live in harmony.'
- Doctor Simon Teva, 35

'We want this location because it's central and can service four Sections. Just one temple for four Sections. How far do they want us to move?'
- Teacher M. Sekar, 47

'Every time they have events, they will play their musical instruments. It will be noisy. And the traffic gets really bad.'
- Civil servant Roshan, 44

Accurate polling of Section 23 residents, anyone?

I wish someone could do this - although I don't know whether it is possible.
Go house to house in Section 23 Shah Alam, and get ONE VOTE from each household to see whether they are for or against the relocation of the temple to 200m from their homes.
We know the Hindu Indians will vote for its relocation.
And if there are Chinese residents there, I am quite sure most won't mind either.

I would love to find out what the MALAY residents think.
The town hall meeting, if it was indeed just attended by only Section 23 residents, was full of angry voices and shouting matches just now.
But it was enough to show that maybe Malays are not that tolerant of other religions any more (if indeed the attendees were all from Section 23 - because reports say one third of the residents were booing and sounded very unhappy).

Now if only someone could actually find out through an accurate polling system to find out what all the residents think.
You know why.

I am worried that because of all this noise from both sides of the political spectrum, we do not yet know for sure whether the so-called silent-majority Malays are also AGAINST the idea.
Yes, what if they are totally against the idea also?
What if although 200m is actually quite far from their homes, they don't want no Hindus nearby. No Christians either. No Chinese temple.

After all, these would be the same Malays who agreed with Khir Toyo when he only allowed for a church to be built in Shah Alam Section 22, hidden in an industrialised area. And with restrictions on the church's height and how big the size of the cross should be.

Note that after the cow-head demo, we have PM Najib Razak, Khairy Jamaluddin, Hishammuddin Hussein (one day, condemn, one day praise, then condemn again) and Nazri Aziz who have condemned the provocative demo.
The rest of the pahlawan Melayu, have all kept quiet.
I am so-still waiting for them to say anything. Waiting to exhale.

Mukhriz Mahathir was a disappointment. He condemned the Pakatan government, but offered no solution and did NOT condemn the protest leaders for saying blood will be spilled if the temple is relocated.


In other words after living together in multi-racial Malaysia for so long, what if these days the silent-majority Malays (as compared to the Umnoised or Pakatanised Malays) are less tolerant of other religions?
If an accurate polling was done, and the result is so, that could be the end of Malaysia as you know it.
Just think about it.

It means that modern, middle-class, urban, educated Malays have become more 'Islamic' in the sense that I would call as narrow-Taleban Islamic, kill-all-kafir types.
Not globalised Malays like the ones you see leading American Muslim organisations (I dare not say Singapore Muslim organisations, else someone will shout 'Melayu Singapura tertindas').

That is, after 30 years of so-called Islamisation in Malaysia, what has been produced is not the
urbane, confident, I-can-live-with-everybody, educated Malays ready to take on the world.

That thought is scary.
Very scary for Malaysia.

Then again, scratch that. I am sure that urbane Malays are not like that.
Am I really sure? Errrrr.... not really.


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As I said before, there are TWO churches and one mosque within 200m of my flat in Singapore in Bishan residential estate, and I don't mind - see Babak 2 here. And the Chinese residents in my area don't complain about the mosque either. But then, that is Singapore.
And since some idiot will say 'Melayu tertindas kat Temasek, so shut up', I don't want to bring this into the debate again.

ADDITION: I just realised that in my previous home in Singapore in Yishun estate, I had a mosque, a church AND a Chinese temple/columbarium all within 200m of each other. Just like in the old Malaysia.
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And you know what?
Someone should also do a polling of the residents of Section 19.
They have lived there for 26 years with the temple near their homes and waiting for Khir Toyo to resolve the matter.
I am happy to note though, that apart from instigation by Pekida, who built a silat area next to the temple, there had been no reported incident involving Muslims and Hindus.


7pm. HAMMER ON THE NAIL: These comments by ~penarikbeca that the residents who attended the town-hall meeting with Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim just now - They did themselves (Malays, Muslims, Umno or not) a big disservice by calling him names.
Would you dare shout obscenities at PM Najib if he were to hold a dialogue with you. Would any government minister even hold a town-hall meeting (where you get to raise questions openly like that)? In a totally in a free and uncontrolled manner?
And he also scolded the Selangor government for not talking to the residents earlier. This was indeed also part of the problem.

Minister - protesters should be COWed by the law

It can't be good that the Minister in charge of the police is openly siding with a group of people, who:

(1) carried out an illegal protest (ie peaceful demo, but no police permit).
The minister in charge of the police should always come down hard against ALL illegal protesters, I thought.
This apparent double standard is bad.
This is because just like when KJ demonstrated against Condi Rice's 2006 visit with Umno Youth last time - see here - the opposition will now say: Jika depa boleh demo, dapat sokongan dari menteri, kami pun boleh. Mari kita kasi jam satu KL (Pembangkang ni gila juga, kau kasi lubang kecik pun dia masuk).

(2) used a cow's head to demo against the relocation of a Hindu temple.
OK, so now the explanation is that:
a) Kami tak tahu kepala lembu datang dari mana. This is pure bullshit because the head was paraded a long way from mosque to state secretariat building. 300m? Tak nampak ke? Kalau dah nampak, stop lah. Kenapa dipijak dan diludah.
Tak baik sungguh untuk nama Islam jika umatnya dilihat mengeji agama lain.
b) Kepala lembu sebenarnya nak digunakan tunjuk dungunya MB Khalid Ibrahim dan ketua Pakatan lain. This explanation is possible. But then again when you are protesting against a HINDU Temple issue, surely bringing in a bloodied COW's Head would have rung alarm bells?

So let's say we accept explanation (2) - that there was no insult meant against Hindus.
Let's say that was the work of the Internet media, who are, ahem, ever ready to ascribe dark meanings to anything done by the poor Umno Melayu.
Melayu pun tertindas kat Selangor, bukan saja di Singapore, woi! Don't play play.

Even if that was so, it still is wrong, to me, for the minister in charge of Abang Polis to be seen being pally with protesters.
If you say, semuanya ok, tomorrow the Bersih, Hindraf, 1BlackMalaysia, candle vigil protesters all wanna meet him and get his stamp of approval.

My worry is blurring of lines between the separation of the Law (Home Minister/no illegal protest) and Politics (Umno VP/helping Melayu tertindas di Selangor).

Ada cikgu Singapore kata Melayu Temasek tidak tertindas, tak macam yang di Selangor.... Aku cakap kau tak caya.



LATEST 9.30PM
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Ah good! Now the Minister has turned back on these Shah Alam cows and again issued his "stern" warning.
Cakap aje ke, tangkap ler, orang yang berani cabar Seksyen 23 akan berdarah jika kuil dipindah. Bukan apa, agar yang lain jaga mulut sikit.
Memang boleh protes tetapi saya harap janganlah sampai mencabar darah akan mengalir.

Pembangkang pun apa lagi, lebihkan main politik dari nak selamatkan Malaysia. (Sedih).

Orang Umno Selangor, PM Najib & Khalid Ibrahim

SOALAN 1

Selepas insiden seperti yang terjadi di Shah Alam, di mana kepala lembu telah dipolitikkan, semua orang tentu bertanya sama ada ini kerja (maaf kata) Umno Selangor.
Sama ada Khir Toyo sedang khusyuk berpuasa dan bertasbih di masjid atau di istananya, orang tak kisah. Desas-desus bahawa ini kerja Umno dah keluar pun dari semalam lagi.
Kasihan juga parti terbesar di Malaysia ni. Depa duduk diam-diam pun orang tak percaya.

Tapi tak apa jika orang tuduh melulu. Depa dari pembangkang ni memang kurang ajar.
Baiklah ianya ditepis dengan cara gentleman.
Jadi kita nak dengar apa kata Khir Toyo sebagai supremo Selangor Darul Terkejut.
Adakah beliau akan mengutuk tunjuk perasaan yang mengguris masyarakat Hindu India - seperti musuh politiknya Khairy Jamaluddin telah mengutuk tindakan itu?
Atau cuma kata beliau tidak terlibat, tetapi tidak mengutuk?

Adakah beliau setuju, demi membantu masyarakat Melayu-Islam Seksyen 19 (di depan rumah orang), bahawa kuil itu dipindahkan ke Seksyen 23 di mana ianya akan dibina 200m dari rumah terdekat?
Atau beliau akan berkata ianya harus dipindah saja ke Seksyen 22 sepertimana rancangan kerajaan Umno-BN dulu?
Beliau tentu fasih tentang isu ini kerana pernah jadi Menteri sangat Besar.

Dan saya rasa Umno sebagai sebuah parti (menerusi Majlis Tertinggi) harus kondem cara demonstrasi jalanan seperti ini. Bahaya beb. PKR dah kutuk pun.



SOALAN 2

PM Najib Razak telahpun menunjukkan bahawa beliau marah dengan isu mempermainkan agama orang lain.
Sekarang kita hendak dengar pula suara Timbalan PM Muhyiddin Yassin.
Tan Sri, tolong kutuk juga.
Atau beliau akan kutuk saja kerajaan Pakatan Selangor kerana kurang sensitif kepada masyarakat Islam Seksyen 23, tetapi tidak mengutuk tindakan penunjuk perasaan?

PM Najib dan TPM Muhyiddin pun belum komen tentang pertemuan dengan Anwar Ibrahim. Saya PASTI (confirmed) perjumpaan itu memang telah berlaku.
Blogger Aisehman kata di sini bahawa sejak perjumpaan itu Najib tak banyak serang pembangkang, sedangkan Muhyiddin menyelar Anwar sebagai pembelot kepada orang Melayu.



SOALAN 3

Apa pula kata Abang Polis?
Saya memang selalu belas dengan puak ini kerana seperti kepala lembu, institusi polis telah lama dipolitikkan.
Mereka tangkap penunjuk perasaan, dituduh anti-pembangkang.
Tak tangkap dituduh takut dengan Umno.

Katanya ramai polis semalam di Shah Alam mengelilingi lembu-lembu yang menunjuk perasaan dengan kepala lembu tu. Tetapi tak ada yang ditangkap.
Tak sembur water cannon. Tak tembak gas pemedih mata.
Tak asak pun.
Lor, apa dah jadi?
Lepas tu ketua polis Selangor Khalid Abu Bakar membuat satu statement yang mengejutkan.
Malaysiakini:
As of now, Khalid said no police report has been lodged over the incident.
"If a report is lodged, we will definitely take the necessary action," he stressed.

Huh? Nak tunggu laporan polis sebelum bertindak?
Tapi tak apa, seperti saya kata kasihan Abang Polis ni.
Maka itu kita transfer cerita ini kepada menteri yang jaga polis, Hishammuddin Hussein Onn.
Apa kata beliau?
Kutuk atau hanya bertutur: 'Polis AKAN ambil tindakan keras'.


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Seperti isu Kartika nak dirotan, isu ini dah jadi bahan berita antarabangsa. Adakah sekali lagi kerajaan akan rilek dan terus dibantai di persada dunia sebelum nak membuat reaksi yang menyejukkan hati pemerhati luar.
Takut jika lambat reaksi yang jitu, pelabur, pelancong dan orang yang simpati dan sayang dengan Malaysia (seperti saya) rasa gusar lagi.
Minggu lalu, Malaysia nak rotan perempuan. Lepas tu diharamkan konsert Black Eyed Peas dan Michael Learns To Rock (ini Pemuda PAS). Terbaru, dijadikan pegawai masjid Selangor boleh tangkap orang minum arak. Lepas tu parti besar Cina berpecah dua, apa lagi nak jadi?

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SOALAN 4

Khalid Ibrahim, Menteri Besar Selangor, dan PKR serta Pakatan pun sebenarnya tak dapat lepas lari dari isu ini.
Memang senang nak menuduh melulu ini kerja Umno.

Tetapi biar saya kata terang-terangan: Sejak 17 bulan Pakatan mempunyai kuasa lebih besar di Malaysia, ramai orang Melayu-Islam yang saya jumpa - bila berehat di KL dan merayap satu Malaysia buat laporan, dan juga di blog-blog - tak puas hati.
Mereka kata sejak Pakatan ni jadi kuat, bangsa Cina dan India terus mengasak kedudukan Melayu dan hendak melemahkan kedudukan Melayu dan Islam.
Memang betul ada privilege Melayu yang berlebihan dan tak adil (seperti AP kereta), tetapi kenapa semua nampaknya nak dibuang dalam sekelip mata?

Orang Pakatan jika ditanya menjawab: ini 'kerja Umno' atau itu hanya perasaan segelintir.
Atau, tak 'yah lah main isu bangsa lagi kerana rakyat kini dah matang.
Saya tak rasa begitu.

Maksudnya, memang Umno ada cucuk jarum, tetapi telah sekian lama orang Melayu (melalui Umno-BN) berkuasa penuh. Jadi jika kedudukan mereka dihikis dengan cepat begini, mereka tentu marah.
Saya rasa lebih baik berjalan dengan perlahan sedikit dalam isu ini.


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Untuk Umno-BN

Memang betul takut undi Cina dan India tak kembali ke Umno-BN. Tetapi jika mereka kembali ke pangkuan sedangkan orang Melayu rasa disepikan, masalah lain timbul.

Di sini, maaf kata, orang Umno boleh lihat cara Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang Lim Guan Eng membuat kerja.
Dia cuba memujuk orang Melayu - memberi bantuan kewangan kepada yang miskin, dan memberi wang saguhati kepada hufaz (penghafal Quran), misalnya. Pengundi yang tak mahu dengan beliau.
Tetapi beliau tidak pula dilihat mengabaikan pengundi Cina.

Begitu juga dengan apa yang dibuat oleh PM Najib menarik balik atau mengurangkan isu-isu yang mengaitkan bumiputera dalam business dan investment sejak kebelakangan ini.
Slow sikit, To' Sri.
Biar orang Melayu dapat bernafas sikit.

(Saya debat begini bukan nak halalkan tunjuk perasaan kepala lembu, tetapi khuatir ia dipolitikkan oleh yang merasakan Melayu kian tersepit di 'Tanah Melayu'.)

Melayu & Islam, kepala lembu & kepala babi

BABAK 1

Kita semua faham apa rasanya apabila secara tiba-tiba, ada rumah ibadat atau bangunan pejabat atau kondominium, akan dibina dekat rumah kita.
Atau jika tanah kosong atau kawasan belukar dekat rumah tiba-tiba akan ditukar kepada hypermarket atau sebuah lagi projek perumahan.

Tentu kita bantah.
Jika perlu dengan berdemo di jalan raya.

Itulah yang jadi dengan penduduk di Seksyen 23 Shah Alam.
Tetapi kenapa menghina agama lain sampai begitu?

Apa perasaan kita jika esok orang bawa kepala babi macam gitu kerana bantah pembinaan masjid dekat rumah kita?
Lepas tu mereka berkata hati mereka tak aman jika ada masjid di situ sebab bunyi azan dan kuliah subuh yang bising?
Dan mereka kata kepala babi ni untuk Ketua Umno Mr X dan Mr Y.
Tak meletup Umno dan orang Melayu....


BABAK 2

Lagi satu saya tak faham. Dulu orang Seksyen 19 minta kuil dipindah sebab dekat sangat dengan rumah mereka.
Mereka merasakan ditipu oleh PKNS, badan kerajaan Selangor yang selama ini dicontrol oleh Umno - baik Mat Taib, Abu Hassan Omar atau Khir Toyo.
Orang Melayu di situ beli rumah teres, rupa-rupanya di depan rumah dah ada kuil Hindu lama.
Hanya 6m/20 kaki saja dari pintu rumah!
Umno Selangor buat tak tahu selama 26 tahun!

Sekarang kerajaan Pakatan nak tolong orang Melayu Seksyen 19.
Mereka pindahkan kuil ke Seksyen 23 di KAWASAN PERINDUSTRIAN!
Orang Hindu kata semuanya okay.

Rumah terdekat ialah 200m dari kuil ini jika dipindah.
Surau pun 200m.
Kalau orang yang bersembahyang di kuil itu park kereta mereka di kiri kanan jalan sebanyak 100 buah kereta pun, saya rasa tak sampai di depan rumah pertama, yang jaraknya 200m jauh.
Untuk orang KL, jarak anda berjalan dari Suria KLCC ke Masjid KLCC tu baru kira-kira 120m. Ini lebih jauh lagi.
Jadi apa hebohnya, saya tak faham.

Di tempat saya tinggal di Singapore ni, ada sebuah masjid dan DUA buah gereja kira-kira 200m dari flat saya.
Tak adalah bising atau sesak orang gereja tu hingga iman saja jatuh dan tak dapat tenteram nak sembahyang konon.
Orang Cina di tempat saya pun (orang Melayu dan India hanya kira-kira 10 peratus saja di apartmen ini!) tak ada buat hal sebab orang masjid bising.
Bila sembahyang Jumaat, sesak kereta park di kiri kanan jalan raya depan masjid, tak sampai ke apartmen saya pun.


Penjelasan isu ini dibuat oleh orang kuat PAS Selangor, Khalid Samad di blognya, di sini dan di sini. Ada layout helikopter kawasan Seksyen 23 lagi.

Jika beliau bohong atau tersalah, baik anda betulkan demi masa depan negara Malaysia ni.
Saya jarang baca blog beliau, tetapi nampakya beliau menjawab jika ada ditanya orang (macam saya di blog saya).
Sebab kalau asyik gaduh secara ini, dengan menghina bangsa dan agama lain, hancur brader. Hancur.