The fourth Langkawi International Dialogue or LID ’99 with the theme “Managing Economic Recovery For Shared Prosperity: The Smart Partnership Approach” drew to a close earlier this week. Undoubtedly, the meeting that managed to gather some 350 participants from 38 countries including nine of the most respected leaders of the developing countries ended on a…
A very pertinent health issue is on the minds of Malaysians nowadays. Is the splendid public health care services of the country going to be corporatised? Many are worried of such implication, especially on the future cost of health services in government hospitals and clinics. The furore is justified. In fact, it adds credence to…
A recent Lat’s cartoon depicts a picture of a mamak’s news-stand filled to the brim with magazines, periodicals, tabloids and whatnots featuring detestable, yet much sought after stories. Honestly speaking, accusations and counter-accusations like these are not limited to the political arena alone. In science too, accusations of lies, cheats and frauds are constantly hurled…
In order for a partnership to be considered smart, all parties involved have to be sincere in the participation. They must be committed that their involvements are to complement and to bring benefits to both parties. Both parties are also convinced that this is the strategy that can lead to success and it can also…
Luqman al-Hakim berpesan kepada puteranya: dampingilah para ilmuan, dengarkanlah mutiara ucapan (hukamak) para ahli hikmah, sesungguhnya Allah S.W.T. menghidupkan hati yang mati dengan cahaya hikmah seperti titisan air hujan yang menghidupkan tanah yang kering kontang. Pesanan Luqman al-Hakim kepada anaknya ini mengingatkan kita kepada perkembangan moden dunia hari ini iaitu ketika kita menghadapi krisis dan…
The political events of the previous week have again brought the university student s or the mahasiswa, albeit a very small and insignificant number of them, to the centre stage. They seemed to be unselfconsciously drawn into some sort of a reform movement, supposedly based on Islam. A couple of months ago, an observation highlighted…
Setiap kali berlaku perbalahan dalam masyarakat lslam, maka sekian kali pulalah umat lslam diumbang-ambingkan oleh faktor-faktor dalaman dan luaran yang segera membentuk persepsi dan kefahaman mereka yang berbeza-beza, atau mengambil kesimpulan dan hukuman yang terlalu awal untuk menjustifikasikan pendirian masing-masing. Malah dalam keadaan demikian, pihak-pihak yang bertelagah akan segera mengeluarkan fatwa masing-masing untuk menggambarkan kebenaran…
Dalam masa tidak sampai dua tiga minggu yang lalu, dua kumpulan rakyat Malaysia yang berkumpul di dua tempat yang berbeza telah melahirkan tindakan yang amat berlainan sama sekali. Kumpulan rakyat yang berkumpul di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil ketika menghadiri acara perasmian dan penutupan KL 98 yang berjumlah kira-kira seratus ribu orang berada dalam mood yang…
Dalam kitab suci al-Quran, telah ditegaskan oleh Allah SWT tentang sikap degil atau sekurang-kurangnya perasaan ragu-ragu kaum-kaum yang tertentu untuk menerima dan melakukan perubahan dalam masyarakat masing-masing. Hal ini sebenarnya mempunyai hubungan dengan sikap tertutup mereka dan sikap takut terhadap sesuatu perubahan baru yang akan berlaku dalam pemikiran dan keadaan serta realiti kehidupan mereka umumnya.…
What a schizophrenic week it was for Malaysia! On the one hand, majority of its people had a memorable experience following the XVI Commonwealth Games either via the television or first hand from the various venues. Many also worked extremely hard to ensure the success of the Games. They included the organisers, volunteers, police, school…
