Upon reading the news concerning the tussle over the burial of Arayapan, many held their collective breaths for over a week anticipating a quick an amicable solution to the issue fearing it would again stir public anxiety. After nine days many heaved a sigh of relief when MAIS withdrew its claim from the Shariah High…
Andrew Sullivan, in his recent article “When Not Seeing Is Believing” (Time, Oct. 23, 2006), believes that the resurgence of “religious certainty” is the cause of the deepening of our cultural divisions, and the consequences: a more polarized political discourse, and a close to impossible global discourse. The Pope’s recent criticism of the West’s disavowal…
In his speech at the joint opening of the Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri assemblies on the 13th of November 2006, the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, among others, proposed a few strategies to enhance the Malay Mind, one of which is by protecting the Islamic Creed (Akidah). Before explaining…
Recently, after my talk on the subject of integrity, a participant asked on the difference between “honesty” and “integrity”, and why it is that the latter is more prevalently employed. Well, I replied that perhaps it is simply because the term integrity is more emphatic in effect. We all know that honesty already refers to…
Two seemingly unrelated commemorations occur within a span of a few days in October. The first, observed on 17 October, is the World Children’s Day while beginning on 21 October for a week is the National Environment Week. Children, as we all know and as we have heard for so many times, will inherit the world…
“And that is He who made the sun shining…” (Surah Yunus verse 5). One of the environmental issues that are constantly debated on is that of greener energy alternatives. The National Environment Week which ended on 27 October last week highlighted this point more than ever. There is no denying that energy is important in…
There’s a saying in Malay “when two elephants fights, the mouse deer is trampled“. Although it is denied by many, there exist a feeling of uncertainty as a result of the many criticism voiced by ex PM, Tun Dr. Mahathir leveled at the present premier Dato’ Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi. Many are worried of the outcome and…
Prof. Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim (d. 1999) hardly needs any introduction especially among the legal fraternity in this country. His vast contributions in the development of the Malaysian judicial and legal systems, both civil and Islamic, draw notable recognition and acknowledgement from many. A considerable number of individuals-from all ranks and…
Arguably, our community appears to always be grappling with the issue of how and where to put thing in its proper place. This absence of wisdom, which is indeed difficult to achieve without proper and true knowledge, yields injustice which consequently is manifest in almost every single dimension of our social, political, cultural and even religious…
No one would dare dispute the central role of reading and thinking in nurturing a scientific culture which is conducive to the development of a nation. Though their roles are indisputable, people at large still need to be reminded of their importance because of the inherent tendency in man to forget and neglect. On Sept…
