Honorary title conferment is still massively practiced in Malaysia. Titles like Tun, Tan Sri, Datuk Seri, Datuk, etc, have been regularly awarded by succession of Kings, the Malay Rulers and Head of States, normally in recognition of notable achievements, services or contributions made to the nation or society. The recipients of these titles now might…
No community or nation is free from challenges, problems, dilemmas, or crises. Muslims, regardless of times and locations, have been facing a varied magnitude of challenges since the very inception of Islam. This will never cease to happen. In Islam and Secularism (1978), Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, a contemporary Muslim thinker and the 2011 recipient…
Ever since the Prime Minister launched the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), the term “transformation” has gained popularity to become almost a sacred word, or a concept, that has been associated with all aspects of human life: social, legal, economy and politics. Comprising primarily of the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) with its six pillars, the…
On February 24, IKIM organized a Roundtable Conference on “Liquor and Its Prevention: The Experiences of Related Agencies” that was attended by senior representatives of different agencies concerned with the consumption of liquor and its implications. It was a sequel to a discussion of experts on the subject deliberated by leaders of various religions at…
“Sophists” (Greek: sophistai) basically refers to experts, wise persons or learned men. Categorized into schools, their origin is traceable to the Greek civilization where they flourished in the 5th and 4th century BCE (before the birth of Christ). They were a group of itinerant intellectuals traveling from place to place giving lectures and private instruction…
This is a corollary, a continuation of my earlier article, “When haram can become halal,” published by The Star on December 7. These two pieces must be read together before one can make any appropriate conclusion on the subject matter discussed. The entire issue is extremely sensitive to Muslims and technical in nature. Thus readers…
In Islam, a highly authentic prophetic tradition (hadith) prescribes that generally things are divisible into three categories: the lawful (halal), the unlawful (haram) and the doubtful (mushtabihat). While the first two are evident, i.e. clearly spelled out by the sources of syariah, the third is not. Under normal circumstances, Muslims are obliged to lead a…
Malaysia is a unique federation blessed with a variety of religions, races, ethnic groups, languages, customs and culture. All world major religions are practiced here: Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. Other religious beliefs include Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Bahaism and Animism. The country’s 27 million combined populations consists of three main racial groups, namely Malays, Chinese,…
The recent surge of baby dumping cases is obviously a grave reflection of an acute social crisis besetting our community. Statistics on the reported abandonment cases are terrifying. How about cases that go unreported? I would say that what we are facing now is just the tip of the iceberg. The actual number of cases…
The relationship between religion and human rights (what I personally termed ‘human-rightism’) is complicated and likely to remain controversial. To foster a better understanding between them, IKIM took the initiative to organize the seminar ‘Religion and Human Rights: Towards a Better Understanding’ in June. Fifteen papers were deliberated, including a keynote address from Mashood A.…
