Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Interesting findings during nomination day in Merlimau

***
In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Reflection
Those who guard against evil will be amid Gardens and Springs: (Qur'an,15:45)
***

DURING nomination day (26th February) for the by-election in Merlimau, Melaka; I took the old Melaka-Muar trunk road to Merlimau; thus I ended mingling about with Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters who had gathered in their main operations center which was situated next to Masjid Asy-Suja’ah.

The opposition party which comprise PAS, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP leaders and supporters were told to enter Merlimau by using the Jasin-Merlimau road from the exit of Lebuh AMJ and North South Highway at Lembah Kesang, thus both sides were separated by about 300 meters from each other in front of Politeknik Merlimau, the venue for the nomination process.

After parking my car about 700 meters from the BN main operations center, I walked with throngs of BN supporters to their gathering area. While walking, I jotted down several things which I thought would be worth to ponder upon.

On the roadside, I saw a huge banner with words; “Mubarak menyokong calon Barisan Nasional” (Mubarak supported Barisan Nasional candidate). The name ‘Mubarak’ amused me; I could not help thinking about the deposed Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak.

So Hosni Mubarak supported the BN candidate, but wait, this Mubarak was not the former president who had ruled Egypt with an iron grip for 30 years but is an acronym for ‘Majlis Bekas Wakil Rakyat Malaysia’ (Council for Ex Peoples Representative of Malaysia).

Then I passed a small buildings; with words at its top, Armie Sejati Enterprise. It was a tailor shop. On the same building, I saw a sign ‘Bilik Gerakan (Umno) Merlimau Utara, Cawangan Merlimau Utara, Jasin (Umno Merlimau Utara Operations Room). I was surprised because its doors were locked.

I could not help but to link the closure of this operations room with a news item noting that Wanita (Women's Wing) Umno Jasin spearheading by its leader Zaleha Bujang had ceased operations at Bilik Gerakan Wanita Umno Merlimau Jaya because they were dissatisfied with the Umno-BN top leaders for sidelining their choice of candidate.

The Wanita operations room was closed after Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin announced that Roslan Ahmad, the son of former Jasin member of Parliament Ahmad Ithnin and the nephew of former Melaka Chief Minister Abu Zahar Ithnin would be Umno-BN candidate for the 6th March by-election.

Mentioning about Merlimau Utara, when I was in a coffee shop on my way home on that day, I was curious to know why a patron who from his looks I thought was a ‘kampung worker’, kept on talking about voters from MU; he claimed that there are only six eligible voters in MU, so to parties concerned do not push too much in that area. Woah, this man must be a fan of Manchester United; but actually what he meant by MU was Merlimau Utara!

While I was in the BN crowd, I was given several reading materials including two copies of newspapers entitled ‘Debat Rakyat’. It has two issues, one ‘Janji Palsu Pelan 100 Hari Pembangkang’ (Empty Promise of the 100 Days Plan of Opposition) and ‘Trend PRK pasca 2008: Petunjuk positif untuk BN’ (The Trend of Post 2008 By-Elections: Positive Indications for the BN),

In one of the issues of ‘Debat Rakyat’ there was a very rotten piece picked up from a blog; http://barkingmagpie.blogspot.com

Anonymous said…
The doctor was operating Anwar’s brain tumor problems. Suddenly the doctor was amazed and shock while he opens up the skull to see the shinning word ‘PM’ in his brain.

He announces to all operating staff and asks to take a look. Anwar heard that and he wakes up from the operation bed and put on his coat, without realizing the brain is on the table.

The doctor asks him “where are you going DSAI? He answer in a happy mode…I am rushing to Putrajaya now to take over Najib’s office, but, but, but…the doctor was trying to tell something and shivering.

Your…your…your brain DSAI…we still haven’t complete the operation yet!!!

He shouts at the doctor. “Who needs brain to be a PM?!!!!!! He rushed out and leaving his brains behind… (Debat Rakyat, page 27)

Then there was a full page showing 20 faces of Pakatan Rakyat leaders including PAS Spiritual Leader Ustaz Nik Abdul Aziz; PAS President Ustaz Abdul Hadi Awang; PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim and Wan Azizah Wan Ismail; and DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng with a big provocative heading, ‘Apa itu PAS?’ (What PAS stands for?)

Under each picture there were suggestion on what PAS apparently stood for; under Ustaz Nik Abdul Aziz's picture it was written ‘Perosak Agama Sendiri’ (Destroyer of Own Religion), under Ustaz Abdul Hadi’s was ‘Pemimpin Ajaran Sesat’ (Leader of Deviated Sect) and under Anwar’s was ‘Putar Alam Semulajadi’ (A Natural Spinner).

The contents of the newspaper ‘Debat Rakyat’ were really disgusting for example there was an accusation that PAS knew that Anwar was a homosexual and a story about Anwar’s pet boy.

To those who had received these poison should rightly ponder upon Allah SWT message in the Qur’an: "O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done." (Al-Qur'an 49:6)

Not long ago, Ustaz Nik Abdul Aziz had warned that it was un-Islamic to make those bad allegations in public.

He said allegations of gross indecency and illicit sex degraded people and was therefore contrary to Islamic tenets.

He said Muslims were required to take care of five important things in life, including dignity, property and the mind.

"If there's proof (of wrongdoing), take it to court. There's no need to make it public."

"Our religion does not approve of such allegations being made public, especially in the media, as it will be picked up by news agencies around the world," he said.

"Malaysia seems to have lost its dignity (with such allegations being made public)," he warned.

A few days after the nomination date, I visited Merlimau again and among the first things I saw after exiting from Lebuh AMJ was a huge signboard with words: ‘Jom Selamatkan Malaysia – Undi Kebenaran bukannya Harapan dan Pembohongan’ (Let’s Save Malaysia – Vote for the Truth, not Hopes and Lies) with the BN ‘dacing’ (scales) in a corner og the banner.

So to all rakyat especially voters in Merlimau and Kerdau, think and think again who had and which side actually tells the truth and who keeps on telling lies over and over again. Remember your vote is accountable when you met Him in the Hereafter!

No comments: