Giving an impromptu talk at Universitas Komputer Indonesia

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

Reflection

The Declining Day (Al-'Asr)
1. By the declining day,
2. Lo! Man is in a state of loss,
3. Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort 
one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.
***

AFTER attending 'solat Jumaat' (Friday prayers) at Masjid Baiturrahman in Jalan Dipatiukur, Bandung, Indonesia on 24th October, 'alhamdulillah' (all praise and thanks be to Allah SWT) I was one lucky guy when the 'khatib' (person who reads the sermon) himself met me, perhaps he 'could sense' that I was a foreigner. 

He introduced himself as Anton, a 'dosen' (lecturer) at Universitas Komputer Indonesia which is a walking distance away from the masjid. Later on I found out that he is Dr Anton Minardi who teaches International Relations and Communication in Universitas Komputer and Universitas Pasundan in Bandung.

In the masjid after exchanging information about ourselves; I told Anton that I was very impressed with his 'khutbah' where he openly criticized the newly installed administration of President Joko Widowo (Jokowi) and 'going further' by saying that "Islam and democracy do not fit" - Islamic political parties had failed to govern successfully any country; for example 'Ikhwanul Muslimin (Islamic Brotherhood) had failed in Egypt while Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) too failed in their bid to take power in Algeria even though they had won the election.

As a solution, Dr Anton in his 'khutbah' said Muslims must look back at how Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. successful transformed 'jahilyah' (barbarian) Arabs into refined people in all aspects of life and with their love for life in the Hereafter compared with pleasures and treasures of life unable them to rule three quarter of the world.

During our discussion at the masjid, Dr Anton once again stressed that the establishment of Islamic political parties that took part in elections as a part of democracy process is not a way out to Muslims problems but he was opened to ideas after I told him I was a member of PAS (an Islamic party in Malaysia) and it fact is a writer of its publication, Harakah.

Dr Anton showed interest in me and asked me to follow him to his room in Universitas Komputer. I thought we would further discussed the issue in his room, but he surprised and caught me off guard when he guided me to a lecture room where some 40 students were waiting in the chairs.

After addressing and explaining some points to his class of International Relations, Dr Anton turned to me, introduced me to his students and said: "Alhamdulillah' we are very lucky today to have a veteran journalist from Malaysia to give us some insight about the political situation in his country; especially regarding the Islamic party. We would also would like to hear from him on international issues pertaining to Muslims worldwide especially regarding contemporary subjects such as on Islamic State (IS) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)."

'Subhanallah' (Glory be to God) I was speechless, my throat dried; nevertheless I managed to calm myself and kept on repeating this word in my head: "come on LanH, you could do it, there's nothing to be afraid of."

As I pulled 'for a brave face' in front of the students, my mind 'raced' back to some of my latest article in the English Section of Harakah. Ohh, 'alhamdulillah', it helped me, and I did feel that my confidence was building up in me as I talked that PAS is not a political party but also a 'da'wah' movement; and at the moment it is trying hard to portray the beauty of Islam to 'non-Muslims'. 

I talked that Islam is for all; its is not only a religion for Muslims. I mentioned that in the Qur'an there are 'ayahs' (verses of the Holy Qur'an) which begins with 'ya ayyuhannas' which means 'Oh people' and 'ayahs' beginning with 'ya ayyuhal lazina amanu' that means 'Oh people who believe'. This proved that the Qur'an is sent by Allah SWT for all of mankind, not only for the people during the time of the Prophet and only for Muslims.

Islam is a religion of 'Rahmatan Lil 'Alamin' (blessing to all mankind); in 'Ayah' 107 of Surah al-Anbiya, Allah SWT notes: "We have not sent thee, O Muhammad, but as a mercy to mankind," I said.

Regarding issues pertaining to Muslims worldwide I mentioned that the world community were very concerned about apartheid in South Africa that brought to the end of that 'barbaric way of life' after a multi-race elections was held for the first time in 1994 that spearheaded Nelson Mandela from African National Congress (ANC) into power but the world especially super powers showed no commitment in solving the Palestinians issue.

"In my opinion this is the last apartheid; Palestinian lands should be returned to their rightful owners and Israel should be check by the world community; they must be punished heavily for their brutality in invading and striking Palestinians lands such as in Gaza and the West Bank," I told the students.

I too mentioned that Muslims were not alert and ready to assist fellow Muslims internationally stating for example after the fall of Soviet Union and the independence of of several Islamic republics in Central Asia such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in 1991, they were left to be influenced by the Americans, Koreans and China who set up large business identities such as in oil and gas related industries.

Regarding the IS or ISIS issue, my talk was based to the points that I had raised in my previous article in Harakah entitled 'IS - Two sides of a coin'. I mentioned to the students that it was better for us not to take sides as we have no idea what was going in that part of the world.

"Well, all the reports regarding IS or ISIL that we received were filled in by the foreign press, are we going to belief blindly at anything they write and report?" I asked them.

I reminded the students to study 'Ayah' 6 of Surah 46 or Al-Hujurat (Room) which reads: "O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate; lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful."

I end my talk by mentioning to the boys and girls a story on how particular was one of our 'imans' regarding facts - Imam Shafie who was on the back of a donkey when asked by a stranger how many legs do the animals have, stepped down and do the counting and only after that said: "It has four legs!" - ES 

Meriahnya Bandung dengan orang Malaysia...

Dengan nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah Lagi Maha Penyayang; selawat dan salam ke atas junjungan besar Nabi Muhammad s.a.w.

Renungan

"Wahai orang yang beriman, kenapa kamu memperkatakan barang yang tidak kamu amalkan." (Maksud ayat 2 Surah Al-Shaf)

PEMERGIAN saya ke Jakarta dan Bandung tempoh hari lalu adalah atas ajakan dan tajaan seseorang. Awalnya tidaklah saya ketahui tujuan ahli kumpulannya; setibanya di sana barulah saya ketahui bahawa mereka sebenarnya gila ber'shopping'. Mereka leka 'shopping' dan 'shopping' - kata orang putih, 'shop till you drop'.

Ya, mungkin itulah tujuan utama kumpulan demi kumpulan 'parivisata' (pelancong) Malaysia yang begitu ramai ke Bandung sama ada melalui melalui penerbangan terus ke Lapangan Terbang (Bandara) Husein Sastranegara di kota itu atau melalui lebuh raya sejauh 120 kilometer menghala ke timur selepas mendarat di Bandara Soekarno-Hatta di Jakarta.

Selepas tahu 'kegilaan' mereka ber'shopping', tidaklah saya kerap mengikuti rombongan itu kecualilah ketika mengunjungi Taman Visata Tangkuban Prahu. Ketika duduk-duduk di sebuah bangku bersama isteri betul-betul menghadap 'Kawah Ratu'  di kemuncak gunung berapi itu, seorang lelaki Sunda, penjual barangan cenderamata yang menggantung barangan jualan di tubuhnya, merapati kami (ahh, potong 'stim' pulak budak ni, fikir saya) dan 'membuka kisah sedih pribumi orang kebanyakan Indonesia' walaupun kami tidak membeli apa-apa daripadanya. Sungguh ramai penjual, mungkin menyamai jumlah pelancong!

"Ya, pak dan ibu, kami sangat suka sekali dengan orang Melayu-Malaysia. Orangnya berbudi bahasa, berlainan sekali dengan pelancong orang putih malah orang Asia lain yang bengis dan kasar menghalau kami yang mencari makan," katanya sedih ketika kami memfokuskan mata melihat dasar Kawah Ratu yang berasap-asap.

Dia terus bercerita dan bercerita - daripada mitos Tangkuban Prahu iaitu kisah Sangkuriang yang jatuh cinta dengan ibunya sendiri, Dayang Sumbi yang cantik jelita. Untuk menggagalkan 'cinta terlarang' itu Sangkuriang diminta membuat sebuah perahu besar; akhirnya Yang Maha Kuasa menelangkupkan perahu itu yang kononnya membentuk Gunung Tangkuban Prahu - kepada nasibnya sekarang.

"Presiden Indonesia sudah bertukar tangan, tapi nasib kami masih macam ini. Semua penjual (cenderamata) di sini bukan menjual barangan sendiri sebaliknya kami ambil daripada pihak tertentu. Kami hanya dibayar komisen saja atas setiap barangan terjual. Hanya penjual ada kartu ini saja boleh berjualan," katanya sambil menunjukkan kad nama lusuh yang tergantung di lehernya.

"Rakyat biasa Indonesia sangat susah," katanya. "Untuk dapat makan pun susah, apatah lagi mahu sekolahkan anak-anak." Lelaki Sunda itu mendakwa persekolahan di Indonesia adalah berbayar demikian juga kos rawatan perubatan yang begitu tinggi.

Namun penjaja itu menjelaskan etniknya bermaruah tinggi. Mengemis-ngemis tiada dalam kamus kehidupan orang Sunda yang dakwanya 100 peratus Muslim. Biar susah bagaimanapun, mereka akan keluar mencari rezeki. Dia sendiri berjalan berpuluh-puluh kilometer dari desanya ke Bandung dan Tangkuban Perahu demi mencari sesuap dua nasi.

Dia juga bercerita betapa ramai orang Sunda sudah ke Malaysia, mencari rezeki, Ditanya kenapa dia tak pergi; katanya kos pembiayaannya tersangat tinggi, dia tidak mampu membayarnya.

Ya, berdasarkan perbualan dengan lelaki Sunda itu tahulah saya 'betapa pentingnya sumbangan' orang Malaysia kepada perkembangan ekonomi di Bandung. Ya, ramai daripada pengunjung dari Malaysia 'bagaikan orang gila' menghamburkan jutaan rupiah mereka (selepas ditukar daripada ringgit) di premis jualan seperti kain, barangan kulit dan aneka barangan seperti di Pasar Baru Trade Centre.

Bagaimana saya tidak mengatakan orang Malaysia ramai di Bandung - di hotel saya berselisih bahu dengan orang Malaysia, demikian juga di tempat beli belah malah di puncak Gunung Tangkuban Prahu! Malah suatu pagi ketika bersarapan di hotel, saya berpeluang 'berceloteh' dengan seorang 'makcik' berusia lebih 70 tahun yang duduk di sebelah saya. Ya, Bandung dikunjungi beramai-ramai oleh orang Malaysia, tidak kira muda atau tua. Selain membeli belah, apa agaknya mereka buru di kota ini yang mereka turut membantu 'ekonominya' pak pengusaha hotel, pengusaha visata dan kedai-kedai?

Berdasarkan perkembangan ini, saya beritahu teman-teman baru Indonesia saya termasuk seorang 'dosen' (pensyarah) universiti, bahawa sebenarnya hubungan orang Indonesia-Malaysia adalah tersangat erat, mereka saling perlu memerlukan. Hal ini berlainan daripada 'kerja gampang' sesetengah pihak yang mahu mengeruhkan hubungan kedua-dua negara seperti 'projek ganyang' Malaysia.

Perihal hubungan baik Malaysia-Indonesia misalnya mahu terus dimantapkan oleh pihak berkuasa Malaysia seperti dilakukan Duta Besar Malaysia, Zaharin Mohamed Hashim (pembaca ingatlah balik siapa tokoh ini) yang menganjurkan Malaysia Day pada 25 Oktober lalu. Acara yang diadakan di Sekolah Islam Terpadu Fajar Hidayah, Kota Wisata, Cibubur, Jakarta itu, bertujuan antara lain mempererat persahabatan, kerja sama serta mempromosi nilai-nilai dan warisan kedua-dua negara. 

Ya, Malaysia-Indonesia adalah negara serumpun dengan rakyat kedua-dua negara saling memanfaatkan antara satu sama lain. Nama Bandung memberi inspirasi kepada rakyat Malaysia mencipta masakan seperti mi atau sirap Bandung, tetapi maaflah pak, mi Bandung tiada di Bandung!

The creative and industrious Indonesian...

***

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.ReflectionThe Declining Day (Al-'Asr)1. By the declining day,2. Lo! Man is in a state of loss,3. Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.

***

DURING a trip to Jakarta and Bandung recently, I noticed 'this magic word' on a 'pariwisata' (tourist) bus - 'Manusia wajib ihtiar (in Malay it is spelled 'ikhtiar' which means men must make an effort or endeavour). Yes, everybody must work hard and look for ways out of their problems and shortcomings; what more to those who have set targets and aims in their lives.

That 'magic word' reminded me that in Islam, it is stated that all must be worked for; there is no such thing as a 'short cut' to success in the world, what more in the Hereafter. Remember that knowledge is the gateway to success whether in this world or the Hereafter. It was asked "Oh Messenger of Allah: Who is the most excellent of men? The Messenger of Allah said, 'The believer who strives hard in the way of Allah with his person and property."

Whoso is able and fit and does not work for himself or for others, God is not gracious to him. To his companions, the Prophet s.a.w. said “it is better for any of you to take your rope and bring a bundle of wood upon your back and sell it, in which case God guards your honour, then to beg of people, whether they give or not; if they do not give, your reputation suffers, and you return disappointed; and if they give, it is worse than that; for it makes you be under obligation.”

The Qur'an says: "Scatter over the earth and seek Allah's bounty. Aren't we Allah's vicegerents on earth? (62;10)

Well, back to our Jakarta and Bandung story, Indonesia is a very vast country in the Malay archipelago with more than 18,000 islands; its population is estimated at 250 million. Out of the 18,000 islands, only about 8,000 have been named, with about 900 of those permanently inhabited.

Java where Jakarta and Bandung are situated is the most densely populated; around 58 percent of Indonesia’s population live on this island , making it the most populous island in the world.
Two main groups of people on this island are Javanese and the Sundanese; and it is very interesting to note how creative and industrious these ethnic groups of people are in coping with the ever challenging life.

According to some newly found friends I met during the journey, 100 percent of the Sundanese are Muslims and a very high percentage of the Javanese are Muslims. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, estimated at about 86 percent of the population.
The two cities which I visited (Jakarta and Bandung) are among the most populous with the former having a population estimated at about 10 million while the later about 2 million.

Based on this background, as an outsider I 'could sense' the people of Jakarta and Bandung have to make use everything that is available and within their reach to sustain their lives. Thus they are very creative and industrious in making end products from 'raw materials' around them.

The first thing that came across my mind to talk about their creativity was about food - they simply could produce 'nice dishes or culinary greats’ from easily available materials such as rice, flour and vegetables. At one 'warung' (stall), its owner, Pak Rom asked me to try 'kupat tahu' (pressed rice, bean sprouts, and tofu with soy). And there was the simple 'nasi timbel' (rice wrapped in banana leaf).

And of course 'tempe' is very popular in this part of the world. Tempe is regarded as a Javanese invention, a local adaptation of soy-based food fermentation and production. At restaurants and shops, they displayed baskets with 'krupuk' (keropok) and once my wife lost interest in buying this 'krupuk' and another type of snack after she was told they were made from the skin of buffaloes and 'belut' or 'linang' (eel).

There too were many stalls selling satay; other than the normal 'sate ayam' (chicken), 'sate kambing' (mutton); some stalls could surprise you as they displayed signboards written with the word, 'sate kerinci' (rabbit) and 'sate biawak' (monitor lizard)! Ooh, that 'surely' put me off in trying any of the satay!

Travelling from the city of Bandung to Gunung Tangkuban Prahu, one could witness how industrious the Indonesians were in making the most out of the available raw materials. Bamboo and rattans were used to make buildings such as stalls and once in a while one would come across furniture shops which made fine rattan chairs and other finished products.

At the entrance of the road to the mountain, some 'industrious' Indonesians were waiting patiently to sell off their 'goods' to you. One fella with a few boxes of masks would come up to you and say: "'Bapak' (Sir), you better buy this mask. The air around the crater of Tangkuban Prahu is high with sulfur. This mask is very cheap here, up there the price is double or triple..."

Reluctantly you buy one, and some for your loved ones; but...'surprise, surprise' there's only a very thin smell of sulfur and after you get used to the surroundings, you do not need any mask - I noticed almost 100 percent of the people there did not put on their masks!

Lastly, I would like to mention about 'kopi luwak' (civet coffee) which is claimed to be the most expensive coffee in the world. I went to the Sawarga Production Site & Cafe Kopi Luwak in Tangkuban Prahu, at first not to taste its coffee but to learn about the process in producing it.

'Kopi luwak' refers to the seeds of coffee berries once they have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet (paradoxurushermaphroditus). The history of 'kopi luwak' speaks volumes about the creativity and industrious people of Indonesia. It is said that in colonial times, the Dutchmen did not allow local farmers to consume the coffee harvested in 'their' plantations so, they collected the beans found on the floor (the civet pooh) and finally realized that the coffee made with them tasted better than the normal one.

The owner of Sawarga Kopi Luwak, Sujud Pribadi himself explained about the 'clean process' of producing the coffee. The process may improve coffee through two mechanisms, selection and digestion. Selection occurs if the civets choose to eat coffee berries containing better beans.

Digestive mechanisms may improve the flavor profile of the coffee beans that have been eaten. The civet eats the berries for the beans' fleshy pulp, then in the digestive tract, fermentation occurs. The civet's Protease enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated with other fecal matter and collected.

The traditional method of collecting feces from wild civets has given way to intensive farming methods in which civets in battery cage systems are force fed the coffee beans. This method of production has raised ethical concerns about the treatment of civets due to 'horrific conditions' including isolation, poor diet, small cages and a high mortality rate.

Sujud claimed that his coffee was from 'wild luwak' and he displayed this slogan at his premise: "No more exploitation! No more given coffee fruits in cage but let them free in the jungle." He also claimed that 'Majelis Agama Islam Indonesia' (The Indonesian Religious Council) had given the status of 'halal' to 'kopi luwak'.

Before coming to the 'kopi luwak' site, I had known about the 'Majelis' approval, therefore I tried a cup of the coffee. It cost me 30,000 rupiah (about RM10). The coffee was thick and tasted bitter; perhaps it was the first and last time I would have 'kopi luwak'.

But from the many notes scribbled on the walls of Sujud’s premises; others had different views about 'kopi luwak' which has been called the most expensive coffee in the world with retail prices reaching US$700 per kilogram. Among others, the notes read:

"Wonderful discovery! Never thought we'll find such a charming place in Bandung with the best guide showing us the whole process in the making of 'kopi luwak' in respecting the animal's welfare. Love the aroma, love the coffee and love the hospitality." - George, Singapore

"Thanks for explaining the process of 'kopi luwak'. One more thing off my bucket list! Great taste of unique experience." - Gill, Scotland