A Breathe of Fresh Air

[classof72] A Breathe of Fresh Air‏
From:zahid aziz (zaziz@hotmail.com)
Sent:Wednesday, March 12, 2008 10:55:19 PM
Reply-to:classof72@yahoogroups.com
To: melayu_riyadh@yahoogroups.com; classof72@yahoogroups.com

Assalamu ‘alaikum,

To me it was a simple choice. As a Muslim nothing but nothing is separable from Islam. As Muslims we should live and breathe Islam, for what higher title do we hold than to be the Vice Regent of Allah on this Earth. So it’s a foregone conclusion I will support whichever party upholds the command of Islam.
In Malaysia only one party is coherent in this matter and is unashamed of its objective and that party is Parti Islam Malaysia. It does not matter to me if we get zero economic growth if Pas ruled Malaysia. Allah holds the key to all rezeki, He gives to whomever He pleases and He denies whomever He pleases. The richest country in this world is not one governed by the most worldly capable group of humans. The richest country in this world is one who obediently implements the law and the life as commanded by Allah. Enough said. That is my world view and is not the thrust of this article.

Days before the election rumours has it that the Opposition is going to make some spectacular gain this time around. I shrugged off the talk, a disillusioned former Reformasi foot soldier who dared to dream last time round. I remembered lonely tears for a country who do not understand. I moved on. So when my pal whispered its going to be different this time round I looked at him with much disbelief. Riyadh is 5 hours behind KL so when results come in around midnight on election night it will only be 7pm here in Riyadh. Armed with a laptop and a cup of coffee, and wife and kids tucked in bed, I stood vigil on election night. I would have been happy had the only worthy news was Pas retained Kelantan. But when Malaysiakini live reports started trickling I stayed glued to the screen in disbelief. Malaysiakini eventually crashed due to the extraordinary heavy traffic. Malaysia Today.com which had always played second fiddle to Raja Petra’s Malaysia Today.net came into its own and saved the day for many in Cyberspace that night.

Politics is such a personal and sensitive topic and everybody takes a position depending where their world view is. But for so many people to change their world view that day was a minor miracle for democracy in Malaysia. Democracy in Malaysia has always been defined only by the ruling party. Having spent young adulthood for the better part of ten years in Britain and seeing how meticulously fair the British media, TVs and Radios are to all political parties, ruling or in opposition, it riles me to see the unfairness of the media in Malaysia. And what further upsets me the ordinary folks are not informed of political party rights to fair exposure in national media. So this election results this time round in spite of media monopoly by the ruling party is some result indeed. Hey, whatever political party, go ahead and win the election but win it in a gentlemanly way. Otherwise it smacks of Mafia justice and the rule of the hooligan.

The opposition now controls 5 states. Kelantan is overwhelmingly PAS, Penang is overwhelmingly DAP. Kedah is safe and sound with PAS and PKR, Perak and Selangor is interesting. In Perak and Selangor DAP wields much power but a body count of Malay Muslim Assemblymen, BA or BN, put this group in a unique clear majority. So if the DAP becomes too chauvinistic the Malay Muslims can easily regain control of the State. So it is a good platform for the new PKR/DAP/PAS Government to display their best governance. To show off the previous government what not to do in governing states, and to uphold and practice clean, honest and transparent governing. It is indeed a breath of fresh air into Malaysian politics. We hope the DAP understands the shakiness of their claim to power and decide to excel in good governance instead. And if indeed they do, and PKR and PAS are equally impeccable, we may just hear the death knell of the people who have held us at ransom for so long. The people who said to us if you do not vote us there will be chaos. But if you do vote us, hee hee, we but have to cari rezeki for our family and friends from your national wealth. Give me air says the country.

Wassalam,

Zahid