moribund breed

Having roamed the earth close to half a century, I had the opportunity of meeting personalities from both political divides in Malaysia. In the heydays of UMNO, I worked with two politicians as backroom boys preparing inputs for economic papers especially for tabling in the parliament. Those days these politicians seemed sincere enough in wanting to do something good for the nation. I closed one eye to their pursuit of personal gain as they also contributed, even though minute, towards nation building.

Political awakenings as a result of persecution of Anwar Ibrahim opened up opportunity for me to meet with and getting to know politicians from the other side of the divide. I realised then that there was another side of the coin, the side I was not acquainted with but suspected all along to contain a lot of misconception.

I stumbled upon a group of aspiring young entrepreneurs who were sick of being foolhardy in chalking up slices of economic pies. These young men formed a new branch of political party PAS and set out to study its constitutions and embracing its methodologies in shaping members to become concern and deeply involved citizens, choosing to walk with their eyes open.

I was very impressed with their commitment and their intelligence drew me towards their movement. I joined the group a few sessions of studying and understanding PAS constitutions. My father had in all his active years in politics been telling me to read PAS constitution and yet as a person who seemed so sure of what he was doing, I chose to ignore this instead. I should have heeded my dad’s advice. If I did then, I would have treaded a different kind of path, a path filled with much wisdom and continuous learning.

I toyed back with “usrah” or study group with PAS. This was nothing foreign to me as I had experience with such a movement when I was a student abroad. However, this time around it was more systematic complete with syllabus and curriculum and a host of recommended (read compulsory) materials as references. While Syed Qutb’s “In the Shade of the Quran” was familiar to me, other literatures like Fathi Yakan’s “Kenapa Saya Seorang Islam” (Why Am I a Muslim) were alien to me. 40 Hadeeth was a must.

Today, I understand the “PAS Way”. Beginning with Guide to Usrah and then digesting the PAS constitutions cover to cover, continuous reading and understanding the Holy Quran and Way of the Prophets and Virtues of Sahabah and then emulating the way of the Mujaddid in Ikwanul Muslimin was a comprehensive way of moulding a man to face current political scenario. As with others’ struggles in the past, this war to bring people from an ignorant to an informed state of mind is thorny and treacherous. Only those that truly go through the discipline would be able to come out unscathed.

All in all, this allegiance leaves a profound impact on me. I begin to see the world as it is and not the one painted by the (controlled) media of the government. It was an awakening indeed and having seen the light, I would not want to even get near the dark ages let alone reverting to it. As with other great experiences, I would want others to walk in similar paths and not be blinded by the false light shined through coloured filters by those in power.

Today, I have grown up children who are fortunately more aware politically and walk in same path as I am. I am blessed with intelligent children that choose ways of the companions of the Prophet as their paths and propagated further these ways to their friends and foes alike.

Gone are the days when politicians were able to pull wools over our eyes and spread their hideous ideologies only to enrich themselves and made us fools. These unscrupulous politicians are of a dying breed and they have lost their legitimacy in handling the society and its affairs.

It is heartening if dirty politicians are vanishing but if the learned ones are disappearing also, it is a course for concern. We pray that those with sincerity in seeing this nation comes out of this dark-age will multiply in numbers and continue to shed lights towards real freedom.

troubadour

p/s: Wise man says “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”.