Tag: Islam

Zulfikar Shariff: What is a Malay?

Seperkara yang selalu dibahaskan ialah concept Melayu/ Islam.

Ada yang menyatukan keduany (Melayu itu Islam), ada yang beranggapan keduanya tidak sama (Melayu itu bangsa dan Islam agama), ada yang merasakan menyatukan kedua perkara tidak wajar dan wajib dipisahkan.

Insha Allah post ini akan memberi sedikit pencerahan tentang bangsa Melayu. Ada yang lebih ariff dan insha Allah I hope they can expand on the issue further.

Bangsa Melayu tidak boleh difahamkan seperti suku. Suku ialah identiti melalui genetic. It is based on ancestry.

Bangsa Melayu is not simply genetic but characteristic. Orang Melayu ialah seseorang yang diterima masyarakat Melayu sebagai Melayu.

Penerimaan ini berdasarkan penggunaan bahasa Melayu, mengikut adat resam Melayu dan beragama Islam.

That is how the Malays have identified themselves the last several hundred years.

Not by ancestry, but through Islam, culture and language.

The problem arose when the British arrived in the region. They could not understand how a race is based on characteristics that are seen to be dynamic. It also went against their understanding of race and ethnicity to accept the possibility that someone can “Masuk Melayu”. Since their understanding of themselves is based on ancestry, the British could not accept the nature of the Malay bangsa.

For example, Abdullah Munsyi was ethnically an Indian. But he spoke for the Malays and was accepted by the Malays as a Malay.

Such identification was normal for the Malays. But the British rejected it. It was only late in the 19th century that Malayness began to be taken as ethnicity with Islam being held as distinct.

As Diana Carroll argued, “while it may be correct to say that Abdullah would not have appeared to be Malay by mid-twentieth century standards, this cannot be assumed to be the case when Abdullah was growing up.”

Rather than accept simply how the British and the west defined Malayness, we should return to our own definition.

Not every Muslim is a Malay. But every Malay is a Muslim.

Diana Carroll. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
Vol. 72, No. 2 (277), JOHN M. GULLICK FESTSCHRIFT (1999), pp. 91-129

Source: Zulfikar Shariff

April 10, 2015
Masagos Zulkifli Sworn -In As Full Cabinet Minister

Mr Masagos Zulkifli was sworn in yesterday as a full Cabinet Minister, following Wednesday’s Cabinet reshuffle announcements.

With his promotion, Mr Masagos will be a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs. He had been Senior Minister of State in both ministries since 2012. The news of his promotion — which means there are two Malay-Muslim full Ministers for the first time — had garnered strong support from the Malay and Muslim community leaders.

Writing on his Facebook page today, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he had witnessed Mr Masagos’ swearing in. “His sincerity, ability and hard work have earned him the respect of colleagues and Singaporeans,” Mr Lee noted.

Foreign Minister K Shanmugam wrote on his Facebook page: “(Mr Masagos’) appointment strengthens our MFA work. The world is shrinking, and our interests around the world, economic, political, have grown. We need to engage many countries actively, much more so than we have had to … Masagos has promoted Singapore at every opportunity, and has been very good for us. We are fortunate at MFA to have Masagos with us. With his promotion, I will now be able to give him even more responsibilities, at MFA.”

Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong congratulated Mr Masagos on his Facebook page. “He is humble, sincere and dedicated. A good addition to the Cabinet team,” he said. “The Cabinet reshuffle will add depth and breadth to those who will lead Singapore forward. Stretching the younger Ministers will strengthen their resilience. Best wishes to them.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 10, 2015
Malay And Muslim Community Leaders Happy With Promotion For Masagos Zukifli

Malay and Muslim community leaders yesterday welcomed news of Mr Masagos Zulkifli’s promotion to full minister, the first time there are two Malay members of Cabinet.

Mr Masagos, 51, will be sworn in as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs today. He has been Senior Minister of State in both ministries since 2012.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said of his promotion: “It is the first time we are having two Malay full ministers, which reflects the progress of the Malay community.”

Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, who is also Minister- in-charge of Muslim Affairs, said: “I am happy that Masagos has been promoted to a full minister.”

Association of Muslim Professionals chairman Azmoon Ahmad said the promotion is further proof that “Malays can stand tall in this meritocratic nation”.

“It will create impetus for the community and encourage us and give us the confidence that Malays can succeed,” he added.

Former Nominated MP and political watcher Zulkifli Baharudin said the appointment debunks the long-held idea in some quarters that there could be only one Malay minister. The move shows “we have moved forward, progress has been made”.

Mr Masagos told The Straits Times that having two Malay full ministers for the first time in the nation’s history “reflects the trust and recognition the Government has on the good progress made by the Malay/Muslim community”.

“However, our value system puts meritocracy above all when appointments are made. That gives us the assurance that appointment is based on merit, not favour,” he added.

“It’s a good system that ensures confidence and respect for whoever is appointed.”

Mr Masagos was chief executive officer of Singtel Global Offices before he entered politics in 2006. He was also a respected community leader, chairing Muslim welfare group Perdaus, and starting its humanitarian offshoot Mercy Relief.

After the 2006 General Election, he was appointed Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education, and later for Home Affairs as well. In 2010, he was promoted to Minister of State, and the following year, gave up his Education portfolio for Foreign Affairs.

He became Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs in August 2012.

Fellow MPs were not surprised at his promotion, citing his diligence and commitment to the job. He has been actively involved in the fight against drugs and extremism, among others. He chairs a multi-agency task force that tackles youth drug abuse, and led a Singapore delegation to the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in February this year.

His promotion also means there are now two second ministers at Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs.

Mr Hri Kumar Nair, who heads the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Home Affairs and Law, said it was good to have three full ministers for a key portfolio like Home Affairs. He noted Mr Masagos’ work in reshaping the rehabilitation systems for prisoners and drug offenders.

Mr Alex Yam, deputy chairman of the GPC for Defence and Foreign Affairs, said as a small country, Singapore placed a lot of emphasis on good relationships with neighbours and partners.

“Mr Masagos has established a wealth of contacts. His role as Second Minister will give additional clout when he negotiates on behalf of Singapore,” he added.

BACKGROUND STORY

MERITOCRACY AT WORK

It would seem apparent that the Malay community would celebrate having two full ministers in the Cabinet for the first time, but this is also how Singapore runs on the basis of meritocracy.

That you get the post, and are rewarded for your performance and contributions because of the impact you have made. Not because you are close to a particular person or that you are the son of somebody.

This is important because it gives you the credibility to the people you serve as well as your colleagues. And I’m glad that this is the system that we have.

– Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Masagos Zulkifli on meritocracy

Source: www.straitstimes.com

April 9, 2015
Zulfikar Shariff: Lee Kuan Yew’s Legacy On Islam And Discrimination Of Malays Should Not Be allowed To Perpetuate

Alhamdulillah, most of my friends are those who have not been indoctrinated.

There are Muslims who have good intentions but lack political understanding. They assume that with his death, LKY does not have any further effect on Muslims. We should then move forward and not discuss him anymore.

But that is the problem when someone lack appreciation of political narratives and try to make a claim on political effects. Let me make this simple to understand. An institution is made up of 3 primary components: routines, expected behaviour and shared goals. The government is an institution through the existence of the 3 characteristics.

The shared goals (or shared reality) is a set of ideas, values, philosophies that are developed through the institution. In the PAP and government, how Muslims are engaged and treated owes a lot to Lee Kuan Yew’s views of reducing Islam to its bare minimum

His demands for rejection of various aspects of Islam were not adopted through any objective measure. Rather, they were granted legitimacy simply through the force of his demands.

Ideas do not die with the death of its advocates. They live on. The way Lee Kuan Yew discriminates the Muslims, lives beyond his natural life.

Thus, the only way to challenge the ideas and halt its promotion is to challenge the narrative surrounding Lee Kuan Yew. Delegitimise his interaction and management of the community and his ideas of how the Muslims should be discriminated (while pretending to support) loses currency.

So for those who want to keep quiet and accept his legacy, that is your right. Do that. Those who want to promote him as the spirit of Singapore’s development, you can do that too.

The rest of us will tear down the fiction of Lee Kuan Yew’s history. Not because we want to discuss the man.

But because his ideas on how the community should be discriminated and how Islam should be rejected cannot be allowed to live on.

Source: Zulfikar Shariff

April 7, 2015
Increased Religiosity In Asia-Pacific: Islam And Hinduism Projected To Make Greatest Gains In Singapore

A trend of increasing religiosity is taking hold in the Asia-Pacific region, while North America and Europe are experiencing the reverse with a projected spike in the proportion of people unaffiliated with any religion, showed a recent report by Washington-based think-tank Pew Research Centre.

In Singapore, Islam and Hinduism are projected to make the highest gains, with Muslims replacing Christians as the second-largest faith group by 2050. The report, The Future Of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050, was published on Thursday.

Pew’s researchers took six years to analyse information from about 2,500 data sources, including censuses, demographic surveys, general population surveys and other studies. Demographic projections made in the report were also based on the current size and geographic distribution of the world’s major religions, age differences, fertility and mortality rates, international migration and patterns in conversion between religions.

The report projected that in the Asia-Pacific region, the proportion of freethinkers is projected to decline from 21 per cent in 2010 to 17 per cent in 2050. Over the same period, the proportion of this group in Europe and North America is expected to increase from 19 per cent to 23 per cent, and from 17 per cent to almost 26 per cent, respectively.

“Atheists, agnostics and other people who do not affiliate with any religion — though increasing in countries such as the United States and France — will make up a declining share of the world’s total population,” it added.

The report also projected that the number of Muslims, a comparatively youthful population with high fertility rates, will nearly equal the number of Christians by 2050, if current demographic trends continue. As of 2010, Christians made up nearly a third of all 6.9 billion people on Earth. Muslims were the next largest group, comprising about 23 per cent.

The report projected Singapore’s total population to reach 7.9 million in 2050. The proportion of Muslims is projected to increase from 14.3 per cent in 2010 to 21.4 per cent in 2050, overtaking Christians as the second-largest group behind Buddhists. Over the same period, Singapore’s proportion of Hindus is expected to rise from 5.2 to 10.0 per cent. The report said the increases were “mostly because of migration from India and Malaysia”.

By 2050, freethinkers will make up 16 per cent of the total population, down slightly from 16.4 per cent in 2010. Over the same period, the proportion of Christians and Buddhists here will decrease from 18.2 to 17 per cent, and 33.9 to 27 per cent, respectively.

Commenting on the report, observers here questioned the assumption that migration patterns will continue over the next few decades.

Dr Mathew Mathews, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), pointed out that the Government had previously said it wanted to preserve the current racial balance. “Muslims and Hindus in Singapore usually are Malays and Indians, and if their racial composition is supposed to stay the same as currently, it will be unlikely that Islam and Hinduism in Singapore will grow substantially considering the current population plans,” he said.

The Pew report acknowledged that estimating future migration is challenging because the movement of people across borders is dependent on government policies and international events that can change quickly. “And because many migrants follow economic opportunities, migration patterns are also dependent on changing economic conditions,” it added.

Nonetheless, Pew said it has developed a technique to estimate recent migration patterns and their religious breakdown, in collaboration with researchers at Austria’s International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.

In Singapore’s case, IPS senior research fellow Leong Chan-Hoong and Chua Chu Kang GRC Member of Parliament Zaqy Mohamad said it cannot be assumed that people migrating from Malaysia are probably Muslims. Stressing the challenges of migration projections, Dr Leong said migrants could come from different countries or involve different races or religions within a particular country.

Mr Zaqy said any increase in the Muslim and Hindu populations could also be because of a higher number of interracial marriages.

Should the projections come to pass, Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan said Singapore may also have to look into building more places of worship for Muslims and Hindus. Likewise, there would also be an impact on the relative influence each religious group has on changes, where bigger groups could feel their views should carry more weight, for instance, he added.

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 6, 2015