His Hollowness The Imam of Islam Hadhari

His Hollowness The Imam of Islam Hadhari
M. Bakri Musa, October 2007

You can tell much about a creed by its practices, in particular that of
its leader. By this measure, Islam Hadhari is a cruel hoax perpetrated
by Abdullah Badawi on the citizens. This recently concluded Ramadan was
Abdullah's fifth as Prime Minister. On none of those occasions did he
see fit to live or demonstrate the spirit of generosity and forgiveness
that is the hallmark of Ramadan.
During the tenure of Mahathir, as well as others before him,
it was traditional for the King on the advice of his Prime Minister to
pardon prisoners during the last days of Ramadan, in time for them to
join their families for Eid celebrations. We had the writer and
philosopher Kassim Ahmad as well as the scholar Syed Hussin Ali,
prisoners of conscience under the ISA, thus released. My classmate, once
a fast rising star in UMNO and a former cabinet minister, was also
pardoned of his murder conviction and released.
Abdullah has had five Ramadans to demonstrate the generosity
or magnanimity of his Islam Hadhari. He missed them all. Equally
significant, during the recent 50th Merdeka Anniversary, Abdullah did not
see fit to have any amnesty program for prisoners. Nor did he have one on
assuming power.
In his typically sermonizing Hari Raya message he exhorted
Muslims to be generous and gracious. That was as far as he went; nothing
beyond dispensing homilies.
On closer scrutiny, there was nothing in the ten stated
principles of his Islam Hadhari about generosity or charity. How foolish
of me to assume that the "Islam" of Islam Hadhari would at least have some
redeeming qualities like charity, a pillar of our great faith!
Abdullah's idea of generosity during this last Hari Raya was
to host a multi-million ringgit "Open House" at the Putra World Trade
Center. Rest assured that the funding of this mega bash would come out
of the public treasury. It is easy to spend or give away money when it
is not yours.
During this past Ramadan, Abdullah hosted an iftar, (communal
breaking of the fast) and then proceeded to lead his guests in the
obligatory Maghreeb as well as the optional Taraweekh prayers. A more
gracious (and modest) host would have had some other ulama or ustaz from
among the guests to do the honors. Not Abdullah, he hogs it all, in the
name of piety and humility (or his public demonstrations thereof). His
version, that is.
On another occasion, this time with members of the media (only
those with demonstrated sycophantic sentiments), he had the writer and
political observer Syed Hussein Alattas (Pak Habib) partake in a simple
meal of ubi rebus (soup of tuber roots), a cheap staple made infamous
during the hard days of the Japanese occupation. The normally perceptive
and critical Pak Habib was so taken up by Abdullah's "humble " gesture
that Pak Habib gushed at the "humility" of the Prime Minister.
This was nothing more than a crude and ineffective attempt at
"slumming" for the benefit of the members of the media to see and thus
report. You can bet that no such soup would be served on board the newly
acquired luxurious RM200 million corporate jet reserved for Abdullah's
use.
The normally "not-easily-bought" Pak Habib, a political
commentator I admire greatly, went so far as to have his picture taken
with the "humble" Prime Minister clad in his peasant-style sarong and
modest baju Melayu. The snap shots of the duo affectionately embracing
each other were of course emblazoned on his website. The independently
wealthy and fiercely unconventional Pak Habib could not be had with
flattery or money, but a simple ubi rebus did it!

He Did Not See as Head of OIC

Thanks to the efforts and international stature of his predecessor,
Abdullah assumed the leadership of the Organization of Islamic Conference
(OIC) on becoming Prime Minister. While Mahathir was forceful in pursuing
the interests of Islam and of Islamic nations in foreign forums, Abdullah
has been busy maintaining his so-called "elegant silence" abroad.
His presence at the recently concluded UN General Assembly was
hardly noticed, except of course by the Malaysian media. Consequently and
by default, the world now increasingly views Islam and Muslims as
represented by such crackpots as Iran's Ahmadnejad.
As head of OIC, he is silent over the two continuing major
tragedies occurring in the Muslim world – the American occupation of
Iraq, and the horrifying human sufferings in Darfur. His silence
reflects indifference. It is a measure of his callousness to human
sufferings, just as he is indifferent to the fate of the many prisoners
of conscience in his own country. That again reflects his understanding
of Islam, and the guiding principles of his Islam Hadhari.
Closer to home, Abdullah is equally oblivious of the
atrocities perpetrated by Myanmar's thuggish military junta. As the
self-proclaimed Imam of Islam Hadhari, I would have expected him to have
some modicum of sympathy for the brutal oppression of those fellow
leaders of faith, the monks. Alas, there was none.
In secular America, President Bush and other senior leaders
have to declare publicly their income tax returns. From such disclosures
the public gets to know how much these leaders have contributed to
charity. It turned out that both Bush and others had contributed
generously. God bless them!
Zakat (charity) is a major pillar of Islam. Although not
specifically stated in its ten major principles, I would expect that
Islam Hadhari too would emphasize charity. If Abdullah could afford to
vacation regularly in Turkey and Australia, as well as host a
multimillion ringgit Hari Raya bash, I wonder how much this Imam has
donated for his zakat this year?
Abdullah and others have been busy proclaiming Malaysia to be
an Islamic State. Let's begin with that basic prerequisite of Islam:
making all Muslims give their fair share of zakat. Once we have achieved
that, we can then consider implementing the other rules of the Syaria.
Islam Hadhari notwithstanding, one thing is certain under
Abdullah's leadership. The rats that are his cronies and family members
have been busy nibbling away at the state's precious assets. With time
all that would be left is a state treasury that resembles Swiss cheese,
full of holes with only a thin crust to hold its shape. This is what
happens when we have as chief executive a kaki tidor (sleepy head), or to
pursue my metaphor, a cheese head (kepala kosong – empty head).
No toast to His Hollowness The Imam of Islam Hadhari.
Instead, let him be toast.

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