At last, the silence has been broken

Our PM in waiting has at last broken his silence over the disruption of the Bar Council forum on Saturday. I particularly like the following statement made by him as reported in Malaysiakini.

"I have tried to get Muslim leaders to appreciate the fact that we must allow a discussion (on religious issues). If you're not confident (to discuss the matter), then there's something wrong with our belief and faith. You must be confident to express, counter and argue."

If only all Muslims in this country heed his advice there wouldn't be such ugly episode in the future. That applies to us non Muslims as well. If I tell you your religion is a fraud, are you going to bash me up or engage me intellectually to persuade me it isn't. Even if I can't be persuaded you can just leave me alone and let your God or gods deal with me.

Yes, express, counter and argue. And not asking some species to go back to China or other races to go to hell.

ISA and Pakatan Rakyat (Updated)

It was my belief and hope that if PR were to come into power, they will abolish the ISA. There is always the lingering doubt that they may not do so or just drag their feet. Now a DAP state assemblyman from Senawang and state deputy chief P Gunasekaran has come out with a statement that those demonstrators at last Saturday Bar Council forum should be arrested under the ISA.

So now we have a DAP leader who thinks using the ISA is OK. I'm sure there may be more who have the same opinions especially if the ISA can be used against their political opponents from UMNO & MCA. ISA is always a convenient tool for the ruling party to stay in power. Would you deprived yourself of such a powerful tool?

Unless the DAP leadership condemns and take disciplinary action against their assemblyman, I'm not convinced that PR will have the political will to abolish the ISA once they come into power. Whilst what was said by that assemblyman may not reflect the position of DAP, it's certainly saddens me to see more and more leaders of the PR behaving like the other side.

Update
Gunasekaran has denied that he made such statement as reported by The Star. Can you trust what you read in the papers anymore?

Deafening Silence and Political Expediency

It has now been more than 60 hours since the forum organized by the Bar Council was disrupted by a bunch of extremists. One of the leaders happened to be a PKR MP, Zulkifli Nordin who threatened to storm the Bar Council building if the forum continue to carry on.

60 hours and not a single reaction from our PM in-waiting other than a statement by PKR's deputy president that he agreed with de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim’s view that the dialogue session should have been organised behind closed doors “in view of the sensitive reactions and wrong perception among a section of the Malay-Muslim population”.

I thought only Pak Lah knows how to remain silent.

For the sake of political expediency, courage fails our PM in-waiting.

It's also reported in Malaysiakini that Penang CM Lim Guan Eng said;

"We should understand the pain and suffering of a Malay Muslim family if their child whom they had so lovingly brought up as a Muslim, suddenly converts out of Islam and becomes a non-Muslim, as they say, "like cutting out one's own flesh".

Mr. CM, will you also understand the pain and suffering of families whose bodies of loved ones were forcibly snatched away by Islamic authorities? Will you also understand the grief of a mother whose right over her own child were taken away from her?

Well, I guess I understand Mr. CM. It's has to do with the coming by-election in Permatang Pauh, right? You just want to be politically correct. If the by-election were to be held in PJ Utara, I guess you will ask us to understand the pain and suffering of non Muslims families.

Hymns, Hymns & More Hymns

This post is inspired by the sermon by Peter Rowan last Sunday. Though I was not in church I heard it over the church’s website. He has been doing a series on worship for the last 4 weeks. Last week was the finale.

Of course one of the things he said which inspired me to write is we should not neglect the great hymns. Singing those hymns written centuries ago from various traditions will indeed help us to understand the meaning of the communion of saints. I always feel that this neglect (the singing of hymns) in contemporary worship service has greatly impoverishes us spiritually. We are neglecting such a rich heritage bequeathed to us from the saints of the past.

Some hymns not only help us to worship God but provide us with theological truths that are rarely taught in church nowadays. No hymn manages to capture the wonder of Chirst’s redemptive work than Charles Wesley’s ‘And Can It Be’. Wesley may be an Arminian but some of his hymns are more 'reformed' than he realized.

And can it be that I should gain An interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain— For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me? ’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies: Who can explore His strange design? In vain the firstborn seraph tries To sound the depths of love divine. ’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore, Let angel minds inquire no more. ’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore; Let angel minds inquire no more. He left His Father’s throne above So free, so infinite His grace— Emptied Himself of all but love, And bled for Adam’s helpless race: ’Tis mercy all, immense and free, For O my God, it found out me! ’Tis mercy all, immense and free, For O my God, it found out me! Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray— I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine; Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine, Bold I approach th’eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own. Bold I approach th’eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Who can surpass the 2 hymns by Issac Watts in displaying God’s glorious, marvellous, wondrous grace through the suffering and death of Christ

Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree! Well might the sun in darkness hide And shut his glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker died, For man the creature’s sin. But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of love I owe: Here, Lord, I give my self away ’Tis all that I can do.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

O how much we need to agree with Luther that our God is A Mighty Fortress in times of much turmoil in our nation.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

I could go on and on. Starting a worship service with a hymn like O Worship the King as compared to some mushy contemporary praise and worship song from Down Under does makes a lot of difference I believe. Or how about Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise. At least it makes us quickly realize who is the center/focus of our worship service.

O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
But of all Thy rich graces this grace, Lord, impart
Take the veil from our faces, the vile from our heart.

All laud we would render; O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee,
And so let Thy glory, Almighty, impart,
Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.

Sunday worship should be a celebration of the Triune God’s redemptive work by His redeemed community. The Father is praised, Chirst is preached and the Spirit strengthens/revives the believers and to those who are yet to believe He applies and accomplishes the work of redemption. Sunday worship is never meant to be a privatized hour of 'shiok sendiri' (enjoying oneself).

Finally this is what William Temple the famous Archbishop of Canterbury has to say about worship:

“Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God.
It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness,
Nourishment of mind by His truth,
Purifying of imagination by His beauty,
Opening of the heart to His love,
And submission of will to his purpose.
And all this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions of which we are capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self centredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.”

Descending into anarchy?

No not really. According to Oxford English Dictionary, this is what anarchy means.

• "Absence of government; a state of lawlessness due to the absence or inefficiency of the supreme power; political disorder."
• "A theoretical social state in which there is no governing person or body of persons, but each individual has absolute liberty (without the implication of disorder)."
• "Absence or non-recognition of authority and order in any given sphere."

In the Bible, the last verse of the Book of Judges has this to say, 'In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.' (Judges 21:25)

Well, we still have a Government. Laws are still being enforced. However, how many people still have faith in our Government and law enforcement institutions namely the judiciary and the police. How many of us still have faith in our criminal justice system where the Attorney-General is supposed to play a major role? Events of 10 years ago and recently must have certainly eroded any faith we have in those institutions and the people who are involved. I'm not sure there is a word to describe this kind of situation. Not quite anarchy but close. People do not have respect for authority anymore.

A friend over lunch told me that he heard from sources that Anwar did commit sodomy. Now this friend of mine is no diehard supporter of UMNO or our 4th PM. In fact he contributed financially to the Opposition campaign during the last election. I still remember one of my reactions upon reading Anwar's sodomy case few Sundays ago was, 'If he really did it, nobody would believe it.' Not after what they have done to him 10 years ago. Not after how the prosecution screwed up its case and yet got the conviction.

The events of the last few days only convinced more and more people that Anwar was also set up this time. Unless he confesses, not many will believe no matter what evidence is produced against him. As mentioned earlier, people have lost confidence in the system which is supposed to administer justice but is now viewed by most as a merely a tool to perpetrate injustice.

So do I believe Anwar did it? No, not at this point of time. Hopefully I still can be objective if there are new evidences that surface. But I admit it's going to be difficult when I have absolute no confidence at all with the present criminal justice system. It's also going to be difficult when I think Anwar is the only leader that can lead us out of our present mess.

I guess at this moment, we can only humble ourselves, pray and seek God, turn from our wicked ways with the hope that God will heal this nation. (2 Chron 7:14). Above all, pray for truth to be revealed.

When even the 'F' word fails...

I just got admonished by one reader that it is completely unChristian to use the 'F' word. Read the his comment and my response here.

I'm not going to use the 'F' word against the 'botak' as he is now known in blogsphere for the event of the past few days especially yesterday. I was one of the lucky ones to work a few km away from home. But for those who were affected, I'm sure the 'F' word will be considered mild to use against him. Some were late for their CLP exams and failed to sit for the very first paper. We are talking about someone's future here. (Please read update here. At least this has been resolved)

Can you believe the blockade was ordered due to postings on 2 blogs and sms and a supposedly meeting between Pakatan top leadership to discuss the holding of demo on Monday. This has been denied and challenged by DAP leaders.

We have been told to be wary of the lies spewed by bloggers. Now it seems the Govt is taking the postings on blogs so seriously that warranted it to take such a drastic action.

Responding to the call to apologize to the named DAP leaders who were supposedly at the meeting, Botak said that he will only apologize if they talk nicely to him. What bullshit is this. You apologize if what was said was untrue and not whether people are nice to you.

I'm not sure how much was lost in economic terms the last few days. Surely the fuel increase would have compounded it. This is the BN Govt for you. I used to question the ethics of MPs jumping ship. But the way we are being governed, it may be immoral for BN MPs not to jump ship. The whole country is sinking in deep shit.

F**K You Syed Hamid Albar!

It may be uncharacteristic for a Christian to use the 'F' word. But sometimes only the 'F' word can convey the utter disgust and indignation over someone or issue. I may be using ** here but rest assured that in my mind there are no asterisks.

Please read Rocky Bru here and you''ll know why I'm so angry.

An ISA detainee who has been detained for 7 years failed make it on time to see his dying daughter. He was told that his daughter was dying after one day and it took 26 hours to release him from the time the daughter was admitted to the hospital. Another 4 hours and 45 minutes before he reached the hospital in Kajang from Kamunting. He was 3 hours 25 minutes too late. The authorities couldn't release him earlier because they need the f**king Home Minister's f**king signature.

As I mentioned before the ISA is an immoral law used by an immoral Government.

May the Lord forgive me for using the 'F' word. I'm only trying to follow the Micah Mandate.

"He has told you, O man what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)



pics (A father's heartbreak & Aina, right)