16 theSun | THURSDAY DECEMBER 4 2008

INTERVIEWS VIEWS

» From Page15 The whole institution is to the

Muslims for freedom

tem can promote. It depends on
the people and the leadership.
But yes, I agree that you must
have people who can work. It is
not a popularity contest. There
rakyat. Everyone works for the
rakyat but the culture of the
work is that you have to work
as a team and you cannot be
working for yourself or some
individual. You must be loyal to
the team, you try to dribble by

and enlightenment
ABOUT three years ago,
a handful of Muslim
academics from disparate
countries in Southeast
Asia linked up and
realised how similar
their ideas were on the
direction of Islam in
their various states. They
then became inspired to
build a channel to keep
TheNutmeg
in touch, in spite of their Verses
cultural differences,
by Himanshu Bhatt Rasul, a convenor
whether they spoke
Tagalog, Bisayan, Thai or
Malay.
The upshot of it all was a series
of round-table meetings and study
trips under a network called the
“Southeast Asian Muslims for
Freedom and Enlightenment”
(Seamus). Comprising eminent
Muslim activists and scholars, the
network hailed itself as a historic
“reform-oriented” movement;
its purpose, to promote human
rights, gender equality, pluralism,
peaceful conflict resolutions
and civil society, among Muslim
communities across the region.
But as the meetings progressed,
they threw open a whole new
gamut of concerns, with the
representatives confronting
commonalities so identical and
urgent. Chief among these,
they found, was an overarching
concern about their indigenous
Southeast Asian cultures in the
face of heightened
fundamentalism in
the Muslim world.
“In all our
discussions, one issue
that the participants
brought to the table
was of Middle-
Eastern interpretation
and its negative
impact on local
culture,” said Amina
for the Philippines
Council for Islam and
Democracy. “In Southeast Asia,
we did not have this kind of
situation before. But now more
and more, year by year, people
are donning Arab garb to show
they are Muslim.”
“And as this goes on, the trend
is going to impact the songs we
sing, the traditional dances we
have,” added Amina who hails
from Mindanao and is a former
presidential adviser in the cabinet
of Fidel Ramos.
“And so we said we should be
wary of Arabic interpretations. We
should differentiate our cultures
from Arab customs.”
And when the network recently
held an unpublicised meeting in
Penang, the delegates who had
converged here found the mutual
concern about their Southeast
Asian identities become even
more articulated. The meeting was
co-organised with the Konrad-Adenauer-
Stiftung.
According to Raja Juli Antoni,
executive director of the Jakarta-based
Maarif Institute, the adoption of Islam
had for centuries never unduly affected
the rich local traditions of the Southeast
Asians. Because Islam entered the region
peacefully, not through war or conquest,
it seeped into peoples’ lives without
disturbing their cultures, integrating
side-by-side with local “Malayness”, he
says.
But increasingly, just over the last
decade or two, there has been a growing
tendency to abandon locally evolved
traditions, fearing that they are “un-
Islamic”.
“We cannot deny that the Quran and
the Hadith are written in Arabic, but
we have to make a distinction between
Islamic values and Arab traditions,” he
says.
His countryman, Luthfi Assyaukanie,
chairman of the Liberal Islam Network,
finds it ironic that it was the very
democracy introduced in Indonesia after
the fall of Suharto that allowed radical
Islamic groups to grow over the last ten
years.
“There is a contest of ideas between
liberals and radicals ... And the
conservatives are using this freedom to
impose Islamic agenda.
“If the agenda is good, that it deals
with poverty, the environment, with
quality of human life, and so on, then
it’s fine. But if your agenda is going to
discriminate people, humiliate particular
groups, then it needs to be looked at.
“In the past we were wiser ... But it’s
the same problem in the Philippines,
Singapore, Malaysia and south Thailand,”
Luthfi says.
Malaysian Institute for Policy Research
executive director Khalid Jaafar insists
that a powerful reconciliation between
the two worlds – the traditions of
Southeast Asia and the values of Islam
– can be attained.
And it can be found in many of the
ancient Islamic texts themselves. “The
intellectual foundations are there,”
he says, stressing that the religion
accommodates diversity while embracing
different cultures. “What we want to do
is to first understand the rich resources
available within the spectrum of Islamic
thought that have emerged historically.
“We need to be aware of the
contemporary challenges faced by
Islam, and look at how the deep spiritual
resources can help to deal with the
challenges.”
And the intellectuals maintain there
is hope for another dawn of Islam in
Southeast Asia. “There has got to be a
point where we see that we are in fact
Malay, Indonesian, Thai or Bangsa
Moro,” says Amina Rasul. “And that we
see to it that our cultures are not erased,
even as we follow our Islamic faith.”
used to be accusations that the
leadership is anti-intellect. But yourself like in football, you will
now, in the cabinet there are never go through.
many I think who are qualified
to do the job. Datuk Seri, we didn’t have the
The component parties in the space to write for such a long
BN after the last elections are time. People can now voice
being increasingly aware of the their opinions more vocally
importance that the party has and publicly. Do you regret
to rebuild its credibility and its loosening the reins?
capability to serve. All this freedom of speech and
all that ... I have given the space
You visited the Immigration but it must commensurate with
Department soon after taking responsibility … a sense of bal-
office. Your initiatives brought ance and proportion is very, very
a lot of support and we saw important.
some changes in the adminis- If you want to exercise your
right to speak, yes, go ahead,
tration of the department. But
then your officers and even but you must be mindful of your
some ministers were not on responsibilities. You claim the
the same page. One said set up right to speak; you must also
listen to others.
task force; others said set up
committees, while some did
not move at all! What went Every PM wants to be remem-
wrong where? bered for something. Is this
I know! I know! Different people your legacy? The reformation
have a different view of how their of Malaysia?
departments should be running. I don’t know if people are con-
Some people tackle issues differ- scious about leaving a legacy or
ently. While I may want to see just doing the right thing while
immediate results others may
want to take their time in
doing things.
But should they not be
given goals and dead-
lines?
This is how I do it: I tell
them these are the objec-
tives given to you, the pe-
riod given to achieve. How
you do it is up to you but
I want it. I want this! And
that you have to deliver to
me. Maybe to some it is not
an appropriate style, it has
its weaknesses as some
people need to be taught,
to be guided. I have a ten-
dency where I put down
the objectives; I give you
the budget to do it; so I
want it done.
My survival is in Umno!
One thing we seldom see If Umno doesn’t want me
is that even with change what can the 90% do?”
in ministers, it is the same
civil servant who imple-
ments things. But if civil you have a chance to do so. This
servants become subservient is what I am doing. If the people
to the administration, to the say what Pak Lah is doing is
ministers, then there is a ten- good, then good-lah! So when I
dency of putting paid to your decided on the development of
plans. the soft infrastructure – the heart,
The setting up of Pemudah the human being – a long-time
is based on the fact that if you colleague of mine said: “Tell
want everyone to do their jobs Pak Lah he chose something to
correctly, you have to spell it out do that people find it difficult to
in detail. General rules result in see.
so many interpretations and this “Ask him to do something that
leads to delays. Pemudah goes people can see. Human capital
into details on what needs to development nobody can see!”
be done and how it needs to be But it is okay because I believe
done. that 2020 cannot be achieved
Pemudah deals with the without a quality, dynamic hu-
system. You must get the sys- man capital.
tems right, regulations right,
instructions must be written Some opine that in pursuing
out and understood clearly. We development during the Ma-
cannot leave everything to the hathir years, this nation had
imagination or everything to the lost its soul and values, and
initiative. We have to prescribe Pak Lah is trying to regain our
it. On the subject of motivation lost identity as a people with
and self improvement, it is high moral and ethical values.
handled by other agencies like Is that a correct assessment of
Intan and the National Integrity the last five years?
Institute to ensure the quality of If I have to do something I will.
civil servants and that this is the You do something when you are
right man for the job in terms given a task, the value of what
of attitude towards work. This you do whether it is good or not,
is back to human capital again. it is for the people to judge. If
How to add value to the person they like good, if not too bad.
who is going to undertake all But yes, it is very difficult to
these tasks! change some mindsets and I
wish I had started on some of
So it is up to the individual on these (reforms) earlier. I hope
how he views his job and if he everyone as human beings just
has the backbone to stand up remembers to do what is right,
to superiors who work contrary no matter how difficult it may
to the national mission? seem.