In
contrast, under Islamic rule citizens could be confident that rulers
(who could be chosen through democratic elections, perhaps) would act
within the bounds of behavior as laid out in the Koran and Sunnah, and
citizens were law-abiding because of their strong religious beliefs.
Asked whether his description of Islamic rule was Utopian, Zaid answered
that, on the contrary, such rule had existed under the Caliphs.
Realistically, Zaid concluded, Muslims in Malaysia could not expect to
establish Islamic rule in the near term, nor was JIM advocating such a
step, but there was a need to offer a competing vision to that of the
west.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KUALA LUMPUR 001014
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
FOR EAP/MTS AND S/SRMC
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAOY, PHUM, KDEM, MY
SUBJECT: FARAH PANDITH'S VISIT SHOWS MANY FACES OF ISLAM IN MALAYSIA
REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 716 -- CANING PUNISHMENT POSTPONED
B. KUALA LUMPUR 980 -- AMB VERVEER'S VISIT TO
MALAYSIA
KUALA LUMP 00001014 001.2 OF 004
SUMMARY
1.
(SBU) Special Representative to Muslim Communities (SRMC) Farah Pandith
visited Malaysia to begin engagement with civil society and establish
contacts with government officials, politicians, teachers, students, and
NGOs on December 13-14.
SRMC Pandith explained her recent
appointment as the Special Representative to Muslim Communities,
emphasizing the President's and the Secretary’s policy of creating new
partnerships with Muslim communities around world. SRMC Pandith was
well received by the Malaysians--both as a champion of Islam and for her
efforts in promoting a new relationship based on mutual interest and
mutual respect between the U.S. and Muslims around the world--but
concerns over U.S. foreign policy remained apparent in meetings with
politicians, government officials and students.
SRMC Pandith
established solid connections during her initial visit and several
organizations expressed interest in remaining in contact with her. Post
hopes that she will be able to capitalize on her initial success with a
return visit in 2010.
End Summary.
SISTERS IN ISLAM, SISTERS IN THOUGHT
2.
(SBU) On December 13, Farah Pandith met with the pioneers of the local
NGO Sisters in Islam (SIS): Zainah Anwar (Founder), Hamidah Marican
(Executive Director), and Norani Othman (co-founder) and discussed a
wide range of social and religious issues pertaining to Islam.
Zainah
explained that she started the organization 20 years ago out of concern
that Muslim women in the country were being discriminated against,
especially in issues concerning Family Law (marriage, divorces,
custody), which is the purview of Syariah courts.
According to Zainah, "Everything was argued in the name of religion and no one questioned it."
3.
(SBU) Sisters in Islam attracts criticism from conservative Muslim
groups in Malaysia because SIS argues for fresh interpretations of the
Quran, and is seen as backing a Western approach toward equal rights for
women. There have been numerous calls to ban the organization,
including from the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). Pandith asked about
SIS' relationship with GOM and civil society.
Zainah replied
that the NGO has been subject to police harassment for criticizing the
caning sentence of Kartika, a Muslim woman arrested by religious police
for drinking beer (reftels).
SIS is very concerned over rumors that members could face trial on sedition charges.
4.
(SBU) SRMC Pandith welcomed SIS's courageous approach to issues such as
women,s rights and suggested that SIS try to penetrate the Malay youth
demographic by using comics and graphic novels. SIS members were
interested in the idea and requested technological assistance and
further contact with Pandith.
VISIT TO MADRASAH SCHOOL
5.
(U) To get closer to grassroots Muslim life in Malaysia, SRMC Pandith
visited the Al-Amin Madrasah School located in Bangi, a one hour drive
from Kuala Lumpur in the shadows of the National University of Malaysia,
on December 14.
Founded in 1989, this private school with 100
teachers and 893 primary and secondary students is part of a network of
madrasahs comprising 35 schools and 8,000 students and is chaired by
Ustaz Megat Mohamed Amin.
Amin, who recently returned from a
"life-changing" multi-regional International Visitor Leadership Program
(IVLP) on secondary and elementary education in the U.S., was
instrumental in establishing in 2008 an English Language Access
Microscholarship program for 60 Muslim students to learn after-school
English for two years at a madrasah in the conservative state of
Kelantan.
6. (U) During the discussions, a school board member
noted that the madrasah taught the government-required curriculum in
addition to Islamic courses. SRMC Pandith complimented the team on its
broad curriculum and encouraged sharing the model with other Muslim
communities.
In response to Ustaz Amin's comment that the
school could do better in encouraging interactions with non-Muslim
communities, SRMC Pandith suggested the expansion of the madrasah's
social entrepreneurship-based community development projects to include
non-Muslim schools in the local community.
POLITICIANS SHIFT CONVERSATION FROM ISLAM TO OBAMA, PALESTINE
7.
(SBU) SRMC Pandith, DCM Rob Rapson, and Poloffs met with politicians
from each of the three predominantly Muslim parties over lunch: the
United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the People's Justice Party
(PKR), and the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS). All three politicians
agreed that Islam is compatible with democracy. UMNO Member of
Parliament (MP) Nur Jazlan stated that the ongoing "Islamization
process" in Malaysia started "around 30 years ago."
(Note:
this was a thinly veiled suggestion that it started after then-Islamist
activist Anwar Ibrahim joined UMNO in 1982. End Note.)
Jazlan
stated that once the process started, UMNO and the government "could
not turn back the clock" and therefore UMNO was forced to embrace
Islamization. Jazlan candidly stated if UMNO did not embrace the
challenge, the party would be accused of being "un-Islamic."
Jazlan conceded that he is not happy with what is happening, but is unable to stop it due to political considerations.
PAS
Youth Secretary General Kamaruzaman Mohamad, not a member of
Parliament, added that PAS is committed to democracy until "we capture
power."
8. (SBU) PKR MP Yusmadi Yusuf welcomed President
Obama's Cairo speech but expressed concern from PKR leaders, including
party advisor Anwar Ibrahim, that Obama seems to be "speaking on behalf
of Muslims," and that this slant is not going down well among them.
(
Comment: post does not feel that this is an accurate assessment of Anwar's views.
End Comment.)
Yusmadi
felt that President Obama should instead address the problems in the
"Muslim world" as an outsider. He nonetheless stressed that Muslims in
Malaysia welcomed the new administration which he felt "is genuinely
concerned" about the "Muslim world" compared to the previous
administration.
Yusmadi also suggested that the U.S. should
formulate an economic model for Muslim countries which he claimed "would
endear the U.S. among Muslims." He cited Southern Thailand as a
possible region to implement this economic model.
Kamaruzaman
echoed Yusmadi's view that there is a genuine optimism among Muslims
over U.S. policies after the Obama administration came to power, but
pointed out that Muslims will always have problems with the U.S. so long
as the Palestinian issue is not resolved. He criticized the U.S. for
being a staunch and uncompromising ally of Israel.
Until the
U.S. can become more of an "honest broker", said Karamuzaman, the U.S.
will always be viewed with suspicion by Muslims.
RELIGIOUS MINISTRY: TOLERATING RELIGION, IF DONE THEIR WAY
9.
(SBU) SRMC Pandith met with Minister for Religious Affairs Jamil Khir
Baharom, who immediately reflected upon his positive experience
attending graduate school in the U.S., and elaborating on the
similarities between the U.S. and Malaysia.
Jamil noted that
both countries are multi-racial and commented on how other races have
the freedom to celebrate their religion in Malaysia. The Minister then
went on to explain that Malaysia practices Sunni Islam exclusively,
noting that Shia and Sufism are not allowed in Malaysia. According to
Jamil, "it's better to have one school of thought instead of many."
10.
(SBU) The Minister noted that Islamic education is compulsory for all
Muslims, starting with primary and secondary students with continuation
in public universities.
He recalled the poor Islamic education
system in Malaysia prior to independence and felt privileged that the
Federal Government took over the education system by outlining the
school syllabus and having it standardized. The teachings also differed
from one village to another, which led to different schools of
thought.
Jamil added that the Ministry of Higher Education
collaborates with the Religious Affairs Department in setting up the
syllabus, and now many Malaysian scholars study abroad, especially in
Egypt and Jordan.
Jamil did not elaborate on other activities
that the Ministry engages in, though he did say that one of them is to
monitor sermons given after Friday prayers.
ENERGIZING THE NEXT GENERATION OF GLOBAL MUSLIMS
11.
(U) At a round table discussion with Islamic scholars, academics,
students, Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program alumni, and a local
entrepreneur, SRMC Pandith emphasized her role as convener, facilitator,
and intellectual partner listening to the next generation and
encouraging initiatives for the common good.
She stressed the
diversity of Islam and the desire to build relationships across Muslim
communities over time and based on mutual interest and respect. She
noted the power of traditional and social media networking to spread
information, expand engagement, and reach more global youth interested
in positive change.
12. (U) Faisal Hassan, President of the YES
Alumni Association of Malaysia, spoke of his group's diverse activities
including community service and development projects (promoting peace,
building leadership skills, developing English-language programs),
organizing a worldwide YES Alumni Conference in Malaysia in November
2009, participating in the AFS World Congress in Kuala Lumpur in
November 2009, and networking with other alumni abroad to share best
practices and experiences. SRMC Pandith encouraged YES to expand its
network even further through social media and to consider working with
other entrepreneurs to "scale up" their activities and have an even
greater impact around the world.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP'S POSSIBILITIES AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL
13.
(U) SRMC Pandith spoke about the power of entrepreneurship for Muslim
communities at the roundtable, mentioning entrepreneurship not only in
its traditional business context, but also in terms of innovation
(technology and ideas) and social entrepreneurship (giving back through
community development).
She stressed that examples of Muslim
entrepreneurship successes highlight "the good side of Muslim
communities around the world." Malaysian entrepreneur Dhakshinamoorthy
"Dash" Balakrishnan, CEO of Warisan Global, shared his personal
experiences at the grassroots level in hiring over 800 Malaysian Muslim
graduates to engage villagers in entrepreneurial projects making greater
use of the Internet and to create markets for their cottage industry
products.
He also noted the success during the recent Global
Entrepreneurship Week that he organized. He concluded that
entrepreneurship has broken both mental and racial barriers and that
partnership-based entrepreneurial activities have created stronger
levels of trust between various communities in Malaysia.
INTERVIEW WITH FEATURES REPORTER, BERITA HARIAN
14.
(U) Following her roundtable with university students and faculty, SRMC
Pandith held an exclusive interview with Berita Harian, one of KL's
major Malay-language dailies with nationwide weekday circulation of
nearly 200,000. In the interview, SRMC Pandith explained why she had
chosen to visit Malaysia, echoing President Obama's description in his
Cairo speech, of Malaysia as a "progressive Muslim-majority country" and
one that must not be ignored.
She also talked about why
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is putting an emphasis on grassroots
and people to people connections. She also spoke about her position as
the Special Representative, her interest in convening dialogues and
facilitating networking among like-minded people who support the
"diversity of Islam" and want to make a difference.
She
mentioned how the U.S. sees its role as a convener and facilitator, and
as an intellectual partner with Muslim communities around the world.
SRMC Pandith stressed that the U.S. is open to new ideas and mentioned
her hope that proposals for undertakings between the U.S. and Malaysia
can come from a renewed dialogue with Malaysians in partnership with the
U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
When asked whether public
perception and treatment of Muslims in the U.S. had improved since 2001,
SRMC Pandith replied that "As is the case in many societies around the
world) there is still a need for education about diversity and mutual
respect," but stressed that "Muslims in the United States have more
freedom to practice their religion than anywhere else in the world."
(
Note: A feature article from this interview will be published shortly in Berita Harian's weekend edition.
End note.)
JAMAH ISLAH MALAYSIA (JIM): AN NGO WITH CONSERVATIVE IDEALS
15.
(SBU) At a December 14 dinner meeting with SRMC Pandith, President of
the conservative Islamic NGO Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) Zaid Kamaruddin
and colleagues explained that the 10,000-member organization, many of
whom are spread at all levels of the government strata, was dedicated to
strengthening Muslim values in Malaysia.
He and fellow
believers set up the NGO in 1982 after Anwar Ibrahim, who was then
leader of the Muslim Youth Organization (ABIM) decided to join the
ruling political party, UMNO. Zaid and others thought the struggle for
Muslim values had to remain outside the government.
Zaid said
JIM sought to offer an alternative vision to what he called the "liberal
western" system of government that Malaysia had adopted. Democracy was
a significant achievement, but Islamic government "by God" would be
better. In addition, materialistic western values meant citizens lacked
ethical discipline, so democracy required extensive regulation and a
robust police force to keep society under control.
16. (SBU) In
contrast, under Islamic rule citizens could be confident that rulers
(who could be chosen through democratic elections, perhaps) would act
within the bounds of behavior as laid out in the Koran and Sunnah, and
citizens were law-abiding because of their strong religious beliefs.
Asked
whether his description of Islamic rule was Utopian, Zaid answered
that, on the contrary, such rule had existed under the Caliphs.
Realistically, Zaid concluded, Muslims in Malaysia could not expect to
establish Islamic rule in the near term, nor was JIM advocating such a
step, but there was a need to offer a competing vision to that of the
west.
17. (SBU) We asked Zaid about two current controversies
in Malaysia with religious overtones: the Catholic Herald's effort to
overturn a law restricting the use of the word "Allah" to Muslims, and
the pending caning of a Muslim woman, Kartika, for drinking alcohol,
noting that these cases attracted attention outside of Malaysia.
Zaid
said that the law restricting the use of "Allah" was not based on
Muslim beliefs, but nevertheless a law was on the books and JIM would
not risk alienating other Muslim groups by defending the Catholic
Herald.
On the Kartika case, he said there should be no
controversy: she had broken Syariah law in Pahang state, and the
required penalty was caning.
18. (U) SRMC Pandith cleared this cable.
KEITH
GEORGE
TOWN: Hindraf Makkal Sakti has condemned the re-arrest of six Parti
Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members under the Emergency Ordinance and the
police crackdown on Bersih 2.0 ahead of its July 9 rally.
