The party is throwing away the urban vote in the interest of maintaining its grip on Kelantan while slowly spreading out to the rest of the country.
FMT
Religion can be extremely beneficial to mankind. It has provided us a moral code and encourages altruism, gives hope to the downtrodden, and purpose to the lost. Throughout human history, some of the most remarkable acts of kindness were driven through a devotion to a faith. By and large, religion is a social control mechanism that convinces us to do the best for each other.
But in the wrong hands, that social control mechanism has been used to oppress, repress, and dominate large segments of the public. This manifests often in the form of cults, where a supreme leader assures his flock of salvation, but only through him and his doctrine, and maintains a tight control over the minds of his people through the constant instilling of fear, until the oppressed becomes the oppressor and the cycle begins anew.
The use of religion as the primary control for a society, regardless of the core tenets and teachings of the religion itself, is evident in many theocracies as it is within the interest of the ruler and those associated with him to exert authority in the name of the divine to maintain his position over the masses. In a theocratic structure, dissent is seen as blasphemy and the ruler is absolute, his governance sanctioned by divine will.
It is down this dangerous road that PAS now travels.
Play for power
PAS is becoming a worrying problem for Malaysia. Presented in GE13 as a progressive party with burnished grassroots credentials and a long, vaunted history, PAS now seems content to throw away the urban vote in the interest of maintaining its kingdom in the north while slowly spreading out to the rest of the country. It seems like Abdul Hadi Awang is no longer content to play nice while the so-called Erdogans in his party try to gain influence to stand against the toxic rhetoric coming from extremist groups. He has made a play for power through the faction of the ulamas, who are more than pleased to oblige.
The establishment of hudud laws in Kelantan should not actually be as major an issue as many of us seem to believe. After all, there are many practical suggestions within that law system should it be updated for modern day sensitivities and values. PAS, unfortunately, wants to drag the 20th century kicking and screaming back to the Middle Ages by introducing a guillotine into the legal process to chop the hands off thieves as no medical practitioner will violate the Hippocratic Oath and knowingly disable a person for life.
It seems like PAS is not interested in the fact that a man who has lost his arm will likely feel vengeful for it. Nor will he be able to live life normally ever again. The loss of a limb means that most menial tasks may be out of reach for a long time as the individual attempts to adapt to a new life minus a hand.
There must surely be some other means of recourse acceptable within the framework of hudud other than to remove the limbs of a person. The punishment should be severe, yes, but how do we assign value to the limbs of another human being? There must be an alternative to such a final form of punishment.
Better yet, why not rehabilitate and educate these criminals? In the Nordic countries, the prison system is designed around the idea that these people will one day rejoin society, and if the authorities don’t prepare for that objective, they will fall back to committing the very same crime that landed them in prison in the first place.
Through a comprehensive education system, the inmates can attain vital skills not only for finding a stable job, but also to help them reintegrate with society. This forward thinking considers society as a whole and attempts to better it. Opposed to it is the kind of thinking characterised by a romantic longing for times past, when we rode horses and used sabres in war, read by candlelight, trekked long distances to find a teacher, washed only when we could find running water and dealt with criminals swiftly and neatly.
Religious hegemony
The other primary concern is the effects of PAS’ religious hegemony over the people of Kelantan.
Kelantan has been recognized as the state that proportionally has the most HIV/Aids infections in the nation, which is ironic when you consider the credentials PAS pushes into people’s faces come election time. Pasir Mas MP Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz has attempted to push some of the blame for this on Kelantan’s proximity to Thailand, which is apparently a land of every vice known to man. That is admittedly somewhat true, but don’t forget that Thailand also has great food, amazing architecture and Muay Thai. It really depends on what you’re looking for. But we digress.
Nik Abduh got his fair share of tongue lashing for attempting to taichi the blame onto Thailand, but what we’re overlooking in the issue is the backlash that occurs when religion is used as an oppressive social control.
Authority, divine or otherwise, is effective only to the extent that people are willing to submit to it. Pushing its limits only invites a backlash. Just because PAS tags “divine” to the rules it expects the people of Kelantan to obey, it doesn’t mean the old maxim “rules are meant to be broken” won’t apply.
You see, we humans are curious creatures. To a certain extent we want to be governed and led, but each individual has his personal limits, which are defined by cultural values and personal beliefs. Some are less docile than others, and when faced with authoritarian control, they may rebel or find alternatives to outright dissension, which is the problem faced by Kelantan now.
The people of Kelantan are told how to live their lives and go about their existences. Certain small vices are denied them, including cinemas, which us KL-ites flock to like flies to food whenever a new blockbuster is in town. Though rarely enforced, men and women line up separately even in grocery stores.
Rigidity may have some benefits, but forcing people into a corner the way PAS is slowly doing in Kelantan is like inviting some of them to dissent.
Avoidable problem
If they can’t indulge in their vices in Kelantan, they can cross the border. And because they are so restrained at home, they indulge even harder due to a lack of control that others may have learned in a more relaxed environment. This, and a lack of education on safely indulging in vices, has led to the uptick in HIV/Aids cases seen in Kelantan, which, in all honesty, is a completely avoidable problem.
PAS needs to relax the clench of its fists before it engineers its own downfall. The hudud push is not likely to be a very welcome one even among avid supporters of the party in Kelantan. After all, everybody falls to his vices every once in a while, and facing the chopping block – literally, this time – is not likely to be a very attractive option. People want and crave freedom as much as they want guidance, and PAS would be wise to recognize this.
“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical… It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.” – Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson on Politics and Government.
Religion can be extremely beneficial to mankind. It has provided us a moral code and encourages altruism, gives hope to the downtrodden, and purpose to the lost. Throughout human history, some of the most remarkable acts of kindness were driven through a devotion to a faith. By and large, religion is a social control mechanism that convinces us to do the best for each other.
But in the wrong hands, that social control mechanism has been used to oppress, repress, and dominate large segments of the public. This manifests often in the form of cults, where a supreme leader assures his flock of salvation, but only through him and his doctrine, and maintains a tight control over the minds of his people through the constant instilling of fear, until the oppressed becomes the oppressor and the cycle begins anew.
The use of religion as the primary control for a society, regardless of the core tenets and teachings of the religion itself, is evident in many theocracies as it is within the interest of the ruler and those associated with him to exert authority in the name of the divine to maintain his position over the masses. In a theocratic structure, dissent is seen as blasphemy and the ruler is absolute, his governance sanctioned by divine will.
It is down this dangerous road that PAS now travels.
Play for power
PAS is becoming a worrying problem for Malaysia. Presented in GE13 as a progressive party with burnished grassroots credentials and a long, vaunted history, PAS now seems content to throw away the urban vote in the interest of maintaining its kingdom in the north while slowly spreading out to the rest of the country. It seems like Abdul Hadi Awang is no longer content to play nice while the so-called Erdogans in his party try to gain influence to stand against the toxic rhetoric coming from extremist groups. He has made a play for power through the faction of the ulamas, who are more than pleased to oblige.
The establishment of hudud laws in Kelantan should not actually be as major an issue as many of us seem to believe. After all, there are many practical suggestions within that law system should it be updated for modern day sensitivities and values. PAS, unfortunately, wants to drag the 20th century kicking and screaming back to the Middle Ages by introducing a guillotine into the legal process to chop the hands off thieves as no medical practitioner will violate the Hippocratic Oath and knowingly disable a person for life.
It seems like PAS is not interested in the fact that a man who has lost his arm will likely feel vengeful for it. Nor will he be able to live life normally ever again. The loss of a limb means that most menial tasks may be out of reach for a long time as the individual attempts to adapt to a new life minus a hand.
There must surely be some other means of recourse acceptable within the framework of hudud other than to remove the limbs of a person. The punishment should be severe, yes, but how do we assign value to the limbs of another human being? There must be an alternative to such a final form of punishment.
Better yet, why not rehabilitate and educate these criminals? In the Nordic countries, the prison system is designed around the idea that these people will one day rejoin society, and if the authorities don’t prepare for that objective, they will fall back to committing the very same crime that landed them in prison in the first place.
Through a comprehensive education system, the inmates can attain vital skills not only for finding a stable job, but also to help them reintegrate with society. This forward thinking considers society as a whole and attempts to better it. Opposed to it is the kind of thinking characterised by a romantic longing for times past, when we rode horses and used sabres in war, read by candlelight, trekked long distances to find a teacher, washed only when we could find running water and dealt with criminals swiftly and neatly.
Religious hegemony
The other primary concern is the effects of PAS’ religious hegemony over the people of Kelantan.
Kelantan has been recognized as the state that proportionally has the most HIV/Aids infections in the nation, which is ironic when you consider the credentials PAS pushes into people’s faces come election time. Pasir Mas MP Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz has attempted to push some of the blame for this on Kelantan’s proximity to Thailand, which is apparently a land of every vice known to man. That is admittedly somewhat true, but don’t forget that Thailand also has great food, amazing architecture and Muay Thai. It really depends on what you’re looking for. But we digress.
Nik Abduh got his fair share of tongue lashing for attempting to taichi the blame onto Thailand, but what we’re overlooking in the issue is the backlash that occurs when religion is used as an oppressive social control.
Authority, divine or otherwise, is effective only to the extent that people are willing to submit to it. Pushing its limits only invites a backlash. Just because PAS tags “divine” to the rules it expects the people of Kelantan to obey, it doesn’t mean the old maxim “rules are meant to be broken” won’t apply.
You see, we humans are curious creatures. To a certain extent we want to be governed and led, but each individual has his personal limits, which are defined by cultural values and personal beliefs. Some are less docile than others, and when faced with authoritarian control, they may rebel or find alternatives to outright dissension, which is the problem faced by Kelantan now.
The people of Kelantan are told how to live their lives and go about their existences. Certain small vices are denied them, including cinemas, which us KL-ites flock to like flies to food whenever a new blockbuster is in town. Though rarely enforced, men and women line up separately even in grocery stores.
Rigidity may have some benefits, but forcing people into a corner the way PAS is slowly doing in Kelantan is like inviting some of them to dissent.
Avoidable problem
If they can’t indulge in their vices in Kelantan, they can cross the border. And because they are so restrained at home, they indulge even harder due to a lack of control that others may have learned in a more relaxed environment. This, and a lack of education on safely indulging in vices, has led to the uptick in HIV/Aids cases seen in Kelantan, which, in all honesty, is a completely avoidable problem.
PAS needs to relax the clench of its fists before it engineers its own downfall. The hudud push is not likely to be a very welcome one even among avid supporters of the party in Kelantan. After all, everybody falls to his vices every once in a while, and facing the chopping block – literally, this time – is not likely to be a very attractive option. People want and crave freedom as much as they want guidance, and PAS would be wise to recognize this.
“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical… It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.” – Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson on Politics and Government.
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