by M. Bakri Musa

When President Nixon ordered the bombing of Hanoi during Christmas of 1972, I knew then that his fate was sealed. I am not a Christian, but living in the West I am very much aware of the spiritual significance of Christmas. As such I found Nixon’s action, coming from a self-professed Christian who regularly had Billy Graham pray with him in the White House, abominable beyond comprehension.

A Just God would not let such a barbaric action go unpunished. Sure enough, a few months later the Watergate scandal broke out that would ultimately lead to Nixon’s resigning under threat of impeachment. This was less than two years after he won a landslide re-election victory.

As a Muslim I feel profoundly the spirituality of Ramadan. It was the month that Allah first revealed the Quran to His Last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w. That was a measure of His generosity upon us. It is said that the gates to Heaven are wide open, and to Hell closed shut, during this season, again reflecting His mercifulness during this blessed month.

We are expected to reciprocate this divine gift by being generous to our fellow beings. Ramadan is thus a season to be charitable, to be forgiving of each other and the seeking of forgiveness from others. All faiths have such a special period in their calendar when their followers are expected to be extra generous to and tolerant of their fellow human beings.

Imagine my horror, shared by many, when Prime Minister Abdullah, the self-declared Imam of Islam Hadhari, chose this particular month to incarcerate Raja Petra Kamarudin and others under the draconian Internal Security Act that allows for detention without trial, or even the filing of charges.

I would have expected the reverse. That is, during Ramadan the Prime Minister would grant amnesty to deserving prisoners as a gesture of the government’s generosity and charity of spirit.

I have yet to see this happen in Malaysia, or any other Muslim country for that matter. Instead we have the odious act of the police bundling up Raja Petra and others into prison, right in front of their families. Where in the Quran or the sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad, s.a.w., did Imam Abdullah find the justification for such a cruel act? Where is the spirit of generosity or sense of forgiveness demanded from each of us by our faith during this holy month?

As a Muslim Abdullah will be paying his zakat fitr (tithe) this Ramadan, and come Hari Raya he will be generous with his duit raya to the children calling upon the gates of Sri Perdana. That is the extent of his understanding of the concept of charity and generosity called for in our faith: simplistic, ritualistic, and materialistic. Those he jailed under the ISA or the millions made miserable through escalating living costs as a consequence of his economic policies never enter his heart.

ISA Unjust

Like Nixon before, I also expect Abdullah’s latest inhuman act would also seal his fate. I do not know or care what or when his comeuppance would be but I do know that whenever I see an injustice being perpetrated, I am duty bound by my faith to respond.

I do not wish to sermonize and outdo our Imam of Islam Hadhari (he is already good at that and does it all too frequently), but I do know this. As per the teachings of our Prophet, s.a.w., when we see an injustice, we are to do whatever in our capacity to stop it. If we are unable to do so with our hands (that is, physically), then we are to use our tongue (voice our disapproval). Failing that, then at least acknowledge in our heart that we disapprove of it, though that would be the option least pleasing to Allah.

Incarcerating Raja Petra and others without affording them their due process is the height of injustice; and to do it during Ramadan is both cruel and vindictive. It is also an affront to our religious sensibility; the very act desecrates our holy month.

I do not recommend anyone attempting to physically stop the police as that would risk your being arrested too, or worse. We have to caution ourselves that where injustice or lawlessness is institutionalized, then the just and the lawful become victims.

There is something well within our ability to do, that is, voice our disapproval of the brutal ways of our government. Many have already done so last March and again last month at the ballot box. Unfortunately our leaders are slow learners, or refuse to learn the lesson. We have to keep teaching them.

There is now a petition circulating in cyberspace seeking the release of all those detained under the ISA. I urge all to sign it, as my family and I did. Writing this commentary is also my way of condemning Abdullah’s brutish ways.

Last week with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim threatening to bring down the administration through coaxing its members to cross over, Abdullah threw a veiled threat of resorting to the ISA to silence Anwar. Local and international pressures made Abdullah back off.

If we can believe him, Home Minister Syed Hamid was not at all involved in the process. He proudly asserted that he did not “interfere” with the “professional” work of the police. To think that the precious freedom of our citizens could hinge on the judgment if not fancy of some functionary in the police department is truly shocking. For a minister to admit that he does not know what is going on in his department goes beyond incredulity; it is utter incompetence and gross dereliction of duty.

Today (September 22), just hours before the habeas corpus application by Raja Petra, Syed Hamid signed off on the detention of Raja Petra, thus making a mockery of the minister’s earlier denial.

No man is perfect enough to be entrusted with the liberty and dignity of others, asserted the Sudanese reformist Mahmoud Mohamad Taha. I certainly would not entrust my freedom to others, least of all characters like Abdullah and Syed Hamid. We need due process.

Raja Petra was held for supposedly “insulting Islam.” Those police officers either have not read his articles, or if they did, could not understand them.

As Mufti of Perlis Datuk Asri Zainal Abidin so wisely noted, even Allah on the Day of Judgment would have us answer for our deeds before rendering judgment. Here we have a mere mortal in the person of the Imam of Islam Hadhari passing judgment on fellow citizens without first hearing their side.

Law professor Azmi Sharom said it best. “The arrest of Raja Petra, Kok and Tan shows that the law is so open to abuse that we have no other choice but to get rid of it. …. There can be no room for amendments. The ISA must go.” Amen!

God works in mysterious ways, so says our Quran. Nixon had his Watergate; Abdullah too will have his comeuppance. Whenever that comes, I pray that Allah would be merciful. There is no anger in me for Abdullah, only sadness for what he has done to our nation