The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (in malay called Gabungan Pilihanraya BERSIH dan Adil) or BERSIH (meaning clean in Malay) is a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and was supported by Pakatan Rakyat. The leader of BERSIH, Ambiga Sreevenasan initially said the main aim of BERSIH demonstration is to call for free and fair elections in Malaysia. In other words, no previous elections in Malaysia were fair and clean. Is it true? Although there are no clear evidences to suggest that all the previous elections in Malaysia are not fair and clean, but definitely all those peoples who previously are involved in the general election certainly know whether our general election is conducted in a fair and clean manner or otherwise. As a nation, we are about fifty-five years old and during those times, we had several general elections and the bloodiest one is in 1969. In all the previous general election, Barisan had won and ruled our country. Anwar Ibrahim was once among the supreme leader of Barisan National and I am sure he is one of those who know whether our previous elections were conducted in clean and fair or otherwise. Why Anwar and Ambiga use street demonstration and not negotiation to solve the problem? As long as I know, Anwar had used street demonstration even when he was a student leader in University Malaya and the leader of Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM). Now at the age of sixty-five, Anwar still uses the same method to pressure the government. Anwar knew the method works. The only time there is no street demonstration in Malaysia is when Anwar Ibrahim was with the ruling government and when he was in Sungai Buloh Prison. I would say as long as Anwar is not with the government or in prison, there will always be a street demonstration in Malaysia. Anwar is the Guru of street demonstration in Malaysia. What Anwar wants to achieve with street demonstration? With street demonstration, Anwar wants to tarnish whatever good image of the ruling government and Anwar wants to paint the image of cruelty and injustice to the ruling government. When there are crowds of thousand of peoples and with no proper control by the organizer, surely they are some who will not follow the instructions of the police. When the police start to fire tear gas towards the demonstrators, certainly it gives the image to Malaysians and international communities that Malaysian’s government does not allow freedom of speech to her peoples. Once the image of cruelty and injustice are painted to the ruling government the purpose of BERSIH demonstration is achieved.
Dato Seri Najib and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi are not clever enough to understand what Anwar wants. It is simple. Anwar wants power and wealth. Anwar does not want justice to the people as he often said in his speeches. Anwar knows how to give speeches that will make all his audiences to believe that he is a good man. Anwar names his party as Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which means a party that works towards justice. It is all nonsense and it is only words to deceive peoples. Even within the Parti Keadilan Rakyat there is no justice (keadilan). Surprisingly many believe in him, follow him and take him as their leader in the struggle for justice. Everyone wants justice and justice is a noble word owns only by a noble person and can only be discharged by a true and noble Muslim. Is Anwar a true Muslim and a noble person? His talks are good and noble but Anwar is not a true Muslim and not a noble person. Tun Dr Mahathir knew what Anwar wants and Tun also knew, as long as Anwar does not get what he wants, that is power and wealth, Anwar will continue to cause chaos and instability in the country. When Tun Dr Mahathir took him inside the government and gave him power and wealth, Malaysia was at peace for nearly nineteen years. Anwar does not stop with only power and wealth; he also wants to have sex with as many women, including the wife’s of other men and men as he could. He was put on trial in court for sodomy and corruption and finally he was sentenced to jail for about six years.
When Anwar was jailed for six years, Malaysia was also at peace. During the time of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Anwar was released from the jail and with his fiery and captivating speeches; he again started the movement to create chaos and instability in Malaysia. Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi believed that Anwar was the victim of political conspiracy of Tun Mahathir Muhammad and Tun Abdullah had great sympathy towards Anwar, the great actor and liar. Anwar is not a true Muslims but he acts as one. By joining UMNO did not make him a better person. With power and wealth, the actor Anwar turns out to become worse than when he was with ABIM. Initially Tun Dr Mahathir truly believed that Anwar is a good Muslim and took him into the government with the hopes that Anwar will help him to move Malaysia towards Islamisation. Anwar acting did not last long. No matter how hard Anwar wanted to conceal his wrong actions, Allah revealed Anwar’s true colours to the public and to Tun Dr Mahathir. Anwar did not admit his wrong sexual acts and instead he blamed UMNO and Tun Dr Mahathir for making a conspiracy towards him. Many believe that Anwar was the victim of political conspiracy of UMNO and Tun Dr Mahathir and he gained overwhelming sympathy from the peoples either inside or outside the country.
Anwar uses the same strategy; he organizes BERSIH and uses Ambiga as a scapegoat. With BERSIH he wants to gains public sympathy towards him and Pakatan Rakyat. Najib and Hishammuddin did not know this and started to use the police to control the crowd of BERSIH 1.0 to 3.0. In BERSIH 3.0, it was reported that the crowds went against the police instruction, only when their leaders Anwar and Azmin gave them orders to ignore police instruction. Anwar gave the instruction to Azmin who in turn gave instruction to the crowd to break the police barricade and to occupy Dataran Merdeka. Since Anwar’s younger days he always went against the police orders. Anwar knew, unless he went against the police orders, chaos and tyranny cannot be created. What Anwar wants is only to create chaos and tyranny and to print the image of cruelty and tyranny to the ruling government. In my opinion, in order to counter Anwar, we should ignore BERSIH and we should not employ police to control BERSIH. Government must not give any important to BERSIH. On the other hand, Malaysian government must invite the leaders of the opposition parties for discussion on their demands for a fair and clean election. Najib, Muhyiddin, Anwar, Ambiga and Nik Aziz must all be in the discussion. It should be made clear to the world that everything in Malaysia can be solved by negotiation and not by street demonstration. Our government must be humbled and nice toward the opposition parties and ready to solve the problem amicably. We must not let Anwar to use any of our weaknesses as a means for him to create havoc and instability in the country.
BERSIH is not the way to solve our country problems or any other problems in this world. BERSIH is a rally or gathering of peoples, trying to demonstrate their grievances to the authorities by displaying banners and chanting words of their demands. Anwar and other opposition leaders call the gathering as BERSIH, which carry the demand that the election must be fair and clean. Opposition parties will continue to use demonstration as a means to achieve their demand of a fair and clean election. In my opinion, it is not the issues of having a clean and fair election but it is the issue of Anwar trying to paint the image of cruelty and tyranny to the ruling government. The government must not succumb to the political tactics of Anwar. There is no election in the whole world, which is really clean and fair even if the ruling party of this country is PKR. Issues of a clean and fair election are only used as a means to gather crowd and to create chaos and tyranny in the country. Arabs spring is street demonstration, which turns violent and finally lead to the downfall of the ruling government. Nik Aziz has given the fatwa of wajib (compulsory) to participate in BERSIH and he said he will give continuous support to BERSIH, because Nik Aziz believe it is the way Prophet Muhammad saw did in order to prevent injustice and Nik Aziz personally call the BERSIH rally as the act of Jihad. Whoever regards Nik Aziz as Tuan Guru will certainly follow him and by this Anwar has another important so call religious personality to support him.
How Nik Aziz has come to the fatwa it is wajib to participate in BERSIH and that, it is an act of Jihad, only Allah knows. It is strange to know that Nik Aziz has given the fatwa of wajib to participate in BERSIH. Demonstration is not the way shown by our Prophet Muhammad saw to prevent peoples from evils and to call peoples to good. Anwar and Nik Aziz are two people in Malaysia who teach peoples to prevent mungkar (evil) by creating another mungkar (evil). Evils done by Barisan National cannot be eliminated by doing other evils. Allah does not ask us to repel evils by evils but to repel evils by good. Nik Aziz has interpreted the government led by Barisan National has done injustice to the peoples when the demands of the opposition party on election procedures is not fulfilled by the government. Is it wajib or harus to vote for a candidate in an election? The fatwa on this can be given by Nik Aziz alone or by a group of an expert on Fatwa? Nik Aziz cannot give any Fatwa alone and to follow the fatwa given by Nik Aziz is null and void. Prophet Muhammad saw has never adopted the democracy system as a method to choose a leader. A good leader can only be chosen from a group of good peoples. Where are the good peoples of Malaysia and from among them we should choose our leader and not from the process of democracy that is a system created by the infidels. Democracy system is a system develop by the non-Muslim of Greece and it is not even the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad saw. How Nik Aziz can give fatwa that to attend BERSIH is wajib and it is an act of Jihad. Because of this fatwa many Pas members including the old and aging members of Pas join BERSIH. Because Nik Aziz gives the fatwa that it is an act of Jihad, many members of Pas are willing to participate in BERSIH even to the extent of endangering their lifes. If they are killed in BERSIH, their death is the death of a martyr. Nik Aziz is perpetuating the feeling of hatred among Pas members toward UMNO. Nik Aziz was reported to have said; “Pas can cooperate not only with DAP but even with the Syaitan to overthrow UMNO and Barisan National” and Anwar Ibrahim was also reported to have said; “I am ready to listen and to cooperate with DAP but not to anyone from UMNO”.
Nik Aziz believes that BERSIH demonstration and five times congregational prayers are similar. He also believes that the performance of Friday prayers with congregation is also a demonstration. Muslims from all over the world meet at Arafah during the Pilgrimage is also to Nik Aziz a demonstration similar to BERSIH. Both BERSIH and the performance of five times daily congregational prayers are only similar in the sense that there are many peoples who come together to a place to do something which Nik Aziz call it as demonstration. However, both demonstrations have a extremely different intention. BERSIH is a demonstration of hatred towards the government of Malaysia with the intention to gain power and wealth, and five times congregational prayers are a demonstration of love and submission to the Almighty Allah with the intention to please Allah. Actions are same when the reason why the actions are done and the intention are same. BERSIH and five times congregational prayers are entirely different actions, because both have different reasons of doing and different intention. Intention or niat in doing an action is the determining factor in deciding whether an action is similar or not. It is ashamed upon Nik Aziz to equate such a low-grade action as BERSIH with such a great action as the performance of five times daily prayers. Nik Aziz has a look of religious and knowledgeable person but in reality he is a politician much lower than Tun Dr Mahathir in the eyes of Allah. Tun Dr Mahathir is a good politician who hardly uses Islam as a tool in his politic but Nik Aziz is a bad politician who uses Islam to the maximum as a tool in his politic. Both Anwar and Nik Aziz are two Malaysian politicians who appear to look religious but in reality, they are not religious and they are just like the artificial flowers without odor.
As a Muslim, we should use the way of our Prophet Muhammad saw in choosing our leaders and not the way of democracy, a system that is developed by the non-Muslims. Using the system of democracy in selecting our leaders will lead us to a disaster and calamities. Instead of blessing, we will get calamities if we use the system of democracy in choosing our lawmakers. The way to choose our leader is the same as the way we choose a person to become the imam of a congregational prayer. The best among us is the one who has the most fear in Allah and the best among us should become our leader. A person who has the most fear in Allah is the one who has the strong believe in the unseen, who perform prayers like our Prophet Muhammad saw did, who invite peoples to good and forbidding peoples from evil like Prophet Muhammad saw did and who gives some out of the bounties that Allah has given to him to the needy. We can choose the imam of a congregational prayer only from among those who regularly perform prayers congregationally. The best among them must be made imam and the suggestions as who is the best among them must come only from those who regularly perform congregational prayers in the Masjid. The choice of who should become imam does not depend on the majority of peoples who like him to become imam but depend on the most qualities love by Allah posses by him as an imam. In order to choose an iman in a Masjid we do not need a general election in which everyone, men, women and LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people) in the locality to vote. If we run a general election couples with BERSIH to select the imam of our Masjid, we may end up having an imam who is a women, LGBT or a man who hardly pray in the Masjid. Similarly, in choosing our leaders, we must not use the system of democracy or otherwise we may end up having a LGBT like Anwar as our Prime Minister or even worse a non-Muslims like Lim Kit Siang as our Prime Minister.
BERSIH is only the gimmick used by the opposition parties to gain sympathy of the public and to paint the image of cruelty and aggression upon the ruling government. BERSIH cannot clean the system of voting in a democracy system. There are so many loopholes in the system and no one in the world would ever be able to have a really fair and clean election. System made by men, can never be pure and clean. This is because men are terribly in love with power and wealth. Men will manipulate the system in order to enable them to gain power and wealth. Men will try to maintain power within their family circles like Jemaah Tabligh. In Jemaah Tabligh, only those who are connected with the family of Maulana Ilyas can become the leaders of Jemaah Tabligh. In India, only those who have the relationship with Nehru can become the Prime Minister of India. Many Arab countries have general elections and the result of the general election always show that the ruling government has the majority votes of the peoples. In reality, it was not true that the ruling party has the majority votes. If the ruling government has majority votes then why in so many Arab countries peoples are revolting against their government known as Arab spring. All this while there is no true democracy in the Arab countries. Because of love of power and wealth the ruling party manipulated the voting system and made them appear to have the majority votes. I strongly suggest that we should abandon the democracy system and abandon BERSIH. When we, all Muslims decide to adopt the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad saw in choosing our leader we will be blessed by Allah.
Prof Dr Nasoha Saabin
May 2012
Integrative Holistic Wellness Centre