Tsunami Updates

I have now managed to get Muslim Aid to help. From now onwards, I am collecting donations under the banner of Muslim Aid. This will ensure that whatever funds I collect will be delivered to the victims as quickly as possible. I am begging you to support this effort. I also spoke to a few more people who are working on the ground to help the victims of the tsunami. The victims in Kedah are beginning to feel the impact the tsunami has on their lives. It is beginning to "sink in". They are without a house, without food, without money, without proof of identity, without jobs. I was told that a few were talking about suicide due to what they see as lack of hope. I feel sorry for these people. But all I can do is to pray, and to ask that you will contribute as much as you could to help them. The money being raised may also go to Aceh. We have about 7 doctors working in Aceh. This morning, I was told that they want to set up a temporary hospital in one of the remote parts of Aceh. International help is coming in but not quickly enough. The people of Aceh needs help now. The temporary hopsital needs to be built now. The money needs to come in now. I did consider creating separate funds for Aceh and for Malaysia. But I thought, rather than deciding the allocations from here, I should leave it to the people on the ground to decide where the money should go. If I say ""give everything to Aceh, or "give everything to Malaysia", it wouldn't be fair as I do not know what is happening on the ground. The important thing is, by working with Muslim Aid, the sources of funds have now increased. And the people on the ground will allocate the funds according to the greatest need. What we need is cash. Not materials. Not food. Not medicine. But cash. Cash will allow the people on the ground to purchase whatever is necessary according to the needs. That is why I am only collecting money. Please go out and ask for as much money that you can get. Speak to your neighbours. Speak to your friends. Those who want to donate other items, you can donate to the charities that are doing the collections. Try www.dec.org.uk. I must apologize to those who want to donate other items because I do not have the ability to send anything other than cash. The brothers in Malaysia are working extremely hard to provide immediate support to those in need. The volunteer doctors in Aceh are focusing on healthcare to those most in need. They all need money. We need your support. We need your help. We need you to be generous.

Tsunami Appeal

Saya baru mendapat maklumat lanjut daripada Malaysia dan ana rasa ada baiknya untuk saya kongsi bersama. Pulau Pinang merupakan salah satu tempat di mana tsunami yang melanda Malaysia memberi impak yang teruk. Ramai yang mati, terutama mereka yang sedang berkelah di tepi pantai. Tidak sedikit juga daripada mereka yang mati ini sebenarnya berasal daripada luar Pulau Pinang - mereka ke Pulau Pinang untuk bercuti (sekarang cuti sekolah). Keadaan sebenarnya lebih teruk di Kedah. Salah satu kampung di Kuala Muda telah ranap seluruhnya sehingga lebih 4660 orang kampung hilang tempat tinggal dan mata pencarian. Salah seorang pemimpin masyarakat yang saya hubungi berkata bahawa beliau telah tidak pulang ke rumah sejak hari pertama tsunami melanda kerana melawat tenpat kejadian. Begitu teruknya situasi di beberapa tempat di Kedah sehingga beliau berkata "Orang yang mati akan dikembalikan ke bumi. Tapi yang masih hidup lebih teruk kerana mereka tak ada langsung tempat untuk pulang. Rumah terus ranap. Kampung terus ranap semuanya." Cuba bayangkan.... Rumah tak ada. Pakaian "spare" tak ada. Duit nak beli makanan tak ada. Nak beli nasi tak ada duit. Nak pergi ke rumah saudara di tempat lain pun tak ada duit. Nak tukar baju tak boleh sebab baju yang tinggal hanyalah yang dipakai sekarang. Nak tidur pun terpaksa berkongsi bilik darjah di sekolah-sekolah dengan orang yang kita tak kenal. Isteri, anak pinak, emak, kakak dan saudara-saudara perempuan tak ada pakaian yang lengkap nak tutup aurat dengan baik sebab dan terpaksa berkongsi bilik dengan orang yang tak dikenali. Adik, abang, emak yang dah tua dan bapa yang dah tak larat terpaksa mengemis merayu minta makan tengah hari. Apa yang akan mereka buat? Bagaimana mereka akan membina kembali kehidupan dalam keadaan sedemikian? Rumah, pakaian, makan-minum, kenderaan, semuanya mengharap belas kasihan kita kerana semuanya hilang serta merta ! Kita wajib memberi bantuan. Di negeri-negeri lain juga berlaku kerosakan tetapi tidak terlalu teruk. Insha-Allah saya akan memberikan updates sekiranya ada lagi. Semua mereka amat memerlukan bantuan. Hulurkan sumbangan anda sebanyak yang mungkin.

Teknokrat Hizbullah

Definisi teknokrat hizbullah Maksud teknokrat hizbullah secara dasarnya ialah: i. teknokrat bermaksud kumpulan manusia yang mempunyai “kepakaran-kepakaran dalam banyak bidang bagi mendokong konsep kepimpinan ulama’... Golongan ini berperanan membantu ulama’ untuk memimpin dan mentadbir...” ii. hizbullah bermaksud sekumpulan manusia yang mempunyai ciri-ciri yang disebut dalam Ayat 56 surah Al-Maidah dan ayat 22 surah Al-Mujadalah. Perkara-perkara yang perlu untuk membentuk ‘teknokrat hizbullah’ Usaha membentuk teknokrat hizbullah memerlukan kesungguhan daripada organisasi dan juga daripada individu-individu ahli sendiri. Sekiranya organisasi bekerja keras untuk membentuk tenokrat hizbullah tetapi ahli-ahli tidak menunjukkan kesungguhan, maka usaha yang dijalankan akan gagal. Tidak ada gunanya tenaga dan wang dibelanjakan sekiranya tidak ada kesediaan dalam diri ahli sendiri kerana pada hakikatnya ahlilah yang menentukan kejayaan atau kegagalan tarbiyyah gerakan kita. Kesungguhan ahli yang tidak ditampung oleh gerak kerja organisasi yang tersusun juga hampir pasti tidak akan berjaya. Proses pembentukan teknokrat hizbullah memerlukan kepada support system yang mantap dan tersusun. Ahli-ahli perlu dipandu ke arah matlamat yang tertentu dan matlamat ini juga perlu ditetapkan oleh organisasi. Sekiranya proses pembentukan diri diserahkan sepenuhnya kepada ahli manakala gerakan pula tidak memberikan bantuan dan halatuju, maka akan lahirlah inidividu-individu ahli yang mempunyai pelbagai bentuk kefahaman dan sikap. Tidak akan wujud wehdatul-fikr dan tidak akan wujud wehdatul-amal. a. Keperluan dalam diri ahli Perkara pertama yang perlu ada dalam diri ahli ialah kesungguhan untuk terus memperbaiki diri. Ahli-ahli mestilah bersedia untuk membelanjakan wang dan membanting tenaga dalam usaha menuntut ilmu dan memperbaiki diri. Sekiranya terdapat perkara yang tidak boleh diperolehi daripada gerakan kita secara terus, maka ahli-ahli perlu faham bahawa salah satu tanggungjawab kita ialah untuk “mengembara” ke luar untuk mencari perkara berkenaan. Hakikatnya, terlalu banyak peluang untuk menggali ilmu di sekeliling kita. Seterusnya, ilmu yang diperolehi mestilah juga dipraktiskan secara bersungguh-sungguh. Hanya dengan amalan berterusan sahaja ilmu yang dipelajari akan membawa manfaat. Pada masa yang sama, ahli-ahli mestilah faham bahawa pembentukan teknokrat hizbullah menuntut kepada proses tarbiyyah yang holistik dan berterusan. Ilmu agama bukan semata-mata aqidah, fiqh dan tasawwuf sahaja. Malahan, pengurusan, kepimpinan, pentadbiran kewangan, dan lain-lain adalah sebahagian daripada agama juga. Pembentukan diri yang holistik adalah elemen amat penting dalam usaha melahirkan teknokrat hizbullah. Perkara kedua yang perlu ada dalam diri ahli ialah kesungguhan untuk mencari atau mencipta peluang untuk memberi sumbangan. Ahli-ahli perlu sedar bahawa salah satu elemen yang paling penting dalam proses pembelajaran ialah latihan amali atau amalan secara praktikal. Maka, sekiranya seseorang telah mempelajari teori-teori berkaitan da’wah atau teori-teori berkaitan pengurusan organisasi, maka tindakan seterusnya ialah mencari peluang untuk menjalankan latihan secara praktikal. Sekiranya gerakan ini tidak memberikan peluang kepada ahli untuk menjalankan latihan amali tersebut, maka ahli perlu tampil ke hadapan dan meminta peluang tersebut daripada gerakan. Sekiranya gerakan tidak dapat memberi peluang tersebut, maka ahli perlu kreatif untuk meneroka peluang yang wujud di luar gerakan ini. Perkara ketiga yang perlu ada dalam diri ahli ialah kesungguhan untuk terus bersama jamaah. Iltizam dan istiqamah merupakan konsep yang tidak asing bagi kita dan penjelasan mengenainya boleh didapati daripada pelbagai sumber lain. Perlu disebut di sini bahawa ahli-ahli di dalam gerakan ini biasanya boleh berjaya apabila menghadapi ujian kesusahan. Tetapi, ramai yang tidak iltizam dan tidak istiqamah apabila menghadapi ujian kesenangan. Ramai yang kalah apabila mendapat gaji yang tinggi daripada kerja mereka. Ramai yang kalah apabila mereka mula hidup mewah. Mereka yang benar-benar mahu menjadi teknokrat hizbullah perlu faham bahawa iltizam dan istiqamah amat perlu apabila menghadapai kesusahan dan juga kesenangan. Perkara keempat yang perlu ada dalam diri ahli ialah keberanian untuk mempersoalkan status quo. Dunia sentiasa berubah dan tidak semua perkara yang dilaksanakan pada hari ini akan terus relevan pada hari besok. Ahli falsafah Greek purba memberi sumbangan yang amat besar kepada dunia apabila mereka mula bertanya “kenapa”. Tradisi ini juga perlu diteruskan dalam gerakan kita untuk memastikan kita tidak statik di alam lama. Ahli-ahli juga perlu melatih diri untuk tidak terlalu ‘berlapik’ dalam memberikan idea kerana ada kalanya sifat malu atau ‘baik / sopan tak bertempat’ inilah yang menjadi penghalang kepada perubahan ke arah kebaikan. Dalam banyak keadaan, berterus terang adalah lebih baik daripada berselindung disebalik kalimah ‘bersopan’. Pada waktu yang sama, faktor ini amat berkait dengan perkara kelima. Perkara kelima yang perlu ada dalam diri ahli ialah kesediaan untuk menerima pandangan dengan dada yang terbuka. Sifat ini amat penting sekiranya ahli-ahli memegang jawatan dalam mana-mana peringkat organisasi. Malahan, ia juga penting jika tidak ada jawatan yang dipegang. Ahli-ahli perlu membiasakan diri menerima teguran secara terbuka dan tanpa ‘berlapik’. Adalah lebih baik jika ahli-ahli melatih diri untuk menyukai pandangan yang tidak ‘berlapik’ kerana pandangan tersebut biasanya adalah lebih jelas dan terang. b. Keperluan dalam organisasi Perkara pertama yang perlu ada dalam organisasi ialah matlamat dan strategi yang jelas. Matlamat organisasi kita sebenarnya telah jelas iaitu untuk melahirkan teknokrat hizbullah. Bagaimanapun, masih banyak aspek dalam strategi kita yang boleh diperbaiki dan diperkemaskan. Gerakan ini juga perlulah sentiasa menyemak semula strategi yang telah digariskan untuk memastikan ia sesuai dengan perkembangan semasa. Perkara kedua yang perlu ada dalam organisasi ialah keupayaan untuk belajar (organizational learning). Gerakan kita telah melalui pelbagai mehnah dan tribulasi sejak ia mula ditubuhkan. Bagaimanapun, oleh kerana ahli-ahli gerakan ini sentiasa datang dan pergi, ada kalanya perkara-perkara yang sepatutnya menjadi pengajaran terhadap organisasi secara keseluruhan tinggal pengajaran kepada individu sahaja. Ini adalah kerugian yang amat besar kerana organisasi yang baik ialah organisasi yang tidak mengulangi kesilapan yang sama. Perkara ketiga yang perlu ada dalam organisasi ialah kesungguhan meneroka aktiviti-aktiviti yang anjuran persatuan lain yang boleh membantu pencapaian matlamat. Faktor ini amat penting untuk memastikan kejayaan proses tarbiyyah yang holisitik. Gerakan ini tidak wajar membataskan proses tarbiyyah kepada apa yang dilaksanakan oleh kita sendiri sahaja. Tidak mungkin gerakan ini boleh melakukan segala-galanya. Kita perlu melihat juga aktiviti anjuran persatuan lain yang boleh memberi manfaat. Agenda kita juga boleh dicapai dengan melibatkan diri dalam aktiviti anjuran persatuan seperti Hansard Society, Electoral Reform Society, Make Votes Count dan lain-lain. Perkara keempat yang perlu ada dalam organisasi ialah keterbukaan terhadap idea-idea baru. Dunia sentiasa berubah dan suasana persekitaran juga sentiasa bertukar. Sekiranya strategi gerakan ini tidak berubah mengikut peredaran zaman, maka kita akan tertinggal ditakuk lama. Gerakan ini perlu bersedia untuk mengubah strategi dan sikap sesuai dengan keperluan semasa. Mereka yang dianggap musuh atau persaingan pada tahun 1995 tidak semestinya kekal sebagai musuh dan persaingan pada tahun 2005. Malahan, mungkin lebih baik jika musuh dianggap sebagai mad’u dan persaingan dianggap sebagai partner. Perkara kelima yang perlu ada dalam organisasi ialah kesungguhan untuk melantik muka-muka baru untuk mengambil alih tanggungjawab kepimpinan. Saff pelapis yang berwibawa amat perlu dibentuk secepat mungkin. Usaha membentuk saff pelapis bukan semata-mata melalui usrah dan tamrin tetapi juga memerlukan empowerment. Muka-muka baru mestilah diberi kepercayaan untuk mengambil alih tampuk kepimpinan dan mereka yang telah lama memegang amanah, sama ada di tanah air ataupun di sini perlulah berundur apabila telah tiba masanya. Penutup Sebagai rumusan, konsep teknokrat hizbullah merupakan satu konsep yang amat relevan dengan keperluan gerakan Islam di tanah air. Matlamat kita untuk membentuk saff teknokrat hizbullah juga adalah satu matlamat yang selaras dengan keperluan di tanah air. Proses pembentukan teknokrat hizbullah memerlukan komitmen daripada ahli dan juga daripada gerakan. Untuk memastikan saff teknokrat hizbullah akan lahir, semua pihak perlukan memainkan peranan masing-masing.

A thought on succession - part 2

Some responses to Part 1 I sent the first part of this essay to several mailing lists and it resulted in quite a number of replies. Two replied in open mailing lists, while others chose to reply to me personally. My writings in Part 1 was meant to highlight two things, viz. (1) succession planning and succession management are important for any organizations; and (2) it cannot work if people refuse to want to be at the top and to subsequently climb up the hierarchy. Two people seem to disagree with my notion that you should want and work to one day be at the top. I want to reiterate that I did not argue for people to want to be at the top for monetary gain. In an organization such as ours, this is certainly unacceptable, at least because the organization seem to not have any money most of the time! What I argued for was for people to ready themselves to be at the top, and to want to be at the top. There is no dichotomy One colleague argued that while we can apply or ask for ‘worldly’ positions, we should not be applying / asking for positions in organizations such as PAS. Working for PAS is seen as a religious (i.e. ‘un-worldly’) task and therefore you should not ask for positions. For this argument to work, one would need to subscribe to the worldview that it is possible to distinguish between what is ‘worldly’ and what is ‘not-worldly’. Working to provide for your family would then fall under the category of ‘worldly’ jobs while working for our organization is ‘not-worldly’ (i.e.: for ukhrawi purposes). Thus you can ask for jobs in order to provide for the family, but asking for jobs within an organization such as ours is unacceptable. If that is the paradigm (i.e.: the ‘worldly’ and ‘un-worldly’ are dichotomous), then the argument is correct and I would concur with that opinion. However, Part 1 was written from the paradigm that does not distinguish between ‘worldly’ and ‘un-worldly’. I was using a paradigm where there is no such thing as a ‘worldly’ task since everything that we do - from going to the toilet to ruling the world - is a form of worship, one way or another. Thus, if one rule applies to working to provide for your family, the same rule applies to working for our organization for both are worship (ibadah). If you are expected to ask for posts that will pay you money, you should also prepare yourselves and ask for jobs within organizations like PAS if you are not given one. I would not say that to distinguish between ‘worldly’ and ‘un-worldly’ is wrong. But it would mean that the perspectives being used are different. And when we use different perspectives, surely the opinion would be different too as we were actually talking in different contexts. Succession planning in PAS I want to now continue about succession planning in PAS. Datuk Nazir Razak, who became CEO of CIMB in 1999, once said that he dislikes the idea of succession planning if it means that people’s progress in the hierarchy is rigidly pre-planned. If person A will only replace person B once person B is gone, then person B’s presence is preventing person A’s progress. And, person A’s development is also rigidly dependent on what happens to person B. This, as Nazir implied, is unhealthy. What really needs to happen is for the organization to create a pool of talented individuals who are always willing and ready to take on new challenges as they arise. The realization that the pool of talented individuals is needed has existed for quite some time in PAS. And these individuals exist aplenty if we were to look at the right places. Young professionals are entering into the PAS circle and these people want to be challenged by their surroundings. The challenges must be coupled with trust and support from the organization. If you have these three factors (challenge, trust and support), then the young professionals will thrive. I have met several individuals who told me that they see no real challenge in PAS related works. I disagree with them on this point. I believe that the challenges are there right in front of us. But trust and support from the organization are still lacking. Let me give one simple example. Let us take a look at the concept of “kepimpinan ulamak”. For many (not all), this concept means that only ulamak can take the helm of our organization. Automatically, this rules out those who did not go through the Islamic education system. And unfortunately many of the younger generations were not formally educated in Islam. Therefore, they are discriminated against when it comes to top leadership line-up. (Before going any further, I want to clarify one point. I do not disagree with the concept of ‘kepimpinan ulamak’. I believe that the concept can work well and it can also ensure that our organization is working within the Islamic boundaries. But, as someone who believes that the concept can survive critical scrutiny, I want to see it dissected, debated and updated if necessary. If we are able to debate and discuss the concept in a frank and open manner, then we can be confident that it will survive the test of time. I for one believe that it will.) Lack of support The current leaders seem to acknowledge that unless something is done, the younger generations will continue to be discriminated against by the concept that they (i.e.: current leaders) once introduced in 1982. There are efforts to prepare the next leadership line-up who have the qualities of ulamak. But these efforts are, at best, haphazard. The schools that we run are by far inferior to other private schools in the country. The madrasahs do not produce people who can manage organizations the size of ours. PAS once established ILHAM but there is a lot that can be said about it now. PAS has usrah and tamrin but even these do not have a properly defined methodology. There are a certain undefined and unwritten expectations about what the characteristics of our next generation of leaders are, but the efforts to instil these characteristics are haphazard. The support system does not work effectively. And it is not infrequent that anyone who starts thinking and / or talking about the need to improve will be asked to produce physical results. This is even more unfortunate because it means that we have failed to distinguish between thinkers and doers. Just because one is a good thinker does mean he is also a good doer. And a good doer is not necessarily a good thinker either. To confuse between the two usually lead to statements like “dia tu pandai cakap saja, bila suruh buat kerja sikit pun tak jalan” or “apasal dia tu buat kerja bagus tapi merancang lemah sangat?” Do not confuse between the two. Remember that a well-articulated proposal is a tangible result in itself. Needless to say, to stay relevant in this new era, there is a need for a change of attitude at all levels. The need for trust Those at the senior party management level should realize that it is time to allow everything, including yourselves, to be challenged. If there are possibilities that the younger generation will one day challenge your position, then what you should do is support them so that one day they will be able to replace (challenge?)you. If the younger generation says that they disagree with you, then you should encourage that disagreement to be debated openly so that the best idea will come out. Most importantly, as you climb the hierarchy, you should ‘un-learn’ the word wala’. Instead, learn the word trust. Learn to trust those who look up to you. Let us at the lower level talk to each other about wala’ while you can rest assured that a capable leader will command our greatest respect, without the need for you to even mention the word wala’. Teach us what wala’ means but also know that imposing it forcefully is the quickest way to lose it. If you trust us, you will get our respect without even having to ask. Aim to be at the top Those at the middle and lower level of the party need to prepare and to want to become the next generation of leaders. If the opportunity is not there, then create the opportunity. If creating opportunities are not easy, then ask to be given new responsibilities and new challenges. The mentality that we do not want to ask for responsibilities / jobs no longer have a place if we were to move forward. “Tiada beban batu digalas” should not be understood as ‘if you do not have any responsibilities, then do not ask for one.’ Rather, it should also be read in the affirmative – i.e. if you do not have any responsibility in the party, then you should ask for it. (In fact, the actual construct of the phrase is already in the affirmative but somehow we Malays managed to transform it into a negative). You should go out there and get the “batu untuk digalas”. After all, the “batu” is always there. Turning a blind eye does not make it disappear. You would simply force others to “galas” it for you. And, if you do not voluntarily offer yourself to take the challenge, then the status quo – the ‘older’ generation – will be forced to remain at their place. If they continue with the ‘older’ way of management – which is not necessarily wrong, just ‘old’ - you have no one to blame but yourselves.

A thought on succession in PAS - part 1

PART 1 Introduction Last week (week beginning 6 December 2004) there was an article in the Financial Times about succession management. I cannot remember which day it was. But I do remember deliberating about whether or not PAS gives enough importance to succession planning and succession management. Succession planning and succession management are not new in the business circle. The importance of managing succession is well known and well documented. I am assuming that the concept receives the most attention from those working in human resources management. But more recently, in the wake of many corporate scandals, those in governance are taking succession more seriously too. What is succession management? So what is succession management? In a nutshell, and without wanting to get too technical, it is about ensuring a sufficient supply of successors for senior or key roles. For corporations, succession management is vital if the company wants to survive in the long run. If this is a concept that is so vital for the long term survival of a business, does it have any applications for a political party like PAS? The short answer is, of course! But, there is a problem…. Problems when planning succession in our organization Working in an organization such as PAS, many detest those who openly state their desire to be at the top. I do not understand why this is the case but most people can easily come out with some “religious” arguments why we should not give a job to those who declare their wish for the job. I can understand not giving the job to those who want the job but are known to be incapable of performing well. But should we deny those who are capable simply because they declared their willingness to take the challenge head on? I may be wrong in this matter and I will immediately change my mind if someone can argue to the contrary, but I see hypocrisy. Let me elaborate. We work hard to get a well-paid job. A job that can guarantees satisfaction. A job that can secure shelter and education for our family. To get the job, we write a colourful CV, boast of our achievements at university, hide our weaknesses, brag about our strength. In the interview, we do the same. When asked what our strengths are, we have no difficulty in listing them. When asked what our weaknesses are, we present it in such a way that would make the weaknesses seem irrelevant to the job. When talking about our abilities, we convince the interviewers that we are the best candidate for the job. There is no worry whatsoever to blow our own trumpet as long as the job that we are applying for pays money. The more the money, the more confident we are of our abilities, and the more eloquent we are at bragging. When money is out of the equation, such as when you work for an organization like PAS, we suddenly become coy, modest and extremely “religious”. “Saya tak layak” is the most frequent excuse. When asked to volunteer, “mana boleh minta jawatan” would be the most popular reply. Money obscures everything So, when the job offers money, we are the most qualified. But when there is no money, we are suddenly the most unqualified. Why is it that we only give excuses and use religious quotes when dealing with unpaid jobs? Do we suddenly forget religion when there is a chance that we will get money from the job that we do? How great the power of money…… Coming back to the topic, if this attitude continues, succession planning and succession management will never work in organizations like PAS. While those in businesses plan to further their career, we seem to plan, albeit perhaps inadvertently, for the demise of the party. By refusing to face the succession challenge head on, what we are really saying is “I don’t care about the organization”. Why is it so difficult for us to say “I want to be at the top one day” and then work hard to prepare ourselves for the bigger responsibility? If we can do it for money, why can we not do it for a more righteous reason? Perhaps money does corrupt. And this time, it corrupts in the subtlest of ways…… And, not so long ago, I heard that quite a few of those who vigorously opposed “meminta minta jawatan” were asking about how to write a good (deceptive?) CV so that he can apply for a paid job (i.e: minta jawatan). See….. money does change our attitude. Even religion gets pushed to one side when money comes into play.

to "lapik" or not to "lapik"

My previous posting about "hormat" and "berlapik" resulted in several email replies. I agree with the notion that you will need to justify your statements if it goes against the "normal" perception of events. That is to be expected from human nature. But I want to add here that there is a tendency to go into what Irving Janis called "groupthink" if we have been in the same circle for a considerable amount if time. Groupthink is not without danger as those who try to against the groupthink risk castigation if strong justification cannot be supplied, even the groupthink itself may be flawed. My point is, the "normal" way of thinking or acting (eg: only asking "why" when it does not fit into our world-view and assuming that it is "normal" when things fit into our world-view) is not necessarily correct as it may have been formed by a very long period of groupthinking. But my real contention is about the necessity of "berlapik" when voicing out disagreement. I cannot help but to wonder why is it that when speaking to my non-Malay friends, I can freely say "you are wrong" and the can freely say "you are even more wrong". We can criticize each other just as comfortably as we praise each other. And age difference never gets mentioned in any of our heated discussion. It is so irrelevant.

Perhaps this culture of "berlapik" is also a result of groupthink???

When talking to non-Malays, I can speak my mind without any need to find ways to "soften" my approach. But when it come to Malays, I have to be careful. As a result, problems / issues are resolved openly with / among my non-Malay friends. It is sad but there was a time when I said to myself that chit-chats with non-Malays are more sincere / honest than with Malays. Things are swept under the carpet among us Malays. We hide so many things under the pretext of wanting to be nice, not knowing that the things are still there under the carpet. No wonder we are left behind......

Hormat menghormati sehingga point tak sampai...

There was a discussion in one of the mailing lists that I subscribe to. I will not quote the whole discussion but one paragraph attracted my attention. It really invited me to think. It started when one person sent an invitation to an event. Another person replied saying that people should not attend. No elaboration was supplied as to why people should not attend. And that resulted in this reply, which is just one of many. "Kalau suka kita nyatakan suka, kalau tak sukapun tak salah untuk nyatakan tak suka tetapi biarlah berlapik sikit." How come there is a caveat when it comes to criticism? Is it because we enjoy people saying good things about us but we cannot bear criticism, and thus the need for a "lapik"? Why is it that when people write "Saya setuju. Jom pegi ramai ramai", no one ask for an elaboration? But when another writes "Saya tak setuju. Jangan pegi", then a justification is needed? "Bukan orang lain pun, abang2 dan kakak2 kita jugak. Hormatpun kena ade gak sikit2." Why is it that to many people, "hormat" means "berlapik"? Is it disrespectful to speak up your mind in a clear and straightforward way? Can this (ie: demand for "penghormatan") be one of the reasons why we have been so slow to change despite the changes that have already taken place around us? Or perhaps this demand for "penghormatan" is merely a tool used by those who do not want to change and / or those who want to maintain the status quo? Lastly, let me say clearly that this is not a criticism towards any particular email. It is more of myself thinking aloud. And what came to my mind were questions. Not denigrations.

E-campaigning

I attended an event organised by The Hansard Society (www.hansardsociety.org.uk) at the House of Commons on 7 December 2004. The talk was about e-democracy and e-campaigning. It was a very interesting event. Several MPs were there (They were rushing in and out to vote in the middle of the talk). There were people from various organizations as well as many of those who work in the area of promoting democracy. There were three speakers. The first was from the industry and she simply set the context for the two other speakers. She spoke about how blogging played a relatively more important role in politics nowadays. She mentioned a few blogs but I did not catch the details as I was seating somewhere at the back. The second speaker was a Brit. He had conducted an empirical study on the way American electorate voted in the last general election and what influenced their vote. Several findings were particularly interesting. 18-24 year-olds mainly rely on the internet for information. The TV, although it remains the top information source in general, only came second in the 18-24 age group. And he argued that the behaviour exhibited at a younger age usually continues to be practised even as people get older. This means as the current young generation gets older, the role of the internet as a (main?) source of political information will become more significant. More surprisingly, he also found that the age group that most used the internet to spread news about politics was those over 65!!! But this age group mainly use the email rather than websites as the email allow more interpersonal communication. This speaker believed that it is the email, not webpages, that has a bigger potential in e-campaigning. The third speaker was an American. His talk was full with money-fuelled politics. He described how Howard Dean's campaign started off as a nothing but then became a "major thing" as a result of clever use if the internet. Dean was unknwon before his camp decided to use tools like www.meetup.com to garner support. Huge amount of money was raised by all camps. One of the presidential candidates apparently raised USD 1m in just a day from his internet campaign. And the internet also opens up many new ways to convey political messages. Just look at the creativity of those people behind www.jibjab.com. The American speaker believed that it is the webpages that will become a potent tool for e-campaigning. After all, email is a many-to-many method and a huge majority of us would probably delete / ignore many mails we classify as junks. But, the most important lesson is that the internet brings with it a big potential. Parties can raise huge amount of money from almost every connected parts of the world if they know how to exploit the internet. Parties can reach almost every single connected person in the world if they know how to exploit the technology. Parties can raise from obscurity to fame if they know how to project themselves. Parties are no longer confined to printed media as the internet allows all sorts of different methods of communication - texts, short movies, radio broadcasts, animation, photos, etc. But, it should also be remembered that the speakers were speaking from the perspective of the last American election. More than 70% of Americans have regular access to the internet. Malaysia is different. But should that stop us from trying to reach the world audience? There is a lot of potential just waiting to be tapped but Malaysian political parties seem to be stuck in the old days, with the same old ways. When will we change? Having said that, I wonder if there are any rules in Malaysia preventing political parties from accepting online donations from sources outside Malaysia. Will that be classified as foreign donations? In fact, are foreign donations acceptable? And that is just talking about 'compliance'. Discussions about the 'ethicality' of accepting foreign donations may be a different topic altogether. The American speaker finished with one interesting quote: "We must master the tools of communication or we will be mastered by those who do"

PROVOLUTION

Edward de Bono said that provolution implies change that is more radical than evolution, but more gradual than revolution. It is based on water logic, a logic system in which perception is dependant upon the flow of the mind rather than absolute 'what is'. Provolution means a steady working towards making something better, not towards the destruction of an enemy. That sounds good to me....