Lesson For Malaysian Government In Benazir Murder - Rein In Muslim Extremists Before It Is Too Late
How the assassination happened.* Benazir Bhutto addresses an election rally at Rawalpindi. The rally turns out to be a success and she prepares to leave the venue.
* She was exiting Liaquat Bagh (the venue) when her vehicle, a Black Lexus bulletproof vehicle, stopped near the venue’s gate where her PPP workers were shouting party slogans.
* Benazir came out from the sunroof of her vehicle to respond to her supporters’ cheers when a motorcyclist armed with a Kalashnikov opened fire on her. The gunman fired five times at her from close range.
* Benazir fell inside her vehicle after receiving bullet injuries on her head, neck and chest.
* The attacker blew himself up after firing the shots, killing 20 Bhutto supporters and wounding many others.
* Benazir lies unattended for sometime before being picked up and rushed to Rawalpindi General Hospital.
* Doctors attempt to resuscitate her for 35 minutes.
* At 6:16 PM (Pakistan time) doctors declare her dead.
* Late evening the body is taken in a coffin from the hospital to her hometown Larkana.
* Bhutto’s 19-year-old son rushes from Dubai.
* The funeral is to take place today, December 28th 2007.
May her soul rest in peace.
***** When the outrage over this tragic incident subsides there will be much analyses on what went wrong on that fateful day and where Pakistan is heading to. The perilous situation there serves as a valuable lesson for Muslim majority countries like Malaysia.
As a consequence of the late Pakistani military despot, Zia-ul-Haq's experiment and flirtation with an 'Islamic republic' there have been over the past decade and more, many reports and worried comments about the changing environment in Pakistan which was fast turning into an exporter of violence and terrorism. The mushrooming of unsupervised madrassahs had laid the ground for the grooming and nurturing of aberrant deviants who were taught to fervently believe that anything done by them in the name of the Supreme Being, even if it be wanton murder, was not only acceptable but indeed desirable and a prerequisite to be looked up to as a true follower of the faith. Part of the turmoil in Pakistan today can be attributed to this unregulated spread of an errant brand of Islam.
Allow me a little generalization/license here. After the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 and the 'creation' of India and Pakistan, both these countries were more or less on the same footing and at the same level of development or lack of it. Ethnically they were of the same stock and culturally they had more in common with each other than say with other Asians or Arabs. While India until today determinedly maintained its secular credentials despite its overwhelming Hindu majority, the Pakistanis went the way of an Islamic state. Both nations by and large inherited the same institutions of the colonialists and the same federal constitution. Over time India progressed albeit initially in fits and starts and slowly reaped the rewards of pragmatic policies and remained politically stable, in part by firmly ensuring that the state did not meddle with religion which was considered a personal matter between her citizens and God. Now with India at the verge of becoming an economic and military superpower, one is tempted to ask why Pakistan did not follow suit and is hopelessly stuck in the terrible quagmire it finds itself in today?
Looking at and recoiling in horror at the chaos that is Pakistan, we in Malaysia should consider ourselves a fortunate lot. If today we are considered an oasis of peace amidst the gore and violence wracking the world, a large part of the credit should go to the sober policies of successive governments here. No one can deny that. Even if many disagree with unfair policies on a lot of issues which may have made them unhappy they still have to acknowledge the very significant contribution of the government in maintaining uninterrupted peace and stability.
Having said that I must hasten to add that the record of our government over the past few years has brought much discomfiture to Malaysians in general and non-Muslims in particular. The authorities seem to be in an undue hurry to backtrack on the fundamental rights guaranteed to non-Muslims while aggressively attempting to justify and portray our country as an Islamic one with arguments which fly in the face of 'basic structure' provisions in the federal constitution. In an unwise and indeed dangerous game of one-upmanship which the ruling Umno party is playing to keep PAS at bay and their Malay-Muslim electorate and vote bank contented, are our leaders exposing the nation to the risks of a Pakistan-style extremist epidemic and unwittingly rendering the more religiously inclined and 'vulnerable' section of society to the manipulations of fundamentalist criminals in mullah's clothing?
Today Pakistan stands alone as a failed nuclear-armed Islamic state where society is increasingly being radicalized and is indicative of the rapid stride it has taken on the path of extremism under General Pervez Musharraf. If our government insists on going down the same path on the grounds of expediency rather than principle and for a little political gain, it won't take a genius to point out that a similar fate awaits us too.
Image - Source
An interesting read from The Jerusalem Post: Analysis: The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
Labels: Bereavement., Malaysian Politics., Religious Extremism., World News
posted by The Malaysian. at 12/28/2007 01:46:00 PM
16 Comments:
Looking at it, it seemed that Malaysia is going down the same path as Pakistan.
However, Malaysia is very much different from Pakistan. Pakisatan population is almost all muslim while Malaysian muslim population is around 60%. Hence, before we could become another Pakistan, there could already be a civil war like the former Yugoslavia. Definitely, it will not be a good place to stay! But this is my country, where could I (or most of Malaysian) run to??? No matter what, I will stay & remain in my county here.
sorry, grave mistake. It's Pakistan, not "Pakisatan". It can become too sensitive mistake. Thousand apologies.
The Malaysian,
Dear Sir, could you allow us to edit our comment if there is some serious mistake. Some blogsite do allow us to do that. Thank you.
yr brilliant up-to-date-&-totally-precise-unrantings analysis should be required reading for all aspiring socio-political bloggers wannabe , then maybe that shud unequivocably encourage them just to be harmless food bloggers like us , for instance.
Thanks for your write-up and warning on the dangers of blind faith. We hope the government of the day in Malaysia is cognisent of that and shows it.
Otherwise, the melting pot is going to explode. And that will be a sad day indeed.
I hope such brutality would never happen here in Malaysia. Only those who have no God fearing mind would do such a thing. So, if anyone claims he or she is doing it for God, then, this person must have been deceived by his/her religion, in fact, it's not a religion but cult!
Condolences to Benazir's family.
Who said, Malaysia cannnot become another Pakistan? The fucking signs are there: -
1) body snatching
2) Syariah Court becoming all mighty
3) Fundamental fools like Minister Johari on the usage of "Allah"
4)Kempen 1 bulan 1 Masjid in Kedah under Sanusi Junid
5) Dakwah group entering white people's room when they are husband and wife
6) Al-arqam fundamentalist
7) Moronic fools like Khir Toyol and Ali Rustam telling we dont need non- Malays
8) MAlaysia welcoming so many muslims and most of them are terrorist
9) Malaysian Muslims blindly wearing tudung and burqa. Stupid goons
10) Radical Islamization policy until Hindraf came out and threatened the government.
Overall, Malaysia is becoming from secular good boy to racist pariah in the international stage. Next year, they are going to get fucked up in the Human Rights Index. Bet u the ratings are going to be so poor that the Foreign Direct Investment is going to get affected.
Once a peaceful country , now becoming a FUCKING RETARD.
Nope Malaysia may have lost its chance....being secular is a privilege not be taken for granted but nurtured...and yes Malaysia was born secular but this was just a window. To remain secular for generations to come... this window should have been used to quickly strengthen secularism.
The mistake was made when Tunku was told to step down..and Razak took the slippery step of trying to please one particular race who were predominantly Muslims....Mahathir made it worse when instead of using Malaysia's new found oil to quickly modernize Kelantan, Trengganu, Perlis and Kedah...chose instead to be vindictive to teach these mullahs and extremists a lesson by withholding Ehsan monies, stopping the extension of the highway to Kelantan and other punitive measures. Mahathir even encouraged Islamism when he doctored the cruel change of a docile Christian state like Sabah by handing out Malaysian IDs to Muslim Filipinos and Indonesians to artificially change the population structure. When you do this, you invite trouble. And trouble is here.
English and aggressive modernization would have stopped the extremist problems we today find in Malay Muslim Malaysia. Malaysia should never have succumbed to the setting up of separate Ugama schools over and above a Malay Muslim medium schooling system. The country is now paying heavily for Razak’s and Mahathir’s mistakes.
The days of P. Ramlee as well as the Tunku may truly be gone as will possibly our secular status. Being secular, as India is, is a step out of poverty to eventual economic success. The seeds laid by Razak and Mahathir will now torment Malaysia....unless an extraordinary leader is willing to ride the gauntlet and lead Malaysia back to full secularism.
The Malaysian,
I find your comments very disturbing, yet I have to admit you make a very strong case!
India & Pakistan reminds me of Singapore & Malaysia!!!!!!!!
One is secular, has good governance & transperancy & is alreday well on its way to Greatness! Guess which country? The other is becoming more & more extremist due to it's push towards Islamization. The promise of a corrupt-free & transparent Government has gone unfulfilled! Guess which country?
AlQaeda carried out the murder of Benazir Bhutto because it fears her pro-Western policies once she wins the January elections. To stop these crazy islamofascists, the world must repeat what it had done to end fascism in Germany, Italy and Japan: grind its followers into dust by whatever means possible, including the use of thermonuclear weapons to sanitarize their lairs
Lesson Number 1: Khairry Jamaluddin is an extremist. He should be under ISA.
Lesson Number 2: Pas leaders are radicals. They would send us back to stone age.
Lesson Number 3: Never trust Mamaks. Mamaks like Mahathir and Zainuddin Maidin are crooks. The use Islam to advance personal gains. They talk about Malay Muslims and Ketuanan Melayu so that these Indian Muslim bastards can gain advantage from the system.
Lesson Number 4: Never put Shariah Court on equal locus standi with Federal Court. Shariah Court is a stone age based court. Eg. throwing stones at someone until he dies and chopping his hand off. What the fuck?
Lesson 5: Allah is a Muslim word for God. Malay fools like Johari thinks it is a religious word. Fools who are practising Islam blindly coming are now Interior Minister. Has he been thinking through his arse? Perhaps.
Lesson 6: Malay culture and language is almost non existent. We say it is a borrowed culture. Zainuddin is talking big about Malay language in the Parliament. What the fuck? Most of the words are foreign in origin, so what local language r u talking.
Lesson 7: Some chief state muftis stated that Muslims shouldn't go to non-muslims' houses because of halal and kafir issue. What the fuck? Your education to Al Azhar was sponsored using tax payers' money of which majority are from non- muslim.
Lesson 8: PAS stands for Party for Advanced Satans. So dont join or vote for them.
So, Malaysians, we dont want the country to be another Paki. So be careful.
read the jerusalem article
it said in para 2
"What is important to remember is that Pakistan is a weak state, divided along tribal, ethnic and religious lines."
just like our beloved tanah tumpah darah-ku. my observation that any nation build on volatile sectarian emotions is susceptible to chaos.
just look at the recent cauldron of mix and match beginning really with the govt targeting ethnic Indians of a particular faith and then whacking the Christians next.
to me, it increasingly appears as if the govt is using the tried-n-tested racial and religious violence to unite the malay votes too.
but perhaps the govt has miscalculated cos poverty is a class phenomena. and the majority problem relates to the legitimate grievances of hindraf. unless they have been misled by the MSM.
upon hearing the news of BB's assassination, i grateful for the peace and stability in malaysia. soon after, i asked myself how long more can such a peace last? and is it a true peace? no, it's the suppression of nons by the might of the BN. it's not the peace that equality and freedom brings. it's a peace that breeds resentment, fear and in extreme cases, hatred -- a time bomb.
To be truthful, I fear for Malaysia. Those Muslims who are so gung-ho about wanting Syariah Laws to be the law of the land should answer this question:
Is there any country, with Islamic laws as the basis of government, that we can say with any certainty is a successful country?
And by successful, I mean where there is no tyranny, where there is gender equality under the law, where there is peace, and where there is properity for ALL its peoples.
If anyone can quote at least one country, then perhaps we should look at them to emulate. But if the answer is no, then why are we even considering going down that path?
Already, corruption "for the right reasons" (i.e. on the basis of race and religion) is tolerated, and sometimes implicitly encouraged. Rule of law is fast becoming rule BY law.
As it is, Syariah Law is as much based on the Quran (the ONLY "revealed by God" source in Islam), as bio-diesel is made entirely out of palm oil.
The Quran has promised the faithful that if mankind follows in the way of God, that success in this life (and hereafter) is guaranteed.
Surah 2, Verse 112: Indeed, those who submit themselves absolutely to GOD alone, while leading a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord; they have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.
(The verses immediately preceding and following allude to include not only the Muslims, but ANYONE that fits the criteria given)
And yet, time and time again, those who claim to be the most Islamic are the ones at the bottom of the barrel of civilization. Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, much of the Middle East...
So, what gives? Did God lie, or have so-called "Muslims" strayed from the path, not unlike the typical accusation Muslims level upon those from the other Abrahamic faiths?
Something for all of us to think about...
PEACE!
p.s. Walski would never ever dream of calling God a liar, so you should already know what the answer to the rhetorical question is...
This is a very scary lesson for Malaysia , but I don't think those in power are listening.
You can't keep yourself safe from the python by feeding it.
Pakistan for years played a double game with the Islamists - feeding them by pushing the country further and further towards a theocracy, while still trying to stop them from gaining power outright.
Malaysia thankfully hasn't gone as far down that road, but UMNO and a significant part of the population seems bent on pushing the country on the same slippery slope as Pakistan. The road leads to Hell, not Heaven.
When will these 'moderate' Muslims we keep hearing so much about rise up and demonstrate in the streets against these suicide bombers and other extremists who have 'hijacked' Islam? Why is it the only demonstrations we see are Muslims angry at the West, screaming 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'? It is PAST TIME to scream 'Death to Extremists.' Please give us in the rest of the world some hope.
[JenBee], Oxford, Michigan, United States
Anonymous,
In Malaysia, the Malay words used for siucide bombers are "berani mati" which literally means "dare to die". I would have thought it should be "bunuh diri" which literally means kill oneself.
I think that says it all. It's like these suicide bombers are actually some kind of heroes!
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