21/5/11 DOCUMENT OF DESTINY

(Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Jakarta, a place where appreciation of the Indonesian Arts and Literatures are well celebrated, and we, Sarawak Malays in particular, do we really make our initiatives to have one?)

My yesterday life was really a rushing. After the afternoon heavy meeting at Petra Jaya, later with some friends, I rushed to the airport for en route to KL. Reaching the hotel around 23.45 hours, I felt hungry and resort to a nearby Midnight Cafe to have some sandwiches and hot Milo. Since we don't really have much time to get together later, we briefly go through few business strategies and action that must be immediately deployed back home.

(2) In the morning, we attended another heavy but jovial meeting in Putra Jaya ie with the Value Management Section of the EPU to see how our Organization could be used as a test case for Value Management (VM) process. I felt honored but really challenging, since this VM approach would put civil service into really going for Money for Value Attitude Change. After the meeting I (we) then need to wait for a cab which never turned up under the hot humid day, nonetheless, I (we) later resort to a cool Thai Coconut at Penang Village in Alamanda Putra Jaya with nicely done Garupa Thai-style cook and other dishes.

(3) Taking a cab, then we went over to Jalan Gurney in KL to have another meeting, with FELDA. The meeting has something to do with the New Rural Economic Development Model (RED Model) that I have been thinking all this while. I believe with the targetted population interest being the priority as well as Allah blessing, I hope to pioneer into this RED remodelling initiatives.

(4) After the meeting, we rushed down to KLIA, where at this time, is a School, Universities and Colleges term break plus Gawai Celebration by the corner, KLIA seem flooded with students and population wanting to get back to Kuching, as well as returning home all over the nation.

(5) As usual, it is a must that I dropped to Times Bookstore to get something to read while flying, but after some browshing, I found none interesting book. Later I went to have nice Laksa penang at the Food Garden.

(6) Since the flight is at 2215 hours, I really have ample times, thus I made a second revisit to the Times Bookstore and caught a glimpse of a book titled: Document of Desitiny: The Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia by Shad Saleem Faruqi.

(7) Brwoswhing this book, in the flight, then only I realised that our Nation Constitution despite the availability to either follow the British or American version, our leaders at those pre-independent moment had choosen to adopt the Indian version of the written Constitution. But most amazing, we had inserted the Malay Right, Malay langguage, and Islam as the key addition into the Constitution, as compared to any others that placed such elements as constitutional taboo matters espcially in America, Turkey, British, etc. That insertion had given the Malays-Muslim great leaverage that we enjoyed but seem to forget or being indifferent!

(8) From the author explanation on the Constitution stand over Islamic matters, now did I realised, how the urge especially among Malaysian Muslims to instill an islamic State within Malaysia is a serious constitutional debate. From there, I could drawn a lesson that despite, before the arrival of the West in 1511, the Malays had practiced the Malays and Islamic as their tradition, and since such practices never being properly documented, therefore our Malays-Islam Historical backdrop doesn't carries weight over our struggle to classified our Nation as an Islamic State. We have constitutional problem with such. Malaysia is borned not as an Islamic State, and thus the constitution seem a big hinderance to such constitutional establishment.

(9) In fact the case of overlapping claim between Malaysia and Singapore over Pulau Batu Putih is a clear manifestation of the international potential ignorance over any claim that doesn't based on documentary evidence. This case could be used against the Malaysian Muslims, if say we simply declared our State as an Islamic State. I leave this matter to our Muslim Constitution expert to dwell on.

(10) With such an experience and little knowledge, I would urg the Malays, the natives, the Muslim must have the great eppitide to read, write, and document their historical valuable norms and cultures for their own future sustenance of their culture and norms.

(11) Nonetheless, for those who are too emotional to call this Nation as an Islamic State, let me throw this paradigm:

"How do we call beef that being marinated with curry, coconut milk, added with few other spices and gravies, but prepared by Indian, Sumatran, Javanese, Maluccas, Pattani, Sulus, Champas, and Malays-Kedayan?. Do they not called those preparation with different names yet almost having similar appearance and taste? Did the consumer bother to what their name are?

(12) Let us all, especially the Muslim whom believe that Islam is a complete Way of Life, work incrementally but determine enough, just as the surahs being narrated to Muhammad, in the course of putting all those Islamic good deeds in place, and leave it to Allah to help us later to achieve what we had done, rather quareling over name rather working hard to get all those relevant substance and actions in place.

Kuching, Sarawak
28 may, 2011