The descendants of the companions

Saya terbaca artikel di bawah di arabnews.com. Nampaknya apa yang diperkatakan oleh sebilangan besar mereka yang pernah ke SA atau bakerja di sana ada kebenarannya.


When foreign workers first come to Saudi Arabia, they consider us the descendants of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), that we are the best of God’s creatures and we are immune from any vice.


This optimistic outlook soon changes when there comes a conflict with the worker’s sponsor, or with the sponsor’s devilish sons, or with the neighbors throwing tomatoes and rotten eggs at them. These workers see the “descendants of the companions” — old and young alike — beating cats with sticks and shoes.


This makes the poor foreign laborers change their bright views of us. Before arriving in our country, they harbor a notion that they are coming to a nation that won’t inflict upon them injustices; a nation that is pure and unpretentious.

With the advent of modern technology, like the Internet or Bluetooth, the descendants of the companions have been exposed. In the past, people never talked about the crimes of rape and sexual harassment, but today we read and hear about these crimes every day. This shows that we are no different from any other society. Like other societies in the world, we have our ups and downs.


A study recently conducted by professor Abdullah Al-Rasheed about “virtue in Saudi society” concluded that about 70 percent of the messages circulated among youths contain pornographic content. The study also found that the memory cards of the mobile phones confiscated from Saudi teens were replete with shameful and violent scenes. Furthermore, a report by the Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice purports Saudis constituted about 56.8 percent of morality infractions discovered by the moral authorities. This is a far cry from a virtuous society pretending to be pure and innocent!


The title “descendants of the companions” echoes back to a time when the title was bestowed on the Saudis by Asians before they came to experience or witness the dark underbelly of the society. With this revelation the foreign worker has bestowed a new nickname on the Saudi: “That guy with a lot of money.”I think we need to be more humble and reform our reputation. The figures mentioned by professor Al-Rasheed in his study were not his own invention. He took them from government departments.

Is Indonesia, Malaysia Next On The List?

A conspiratorial view of the world is frequently inaccurate, exposing more the paranoia of the view rather than the reality of the world. The sequential destruction of Muslim nations -- Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, (and Iran is on the list) --- may or may not be a conspiracy hatched in Washington D.C., but it is becoming an international reality. It is no secret that the United States and Europe, with varying degree of mutual cooperation and some make-believe internal discord, superintend the sequential destruction of Muslim nations. This War of Sequential Destruction (WSD), despite Nobel-Laureate Barack Obama's denials, refuses to go away.

The WSD is multi-frontal. It crosshairs Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Bashir, Ahmadinejad, Sunni, Shia, Wahabi, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan, and now Pakistan. Many Western policymakers rarely see Muslim nations, including allies, with any inherent respect. Vice President Dick Cheney described the Muslim world as "brute and nasty." Obama advisers, though more guarded in their word choices, see Muslim nations no differently. The idea that Islam is inherently violent, openly expressed during the Bush administration, continues to animate foreign policy. The White House holds a new President but Congressional leadership and Washington policymakers are more or less the same. Anti-Islamic policies of warfare and destabilization are intact.

Therefore, the WSD will continue and gather momentum. The picture is not pretty. Palestinians are penned in misery and their territorial cage is constantly shrinking to meet the "natural growth" of vociferous settlers. Oil-rich Iraq is under American occupation and its communities have been torn apart with irreversible harm. Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations in the world, is placed under the boots of Western armies. Thousands of Afghans have been murdered, their houses bombed, their villages devastated. The International Criminal Court headquartered in Holland has indicted the first sitting head of the state, the Muslim President of Sudan. The United States and Europe, themselves armed with thousands of nuclear heads, are strategizing to punish Iran for asserting a treaty-based right to produce nuclear energy, leaving open the option of attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

After razing Iraq and Afghanistan, the WSD has now turned to ravage an ally, Muslim Pakistan. Pakistan is a nation that the British, in 1947, carved out of India and that India, in 1971, broke into two, liberating Bangladesh from the murderous clutch of the Pakistani military. Over the past sixty-two years, Pakistan's military and civilian rulers, one after the other, and without exception, have turned to America for military training, weapons, money, and strategic instructions. Eager to send their sons and daughters to Western cities for education and employment, Pakistani politicians, generals, and bureaucrats all look for ways, and create the ways, to oblige Western capitals, particularly Washington D.C. Partly for personal interests and partly out of faulty readings of geopolitical situations, Pakistani rulers, like most rulers in Muslim nations, frequently compromise national sovereignty and public welfare.

The Pakistani orientation for self-destruction serves American interests. Facing a failing campaign in Afghanistan, Obama advisers decided to expand the war into Waziristan and other parts of Pakistan. The United States desperately solicited the Pakistani military to join the Afghan war. Pakistani rulers, this time a democratically elected government, listened to the American call. They first permitted the CIA to fly drones armed with missiles, which killed a few militants but hundreds of civilians in the tribal areas. The United States later urged Pakistan to invade Swat to kill militants. Pakistan did. Millions of civilians were made homeless.

The reaction to drone attacks and the ground offensive in Swat was fierce. Pashtun and Punjabi militants began to attack soft and hard targets. They attacked police stations, military trucks, and even the military's fortified headquarters in Rawalpindi. Citing these counter-offensives as a threat to Pakistan's national security, the United States urged the Pakistani military to launch a ground offensive in Waziristan. The rulers listened to the call and sent 30,000 troops to Waziristan. Muslims fighting Muslims have been efficacious in weakening the Iraqi militancy. The same formula, Obama advisers are betting, will crush the Pashtun resistance in Afghanistan.

Certainly, the United States can kill hundreds of thousands of Pashtuns on both sides of the AF-PAK border, even if no more troops are dispatched to the region. Killing militarily weak populations requires no sophisticated military strategy. The convenient but thoroughly demonized label of "Taliban" provides the rhetorical shield to justify the ghastly massacres of civilians. Since Pakistani military has joined the war, killings on both sides of the border will become even more robust. These killings will carry an air of logic, even legitimacy, since no military presumably kills is own people unless it sees a threat to national security.

Under coercion, Pakistan has started a civil war that will consume its economy, national security, and tear apart its social fabric. The civil war will spill into many parts of Pakistan. It already has arrived in some parts of Punjab. Militants are unlikely to confine this war to sparsely-populated Waziristan. They are taking the war to the most populated cities, including Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and Lahore. Karachi, which appears to be quiet, is sitting on a tinderbox. Karachi can erupt any minute as its ethnic rivalries are primed for a civil war. It is sheer foolery and a grave analytical mistake to presume that the Pakistani military offensive will provoke no one but only a few misguided militants in the North.

It is not yet too late for Pakistan to return from the precipice of national suicide. Pakistan must take a U-turn and preempt the civil war. Pakistan must say an emphatic no to President Obama who must also carefully weigh the stakes of expanding the WSD to Pakistan. If the NATO forces cannot subdue the militancy in Afghanistan, adding one more military into the battlefield will not solve the problem of occupation and resistance. Furthermore, an internally torn Pakistan does not weaken but empowers militants. Obama advisers must ponder over one thing more: The people of Pakistan, like the people of Iran under the Shah, might rise to oppose the US hegemony over their internal affairs.

Ali Khan is professor of law at Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas, and the author of the book, A Theory of International Terrorism(2006).

You Have a Better Name To Suggest?

My dear friend Vincent has written and even edited his book on his and his family's experience whilst with Malayan Railway/KTM/KTMB. I have written about his effort earlier in this blog when I had the honor to proof read his copy.

There is a positive development and high possibility that his book is going to be published. The last time we met, he pondered the idea that the suggested title might not be appropriate enough to interest non-railwaymen and seek ideas from friends for a catchy title.

Here's what Vincent has to say about his book:

I have written a book of life in the Railways. It comes to about 350 odd pages, spread out over 23 chapters. The book's been edited and is ready for publication but so far, no publisher has taken it up. The old adage says that good man is never recognised in his own bvackyard........ I must be that fellow!! So, have decided to self finance it. About $5k for 500 copies. I think I can raise it. But before seeing the printer, I need to sort out the title to the book. I have chosen a very railway sounding title for it: SIGNAL RIGHT, LINE CLEAR. But the opinion is divided. Some say it ought to be something that everyone can relate to. I honestly don't know but would be nice to get some alternate opinions on it. For the purpose of making some comments, I have attached the prologue [basically it sums up the objective and theme to the book], a chapter by chapter summary of the 23 chapters and the cover to the proposed book. Would appreciate it if you all could spare some time and see what you can come up with by way of a title. Comments on the chapter titles too, are welcomed.

Do you have a better title than 'Signal Right - Line Clear'? If you do have something better that would 'sell', please do post them here. Thanks.

Penglibatan Israel & CIA Dalam Pengeboman Di Indonesia

Pernahkah kita di dedahkan kepada kemungkinan angkara beberapa insiden pengeboman di Indonesia adalah dari tangan zionist Israel dan CIA Amerika? Kita tidak pernah lihat video temuramah di bawah in di kaca tv kita samada dari RTM atau TV3. Malahan kita juga tidak melihatnya dari CNN, BBC mahupun Al-Jazeera.

Tapi kemungkinannya memang ada kalau kati imbas penglibatan CIA semasa kejatuhan Sukarno dulu sapertimana di dedahkan oleh William Blum. Ingat juga tentang dua orang anggota tentera British yang ditangkap di Basra dalam berpakaian civilian di mana beberapa alat membuat bom dan senjata api di temui dalam kereta mereka.

Mungkin saudara juga saperti saya yang sukar mempercayai berita-berita pembunuhan, pengeboman berani mati, dsbnya kononnya di lakukan oleh orang Islam ke atas orang orang Islam lain yang melibatkan perempuan dan kanak-kanak.

Lihat video ini:

Fasiliti Nuklear Israel (Dimona)

Gilad Altzmon telah mengirim link ini kepada video yang di pos ke YouTube yang menunjukkan fasiliti nuklear Israel di Dimona dalam bentuk 3D. Ini adalah berasaskan kepada maklumat dan foto-foto yang telah didedah oleh seorang pekerja Dimona, Vinanu. Beliau, Vinanu, telah melarikan diri dan membuat pendedahan di UK. Vinanu telah diculik oleh Mossad dan dibawa semula ke Israel untuk dibicara dan telah dipenjara selama 18 tahun. Kini beliau masih dalam tahanan rumah di Israel.

Hubungan Akrab Malaysia - USA/Israel - II

Kematian rakyat Iraq sehingga 17.08.2009

"The Bush administration invaded Iraq in March 2003 with a force of approximately 130,000 troops. Top White House and Pentagon officials like Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz were convinced that, by August, those troops, welcomed with open arms by the oppressed Iraqis, would be drawn down to 30,000-40,000 and housed in newly built, permanent military bases largely away from the country's urban areas. This was to be part of what now is called a "strategic partnership" in the Middle East."

Beginilah mukhadimah Tom Engelhargt pada artikel beliau yang terbaru di www.tomdispatch.com.

Agak pelik juga dalam menyebut peranan orang-orang kanan dalam pentadbiran George W Bush di Rumah Putih dan di Jabatan Pertahanan (Pentagon), nama Paul Wolfowitz yang disebut pada hal Wolfowitz sekadar memegang jawatan Timbalan Setiausaha Pertahanan di bawah Donald Rumsfeld. Ini kerana Wolfowitzlah dari golongan neoconservatives yang berpihak kuat kepada zionis Israel dalam pentadbiran Bush. Beliaulah orangnya yang begitu lantang bersuara dan bertindak menerusi AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) beriya-iya supaya Amerika menyerang Iraq dengan perbagai alasan tanpa bukti asalkan sesuatu yang boleh di terima oleh rakyat Amerika dalam keadaan trauma akibat insiden serangan keatas World Trade Center dan Pentagon pada 9-11-2001.

Dalam keterangannya kepada Majlis Keselamatan Negara selapas 9-11, beliau berkata "Why shouldn't we go against Iraq, not just al-Queda? (Iraq) was a little brittle, oppressive regime that might break easily - it was doable." Sebenarnya, tindakan menyerang Iraq adalah berasaskan kepada satu kertas penilaian doktrin yang ditulis oleh, antara lain, Wolfowitz sendiri untuk parti Likud Israel dibawah pimpinan Benyamin Nethanyahu yang kemudiannya di tukar tajuk kepada Project for the New American Century (PNAC) doktrin pentadbiran Bush.

Walaupun pada awalnya Amerika menafikan sebab menyerang Iraq bukan kerana minyak, empat bulan selepas serangan haram itu Wolfowitz memberitahu Kongres Amerika pada Mac 27, 2003, bahawa Amerika sebenarnya "dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon." He added that Iraq's oil revenues could "bring between $50 billion and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years."

Amat jelas dari bukti-bukti yang nyata dan dari kenyataan beliau sendiri, Paul Wolfowitz adalah orang yang bertanggungjawab keatas serangan haram keatas sebuah negara berdaulat, Iraq, yang tidak berdosa yang turut mengakibatkan berjuta rakyatnya mati, cedera, didera dan kini hidup dalam serba kekurangan dan penderitaan semata-mata melaksanakan perancangan zionis Israel memalui proksinya USA.

Baca profil Paul Wolfowitz di sini.

Latah & Amok

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."...Voltaire.

Kalau diterjemahkan ke Bahasa Melayu, ungkapan di atas oleh Voltaire, seorang ahli falsafah Perancis yang terkenal ianya mungkin berbunyi saperti berikut:-

"Mereka yang boleh membuat anda percaya pada perkara karut boleh membuat anda lakukan kekejaman".

Saya terfikir akan ungkapan ini tatkala melihat telatah orang Melayu yang berdemo menentang Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA). Tak tahulah berapa banyak antara mereka ini yang keluarga atau kawan pernah atau sedang di tahan di bawah akta ini. Kalau melihat pada senarai yang terdapat di laman web Aliran, setakat 13.05.2009 seramai 17 orang di tahan, 10 disyaki ahli Jemaah Islamiah, 5 terlibat dengan pemalsuan dokumen. Dua orang adalah warga Indonesia.

Kecuali seorang berbangsa Cina, selainnya adalah orang Melayu Islam. Patutlah ramai Melayu dari bangsa lain yang berdemo. Saya tak percaya semua yang berdemo adalah ahli keluarga mereka yang ditahan tetapi mereka yang samada bersimpati dengan tahanan atau di buat cerita karut tentang kezaliman menahan orang tanpa bukti yang boleh didakwa di makkamah.

Tetapi saya tidak percaya orang Melayu yang berdemo menuntut supaya ISA dimasuhkan sebenarnya berdemo kerana tujuan itu walaupun penganjurnya memberi alasan itu. Saperti kata Voltaire, mereka telah dihasut dengan cerita-cerita karut yang bermacam-macam dan berterusan sehingga rekaan menjadi kebenaran. Saya ingin memetik seorang lagi yang kalau tidak 'famous' pun, pastinya 'infamous' iaitu Adolf Hitler. Katanya "Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they (the people) will believe it." Strategi ini telah digunakan dengan jayanya oleh mantan presiden Amerika Syarikat George W Bush untuk meraih sokongan rakyat Amerika menyerang Iraq. Beliau telah berbohong yang Iraq mempunyai senjata nuklear dan kaitan dengan al-Queda dalam peristiwa 9-11.

Ada dua sifat orang Melayu yang unik dan diterima pakai masyarakat dunia iaitu latah dan amok. Malahan perkataan amok atau 'amuck' telah menjadi perbendaharaan kata Inggeris.

Orang Melayu sekarang sering dicucuk supaya melatah sehingga sanggup baring depan kereta Anak Raja.

Adakah kita akan lihat pula orang Melayu mengamok?