Selamat Hari Malaysia ke 50, September 16, 2013

Understanding the Malaysia Agreement, 1963

 

50 years ago, a brand new Federation joined the growing community of nation-states in the post-colonial world.

The first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj in his “Merdeka Malaysia” speech on 16^th September 1963 said:

 

“The great day we have long awaited has come at last --- the birth of Malaysia. In a warm spirit of joy and hope 10 million people of many races in all the States of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah now join hands in freedom and unity. We do so because we know we have come together through our own free will and desire in the true spirit of brotherhood and the love of freedom.”

 

The Tunku’s declaration clearly stated the historical fact - as per the Malaysia Agreement signed on 9th July 1963 - that this new Federation was formed by four independent and equal partners, namely, Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo {Sabah} and Sarawak.

Fifty years on, a vast majority of Malaysians are blissfully unaware that this was an agreement between “equal partners”! Most continue to believe the myth that Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore {till 8^th August 1965} were additional three States that were conveniently ‘appended’ to the eleven (11) States of the Federation of Malaya, to make a bigger entity called Malaysia.

 

The historical fact is that the Federation of Malaya ceased to be an internationally recognized entity on 16 September 1963. The Tunku in the same Malaysia Day speech in 1963 reaffirmed this fact when he said – “The Federation of Malaya now passes into history.”

 

Today many continue to treat Sabah and Sarawak as one of the 13 States of the Federation of Malaya! This mindset has caused many problems in terms of understanding Malaysia Day. In fact, the date 31st August continues to be regarded as Malaysia’s “Merdeka Day”, as if all the partners of the Federation shared the same independence day of Malaya! The fact is Sarawak obtained independence on 22 July 1963 and Sabah on 31 August 1963 when as former British colonies they opted for self determination.

 

Accepting the Terms of the Agreement

 

The process of agreeing to form the Federation was an arduous one that among others took into consideration the different levels of development of the potential partners. Specifically, the 20 & 18 Point memoranda were to safeguard the interests, rights and autonomy of the people of Sabah and Sarawak. Among others, it included the use of English as official language without time limitation; Control of Immigration; Control of Education and Borneoization of the Public Services.

In essence, this was a contractual obligation on the part of the partners agreeing to form the Federation. Some of the Points were incorporated into the new Constitution of Malaysia in 1963 and are an integral part of the Federal Constitution {Part XIIA – Additional Protections for States of Sabah and Sarawak}. Some other Points that were based on tacit verbal agreement between the leaders of the negotiating parties have been conveniently forgotten!

Over the past 50 years, they have been many instances where the principles of the Malaysia Agreement have not been honoured. The covert “Malayanisation” of the public services and education sectors, particularly in Sabah, are clear violations of the terms of the Malaysia Agreement.

 

This 50^th year we all need to admit that either by design or default or just pure ignorance of history, we have done a great disservice to the people of Malaysia, past and present alike. We need to pledge to start afresh to truly understand the fundamental basis on which Malaysia was formed, and move forward as envisaged “in the spirit of brotherhood and the love of freedom.”

 

Celebrating Our Unique Diversity

We are indeed a country blessed with a bountiful diversity of natural and human resources. The official census classifies 40 ethnic and sub-ethnic groups however social anthropologists have documented Malaysia’s rich ethnic and cultural heritage comprising more than 120 groups.

 

Globally, Malaysia is well known for its unique diversity, both in terms of people, and its biodiversity. Unfortunately while foreigners marvel at our uniqueness we are either quite ignorant or simply do not appreciate this diversity.

 

In recent times, influenced by the partisan politics of identity, some of us are even quite happy to distance ourselves for each other as some kind of “alien beings”! We have allowed a small but loud, reactionary, bigoted segment within our society to set the agenda for the nation. We the silent, peace loving majority must be united in sending the unequivocal message to this noisy minority that they have no right to speak on our behalf.

 

The way forward this 50^th year is to eschew the old fashioned notions of power - that dominance of one group over the other is the basis of survival for any given group. The survival of Malaysia as a collective is paramount. Leveraging and synergizing our unique diversity in truly inclusive ways would only benefit all our people. We need to focus on the “similarities” that bind us as human beings and as Malaysians first, not on the “differences” that we sometimes imagine divide us. For this to happen, we all need to commit to advancing true acceptance and understanding of the history, the heritage and the tremendous potential of this wonderful and unique land we call our Home.

 

MALAYSIA DAY FORUM

Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia [GBM] is a non-partisan, multi-ethnic, multi-faith Coalition of 25 Civil Society organizations (listed below) established in 2011 to champion the cause for a Better Malaysia.

In line with GBM’s Charter that states-

“National unity must be premised on the heterogeneous nature of our society and be forged through promotion of the principles of equality, based on the true spirit of muhibbah, genuine respect and mutual understanding,”

-this 50^th Year of Malaysia, we have taken this initiative to provide the platform for Malaysians to come together in the spirit of camaraderie to focus on the “positives” in our beloved Nation.

We hope this Forum provides the opportunity to put forth positive and empowering solutions to address the issues that tend to divide us as a society.

Importantly, we hope this initiative will be the first step in moving forward our Nation in order to create an inclusive nation that is founded on justice and fairness.

------------------------------- Breakline -------------------------------

FORUM PROGRAMME

All Are Welcome!

A 50th MALAYSIA DAY PUBLIC FORUM “Understanding, Accepting and Celebrating Diversity” 18 September, 2013 (Wed), 7.45pm, KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
7.30pm	Arrival/Registration
7.45pm	· Welcome by Emcee · Speech by Mr. Zaid Kamaruddin, Vice-Chair, GBM · Souvenir Presentation/Photo
8.00-9.20pm Each speaker has 20 minutes	Forum: Moderator introduces Panelists · Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, Minster in the Prime Minister’s Department · Ms Jannier Lasimbang, Ex-Suhakam Commissioner/Secretariat Director, Jaringan Orang Asal Semalaysia (JOAS) · Dr. Dzulkelfly Ahmad, Executive Committee Member, PAS · Mr. Prematilaka KD Serisena - Hon Secretary General, Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) Moderator: Mr. Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, Exco Member, GBM
9.20-10.00pm	Q&A/Good Night

 

Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia(GBM)
Plan of Action for Malaysia (PoAM)

EGYPT : Asisi bawa kembali ke ZAMAN FIRAUN

<fb siri 040913>
Siapa sebenarnya Sedang Memerintah Mesir ???

Nama yg selalu disebut dan disumpah ; Fatah Asisi @ CC, namun, ianya tidak berstruktur rasmi,
Malah tidak tampil mengikut susunan.

Kerap tampil buat kenyataan adalah wakil media.

Siapa sebenarnya yang berkuasa dalam regim perampas ini? Apa bentuk strukturnya. Berapa ramai terlibat?
Dan yg lebih menghairankan,
Kenapa tiada komen negatif dari US dan IS...RAEL ?

Mereka tidak layak dipanggil Kerajaan Haram Mesir! Memang diambil secara Haram, tetapi tidak diperintah secara Kerajaan! Mereka perintah ala-gangster MAFIA.
Mereka memerintah Mesir dgn kawalan jauh / remote control dari XxXxX ?


<fb diri 030913>
Kjaan Haram Mesir makin mengganas, dan terbongkar rahsia sebenar kudeta.
Laluan Rafah ke Gaza dibom dan dimusnahkan keseluruhannya.
Malah, dirobohkan kawasan kediaman di perkampungan sempadan, supaya lebih mudah mereka monitor pergerakan di kawasan sempadan Mesir-Palestin.
Jelas teramat sangat siapa yg berada dibelakang Rampasan Kuasa Mesir.

Gerakan mengembalikan kuasa Rakyat mesti disokong, walaupun Prof Dr Mohamad Mursi Al-Haiz syahid lebih awal.

<fb siri 200813>
Pertembungan kebathilan @ Kezaliman @ kekejaman,
Vs.
Kebangkitan Rakyat @ golongan yg ditindas

Dibeberapa tempat selama ini masih merupakan ujian kebangkitan. Pertembungan yg ada ketikanya.
Namun,
Apa yg berlaku di Mesir sangat mengingatkan kita kepada pertembungan antara Firaun vs Musa,
Keganasan, kezaliman, dan kekejaman yg dilakukan Sisi & sekutunya tiad...a batasan kemanusian.
Pembunuhan yg dilakukan dalam pelbagai bentuk dilapangan dan di dalam masjid, nyata bukan sekadar manusia yg inginkan kuasa pemerintahan sesebuah negara/ wilayah sahaja.
Tetapi ianya lebih merupakan bentuk ketamakan kepada kuasa mutlak.
Menahan Presiden Mursi dan memBEBASkan Husni Mubarak, adalah sebahagian dari usaha menunjukkan KUASA mutlak, bhw regim ini boleh menghidupkan dan mematikan.
Mereka boleh mengHALALkan dan mengHARAMkan mengikut kehendak mereka.
Persahabatan & Keislaman sejati yg dianjurkan IKHWANUL MUSLIMIN mahu di HARAMkan.
Segala bentuk penindasan Rakyat diHALALkan.

Apa sikap negara MERDEKA yg Lain ?
Kesatuan negara2 ?
Samada bersama Firaun @ Musa ?

Kembara ke Tanah Suci Sempena Ramadhan

Bagi saudara-saudari, atau terma yang sering digunakan ketika kursus dan semasa berada di Tanah Suci Mekkah dan Medinah, para haji dan hajjah, namun lebih sesuai DUYUFUR RAHMAN (tetamu Al-Rahman), jika berkesempatan menunaikan Umrah pada bulan Ramadhan,
sepatutnya memberikan perhatian kepada beberapa informasi yang perlu diketahui lebih awal sebagai persediaan sebelum sampai ke Tanah Suci Haramain :
1. Cuaca, terutama kadar suhu di Jeddah, Medinah, dan Mekah.
2. Waktu solat di Mekah dan Medinah.
3. Budaya berbuka puasa di Mekah dan Medinah.

Ketika mengunjungi Medinah, tentunya dimulakan dengan menziarahi Rasulullah SAW, dengan segala kelebihan yang telah dinyatakan. Begitu juga dengan kesempatan melawat perkuburan Baqi', Masjid Quba, Masjid Qiblatain, Ladang Kurma dan sebagainya. Namun kesempatan yang pasti tak dilepaskan adalah menunaikan solat dan berdoa di Raudhah (dalam Masjid Nabawi).

Keutamaan diberikan untuk menunaikan solat fardhu di masjid Nabawi, yang dikurniakan ganjaran 1000x lebih dari masjid lain kecuali Masjidil Haram.

Budaya masyarakat Medinah sangat mesra sebagai masyarakat yang berada bersama Rasulullah SAW. Begitu juga ketika IFTAR (berbuka puasa). Persiapan berbuka puasa bermula seawal sebelum solat asar. Setiap penyumbang majlis berbuka puasa menyediakan makanan dan minuman yang secukupnya untuk mengajak tetamu berbuka bersama mereka. Malah, mereka akan menunggu di pintu masuk masjid untuk menjemput tetamu untuk berbuka bersama mereka.

Waktu magrib disediakan 15 minit untuk berbuka sebelum segalanya dikemaskan dalam masa begitu singkat untuk dilaksanakan solat magrib.

Cuaca panas atau pun sejuk, tidak begitu terkesan ketika di Medinah, kerana jarak antara tempat penginapan dan Masjid Nabawi tidak begitu jauh.

Namun, cuaca sangat panas (sehingga 50'C) atau ketika terlalu sejuk (sehingga 15'C) memberikan kesan ketika perjalanan dari Medinah ke Mekah untuk tunaikan UMRAH.

Cuaca di Mekah benar-benar terasa kepada Tetamu Ar-Rahman, disebabkan tempat penginapan dan Masjidil Haram agak jauh, terutama semasa fasa pembinaan kawasan sekitar Masjidil Haram. Hajat menunaikan solat fardhu di Masjidil Haram setiap waktu memerlukan kesungguhan yang lebih kuat keazaman.

Persediaan berbuka disediakan sewaktu solat asar. Berbuka sekitar 15 minit selepas masuk waktu magrib sebelum solat dilaksanakan. Bagi yang terus iktikaf, demi mendapat tempat sesuai dalam masjid untuk solat Isya' dan tarawikh akan berada di masjid solat isya dilaksanakan. Solat tarawikh dan dan witir selesai sekitar jam 12 tengahmalam bagi musim panas seperti Jun dan Julai.

Berdasarkan jarak tempat penginapan, biasanya jemaah Umrah akan sampai balik ke penginapan sekitar jam 1 pagi, manakala jamuan sahur yang disediakan pada 2 pagi. Selesai bersahur bertolak ke Masjid untuk solat Subuh

Kenyataan IKRAM Isu Kenaikkan 20 sen RON95 dan Diesel

KENYATAAN MEDIA

PERTUBUHAN IKRAM MALAYSIA (IKRAM)

3 September 2013 bersamaan 26 Syawal 1434 H

Kenaikan Harga Minyak Petanda Kerajaan Tidak Peka Kesempitan Hidup Rakyat

Pertubuhan IKRAM Malaysia (IKRAM) melahirkan rasa kecewa dengan kenaikan harga minyak sebanyak RM0.20 sen seliter semalam yang diumumkan oleh Perdana Menteri Malaysia Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak, walaupun pihak kerajaan telah berjanji untuk tidak menaikkan harga minyak semasa kempen PRU 13 dulu!

Sebab utama kenaikan adalah untuk merasionalisasi subsidi yang diberikan kepada rakyat.

Di kala rakyat masih bergelut dengan kos sara hidup masa kini yang tinggi, kenaikan harga minyak yang berkuatkuasa 3 September 2013 dibimbangi akan disusuli pula dengan kenaikan harga barangan keperluan yang lain menyebabkan rakyat semakin terbeban.

Alasan menaikkan harga minyak bagi membolehkan kerajaan dapat menjimatkan sehingga RM1.1 billion pada tahun ini dan RM3.3 billion pada tahun 2014 tidak harus dilihat sebagai langkah yang terakhir lebih-lebih lagi apabila ia membebankan rakyat.

Kerajaan seharusnya memikirkan bagaimana membentuk ekonomi Negara yang lestari dan stabil tanpa bergantung banyak kepada pemberian subsidi di samping mengupayakan rakyat untuk tidak bergantung kepada saguhati-saguhati kerajaan seperti BR1M dan sebagainya. Jaminan kerajaan untuk mempastikan bahawa harga barangan keperluan rakyat lain tidak terus meningkat dan ke mana hasil penjimatan itu akan dibelanjakan juga seharusnya dinyatakan dengan jelas kepada rakyat.

Kerajaan juga harus menilai kembali beberapa keputusan yang dibuat sebelum ini yang menjurus kepada amalan pembaziran. Pengisytiharan beberapa projek segera sepanjang pilihanraya kecil serta pemberian-pemberian yang mewah yang berupa sogokan seperti diumumkan semasa Pilihanraya Kecil DUN Kuala Besut sebagai beberapa contoh yang dilihat seolah-olah kerajaan tidak pernah merancang dengan berhemah perbelanjaan negara dan akhirnya bila ekonomi negara mengalami kesempitan, ianya dibebankan kembali kepada rakyat.

Isu Kantin Sementara Di 'shower room'

Perbincangan isu kantin sementara di SK Seri Pristana, menjadi diluar kawalan apabila media memainkan menyiarkan dan membincangkan isu tanpa mendapat sumber asli.

 

Keperihatinan ibu kepada pelajar terlibat dapat difahami. Namun yang tidak jelas kepada umum adalah samada Ibu tersebut membawa persoalan tersebut untuk dibincangkan dengan pihak pengurusan, khususnya Guru Besar. Persoalan juga timbul samada ibubapa terlibat turut menyertai PIBG yg dimaklumkan antara pembuat keputusan tentang pengubah-suaian kantin sediada serta urusan menyediakan kantin sementara.

Kesempatan bulan ramdhan diambil oleh pihak sekolah untuk baik-pulih kantin, berlaku di mana-mana sahaja. Cumanya, urusan penyedian kantin sementara bagi menampung sebilangan kecil pelajar yang tidak berpuasa biasanya perlu dibincangkan dengan PIBG. Malah sesetengah sekolah, PIBG antara pihak yang mengusahakan dana ubah-suai demi keselesaan anak-anak pelajar.

Dalam kes SK Seri Pristana ini, isu menjadi BESAR melalui tindakan MEDIA. sehingga Gurubesar diminta bercuti. Walhal, Gurubesar lah pihak yg berwajib yg sepatutnya menjawab dan menjelaskan keadaan sebenar. Tetapi, dalam kes ini, Gurubesar tanpa peluang membuat penjelasan telah menerima ugutan bunuh!

 

Yang peliknya, 2 orang Menteri yang mengetuai Kementerian ini masih membisu.

 

Timbalan Menteri, Kamalanathan telah melawat sekolah dan mengarahkan supaya kantin asal dibuka semula. Persoalannya, apa jadi kepada proses ubah-suai? apakah Kamalanathan mendapat pandangan Gurubesar dan PIBG? Apakah kantin sementara dibuka secara terdedah begitu sahaja sepanjang Ramadhan?

 

Difahamkan, SK Seri Pristana mempunyai sekitar 1,300 pelajar.

Memandangkan isu ini telah menjadi perhatian Kementerian, kita mohon sangat agar YB Menteri-Menteri segera kenal-pasti beberapa lagi sekolah yg menghadapi masalah yg sama, iaitu kantin yg tidak memadai dengan bilangan pelajar, serta keperluan kantin semaasa bulan Ramadhan.

Sikap Positif Anak Bekas Tentera Israel

Transcript of television interview by Jessica Mutch on TVNZ One's Q + A programme, 23 June 2013:

JESSICA Miko Peled, thank you very much for your time this morning.

MIKO Thank you. It’s a pleasure.

 

JESSICA You are the son of an Israeli general, and you’re now fighting for a free and democratic Palestine. What was the turning point for you?

MIKO Well, you know, these things don’t happen as a result of one thing. It’s always a gradual process. But probably the strongest thing that drove me was my sister’s daughter was killed in a suicide attack. And more than anything, probably, that drove me in the direction of looking into the other side, meeting the other side, speaking to Palestinians and so forth to better understand what this conflict is about.

 

JESSICA You write in your book about how you were watching CNN at the time. Can you walk me briefly through that story?

MIKO Well, I live abroad. I live in the US. And when you live in the US, especially in the second half of the 1990s, there was a lot of violence going on, and typically there would be an act of violence and I would call home and make sure everybody’s OK. This time, I got a call from home, which was very strange, and I was watching this unfold on CNN and I could see a girl on a stretcher, which I didn’t think anything of it, you know. Of course, I didn’t see the face. And then my mother told me – it was my mother on the phone saying that she had — my niece was missing. And by the end of the day, we knew what had happened.

 

JESSICA And that for you was one of those turning points that just got you thinking? Is that what happened?

MIKO Well, after this — You know, this is big news, obviously, always. But in Israel this was even bigger news, because she was the granddaughter of a well-known general and a general who had also made a name for himself as an advocate for Palestinian rights after he retired. And then when my sister finally came out to speak to reporters and so forth, she was asked the usual questions about revenge, retaliation and all of that. And she said, “First of all, no real mother would want to see this happen to any other mother. The idea of killing people in response to the death of someone is repulsive and absurd.” And she quoted a well-known Jewish poet who said, “There is no revenge or vengeance that’s appropriate for the death of a child.” And as for who’s responsible, she said, “Well, the Israeli government’s responsible, because these two young men were driven to do this horrific act as a result of years of a brutal oppression and a brutal occupation that has brought them to this place where they took their own lives and the lives of others.” And this had a huge impact on me, besides what had happened. But her words had a huge impact on me. When I returned to the US, I looked for ways to get engaged and I began becoming engaged.

 

JESSICA Another thing you mentioned in the book about really what engaged you was a story about your mother, and the Israeli Army would go through and confiscate houses, and some of the most beautiful houses they would give to high-powered families like your own. Your mother refused to take on one of those houses. What impact did that have on you?

MIKO A lot of confusion. She was talking about 1948, and as Israelis we grew up learning that 1948 was an act of heroism. This is when the Jewish people rose like the phoenix from the ashes and so on and established a Jewish state and it was an act of heroism and the fighting we took on, you know, we were defending ourselves and so forth. And we made sure to do the right thing, we didn’t hurt women and children, we didn’t steal, we didn’t loot, because we don’t do these things. My mother told a story. She was a young mother in 1948. She was living in a small apartment with her parents. And when the Palestinian communities in Jerusalem – not the Old City but, you know, outside the Old City – these neighbourhoods were taken by the Israeli forces, the Zionist forces. They were forced to leave, and these homes were made available to Israeli families, like you said. And she told me this story, and then she went on to say, “How could they possibly think I would take the home of another mother? How could I take the home of another family?” And she would say – and she still talks about this today. She's 86 years old, and she says, “And to see the looting, to see the Israeli soldiers looting and all this, it was terrible.” And this was very troublesome to me, because this stands in the face of the national narrative – that we were heroes, that we were attacked, that we do not loot, we do not do these things. We took the homes only because we asked the Arabs to leave and they didn’t— we asked them to stay and they left anyway. And for many years, this was in the back of my mind, and this was the first crack in that wall of myth that Israelis have built around themselves to justify what really was a terrible act of terrorism and land theft that took place in 1948 and at the end of which the state of Israel was established.

 

JESSICA Because you mentioned that your father was a peace activist later in his career as well.

MIKO Yes, yes.

 

JESSICA When he first started exploring that and you did too, what were those initial conversations like for you? That must have been really difficult.

MIKO Well, I was rather young and he was rather knowledgeable, so he knew what he was talking about. He was quite convincing. But he maintained that the safest thing for Israel would be to allow the Palestinians to establish a state in the West Bank in Gaza and then move on, otherwise we would become a bi-national state. At this point – and this he said while still in uniform at the end of the 1967 war – but as he was saying this, the Israeli state went on to destroy towns and villages in the West Bank, like they did in parts of Palestine after ’48, and massively build for Israeli Jews only in West Bank, again on Palestinian land. So as he was saying this, Israel was actually integrating the West Bank into Israel, and this became— the rift between him and the establishment became greater and greater with time.

 

JESSICA And that brings us nicely to our next point. Our Foreign Affairs Minister, Murray McCully, has just returned over the last couple of days from meeting with the Israeli prime minister and also with the Palestinian president as well. We, obviously, in New Zealand – our government supports a two-state policy. You are speaking out on behalf of one. Why is that?

MIKO Well, the whole idea of a two-state solution is really code for allowing Israel to continue to oppress the Palestinians, to continue to steal their land, take their homes, to maintain policies where Israel has thousands of political prisoners and to pretend that Israel is a democracy, but there's really not a partner and they just need to work things out. This is not the case, and all of Israel’s supporters, like the US and its followers in the West, allow Israel to continue doing this by talking about this two-state solution, which everybody knows is non-existent.

JESSICA You mention in your book – I’ll read out a quote for the audience: “Both Jews and Palestinians as equals living together in a state that is neither Jewish nor Arab.” Is that not a little bit simplistic?

MIKO It’s not simplistic at all. Today the state of Israel is neither Jewish nor democratic. They claim it’s a Jewish democracy. It’s neither Jewish nor democratic. Half of the population under Israeli control is not Jewish. You have six and a half million Israelis and around six or a little over six million Palestinians. Israel governs Israeli Jews under one set of laws, Palestinians who are Israeli citizens under a different set of laws, and the Palestinians on the West Bank and in Gaza who have no citizenship at all with no laws to protect them at all. They are at the mercy of the Israeli military, which shoots to kill, destroys homes and so forth on a regular basis with impunity. So to support the state of Israel means to support a racist state. There's no question about it. And the reality is that when Israel conquered the West Bank in 1967, it became a bi-national state, but with no intention of ever allowing it to be a democracy, because of course then it would not be a Jewish state, which of course I think is a racist idea which I think most Jews have never bought into.

JESSICA Well, look, that’s a nice place to leave it. Thank you very much for your time this morning. I really appreciate it.

 

MIKO Thank you.

Pencerahan Isu Erdogan dan Turki

In Defense of Erdogan and the AKP

Dr Jeffery Abu Hassan, Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin

Board of Directors, Muslim Professionals Forum

Much has been written about the political impasse in the Turkish capital. More recently commentaries and opinions have been expressed in the local media extrapolating the recent events as symptomatic of Erdogan’s autocratic rule and taking AKP to task for its failure to exemplify itself as authentic Islamic democrats. The complexity of the turn of events in Taksim Square should not exempt us from rationally examining history and contemporary evidence in our shared quest to separate fact from fiction.

What initially began as a small protest against the uprooting of a few trees grew into a protest of a few thousands. The supposedly “Green Protest” needs to be contrasted against the AKP Green Project which have planted in excess of 3 billion trees across Turkey since it came to power and for this PM Erdogan was honoured with the UN Habitat award.

Any discerning political analyst worth his salt would have immediately understood that the protest first mooted by the environmentalist have been politically hijacked by opposition parties and anarchists – it does not require rocket science to fathom this equation!

These political opportunists abused the democratic space and illegitimately expressed their hostilities against a prime minister and Party that has been elected democratically and with increasing majorities for three consecutive terms. No government elected on such a convincing mandate would tolerate any form of illegitimate means to undermine public order, attack the police and destroy public and private property. Even minority governments would not condone such public display of vandalism and atrocities. The Occupy Movement in the US and the demonstrations against the G8 meetings have all been handled the same way but when it happens in Turkey it is exaggerated to such an outlandish degree. Is this an unconscious expression of one’s Islamophobic traits? As it is we have one too many of such nuances in both the international and local print media.

PM Erdogan and his senior government officials have met the protesters and both parties have agreed to put the issue of the park to a referendum for the residents of Istanbul, pending a court decision. PM Erdogan in no uncertain terms stated that a full investigation would be undertaken to examine if excessive force had been used by the police force. How much more democratic can you get?

Turkey took its first loan from the IMF in 1961. When the AKP came to power, Turkey owed the IMF US$23.5 billion. She has now repaid all her loans to the IMF and is now a net lender rather than a borrower to the fund when she recently pledged US$5 billion to the IMF to help with the European crisis. Turkey has since reduced its government debt to 40% of GDP from 78% when Erdogan took office in 2002. As stressed by the deputy Prime Minister, Ali Babacan, with an inflation rate at its lowest since the last 44 years, a 1 million rise in employment, near zero interest rate and improved credit ratings, Turkey must be doing something right. With the looming economic meltdown in the EU, one just wonders who is today the “sick man of Europe.”

In the international arena Turkey is the only country that has stood against the illegitimate Israeli occupation of Palestine putting to shame all the democracies in the modern world and its agencies. This she did openly via the Mavi Marmara flotilla, PM Erdogan's standoff against Peres at the World Economic Summit, Davos and it's support for the many fledgling democracies that have mushroomed in the Middle East.

On Sunday, 16 June 2013, a million people rallied in support of PM Erdogan and the AKP. This was a fact that has gone unnoticed, not surprisingly in the sensation-seeking foreign press. (http://english.sabah.com.tr/national/2013/06/17/erdogan-addresses-rally-in-kazlicesme-in-a-massive-showing-of-support)

Thus the problem is not with the Islamic democrats.

As in Egypt, the problem lies with the reactionary, ultra secular regimes who have been overthrown by the masses in free and fair elections. These are the beneficiaries of the previous non-democratic regimes corrupted to the core, milking the nation’s wealth for their self-aggrandizement. These are the irreligious politicans and their cronies who would like to maintain their lavish lifestyles that are not compatible with the majority. These are the minorities that are bent on wreaking tyranny on the majority. They desire to continue looting the nation’s wealth and continue business as usual but the Arab Spring has thrashed them into the bin of history. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, Junior; “The arc of the moral universe is long but it always bends towards justice.”

Both Turkey and Egypt have massive bureaucracies and judiciaries that continue to be beholden to the previous regimes. In Egypt the Judiciary has cancelled virtually all the elections which the Muslim Brotherhood has won convincingly. They have won five of the elections since the overthrow of Mubarak but their legitimacy is still doubted and progress for the country is stymied by these political reactionaries. Elections outlawed calls for new elections and millions of dollars that is scarce in Egypt.

President Morsi is not yet a year in power and there are already voices for his removal. He had won fairly and squarely in the first elections post Mubarak.

Those who screamed for the ballot box now do not agree with the results. Is it democracy only when the liberal and secular minority wins? Is it democracy only when foreign powers gives its stamp of approval? The military coup to deprive the pivotal Islamic Salvation Front ballot box victory in Algeria in 1992 and more recently Hamas in Palestine are just 2 cases in point.

The AKP in Turkey despite having won convincingly was nearly outlawed by the judiciary and thus the will of the people was to be sidelined for the sake of the minority.

A virtual collapse of Turkey’s economy and gross violations of human rights was the order of the day during the years preceding 2002. Since PM Erdogan took office, a steady reduction of these abuses and violations were kick-started. On-going efforts are in place to replace the Constitution dictated by the military junta with a democratic one. Peace process has recently been in place that has witnessed no major clashes with the Kurdish Workers Party (deemed as terrorist by Turkey, the US and Europe). The loud accusations regarding productive rights, abortions, alcohol sales, freedom of immodesty in public and the government’s efforts to Islamisize Turkey holds no water.

Unlike in the US where Bibles are a common item in a hotel room, one will not find Qurans in hotels in Turkey. Catholic schools in Ontario are state funded, but not Islamic schools in Turkey. In Finland, no sale of liquor is allowed between 10pm to 6am while in Taksim Square one can see liquor being sold 9pm to 9am. Yes, there are limitations on liquor advertising. But how is that different from the US?

Ten (10) years is very much a short period of time to undo a country that has experienced four (4) military coups against the popularly elected governments between 1960 and 1997 under the guise of the Ataturk legacy, that practiced autocratic rules.

As the Turkish foreign minister puts it,

“Elections are the only way to change a democratically elected government. Our party has built a first-rate democracy that we value more than ever – since 1950; legitimate governments have been toppled four times from outside the political sphere. We represent the will of the people, and our political power is the power of all of our citizens.”

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/16/protests-represent-turkey-democracy-akp?INTCMP=SRCH)

Thus the problem again is not with the Islamic Democrats. They were voted into power by the rules of the game but when they won, the rules are changed and the goal post moved to make life as difficult as possible and not to allow them the liberty to go ahead with nation building. In some countries they are not even allowed the prospect of gaining power by the politics of gerrymandering and electoral fraud. The secular fear of Islamic democrats and democrats in general is so perverse that the lay person is indoctrinated to the hilt and bribed handsomely to vote against them. And when they do by some miracle get to power, the bureaucrats and supporters of previous regimes make life hell for them. I suspect this scenario is much familiar to many amongst us!

The outright fact remains that that this AKP government has presided over the most successful era in Turkish politics for well over 100 years. The ultra- seculars in Turkish politics are completely oblivious of the fact that for 60 years when Turkey was under their charge, its prestige and power had declined to levels lower than meat in a Doner Kebab. They closed religious schools, banned hijabs and imprisoned members of Islamic organisations. Are these just some of the “freedoms” which the protesters now miss?

PM Erdogan had to serve 120 days of a 10-month prison sentence for simply reciting this poem:

"Our minarets are our bayonets,

Our domes are our helmets,

Our mosques are our barracks.

We will put a final end to ethnic segregation.

No one can ever intimidate us.

If the skies and the ground were to open against us.

If floods and volcanoes were to burst, We will not turn from our mission.

My reference is Islam. If I am not able to speak of this, What is the use of living?"

The higher than average levels of imprisonment of journalists however needs to be addressed by the AKP. Apart from this blemish, PM Erdogan has in a relatively short space of time recorded a stellar political report card. He has won a convincing majority at the ballot box for every election in the last 10 years. Against all odds he restricted the power of the coup-happy army. He virtually ended the perpetual Turkish war against the Kurds. On most occasions he was the first world leader to stand firm with the masses in their democratic expressions against the autocratic regimes from Tunisia to Syria. Despite the current hyped trials and tribulations, in our opinion PM Erdogan and the AKP still represent the best examples of Islamist democrats there are.

But in the protesters narrative, now echoed by some political analysts, only one thing matters. If you are for Islam – they are against you. The protests in Turkey are simply put, a desperate attempt to instigate a coup against a democratically elected civilian government. They are the last sigh of a secular liberal elite who have realized far too late that the future does not belong to them anymore.