A nation of quiet revolutionaries and noisy ultra-conservatives

The passing of a quiet revolutionist

David Dass: This was the acid test for Malay Muslim society: is Muslim Malaysia to be administered top-down by the mullah and the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim)?

Of course, some Muslims will tell non-Muslims to keep their mouths shut. You must keep out of our business. But Malaysia is my business. Malaysians are my business. The Constitution is my business.

I have always admired late academician Kassim Ahmad. I make no comment about the issues he wrote and spoke about which resulted in him being charged. I make no comment mainly because I have little knowledge of these things.

What concerns me is the right of academicians and thinkers to be able to express their views about issues that affect the life of the people of this nation. That is a fundamental right set out in the Constitution.

Christianity and Christians have survived for centuries despite the freedom the people enjoy in Christian-majority countries to have and to express any view they might have on Christian scripture.

Much is said about sexual permissiveness and liberal and secular values of the West. The truth is that Western societies appear more stable and in many respects more compassionate than many countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Of course, Western societies are all democracies whereas few countries outside the West are democratic. Human rights concerns are more intensely addressed in the West than in countries outside the West.

So, if one took a cursory look at the impact of religious belief on the lives of people in different countries, one may ask the question whether scripture is being correctly understood and applied. And a case may be made for open discussion and debate on what God would want of us.

Kassim Ahmad was one such thinker who wanted open discussion of religious issues. He appeared forlorn and very alone.

Vgeorgemy: Malaysiakini columnist Commander (Rtd) S Thayaparan, late academician Kassim Ahmad will be remembered as the Che Guevara of Malaysia.

It is a matter of time Pak Kassim become the icon of the urban poor and marginalised community.

His steadfast fight against the oppressive religious employees will give strength to the oppressed and reflects his legacy as a moral agent of the nation.

We won’t be surprised if the youth of our nation wear T-shirts with Pak Kassim’s face on them as a symbol of protest against bigotry and extremism.

This nation will honour and protect his legacy as long as injustices prevail in our society. We are determined to see his legacy celebrated here.

Anonymous 2484491505281360: When you have a continuous and layered generation baked in half-truths produced in political academic laboratories, then we will continue to see the defence of ignorance and mediocrity.

The disease has reached both the law-making authorities and the enforcement units.

Anonymous 2460541488536656: Thank you, Thayaparan for this eulogy on Kassim Ahmad.

For those of us who are not so learned, we have a slightly better understanding of why the current state of Islam is so dismal in our country and the world at large.

It is Muslims like Kassim Ahmad who give us hope that the selfish manipulators of Islam will be defeated.

Cogito Ergo Sum: To our eternal shame, Kassim Ahmad was hounded by the authorities to his grave. And we, the public, did nothing to stop this relentless pursuit of the man regarded as the conscience of society.

Anonymous 2413471460628504: A beautiful eulogy for a principled man who lived his life with integrity.

The Analyser: But then, isn’t Malaysia full of quiet revolutionaries and outspoken ultra-conservatives?

Dr M mourns the passing of ‘sharp, brave’ Kassim Ahmad

Hplooi: In memoriam, Kassim Ahmad – Sept 9, 1933 – Oct 10, 2017.

Soliloquy. (I) Peace be with you, Though the downpour floods our fields, Tis but God, Pouring his mercy on us. The call to lunch lightly harken, The incessant sibilance of the frogs are silent, Tomorrow will be hot, Our fields will be fallow.

(II) Sleep well my friend, We are but dwarfs, Beating our bones in the day, Bearing our worries in the eves. Where tomorrow must be bright, I must surely go, In the footsteps of a thousand Jebat, We die with faithfulness, But will live with rebellion!

Note: Translated and rephrased from ‘Sajak Dialog (kepada Ibu)’ Ogos 26, 1958.

Allahyarham Kassim Ahmad’s famous inversion of popular ethos averred that Hang Jebat is the hero, not Hang Tuah.

Abasir: Kassim Ahmad encouraged the spirit of inquiry among his fellow Muslims. He led by example and insisted that Muslims too have the right to independent thought.

In doing so, he brought out the worst of Umno-endorsed Islam. Despite the hounding oppression, he experienced at the hands of Umno’s religious police, he never buckled, never took the easy way out by surrendering his integrity for titles and baubles.

He was an intellectual in the truest sense of the term – a rarity in a country littered with “state-sponsored intellectuals”.

By sticking to his beliefs and independence despite everything thrown at him, he towers over his oppressors and their keepers.

Anonymous#26191220: Another flicker of critical thinking, awakening and enlightenment is extinguished in the dark night that has descended on the closed minds of so many in Malaysia.

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