Dear Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik

You, however, Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik, would have sinned against the rakyat if you fail to do the right thing tomorrow. And Allah would not be able to pardon your sins against the rakyat. The rakyat would have to do that. And if the rakyat does not then Allah cannot give you any exemption from those sins.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Assalamualaikum Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik,

Tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow you are going to decide whether Malaysia will adopt a new political culture of justice, accountability, transparency, and good governance, laced with nilai-nilai Islam (Islamic values), or whether it is going to be the same old same old politics of expediency and matlamat menghalalkan cara (the end justifies the means).

Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik,

I remember back in the 1980s when I spoke to you about why PAS insists on pushing its Islamic agenda, specifically referring to the laws of Hudud, of course. Will this not make it difficult for PAS to penetrate the urban areas and constituencies on the west coast where the Malay voting population is not above 90% like in Terengganu and Kelantan?

That was soon after my brother, Raja Idris, and I had arranged for Ayah Cik to talk at the Masjid al-Mujahideen in Damansara Utama in Kuala Lumpur. That, for all intents and purposes, was the stepping stone for PAS to not only penetrate the big city but the more affluent neighbourhood of Kuala Lumpur on top of that, an area impossible for PAS to make any inroads prior to 1980.

The reply I received was that PAS’ first agenda is to uphold Islam. Whether in the process it wins or losses the election is immaterial. Islam comes first. Political power comes second.

Around that same time we spent a few weeks in Mekah and Medina during the pilgrimage and we sat and talked to way past 3.00am every night (until we were too tired to wake up to go to the mosque for Suboh and performed our prayers in our hostel).

The late PAS President, Ustaz Fadzil Noor, was in that group (with two or three other PAS leaders) and I remember very well when he expressed his sadness and regret that Anwar Ibrahim had decided to join Umno instead of PAS. (Anwar had joined Umno just before our Mekah trip).

“Anwar says he joined Umno to clean or change Umno from the inside,” said Ustaz Fadzil. “What will happen instead is that Umno will change him. You cannot jump into the tong tahi (shit pot) and clean the shit. You will get shit on you instead.”

And you, Ayah Chik, just grunted in disgust at what you considered Anwar’s lame excuse for joining Umno mainly for purposes of seeking power but using Islam as the tool to gain power.

Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik,

We were all very clear at that time what PAS’ agenda was. It was to change Malaysia and end the political corruption, cronyism, nepotism, abuse of power, and so on, that had become the culture of Malaysian politics. And the way to do this, we all agreed, was to serap nilai-nila Islam into Malaysian society. Winning elections, if won through non-murni (non-noble) ways, is not what we seek.

I do not know what decision PAS is going to make tomorrow. But whatever the decision is going to be let it not deviate from what we discussed and agreed 30 years ago in the holy land. If not then all that we have fighting for these last 35 years since the late 1970s would have all been in vain.

Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik,

We are all no longer young like we were 30 or 35 years ago. Ustaz Fadzil has long left us. Soon it will be our turn. I do not know whether you will be praying over my grave or I will be praying over yours. But rest assured that within a decade or so all three of us would most likely be just bones buried beneath the dirt.

I will have to pay for all my sins, selling beer in my kopitiam in Manchester being one of those sins but certainly not my only sin. Nevertheless, my sin is against Allah and if Allah is really kind, compassionate and forgiving, as Islam says, I am sure Allah will forgive me for my sins.

You, however, Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik, would have sinned against the rakyat if you fail to do the right thing tomorrow. And Allah would not be able to pardon your sins against the rakyat. The rakyat would have to do that. And if the rakyat does not then Allah cannot give you any exemption from those sins.

This, Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik, is what you taught me unless you were lying when you taught me that.

“Why does PAS want Hudud so much in spite of the fact it will not help PAS win votes?” I asked you. “Because Islam is about justice,” was your reply. “And Hudud, too, is about justice.”

Hence I take it that justice is more important than political power. So, since then, I spoke up in defence of Hudud even though the Chinese and Indians whacked me to kingdom come right up to 1999 when Barisan Alternatif was formed. You should have seen how they vilified me because of my stand in supporting Hudud, a stand that I took because I believed in what you told me, Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik.

Are we going to see justice tomorrow? Will Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim be accorded justice? Is it Islamic to pass judgement on a person based on unproven and unsubstantiated allegations?

You decide, Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik. The ball is in your court. But whatever you decide tomorrow, just remember that you do not need to sell beer, like me, to end up in hell. Taking the Lord’s name in vain, as the Christians would say, is a crime unpardonable by Allah.

Well, at least that is what you taught me, Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik.

Oh, and before I sign off, Cikgu Pah and Ayah Cik, there is another Christian saying: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So beware!