A Law Professor, an assembly and a whole lot of sense

An academic is not just one that teaches or lectures in a classroom or lecture hall. In fact, whatever that person does in and out of his or her teaching environment reflects upon the institution he or she represents.

IIUM in Gombak is no different from any other Academia, and in an effort to stem the damage already done by Prof.Aziz Bari's comments had taken steps to suspend the lecturer and asking o show cause at the same time. He had been reported to have said that the Sultan of Selangor's involvement in the JAIS fiasco and the subsequent statement by his Majesty as 'something out of the ordinary'. He also added that the Sultan had to ensure that any involvement must adhere to Islamic teachings.

What is not ordinary is not so much as the Sultan's action but more of what this Professor had done. Never before had an Academic attempt to sway the palace and the Sultan this way, by media manipulation.

But let's look at what Professor Aziz stands for and why this is the right time for him to say something like this.

For one, Professor Aziz Bari is linked to 'Akademi Merdeka'. 'Akademi Merdeka' aims to discuss the constitution, principals, laws of the country amongst others. The 'Akademi Merdeka' series is funded by IDEAS. (click here to find out how the NGO web is used to perpetuate anti establishment messages and sentiments)

So, did IIUM act negatively towards Aziz Bari? In an employer-employee dispute, does the dispute go to Parliament or does it go for arbitration in PERKESO? Apparently, not. So here PAS jumps in and wants to take this to Parliament. If all this still does not tell the rakyat that there are serious political games going on, persisted by PR, then I wonder what will. There is a fine line to encourage thinking, but to manipulate is something else.

Perhaps one should also remember that such shadow play did occur not too long ago. Case in point? UNISEL. Did that even follow procedure? You decide.

And all this stemmed from DUMC, didn't it? Which state government did it involve again?

And how about the organisers who pulled HIMPUN together? Is it wrong for them to do so? After all, it is guaranteed by law isn't it? That no proselytism should take place on Muslims and their beliefs?

But is this the real situation anyway? There are certainly groups and individuals doing this on the pretext of 'freedom to choose your own religion' and speak to a young naive person, and that person will believe it too.

So? what if there were only 5 thousand people who attended the gathering. What it tells me is that 5000 Muslims do not want to see way such acts of proselytising. I certainly did not feel uneasy about the gathering, and congratulations should go out to those who wanted it done in a stadium. How to ramp up the numbers? Take to the streets, but thats not what the organisers wanted. Is that so hard to understand?

What makes a whole lot of sense these days is that given the opportunity, PR lawmakers (and a bunch of lawyers most of them are....didn't they tell you that Lawyers are a bunch of sharks?) are quick to jump on any issue if it can give them more support from those convinced that Malaysia is doomed and w hole lot of good will come if these lawyers and their masters are given the chance to rule.

How best to achieve that? Divide the Malays!

Would you want to jump from the safety of your boat into Shark infested waters just because someone yelled your boat is leaking? Wouldn't you at least check for leaks first??