Amanah Haji Hadi: Old but Evergreen and still Relevant

It happened in 1981 but Amanah Haji Hadi or Haji Hadi's Message or Edith is once again a hot topic discussed in mainstream and online media and back in the public conscience.

It started with Utusan Malaysia's Monday article [see here and here] which took a cue from the stunning revelation from a new controversial book by author CN Afghani entitled "Kafirkah Aku?". He called upon PAS President Dato Haji Hadi Awang to repeal his Amanah made at a political rally (ceramah) in Kampong Benggol Peradong, Kuala Terengganu on April 7th 1981.

The author is the same PAS member that in 2010 wrote a book revealing the misappropriation of  the Memali Trust Fund (Tabung Memali) that had Pemuda PAS stopped the book sale at the Muktamar PAS of 2011.

The trust fund initiated by PAS Pusat and raised money through the party's network of branches, Harakah office and ceramah and usrah circuit had systematically denied the intended widows, orphans and victims of the bloody 1985 incident.

CN Afghani's new book discussed the destructive and disuniting impact of Hadi's Message on the rural communities and the Muslim society at large and deviation in PAS's current practices in politics and government from the Amanat's original intention.

In fact, the Memali incident was the culmination of Hadi's Message that called for jihad to fight the UMNO-led Government. Ibrahim Libya refused  to surrender to securities authorities and willingly chose to die a martyr's death (syahid).

In-denial

PAS reaction to this new controversy by Utusan Malaysia is rather sub-dude. Perhaps to maintain their focus on the upcoming general election, they ignored and to refused to give it a life. Hadi has been out of public eye since Monday and PAS has not been giving ceramah in Terengganu.

Kelantan Menteri Besar, Dato Nik Aziz Nik Mat and Head of PAS Dewan Ulamak, Dato Harun Taib made attempts to lent a hand to defend Hadi but the justification are weak and more self promoting. Both statements came out as arrogant and being disrespectful on the Muftis independent views. [Read Nik Aziz in Harakah here and Harun Taib in Sinar Harian here]

Naturally the author CN Afghani and the Muftis voicing their concern on deviant and disuniting effect of Hadi's Message are conveniently labelled and brushed with the same stoke as on UMNO's payroll, orang UMNO or bias for UMNO.

Such relevant is important deterrent from PAS grassroot heeding those views. PAS followers  adopted the feudalistic loyalty without questions to their ulamak and "spiritual" leaders.

Nevertheless, it is the reaction of Ketua Penerangan Dewan Pemuda PAS, Ridzuan Mohd Nor that showed some attempt to address the current concern from the latest buzz initiated by CN Afghani and Utusan Malaysia.

Ridzuan brushed it off as UMNO's futile attempt to recycle old issue. Again the usual and predictable labelling to any voices of dissent.

Excerpt of his comment in Harakahdaily here, below:

Umno yang dilihat seperti kelemasan menggunakan teknik bertahan bagi menyelamatkan kedudukannya. Isu lapuk terus dimainkan kembali bagi menghidupkan sisa-sisa survival politik mereka. Kali ini isu Amanat Haji Hadi tahun 1981 diolah kembali supaya ianya bermain di bibir umat Islam di negara ini.  

Ternyata isu Amanat Haji Hadi menandakan mereka sudah kehabisan modal dan kekeringan idea bagi menangkis serangan isu yang bertali arus. Justeru, bagi menyelamatkan hayat politik mereka, mereka terpaksa memainkan kembali isu itu. Menggunakan institusi agama seperti Jabatan Mufti, beberapa ulama ditampilkan bagi mengukuhkan hujah mereka. Bersuaralah beberapa mufti menggesa agar amanat itu ditarik balik dengan hujah ia adalah suatu bidaah besar serta bercanggah dengan amalan ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah. Tuduhan kafir yang dilemparkan dari amanat tersebut dikhuatiri akan berbalik kepada penuduh tersebut. 

Still Relevant

It is true Hadi's Message or Edith is an age old issue but one cannot described it as stale or irrelevant.

It is absolutely irresponsible to do so because it had posed problems to society, families and marriages till the present. The disuniting and adversarial results on society had passed through the decades and passed from one generation to another.

The public are aware but PAS and PKR supporters are seen these days trying to spin accusation of  "politik samseng" perception on UMNO.  Unless the public is blinded by the behaviour at the series of Bersih demonstrations and etc., such politics is a long embedded PAS culture of militancy and fanaticism that lingered since the days of the bloody Memali tragedy in 1985.

Again, it only shows Hadi's Message will always stay relevant.

If not for Hadi's Message, the Memali tragedy might not have happened, and Ibrahim Libya's followers wives, childrens and family might have not lost their parents or loved ones and suffered the hardship and poverty in their life.

Sadly, these families had to refuse help and assistance from public or politicians for fear of being ostracied by the heavily PAS-influenced local Malay community. Any Muslim that shows any resemblance of association to UMNO such as voting for Barisan Nasional or working for Government is labelled as kafir.

After Memali

The subdued response by PAS to Hadi's Message had been the same attitude towards the Memali incident for the last couple of years.

Since the Memali incident, PAS would play up the incident by holding annual commemoration in  PAS own grandiose fashion with it's typical ceramah, fund raising and prayers. Strangely for the last three years, it has been limited to small local affairs.

PAS wants to playdown the Amanah Hadi and the related event like Memali incident. And they are trying to brush the disunifying claim as merely fate.

But in understanding fate, we need to understand 5th pillar of Iman to believe in Qada' and Qadar. Qada' is predetermination of fate and Qadar is about changing fate through the effort we undertake.

For that matter, someone was instrumental in the effort and made conscious decisions that had affected the lives of many and the suffering of more till the present day.

Still related to Memali, lets not forget about the arms heist tragedy which happened at Bukit Jenalek in Sauk Perak as recent as July 2-7th that eventually led to the arrest under the ISA Act. And the impact to the families of those three victims of policemen and villagers and the killed Al-Maunah followers.

Do not discount the July this year incident of a man that went on "jihad' rampage at the compound outside the Prime Minister's Department in Putrajaya had no link to Hadi's Message for matyrdom to bring a revolutionary change of Government for a theological Islamic state.

Based on these incidents, it is sadly irresponsible on PAS to simply reject their own Hadi's Message and considered it as stale.

But, typical of PAS's halalkan cara (justifying ways) and hypocrasy seldom lampooned as "waharami to you, wallhahalan for us", it is not surprising.

Fanaticism

The fact is Hadi is ignoring his old Edith. He wants to ignore the matter and refuse to be responsible for the loss suffered by those who held on to his Edith. Hadi can ignore everything he did in the past and focus on the coming election.

However, if it is not his fault, then who should be blamed?

In Raja Petra's recent autobiographical series of his life, he described his day in Terengganu in the 70-80s and Hadi was a young rising star of PAS with great many followers and students. Somewhat similar to Forest Gump of being there at every important moment of history, RPK claimed to be instrumental to bring the young Hadi to the urban voters.

Hadi had influence his PAS followers to hate UMNO and the government so bad that the hatred is even worse than the hatred between Muslim with the devil.

In Harun Taib rebuttal to the latest onslaught on Hadi, he brushed aside the Mufti as not understand politics thus not to interfere. So does that means Amanah Hadi Hadi is merely a political campaign tool of ceramah and pamphlets?

That shows present day PAS as being hypocritical and now has four fingers pointing back as one finger of Hadi pointed at UMNO by this infamous quote, "ugama suku, politik suku" (partially religion, partially politics).

Power Sharing

PAS used to brand UMNO's power sharing arrangement with MCA, MIC, and other races in Sabah and Sarawak as kafir.

Unlike in the past where it is merely understanding, or links with Semangat 46 as the go-between, PAS is now in bed, deeply embracing and collaborating with DAP from top to lower level operations. The called it by some fancy Arab term saounding like Tahalul Sayasi. 

This is the DAP that is consistently and vociferously against Islamic statehood and for secular state, against nationalism, against Islam's constitutional status, against article 11(4) on propagating other religion to Muslims, against any form of Malay historical heritage in the constitution and government, and against Bumiputera's special rights which PAS members benefited from too.

But off course, PAS has openly set aside it's Islamic state agenda for this upcoming election for a socialist DAP-styled welfare state theme of Devan Nair days and repeatedly bow down to every other DAP outcry on syariah flavoured rules and even public decency law that had any lslamic term used.

As Christmas holidays draws near, it looks like the ghost of Hadi's past is coming to back to haunt him.

Apology

Hadi can ignore because UMNO will still play the issue up, said PAS political writer-supporter, Mohd Sayuti Omar. He has moved on, Sayuti reasoned. [His article was published by Harakahdaily online here].

If so, why not repeal it, apologise and move on so that together we can build a more progressive, positive and united Muslim community and nation; unhindered by the disunifying competition for power?

Dato Seri Mohd Najib showed his willingness to apologise for any of UMNO's past mistake on several times and was perleceh (downplayed) by Dato Husam Musa.

But will Hadi be as bigger gentleman than Najib to apologise and set aside his proud clergyman's ego?

Millitant

Getting him to apologise is not as important as getting a firm confirmation that he has put aside PAS millitant version of Islamic state and hudud law.

As one former PAS activist and still a member keeping abreast of development in the party said in private, Nik Aziz is still openly talking of PAS version of Islamic state and hudud law agenda in Kelantan and the Malay states.

While Karpal Singh may be a hinderence at the public debate level, there is willingness on DAP to allow it to remain as a localised issue.

Dato Shahrizat's call to avoid May 13 criticised, Hadi's threat to start May 13 kept under lid

Shove comes to shove he said, Hadi had blurted that in a ceramah in Kuala Lumpur some months back that they will form an Islamic state and carryout Hudud law when Pakatan Rakyat wins the next general election.

Failing which there will be a May 13.

Thus it is surprising and hypocrasy of the highest order when PAS could criticise vehemently Dato Shahrizat's warning that Malaysia could explode into  a May 13 when Pakatan Rakyat wins the next general election.

Conveniently, PAS propaganda machinery kept it under lid the spectre that could arise from Hadi's words. [Read here]

UMNO Labelling

Now on the subject of CN Afghani. To what extent did PAS member CN Afghani as labelled by PAS cybertroopers collaborated with UMNO that is now sitting pretty oblivious to the ongoing political debate?

Having did a quick browse of CN Afghani's books, he still comes out as a believer of Hadi's Message.

He is still quoting the Quranic verses Hadi used to justify PAS supporters segregating themselves from local Muslim communities, particularly in the rural communities, to strengthen the resolve of followers and new recruits, and raised their level of extremism and feudel-styled fanatical blind loyalty (taksub) to their teachers.

The large part of the book basically delved into PAS's hypocrasy between what they preached and advocate in the past vis-a-vis their current actions when in state governments.

CN Afghani made no serious attempt to dispute the narrow interpretation of Quranic verses by Hadi to justify their militancy and extremism.

No attempt answer the issues from the perspective of prioritising (awlawiyah) or applying Islamic wisdom. Political Islam is not of higher priority to defending tawhid, maintaining akhlak, pursuit of justice and unity of ummah.

Diversity in Islam on furu' matters should be acknowledged and celebrated instead of being scorned at as done by PAS's extremist in past and possibly remain within PAS present "liberal" psyche on others. Back then, Hadi advocated extremism and for jihadist mindset which refused rationale, moderation and diplomacy. Either one is with PAS, it doesn't matter that it could be other Islamic groups like ABIM, PERKIM, Tabligh, JIM, HAMIM, BERJASA, etc, otherwise one is considered as kafir.

In his books, CN Afghani's critical view is more concerned on the diversion of PAS from it's original struggle.

Now, is he an UMNO man as lebelled now? Most unlikely.

Misappropriation

From his series of books, CN Afghani comes out as being more focused on the abuses, improprieties and corruption in PAS. His prime focus remained on the neglect and diversion of funds meant for the widows, orphans and victims of Memali Trust Fund.

He wrote two books on Memali and Memali Trust Fund. Again, Memali incident arise from the fanaticism to the message of Amanah Haji Hadi and the teachings of Haji Hadi.

But it is the same organisation created by Haji Hadi and now led by Haji Hadi that misappropriate the Memali Trust Fund.

The same organisation that include the late President, Ustaz Dato Fadzil Nor protected and shielded one Yusof Hussin that was instrumental in diverting the money.

From a former school clerk, Yusof is now a Senator, allegedly linked to Kedah SLC, BINA Kuari Sdn Bhd, drives in several big cars, afford sending several of his children to study abroad, and live in a palatial home near Kampong Memali.

The widely held belief in PAS is that Yusof is immune and invulnerable. [Read lots of such exposes on Gunung Mat Cincang here]

Taking or more precisely, stealing orphan money is one of the most despicable crime in Islam. When it comes to stealing from orphans, it is universally unacceptable, which one's race or religion or belief.

It amounts to being untrustworthy. And without trustworthiness, PAS will not be fit to rule as much as they are bombarding the same on UMNO's past practices deemed corrupt. Presently PAS is slandering, accusing and labeling UMNO with corruption by certain allegation, seldom only perception.

PAS propaganda machinery can ignore and discard the Amanah Haji Hadi issue as old and recycle waste but they will not dare touch or label the Memali Trust Fund issue. It is evergreen and more explosive than the Amanah Haji Hadi itself.

The lost members' money of Koperasi Kohilal has yet to be touched.