A giant among intellectuals
By JOHAN JAAFFAR
The Star
Thursday, 23 Feb 2023
9:52 PM MYT
Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Mohd Kamal Hassan was an intellectual with impeccable credentials. He was known for his academic excellence and leadership. A giant among men. His demise on Thursday morning due to complications related to recent surgical procedures was a big loss to the nation. But his legacy will live on.
I have read almost all of his books. However, The Malay Concept of Sejahtera from an Islamic Perspective has had a profound effect on me. I found it interesting for a scholar to “appropriate” what seemed to be a simple Malay concept of sejahtera (literally wellbeing, prosperity) from an Islamic perspective.
In Islam, the idea of inner tranquillity or wellbeing, of joy and happiness, of success or triumph, all of which should be of enduring positive impact on their lives, is from his reading, in consonance with the concept of sejahtera in the Malay language.
The concept according to him applies to various dimensions of life: physical, ecological, psychological, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, economic, political, governance, educational, social, cultural and religious.
He was nearing 80 when he wrote Corruption and Hypocrisy in Malay Muslim Politics: The Urgency of Moral-Ethical Transformation.
Reading the book I found one particular part that affected me immensely. He wrote, “As an old man who is appalled and disgusted with the corrupt politics of his ethnic group, this book is my intellectual wasiat (testament) to the younger generation of the educated elites of the Muslim community in Malaysia – the future leaders of the ummah.”
The book will define his true scholarship and intellectual audacity. He set the agenda very early in the book, that he was dismayed and shamed by two major crises facing the nation: the deplorable moral decay in the area of politics and governance of the nation and the widening internal rift within the Malay-Muslim community since the last five years.
It is a no holds barred book. He wrote frankly and freely. He was like a man obsessed to put forth his argument and to help chart a path for corrections. He spoke about “the advanced state of moral-ethical decadence” and the urgent transformation needed to address that.
He knew he had nothing to lose. He was a scholar and he had to appease no one. He believed it was his moral obligation to talk about corruption which he termed a “phenomenon.”
He opined that the state of corruption and hypocrisy in Malay-Muslim behaviour and culture is symptomatic of the inner crisis of the leaders and followers of political parties.
He wrote about the moral decay as a consequence of among other things, the impact of materialistic modernisation, the pragmatism of political parties, and the materialistic and egoistic character of key political leaders.
He also listed the lack of proper and moral-ethical education in political parties and the impact of the secularised democratic political system as the reasons.
One critical element that most reviewers missed was the bit about the fear of non-Muslim political dominance. Little wonder he was concerned about “the agenda of national integrity” being trampled upon under “the boots of ugly ethno-religious polarisation”.
According to him, racially-motivated political strategies and ethnic-based prejudices are real threats to this country.
He expected Malay-Muslim politicians to follow the tenets of Islam. Islam is against corruption and abuse of power. “Muslims are not supposed to lie,” he said in the interview with me for Sinar Harian in February last year. “Yet it looks like it is stupid of them not to,” he added.
He reiterated the need for this country to be run by “selfless, sincere, competent, tolerant and humble leaders of high integrity, with god-fearing character”.
Is that too tall an order?
Johan Jaaffar is a journalist, editor and for some years chairman of a media company, and is passionate about all things literature and the arts. The views expressed here are entirely his own.
Source: A giant among intellectuals | The Star
PM wants universities to be centre of excellence
By Adib Povera – February 22, 2023 @ 7:03pm
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants to transform universities in the country into centres of excellence instead of merely higher education institutions.
Anwar shared his view in his speech at the closing ceremony of the International Conference on AbdulHamid AbuSulayman: His Contributions to Intellectual and Education Reform at the International Islamic University Malaysia’s (IIUM) in Gombak near here today.
“In the last few decades, there has been less focus on the development, problems and maintenance of the university.
“And we need to do more. I think I will spend time and discuss this with the Higher Education Minister (Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin).
“I want to ensure a university is not just a university but a centre of excellence,” he said.
Present during the ceremony were IIUM rector Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak and International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) president Dr Hisham Altalib.
Also in attendance was the late Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr AbdulHamid AbuSulayman’s daughter, Muna AbuSulayman.
Organised by the university’s International Institute for Muslim Unity with the cooperation of IIIT and FairFax University of America, the two-day conference was held to discuss and look into the intellectual, scientific as well as practical contributions of AbdulHamid, who was the co-founder of IIIT and second rector of IIUM.
On a separate matter, Anwar called on the Muslim world to not neglect the importance of education and understanding for creative thinking for the struggle of Islam.
Anwar said this when shared with the audience at the conference on AbdulHamid’s understanding of the experience and challenges of Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi.
“We tend to equate him (Salahuddin) as a great warrior and leader who managed to control Baitul Maqdis but AbdulHamid, on the contrary, questioned that notion.
“He (AbdulHamid) said there is no success to the conquest if you fail to understand the first decade of Salahuddin’s rule.. the decade of consolidation, the decade of ‘dakwah’, the decade of education or the decade of making education centres as a centre of excellence.
“(According to AbdulHamid) He (Salahuddin) was able to focus on domestic issues, education and understanding as well as the religious zeal to struggle for Islam.
“This has been largely ignored. That is why, I think in our discourse now, talking about change and struggle, we tend to ignore the importance for education and understanding and creative thinking (in the pursuit for the struggle of Islam)” said Anwar.
Later at the ceremony, Anwar launched books titled “Bringing Higher Education to a Greater Height: A Festschrift in Honour of AbdulHamid AbuSulayman”; “Sixty Years between East and West: Planning, Perseverance and Implementation”; “Bias in Popular Culture: The Power of Visual and Linguistic Narratives” and “Parent-Child Relations a Guide to Raising Children”.
‘Kami kehilangan tokoh bapa UIAM’ – Rektor UIAM
MUHAMMAD SHAMSUL ABD GHANI
23 FEB 2023
BANGI – Pengurusan Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) merakamkan ucapan takziah terhadap pemergian Allahyarham Profesor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Kamal Hassan pada Khamis.
Menurut Rektor UIAM, Profesor Emeritus Tan Sri Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, pemergian Allahyarham adalah satu kehilangan besar buat UIAM khususnya warga UIAM dan para alumni.
“Ia adalah satu berita yang amat menyedihkan buat kami warga UIAM kerana kehilangan seorang tokoh yang dianggap sebagai ‘bapa UIAM’ untuk seluruh warga dan alumni.
“Seluruh warga UIAM dan para alumni mengucapkan takziah buat keluarga Allahyarham dan semoga roh beliau ditempat dalam kalangan orang yang beriman,” katanya kepada Sinar Harian pada Khamis.
Tambah Dzukifli, Allahyarham Mohd Kamal juga adalah salah seorang ilmuwan dalam dunia akademia di mana beliau banyak menghasilkan terbitan buku serta kajian-kajian Islam yang banyak dijadikan rujukan di seluruh dunia.
Beliau berkata, Allahyarham juga adalah salah seorang insan yang banyak menyumbang sewaktu penubuhan UIAM pada 40 yang lalu.
“Allahyarham adalah salah seorang tokoh dan ilmuwan yang sangat dihormati dan disegani, selain menjadi antara watak penting dalam penubuhan UIAM sejak 1983,” ujarnya.
Pada Februari 2022 Allahyarham dilantik sebagai pengerusi Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM).
Allahyarham meninggal dunia pada usia 80 tahun disebabkan komplikasi berkait rapat dengan prosedur surgeri awal pagi Khamis dan selamat dikebumikan sekitar jam 11:40 pagi di Tanah Perkuburan Islam, Bandar Baru Bangi.
22 FEBRUARI 2023 – BERITA PERDANA – BUKAN SEKADAR PUSAT ILMU: IPT PERLU JADI MEDAN BINA SAHSIAH DIRI
PM putting final touches to 2023 Budget
By Adib Povera – February 22, 2023 @ 5:42pm
KPrime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was in the midst of putting the final touches to the 2023 Budget. -Bernama file pic
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was in the midst of putting the final touches to the 2023 Budget.
The remarks from Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, came a few days before the tabling of the 2023 Budget in Parliament this Friday.
“I am going back to the office. I am working on it,” Anwar said briefly to reporters.
He was asked about his preparations ahead of the tabling of the 2023 Budget.
Earlier, Anwar delivered his speech during the closing ceremony of the International Conference on AbdulHamid AbuSulayman: His Contributions to Intellectual and Education Reform at the International Islamic University Malaysia’s (IIUM) in Gombak near here today.
Organised by the university’s International Institute for Muslim Unity with the cooperation of International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and FairFax University of America, the two-day conference is held to learn about the intellectual, scientific, and practical contributions of the late Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr AbdulHamid AbuSulayman.
AbdulHamid was the co-founder of IIIT and second rector of IIUM.
At the same ceremony, Anwar also launched four books namely “Bringing Higher Education to a Greater Height: A Festschrift in Honour of AbdulHamid AbuSulayman”; “Sixty Years between East and West: Planning, Perseverance and Implementation”; “Bias in Popular Culture: The Power of Visual and Linguistic Narratives” and “Parent-Child Relations a Guide to Raising Children”.
Among those present were AbdulHamid’s daughter, Muna AbuSulayman, IIUM rector Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak and IIIT president Dr Hisham Altalib.
Source: PM putting final touches to 2023 Budget (nst.com.my)
Education ministries must act in sync for a higher purpose
By Dzulkifli Abdul Razak – February 21, 2023 @ 2:38pm
Education is making the headlines yet again. It recreates yet another distraction from the much-needed transformation that the sector has to endure.
Most unfortunately, the claims made did not go down well, knowing full well that the Malaysian education ecosystem has much to catch up to even after more than six decades of Merdeka.
For example, recently the Education Ministry identified “830 run down schools in need of redevelopment and rebuilding”. This, perhaps, is the tip of the iceberg since former ministers did make similar comments but did little to improve matters.
Reportedly, a teacher died after a termite-infested floorboard gave way. And, who knows what will happen next. Yet, slogans like “Sekolahku Sejahtera” were senselessly promoted.
Although there is no new slogan as yet the obsolete ones still linger! So, too, the attitude that goes with it.
Now with “Malaysia Madani” in the air, the ramifications are indeed unimaginable. After all, Malaysia Madani is about creating a just, fair and equitable civil society where education plays the role as the leveller of society. Period.
If this is the primary goal of Malaysia Madani, then education is now challenged with an even greater and more serious concern beyond the “termite-infested floorboard” of the classrooms. It could well infect the floorboard of the minds of everyone in the educational sector. There have been many forms of infestations, real or imagined, ever since.
In fact, the larger conversation is how to exterminate most of these so that the firm foundation of the country, envisaged by the founding fathers notably Tun Abdul Razak through the Razak Report (1956), can take root.
Next, the National Education Philosophy of 1988, later slightly revised to Falsafah Pendidikan Kebangsaan (FPK) of 1996. Interestingly, these were initiatives taken by the then minister of education, who is the current prime minister.
It stands to reason, therefore, that the FPK should be firmed up as the building block of Malaysia Madani, not only because of the common authorship, but more so because of the continuum of ideas between the two.
Many of the arguments put forward by the prime minister in “SCRIPT – For a better Malaysia” could be regarded as extensions of the salient points in FPK. At least three cases could be cited.
First, the importance of character, values and virtues in education. In FPK, this was referred to as kesejahteraan diri where character-building dominates based on local values and virtues.
Secondly, it at once becomes human-centric and God-conscious (which mirrors the first principle of the Rukun Negara) in a civil way.
The third point resonates with the PM’s call to be wary of neo-liberalism and its slant towards “homo economicus” (humans solely as an economic being).
This economic-centricity runs counter to the notion of Malaysia Madani that advocates “sustainability” as one of its primary pillars. In other words, the cornerstone of Malaysia Madani is interdependency between ecological, social and economic forces in realising environmental ethics, social equity and economic justice simultaneously.
In line with FPK, the nurturing of a balanced and harmonious persons who subscribe to Sejahtera, the other Malaysia Madani pillar.
There are several others, but suffice to say that the Malaysian education system if properly understood and implemented is uniquely contextualised with the higher purpose of education, yet grounded in the global reality and demands, superceding the market domination.
The FPK is so designed that humanitarian values are fully appreciated and realised. It is not about the commoditisation of education in the way it is currently processed in a factory-like manner.
For this the Education Ministry and Higher Education Ministry must be well-aligned in a continuum, holistic and integrated manner as defined in the FPK. The latter seems to be in sync, meaning that the former must quickly follow suit for the purposes of Malaysia Madani.
* The writer, an NST columnist for more than 20 years, is International Islamic University Malaysia rector
M’sian education system needs overhaul, English back into syllabus, says Minos
Peter Minos
KUCHING (Feb 20): The Malaysian education system badly needs an overhaul if it were to be on par with Singapore and Japan, says Dato Peter Minos.
According to the Kota Samarahan Municipal Council chairman, the economic progress and success of both Japan and Singapore ‘far outstrip Malaysia’, largely due to the education, expertise and skills of their people.
“Sorry to say and from my own observation, many Malaysian university graduates cannot even write good letters in English, making mistakes all over.
“Many university grads always say ‘I do not know’ when asked about current affairs and issues and what matters in life, as if their acquired knowledge was truly limited, and the unwillingness to read and be aware of what real life was all about.
“It is as if our education system had produced many university graduates who had very little thinking and analytical abilities,” he remarked.
Minos said this in support of Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Dr Annuar Rapa’ee, who did not agree with Minister of Education Fadhlina Sidek’s statement about Malaysia’s education curriculum being on par with Singapore and Japan.
Dr Annuar had, at a function in Sibu on Saturday, said that Malaysia’s education system needed to be more stable without having constant changes in policies with each new minister at the federal level, as these constant changes in policies would only confuse teachers and parents.
Malaysian education, he added, needed a system that could cut down on unnecessary subjects, and to focus more on core subjects such as Science and Information Technology, as well as knowledge on innovation, creativity and productivity.
“We also need to bring back English so that we can get involved and be connected with the global economy,” he stressed.
Minos, nonetheless, expressed confidence in the Sarawak government’s efforts to improve the competency level of its young people, of which he pointed out that some schools in Sarawak used English as a medium of instruction.
“Yayasan Sarawak also brings in foreign universities like Swinburne and Curtin, as well as setting up international schools and skill centres with its intention to produce young generation who can think, analyse, and be creative and productive.
“These initiatives matter as we cannot rely and put too much hope on the federal side on education, which is pretty out of sync and out-dated, and also controlled and manipulated by politics and politicians.
“Our future lies in the skills, knowledge and attitude of our young people. They are in fact our future captains of industries, leaders, administrators and so on,” he said.
Source: https://www.theborneopost.com/2023/02/20/msian-education-system-needs-overhaul-english-back-into-syllabus-says-minos/
Why the West recognise poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal
By Md Mahmudul Hasan – February 19, 2023 @ 2:16pm
SINCE joining the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in June 2010, I have been teaching a subject which has now been renamed Islamic Literature in English.
Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) – famously known as the Poet of the East and Hakim al-Ummah (the Sage of the Ummah) – is an essential author for this course.
When I introduce poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal to my students, I often feel they have little prior knowledge about him while being familiar with comparable writers from Western traditions.
I would imagine that my students represent the societies they come from, and that there are innumerable educated people out there to whom Iqbal is still a stranger.
This observation partly led me to write this essay as a way to present Muhammad Iqbal to those not necessarily versed in literature or have not entered into any deeper discussion of his thought and philosophy.
I have an anecdote to start with.
I arrived in Heidelberg, Germany on the evening of Friday, July 31, 2009 to work as a postdoctoral research fellow. The University of Heidelberg arranged my lodging in a residential building at Bonhoefferstrasse 17 in the midst of some facilities of SRH University Heidelberg.
But, that accommodation would not be available until Monday, Aug 3. Therefore, I was given three nights’ temporary accommodation at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (Four Seasons Hotel) on the banks of the Neckar River that divides the city of Heidelberg into two and augments its beauty.
After breakfast at the hotel, I went for a walk on Saturday morning. I also wanted to get a sense of the place I was in and to understand its surroundings.
Within a few minutes, I was struck by a street signboard that bore the following inscription: Iqbal-Ufer (Iqbal embankment). Underneath this, it said: Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938).
Why is such a prominent thoroughfare in Heidelberg named after the philosopher? That experience heightened my curiosity and thirst for more information about Iqbal.
Before long I discovered the connection between Heidelberg and the writer. About a decade later, I produced a research work titled “Iqbal’s and Hassan’s Complaints: A Study of ‘To the Holy Prophet’ and ‘SMS to Sir Muhammad Iqbal’” (2020).
Both in British India and in Europe, Iqbal was privileged by the mentorship of the British educator and historian, Thomas Arnold (1864-1930). In British India, Arnold first taught at Aligarh, and in 1898 he joined Government College (now Government College University), Lahore, where Iqbal was a student.
Arnold tutored Iqbal both formally and informally, both course contents and subjects outside the curriculum. In 1904, Arnold left for England to join the University of London as a professor of Arabic. He motivated Iqbal to pursue further studies in Europe.
With Arnold’s encouragement and support, Iqbal went to Europe. His student life there spanned from September 1905 to July 1908.
During this short period, he completed a BA from Cambridge’s Trinity College, a barrister-at-law degree from London’s Lincoln’s Inn, and a PhD from Germany’s Munich University; he informally studied at the University of Heidelberg and taught Arabic literature at the University of London for six months as a substitute for Arnold.
All these outstanding achievements were in addition to literary works that he produced during those 2 years and 10 months. His PhD at Munich was facilitated by recommendations from Arnold and other scholars to exempt him from Munich’s residency requirements.
Iqbal was at the University of Heidelberg most probably in July-August 1907. He had high admiration for his professors at Heidelberg in particular and for the education culture of Germany.
In fact, he “was all for German knowledge.” His poem inspired by the Neckar River in Heidelberg – “Aik Shaam: Darya-e-Neckar ke kinare par” (“Evening on the Neckar”) – is still a masterpiece.
> Subhadra:
Iqbal later reminisced about his happy times at Heidelberg: “My stay in Heidelberg was like a beautiful dream. How I’d wish I could repeat it!” In order to commemorate Iqbal’s stay in Heidelberg, the city authority has named a prominent thoroughfare after him – Iqbal-Ufer.
Pension Scherer, the former boarding house in Heidelberg where Iqbal stayed, still has a sandstone plaque that reads “Mohammad Iqbal (1877-1938), National Philosopher, Poet and Spiritual Father of Pakistan lived here in the year 1907.”
Iqbal wrote in three languages: Prose and poetry in Urdu, only poetry in Persian, and only prose in English. Iqbal holds great fascination for me, as he studied and taught my subject – English literature. He benefited from the best literary traditions of the East and the West.
While he drew inspiration from Jalaluddin Muhammad Rumi (1207-73) and Hafiz (c. 1320-1389), he was also influenced by English Romantic poets as well as German writers like Goethe (1749-1832), Georg Hegel (1770-1831), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and French philosopher Henri Bergson (1859-1941).
Iqbal was a multifaceted scholar and practitioner, whose studies ranged from Arabic, English and Persian literatures and Western philosophy to the practice of law.
Iqbal was a political thinker, concerned especially about the future of Muslims of British India. He regarded the British colonial occupation of his homeland as an attack on the dignity of Muslims, as he was opposed to a materialistic view of the world.
In the words of historian Barbara Metcalf, “Iqbal denounced the ‘black’ side of modernity: competitive nationalism and its resultant militarism, imperialism and consumerism.”
A believer in the oneness of God and deeply immersed in Islam, Iqbal was a “modernist who argued in favour of going directly to sacred scripture” and “turned away from much of what was labelled ‘the West’, denouncing the nationalism, militarism and imperialism that the Great War had thrown into high relief” (Metcalf).
Iqbal’s critical stance against the ideological and hegemonic forces of Europe didn’t prevent him from being recognised by the West. In 1922, the British government decided to honour him with knighthood.
Iqbal refused to receive it without a proper recognition being awarded to his early teacher, Sayyid Mir Hasan (1844-1929). Asked about Mir Hasan’s written contributions, Iqbal “replied that he himself was the book Mir Hasan had authored” (Mustansir Mir). Finally, on Jan 1, 1923, the British administration knighted him and conferred upon his teacher the title of Shams al-‘Ulama’ (Sun of Scholars).
Citing the case of Iqbal’s wider appreciation in the West, I tell my students that in order to get recognition in this world, they need self-worth and sound academic rigour – not adaptation and capitulation to foreign cultural values.
The writer teaches English and postcolonial literature at International Islamic University Malaysia. He can be reached at mmhasan@iium.edu.my
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