Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, or simply Nik Aziz, the spiritual leader of PAS has died, age 84. The Chempaka state assemblyman passed away at about 9:40pm yesterday, two days before the Valentine Day. PAS, one of three political parties within opposition Pakatan Rakyat (People Alliance), was led by the spiritual leader in forming the Kelantan PAS government for a whopping 23-years after wrested the state from Barisan Nasional in 1990.
Nik Aziz, who suffered from prostate cancer, leaves behind his wife Sabariah Tuan Ishak and 10 children, including Pasir Mas MP Nik Mohd Abduh Nik Aziz. Born on Jan 10, 1931 in Kampung Pulau Melaka, Kubang Kerian, Nik Aziz obtained his early education from his own father, who was a religious teacher and continued his studies in Darul Uloom Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, India, majoring in the Arabic language in 1952 and Universiti Lahore, Pakistan, in 1957.
After his first degree from the Al Azhar University in Egypt, he later graduated with a Masters of Arts in Islamic jurisprudence and worked as a religious teacher upon his return in Sekolah Menengah Agama Tarbiyyah Mardiah, Sekolah Menengah Agama Darul Anwar and Sekolah Menengah Maahad Muhammadi. He contested his first general election after joining PAS in 1967.
Also known as “Tok Guru”, he is the second longest-serving state leader in the country after Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud. He witnessed his president – Asri Muda – forming an alliance with UMNO and subsequently an entity of Barisan Nasional (BN) in 1972, under the pretext of Malay unity, only to be fooled and played out by BN. Humiliated, PAS exit from the alliance 5-years later, with tail between legs.
Kelantan fell to BN in the 1978 general election. Mr Asri was forced to resign in 1990, and under the leadership of former PAS President Fadzil Noor, PAS wrested back Kelantan and Nik Aziz was appointed Menteri Besar. After former PAS President Yusof Rawa passed away, Nik Aziz took over as the party’s spiritual advisor ever since. Nik Aziz was the last bastion who rejected any alliance with UMNO, till his last breath yesterday.
Tok Guru’s death couldn’t come at a worse time for Pakatan, just two days after opposition PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim returned to prison for 5-years. With heavyweights Nik Aziz and Anwar out of the picture, DAP Lim Kit Siang has everything to worry while UMNO Najib Razak and PAS Hadi Awang have everything to smile. The calculations on the table show a new alliance between UMNO and PAS about to be formed.
It’s a public knowledge that the only obstacle for PAS Hadi Awang to openly enter Najib’s bedroom was Nik Aziz. Now that the spiritual leader has gone to meet his creator, and most likely continues his debate about “Hudud” with Karpal Singh (*tongue-in-cheek*), Hadi Awang is unstoppable and invicible. By virtue of his position as the President of PAS, Hadi should not find much problems consolidating his power.
Some says traitor Hadi Awang is worse than the Talibans, but he’s not about to take a flight to Afghanistan yet. Even if the pressure continues within PAS for him to retire as the president, most likely he would ended up as PAS new spiritual advisor, replacing Nik Aziz. Even as we speak, Najib and Hadi teams have started discussing about this golden opportunity and the best way to make the alliance works.
If the chances of conservative Hadi’s team controlling PAS was at 55% to the progressive team of 45% before Nik Aziz’s death, the ratio now has turned to as high as 75% in favour of Hadi Awang and his minions. It seems Mohamad Sabu (PAS deputy president) who belongs to the progressive side could be in trouble. With UMNO’s financial muscle, how many PAS members could say no to a unity government, again, under the pretext of Malay unity?
With PAS happily joining BN, the evil UMNO regime would suddenly flushed with 21 parliamentary seats won by PAS during 2013 general election. That would boost BN trophies to a comfortable 154 seats, more than enough for the minimum 148 seats desperately needed for a two-thirds majority. With a two-thirds majority, minion Election Commission could perform a bias redelineation acrobatic and voila, BN will be in power for another 50-years.- financetwitter
UMNO tak meletakkan calon di PRK DUN Cempaka sebagai prelude kepada Kerajaan Perpaduan...
Puluhan ribu rakyat Malaysia menghantar Mursyidul Am PAS Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat dalam perjalanan terakhirnya sebelum dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Pulau Melaka, Kota Baru, Kelantan.
Nik Aziz dihormati kawan dan lawan serta sebahagian besar rakyat Malaysia kerana ketegasan mempertahankan prinsip perjuangan dan kezuhudannya dalam kehidupan.
Mana hendak cari lagi pada zaman ini seorang menteri besar di Malaysia yang tinggal di rumah papan? Tidak hairanlah mengapa Nik Aziz begitu dihormati dan disayangi.
Media milik negara seperti Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) akhirnya memainkan peranan sebagai “media milik negara” apabila memberikan liputan meluas kematian seorang tokoh politik penting walaupun bukan daripada parti pemerintah.
Pemimpin parti lawan yang sebelum ini pernah mencaci dan memaki Nik Aziz juga berubah nadanya.
Pada ketika rakyat Malaysia masih lagi mengucapkan takziah, membacakan Al-Fatihah dan bersedih dengan permergiaan Mursyidul Am PAS itu, sesetengah pihak bergembira kerana projek yang tertangguh sekian lama dapat dijalankan semula kerana Nik Aziz sudah meninggal dunia.
Projek yang tertangguh sekian lama itu adalah projek kerajaan Perpaduan di antara Umno dan PAS kerana sebelum ini Nik Aziz merupakan batu penghalangnya.
Dalam wawancara bersama Astro Awani, bekas timbalan presiden PAS Nasharuddin Mat Isa mengatakan besar kemungkinan parti Islam itu akan menimbang semula kedudukan mereka dalam Pakatan Rakyat (PR) jika dilihat daripada kemelut dalaman sedia ada.
“Kebarangkalian itu berlaku sebab saya lihat di peringkat bawah di kalangan ahli-ahli PAS dan perbincangan di kalangan masyarakat umum juga banyak menyebut tentang keperluan PAS melihat semula masa depannya dalam Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
“Kerana banyak sangat isu-isu yang dibangkitkan, khasnya DAP yang bersalahan atau bercanggah dengan asas perjuangan PAS, khasnya untuk mendaulatkan Islam,” kata Nasharuddin seperti dilaporkan Astro Awani Online.
Semasa hayatnya, Nik Aziz dianggap ulama yang memayungi kumpulan dalam PAS yang mahu terus kekal dengan PR.
Suara Nik Aziz begitu kuat dan berpengaruh sehingga usaha menyatukan PAS dan Umno terbantut beberapa kali.
Dalam satu wawancara bersama media beberapa tahun lalu ketika ditanya tentang kerajaan perpaduan bersama Umno, Nik Aziz berkata:
“Berbincang untuk berkerajaan, untuk bersama dengan Umno, yang ini memang saya tidak boleh terima langsung. Ini kerana saya sebagai orang Kelantan sebagaimana yang saya sebut dalam ucapan saya, orang lain tidak merasa pahit maung bersama Umno.
“Sejak dari dulu, Umno tangkap tok guru pondok masuk ISA pada tahun saya mula masuk PAS (1967), ketika mana Umno mengamuk memberkas tok guru-tok guru pondok dimasukkan dalam ISA,” kata Nik Aziz merujuk kepada Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA).
Pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN) Kelantan Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed mengatakan semalam, BN tidak perlu meletakkan calon bagi mengisi kekosongan kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Chempaka selepas kematian penyandangnya, Nik Aziz. "Jika ada pilihan raya kecil, banyak yang perlu kita fokus, termasuk soal keselamatan dan mungkin akan berlaku pergeseran antara pimpinan parti. Jadi kini, kita harus fokus pada perpaduan dan bukannya perbalahan antara satu sama lain," katanya pada sidang media di Hotel Sutera Inn, Kota Baru semalam.
Jika BN benar-benar tidak meletakkan calon untuk melawan calon PAS di kerusi DUN Chempaka, ini bermakna tidak lama lagi, projek kerajaan perpaduan akan menjadi kenyataan.
Apatah lagi jika BN pada masa sama bermati-matian melawan calon PR di kerusi Permatang Pauh yang akan dikosongkan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim beberapa hari lagi kerana hilang kelayakan selepas dihukum penjara 5 tahun.
Jika kerajaan perpaduan di antara PAS dan Umno berjaya dilaksanakan, berakhirlah legasi Nik Aziz yang dikenali sebelum ini sebagai penyatu PR selain daripada Anwar.
Maka puaslah hati sesetengah pihak yang sudah lama menanti waktu ini tiba. – tmi
A government that talks about the ‘penis and buttock’ culture...
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is no match for the final decision made after the Attorney-General appealed to overturn the High Court’s verdict on the sodomy case, declaring him guilty and to be imprisoned for five years.
No one is calling for the court to make their decision based on public opinion, but in the face of such hasty judgements and insistence that solicitors make concluding remarks without implying that the case is to end Anwar’s political career, how should young legal workers like us feel about this?
Excluding anything that is “beyond all reasonable doubt” is supposed to be the norm in law practices, and it is broadly and commonly used. The High Court previously passed an innocent verdict due to doubt over the semen found in Saiful Bukhari’s anus. The focal point then is the expert witnesses called by both sides having endorsed that the DNA sample has the possibility of being contaminated, and there was a DNA sample of an unknown contributor “Male Y”.
In such cases, with the benefit of doubt to the defendant and without sufficient evidence, the defendant should have obtained an acquittal.
Furthermore, Anwar was charged under Section 377B of the Penal Code, which criminalises voluntary carnal intercourse against the order of nature, and not Section 377C, which is carnal intercourse against the order of nature without consent.
At this point, it is important to establish whether the unnatural sex carried out was with consent or not.
In this case, however, although the defendant needs only bear the criminal responsibility, the prosecutor’s motives and critical thinking skills should also questioned, as public opinion about them will paralyse the universal concept of objectivity.
The rape and murder cases of Norita Samsuddin and Chee Gaik Yap both shared the same verdict some years back due to similarities of the cases. Because both victims’ private parts contained semen of a third party - and in accordance to laws of logic and precedence – the verdict for both cases proved to be inconclusive, and the defendants walked free. However, in dealing with the case involving the opposition leader, there is a clear difference in terms of interpretation of evidence.
Under usual circumstances, the High Court and courts above it will use case law to pass down a verdict, the role of the judiciary is not only applicable to current laws but also to finders of judicial precedent.
Verdicts must be arrived at in a way that the interpretation and application of the law that applies on Norita and Chee’s case must be taken into consideration. Therefore, how can there not be uproar over such a judgment on Anwar?
In addition, the High Court has referred to prima facie evidence – the evidence established of a fact at first glance. For example, the prosecutor said there is sufficient evidence to make a case; unless Anwar himself has other evidence to back him up, the prosecutor will win the argument.
Despite the issues raised above, they (the judges) are still justifying their decision. This makes me feel that the knowledge of law is lost!
From being a “victim” to going to attend a swearing ceremony organised by a mosque, to Saiful’s father pleading for Anwar’s forgiveness and then changing his tune – there is definitely someone intent on controlling and manipulating mainstream institutions, including the media, to propagate the “official stance” of “sodomy and bisexuality not being part of Malay culture” to provoke and agitate people.
On the other hand, many cases that require arguments but did not get a chance to be heard, can only bear witness to Anwar’s case.
When studying in university, the western philosophical maxim is: “Not only must Justice be done; it must also be seen to be done”, yet the whole case seemed staged to thwart Anwar’s plans to contest in the Kajang by-election, and his political ambitions. With all the ambiguity surrounding the case – from the mishandling of the DNA and semen samples, and the need for the defendant to prove his innocence instead of merely raising reasonable doubt – all eyes are on whether the Federal Court can restore the public’s confidence by changing the verdict.
Even as of yesterday, this judgement has made those who are sympathetic to Anwar more convinced that the government has been abusing its power.
A government that can only talk about the ‘penis and buttock’ culture, has not only sodomised the judiciary, but also angered the people!
The kind of government that wants to be a momentary “villain”, but has also wronged the good people, must be uprooted by the people.
Note: I have no intention for contempt of court, but as I watch the avalanche of online comments and shares, I really cannot wait to come back to Kuala Lumpur. It was impossible to discuss this in detail owing to the circumstances of this case, but there are a lot of questions regarding this judgment. Hence, this article is written. - theantdaily
The original article, written in Chinese, can be found here.
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Tok Guru, thank you for life lessons...
Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. That is a name that will forever be etched in the nation’s history.
One of my greatest regrets is not having the honour of meeting him. As a 23-year-old rookie journalist, I had put one foot into the door of journalism as Nik Aziz placed both feet out of the political door.
However, from what I have read and heard, the PAS spiritual leader led a simple life and remained uncompromising on his principles, which are rare traits among politicians.
Simply put, Nik Aziz was a prince among men.
If he chose to, the PAS leader could have opted to walk the often treaded path of politicians, which leads to riches.
But being a God-fearing man, his feet were on the path of piety and compassion, qualities that elevated him to the position of reverence among the people of Kelantan.
The temptations and opportunities to “sell out” must have been in abundance, but he stood firm in the belief that the rewards here are nothing compared to those in the hereafter.
Although being the head of an Islamic party, Nik Aziz also took a moderate stance when it came to Pakatan Rakyat and during his two-decade rein as menteri besar, the non-Malays in Kelantan had little to complain about.
It was under his watch that PAS did what many believed was impossible - which is to shake the hands of DAP, a party driven by a secular ideology.
Ironically, while non-Muslims often viewed PAS with suspicion, when it came to Nik Aziz, he commanded a sense of respect from them.
Perhaps it was his simplicity that served as a force of attraction.
He will be missed by all
Even his political foes were cautious when it came to criticising Nik Aziz and the overwhelming number of condolences was testimony to his stature.
And with PAS in the opposition bloc, its supporters now believed that a coalition with the strength to dethrone BN had been born.
As pointed out by DAP MP Liew Chin Tong (right), it was Nik Aziz who rescued Pakatan in 2008 when elements in PAS and Umno attempted to forge a unity government.
Now with his passing, this would perhaps be exploited once again.
Without a doubt, Nik Aziz would be missed and his demise could not have come at a more incongruous time, two days after Anwar Ibrahim was carted away to prison.
It seems that within a week, Pakatan had lost two people who served as an adhesive force to keep the opposition bloc intact.
Nik Aziz had led an emblematic life. He was a Muslim scholar who provided Quranic lessons to those who shared his faith. But for the rest of us, he taught us how to live with honour and dignity.
And though death might have snatched him from us, his legacy, however, would live on to inspire others like myself, who despite never meeting him, feel blessed for having known about him.
Thank you, dearest Tok Guru, for these invaluable lessons.- Kamles Kumar,mk
cheers.
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