Cancer of Corruption and Pandemic of Hypocrisy in Malay- Muslim Politics: the Urgency of Moral-Ethical Transformation

CANCER OF CORRUPTION AND PANDEMIC OF HYPOCRISY IN MALAY- MUSLIM POLITICS: THE URGENCY OF MORAL-ETHICAL TRANSFORMATION M. KAMAL HASSAN 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1.EXPRESSIONS OF PUBLIC CONCERN REGARDING CORRUPTION AND UNETHICAL POLITICAL CONDUCT IN RECENT YEARS 2.CORRUPTION AND HYPOCRISY IN MALAY-MUSLIM POLITICS OF CONTEMPORARY MALAYSIA 3.“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” TO THE CORRUPT POLITICAL SYSTEM AND CULTURE 4.TRANSFORMATION OF MUSLIM POLITICAL CULTURE, BEHAVIOUR AND FUTURE MUST BE BASED UPON A TRANSCENDENT WORLDVIEW 5.THE URGENCY OF SPIRITUAL-MORAL-ETHICAL TRANSFORMATION OF MALAY-MUSLIM POLITICAL CULTURE BASED ON THE WORLDVIEW OF TAUḤĪD 6.UNIQUE CONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE MUSLIM UMMAH AND THE BELIEVERS (MU’MINŪN) IN THE WORLDVIEW OF TAUḤĪD 7.CORRECTING MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT ISLAM AS PART OF THE TRANSFORMATION AGENDA 8.THE TYPE OF ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP REQUIRED TO LEAD THE MUSLIM UMMAH TO THE GOAL OF SOCIO-POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION 9.THE NECESSITY OF TARBIYAH RŪḤIYYAH (SPIRITUAL EDUCATION) OR TARBIAH ĪMĀNIYYAH AS THE CORE OF THE THEOCENTRIC LEADERSHIP PARADIGM 10.EQUIPPING THE NEW BREED OF MUSLIM POLITICAL LEADERS FOR MORE CHALLENGING RESPONSIBILITIES 11.ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF QALB (SPIRITUAL HEART) PURIFICATION PROGRAMME AS THE FOUNDATION OF THE THEOCENTRIC LEADERSHIP PARADIGM 12.DHIKRU’LLĀH (REMEMBRANCE OF ALLAH SWT) AS A FUNDAMENTAL HABIT OF MUSLIM LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS CONCLUSION 2 PREFACE It is by the grace and mercy of Allah SWT that I was able to complete the first draft of this work in the last ten days of Ramaḍān al-Mubārak 1442 H. It is my little and humble contribution to the campaign of Rasuah Busters launched last year by the dynamic and forward-looking visionary community leader, Dato’ (Dr.) Hussamuddin Hj. Yaacub, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Karangkraf Group. I am one of those citizens of Malaysia who are disgusted, appalled and sickened by two political phenomena of contemporary Muslim community (ummah) in Malaysia: 1) political corruption and hypocrisy of Malay-Muslim political parties and politicians, 2) political disunity and fragmentation of the Muslim community. It appears to me that our sixty-four years of independence from British colonialism have brought the nation to its lowest ebb in terms of immoral and unethical politics, as well as disunity of the Muslim community. In this monograph of mine I am using the word “moral” and “ethical” interchangeably although in the Western context, “moral” usually refers to an individual’s personal values or principles as to what is right and wrong, while “ethics” refers to “rules, principles, norms and values that are external to the individual” such as organisational codes of conduct, professional codes of ethics, or values and norms of a community. (“Understanding Morality and Ethics”, https://www.diva- portal.org). I also use three hyphenated words, namely “spiritual-moral-ethical”, because from the Islamic perspective the morality and ethics of a Muslim are not derived from his/her personal beliefs or thoughts as to what is right or wrong. Good moral and ethical values of Muslims are supposed to be the products of sound faith in God and the spirituality that such faith engenders. Islamic spirituality is therefore derived from the profound relationship with God, and the moral and ethical values of Islam are based on Divine revelation as contained in the injunctions of the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophetic Sunnah. Similiarly, the code of ethics of Muslim organisations, businesses or communities are to be in consonance with spiritual and moral teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. In secular societies, morality and ethics are not derivatives of Divine norms and values, but the products of societal development and changing circumstances. In the post-modern civilisation, all values are relativised as much as there is nothing absolute any more. The Islamic 3 perspective rejects both modern and post-modern worldview regarding morality and ethics. Looking at the phenomenon of political corruption and hypocrisy in Malay- Muslim political behaviour and culture, I believe it is symptomatic of an inner crisis of the leaders and the followers of the political parties: the moral decay as a consequence of several factors, including the impact of materialistic modernisation, the pragmatism of political parties, the materialistic and egoistic character of key political leaders, the lack of proper and sound moral-ethical education in political parties, the fear of the rise of non-Muslim political dominance, and the impact of the secularised democratic political system. This advanced state of moral-ethical decadence requires, to my mind, a fundamental change to arrest the inner spiritual- moral decay which is manifested in unethical and hypocritical political behaviour. The damage it has done to the Muslim community and the nation is immense, while the political split and animosity of the Malay Muslims in two or three political groupings have widened and deepened. Therefore, the remedies cannot be found in superficial solutional approaches. The corrupt Malay-Muslim political culture, system and behaviour coupled with the widening disunity require urgent transformational measures. With the prospect of a more uncertain, pandemic- ridden, turbulent climate emergencies, and prolonged political crisis in the country and globally, the transformation has to take place at the most fundamental levels – the spiritual, moral and ethical consciousness of political leaders, cadres, followers and supporters. A new paradigm of leadership transformation has to be introduced, because the old conventional leadership system and paradigm have failed the ummah and the nation miserably. I call this paradigm “Theocentric Leadership Paradigm” which is based on the Prophetic model characterised by; a) the desire to seek the pleasure of Allah SWT and ultimate wellbeing in Paradise (al-Jannah); b) selflessness, humility, and mutual consultation (shūrā); c) proper management and governance of worldly affairs as obedient, sincere and competent vicegerent (khalīfah) of Allah SWT in accordance with the worldview of Tauḥid (uncompromising Islamic monotheism), and non-attachment (zuhd) to earthly existence or comfort; and d) profound sense of direct accountability to Allah SWT in this world and in the Ākhirah (Hereafter) reinforced with the deeply entrenched values of taqwā (God-fearing 4 consciousness), iḥsān (benevolence, kindness, moral excellence and spiritual-moral beauty) and maḥabbah (love and devotion) of Allah SWT. This new paradigm of Muslim leadership will be the most important component of the indispensable Spiritual Education (Tarbiah) Programme which includes the fundamental knowledge of the worldview of Tauḥid as the springboard for the moral-ethical transformation of the Malay-Muslim political culture, system and behaviour. A crucial component of the knowledge of the worldview of Tauḥid is knowledge regarding the Divinely-designated role and goal of the Muslim community as Ummah Wasaṭ, the chosen “Community of Justice, Goodness, Moral Excellence and Just Balance”. All efforts aimed at the betterment or progress of the Muslim community in Malaysia or in other Muslim countries, have to be redefined and reoriented towards fulfilment of the Divinely-ordained goal of Ummah Wasaṭ at the national or local levels. It is the responsibility of the new breed of multi-ethnic Islamic leaders to sustain the political transformation of the Malaysian Muslim community and to ensure that the transformation becomes a critical strategy to reach the most preferred scenario of Ummah Wasaṭ by the end of November 2076 which would coincide with the birth of the 16th Ḥijriyyah century. As for the agencies which would embark upon the major transformation agenda of the Muslim community, it is best if Muslim political parties including Muslim-majority political parties themselves were to start the transformation process in their own parties or by way of collaboration among the political parties. I discuss briefly in the Conclusion of this monograph the implications of the transformation agenda on new political configuration or redefinition of Muslim parties or Muslim- majority parties in Malaysia of the future. If Muslim political parties or Muslim- majority parties do not wish or fail to embark on the major transformation agenda after the forthcoming 15th General Election, the efforts at producing a generation of new breed of leaders must be initiated and carried forward by Muslim NGOs, private higher educational institutions and Islamic universities such as IIUM, USIM, UniSHAMS, UniSZA and other institutions of higher learning. A consortium of higher learning institutions dedicated to the ummatic transformation agenda could play a leading role in the moral-ethical re-education and reunification of the ummah, as the country moves forward into more crisis-laden and uncertain futures. On a more personal note, I wish to express my sincere gratitude and heartfelt thanks to Datuk Dr Rais Hussin Haji Mohamad Ariff and Emir Research Bhd for 5 kindly sponsoring the publication of this monograph and for urging me in 2020 to write in English a work of this nature which never crossed my mind before. May Allah SWT reward Datuk Rais and his company generously for all the noble efforts undertaken by him, and continue to bless him and his family with good health, longevity and true success in this world and in Yaum al-Ākhirah. Āmīn, yā Rabb al- `Ālamīn!. 6 بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم CANCER OF CORRUPTION AND EPIDEMIC OF HYPOCRISY

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