If you think you are better than other people, then follow this Qur'anic instruction...

During this flood season, as with previous flood seasons, we have the usual agamawan saying the flood is caused by the sins of the people. They asked people to repent in order to avoid God's wrath and disaster next time.

This imply that those affected by the flood are bad people who are being punished by God for something sinful that they have done. No clear indication was given by these agamawan what sins exactly that the affected have done.

Since these agamawan's houses are not affected, then, by implication, they are also saying they are good people, free of sins. They are inferring that they are better people, alim & warak, since their houses are not flooded, free from God's wrath. (If their houses are affected, they would not have said those things).

What does God says about people claiming to be better than other people? Let's see. The Qur'an says the following in Al-Baqarah, verse 94:-

"Katakanlah: 'Jika kamu (menganggap bahwa) kampung akhirat (syurga) itu khusus untukmu di sisi Allah, bukan untuk orang lain, maka inginlah kematian(mu), jika kamu memang benar'."  

"Say, 'If the home of the Hereafter with Allah is for you alone and not the [other] people, then wish for death, if you should be truthful'."

-Al-Quran, 2:94-

Allah says that if you think the Heaven is for you only, then wish for death. In other words, if you think you are good enough to enter Heaven, then wish for death.

Dalam bahasa kasarnya, orang-orang yang rasa diri mereka lebih baik, lebih alim dan lebih warak dari orang lain, dalam bahasa kasarnya Tuhan berkata pada mereka untuk "pergi mampus"...  

So, if you think you are alim & warak, better than other people, why don't you obey God and follow his instruction and go "mampus"...

Salam.

   

Let's get back to the old normal : Part II (Wearing masks now is still an oxymoron.)

In my previous post, I basically said that wearing masks post vaccination is "living in fear". Some people responded by comparing wearing masks with safety belts in cars, applying sunscreen in the sun and wearing cycling helmets while cycling. I still stand by my statement; that wearing masks 24/7 post vaccination is not necessary and that most people still wear them out of fear. 

Safety precaution is all about "proportionate response". The key word is "proportionate". "Sense of proportion". Look it up in the dictionary.

In Malaysia, on average, there are 7 deaths from road accidents daily. That is more than 2,500 deaths per year from road accidents. Do we ban cars? No. Because the benefit of cars and vehicular transportation far outweigh its potential danger. We set reasonable speed limits and safety precaution like safety belts. But here is the thing. You only have to wear safety belts ONLY when you are using/riding a car. If you do not like wearing safety belts, you can choose not to ride a car. You can ride a motor bike or public transport. Wearing safety belts has been proven to greatly save lives in an accident. The probability of survival in an accident is high when you wear safety belt. This is proven. Hence, safety belt is an acceptable "inconvenience" considering the high safety benefit compared against high probability of death when not wearing them.

Similar argument for cycling helmets. Although cycling helmets are designed for cycling athletes who has to cycle at top speed along rough terrain. If you are just cycling slowly for recreation and short distance travel, you do not have to wear them, in my opinion. Even if you fall at slow speed, I do not think you would break your head. You would be able to respond and break your fall. Again, it goes back to risks and benefit. Cost benefit analysis. Proportionate response. Snail pace cycling habit versus athletic speed. 

As for sunscreen. Only white people need to wear them. Dark skinned people living in the tropics generally do not need them. Again, proportionate response. Nobody is forcing anyone to wear sunscreen when out in the sun. You decide based on your own circumstances and your own risk appetite. Your own cost benefit analysis and risk appetite.

However, mandating everyone to wear mask 24/7, especially post vaccination is a policy borne out of fear. In the beginning, when we do not have global data, wearing masks make sense. In the absence of complete data, we err on the side of caution. But now we do have global data. The virus only affects about 1% of the population. Even then, out of that 1%, not all will die. Most will have low to mild symptoms. Most will survive. Even those who die, mostly they die from secondary complication.

This is what I mean by proportionate response. Mandating masks for 100% of the people for something that only greatly affects less than 1% of the population is insane. Again, risk and benefit. Sense of proportion.  

About 90% of Asians are lactose intolerant. Do we ban milk?  

Less than 1% of the adult population worldwide is gluten intolerant. Do we ban wheat flour? Well, why not? The statistic is the same as the virus. Less than 1% is affected.

Less than 1% is affected by CoVid19 and we mandate masks, but yet we do not ban wheat flour even though also less than 1% is affected by gluten intolerant. About 90% of Asians is lactose intolerance and yet we still let milk and milk products flood the market. Why? 

This is what I mean by proportionate response. When we response out of proportion to the danger, it is almost always, because of fear. People who jump and scream when encountering cockroaches, mice and small bugs. They are responding out of proportion to the actual "dangers" posed by cockroaches, mice and small bugs. They are reacting out of fear.

In my industry (oil, gas & petrochemical), we have a concept called ALARP. It means "as low as reasonably practicable". We eliminate and reduce hazards as low as reasonably practicable. The key word here is "reasonably practicable". What is reasonable? According to cost and benefit standards as agreed with the industry practitioners and regulators.

Everything has to be within reasonable risks, not zero risks. Otherwise you would be disabled, cannot do anything, cannot drive, cannot walk, cannot swim, cannot process chemicals, cannot anything.

It is the same with CoVid19. It cannot be zero CoVid19 cases or zero death.

Do you remember the original objective of the lockdown? It is not to achieve zero death. It is so that the number of cases are within the capacity of the healthcare facilities. This means some people would still fall sick and maybe die, but there are enough hospitals and doctors and nurses and medical equipment and morgues to handle the cases. They are not overwhelmed. 

Well, the number of cases post vaccination suggest this is the case. 

People who come into contact with positive people also do not necessarily need treatment. Nor do they need to be quarantined.

So, what is the proportionate response to post vaccinated world?

Back to normal. 

The old normal.

No more masks. No more contact tracing. Otherwise you are just living in fear.

Salam.

Let's get back to the old normal.

Post vaccination mask mandate is an oxymoron.

The question is, does the vaccine works or not? If it works, and we are now treating the disease as endemic, why are we still mandating the wearing of masks?

If the vaccine works, at worst, most infected people will only get a mild fever. Death, if any, will only occur to people with comorbidity, same as with any other pulmonary diseases that are endemic.

Majority of people will be OK when they get the flu, common cold, and other pulmonary related diseases. A tiny few will die, most probably from complication of secondary illnesses. That's what endemic means, at its most basic real life implication.

Based on the statistics of these existing endemic diseases, we do not go around wearing masks in our daily lives. Even when our work colleagues or family members have the sniffles of the nose, we do not react. We do not suddenly order everyone to wear masks. We do not even order them to go home. In fact, in a normal workplace, we give the guy the option whether to take medical leave or continue working with the sniffles, depending on the severity of their sniffles and workload situation; basically, their choice. We do not run away from them like they are carrying the black plague or some zombie virus.

It should be the same with CoVid19 when we say we are treating them as an endemic. That is the real life implication when we say a disease is endemic. We should stop fearing them like we do not fear the flu and the common cold. Even before vaccination, more than 99% of the population are not affected, and I include those that are asymptomatic and/or has only mild fever and do not need breathing assistance.

Post vaccination, the number is higher. In fact, the fatality rate now is very, very low, almost negligible, and certainly are able to be managed by our healthcare infrastructure. In fact, majority of severe symptoms and deaths are now people who are not vaccinated (and the numbers of cases are low and manageable).

I respect the freedom of choice of those who do not want or are not vaccinated for whatever reasons. They have made their choice. They have to live by that choice. They have chosen to live with that risks. I respect that.

We cannot continue to make policy based on those people who, for whatever reasons, are not vaccinated. Now that 90% are vaccinated, we should open the country fully. And I mean fully. 

Interstate travel, no physical distancing, dine in, back to office, recreation & sports, everything. No mask mandates. 

If people want to continue wearing masks, let it be their personal choice, but no mask mandates from the government. Also no vaccine passport for citizens moving within the country. (The only "vaccine passport" that I may agree with is foreign tourists & workers from other countries, but with an expiry limit of implementation, maybe for 1 or 2 years, or until 90% of global population are vaccinated. The point being, it should not be a permanent thing. Also, no need for quarantine.) We have defined herd immunity as 90%. This is an accepted scientific conclusion. If this is true, then we should make policy based on this conclusion.

We should stop fearing CoVid19. Having immunity does not mean you will not get CoVid19. It means if you have it, your survival rate is very, very high. It's the same as chicken pox vaccine. You are vaccinated when you are a baby, but when you are 10 years old, you still get chicken pox. But the most important thing is that, the disease did not cause brain damage to you. Chicken pox become just like the common cold. People do not fear chicken pox anymore, even though, at its worst, you could die or suffer brain damage. (Just google "can you die from chicken pox?".)

It should be the same for CoVId19. 

So, I say, open up everything.

No mask mandate.
No physical distancing.
Come back to the office.
Go to the gyms & parks.
Restart the economy.

No new normal.

Let's get back to the old normal.

Salam.

Towards Zero: Agatha Christie, Songkok & CoVid19 Mask Mandate

Towards Zero: Agatha Christie, Songkok & CoVid19 Mask Mandate

When I see people walking alone outdoor in wide open space, or driving alone in their car and wearing mask in this CoVid19 era, I question their intelligence and sanity. When you are alone, under the hot sun and wide open space where there is nobody around, why are you wearing mask? It is unnecessary and irrational. Well, at least that is what I thought. I keep my mouth shut, of course. You do not want to unnecessarily antagonize your family and friends and certainly not strangers over a small matter that does not affect you personally.

But then my friend ARAA or (was it RMY?), said something that reminded me of Agatha Christie novel "Towards Zero" (recommended reading for people who like detective novel) and my songkok.

In that novel, a past event that happened to the police detective's daughter made him realized that the main suspect was not guilty. The insight that he gained from his daughter's experience prevented him from arresting and charging the wrong person for the murder. A wrong person could have been sent to the gallows to be hanged.

What does my songkok have to do with any of this?

Well, in Terengganu, when I was in primary school, we had religious class in the afternoon. Other students would go back to their houses after morning school for lunch and rest or change of cloth and come back again to the school for the afternoon class. For me, going back and forth between home and school just for lunch is an inconvenience. So, I spent my time in the school library while waiting for the afternoon school. I did not go back home at noon.

During the afternoon religious class, part of the uniform for the boys is to wear the songkok. Since I do not go home after morning class, I bring the songkok and wear it even during the morning class. It is just easier to wear it during the morning class than putting it somewhere and risk losing or misplacing it. It is just more convenient to wear it throughout the day.

Well, it is the same with those people wearing masks even when they are alone. They are going somewhere where wearing masks are mandated. I suppose it is just easier and more convenient for them to wear it all the time rather than holding the masks in their hands. This point was highlighted by my abovementioned friend when I commented on the seemingly irrational behaviour of people who wear masks even when they are alone.

An experience from my past give me an insight as to why other people are doing things a certain way. The same way in the novel that the police detective's experience with his daughter gave him an insight to the action of the main (but innocent) suspect. It give me a "bersangka baik" reason rather than thinking of them as doing something irrational. It stops me from being too judgemental.  

Why am I writing this? Well, just to highlight the value of past experience & the value of reading. Mostly just throwing out my random thought on life in CoVid19 era in general.

Salam.

CoVid19 post vaccination: The media is not doing a good job. They are not asking the right questions.

(Note: This piece was written before 19th July 2021. But I have decided not to edit it and just publish "as is". This is to emphasise the "planning ahead" part rather than what actually happen. Depending on what happen in the UK after 19th July 2021, I may write a follow up.) 

Referring to my previous post here.

It seems Singapore is not the only country with a plan to go back to normal.

The UK is planning to go back to normal also.

In fact, while Singapore is still planning, the UK already set a date for it; which is; 

19th July 2021.

Refer to the UK Prime Minister speech (here) in which he detailed out clearly and concisely the plan to go back to normal.

But of course, the fear mongering media, part of the "safety & health, afraid of everything, generation", kept asking the wrong question.

Listen to this news anchor questioning the UK Health Minister (here). They are focusing on the increasing case numbers, which the Health Minister conceded is increasing.

But the news anchor is ignoring the main point that the Minister is saying. After fully vaccinating 66% of the population (80% for 1st dose) - as of the date of the interview - the link between case numbers to hospitalisation & deaths are greatly reduced. But they kept harping on the case numbers. 

The case numbers are irrelevant! If they are not sick, there is no point tracking them! 

Now, I know, many people distrust politicians, myself included. But notice that the news anchor did not even challenge the UK Health Minister on the reduced rate of hospitalisation cases & deaths. Which made me think that they know the greatly reduced rate is correct, but that they want to stoke fear among the population to demand extended lockdown. How to do that? By focusing on the increasing case numbers which is meaningless since majority, higher majority, do not need hospitalisation. 

Why do they want extended lockdown? I cannot answer that without going into conspiracy theory territories. But bad news sells, and if people cannot go out, the primary activity of choice is watching TV & social media. Who else benefits if lockdown is extended? Think for yourself!

Anyway, I notice the media in Malaysia is also focusing on the case numbers. Nobody is analysing the rate of hospitalisation & deaths before & after vaccination. This is crucial in formulating a revised public health policies and a major factor in deciding whether we should reopen society and the economy.

So, if you are a journalist, please ask the right question. If you have the ears of your elected MPs or ministers, please highlight this to them.

Do not be like headless chicken. We should stop "fighting fires". We should be planning to open back society & the economy. Correct data and analysis of that data is crucial. 

Stop fear mongering. Show the people how we can start living with and managing CoVid19, just like the flu.

CoVid19: Putting CoVid19 deaths in perspective & planning to go back to normal.

I want to clarify that the idea in the previous post is not totally mine. It was a summary and an interpretation of an idea (here, here, here & here) proposed by the Singaporean government, which I agree. The bit of original idea from me is the bit about adding ICU beds and related facilities to cater for the increase in ICU cases.

What the Singapore government is planning is rational and based on a balance of risks. This is after studying the global data for the past 1.5 years, and an increase understanding of the virus. Now that they have the data, I assume they did their own statistical analysis.

For myself, I just google for some data on daily death rate to try and put CoVid19 deaths in perspective.

Below is the infograph that I found from this webpage.

As you can see, the CoVid19 deaths at the bottom are reported in three time period with different average number. Even at the highest peak of deaths, the average death from CoVid19 still did not surpass the current causes of deaths.

This is what I mean when I say we can live with CoVid19 & CoVid19 deaths. CoVid19 deaths will just become another statistics just like any other causes of deaths. Something we have to deal with and manage everyday, just like any other statistics above. (I think this is what the Singapore government also meant, but I do not want to put words in their mouths).

I think after vaccination, the numbers for CoVid19 will decrease, not to zero, but decrease to a smaller circle. To open back the economy, I do not think we have to wait until we reach 80%. We just have to vaccinate the elderly, the vulnerable and those that we know have co-morbidity issues. Then, concurrently, with ongoing vaccination for the rest of the population, we can open back the economy. Please take note that many experts also agree that young children are at lower risk of developing severe symptoms from CoVid19. So we do not have to wait until children are vaccinated. You can just google it if you want to check this fact.

But of course governments all over the world are reluctant to consider this (except Singapore). Half are governed by "safety & health generation", those who are afraid of deaths, afraid of risks, who do not live in the real world. These politicians reminded me of Kathy Bates character "Annie Wilkes" in the movie "Misery" who care for the injured "Paul Sheldon" (played by James Caan) by locking him in his bedroom and not allowing him to go out. She even break his leg in order to prevent him from leaving his bed. (Just like the government "breaking" the people's mental health in lockdown in order to "treat" them of CoVid19. Do you see the irony?). 

The other half are governed by corrupt politicians who take the opportunities of lockdown and Emergency declaration to stay in power under dictatorial rule while siphoning off money from government coffers under emergency expenses (meaning without Parliamentary supervision) for CoVid19 related initiatives.

What is my point?

Refer back to my previous post.

Refer to the Singapore plan.

It is time to start planning to go back to Normal.

Soon.

PS: Again, I have to stress, I am not a healthcare expert or a public health policy expert. But this is something you can think for yourself if you have the time and mental faculty to research and read for yourself. As always, any comment and challenging feedback are welcome.

Salam.

CoVid19: It is time to recalibrate & restructure our healthcare facilities & policies.

This lockdown has been going on long enough. 
We are still living from one outbreak to another outbreak.
This is not tenable.

We need to start planning to go back to normal. 

We need to start planning to live with CoVid19. 

We have to start living with CoVid19.

We cannot have lockdown after lockdown.
I repeat, this is not tenable.

We need to start treating CoVid19 like other diseases like the flu, chicken pox, malaria, dengue, etc.

When we have a dengue or malaria outbreak, do we declare war with mosquitoes and commit ourselves to mosquito genocide? 

NO.

Do we stop people from going out at night or to the jungle? 

NO.

We continue on living and just treat people with malaria & dengue, conduct extra fogging & issue out public service announcement on TV and social media. We do not commit ourselves to mosquito genocide or to zero malaria & dengue death. Because we know it is impossible and impractical.

Similarly, every festival holidays, road accidents and related fatalities increase when more vehicles ply the road to go back to kampungs. 
Do we stop people from going back to kampungs every holiday even though road accidents fatalities increase compared to normal days?
NO.

We go on living as normal and just treat those that got injured in car accidents and bury the dead. We put out public service announcement on road safety and have more police patrol and stricter enforcement but we do not aim for zero accidents or zero death because again it is almost impossible and impractical.

There are Ebola & Zika in the African continents.
Do we stop people from going to Africa?
NO.
We let people know the risks before they go.

We have had MERS-CoV in the Middle East.
Do we stop people from going to pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia?
NO.
We dealt with it.

People die of diabetes almost everyday.
Do we ban sugar and food with sugar?
NO.
We educate people about sugar and let them make their own choices.

Same with CoVid19.
We need to start dealing with it.
Living with CoVid19 in our midst.
Just like the flu & the common cold.

How?

We need to recalibrate and restructure our healthcare facilities, specifically hospital beds & ICU wards facilities.

These facilities are provided by government & private hospitals based on the number of deaths and diseases and accidents that happen on an average day.

We have the statistics.

We know the accident rates of injuries & fatalities number.
We know the rate of people dying and requiring treatment from other diseases, heart diseases, cancer, dying old people, etc, on an average day.

From all these statistics, we calibrate our healthcare facilities and plan on the national level how many hospitals, beds, ICU wards we need all over the country.

With CoVid19, even post vaccination, these statistics will increase by a certain number.
The current healthcare facilities does not take CoVid19 into account.
That is why ICU are flooded.

If we take CoVid19 into account, then the ICU beds need to be added.
The healthcare facilities need to be recalibrated to take into account the CoVid19 numbers.

Then, anybody with severe symptoms to CoVid19 will just be treated the same as people that have severe symptoms with flu, pneumonia, diabetes, major strokes, etc.

No more testing, no more contact tracing, no more quarantine for people without symptoms or people who are not sick.

Let people live as normal.

If people get sick, let them rest at home, just like any other diseases such as flu or common cold.

And just like any other diseases or flu or common cold, if they get worse, go to the hospital for treatment.

Or if you are like some people who go to hospitals or clinic even for mild fever or mild symptoms, then continue doing so, and if you feel like it, ask your doctor to check for your antigen.

Everything is voluntary as per before the pandemic.

With this, CoVid19 will be treated as endemic.

You may ask, where to get the money to add all these new healthcare facilities?

How about diverting all the money in setting up all the quarantine centres to set up new ICU facilities.

Get back to normal as soon as possible, recover and grow the economy, and divert all the new taxes from the economic growth to this initiative.

We cannot go on like this, living from one lockdown to another. The suicide numbers is increasing, racing to catch up with CoVid19 death numbers. This is not including death from poverty, which can cause malnutrition & crimes of desperation.

I am not a healthcare expert. This is just a radical idea that pop up in my head after doing my own reading. If you disagree, you can comment and give your own idea. You can challenge this idea or give your own idea. 

This idea may be radical and difficult to implement but not impossible, I think.

I do not know what is the best idea to start going back to normal, but I do know one thing.

We cannot be held hostage by this Corona virus anymore.

We have to suck it up and go back to normal before Malaysia becomes a failed state from this economic lockdown.

Salam.

I am not afraid of ghosts anymore.

When I was small, we lived in a kampung house with outside toilet. The house is still standing and my mum still lives there with our youngest sibling. Now, the toilet is inside.

But back then, a long time ago, the toilet was outside, about 10 metres away from the foot of the back staircase, with the back facing a big empty green field. Near the toilet, a bit further back from the house is a "mini jungle", or "semak samun" in Malay. But to a 7 year old who is afraid of ghosts, the "semak samun" might as well have been the Amazonian tropical rain forest. The eeriness is compounded with the presence of owls, or "burung hantu" in Malay (literally "ghost bird") hooting away at night. There was even this one big tree which silhouette at night resembles King Kong. 

So, you can imagine when a 7 year old with an active imagination fueled by scary superstitious stories wanting to do his "personal business" in the middle of the night, that it was scary.

Then, in the 80's, the legend of "hantu kum-kum" went viral. I was not exactly sure what was scary about "hantu kum-kum", but it went around giving salam (as in Assalamualaikum") to kids to scare them. I do not know what happen to you when the hantu give salam to you but the stories just add more fuel to your superstitious fear.

Every night we had to go to Qur'an class to an old lady's house who taught the Qur'an reading and recital. On the way, we had to pass near another "mini jungle", but thicker than the one at the back of my house. One night, somebody decided to play a practical joke and dressed a statue-like bush all in white. On the way back from the class, we saw something white in the distance in the "mini jungle" and all of us started running and screaming, all the way home. Of course, the next day, we saw the white cloth still there and we laughed about it.

The fear of ghosts and everything supernatural, while not debilitating, was a mental struggle as a kid. It did not stop me to join my pengakap activities and went camping in the jungle, but when I had to use the outside toilet alone, it was a mental struggle. You had to keep telling yourself that "there are no ghosts" over and over while you are sitting down sh*tting in the dark. I can laugh at myself now, but let's just say life would have been better without the superstitious nonsense.

The fear of ghosts and supernatural did not hinder me from nightly activities as a kid. My rational mind won the day, or should I say the night, every time I had to do anything at night. But it was uncomfortable and not pleasant having to deal with this fear every time.

As I grow up, the fear becomes less and less but it was always at the back of my mind. When I started jungle hiking as a hobby, I had to worry about other supernatural beings too, as told by other people. I still join the jungle hiking activities, but when you had to worry about unseen beings (like bunians, harimau jadian, etc), your enjoyment is less. 

I have never seen or encounter any ghosts or any supernatural beings. Some Malay Muslims will accuse me of being a "kafir" for even saying this but I doubt that those entities exist. As far as I know there are no "believe in ghosts" under the six "Rukun Iman" but you would still be accused of "kafir" for even questioning the existence of ghosts. 

As my understanding of the world increases, including mental health issues, science of the brain & neurology and physics, I fear ghosts and the supernatural, less and less but not completely fear-less. Because by its very nature those things are unseen, so, you can never be sure. Hence, there is always that bit of fear at the back of your mind. 

Then, something happened! 

I started reading the Qur'an for myself. I found I do not have to be afraid of any ghosts or any unseen beings.

First of all, there are no mentions of ghosts in the Quran. The Quran mentions "jinn", "shaytan", "Iblis" and "sihir". In one way or another, these entities are said to be connected to the phenomenon of ghosts and "kawasan-kawasan yang sewaktu dengannya". (I do not know how, but it is what people said, when I said ghosts do not exist.) There are some scholarly debate what are exactly "jinns" in the Quran means, but the prevalent opinions are that "jinns" are, well, genies or "jin" in Malay. There are some minority opinions that say "jinns" are something else, not the mythical genies or "jin".

Many Malay Muslims believe that ghosts and other supernatural phenomena occur because of these "jinns" "shaytan", "Iblis" and "sihir". There are no direct mention of ghosts in the Quran, so, they say all occurrences of ghosts and supernatural events, including but not limited to bunians, saka, curses, hexes, possession (rasuk) or sihir, are because of them.

But here is the thing.

IT DOES NOT MATTER!

Whether "jinns" of the Quran are genies/"jin" or not; or the cause of sihir or not; or syaitan or iblis; it does not matter. Because the Quran says they cannot harm you.

First let's look at Quran verse 7:27.

"O ye Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you ... he and his tribe watch you from a position where ye cannot see them..."

So, anyone that claims they can see jinns or ghosts or anything that "sama waktu dengannya", they are either lying or they suffer from hallucinations. The Quran says we cannot see them.

Then, Quran verse 15:42;

"Surely, you (Iblis) shall have no power over My servants..."

The Quran says they have no power over us. They cannot do anything to us. They cannot frighten us, cannot "rasuk" us, or do anything to us.

Then, Quran 16:99;

"He (Satan) has no power over those who truly believe and put their trust in their Lord"

Again, the Quran says they have no power over us. They cannot do anything to us. They cannot frighten us, cannot "rasuk" us, or do anything to us.

What about "sihir"?

Quran 2:102 says thus;

"...but they cannot harm anyone except by God's permission..."

So, we cannot see them, they have no power over us and they cannot harm us. So, we do not have to worry about them. So, whether ghosts and jinns exist or not; does not matter. For all intents and practical purposes, they are the same as not real. 

So, now I do not worry about ghosts or bunians or sihir anymore. When I go hiking in the jungle, day or night, I worry about the real dangers, wild animals and dangerous terrains.

As for those who accuse me of "kafir" for not believing in ghosts, I only say this. A Muslim believe in the Quran, it is one of the Rukun Iman. The Quran says you cannot see them, they do not have power over you and cannot harm you, meaning they cannot affect you, meaning they are as good as not real for all practical purposes. So, you want to believe the Quran or the internet ustaz, ulama, agamawan or "Raja Bomoh" who says otherwise?

It is up to you!

Berdewakan agamawan: Part I

With the proliferation of the internet and TV and mobile phones, many people now have access to the media, including religious preachers preaching their stuff.

Sometime, a cult-like following materializes around certain preachers, especially if he has the gift of the gab, a wonderful speaker that can mesmerize people with his speeches.

People idolizes them and listen and follow these preachers blindly, without thinking.

In my youth, I also used to listen to these preachers, especially those that criticise the ruling government. It was before the advent of the internet, and it was difficult to access information and obtain free flow of balanced news and views.

Hence, I gravitated towards those preachers that are on the opposite side of the mainstream media.

Not many were brave enough to criticize the ruling government.

Many preachers were afraid to jeopardise their "cari makan" on national TV, less they are banned.

However, this one preacher was brave enough to criticize them left, right and centre.

He went around the country giving ceramah, bravely condemning and criticizing the wrongs committed by the ruling government.

It was refreshing because the mainstream media was self-censoring themselves less they get into trouble with the ruling government.

But then, when the party that he seemingly support did something wrong, he did not criticize them.

Some people would at least stay quiet in shame (or at least to maintain a show of unity even when they disagree in silence).

But he went beyond that.

I did not expect him to switch loyalty or change allegiance.

I expect him to "tegur" the action or behaviour, even in double speak "berkias" Melayu manner. At the very least, just stay quiet and not show support for something that is clearly wrong.

He did not even do that.

Instead, he justified their action with a ridiculous religious rulings, even twisting his reasoning to suit the political party agenda.

I saw the hypocrisy and I stopped listening.

Another preacher that I respected and listened to was supportive of the ruling party.

But at that time, I can see that his support was not given blindly.

He was fair to both sides, praise when praise is due and "tegur" when they did something wrong, to both sides.

When the ruling party did something wrong, he "tegur" them, in "bahasa berkias", in double speak.

That was good enough for me.

He had integrity, and he put right and wrong first and he did not "jual agama" for his "rezeki".

But then, along the way, somehow, he became more radical.

I do not know what happen.

He became ultra racial (not racist, there is a difference).

He contributed to racial tension in the country.

The Qur'an says "... do not insult the symbols of other religion less they insult yours back..." (Quran 6:108).

He did not live up to the standard set by the Book he says he believes in.

What does this tell you?

Well, I will not tell you not to listen to them, to any preachers, or to any speech.

I believe in free speech and freedom of expression. I do not believe in censorship and banning speech.

But, please listen with intelligence and apply your critical thinking skills.

Above all else, do not deify these "agamawan".

Do not cast out stone idols and replace them with other human idols in "religious" outfits.

Do not "mendewakan agamawan" that are crowding the "market place of ideas" and the internet.

Educate yourselves and your children to think critically, to be fair and just, and to be compassionate and understanding of other people different than you. Trust that you know what is right and wrong, that inherent inner voice and reasonable minds that God has given everybody.

When somebody uses religion and claim to speak on behalf of God to tell you something bad, you know it in your heart and mind that it is bad.

You just have to listen to it.

After all God says He is near, as near as your jugular veins (Qur'an 50:16).

That inner voice that you hear, it could be Him telling you what is right and wrong.

As the saying goes...;

Good people will do good things.

Bad people will do bad things.

Sometimes, bad people will do good things in order to get something in return.

But, it takes religious people who use religion and manipulate other good people, for good people to do bad things.

#farkhundamalikzada

So, be careful!

CoVid19 commentary. Was our reaction rational or an over reaction?

The pandemic is now more than one year old.

We should have more than enough data to show how bad the virus is actually. 

From countries that institute full lockdown, semi-lockdown or no lockdown.

We can do statistical analysis between those countries, between this virus and other flu/pneumonia-related viruses, and/or common cold viruses.

These are my questions.

From all the testing, what is the total number of people tested positive?

Percentage wise, how many of those tested positive, fell sick, or have symptoms (mild, medium, or severe symptoms)?

Percentage wise, how many that have symptoms, have to be hospitalised?

Percentage wise, how many that were hospitalised, require ICU or CCU wards?

Percentage wise, how many that tested positive, died?

Percentage wise, how many that have symptoms, died?

From those that died, how many died because of complications from other existing diseases? How many died even though they have no other complications?

What are the most vulnerable age group? Is it the same across age group, or are certain age group more vulnerable?

What is the mortality rate comparison between CoVid19 to other flu, pneumonia and/or common cold viruses?

After one year, I believe we have enough data to do these statistical comparison.

We should be able to analyse and conclude, statistically speaking, whether our reaction to this virus have been rational or an over reaction.

Like it or not, for the longest time, people have died and will continue to die from these kind of viruses. We cannot stop our lives every time a new virus emerge. Viruses have always, and will always evolve to new strains.

We cannot run away from this fact of life.

Going forward, our reaction has to be more measured.

I hope our scientific communities and government institutions learnt from this event.

I hope they learnt the right lessons.

Write a lyric for the song only you can understand (Elan by Nightwish)

To paraphrase Nightwish, "Write a post for the blog only you can understand"...

That is how I sometimes feel when writing this blog.
Do people understand?
I do not know.

That is why I open this blog with this post...

Anyway, here is the Floor Jansen of Nightwish, singing Elan.

Lyrics

Leave the sleep and let the springtime talk
In tongues from the time before man
Listen to a daffodil tell her tale
Let the guest in, walk out, be the first to greet the morn
The meadows of heaven await harvest
The cliffs unjumped, cold waters untouched
The elsewhere creatures yet unseen
Finally your number came up, freefall awaits the brave

Come, taste the wine
Raise the blind
They will guide you from the light
Writing noughts till the end of time
Come, surf the clouds
Race the dark
It feeds from the runs undone
Meet me where the cliff greets the sea

The answer to the riddle before your eyes
Is in dead leaves and fleeting skies
Returning swans and sedulous mice
Writing's on the gardens book, in the minute of a lover's look
Building a sandcastle close to the shore
A house of cards from a worn-out deck
A home from the fellowship, poise and calm
Write a lyric for the song only you can understand

Come, taste the wine
Raise the blind
They will guide you from the light
Writing noughts till the end of time
Come, surf the clouds
Race the dark
It feeds from the runs undone
Meet me where the cliff greets the sea

Riding hard every shooting star
Come to life, open mind, have a laugh at the orthodox
Come, drink deep let the dam of mind seep
Travel with great élan, dance a jig at the funeral, come!

Taste the wine
Raise the blind
They will guide you from the light
Writing noughts till the end of time
Ooh, come, surf the clouds
Race the dark
It feeds from the runs undone
Meet me where the cliff greets the sea, come!

Hantu ketuk pintu and the monsoon.

Recently, someone pointed out that there were no hantu ketuk pintu disturbances reported during the rainy flood season. It was as if the hantu ketuk pintu are "afraid" of the rain or trying to avoid being outside during the rainy season. 

Just like most humans.  

Most people also spend most of their time inside their homes during the recent (Dec 2020) heavy monsoon season. In flood prone areas, people are preparing their homes in case their areas are flooded.

And in all this times, the hantu ketuk pintu did not ketuk any pintu. I guess either the hantu are afraid of the rain or the hantu have some compassion towards potential flood victims or maybe the hantu are also preparing their homes (or is it lubuk hantu) for flood.

I fact checked via google. The gangguan ketukan ended about 5th Dec 2020, according to some major newspaper, about the same time the monsoon rain became worse.

I did not know that hantu are afraid of rainwater. Or is it just coincidence? Very interesting coincidence!

Well, I do not know what exactly happen to the hantu ketuk pintu during the monsoon. I was just curious and find it interesting that the ketukan stopped during the wet monsoon (and the 2020 monsoon was one of the wettest and heaviest.)

Just sharing my thought.

CoVid19 and the Emergency.

Well, finally an Emergency has been declared.

An Emergency means democracy is suspended. Parliament is suspended. Also, during an Emergency the Executive branch of the government, the Prime Minister, the ministers & the Cabinet, has more power than during normal time. An Emergency is also called Martial Law since the army is given civilian power like the police. While the PM said this is not a military Emergency, the Army has been given civilian power, that is, the same power as the police. This should concern all of you.

Normally, "enemies" of police and "enemies" of the military are different. Hence, training for the police and for the army are also different. Rules of engagement, that is, rules and guideline on how to engage the "enemies", are different.

If we are in a true security Emergency, like during the Communist insurgency era of the 1960's, I do not mind so much. It makes sense to give the Army the power of the police then. But we are fighting viruses and stubborn & stupid civilian people, not insurgents or enemy combatants. Dealing with stubborn & stupid civilians needs a different tactics and mindsets than dealing with insurgents & enemy combatants. Lives are at stakes here.

Think about it.

.

And then, there is the accusation of the grab of power. I have blogged about this stealing democracy here. The current government is facing a potential collapse due to loss of majority support. A possible snap election is looming. A nation wide election can cause a surge in CoVid19 cases.

Hence, suspension of government was a strategic move. Some people called it "checkmate move". 

Do I agree with this move? I do not know.

Dr Mahathir has said that it was not necessary since there are enough provisions in the current laws to handle the situation. 

The PM said in not so many words, that this is to prevent a possible snap election, which he and his team said is not good for the nation right now. This will enable the current government to focus on fighting CoVid19 without having to worry about politics. The PM said after the pandemic situation is resolved, if constitutionally mandated, then an election will be held. We have to take this assurance with a grain of salt, since, under Emergency rules, technically speaking, he has a lot of power, and he can almost do anything. On the other hand, the PM has built a trust reserve with the rakyat so far, that I am willing to give him the benefit of doubt.

So, was it a political "checkmate move" or a sincere move to protect the nation and rakyat?

Well, I am not naive. I think it is both. It was both a selfish reason to protect his position and to give him time to consolidate his power, and also to protect the nation against another surge. Whether you agree or not, it is what it is. People and politics are not straight forward. They are complicated. 

So, what should you do?

Like I said in my previous post, be vigilant. Social media is a powerful tool now. Use them to highlight irregular rulings or directives or policies that are not related to the CoVid19 issues.

The current PM seems sincere. (The keyword here is "seems"). Personally speaking, he has built a trust reserve with the rakyat, including me, I have to admit. But I am also a sceptic. I never give my trust 100%. 

The structure of our democracy also makes it hard for someone to steal democracy, but then, Germany in the 1930's was also a democracy. Look what happen to Germany & Europe (hell, look what happen to the world) in the 1940's.

Yes, I am exaggerating...but am I?

Hell, let's look closer to home. Ferdinand Marcos declared an Emergency in 1972 and ruled the Philippines until he was deposed in 1986. President Sukarno declared an Emergency in 1957 and ruled Indonesia until he was also deposed in 1967.

So, like I always said, read the past to know what will happen in the future.