BLACKMAIL ON THE CARDS: Will Umno 'force' flood-hit cash-strapped Kelantan Pas into a unity govt?

In the time of Prophet Nuh (Noah) there was a great flood sent by God as punishment for violations of His Commandments. At least, this was the narrative that some wise religious leaders of the past told us.

The recent big flood in Kelantan two weeks ago, according to PAS MP Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, occurred because Kelantanese were still not following God’s commandment with regard to hudud.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang himself attributed the floods in Kelantan and Terengganu as God’s “heavy test”.

I am not terribly excited by the idea that God indulges in “testing” us in any way, whether by floods or other means.

You conduct a test on someone or something when you do not know the outcome. As such, testing is an activity humans conduct to gain knowledge about a subject, whether about nature or other people.

For example, we perform tests to find out if someone has the aptitude for a certain task, is loyal and trustworthy or has any other attribute.

God, however, does not need to “test” anything or anyone as He is all-knowing and surely already knows the outcome of such tests.

Some people say that the flood is God’s punishment for people’s sins. I am not sure that’s a viable proposition either, because Allah is Merciful and Just and He would not punish all and sundry including the innocent, babies and the elderly for the sins of the few.

Instead, I am inclined to believe that the floods are due primarily to global climatic changes. These changes have caused severe storms and heavy rain in many places and it would have been “miraculous” for us to have been spared the floods, given that other countries such as China, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines have experienced worse disasters.

To deal with future calamities effectively, we first need to be in the right frame of mind. The following measures might be helpful:

First, Kelantanese are inclined to pick religious or pious-looking men as their leaders.

Their favourite expression is: “We want leaders who can lead us in prayer.”

Well, sometimes we also must pick leaders who care enough about the people in addition to those who care about God.

People-oriented leaders will find ways to solve long-term economic problems as well as issues relating to flooding and the destruction of forests. Such leaders work towards social improvements and are able to protect both people and property.

Managing a modern state or government is a complex process in the 21st century, and so Kelantanese must start looking for other qualities in their leaders besides the ability to lead in prayers.

Secondly, PAS has ruled Kelantan for 24 years but has not done much to build the state in economic terms. It does not make sense to allow the party to rule for many more years—but they were selected democratically and they should be allowed to govern until their term ends in 2018.

They must not be pushed over or seduced by Umno simply because the time is opportune and the people need Umno’s money in the aftermath of the flood.

The federal government should as a matter of course help the state government without extracting any political concessions from PAS.

In times of crisis, it is especially cruel to conduct political horse-trading when what is required is a bipartisan approach to solving problems. That’s how the federal system works in other countries but can Umno be civil, helpful and responsible for positive change while making no political capital from the flood disaster in Kelantan?

Finally, the support for the flood victims shown by all the communities of Malaysia has given us a ray of light. Despite political forces going in full throttle to divide and break up the unity of the people, our sense of oneness is still strong.

We must do more to support one another and achieve a united country as one people, in spite of the politicians. – www.zaid.my