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Kalau anda merupakan pengikut Bill Gates di media sosial beliau, pada pertengahan tahun lepas, beliau pernah mengulas tentang buku ini di laman blognya, GatesNotes. Buku ini juga telah mendapat sambutan yang baik dan menjadi salah satu karya finalis bagi kategori fiksyen untuk Kirkus Prize pada tahun 2016.

A Gentleman in Moscow ini merupakan salah satu novel dari Amor Towles, seorang penulis yang berasal dari Massachusetts, Amerika Syarikat. Buku ini berkisar tentang Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, yang berasal dari Saint Petersburg, Russia. Amor Towles menggambarkan Count Rostov ini sebagai seorang yang meminati karya seni seperti lukisan, sastera, filosofi, etika dan budaya bersesuaian dengan wataknya yang merupakan seorang aristokrat.

Selepas Revolusi Bolshevik, kebanyakan golongan aristokrat di Rusia telah dipenjara, malah ada yang dikenakan hukuman mati kerana golongan aristokrat ini dianggap sebagai satu masalah sosial. Count Rostov juga menerima nasib yang sama apabila beliau dikenakan tahanan rumah seumur hidup di sebuah hotel di Moscow yang bernama Hotel Metropol. Di hotel inilah Count Rostov menghabiskan puluhan tahun dari hidup beliau, dengan menjadi pelayan di restoran mewah Boyarsky.

Membaca novel ini umpama membaca fikiran Count Rostov dalam kehidupan sehariannya di hotel itu. Walaupun Count Rostov ini berubah dari seorang aristokrat menjadi seorang pelayan restoran, beliau tetap meneruskan kehidupannya dengan prinsip hidup dan etika yang tinggi sehinggakan terdapat pelbagai watak yang menjadikan beliau sebagai rujukan dalam pelbagai hal. Contohnya Osip Ivanovich Glebnikov, seorang kolonel Soviet yang sering bertemu dengan Count Rostov untuk mempelajari bahasa dan budaya orang Amerika dan akhirnya menjadi sahabat baik.

Secara keseluruhannya, sebagai seorang yang pernah tinggal di bumi Soviet, saya suka cara Amor Towles mengolah latar belakang novel ini. Cara penulisannya menunjukkan beliau mempunyai pengetahuan yang baik dari segi sejarah dan geografi bumi Rusia sehingga pada awal membaca novel ini, saya menyangkakan Amor Towles ini merupakan seorang penulis dari Rusia. Novel ini juga bakal diadaptasi menjadi filem. Buat yang meminati filem, saya sarankan anda untuk menonton karya Amor Towles ini.

A king fortifies himself with a castle,’ observed the Count, ‘a gentleman with a desk.

Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov

The biggest social experiment in world was jihua shengyu, which means “planned birth program”, which in turn was a euphemism for a more direct term – yitai zhengce, “the one child policy”. How on earth this policy was come about? From Mei Fong’s analysis the policy was a result from the failure of policies such as The Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution which put a question to the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party. The solution was to find legitimacy from the economy, so China planned to modernized its economy.

Economy relied largely to production of material goods and consumption of goods, it is hard to increase production drastically, but consumption can be limited by limiting the population. In China, the famous saying is ren tai duo, “too many people”. In theory, when you increase production and decrease consumption, you can achieve higher per capita income. Only society with moral bankruptcy can accept controlling human population in the same way you control other commodities such as coal and grain. According to Mei Fong, only a totalitarian regime can implement such policy, it will be opposed vehemently if it was to applied to a democratic and open society.

Unfortunately, China at the time does not have a strong social science foundation to study the impact and viability of such policy. Demography along with other social science discipline has been abolished after the Cultural Revolution, it was only revived a year after the policy has been started. The biggest social experiment, thus, was made based on a shaky foundation. Because of the lack of social scientist, China turn to their rocket scientist to study the policy. One of them was Song Jian, ballistic missile specialist trained in Russia and protege of Qian Xuesen, the co-founder of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. It turns out that rocket scientist will determine “how many babies women in China could have”.

Predicting population is not an easy business, forecast are based on three factors: birth, death, and migration. Migration and fertility (birth) is hard to predict, the forecast are fairly accurate for 20-30 years, more than that it is as best as guess work, predicting population growth for next 100 years will be in the realm of science fiction.

Mei Fong was born in Malaysia, a descendant of southern Chinese, she was grateful to be born in Malaysia, as Malaysia already modernized when she was born and the practice of abandoning unwanted girls dis not prevalent. But early on she realized how her father prized son over daughters, he long for a son he never had. She works as a journalist for Wall Street Journal and was sent to China as correspondent.

The strongest point of the book from my point of view, is the issues raised by the author on the human effect of the policy, the human cost that needed to be paid for the economic miracle to take place. Mei Fong brought this topic early on with the earth quake which happened at Sichuan, which killed many “only child” of the Chinese family there, the parent become shidu, which means “lost only”. The loss not only a personal lost, with its emotional toll, their social status in society also degenerate as they will have a hard time buying burial plot or entering nursing home at old age. Mei Fong also re-tell the horrifying story on how the policy was enforced, the most devastating story was how Feng Jianmei, a factory worker, was forced to undergo late-term abortion when she was 7-months pregnant, her depressing photo with dead baby by her side shocked the world.

What are the effects of this policy?

One of the effects of this policy is gender imbalance, with family has to have only one child, many opted for a son. There are various ways of achieving this, among them are killing female baby at birth and aborting female foetuses, these measures are called infanticide and gendercide. The shortage of women increased the commodification on women and increase sex trafficking and prostitution. The shortage of women also created a sex doll industry in China, where large human-size doll were manufactured

The policy also has speed-up China into an aging society, with fewer young working people that need to support growing numbers of old people. As the saying goes “China will grow old before it grows rich”. Although the policy coupled with economic reforms has lifted 500 people above the poverty line, nearly 185 million of its retirees lived with less than a dollar a day. Living as an old people in China is not an easy tasked, with family and clannish values were erased during Cultural Revolution to produces population valuing the state above family, add to this the problem of having only one child to take care of both parent, many old people are left on their own. The policy also re-shaped how people view family structure, some argue that siblings are important as the parent grew old and died, the only child will not have any immediate family relationship left.

The policy also was not monolithic, many rich families can have more kids by paying fines, the one who suffer the most by the brutal enforcement were rural and poor families.  The rich also can use birth tourism to have more progeny, they can go to different country to give birth and runs away from paying fines. They also can pay fertility services to have twin and triplets that will be counted as a single birth. Other cruel and bizarre product of the policy is the baby confiscation and child trafficking. China became the largest supplier of babies for adoption to western and American families. The most common cases were babies born without permission was taken by authority, then given to orphanage, before sold to western and international client for adoption.   

Although I personally think that the book made a great job especially in elaborating the human impact of the policy, I realized that Mei Fong sees the whole ordeal from western perspective and judge the policy based on western values, she obviously has her bias, but its a good start for people who want to understand the policy, before they embarked into the more detailed academic and scholarly analysis of the policy.  

12 tahun yang lalu, seorang teman dari Indonesia pernah menyuruh saya untuk membaca buku ini. Secara jujur, Bumi Manusia ini merupakan karya pertama yang saya baca dari Pramoedya Ananta Toer, bahkan karya pertama yang saya baca didalam bahasa Indonesia. Karya ini merupakan satu daripada empat novel yang diletakkan dibawah satu tajuk khusus iaitu “Tetralogi Pulau Buru”, diterbitkan disekitar tahun 1980-1988.

Kepada yang tidak mengenali Pramoedya, beliau merupakan seorang penulis dari Blora, Jawa Tengah. Beliau telah menghasilkan lebih dari 50 karya yang dicetak di dalam pelbagai bahasa. Pada zaman pemerintahan Soeharto, beliau pernah ditahan sebagai tahanan politik selama 10 tahun di Pulau Buru dan beliau tidak dibenarkan untuk menulis. Karya Bumi Manusia ini awalnya diolah oleh beliau dalam bentuk cerita lisan sesama tahanan yang lain sehingga beliau dibebaskan pada 1979 dan akhirnya diterbitkan buat pertama kali pada tahun 1980.

Tetralogi Pulau Buru ini menonjolkan watak utama seorang pemuda yang bernama Tirto Adhi Soerjo atau dikenali sebagai “Minke”. Dalam karya Bumi Manusia ini, Minke digambarkan sebagai anak pribumi yang lahir didalam keluarga bangsawan. Pada zaman itu, anak-anak bangsawan pribumi lebih cenderung di hantar oleh keluarga mereka untuk belajar di sekolah Belanda.

Minke digambarkan sebagai seorang yang pandai menulis dan hasil tulisannya sering dimuat naik di dada akhbar milik Belanda pada ketika itu walaupun tulisannya banyak berkisar tentang ketidakadilan terhadap bangsa pribumi Jawa. Beliau juga sering mempersoalkan sebahagian bangsa pribumi yang mendapat layanan berbeza dizaman kolonial Belanda hanya kerana mereka mempunyai darah Belanda.

Minke akhirnya bertemu dan berkahwin dengan seorang gadis berdarah Belanda-Pribumi bernama Annaliese Mellema. Hubungan mereka diuji dengan pelbagai konflik dan Pramoedya jelas menggambarkan kehidupan pribumi di zaman kolonial Belanda yang sangat ditindas sehingga mencetuskan zaman Kebangkitan Nasional dikalangan rakyat pribumi.

Buku ini pernah diharamkan pada 1981 kerana dituduh menerapkan ideologi Marxisme-Leninisme. Pada pendapat peribadi saya, tuduhan itu adalah sangat tidak tepat dan hanyalah alasan untuk mengekang kesedaran nasionalisme. Pada tahun 2005, Bumi Manusia telah dicetak kembali di Indonesia, bahkan diterbitkan juga di dalam 33 bahasa. Karya ini juga telah diolah dalam bentuk filem dan boleh ditonton di Netflix (This Earth Of Mankind).

Kalau kemanusiaan tersinggung, semua orang yang berperasaan dan berfikiran waras ikut tersinggung, kecuali orang gila dan orang yang berjiwa kriminal, biarpun dia sarjana.

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Bumi Manusia

Buku ini bagi saya sangat baik sebagai perenungan, Iltizam Iman menintakan fikiran-fikirannya, jadi ia adalah buku yang membantu kita berfikir, berfikir tidak semestinya setuju, tetapi membantu kita membuat pertimbangan dalam menilai sesuatu idea. Iman memulakan kitabnya dengan membahaskan falsafah kerosakan, yang baginya berasal dari hati manusia, sesuatu yang abstrak kemudian memberi kesan kepada dunia material luaran, kerosakan yang dilakukan oleh penguasa juga asalnya adalah dari hati mereka, kata Iman baik “Marxist atau Islamis” jika hati mereka bermasalah, kerosakan akan tetap berlaku. Falsafah inilah yang diambil untuk menamakan judul kitabnya “Menolak Perintah” iaitu menolak tirani didalam dan luar diri. 

Antara rangkap yang saya minati dalam naskah ini adalah “Ironinya, kita takut mati tapi malas bangun tidur”. Rangkap ini bagi saya begitu mengesankan, memotivasikan kita untuk hidup dengan lebih “hidup” dan melawan kemalasan. Dalam perbahasan beliau berkenaan dengan artificial intelligence, saya kira beliau lebih membawa banyak persoalan dari jawapan. Contohnya, beliau bertanya “Adakah manusia boleh mencipta sesuatu yang dia sendiri tidak faham? Contohnya mimpi? Apa kegunaan mimpi?” Walaupun kecanggihan sains yang menolak sempadan limitasi semakin laju, saya tidak fikir manusia mampu mencipta “kesedaran” yang setara dengan kesedaran manusia, apatah lagi jika lebih tinggi lagi dari kesedaran manusia. Saya mungkin salah, tapi setakat hari ini, kita masih belum mampu.

Buku ini mengajak manusia berfikir, Iman menulis bahawa kita harus “memperbanyakkan dialog-dialog dengan diri”, yang saya kira merupakan satu ajakan yang penting. Sering kali kita melakukan perkara dalam hidup ini kerana kebiasaan, kerana adat dan agama, kerana mengikut orang, kita lakukan banyak perkara tanpa sedar, tanpa bertanya mengapa kita melakukannya. Mengapa perkara ini penting? Kerana bagi saya, jika kita tidak berfikir, kita akan melakukan perkara yang mungkin kita tidak perlukan, dan masa yang kita ada adalah sedikit, kehidupan yang singkat ini memerlukan kita fokus pada apa yang kita benar-benar “perlu”.

Persoalan dan dilema perubahan juga menarik diperbahaskan, Iman membawakan bagaimana orang miskin tidak sempat melakukan perubahan kerana mereka sibuk dengan urusan “kelangsungan hidup”, manakala orang kaya tidak melakukan perubahan kerana mereka telah selesa, Iman bertanya “di mana jalan penyelesaiannya?”. Saya kira jawapan kepada persoalan ini ada di dalam sejarah, kerana jika tidak, masakan kita lihat perubahan-perubahan berlaku dalam sejarah, jika semua manusia tersepit dalam dilema ini kita tidak akan punya revolusi atau pemberontakan. Jawapanya adalah pada kewujudan insan-insan radikal, mereka yang merasakan prinsip itu lebih penting dari “kelangsungan hidup” dan “keselesaan”, mereka adalah ejen perubah sepanjang zaman. Howard Zinn, sang sejarawan agung pernah membawa konsep “civil disobedience”, dimana mereka yang radikal yang melawan undang-undang adalah mereka yang membawa perubahan.

Iman juga ada membincangkan perihal-perihal agama, contohnya beliau menghuraikan Surah Al-Maa’uun yang membawakan keperluan untuk Muslim menterjemahkan agama ke dalam aktiviti membangun masyarakat. Agama bukanlah sekadar amalan-amalan ritual untuk individu mengejar pahala untuk dirinya, tetapi perlu ada usaha dalam membaiki masyarakat seperti memperkasa anak-anak yatim serta mengangkat kesusahan golongan miskin. Orang agama yang mementingkan diri, sibuk dengan ritual tetapi meninggalkan masyarakat, adalah pendusta agama. Dalam pen-definisi-an perkataan “kafir” beliau membawakan maksud yang dinukilkan oleh Asghar Ali, iaitu kafir itu bukan bermaksud penolakan tauhid tetapi penolakan terhadap keadilan, kafir didefinisikan sebagai penindasan terhadap golongan yang lemah. Bagi mereka yang tidak pernah membaca Asghar Ali, definisi ini mungkin kedengaran agak janggal dari tafsiran agamawan tradisional. Sememangnya Asghar banyak menafsir semula konsep-konsep agama ke dalam bahasa yang lebih umum, mencakupi seluruh manusia, dan menekankan nilai-nilai revolusioner dalam agama. 

Saya kurang bersetuju dengan penulis dalam perbahasan beliau berkenaan dengan “Alam dan Manusia” yang menyuruh kita belajar dari haiwan. Saya bersetuju bahawa kerosakan yang dibawa oleh manusia lebih teruk dari haiwan, haiwan yang “memburu sekadar untuk makan sehingga kenyang”, tapi penyelesaiannya saya kira bukanlah mengamalkan undang-undang rimba. Walaupun Iman tidak menulis secara explicit berkenaan dengan Darwinisme, beliau ada mengungkapkan perihal proses evolusi. Evolusi tidak boleh memberi kita moral dan etika.

Buku Yuval sebagai contoh, mengatakan semua perkara yang boleh dilakukan secara biologi adalah natural, dalam konteks ini apa yang Hitler lakukan adalah natural kerana ia “boleh dilakukan secara biologi”. Sains tidak dapat memberi kita moral, ia boleh menjawab persoalan-persoalan emperikal bukan moral. Jadi saya tidak setuju dengan belajar dari haiwan kita boleh melahirkan masyarakat yang tidak diskriminatif. Nazi menghapuskan bangsa Yahudi juga adalah kerana mereka beriman dengan biologi dan evolusi, kerana pada keyakinan mereka bangsa German adalah bangsa yang lebih develop dalam hiraki evolusi berbanding bangsa lain (social darwinism). Malah Darwin sendiri tidak setuju kita membantu manusia yang lemah, kerana menurut natural selection dan survival of the fittest, yang kuat perlu menang dan membiak manakala yang lemah perlu dibiarkan mati. Mencari moral dari evolusi hanya akan melahirkan moral nihilism. 

Banyak lagi persoalan-persoalan yang dibangkitkan di dalam buku ini yang mengayakan minda dan mencabar pemikiran seperti apa yang dimaksudkan dengan kebenaran. Antara perkara yang dibincangkan yang sangat menarik perhatian saya adalah perbahasan-perbahasan berkenaan dengan alam. Perbahasan ini saya kira jarang diangkat oleh penulis lain (atau mungkin saya yang ignorant dalam subjek ini). Perlawanan orang kampung untuk menghentikan projek pelupusan sisa di Bukit Payong yang dibincangkan dengan mendalam pada saya merupakan sejarah rakyat yang penting. Oleh itu saya merasa sangat sayang sekali jika naskah ini tidak dikatalog dan diindeks oleh Perpustakaan Negara, kerana sejarah rakyat ini mungkin tidak boleh dirujuk oleh pengkaji akan datang.

Kritik beliau buat alam persekolahan adalah satu perenungan yang sangat baik, bagaimana sistem pendidikan kita membunuh sifat “kecurigaan” dalam diri anak-anak, sebaliknya membentuk mereka menjadi mesin untuk menghafal informasi untuk dimuntahkan ke kertas peperiksaan. Walaupun saya bersetuju dengan kritik pendidikan ini namun saya mempunyai kesimpulan yang berbeza, kesimpulan saya bukanlah home-schooling walaupun saya hormati ibubapa yang memilih option tersebut. Bagi saya sistem yang lemah itu perlu diperbaiki bukan ditinggalkan. Bagi saya institusi sekolah, pengajarannya bukan sahaja perkara-perkara formal, banyak perkara yang tidak formal kita belajar di sekolah seperti belajar berkawan. Juga tak semua orang mampu untuk melaksanakan home-schooling, mungkin bagi ibubapa yang kedua-duanya buruh mereka tidak punya masa dan tenaga untuk melakukannya kerana tuntutan hidup. Juga bagi saya, kelemahan sekolah itu perlu ditampung oleh ibubapa di rumah, pendidikan seharusnya dilihat secara keseluruhan, tidak adil jika kita menolak semua tanggungjawab pendidikan kepada sekolah.

Iman menulis perihal pendidikan tinggi, berkenaan dengan kajian “thesis-thesis tak guna budak-budak degree sampai PhD. Tunggu masa dibuang atau dikitar semula”. Di sini saya secara umumnya bersetuju, kebanyakan thesis-thesis ini dilambakkan di perpustakaan akademik yang tak dibaca oleh manusia. Seharusnya, thesis-thesis ini dibukukan, diolah semula ke dalam bahasa masyarakat agar ia menjadi ilmu yang berguna. Kebanyakan kita menggunakan pengajian tinggi hanya sebagai tiket untuk mendapat pekerjaan, membaca kritikan ini membuatkan saya tersedar. Ada benarnya, seharusnya kita belajar kerana ingin tahu dan meningkatkan ilmu.

Dalam perbahasan beliau berkenaan dengan “Masyarakat dan Negara”, saya tertarik dengan perbahasan kawalan media, pemerintah yang mengawal media dapat memastikan isu apa yang dimainkan dalam masyarakat, jika sesuatu isu yang merugikan pemerintah dibahas masyarakat, mereka perlu segera mencipta isu-isu remeh-temeh yang tidak bermanfaat untuk diputarkan bagi mengalih perhatian. Sedikit sebanyak mengingatkan saya berkenaan dengan buku Manufacturing Consent tulisan Herman dan Chomsky.

Akhir sekali, isi yang saya ingin ulas perihal naskah ini adalah keperluan kepada kekuatan spiritual dalam menjamin perubahan yang bertahan lama. Beliau mengulas dapatan SH Al-Attas bahawa yang menjadikan revolusi agama bertahan lama berbanding revolusi ideologi kiri seperti Komunisme adalah kekuatan spiritual mereka. Kita melihat bagaimana eksperimen sosial untuk mengunapakai sistem Komunis di Soviet yang tidak menekankan keperluan spiritual, atau menafikan tempatnya dalam hidup manusia, namun apabila Soviet runtuh, manusia kembali mencari kekuatan spiritual mereka, agama-agama yang disangkakan mati hidup semula.

Tahniah diucapkan buat saudara Iltizam Iman atas penerbitan buku sulung beliau ini. Naskah ini saya kira sangat baik dalam mengangkat persoalan-persoalan pemikiran, perspektif hidup, kelestarian alam, juga sikap-sikap kita mendepani politik dan pemerintahan. Semoga kita dapat menggeluti fikiran-fikiran beliau dalam naskah-naskah yang akan datang.

A brilliant book, I think Yuval is a master story-teller, to compress 100,000,000 year of human history into a single book with 500 pages is already an outstanding feat. Although I don’t think the book was a pure scientific book because he also discussed metaphysical things such as religion, belief, God, which is not empirically testable. 

He started his book with the notion that we are not the only human, along with Sapiens, evolution gave us “cousins” such as Erectus, Denisova, and Neanderthals. But for some inconclusive reason or reasons, our cousins did not make it and become extinct, we, Sapiens, survived, thus our story begins.

Our first revolution that separate us from other species was the Cognitive Revolution. This is when we acquired the ability to communicate with each other in the form of language. But other animal communicate with each other too, what make ours different? Our cognitive ability enables us to talk about things that we cannot see, touched, and smell, or in other words, we can created fictional realities such as religion, nation, and tribe. This myth helps us do collective works of complex in nature with people we don’t intimately know. These collaboration abilities are what set us apart from other species. Yuval put 150 as a threshold for any collective to work properly, without a collective myth, beyond this threshold the group began to break. Our cognitive abilities to create a common myth in our collective minds enable us to surpass that threshold.

 Starting with our ancestral forager, Yuval admitted that reconstructing the stories from this age is very difficult. Apart from no written record, the artefacts were very limited, most of the item used are woods which are perishable. People called it the Stone Age which to him was a mistake, it should be called the Wood Age, although few of these woods artefact survived under rare conditions. Ancient painting on cave’s wall also cannot help us tell their stories. These painting can be speculated on what does it symbolised, but the speculation did not give us a clue of what our ancestor if thinking, but rather it tells us the bias and the thinking of our scholars who tried to interpret them. 

As Sapiens spread across the earth, to different continent and to remote islands, they (or we) did not spread in peace. The spread is accompanied by the extinction of other species. The first wave of extinction is when our forager ancestor spread. The second wave is during the agricultural revolution. The third wave and current one is the result of industrial revolution. Yuval rejected the motion that we co-exist with nature before the industrial revolution, as the matter of fact, we are the deadliest animal wreaking havoc on the ecosystem since our beginning. But he agreed that the scale of the third wave of extinction is unprecedented, whilst the first two only limited to animals on the land, our industrial adventures spared no one including the one that live deep in the oceans.

We often think that during the agricultural revolution, we domesticated plant such as wheat for our benefit. Yuval flip this over, instead, wheat domesticated Sapiens. Whilst we were forager, we enjoyed variety of food in our diet, our life is simpler, we hunt for food then we can do whatever we want. But after wheat domesticated Sapiens, we were put into houses and laboured day after day, tending and nurturing wheat, our diet become less varied, our lives turn more laborious. The agricultural society according to Yuval was a luxury trap, but once one tribe settled down, the others must follow suit or perished. Agriculture produced more food which help the tribe sustained large families, the tribe that did not settled will be easily outnumbered and defeated. Agricultural society is not a peaceful society, they are violent, but as they grew bigger so do the system of government, they transformed into kingdoms and the level of violence grew smaller.

In biological term, there is no creator, declared Yuval. People who adheres to any religion might feel restless a little bit reading this line of argument. Here I found that Yuval, take a same approach as Richard Dawkins, to use science and biology as a tool to advance atheism. Science on the other hand, should be neutral on the question of God, this is due to the mere fact that metaphysical argument is not testable by science. Science only can inform us with an objective reality back by empirical evidence. But there is no harm in reading his view, its a tempting and interesting just-so stories, because of this conflation, I don’t think the book is a pure scientific book.                

One of the religion, criticized by Yuval was Humanism. The core doctrine of this religion is “follow your heart”. But human heart according to Yuval was a double agent, who always shaped by what we hear every day. So, our desire are easily manipulated by the bombardment of consumer advertisement, we ended up adhering to romantic consumerism – which is to fulfil our desire that was created by the media. This manipulation directed us indirectly to try different experience, and consuming the never-ending production of consumer goods. We buy things that we don’t need with money we don’t have, still we will not be fulfil because tomorrow there will be a different thing to try, different trend to follow, we will wake up tomorrow and chasing again.

When our agrarian culture transform village into kingdom, we face a mental limitation. Complex system of government needs to collect tax and store volumes of mathematical data about debt, income etc. These mathematical data cannot be stored even in the mind of the most intelligent man. Thus born a new system to store data, first known was by the Sumerians in the Mesopotamia, these advance system was called ‘writing’. The first recorded name in history belong to an accountant by the name of ‘Kushim’.   

In defence of homosexuality, Yuval argue that what ever that is possible is biologically natural, in his view its culture that prohibit certain act, not biology. He went further saying that our understanding of what is “natural” and “un-natural” is coming not from biology, but from theology. From rational point of view, this opens up a wide range of possibilities, even criminal one. Thus, one can said that what Hitler does is biologically natural because it’s possible? He then painted a bleak picture of the purpose of existence. He went on saying that from purely evolutionary biological perspective our organ does not have any purpose, mouth for example are not only meant to eat, we use mouth to kiss, speak, or opening a pack of potato chips. But his argument contradicted with his own line, later when he tried to explain the evolution of organs, he said that the organ evolved to do “a particular function”.

In realm of political philosophy, Yuval argues that in our time, we try to reconcile the value of “equality” and “individual freedom”, these two, although regularly discussed in tandem, are two contradicting values. If you want to give people equality, you have to curtail individual freedom, for example by taxing the rich more we are curtailing his right to use his own money in whatever pursuit he sees fit. When we want to give people individual freedom, we have to sacrifice equality, the rich may have the freedom to use their own wealth for his individual desires, even if that means evicting poor families from his land. But Yuval noted that this contradiction is the engine of our culture, the debate sharpen our mind and excite us to be creative.

Analyzing the direction of history, Yuval noticed that there is the emergence of ‘world order’. Previously humans (or Sapiens) lived separately in their own world, with limited to non-existent relationship with others. But in macro perspective, these worlds united and begin to resemble a global order. Cultures blended, some diluted, some become dominant, culture become increasingly global in nature. Yuval pointed out three drivers for this unification. One is imperialism, that conquer other people and culture and treated them all equally as their subject. Second is the universal religion such as Islam and Christianity that break from local religion, they believe that all people share the same universal God. Third was capitalism, that work to unify the globe as a single market.

Discussing the role of imperialism, Yuval noted that there is no absolute good or bad in them, you can collect their crime and fill a book, you can also collect their benefit and fill another book. As imperialism has been in the world for a long time, many of what we have today are in fact is an imperial legacy. He pointed out that the culture of drinking tea in India, was never there until the British came. There were no ‘pure’ culture that does not have an influence from previous imperialism. If Indian nationalism want to have authentic culture and erased all what the British inherit to them, they will have to solve the culture that previous conqueror left, Taj Mahal for example was the work of Muslim Conqueror, as they go deeper and deeper, they will just have to defend one imperialism after another. Before the Muslim came there were Gupta Empire, before that Kushan Empire, the list goes on, so which one is the authentic one?

The Nazis were the product of Darwinian evolution logic. According to Yuval, the Nazis fought Communism and liberal humanism because they believed in natural selection, only the fittest should survive and reproduced. Other system which allowed the weak to thrived and reproduced will eventually pollute future human gene causing them to extinct.

Interestingly, the book also asked a question, why we studied history? The same question historian such as Howard Zinn once asked. For Yuval, history is not a means to predict the future, but to understand our present, why we were arranged in such a way, and to understand that in historical perspective, they can be alternative arrangement, that the social arrangement today is not natural, it is just a product of one historical possibility and there are a whole lot more possibilities that can be explored and realized. 

Commenting on the progress of science, Yuval contended that science did not progress independently of politics, ideology or religion. Because there are many things that we can study, but which one is important and need to study first? This is not a scientific question, and need to be answered using ideology or religion. Furthermore our resources are limited, to fund a research study scientist need to justify them to government to get a grant, government of course will decide based on politics and his ideological leaning, again science will progress on path determined by ideologies.

The saddest part of history in book which I found was the wiping out of the natives of Tasmania, after 10,000 years of living in isolation, when the British came, they were wiped out systematically, to the last woman, man, and child. The British and their Christian missionaries tried to civilized and convert them, but they are not interested. The surviving natives became melancholic, lost interest in life, and chose death. Even after death, they are hunted, dissected, studied, and their corpses put in the museum. The last natives of Tasmania was a woman named Truganini.

There are many other interesting points in the book, but one I think, should receive a mention is this. Toward the end of the book, Yuval asked an interesting question, does the progression of history bring more happiness to human being? If not, what is the use of the French Revolution? If happiness can be achieved using biochemistry, why do we need ideologies and revolutions? We can consume prozac to increase our serotonin level. When discussing the meaning of life, Yuval wrote that happiness consist in seeing life as meaningful and worthwhile, there is cognitive and ethical component to happiness, and it depends on our values that we hold. Quoting Nietzsche, he wrote “if you have a why to live, you can bear almost any how”. And that should be the positive note to end this review.

The book Oh Crap! I Have a Toddler: Tackling These Crazy Awesome Years – No time-outs Needed by Jamie Glowacki is blunt and funny. If you are searching for a polite book, then this is not your book, but if you seek practicality – and language you can easily understand, then you want might to give it a try.

Jamie started her book by explaining to parent that their children from 0-6 years old are in the process called individuation – that is they are coming to a conscious that they are a separate human being from their parent, capable of making their own choice. But as they have literally inadequate experience in this world, they needed their parent to survive.

If you read a lot of parenting book, you will notice one trend – they tended to contradict each other. If you read book by Faber & Mazlish for example, they advocate for giving choices to children. In some area, there are some sense if we are to use Faber & Mazlish’s approach, for example choosing a pajama, but if could be dangerous in other situation such as crossing a street. Jamie contended that 0-6 are the years of governing, not guiding, as children brain is not yet capable of making complex and long-term choices, but for simple situation, of course they can, and we should give them.

She contended that it is the child job to push your limit and testing things. They are learning every day, even if we are not talking, they learn by observing and feeling. That is why, the first important thing in her book, is set up rules and boundaries, so that the children can be creative in a safe environment. They can explore within safe boundaries. You should strive to be authoritative but not authoritarian. Because they are very new to the world, everything is an exploration for them, and we the adult might mistakenly seem them as a bad behavior. In reality they were just curious how the floor would look like if they were all covered with talcum powder!

Parenting is also about the parent!

Jamie also stress out that parenting is not just about your child, it’s also about you, your partner, and your marriage. I personally loved this advice. Some parent devout their whole life to the child, they become the center of their universe, at the cost of their personal well-being and the health of their relationship with their partner in their marriage. This is wrong. When they crash and burn, they will pull down their children together with them, all parties stand to lose. That is why caring for your partner and marriage must be on the agenda, when this is healthy, it will become an umbrella protecting your child and enable them to grow and flourish.

How we connect with our children, was one of my favorite themes in the book. The need for us to be there 100 percent with our children. If we watch movie together, and wanted it to be a connection time, we should watch with them 100 percent with attention without scrolling our phone. But if we gave them screen time for us to take a break, we should say so, so that he will not expect us to sit with them. Jamie stressed out that short 100 percent connection time is much more valuable and productive, then spending time together without our thought never actually “be there”.

Phone is really a gap that create disconnection between parent and their children. While many advise us to put it away, Jamie understood that parenting can sometimes make us lonely and isolated. Being with a child all day is not the same as spending time with adults where you can understand each other’s. But we had a choice to make, whether we want to connect with a child or the world, it can’t be both at the same time. Its better for us to put 100 percent attention to a child until their emotional tank full, then we can spend time on the phone 100 percent. Dividing the attention will not work.

The other point that I think was an important one raised by Jamie, is the issue of parent’s self-care. Especially the first 5 years when the kid entered your life. In these crucial times, self-care is brutal, sleep deprivation and emotional stress slowly creeps in. There’s always a push and pull between partners on whose turn to take the time and look after the kids. This issue is an important one, because there is no family without parent, so a healthy parent, both physically and relationshiply are important for the kid’s development.

You dont have all the time!

Then there is the issue of time management, yes, we were told that busy is good, so we always keep ourselves and our kids busy! But that is not the case, you need a time to not being busy. There is no problem of letting your kids being bored, Jamie rightly pointed out that boredom is the gateway where we find creativity, when we did not plan anything for our kids, they have time to think for themselves what they want to do, what they want to play. If we keep planning their day up to minutes-detail, then there is no room for them to get creative and work their wonders.

Although different parenting books might give you different opinion, different approach, some contradicting each other, but what I found useful in it is that all of them always been a good reminder. A reminder that you are new to child rearing, you can’t master it without experiencing yourself. Jamie made a good reminder that, whatsoever our expectation was about parenting, we don’t know anything about it until we have our own child to take care of. Until we go through that sleepless night, all that tantrums, all that screaming and shouting, that is when we understand what is parenting actually is.

One unconventional thing I found in the book is that Jamie freely recommend TED talks for parent to further explore their conquest for parenting knowledge, I find talk by Gever Tulley on letting our children do dangerous things very enlightening. The book also gave a broader range meaning of creativity, especially what it means for little children.

The topic on sleep window do ring a bell. I for instant felt very sleepy at 10 pm that is my sleep window, and if I missed it, I will only be sleepy again at 2 am. Jamie make it as an utmost important points about sleeping, how sleep help your child and their behavior, you should let them sleep more, not less! She also talks about being firm, being firm means that you mean what you said. If you said something, you had to do it to mean it, this is related on setting boundaries, so that children understand where things stand.

You got this!

In conclusion, what I get from this book is that, your parenting needs to have a flexibility, if something is not working, you should change it, don’t be afraid of straying from your original parenting philosophy. Jamie ended the book by saying “you got this!”.

Oleh: Ahmad Akmal bin Sabri

Saya membaca buku “Berfikir tentang Pemikiran” sebanyak dua kali. Membaca kali kedua supaya dapat menulis ulasan buku ini dengan lebih baik. Pada pendapat saya, buku ini sangat sesuai dengan pemuda yang masih atau pernah terlibat dengan gerakan Islam, usrah dan ada semangat islah yakni membaiki masyarakat. Kalau tidak pernah terlibat, pembaca mungkin akan sedikit terkejut.

Buku ini juga sesuai untuk sesiapa sahaja yang berminat dengan isu politik negara dan luar negara dan bukan seorang yang penyokong “fanatik’’. Penulis neutral dalam isu politik dan mengkritik semua parti.

Saya rasa tema buku ini juga tema berfikir dan pandangan dari sudut pandang yang jauh. Penulis membawakan kisah Carl Sagan yang melihat gambar bumi dari jarak 6 billion kilometer yang diambil dari kamera Voyager-1 iaitu gambar bumi yang kelihatan sangat kecil. Pada pendapat saya, itu satu kisah pedoman yang baik untuk seorang pemikir. Kadang-kadang manusia perlu melihat dari skop yang lebih jauh, luas untuk apa-apa persoalan atau masalah. Lihatlah dunia luar, jangan melihat dalam kelompok sendiri sahaja. Di dalam buku ini penulis banyak memberi rujukan dan contoh-contoh dari pandangan luar dan besar dan saya akan petik beberapa dalam ulasan ini.

Ada pepatah Arab lebih kurang begini maksudnya tangan atau kuku sendiri lebih tahu di mana bahagian yang gatal untuk digaru. Hazrul Hazwan pernah cakap pepatah ini dalam program usrah di Moscow, saya cari di google tidak jumpa pula. Tapi pernah ternampak di dalam buku Hamka. Maksudnya manusia lain-lain rasanya dan lain juga apa yang membuatkan manusia tersentuh. Ulasan saya ini ulasan yang general dan sedikit pendapat peribadi untuk dikongsi dan akan menyentuh beberapa topik yang diutarakan oleh penulis yang bagi saya menarik untuk diamati.
Dalam buku ini saya ingin menyentuh beberapa topik yang ditulis oleh penulis.

Dakwah

Isu dakwah, tarbiyah dan pengerakan, penulis memberi mesej dan nasihat untuk pendakwah dan gerakan dakwah. Dakwah perlukan kefahaman, tidak cukup dengan semangat sahaja. Penulis menukilkan kisah dari seorang penulis bernama Naíma Robert dalam bukunya “From my sister’s lips”. Nai’ma menceritakan bahawa kebanyakan wanita barat memilih Islam adalah kerana kefahaman mereka setelah mengkaji, bertanya dan membaca mengenai Islam. Dakwah juga perlukan pengorbanan dan keikhlasan. Penulis memberi contoh kenalan-kenalan beliau yang beliau segani dan salah satu sebab beliau terus konsisten dalam jalan dakwah adalah kerana contoh-contoh yang baik dari murabbi-murabbi beliau.

Sebenarnya dengan berkorban membuatkan hati anak didikan kita lebih terpaut dan itulah juga cara Nabi. Ada pautan hati dalam berdakwah. Saya pernah membaca satu kisah sahabat nabi yang memberitahu, mereka rasa macam merekalah yang paling disayangi nabi dek kerana layan Baginda terhadap mereka. Isu ikhlas pula saya setuju dengan pandangan penulis bahawa tidak salah mengwar-warkan kebaikan kita supaya dapat dicontohi oleh masyarakat. Sekarang ini kisah-kisah tidak bermanfaat dan trend semasa seperti menari tepi kereta lebih dipublisitikan berbanding perkara yang baik. Dakwah juga perlukan konsitensi. Pembaca mesti terkejut kerana penulis membaca contoh ulasan Noam Chomsky tentang gerakan parti komunis. Gerakan tersebut kuat pada waktu itu kerana continuity dan kosistensi manusia-manusia yang terlibat.

Di dalam isu dakwah, saya sangat suka dengan hujung Bab 5 “Sisi-sisi yang tidak dapat ditinggalkan’’ dalam bahagian “siapa yang perlu berdakwah”. Bagi saya, semua umat Islam yang rasa selesa dalam kelompok sendiri harus membacanya. Penulis menceritakan pengalaman beliau di Saint Petersburg bergaul dengan orang-orang Uzbekistan. Untuk pengetahuan semua, Imam Bukhari yang terkenal dengan kitab Sohih Bukhari berasal dari sana. Bukhara adalah merupakan bandar di dalam Uzbekistan. Tetapi sedihnya kebanyakan orang Uzbekistan yang penulis bergaul sangat kurang kefahaman dan praktis mereka dalam Islam. Mereka tidak berpuasa dengan konsisten dan malah ada juga yang meminum arak. Pada pendapat penulis, mereka hanyalah mangsa sistem sekularisma yang mencengkam wilayah mereka yang diwarisi dari Kesatuan Soviet yang komunis dan ateis. Sekiranya mereka lahir di negara yang mengamalkan Islam, dalam keluarga yang mengamalkan Islam, dan dibesarkan dengan didikan Islam mungkin mereka tidak sebegitu. Pada pendapat saya, kita sepatutnya bersyukur dengan nikmat kefahaman tentang Islam. Kadang-kadang kita ini baik bukan sebab diri kita sendiri. Kita hanya beruntung, bernasib baik sahaja. Saya dahulu macam rasa marah dengan kenalan-kenalan yang tidak solat tetapi saya rasa mungkin isu itu berakar dari didikan zaman kecil lagi. Dari marah saya menjadi kasihan.

Di sebalik kisah sedih tadi, penulis berkongsi juga kisah yang baik tentang orang Uzbekistan, bernama Hamidullah. Beliau merantau mencari kerja, sementara itu beliau membuka kelas pengajian al-Quran percuma di masjid. Begitulah semangat Islam yang ada dalam diri beliau. Penulis juga disapa oleh orang tua di sana yang masih belajar iqra, mengenal huruf arab dan mengatakan kita sangat beruntung. Bagi saya kisah ini sepatutnya memberi semangat dan keinsafan tentang diri sendiri. Adanya insan-insan ikhlas seperti Hamidullah, Islam akan bersinar semula dan sama ada kita terlibat atau tidak, janji Allah pasti datang.

Untuk pengetahuan penulis, saya berkongsi kisah ini dengan seorang pemuda yang terlibat dengan tabligh. Saya jumpa pemuda itu di surau ketika saya berehat, menunggu isteri saya di klinik kesihatan. Ketika itu saya memang tengah membaca buku tuan penulis, dan saya gembira dapat berkongsi kisah orang Uzbekistan ini dengan pemuda tersebut.

Politik

Bagi saya bab 10 “Kritik terhadap politik tempatan dan antarabangsa” adalah bab paling panjang dalam buku ini. Saya paham apa yang penulis cuba sampaikan. Apakah itu demokrasi? Demokrasi ini sistem Islamkah? Jika Islam benarkan, acuan yang bagaimana yang boleh? Bagi saya , semua manusia perlu faham politik ini bukanlah isu 0 atau 1 semata-semata.

Kebanyakannya dalam ‘’grey area’’. Kalau seseorang terlalu jumud dalam isu politik, bagi saya dia tidak membaca. Isu politik juga sangat penting untuk kita terbuka. Di zaman sahabat, gerakan Syiah ini adalah lebih kepada gerakan politik, kini ia berubah kepada gerakan agama yang bagi saya sudah menyeleweng kefahaman mereka tentang Islam.

Dalam topik ini saya suka isu American Exceptionalism. Saya rasa ini skop besar seperti melihat bumi dari jauh jugak untuk kita memahami isu politik dan demokrasi dengan lebih luas. Bagi saya, isu exceptionalism dan rasa exclusive  ini pun terlibat dalam gologan kecil juga, seperti rasa kelompok sendiri lebih baik (keluarga, politik, bangsa) dari kelompok lain.

Antara topik dari sudut pandang yang jauh yang dibawa penulis adalah tentang autobiografi Nelson Mandela, “Long Walk to Freedom” dalam isu menangkap imiginasi rakyat biasa. Bagi saya semua rakyat perlu tahu tentang kisah ini supaya kita boleh bertanya pada diri sendiri. Betul ke ahli politik ini ambil kisah tentang kita seperti Nelson Mandela?

Isu kesatuan juga dibincangkan. Berpecah memang melemahkan sesuatu organisasi, tetapi memang menjadi lumrah manusia akan berbeza pendapat. Dalam bab kritikan tentang perpecahan pegerakan Islam dan parti politik, penulis ada memberi contoh bagaimana negara Eropah Bersatu membentuk European Union, dan berjaya membawa wilayah mereka menjadi satu kuasa kuat yang mampu menyaingi hegemoni Amerika walaupun sebenarnya mereka berbeza.

Topik politik ala Machiavellianisme juga suatu yang baru untuk saya. Quote “it is much safer to be feared that loved’’ itu sangat tepat. Penulis menerangkan hasil kajian Machiavelli tentang sejarah-sejarah politik dahulu, bagaimana kuasa pemerintahan boleh jatuh dan bagaimana ia boleh berkuasa dengan stabil. Point penting dari hasil kajian beliau adalah moral dan politik adalah sesuatu yang tiada kaitan.

Perjuangan

Semua manusia adalah pejuang, pentingkan hal diri sendiri juga adalah perjuangan. Tetapi kita perlu lebih dari itu. Penulis membawa kisah dari buku seorang penulis, Profesor Norman G. Finkelstein bertajuk “The Holocaust Industry” . Finkelstein mengkritik Israel dalam buku dan hasil kajiannya tentang Holocaust walaupun beliau adalah seorang Yahudi. Beliau aktivis yang aktif berjuang untuk hak rakyat Palestin. Begitulah contoh yang patut kita ambil. Seorang yang setelah mengetahui kebenaran, memeluk erat dengan pegangan itu. Fikelstein walaupun seorang Yahudi, beliau melawan bangsanya sendiri, memilih berjuang menjangkaui perjuangan peribadi. Ini pengajaran yang penting dalam tema perjuangan.

Berfikir, Berdebat, dan Memberi Pendapat

Isu berdebat ini quote ini sangat penting bagi saya.

“The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him ‘’ – Leo Tolstoy .

Dalam beberapa hari lepas, saya berbeza pendapat, berdebat di Facebook dan terus saya teringat quote ini.

Pada pendapat saya kebanyakan manusia sudah ada pegangan masing-masing ketika berdebat. Susah untuk kita bersemuka, berdebat untuk menjadi pendengar dahulu, memahami buah fikiran lawan kita dan kemudian berubah. Saya pernah berborak dengan penulis sewaktu di dalam pengajian di Selatan Malaysia. Penulis berkongsi cerita tentang debat Sunnah-Syiah di Perak. Penulis ada nukil kisah ini di buku beliau. Di akhir debat tersebut, pendebat Syiah berkata beliau pun tidak mahu sesat, semua orang mencari kebenaran. Penulis dan saya setuju dengan kenyataan itu. Semua orang hendak berada di pihak benar dan siapa ingin di pihak yang salah (kecuali ada kepentingan dan isu ego seperti Arab Quraish).

Kadang- kadang kita perlu tahu sebab apa kebenaran bagi orang yang lain dari kita berbeza pula. Iya hidayah milik Tuhan. Penulis juga pernah memberitahu saya yang beliau membaca buku tentang atheist, di dalam buku ini beliau nyatakan juga tentang bacaan beliau dan mendengar perbincangan orang ateis seperti Richard Dawkins. Bagi saya itu tidak salah dan mencari kebenaran memerlukan kita berfikir, menganalisa. Mungkin tersalah dalam apa-apa pendapat itu lumrah.

Penulis membawa skop pandang jauh tentang isu mencari kebeneranan dan berani untuk berfikir dengan berkongsi kisah Aristotle. Aristotle membuat kesimpulan bumi berbentuk bulat , bukan mendatar dan bumi merupakan pusat alam. Matahari, bulan mengelilingi bumi. Di zaman itu semua orang menganggap bumi ini mendatar. Kemudian, setelah manusia semakin maju dalam bidang sains dan astronomi, ternyata pandangan bumi adalah bulat betul tetapi bumi adalah pusat alam adalah salah. Namun, Aristotle masih dikenang sebagai seorang pemikir yang hebat walaupun model bumi beliau tidak tepat sepenuhnya. Beliau adalah seorang pemikir yang berani.

Teringat saya tentang tulisan komen di facebook. Di dalam isu Syiah, seorang ustaz membawakan hasil kajian beliau dengan dalil-dalil dari sejarah dan juga bukti tentang salah faham Syiah, tentang agama, dan kenyataan-kenyataan dari pihak Syiah. Kemudian seorang memberi komen yang berbunyi begini:

“Takkanlah Tok Guru tak tahu tentang ini. Aku tak percaya kau. Aku lebih percaya Tok Guru aku”.

Begitu dangkalnya manusia sebegini. Tidak mengunakan anugerah akal dari Tuhan untuk berfikir, hanya mengikut sahaja. Saya sangat marah ketika membaca komen tersebut. Saya yakin saranan membaca dalam Islam juga bermaksud membaca, menganalisa dan berfikir. Itulah saranan yang pertama dalam Islam dan sangat cocok untuk zaman ini. Owh isu fictional reality juga menarik.

Ekonomi

Penulis memberi penerangan tentang Kapitalisme dan Komunisme. Ada istilah-istilah baru yang saya dapat belajar seperti kaum proletariat, borjuis dan nama-nama seperti Adam Smith dan Karl Marx. Walaupun pemikiran komunis, sosialis agak radikal kerana isu tidak percaya kepada kewujudan tuhan, tetapi idea komunis ada menyumbang juga dalam sistem sekarang. Sistem bekerja 8 jam sehari merupakah hasil perjuangan idea tersebut. Saya baru tahu tentang itu setelah diterangkan oleh penulis di dalam buku ini.

Antara topik yang menarik bagi saya adalah kajian dari buku bertajuk “Why Nation Fail”. Ia adalah kajian berkenaan faktor sesebuah negara maju dari segi ekonomi. Adakah faktor geografi, hasil bumi, atau faktor lain? Kesimpulan buku tersebut, faktor terbesar adalah dari polisi negara dan institusi politik negara tersebut. Polisi yang elok membuat rakyat kreatif. Saya ada kawan yang cemerlang dan ada idea yang bernas dalam bisnes. Sekarang beliau berjaya juga (bukan niaga kedai makan atau jual produk kecantikan).

Penambahbaikan

Saya tahu sebahagian dari kandungan buku adalah dari blog penulis. Ada sebahagian topik penulis mengunakan ganti nama diri aku, kebanyakan gunakan perkataan saya. Mungkin perlu selari?

Kemudian, saya rasa kalau disusun kembali sebahagian tajuk dalam tajuk besar lagi baik. Seperti tajuk dakwah dan kemudian subtopik pandangan penulis, tajuk politik, dan ada subtopic pendapat penulis. Tetapi saya faham konsep buku ini, seperti travelog. Buku Ustaz Hasrizal berbentuk begini juga. Ada satu perengan yang saya rasa kurang jelas. Muka surat 263, perengan ke-3.

Kesimpulan

Terakhir, saya berharap 10 atau 20 tahun akan datang penulis dapat mengkritik padangan penulis sendiri yang penulis rasa mungkin isu sekian-sekian sudah berubah atau tersalah. Haha review buku seperti sinopsis pula. – AAS.

Tulisan ini merupakan ulasan bagi buku “Berfikir Tentang Pemikiran” oleh Syed Ahmad Fathi, terbitan The Independent Insight pada tahun 2018. Ulasan oleh saudara Ahmad Akmal bin Sabri ini pertama kali disiarkan di laman Goodreads.com pada 16 Disember 2019.

Reading history book is much more easier than reading economic or political science book, that I must say. Much of this, I think, is the human inclination toward stories rather than abstract theories, rhetoric, and argument. It took me just 11 days to finish Firas Alkhateeb’s book Lost Islamic History: Reclaiming Muslim Civilization from the Past.

To compress 1400 years of history of Islamic civilization into 274 pages is very hard, if not impossible. To do this, of course, you have to pick and choose on what is important, what to be included, what to exclude and what is history and what is not. This selection  is exposed to the bias of individual historian, all historian cannot escape from this dichotomy, Alkhateeb included.

 Alkhateeb made ‘lost’ as a title to fill the gap that American textbook left about the Islamic history in their teaching of world’s history. So, for average Muslim, who received Islamic education, much of the book is pretty similar to what they were thought in school, especially on the early history about Prophet Muhammad and the first four caliphs. There are a lot of interesting stories, speculation, myth, but none were dealt in details as this work is a compression of 1400 years of history. But all in all, it was a pleasant read, one that spark your brain cell to have a long thinking.

Commenting on how Muslim scholar such as al-Razi and Ibn Sina contributing to the human knowledge, which further the studies of previous scholar such as Galen and Hippocrates, which was used to lay the pillar of modern medical science in the West, Alkhateeb dispelled  the theory of ‘the clash of civilization’ stressing that civilization not only interact in aggressive and warring attitude. They also inspire each other and advance the work of each other in many fields in harmonious ways.

If there is one thing that is new from the book, at least for the Muslim who are well versed with Islamic history, is that Alkhateeb is successful in breaking the romanticized narrative of Islamic history. As we often thought that across the time there were great unity among the Muslim, the fall of one Islamic empire is succeeded by another, politely taking turns. This was not the case. The division is bloody, especially after the killing of Uthman, the third caliph. There are a lot of politicking and civil war, in fact in the 900s, there were three dynasties claiming the caliphate: the Abbasids, the Fatimids, and the Umayyads.

The saddest part of Islamic history may be the sacking of Baghdad by the Mongols on 10 February 1258. Not only the population of estimated 200,000 to 1 million was massacred, but the fall of Baghdad also means that hundreds years of scholarship in the field of mathematics, science, history, lost forever as the Mongols razed down the ancient institution of House of Wisdom and dumped all the books into the Tigris River, turning the river black with ink.

The story of Islam in Spain also were discussed, from my point of view, in adequate detail, although the student of history might want to find other sources which delve in it deeper. From the founding of Ummayyad Caliphate of Al-Andalus by Abdul Rahman Al-Dakhil until the fall of the last Muslim Kingdom in Granada under Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil by the Spaniards. The most interesting part of that history is how the Berber Muslim of North Africa frequently crossed the strait of Gibraltar to defend their Muslim brethrens, first by the Murabitun, then by the Muwahhidun, but in the end the infighting among the Muslim brought down the Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula.

As a Malaysian, I chuckled a little bit as I read how Alkhateeb wrote the issue of how the Malay identify greatly their identity with Muslim identity. Not that it was wrong, it kind of funny to read how our culture were written in the international writing. He even quoted ‘masuk melayu’ the term given when someone embraced Islam with the meaning that he had enter the realm of the Malay. This issue actually very contentious at home, as the Muslim in Malaysia want their non-Muslim brother to understand that you can keep your culture even if you embraced Islam.

We often think that Mustafa Kamal, was the one responsible to secularized Turkey from their Islamic roots. But, the fact was it started much earlier, from the reign of Abdulmecid I (1839-1861) which brought in the era of Tanzimat or re-organization. During this era the legal code was changed from Shari’a to the French system in favour of a liberal and secular Western approach.

As the Islamic empire crumbled, the Muslim was instilled with nationalism, their land were carved under colonialism and imperialism. In the end they entered the modern world as individual nation states, much of which the boundaries of these new nation states was drawn by their previous colonial master. Ending his book, Alkhateeb noted that in this modern world, the Muslim now are in the cross road. To return to their former glory, some revivalist scholar preached that they need to return back to their faith, at the same time emerged a new class of scholar that preached that they should not return to the past but embraced the new ideals of the modern world. These two ideas are still contesting with each other, and their future will be determined by how this contest played out.       

I was naive to think that I could understand Marx’s thinking by simply picking up the Communist Manifesto out of the blue and start reading it. Indeed, after this futile exercise several years ago, I understand and remember nothing except for the call for workers to unite, the last line of the manifesto.

Paul D’Amato did a brilliant job in this title explaining to layman reader the essence of Marxist thinking. It is a perfect place for any person to begin their journey to understand Marx’s elaborated thinking. I discover the book some time ago when I asked myself a question “If we gave everyone equal decent living wages to everyone, what will be the motivation for people to work, innovate and use their creativity?” – I landed on one of D’Amato writings on the net and discovered his book.

In his introduction, D’Amato exposes the need to have an alternative thinking to solve various social issues. The raison d’état for this need is the failing of capitalism – or the uncontrolled mess created by modern capitalism to be inherited to future generation. Capitalism created a huge gap between the rich and poor, often unbalance with unimaginable wealth and great misery stood side-by-side. He gave a stark example where per capita income of Sub-Saharan Africa stood at $490 whereas per capita subsidy for European cow is $913.

Marx was heavily influenced by Hegel’s philosophy, in fact he was considered a Young Hegelian during his early years. Initially he considered the workers as a suffering being, not a shaper of the world social condition. He still believed that change must come from philosophy, not crude material struggle. But after witnessing French workers commitment, workers strike in Britain, Germany, and France, Marx ceased to view workers as a secondary component to social change.

Marx materialist method insist on the importance of material change instead of only abstract value, ideologies, or theories. In the absence of enough food, equality as a value means slow death – an equality of suffering. Working class, now, viewed by Marx as active agent for their own liberation. When he wrote that “The philosophers have merely interpreted the world; the point, however, is to change it” he is not saying that abstract ideas are meaningless, it is meaningless if its stay on its own without any change on the physical and material ground, idea must transform material changes in society to be considered useful.

Through this thinking materialist rejected the idea that “people are poor because they are lazy, if they work harder, they can become wealthy”, which suggested human has unrestricted “free-will”. The fact is however, people were poor because of material condition such as factories close, wages are low, or people fell ill and can’t work. These all are material condition that can be change, its not a matter of abstract theory.

Because Marx was heavily influenced by Hegel, D’Amato discussed in adequate depth the concept of Hegelian Dialectics, which I enjoyed very much. He discussed how the death of old idea, and the birth of the new idea, is not separate and distinct, but one that negate from the other, the old idea create a condition for a new idea to emerge. Its like a plant which grew out from a seed, it grew into a new shape and form, yet both are the same plant. Marx applied this Hegelian Dialectics with materialism for social change. He viewed that the development of new society only made possible with the abundant material produced by capitalism. In other words, capitalism provided material condition to create a new socialist society. For example, the efficiency of food production makes it possible to eradicate hunger, the material condition exists, what’s needed is a new distribution system.

Other than Hegel, the book also discussed Thomas Hobbes in the chapter of Marxist view of history. Hobbes stated that a state, separate from the society is needed as an alternative to war. The state, in Hobbesian view, acted as referee that regulate social brawl, regulate conflict between different parties within society to maintain order by exerting its coercive force. But this view is flawed as it assumes that the state could be neutral, in reality the state also had interest in every issue. He explained how Marxist rejected this justification for power, stating that, through the writing of Engels, that the concept of state came at the later part of history and does not arise in the earlier time when the society exist in its egalitarian and classless form.

The discussion on economics, or Marxist economics was confined in one chapter in this book. It started with the flawed mainstream economic models that cannot predict economic crises, the mainstream economics dressed up themselves as “science” but it isn’t. He then put forward the labor theory of value (LTV) which was the foundation of Marx’s theory on capitalism. The theory supposed that value came from workers labor, and to create profit, capitalist cannot simply mark-up the price because these will cancel each other’s out in the commerce, they need to pay workers less than what their labor produce, the surplus become profit. This is the core of injustice towards workers, the book also discussed workers condition in company such as UPS and Amazon where workers literally managed and treated like “robots”.

In the capitalist system “over-production” means that a product was overproduced and cannot be profitably sell for profit. The supply and demand of overproduction does not correspond to human needs. That is why we can have “grain-glut” yet millions of people go hungry every year. India have 200 million malnourished people, yet India export 5,000,000 metric tonnes of rice in 1995.

Socialism according two D’Amato was possible and necessary for two main reason, one, the material abundance created by capitalism. This abundance makes it possible for everyone to live with dignity, without hunger, what socialist advocated is the distribution system base on human need not greed. Two, is the periodic crisis brought by capitalism, socialist advocate for a much more sustainable system, that is not based on short term profit, but by long term sustainable planning. The systemic change also possible, by the creation of a new set of people by capitalism, the proletariat.

Revolution is not a fancy vacation. Through out history it filled with blood, the question then is, can we reform the system without revolution? Or change the system gradually within the bound of constitution? D’Amato brought a wealth of historical example on the failure of the “reformist” and “constitutionalist”. One of them is the killing of Allende of Chile, he concluded that the ruling power will not give the key to power and privilege easily, it needs to be wrestled. To make sure that the power can be wrestled, the military must be on their side, and remain on their side once they have the power, so that restructuring can be carried out without falling back to the counter-revolution.

The history of Russian revolution also was discussed, albeit somehow briefly. D’Amato take the readers on how the Revolution was won, the tactics and strategies played out by Lenin and the Bolsheviks, and also how the revolution was lost, degraded into autocratic dictatorship of Stalinism. One of the strategies of Lenin was to never halt the work even though if the organization was thrown into illegality, the work must continue underground, according to the current condition, and resurface once condition allowed. The Russian Revolution failed because of the lack of material condition at that time, in order for socialism to succeed it needs material abundance, something that Russia was lacking. This disadvantage put a halt to the revolution from becoming, in Trotsky’s word “permanent revolution”, that is revolution works permanently until all her aim achieved. Permanent Revolution also means that it will not stop at national border, socialism cannot survive when confined in a nation as an island surrounded by an ocean of capitalism.    

At the core of his argument, D’Amato insist on the definition of socialism, it not about nationalization, but what important is that workers control over production and distribution. What we have today is abundance of produce but disproportionately distributed, the system distributed product base one profit. Socialism on the other hand will base their distribution on human needs. This distribution system can only be achieved through internationalism, it cannot survive as island of socialism in the middle of capitalist ocean, as the failing of Soviet Union has shown.

Quoting the English writer William Morris on profit:

“It is profit which draws men into enormous unmanageable aggregations called towns, for instance; profit which crowds them up when they are there, into quarters without garden or open spaces; profit which won’t take the most ordinary precautions against wrapping a whole district in a cloud of sulfurous smoke; which turns beautiful river into filthy sewers; which condemns all but the rich to live in houses idiotically cramped and confined at best, and at the worst, in houses for whose wretchedness there is no name.”

On Zionism, D’Amato is very clear that the project is racist, but different from their South African counterpart, Zionism goes further than just oppressing native population, it seeks the removal of native Palestinian from their land to build exclusive Jewish state. D’Amato dispelled Zionist propaganda that Palestine was “a land without a people for a people without a land”. He also elaborated on the connection and contact of Zionist leaders with the Nazis, as they share the same goal, the Nazis want Europe without Jew, the Zionist want all Jew to fled Europe to resettled in their new Jewish nation, both shared the same goal of “separation of Jews from gentile”.

Finally, what does the future that socialism seek to build?

D’Amato answered this with the words from Eugene Debs “Production and distribution for all the people, collective ownership of industries and their management, elimination of rent, profit, and interest, the end of class rule, slavery, ignorance, poverty, cruelty, and crime”. Socialism seek to abolish class, and with that it rendered the existence of state as instrument of enforcement disappears. Whilst we may find that many of the solution proposed is hard to churn, many would agree on the failing and flaw of capitalism in structuring our modern society. We don’t have to be a Marxist or socialist, but, we all need to work together to re-created a more just and sustainable society.

Sad, angry, depressed, hopeful, were few of the thousands of emotions aroused reading ‘From Beirut to Jerusalem’, a memoir by Ang Swee Chai. Through her passion, love, perseverance, bravery, and determination, the world is indeed greatly indebted for her work both as a doctor and also as a witness to the massacre suffered by Palestinian refugee in Sabra-Shatila during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

Her maternal grandfather was a conservative and traditionalist, he believed that an educated woman will not make a good wife. But her mother was a defiant daughter, register herself to school and went to become a teacher. Her father ran away from his grandfather in mainland China refusing to marry a girl arranged for him and went to became a journalist in Singapore. During the Japanese invasion on Malaya, both of them met in the Outram Road prison in Singapore.

After Japan was defeated, they settled as a family. When her mother was pregnant, she went back to her hometown in Pulau Pinang to give birth to her. She was raised in Ayer Itam district in Pulau Pinang with her younger brother, Lee Cyn. They eventually moved back to Singapore following their father’s work. Raised in poor family, her mother raised her with discipline, she then continues her studies in medical school. She married Francis Khoo, a lawyer and activist. Francis was accused to be a communist, he fled Singapore in 1977 avoiding arrest under Internal Security Act (ISA) and took refuge in Britain.

Her parent was areligious but they allowed their children to choose a religion of their own. She embraced Christianity during her studies in medical school.

Ang was well versed about Israel even before volunteering. The church has taught her that Israel was God’s chosen people, and the return of the Jew to Israel was a verification of biblical prophecy. There are many reasons why she supported Israel, one of it was the oppression of the Jew by the Nazis, and the Nazis were Japanese ally during world war, with the creation of Israel the Jew can defend themselves, its a realization of justice from God.

She was prejudiced towards Palestinians, the church has told her that they were terrorist, an old foe, the Philistines of the Old Testament. She was a bigoted, self-righteous fundamentalist Christian, like many Christians she rejoiced in the military triumph of Israel. But that morning in Sabra and Shatila, God destroyed that self-righteousness.

In her memoir, she recreated that journey, from a bigoted Christian fundamentalist to peace activist and friend of the Palestinian people. It started in 1982 when she watch the horror of Israeli invasion and bombardment of the people of Lebanon through British television. The killing of women and children shook her to the core, she resigned prom her hospital in Britain, pack her bag, and went to Beirut as a medical surgeon volunteer.

In Beirut, Dr. Ang Swee Chai served at Gaza Hospital, Palestinian refugees named their hospital with their town in Palestine, its a symbol of longing to their homeland from where they were expelled by the Zionist colonialism. Many of the camp residence were refugees who fled the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948. The hospital situated near the Sabra and Shatila camp. Here, she witnessed the kindness of Palestinian people, the gentleness they showed toward their guest, she also saw their courage, resolution, patience, and resistance against Israeli aggression and occupation.

Before the Sabra and Shatila massacre, Palestinian fighters from Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed to evacuate from Beirut as a condition of a ceasefire. Dr. Ang noted “this is the first time that I realized that PLO fighters (who she preconceived as a terrorist) have a home and family in Lebanon, they withdraw and left their wives, children, siblings and parents”. The Palestinian gave away their weapon, the roads are cleared from any barrier. On 14 September 1882, water and electricity supply were restored. They believed in the promised of United States and western powers, that they will be let to live unharmed. They were wrong.

The next day, the camp were encircled by Israeli army and under siege, Israel coordinated Phalangist militia to enter the camp and massacred the people, children, baby, women, old people were brutally murdered. Dr. Ang realized the scale of barbarity and hope that the PLO did not withdraw on the first place, so they can defend the camp people. But it was too late. She recollected this barbaric massacre in her memoir which was first published by Grafton Books & Times Book International in 1989.

Reading her memoir really shock reader’s emotion to the core, your tears will be flowing like a river as she collected her horror, by page 70 your tear will run-out dry, there is so much to take. The story of a people exiled from their homeland in 1948 only to be massacred again by the Israelis in 1982, Dr. Ang could not help but ask, where should they go?

She recalled a story on the height of the killing, there was a woman and a child brought into the hospital, the woman was shot on her stomach and badly wounded. After operation, she needed a blood transfusion. She overheard that the nurse told the doctor that the blood pint given to her was the last, and the child need blood transfusion of the same blood type. She refused the blood pint so that the child can have it and asked for painkiller instead. She died shortly after.

She also written a story about a boy named Mahmoud, who was her patient before the massacre, he injured his wrist whilst helping his father rebuilding their house. After the massacre, when she walked down the road in the camp, Mahmoud appeared, ran toward her and hug her, he was so happy to know that she was alive. Soon, children began to appear around her, they saw her camera and asked for a photo, they wanted the world to see that although their house have been destroyed, their parent massacred, they still can smile and raised their hand with victory sign. Their courage was astonishing.

Reflecting on the Palestinian tragedy, she wondered why Palestinians need to suffer to accommodate the victim of Nazis persecution and European racism? At the end of the memoir, in the post-script, she also reflected on her Christian belief. She wrote “[I was] a bigoted, self-righteous fundamentalist Christian. I thought that I knew the Bible, and God was on our side. I rejoiced in the military triumph of Israel. On that morning in Sabra and Shatila, God destroyed that self-righteousness. Many of my Zionist Christian friends shunned me, but I am no longer intimidated by all this. I have seen a different face of God – that of love, compassion, and grace. He promised Ishmael would be a father of many nations. Palestinian are the children of Ishmael and the children of Abraham. He will wipe away all tears and bring us home..next year in Jerusalem.”

Dr. Ang Swee Chai then became a co-founder of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), she became an activist and regularly invited to talk about the plight of the Palestinians. Her experience in Lebanon changed her life completely, she became the witness of Sabra-Shatila massacre which taught her to never relent in the face of injustice. In her letter to her husband, Francis Khoo she wrote “we are just two small persons in the history of liberation..I saw the face of death, I saw their power and ugliness, but I also saw fear deep inside their eyes, the children of the new generation will come, and they are not afraid”.