Food Security
Move
I would urge that all committees of the Organization of Islamic Countries ( OIC ) to start moving. They need not necessarily move in the same direction, but they should move. The action should be coordinated to create a balance, as indeed, our limbs of the same sides move in opposite directions at any time - to create a balance. A balance is necessary as the late Umar Mokhtar reiterated when he was fighting Italian forces under fascist Italy led by Benito Mussolini.
However, we should not balance by standing still. We should balance while in motion.
China
As a Muslim, I cannot disagree with Prophet Muhammad's ( peach be upon him ) command that we should learn, even it it means travelling all the way to China. However, there was a consensus among us that we should not trade the integrity of Muslims because the Prophet would not have tolerated such an action at the expense of knowledge. As knowledge is osmotic, it is not at all a monopoly of any human being. Through hard work in research we shall have whatever knowledge we quest for.
Poverty
I am aware of the seriousness of the problems of poverty and hunger, particularly in the Muslim countries. Indeed, poverty and hunger are not just the problems of Muslim countries, it is a universal problem. As it is, Muslim nations can be divided into four categories:
1) Those with surplus oil
2) Those with surplus water
3) Those with surplus sand and sun
4) Those with uncertain mixture of each of the above
Invariably those with surplus oil have wars to finance while those with surplus water have floods to worry about. Those with surplus sun and sand have poverty and hunger to cope with.
Failure
The failure of Muslims is not due to lack of resources. If we fail, it is because of our failure to cooperate.
I have further noted that the world can be divided into four groups:
1) The English speaking democracies
2) The Communist world
3) The Catholic and Muslim worlds
4) The non-English speaking democracies
The English speaking democracies and the Communist countries seem to share similar problems within each grouping. This is probably due to having been inspired by English textbooks or Communist literature. The common sources of reference would lead each group to solve their problems in similar ways and paradoxically, land them with new but similar problems.
The Catholic world of Latin America is being burdened with debts while Muslim countries of the Middle East are being entangled and throttled by surpluses wealth.
Meanwhile, the non-English speaking democracies such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany and even France are progressing although the rest of the world were suffering from recession.
The originality of our approach, such as those of the non-English speaking democracies, unity among Muslims plus progressive change in Muslim attitude towards knowledge and work, will guarantee, Insya Allah, a brighter future for all the ummah.
The Quran should be our only principal source of inspiration.
Cooperation
The Almighty Allah s.w.t. made us different in sizes, height and colour so that we may cooperate.
Whatever our bodily proportion, shade of skin or weight, we normally and generally have five fingers on each hand.
While number five is significant to Islam in that there are Five Pillars of Islam, the five fingers suggest to me the necessity for cooperation.
These fingers are also of different sizes, lengths and functions.
The thumb symbolises the officials in the government. In Malaysia and elsewhere in the world, the thumb is the only finger recognized by the government as we put down thumbprints on government documents wherever fingerprints are required.
The forefinger has a role in our prayer. It quivers in the direction of Ka’aba. It symbolises the ulama.
The middle finger is in a privileged position. It is in the centre and balances two fingers on each side. The middle finger symbolises the monarchy.
The fourth finger is the people. On this ‘sweet finger’, we wear wedding rings - the first step towards population explosion.
The fifth finger represents the functional groups, the farmers, fishermen, breeders, labourers and other workers. This finger provides comfort to all men. It even scratches when one feel itchy. It can draw blood if one scratches too hard.
Unity for Peace and Prosperity
When facing our enemy, the five fingers instinctively and spontaneously clench to form a brutal and ominous fist without needing any instruction. They are spontaneously united – an example of spontaneous unity.
However, professional adults and political leaders of the world have not really solved the problems that have often made unity wanting.
Unity is one of the prerequisite to solving all our problems, be it political (war), economics (poverty) or social (diseases and divorces).
The second prerequisite is knowledge, in arts and science, which is the basis of our taqwa.
It is important that each group of those people, symbolically represented by the fingers, overcome their individual ego for the sake of a common purpose.
We ought to try not to be egoistic.
We should be humble and grateful to ALLAH s.w.t. while submitting to this great task.
We should not individually strive to be great but instead, be proud to be a member of a caucus that attempt to solve a big problem.
Our effort should be great and the outcome should humble us.
Unity for Survival
Once we are really united, there is no necessity for every nation to be self-sufficient in food in order to survive. Indeed, with self-sufficiency, there would be less interdependency and therefore, less reason to be united. If each nation concentrates in doing what it can do best, then, with unity and interdependency, the economic standard of the ummah would see an overall improvement.
It is useful and important to contemplate whether it is not those who are over sufficient in food that involved in entertaining the forces of disunity.
Institute for Poverty Eradication
Politician in a democracy do not normally have very long professional life. Our time maybe up before we can achieve our aims. Therefore, I suggest, it would be most prudent to begin thinking of establishing a downstream approach to our great problem of poverty and hunger in the Islamic world and the world generally.
We should begin to talk about setting up an international institute for the removal of hunger and the eradication of poverty.
The institute, we should bring together the children of the rich who are sympathetic to cause of the poor and brilliant children of the poor whose experience in poverty is beneficial to the rich.
Once friendship is fostered among them, empathy will progress from mere statistical and intellectual level to an emotional level with greater sense of urgency. The poor or hungry man is no more a figure or a number, but a friend.
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