Do we get to pick our Prime Minister?

Regular readers of this blog would have noticed by now that I very, very seldom post about socio-political issues. But the announcement by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday that he would not be defending his President's post in UMNO prompted me to share my views about the selection of the no.1 leader of our country.

Earlier in the week, I had commented in Nuraina A. Samad's blog under the post `UMNO's Amazing Race', that I hoped to see AAB actually defend his post and that he gets the requisite nominations to do so. Now that this is no longer happening, we are informed that Najib Tun Razak would be handed the PM's post come March next year. But this would be possible only if Najib wins the UMNO presidency...

And that brings us to the question that is the title of my post for today. Who actually decides who gets to become the Prime Minister of our country? Unlike the citizens of the USA who can choose who they want as their President (Obama or McCain), the choice of PM of Malaysia is not that direct.

As it stands now, a politician in Malaysia can get to become the Prime Minister if he is (a) a Member of Parliament, and (b) if he is the leader of the dominant party in the ruling coalition i.e. UMNO. Well, the constitutional experts among you will say that this is not correct because the PM is appointed by the Yang Dipertuan Agong who shall select a member of the house who he thinks commands the confidence of the majority of the members. Yeah, right... but as long as UMNO MPs are the majority in Parliament, tradition dictates that the PM post will always belong to the President of UMNO. I very much doubt that Tuanku Mizan would rule otherwise, despite whatever aspiration Anwar Ibrahim might have in wooing some ruling MPs to cross over.

The reality is that the choice of our PM will be decided by a handful of delegates in the next UMNO general assembly. Najib has already declared that he is offering himself as a candidate for the top post. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had long ago announced that he will contest. As for Muhyiddin Yassin, we all wait to see if he's going for the no.1 spot or settle for no.2 (and with that, be seen as Najib's running mate).

To some of us, this is not the ideal situation... but like it or not, unless you are a member of UMNO, you have no say. If you do have friends or family who are members of UMNO, perhaps the best that you can do is to let them know who you think should be elected as president from amongst the aspiring candidates. But do that only if you feel strongly about it... because most UMNO members that I know from among my friends and relatives have already made up their minds.

Update 01 Dec 2021 : The link to Nuraina's blog has been removed due to security issues.

A story about zakat

Zakat or almsgiving is quite a complicated subject in Islam. Verses in the holy Quran place zakat with almost equal importance with that of the daily prayers (solat) but unfortunately, not many Muslims see it as such.

During the month of Ramadhan, all Muslims are required to pay zakat fitrah, regardless of young or old, rich or poor, bonded or free. The other form of zakat, called zakat harta (assets), is only obligatory if certain conditions are fulfilled. In Malaysia and indeed many Muslim countries in the world, the practice of paying zakat fitrah is in the form of cash as a substitute to a `gantang' of rice.

Since the administration of Islam falls under state jurisdiction, each state in Malaysia determines the value of this cash substitute. We therefore have different zakat fitrah rates for different states. For example, the fitrah in Johor this year is RM6.50 per person (last year RM5.00). In Kedah, it is RM7.00, in Kelantan RM7.60 but in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, it is only RM5.20. It would seem that Muslims in the poorer states have to pay more than their brothers who live in the richer states. Sure doesn't seem logical to me.

Table of zakat fitrah from JAWHAR, Jabatan Perdana Menteri

So why this discrepancy and a significant one at that? Muslims in KL pay RM2.40 less than those in Kelantan. That's a 46% difference.

This issue of having a uniform zakat fitrah rate has been discussed by the various state religious councils for many years. From the look of things, I doubt that they would reach a consensus any time soon.

To understand why this non-uniformity exists, it is perhaps good to know the basis of how the zakat fitrah is calculated. The first aspect to consider is quantity. The requirement of zakat fitrah (zakat ul-fitri in Arabic) is based on Prophet Muhammad's hadith that states that one Sa'a of barley or dates be made as payment. Now, one Sa'a has been translated into one `gantang Baghdad' in Malaysia. But what exactly is a `gantang Baghdad' and what is its equivalent in modern terms?

Scholars are in disagreement on how much a gantang Baghdad equates to, but a common value cited nowadays is 2.7 kg. In Singapore, they have calculated it to be 2.3 kg. I have no doubt other Muslim countries have different figures too. In standard Malay, the gantang is principally a measure for rice. It measures volume rather than weight. Therein lies part of the discrepancy.

The next aspect to consider is the commodity itself. The original `barley' or `dates' in the Prophet's hadith have been interpreted to include the wide definition of `staple food or diet' (makanan ruji) of the general population. In Malaysia, this is, of course, rice. But then, what type of rice is normally eaten by the average Muslim in Malaysia? Most state Islamic councils have adopted Beras Super Special Tempatan Gred A as the basis of calculation. Since the price of rice as determined by Bernas is not very much different from state to state, the huge difference in fitrah rates is still puzzling.

Zakat Fitrah poster by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura

To add to the confusion, some states like Perlis and Terengganu (and Singapore too) have different classes of fitrah rates depending on the quality of rice that you normally eat. So if you consume the higher rice grades such as Beras Siam Wangi, then you are expected to pay the higher rate. A blog entry by Ibnu Hasyim has an interesting write-up on this subject that you can read here -> Zakat Fitrah Orang Kaya Sepatutnya RM13.50 Seorang.

It's not my intention to make all this sound too perplexing. It has been oft-said that Islam is a simple religion... it is only the people who make it difficult.

Which now brings me to the story that prompted me to make this post in the first place. It happened back during my student days in Sheffield, United Kingdom. I was with some friends at their house for the iftar. As we were waiting for the time to break the fast, one of my friends named Arazi, said that earlier in the day after Friday prayers, an Arab brother had approached him. Arazi was asked by the Arab whether he had any debts, to which Arazi said yes.

`He then shook my hand and gave me some money. The Arab brother said that this is zakat money for me', I remember Arazi saying.

This prompted some of my other friends to remark that they had debts too... and wondered why rich Arabs have not approached them to give zakat money. Hehehe... memang dah rezeki kau tu Arazi.

To my non-Muslim readers, let me just explain that last part. There are eight (8) categories of persons who are qualified to receive the zakat collections. Apart from the poor & needy, other qualified recipients include those who are in debt. Many Arabs interpret this literally and make it easy to comply with the many requirements of religion. Simple.

Update 26.10.2021 : The JAWHAR website is still active but I've removed the link so as to avoid future broken links issues. The link to the blog article by Ibnu Hasyim has also been removed due to security reasons. I have since reconnected with my friend Arazi who works with JKR but have yet to relate to him this story.