It has been a trend for quite a propotion of Malay elites to drink alcoholic beverage in front of their employees. And this problem is very acute in the financial sector of the country.
An employee of a big financial institution in Malaysia, who was also a senior of mine in UK, last week told me the story of her seeing many Malay top-guns in that bank drank alcoholic beverages openly during one dinner held by that bank for its management trainees team.
This fact really makes us sad, as those elite Malays have Muslim names in their NRIC card. From the bottom of my heart, I really feel the urge and need to break this unhealthy habit cycle among those financial institution top-guns. And to break the cycle is easier said than done and is not as easy as writing it down in my dodgy blog, therefore I kindly ask all of my freshly graduated colleagues to get into the field with a good intention of making contribution to Islam, so that we can collectively change this old habit.
I really don’t care much if they consume it privately, but to drink it publicly in a dinner in front of the young management trainees does give a bad precedent, isn’t it?
We wonder the sin of trading with usury, but why make things worse by adding khamar?
We are afraid of walking like a mad person in akhirat, but why do we add the burden of walking like a mad person by drinking alcoholic drinks?
Or simply said, ‘After all, do we really believe in the hereafter life?’
I must admit that I cannot fully blame them on this matter, as their family and education might not give much emphasis on Islamic way of life, hence there is a need for us to give them good invitations towards Islamic way of life. In fact we as Muslims do not do good amar maaruf, and a very minimal nahi munkar effort. To roughly quote Prof. Em. Dato’ Khoo Kay Kim during Debat Perdana last night ,
“Muslims in Malaysia do not give enough effort in showing the true picture of Islam. The picture that Malaysian non-Muslim have about Islam is very shallow. What they know are mainly on the matters that Muslim cannot eat ‘that thingy’ and Muslim man can marry four wives.”
But to elaborate further on him, it is not only many Malaysian non-Muslims have shallow knowledge on Islam, but the scenario is worse than that as many highly educated Malays (who presumably Muslims) simply ignore the teaching of Islam.
After all, Islam Hadhari does give freedom to every Malaysian to practice their religion, and no minimal practices requirement is required.
‘Tis sad really……’tis.
