Thursday, June 26, 2008

Serban Rules in KB!


Update: The AG has said there is no exemption.

Muslim motorcyclists in turban (serbans) not wearing motor helmets are practically giving the cops in Kota Baru a ride. The KB police are at a lost and have decided to give up issuing summonses after a losing a court case. The confusion arose on Tuesday after Pasir Tumboh pondok school student Ahmad Nasir Darus, 27, challenged a traffic summons for not wearing a crash helmet on Sept 20 last year in the Magistrate's court. His counsel Ahmad Rizal Effende Zainol claimed that exemptions were allowed for "Haji, Hajjah, Lebai and Singh." He argued that motorcyclists wearing serban could be described as lebai or pious. The confused cops now want Bukit Aman and possibly the Attorney General to tell them what to do. The IGP has said the guys in serban should not be exempted as it would give rise to others using it as an excuse. The question here is that Sikhs wear the turbans for religious reasons. For Muslims, is it a religious obligation to wear serbans? Or merely tried to look pious and look Arab? Views please.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Safety is the chief reason as far as I'm concerned. Definitely, serban/nor any turban will not protect their heads from accidents and accidents do happen! Since it's religious and sensitive and Kelantan (And I seen many in Kuala Lumpur too), wait until one fatal accident and then see their reaction (versus pro action).

Anonymous said...

When I read this I had a good time laughing. Honestly it is not a matter of religion whatsoever. What is the use of a crash helmet? For protection and prevention purposes. To go and say that you could now wear serban or any religious headgear whatsoever is ridiculous. Perhaps these group of lebais think that wearing the serban can protect them from injuries and crashes. I guess by then, people will come up with all sort of excuses to play around the law in the name of religion sensitivities.

But anyway, 'serban' up to police of Kelantan (and the judge presiding the serban case) for even considering this an issue. You guys really made my day!

Anonymous said...

Let's keep this clear and simple.

The whole point of wearing a crash helmet is for safety. If there really is a 'Loving and Merciful God', surely he would not wish his faithful to risk their lives in arbitrary ways or just 'for show' like donning certain garments in a form of 'relgious-fashion'.

lanaibeach said...

Serban rules
A court case did
So now the police in KB
They can’t issue summons

Serban isn’t an Islamic requirement
It is just symbol on the wearer
It doesn’t denote a religious obligation
Unless the Muslims come back from the Haj

Many Pas people wearing it
Young and old go riding on bikes
The traffic law says crash helmet
Unless it is a religious ruling
Of the Sikh religion………..

The Police should issue summons
On any law breaker not following traffic rules
Now what is happening in KB
It can multiply to the other races
Wear serban instead of crash helmet
They don’t think about their lives
When accidents happen on the roads?

If it rules serban has religious right
I strongly doubt it in Islamic values
So I can wear one be like Sinbad
People will look great
Yet accidents will be our own folly

amoker said...

God can't save people who can't save themselves. Going against the rule of gravitiy and momentum plus basic safety considerations is not a -death-defying adventure.

Anonymous said...

Please don't look so far. Have a good look at our back ie Kebangsaan School. eg SK Kampung Tunku a 'good' school in PJ. During assembly you have doa, during State Anthem, non-muslim silent on the word 'Allah'. You really wonder whether you're in multiracial school.

This is more serious than those Kelantanese wearing Serban. These schools are under BN administration.

Slowly this is pushing more chinese and indian to chinese and tamil schools. When they are so polarised after their secondary school, they're sent to NS for 3 months.

Get the drift!

Anonymous said...

Some creative designer should come up with a helmet that can be worn over a turban. Then no more excuses. All that is needed is a helmet that is slightly bigger/taller to fit in the turban.

Eumora World said...

Chun Wai...
Why have you got in your mind hatred towards muslims... I agree with Jed Yoong(http://jedyoong.com/?p=286) about you!!
Serban is not a requirement but encourage to wear because it is a sunnah (way of the prophet). Got nothing to do to look Arab or pious, it's just freedom of choice. A muslim is free to wear what he/she likes as long as it is covering the Aurat. And one can go further to emulate the Prophet in whatever way. It just happened that the Prophet is from Arabia. If he were from England, i'm sure all muslim will happily be wearing tie and suit to the mosque.

The picture you posted is obviously young guys coming back from a mosque. So what so wrong of wearing serban. Safety wise? Find...you tell the sikhs (eventhough it's a religous requirement) it is dangerous to wear serban on motorbikes. Requirement or not it's the same.
It intrigues me very much, when it comes to muslims you become very JUMPY...(????)

sinnersaint:saintsinner said...

Mr Chun Wai,

The question to be posed is - Was it norm in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s????????? ie wearing Sarban

Were the Lebais wearing Sarabans???

When its compared with Sikhs, one must understand that its been in their culture for hundreds of years, infact the indians used it for centuries.... one must weigh the historical perspective.

Now, was the picture taken when these boys were leaving the mosque, and if so, why make it a national issue?

Why highlight it? It can stir uncourted and unnecessary ill feelings among Malaysians, now is that the purpose??????

I recall in the small towns, kids were riding motorbikes, they were 13 to 17 years old, in the plantations, a family of 5 would ride on a honda cub ke ke ke, well sometimes they fell but thats how things work in little towns....


I suggest the next time, lets stick with issue related to Law and maybe you should consider not viewing from a religious perspective?

Remember, little minds get effected with little things, i guess, you should know it better.

Hence, minus religion la, we talk only LAW.:)

These days every topic seem "provoking", maybe we all could use a "softer"approach.

Cheers

SiTi FaTiMaH mOhD bOhAri said...

Wahai Tuan..

Serban adalah pemakaiaan Junjungan besar Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. Ia adalah sunnah Rasulullah s.a.w. Hukum memakai serban adalah sunat bagi kami. Pemakaiaannya mencerminkan cinta kami kepada sunnah Baginda S.A.W.

Tolong jangan polemikkan isu ini. Terutama jika anda jahil tentang Islam.

Kami umat Islam dilarang mencampuri urusan agama lain berdasarkan ayat ini,

Ertinya,
"Bagi kamu ugama kamu, dan bagiku ugamaku". (Quran 109:6)

Jadi, kamu juga tiada hak untuk mencampuri urusan agama kami.

Anonymous said...

Samalah kami tiada hak untuk menegah orang sikh dr membuka turbannya, apatah lagi menghinanya.

Ertinya,
Tidak ada paksaan dalam ugama (Islam), kerana sesungguhnya telah nyata kebenaran (Islam) dari kesesatan (kufur). (Quran 2:256)

Itulah kemurniaan ajaran Islam. Malah Rasulullah s.a.w pernah bersabda,

"Barangsiapa yg menyakiti hati kafir zimmi, seolah-olah dia telah menyakiti ku"

Oleh itu, diharap Tuan lebih berhati-hati selepas ini.

Anonymous said...

Samalah kami tiada hak untuk menegah orang sikh dr membuka turbannya, apatah lagi menghinanya.

Ertinya,
Tidak ada paksaan dalam ugama (Islam), kerana sesungguhnya telah nyata kebenaran (Islam) dari kesesatan (kufur). (Quran 2:256)

Itulah kemurniaan ajaran Islam. Malah Rasulullah s.a.w pernah bersabda,

"Barangsiapa yg menyakiti hati kafir zimmi, seolah-olah dia telah menyakiti ku"

Oleh itu, diharap Tuan lebih berhati-hati selepas ini.

Anonymous said...

When I read Chun Wai's article a second time, I did not see him attacking the Muslims. All he wrote was the case in Kelantan regarding the choice by motocyclists to wear the serban or turban instead of helmets, and then he asked for the views of the Muslims on this. So actually the Muslims who attacked him on the article were just being too sensitive. If they insist on wearing turbans or serbans instead of helmets, then they should direct their views to the Police who are enforcing the laws. All Chun Wai did was to report what happened in Kelantan.

Anonymous said...

What is happening to our country?
It was never like this 20 years ago.
Sigh.
disappointing.

Anonymous said...

Anon at 6.41pm:

read the last part of Chun Wai's article:

The question here is that Sikhs wear the turbans for religious reasons. For Muslims, is it a religious obligation to wear serbans? Or merely tried to look pious and look Arab? Views please.

Is it provocative or not????

Anonymous said...

"The question here is that Sikhs wear the turbans for religious reasons. For Muslims, is it a religious obligation to wear serbans? Or merely tried to look pious and look Arab?"

Ini disebab kan kenyataan diatas..

Dan persolan ini telah dijawab oleh saudari siti Fatimah.

Diharap lebih berhati-hati, atau rujuk dahulu kepada orang yg Islam yg berilmu, kerana khuatir akan menimbulkan ketidakpuashatian terutamanya kpd org Islam

Anonymous said...

Why didnt you post my prev comment? Because of the term i used?

I think it is quite appropriate...given the extreme "keghairahan" on your part towards Islam bashing.

Anonymous said...

Chun Wai,

I have been following your write ups both in your newspaper and web site. I must say that you have been consistently showing your utter disrespect to Islam and its teachings (either out of ignorance or merely expressing your utmost hatred towards anything that is "Islam".)

Please leave us Muslims alone when comes to our religion. As His Royal Highness Raja Azlan Shah said the other day-Muslims are enjoined to respect the others' faiths so long as theirs are not trampled upon.

I believe the Muslims' respect for the other faith including your Roman Catholic faith (the Vatican/Pope news/issues were sometimes peppered in your newspaper)should be reciprocated by you/others who believe in the peace and harmony that we now enjoy (but sometimes we take for granted) in this our beloved country.

Anonymous said...

saya harap non-muslim di Malaysia ni lebih bijak menjaga sensitiviti agama.. Islam adalah agama yang toleransi apabila ianya dihormati, tapi mempunyai sensitiviti yg tinggi apabila ada yg memperlekehkannya. jangan diikutkan rasional anda semua kerana your ideologi tak sma dengan Islam.. Islam is a way o life.. Beware of your word my lovely friend..

Anonymous said...

Why are malaysians all getting so uptight and irritable these days? Why can't issues be discussed logically and maturely instead of a "religion A versus religion B" heated debate? When I read the article I thought the writer was merely asking for the views of the Muslims to interpret the purpose of the headwear instead of offering his own view. In fact the police officers in Kelantan (mostly Muslim) are also in a dilemma themselves over the matter, and cannot decide the headwear was due to religious requirement or not. That was why they had to refer to Bukit Aman. That was the reason the writer invited Muslims for their views. But when views are invited, the writer receive a lot of brick bracks instead. Yeah, we all know he is a BN man, but that is not a good reason to behave barbaric to him. If we want democracy, we must also learn to be civilized and be able to debate maturely.

Anonymous said...

Ok lah everybody, all cool down lah!
Let's all go back to focus on what is happening to our country. The economy is going down the drain very fast. Inflation is starting to hit us, and it is going to get a lot worse very soon. What are we going to do to survive?
What is the government doing about it? Those bastard MPs just voted to increase prices of so many things. But our small tiny salary is getting no increase. And the taxi man cannot raise the taxi fare. The chicken seller cannot raise prices too. All the tiny people's business cannot raise price. Only the big shot cronies businesses can raise prices.
So what you ALL going to do ( and the ALL include ALL OF YOU, whether you are Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Taoists, atheists, polytheists, etc. We all pepper each other with insults, while our blady politicians are raping and plundering our national wealth, OUR money. They will be happy that we are directing our energy and anger at each other, while they are getting away scot free.
Why are we not directing our energy to get our politicians to be accountable for the abuses they commit?

Anonymous said...

Petty news article. Petty comments from petty readers. Petty issues. Petty bickering between petty people of different faiths. That is why our BN cronies and leaders can get away with so much abuses! Our rakyat have been divided to fight each other instead of uniting to demand a clean government, to demand accountability from our leaders! Instead each time a politician gets into trouble, all he has to do is to stoke fire between the Malays and non-Malays, and between Muslims and non-Muslims, then all the rakyat will be defocused. Sigh.. I think the Malaysian rakyat is so easy to manipulate.

Anonymous said...

Aiya, Chun Wai, why did you want to get invoved in this Serban thing? It is between the PDRM and the Serban wearers. If they don't want to protect their heads, that is their problem. And up to the police to catch them or not. And well, if they take a tumble in an acccident, without the helmet, well it is their problem lah .

Anonymous said...

Funny...what's wrong with Wong Chun Wai's statement?

Fatimah Bohari, grow up, can U?

Anonymous said...

If commentors from the various religions were truly following the love taught by the original founders of their religions, we would not be seeing the kind of nasty comments found in the blog. Where are all the love, hospitality, tolerance, etc etc in the comments?
I say, let's move on from this religion topic. Chun Wai, I suggest you delete this topic from your blog. Very unhealthy.

Anonymous said...

Dear Wong Chun Wai and every non-Muslim who loved freedom and oppose to war!!!

I don't want to comment so much on your comments towards our religion!!! When you try to condemn our Prophets love (he loves wearing Serban and he lived 1400 years ago, do you know how long Sikh wearing theirs? Its later than that but Muslim never say things about Sikh wearing, coz Muslim loves freedom), then you're condemning our beloved Prophet. And when you condemn our beloved, you know that Muslim loved to die for their beloved one...!

My advice, save your words if you love to live in peace!!!

Anonymous said...

Why can't the serban wearers remove the serban and put on the helmets when riding their motorcycle. Upon reaching their destination, just put on the serban again.

I believe most muslims would agree that it is in line with Islamic teachings that we must protect our body in the best way possible, thus wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle is clearly a safer way than having a serban on your head.

Wearing serban is a sunnah, but caring for your safety is an obligation, not just for yourself but also for your loved ones too.

Wallahu-a'-lam

blog said...

Tuan Wong Chun Wai,

Saya agak terharu kerana tuan amat mengambil berat tentang pemakaian Orang Islam. Untuk makluman tuan, pemakaian Serban di kalangan orang Islam adalah Sunnah kepada agama Islam. Nabi Muhammad menggalakkan umatnya untuk mengamalkan perkara perkara sunnah demi meningkatkan iman dan ketakwaan kepada Allah yang Maha Esa. Saya ingin sarankan agar Tuan merujuk kepada alim ulamak kami untuk sebarang penjelasan lanjut sebelum menulis tanpa berfikir seperti Mufti Perak Dato' Harussani atau tuan juga boleh bertanya dengan Ustaz Riduan Tee iaitu orang cina tetapi telahpun memeluk Islam.

Kalau tuan lihat digambar itu adalah suasana pemuda Islam kami yang baru balik mengerjakan amal ibadah di mesjid atau pun disurau. Mereka ada pakaian mereka untuk berhadapan dengan tuhan. Seperti tuan hendak berkebun adakah tuan memakai pakaian pejabat ?

Semoga tuan lebih berhati-hati bila menyentuh soal sensitiviti cara berpakaian orang Islam kerana agama kami amat melarang kami menyentuh tentang soal agama lain seperti kami tidak bertanya kenapa orang cina meletakkan limau dan epal di tempat sembahyang mereka, bukan ke perkara itu membazir dan siapa yang nak makan epal dan limau itu tuan. Kami orang Islam bukan begitu tuan.

Salam persahabatan Tuan Wong Chun Wai.

Cruzeiro said...

These guys who lack common sense should be allowed to "mati katak" in road accidents with their serbans.
I'm sure God will take them on a fastrack to heaven, while sparing the nation of imbeciles ...
Instead of issueing summonses, they should be made to sign their death warrants to absolve the PDRM and KKM of negligence.
Problem solved!

Anonymous said...

if someone said that your chinese legacy that you practise only can harm your body what is your perception. The first thing i might think that ..in your mind they do not know what they said so it similar to you ..please don't make any statement without knowledge and only assumption.

Anonymous said...

A helmet is to protect the person who wears it. Some of you argue here that it is the business of the people who chose to wear serban and risk their lives. But remember, as a lot of ppl fail to realise, on the road, there are other users. Can u imagine, if a minor accident is to happen, where a motorcylist accidentally scratches a car, loses balance, and dies as a result. Can u imagine, what will happen?

Ppl will most likely blame the car driver since there's a scratch mark on the car and the motorcylist is seriously injured. There's a high possibilty in a village, he might even get beaten up before the police arrived as he is the easiest person to blame. He will also have to face legal implications of a crime he did not commit.Besides, the car driver might be mentally scared as a result.

Anonymous said...

pertama sekali pemakaian serban bukan hanya selepas balik haji... peringkat umur mana pun disunatkan untuk memakainya... berkenaan pemakaian serban di atas jalan saya rasabukan satu isu yang besar... Rasulullah s.a.w juga menyuruh kita mematuhi arahan pemimpin selama mana arahan tersebut tidak menyalahi syariat... saya juga memakai serban tetapi apabila saya menungang motosikal saya membuka serban saya dan memakainya kembali setelah tiba ke destinasi lagipun islam tidak melarang kita berbuat perkara yang boleh mendatangkan kebaikan selama mana perkara itu tidak menyalahi hukum yang telah ditetapkan oleh Allah s.w.t...

wallahua'lam...