I have been wanting to write about this since long ago..Even after my first few years living in Australia..It's about my observation on the Australian way of life and the comparison between theirs,and our own Islamic way..
Just for background- Australia is considered as a secular country..Even though there are still some arguments on that matters..Because some of their laws (abortion law,homosexual rights etc..) are still very much influenced by a strong religious context..Malaysia on the other hand, is neither secular nor Islamic country
per se.. But we try to build it on a strong Islamic basis which is the official religion of the country as stated in the Constitution.. Anyway,I am not going to drag this into any further arguments or discussions.. In the context of this article,I'm considering Malaysia as a country that is going to be developed as an example of a Muslim nation..
Cleanliness
"Kebersihan adalah sebahagian daripada iman"- Australia might not be the cleanest of all,but still they are one of the best for me..Pergilah ke mana-mana,not just in the city, kebanyakan tempat yang digunakan oleh public,sangat bersih..Public parks,the beaches,any tourist spots, toilets,restaurants etc..Australians are very sensitive towards their environment..Yes,of course there are few polluted places,especially the rivers,but it is not too obvious in the public's eye..Ok,they might have some high-tech equipments and or man power to do all the clean ups in the cities,but it's not an excuse..Kita pun ada kat Malaysia,tak bersih jugak.. Here,even if there is no prohibitive fines untuk jaga kebersihan pun,saya rasa masyarakatnya tetap akan jaga kebersihan.. Maksudnya, kebersihan ini bukan lahir kesan daripada undang-undang atau authorities semata-mata (i.e- Singapore), tetapi ia lahir daripada kesedaran masyarakatnya sendiri..So I think,it is very Islamic in a way..
Honesty
Honesty is one of the most important elements in our Islamic teaching..The first important issue related to this is corruption..Australia ni bukannya takde corruption langsung,but I reckon the level is very low..Susah nak tengok depan mata..Polis ke,immigration ke,local councils ke etc..They are very honest with their duties.. Yup,it might be because they are in a high-income society,but it doesn't matter..Islam has taught us to be honest in what ever condition..Okay,that is a brief impression about corruption..Let us go into smaller issues.. Let say you left something behind (handphones,wallet etc..) somewhere..Kalau di Malaysia, orang kata jangan harap laa nak dapat balik..Sekejap jer tinggal,memang lesap..Di sini, (I've experienced it myself), boleh kata the chances to get back your belongings is still very high..Kalau hilang pun,most probably kena ambik oleh Asians..huhu..It's very secure here..
Masyarakat sini,mostly,dididik tidak ambil sesuatu yang bukan kepunyaan mereka..Ok,lagi satu example, in transportation..In some places (in my experience -Perth & Melbourne), sebenarnya kalau naik train,or tram, takyah bayar pun takpe,jangan kantoi sudah..Tapi masyarakatnya tetap bayar and abide the system..Jujur sejujurnya..I don't think this kind of system can be implemented in Malaysia yet..All these are only few examples of honesty,ada banyak lagi..So,in this case,I think it is very relevant to our Islamic way..Right?
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| Adelaide Trams |
Attitude
In our daily life here,it is very common for people to greet each other,even to strangers.. 'Good day','Have a good one','How are you',etc..and my favourite, 'Thank you'..Kadang-kadang siap berlawan cakap thank you..huhu..And it came naturally,with smiles on their faces,bukan pretend..Bukan yang macam kedai 7-Eleven kat Malaysia tu..Kita di Malaysia kadang-kadang nak bagi salam or even senyum pun susah..Lagi satu, driving attitude..I am totally amazed with it..I don't think I have to describe it here..They follow rules most of the time,in every aspects..They have somekind of Australian Standards in their life..All these positive attitude sudah sememangnya digalakkan dalam agama kita..Tak begitu?
Status
I believe here,everyone is treated equally..Kaya ke,miskin ke..The status culture is not that sickening.. Australian won't treat you like a servant,or a low class citizen,just because you are nobody or something.. They treat you nicely with respect..I give you one example..I used to work in a restaurant as a part-time job..There were times when some VIPs from Malaysia came to eat,they treat you like their maid at home..or macha kat kedai mamak..No respect at all..Sibuk dengan status Dato',Tan Sri,Tengku semua tu.. I've never experienced that with Australian customers..Susah nak jumpa orang-orang putih kaya yang sombong dan berlagak..
Contoh lain,di kedai-kedai..You can easily browse around in any shop as you like and no one will judge you..Masuklaa kedai branded ke apa,they'll treat you with respect..Cuba try masuk kedai LV ke,Polo ke kat Malaysia tengok!Confirm pandang atas bawah..The people here don't really care about your status in the society..They don't care what car you drive,what you wear,who is your family or what job you do for living..Islam taught us that every human are the same..Yang membezakan kita adalah taqwa..Bukankah masa berihram di Mekah mengajar kita semua manusia adalah sama di sisi-Nya?
Welfare
Lastly,I would like to touch on this issue..Pada zaman khalifah Harun al-Rashid,dikatakan bahawa pada zaman itu,kerajaan Islam yang diperintahnya berada di dalam keadaan yang sangat makmur,sehingga tiada orang pun yang layak menerima zakat..Realitinya di Australia,agak susah sebenarnya kalau kita mahu melihat orang-orang miskin di sini, melainkan kita betul-betul cari..Tapi susah jugak laa,because the government really take care of the welfare of those people..Students,golongan penganggur,and especially the indigenous people..Money might be the biggest issue here,sebab diorg memang banyak duit..Negara besar,banyak resources,population kecil..Kita belum sampai tahap itu lagi.. Insyallah mudah-mudahan satu hari nanti.. Sekarang tak boleh lagi,nanti manja sangat orang-orang kita,semua malas bekerja,harap duit dari government..
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| Perth |
Secara kesimpulan,mungkin ciri-ciri ini bagi mereka tak kena-mengena dengan agama,tapi ini adalah ciri-ciri penting yang perlu ada pada sesebuah masyarakat yang maju..It's not my intention untuk puji mereka berlebihan,because they are not perfect.. They have some weaknesses too.. However,in order for Malaysia to rebuild a model of an Islamic Civilisation,kita perlu ada ciri-ciri ini..Yang baik kita ikut,yang buruk kita tolak tepi..Bukan Australia sahaja..Banyak negara lain lagi..Jepun,yang majoriti rakyatnya tidak beragama,juga boleh dicontohi sikap dan budayanya.. There are only 10,000 Muslims in Japan..While Aussies are more laid back,Japanese are more hardworking.. But both produce high quality in their work..China is not a bad country either in terms of their work culture..
Kita perlu menjadi negara Islam contoh..Maju,bertamadun,with multi-cultural society..The truth is,tidak ada mana-mana negara Islam yang mempunyai ciri-ciri seperti di atas..Arab Saudi,Bahrain, Indonesia etc, kebersihannya tidak memuaskan hati kalau kita pergi..Masih fikir status..Attitude masih lagi kasar..Egypt, Sudan,Pakistan masih lagi rasuah..Semua nak kena bagi tips baru buat kerja..Walaupun 70-99% penduduk beragama Islam..Ada negara,duit banyak,pemimpin dan keluarga mereka hidup dengan kereta bersadur emas,enjoy sini sana,hidup mereka mewah sementara rakyat masih ada yang daif..
I'm not here to criticize..Malaysia is not that bad,but there are a lot of things that can still be improved for sure..I just think we should really be an example of a developed Muslim nation in every aspects by 2020:-)..God willing,we will be able to create law abiding citizens with high morale value,parallel with other developments.. Insyallah..
Wallahualam..Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Eid-ul Adha!
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Wooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
