AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    

The lives that were on flight MH 370 did not see such times as the 8th of March has shown to them. Across mainstream media, bewilderment spread from the news networks to the social sites when the flight vanished off of the radar into thin air.

As of now, the stakeholders are individuals who are facing frustration every minute of the day to hear news on their loved ones, be it the crew members or the passengers. Malaysia Airlines is next in line, placed under immense scrutiny as to why this particular flight MH 370 had to go down this road. The third is the Malaysian government that must come to grips that our actions bring a significant impact as the world watches our every move. I would not say do not weep, for not all tears are evil. The agony that these families faced generated overwhelming international frustration but there is more to it. 153 passengers on board are nationals from China that implemented a restrictive policy on human reproduction liberty dating back to 1980 for 30 years.

An overview of the policy is that it imposed on citizens to have only one child in their households. The policy caused a direct effect on two-thirds of all Chinese households. That two-third is in actual fact 160

million in contrast to US that has 78 million with one-child family structure. What does this tell us? It is evident that the Chinese passengers on board have more at stake than the rest of us. The families who came down from China may have had their only son or daughter on board making their days more dreadful and their uproar louder.

This could answer the question why Chinese families and relatives on our land have had emotional outbursts to the international press like BBC and CNN news networks, shouting out their lack of faith in the government because it hides information on the missing plane. It must be acknowledged that the emotional despair was not one of an ordinary kind when the Chinese woman was wailing desperately while she was dragged by the officers away from the journalists and the flashes of the cameras.

It is evident that we are consumed with a hypothesis that it is a just world. The qualified technological advancement and even wide resources of medical aid have led us to possess incredibly high expectations of life. This is coupled

with the fact that the vast majority of

the passengers

are innocent persons who are families

and high school sweethearts heading to Beijing. Thus, the damage it caused to our mental faculty is on a higher degree because we would say ‘Have a safe flight and call me when you arrive' with almost full assurance that it will always be the case.

The contention is did the Malaysian government responded in the manner that it should? Malaysia Airlines and Malaysian government have been facing verbal attacks for the slip-ups they had committed. Constant contradiction and withdrawal of statements to the press by the authorities should not have happened. The concentration should have been on one spokesperson being the voice of Malaysia releasing out new matters from the investigations to these frustrated parties.

In this fragile phase, it requires preventive measures to avoid political tensions with China and other countries involved for that matter. The immediate invitation to Kuala Lumpur International Airport and funding of the hotel accommodations for the relatives and families are completely inadequate. These individuals, whose rational calculus is interfered by a deep sense of loss, need constant engagement on

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MH370

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    a personal level with the authorities. Continuous intimate interaction with the families could have prevented them from lashing out to international news networks that the government is unqualified to handle such a crisis. It would restore the confidence in the families if indeed the government holds briefings on multiple occasions and not prior to press conferences alone.

Such close connections are prominent because the human mind goes through much more torment when it deals with the unknown. Human beings are not able to accept any speculations of death of their loved ones unless and until they see the corpse with their own eyes. As of now those passengers and crew members are missing persons. Hope to see their loved ones one more time would cloud their judgment from being pragmatic. These families are fueled with endless possibilities. These are thoughts like their families and children might have not boarded the plane, they have boarded the wrong plane or they are surviving on the wreckage of the plane floating at sea. These thoughts are far worse than knowing that something bad has actually happened because you don’t know anything at all.

Having police officers constrain and drag these families away from the journalists surrounding the perimeter was not the right thing to do. A representative of MAS Berhad needed to approach them in front of the news reporters to show respect and sympathy for their disheartenment. We must act in accordance with moral high ground not because of the political incentive when we are given credit in our substantial efforts to solve this crisis, but because it is the right thing to do. These families are the focus in casual conversations and even more in news reports. Fingers are pointed to us for their frustration and agony as it is our obligation to lessen them.

Thus the state’s representatives need to justify the rationale behind the slow release of information. They could try to get across that it creates vulnerability to the investigation to expose immediately information retracted. However, it does not negate the duties of the government to release out information in a reasonable time limit.

Why is time so important? The precedent before us is the crash of Air France Flight 447 that crashed in the Atlantic in June 2009 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

The search result led to debris after five days and the impact site was estimated by experts to be 15 miles away when it was in fact 30 miles away coupled with the fact that it was to a different direction.

Experts from the Air France flight have explained that median ocean current speed is about a foot per second reaching 16 miles per day. The speed of the flight MH 370 if indeed is in the sea is dependent on where it went down. The search efforts would look for floating debris because the wreckage would be beneath the sea. The debris on one hand would be pushed more by wind than current, and movement of wind could be following the current or against it. Thus, the longer the search for floating debris, the harder it is to find the actual wreckage lying and the longer the world has to wait.

We owe it to the passengers and crew members to continue the search with persistence. Dead or alive is not an assumption to make for there are other forces at work in this world, other than the will of evil. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.

Editor’s note: It was confirmed by the Malaysian government on 24th of March that the Flight MH3670 has ended its journey in the Southern corridor of the Indian Ocean. May God bless the souls of the people on board.

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    The AIKOL YB Cup 2014 was a football tournament held in IIUM during the month of February. This tournament served as a means to find new talents to be recruited into the AIKOL FC team for the forthcoming Khairy Jamaluddin Cup, which will be held in April.

The tournament was organized by Che Faizal Amir, a third year AIKOL student together with a team of dedicated committees. Five teams comprising AIKOL students fought bravely during a fortnight-long football tournament. These teams competed in a league format, facing each other once. The team with the most accumulated points after four games would be crowned champion.

The Mahallah Ali Field was used as the venue for most of the games. The pitch was prepared for the aforementioned tournament and also for the Engineering Premier League. The two tournaments shared the pitch due to the lack of available football fields in IIUM.

Nevertheless, both tournaments were able to be held smoothly due to excellent organization by the committees involved.

After a dramatic end to the tournament, Pelindo 1786 FC became the acknowledged champion after collecting seven points. Captained by Muhamad Nazir and managed by Anuarul Faiz, Pelindo won two of their games in order to seal their place on top of the table. Infiniti Cinta FC came in second place with also seven points amassed. Nevertheless, they were unlucky to lose out on the top spot as they had an inferior goal difference compared to the winner.

The third place went to John FC who surprised the skeptics by displaying a

series of fantastic performances

throughout the tournament.

Players Sano and Amir Farid

particularly excelled on the field.

After the conclusion of the tournament, 20 players were chosen to play for AIKOL FC under the management of Syamim Amin and Areff Salehin. The players are Alif Farhan, Irwanshah, Nazir, Irsyad, Asyraf, Che Faizal, Haziq, Harzim, Zikry, Amirul Ariff, Fiqri, Hakim, Amir, Amir Farid, Zakuan, Sano, Hazim, Afiq, Faizul, Amirul, Nadzir and Panama.

AIKOL FC’s chance in the upcoming Khairy Jamaluddin Cup seems bright. They are now considered as the best Law Faculty football team in Malaysia after winning the Inter Law Faculty Deans Cup Tournament held in UKM. Let us all do our part as AIKOLIANs by supporting our players. May the best team win.

Forza Aikol!

AIKOL YB CUP 2014

It was a hot day when I settled for the final male short track speed-skating airing of the Sochi Olympics. Like any other humans who lose their senses on a hot day, I figured a bit of ice and winter sports would help bring the heat down; if not physically, then mentally. I learned of Viktor Ahn – my muse for this article, that very day.

Short track speed-skating is adrenaline on ice.

Viktor Ahn has an interesting

part to share with the rest of the world on the extent he went through to grab a chance at the taste of this adrenaline; even if it means switching nationality for a rival nation.  

Viktor at the Expense of

Nationality

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14                                His story is the prime example of how nationality is often secondary to the financial demands of being a professional athlete. This dramatic turns in the episode of the 28-year-old eventually led to a happy ending when he won his fourth, fifth and sixth Olympic gold medals at the recent Sochi Olympics as a competitor for Russia.  

Viktor Ahn, formerly Hyun Soo Ahn, was once a proud South Korean skater. He picked up his first three gold medals in 2006 at the Turin Olympics. His fall from grace began when he was embroiled in a controversy involving factional divisions within the Korean Skating Union (KSU), followed by a knee injury which prevented him from participating in the 2010 Olympics at Vancouver. Despite his injury, he was set to compete at another Olympics. Sadly, he was no longer wanted by the KSU and rumor has it, the union then had a handful of new talents and did not want to make space for the old Olympic hero. To keep his dreams alive, he shopped for other alternatives - and that was how Hyun Soo became Viktor.

When Ahn made it known that he was leaving Korea a few years back, a lot of countries tried to reach him, including the Unites States. Eventually, he settled on Russia and the determining factor was his pool of talents (and handsome monetary awards). Russia has never won a single short-track medal, but with Ahn’s presence, it was seeking to become a contender on ice along with South Korea and China. Ahn not only won medals for himself – the Olympic hero also lifted Russia’s short-track programme to its climax. For an unwanted Olympic hero at his own home, Ahn brought huge changes to Russia’s short-track programme.

Ahn is not alone. The practice of adopting athletes or adopting countries in the hopes of benefit on the medal count has been exercised by some countries since the 1920s. The Olympic Rules merely state that an athlete has to be a citizen of the country to qualify as a competitor. The countries of course, can bend or shape their citizenship laws to suit their needs.

In an attempt to put limitations on the flag-switching loophole, the International Olympic Charter (Chapter 5, Rule 41) emphasized that an athlete with multiple nationalities has the right to choose his or her team, but must wait at least three years if he or she has once competed for another country at the Olympic level. There is however, no limitation on the international sport scene in general.

I can only hope that Malaysian athletes maintain their integrity and loyalty to this country despite various offers made by any third party. The authorities, too, must actively keep in check the interests of our athletes and not neglect them. Any erratic political mess should not overlap with their interests; if not, we might risk losing a gem – just like how South Korea lost Ahn.

of hadiths, entitled Hadis - Satu Pernilaian Semula and Hadis - Jawapan Kepada Pengkritik, written in 1986 and 1992 respectively. He and others of similar ideas have been said to be proponents of the Quranist movement, or otherwise known as the anti-hadith movement.

The ideal which they stood for is to honor the Quran as the sole reference guiding the Muslims. Their main proposition to reject most of the hadiths today will be discussed succinctly below.  

 

The question on hadith as the primary source of Islamic Law was brought to the attention of Malaysians once again this year. Kassim Ahmad took the spotlight due to a recent seminar conducted to discuss his ideas before this. He has shocked the nation with his two books on the validity  

INTO THE MIND OF KASSIM

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    

First, they claimed that the authoritativeness of hadiths should be questioned since Prophet Muhammad s.a.w never instructed the collection of the hadiths to be done. It is only after hundreds of years later that the collection was made and completed. However, some of the narrators were suspected to have fabricated the hadiths. This, as they claimed, has proven the unreliability of the hadiths. Kassim Ahmad especially pointed the blame towards Imam Shafi’ie as the one who declared hadiths as the primary source equal to the Quran, when hadiths, as he said, was used before only as moral traditions, not as binding precedents.  

Their dispute is twofold: first in their acceptance towards the narration of hadiths, and second, in their acceptance of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. as the role model for mankind. They claimed that the status of the Prophet s.a.w. as a Messenger has been compared to the status of Allah s.w.t and His words (the Quran) by accepting hadiths as a legal source. They argued that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. should only be seen as the one who conveyed the message and nothing more. They asserted that the hadiths should only remain as history or lessons of the past.  

The main problem with these Quranists or anti-hadiths lies in their misunderstanding on the position of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w in Islam, who is not only a mere Messenger in the literal sense. We do not concede to their claim that Muslims equate the status of the Prophet s.a.w. similar to Allah s.w.t. No true believers in Islam would hold such an idea when we take hadiths as one of the primary source in Syariah. Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. is a role model worthy of reference.

Muhammad s.a.w. is the Last Prophet, thus, he should be the one determining in what sense the Quran should be applied. This is why Muslims scholars studied hadiths to support the application of the Quran.  

In relation to the absence of hadith collection during the time of the Prophet s.a.w, there was fear that during that time, the hadiths will be implicated as part of the Quran, since the Quran was not yet compiled. Also, during that time, the fact that the Prophet s.a.w. was still alive and his Companions were aplenty had made it impossible for one to fabricate hadiths. Later, when the Companions succeeded him, the collection of hadiths was commenced due to fear of the deaths of many memorizers of hadiths, as well as the possibility of fabrication. Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As and Ali bin Abi Talib, for instance, were among the Companions who have written down the hadiths.  

If the Quranists or anti-hadiths truly understand the methodology in validating the authenticity of hadiths, its purposes, and together with its limitations, they will understand that the application of hadiths in the contextualization of the meaning and application of Quran in human life has been made with utmost caution. The hadiths become a primary source because of its status of authority – coming from the Prophet s.a.w who was responsible in showing what needs to be done. The question on the difference among ulama’ in regards to the acceptance of certain hadiths happened when the narrator of the hadith is questionable. These hadiths will not become solid reference in legal rulings. The problem with Quranists or anti-hadiths arises due to their opinions; claimed to be founded on the

advancement of modern knowledge, but implicated with religious skepticism overtone.  

When the argument put forward is in the form of attacking, of course truly learned ulama’ will be defensive. It is conceded that certain ulama’ do retaliate aggressively. But just because most truly learned ulama’ have made justifications to reject those arguments and put a stop on it, it does not mean that they do not accept ijtihad or close the door for intellectuals. When they have made the justifications, evidenced by Quran and hadiths that such arguments are erroneous, the Quranists or the anti-hadiths must have the courage to accept the fact that there are questions which have right and wrong answers. This is the quality of true seekers of knowledge.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    

The movie starts with a man trying to use the juice of blackberries he saved up from a pathetic meal to write a letter and when he failed, the rest of the movie was heavy with (your) unshed tears. The setting of the movie is at the United States of America, during the 1840s. The first quarter of the movie alternates between glimpses of how Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free African American came to be sold and conditioned as a slave, and how he fared as a stolen man.

International slave trading had already been prohibited by 1808, but the internal slave trade was alive and thriving. It had become a major economic activity in the United States, with an estimated population of 4 million slaves by 1860; all to labour in plantations, especially in the booming cotton industry.

A carpenter and fiddle player, Northup was at the receiving end of horrific treatment, although it would seem that it was relatively good compared to other slaves. The benevolent Master William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his family were humane, but nowhere near human enough.

One of the most powerful scenes in the movie was the scene where Northup treaded the muddy ground below him for hours, with a noose around his neck and his hands tied behind his back. Works went on as usual for the rest of the slaves, and the wife of Master Ford looked at him with unemotional eyes.

When Northup was traded with a debt to the cruel Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), the treatment was harder to swallow. Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o), a female slave equally lusted for and hated by Epps bore the brunt of it; repeated rape, physical assaults and humiliations at his hands and his envious wife. The violence was such that she smiled and begged Northup to end her life.

12 years Northup suffered; his wife and children replaced with fresh wounds and old scars, helplessness and fear, hunger and pain.

The term “nigger” that the white men spit at them meant that to cause their death would be no crime, and to beat them bloody would be justice upheld. Just get rid of the body and patch up the wounds. Nobody saw them as anything other than properties that walked, talked and laboured. Most are born in the life, but others were stolen into it. Both were painful to watch.

The movie was brutally captivating. It was based on a true story; an adaptation of an 1853 memoir of the same name of a real Solomon Northup, and the cast made each scene a believable moment. Michael Fassbender was convincing as the cruel Master, and Lupita Nyong’o was Patsey in all her pain. 12 Years A Slave deserved all three Academy Awards it had won.

May we never be either on the giving or receiving end of this evil. May we never see a human being and fail to care what happens to his flesh and mind. It’s painful to digest that life was like that for them; the truth is ugly but it’s clear for all to see. May we never repeat what has been done.

Slaves are no more in this world… Or are they?

12 Years A Slave: A Brutal Look

When you’re in a crowd, would you act autonomously or would you follow the masses? If your answer is the former, then think again. Studies have shown that people are not as unique as they think they are, even with the incessant advocation and movements towards individualism that we see happening all over the world.

Herd Mentality:

Are We as Original as We Claim to Be?

“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.”

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    In the era where information is easily obtained through the Internet, it seems to feed the hunger and desire of the 21st century community who furtively seeks for validation from a crowd by following what the crowd approves of. It is a perverse phenomenon; you post a status or a picture on social media and the shallow mentality (arguably, the most common) would be that, more likes means the act is favourable by the mass even if, it is in itself a form of “self-actualisation”.

Think about it this way, when you try to self-actualise, it will always be within the boundaries of the values or ethics that the society has outlined even if it is, to some extent, quite irrational – which means you are still conforming to “the herd”. Instances of preposterous acts done in the name of herd mentality would be the Internet itself (what a surprise!).

The breeding ground of both extremes and moderates; virtual gangs that harass others while gaining supporters on comment sections or forums but on the upside, positive voices exist as well to create a check and balance in the virtual world.

This (herd mentality) often becomes a feat for individuals living in crowd, trying to make attempts to genuinely self-realise as a separate entity amongst the overwhelming crowd; you’re going to be a highlighter, standing out in the middle of a mob that seems to operate the same. You don’t want to be a liberal amongst conservatives do you? Not if you don’t have the guts to do so. Admittedly, I have seen very few who have had the guts to really stand out in a crowd. The one who really dared to be different.

Herd mentality is a connotation of the inevitable influences “expounded” by their peers in adopting certain behaviours. You would never have thought that you are somehow, actually one of them; sports, fashion, even morals are shaped by this mentality. So think about it, do you consider yourself as an independent individual, proud to stand apart from the crowd? Are you absolutely sure your decisions are not influenced by the masses? Admit it. To a certain extent, we are all conformist as much as we try to be ourselves.

However, there is always hope for everything. We can still think for ourselves and not to follow the pack. The trick is to constantly be aware of our actions and by simply – going out on a limb here – not giving a care of what people say. Do not let the multitude define who you are. You need to start defining yourself. So go ahead and be a renegade!

THE AVERAGE REASONABLE MAN’S

GUIDE TO THE UKRAINE-RUSSIA

CONFLICT  What is the difference between

Ukraine and Crimea? Are they one and the same?

Yes and no. Ukraine is a former Soviet Union state within Europe bordering not only Russia in the east, but also the Black Sea in the south. It gained independence in 1991, and has since been acknowledged as an independent state, even by Russia in subsequent treaties such as the Black Sea Fleet Accords. However, for many years it has fallen victim to an endless tug-of-war between the West and the East with its western region being pro

 

West and the south and eastern regions pro Russia. Here’s where Crimea comes into the picture, Crimea being a peninsular of Ukraine is connected to mainland Ukraine by a narrow stretch of land and is home to 2.3 million people, interestingly a majority of which identify themselves as ethnic Russian and speak the language.

Why is this so? It's due to the fact that Crimea was annexed by Russia in 1783 and spent approximately 200 years under Russian influence until Nikita Khrushchev,

 

the Soviet leader in 1954 thought it would be a good idea to hand over Crimea to Ukraine (who at the time was still part of the Soviet Nation) as a gesture of goodwill as well as for practical reasons, because unlike Russia, Ukraine has a natural land bridge to Crimea which allows for a more efficient transport of machinery and materials to the peninsular. This decision seemed like a sensible move; it was convenient, it improved relations, and with Ukraine still within the USSR at the time, Crimea wasn’t really going anywhere now was it?

Then came the fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR).

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    Ukraine with Crimea in tow declared its Independence, although Crimea now legally belonged to Ukraine, the Russians had never fully accepted the fact that Crimea was no longer under their power.

So what’s with all the protests in Ukraine?

Back to the crisis at hand. Ukraine being deeply in debt initialed an association agreement with the European Union (EU). This agreement would facilitate political and trade relations between Ukraine and EU. Also on the table was a free trade agreement which would save Ukraine $674 million on import tariffs every year. Besides that, EU pledged a loan of $825 million as part of the IMF bailout package, though of course nothing would be binding until ratification, and the EU itself imposed conditions on Ukraine such as financial and legal reforms, fair elections and stability before any formal signing would take place. Many Ukrainians supported this deal as it would ultimately strengthen ties between the EU and Ukraine.

All hell broke loose when the Pro Moscow President, Victor Yanukovych abandoned the agreements with EU in favour of closer ties with Russia. Protests which started in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine was just the beginning of a series of events which took place as a result of the rejection of the EU agreement.

Protesters stormed government buildings and offices, and in parliament, a vote of no confidence took place but unfortunately lacked the support of 37 MP’s for the motion, then came the passing of oppressive anti protest laws, followed by incidents of protesters being abducted only to be found dead and security forces given the green light to use live ammunition to quell the protests. When the negotiations finally took place, the Ukrainian parliament unanimously voted to forcibly remove Yanukovych and to begin impeachment proceedings against him, causing him to flee to Russia.

How did the protests affect Crimea?

Meanwhile in Crimea, Pro Russian protesters (apparently not everyone was unhappy with the ditching of the EU deal) clashed with the Euromaiden protesters; unidentified Russian gunmen started popping up at various strategic locations such as airports, and roadblocks were set up. Following an armed occupation of the Crimean parliament building by the said gunmen, Sergey Aksyonov became the new prime minster of Crimea replacing Anatolii Mohyliov. The new PM wasted no time and called on none other than Vladimir Putin, president of Russia to help end the unrest in Crimea - needless to say he was more than happy to oblige. The bottom line: the people in Crimea, after the sudden ousting of the Pro Russian President in Ukraine harbored suspicions that a Pro West government taking over would mean their needs and rights would be extinguished, e.g. their right to speak Russian. This might be due to too much centralization of power; the constitution of Ukraine enables the president to appoint or dismiss the governors instead of the local council, therefore if the president is Pro West, he would undoubtedly choose governors who are either Pro West themselves or those willing to support his decisions regardless of the desires of the people in that region.

Hold up! Why does Crimea have a prime minister? Isn’t it a state within Ukraine?

Crimea is not just any old state within Ukraine, it has a special quality of being an autonomous republic within Ukraine, and it has its own parliament and prime minister governed by the Crimean constitution according to the laws of Ukraine. Why is Crimea given this right? That’s a discussion for another day.

Now back to the main story, Putin gets a thumbs up from his parliament to intervene in Ukraine in order to protect Russian interests in

Crimea, he states that the armed men in Crimea were not Russian military but local self defence forces. No one’s buying it though. Crimea holds a referendum on whether or not the people of Crimea would like to join Russia or declare de facto independence from Ukraine, and overwhelming majority chose the former.

The referendum however has been highly criticized, as the presence of Russian gunmen in the region, attacks on pro Ukrainian activists suggests there is some form of coercion at play. This coupled with the fact that a number of Ukrainian TV channels were shut down or replaced with Russian channels, and that 10 days was too short a time of campaigning for people to weigh in their decision and to make an informed choice, Ukraine calls it illegal, Obama calls its unconstitutional, Russia acknowledges it (no surprise there).

Why does Russia want Ukraine/Crimea?

• BUFFER ZONE Ukraine also has much to do with Russia’s self image. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been expanding east to post Soviet states such as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia thereby shrinking Russian sphere of influence and obviously this did not sit well with Russia. Ukraine’s efforts to get closer to the EU opens up the possibility that Russia may very well have NATO at its borders should Ukraine ever be brought into the organization, and if it can’t have Ukraine, the next move would be to keep it out of the hands of the West. Russia pledged 15 billion and reduced gas prices to entice Ukraine to opt for Russian aid instead of the EU deal.

• SEVASTAPOL A city in Crimea which houses several strategic locations for naval bases, many of which are

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    

currently leased to Russia until 2017. Access to the Black Sea is a strategic priority for Russia; when Ukraine was no more a soviet nation and had gained independence, the Black Sea Fleet was portioned between Ukraine and Russia. Other than Sevastopol there are other useful locations for naval bases, which may be one of the reasons why Russia is fixated on Crimea. .

By displaying its naval dominance in the area, China is bullying Southeast Asian nations into submission in the territorial dispute over the South China Sea. Why all the fuss about this particular body of water? It just so happens that one third of the world’s shipping is transited through these waters. If you control the South China Sea, you will effectively control billions of dollars’ worth of trade in the entire region.

The South China Sea is surrounded by most of the nations in the Southeast Asian bloc: China, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and even Malaysia, near the States of Sabah and Sarawak. That, in addition to potentially being rich in oil and gas on its seabed, makes it of immense strategic importance. Many of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries have issued claims over certain parts of the area, but China’s claims appear to prevail over them all.

• EURASIAN UNION

Another reason why Russia would be interested in Ukraine is to keep it out of the European Union and bring it into the Russian equivalent, the Eurasian Union; so far the only countries in the Eurasian Union are Russia, Kazakhstan and BelarusChina, much to the annoyance of the United States, has clearly asserted itself as the regional superpower in Southeast Asia.

The impact of this move is that the area is effectively under the control of China’s military, making it one step closer to gaining de facto sovereignty over the islands. In the South China Sea, the Chinese navy has increased patrols and is allegedly harassing Filipino and Vietnamese oil exploration and fishing vessels. Some of this area is well within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of the

Late last year, China expanded its air defense identification zone to include islands which are disputed by Japan, who claim it to be rightfully theirs.

Philippines, and is seen by Filipinos as a violation of their territorial sovereignty.

This geopolitical bullying is a threat to the entire region. For one, it stifles the freedom of navigation. China could, on a whim or on the premise of security, close entire passages of the South China Sea to gain an advantage in trade or apply political pressure to ASEAN nations. This would not only taint diplomacy but could also have drastic negative impacts

on trade. It is also a threat to maritime security, as the mighty Chinese navy would have unilateral control over the area. Lastly, the potential oil, gas, and mineral wealth of the South China Sea are extremely lucrative, and sought after by all of the nations in the Southeast Asian region.

The sad truth, however, is that there is very little of which the smaller South East Asian nations can, or are willing, to do about it

The South China Sea Dispute: Why It

Matters

By Ryan Habibullah

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    themselves. All of the nations in ASEAN have strong economic ties with China. Newly industrialized countries like the Philippines and Vietnam, cannot afford to sacrifice China as an economic and diplomatic ally. It’s very risky to bite the hand that feeds you. Therefore, to counter Chinese dominance, the United States has stepped up strategic relations with ASEAN nations. In late April,

You see, the condition of my purse is terrifying. I am mortified, petrified, and horrified. No, of course it’s not hideous or tattered if that’s what you’re thinking. In fact, it is still the prettiest purse in the world to me. What sends shivers down my spine is not the purse itself, rather, the contents inside my purse, where all the money supposedly should have been.

This matter came to my attention after dinner last night when I wanted Baskin Robins for dessert but my financial condition was in such a depressing state and my life was at stake. I needed the RM15 in my purse for fuel but I also wanted some ice- cream loving. Fuel or ice cream? I chose the former. Devastated, I went straight to the nearest gas station before heading home. The next few hours were a haze, but I remember lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, at the fake sunflower my mother had “planted” in a tub by the window.

President Barack Obama will be in Manila to sign bilateral strategic- military agreements with the Philippines.

Not surprisingly, Japan is also seriously concerned about China’s behaviors. So much so, that recently the Japanese parliament has been pushing to amend its pacifist constitution and create a full-blown military alliance with the Philippines to rival the comparatively huge Chinese navy.

I must have lain there for hours, catatonic. The next morning I was still lying on my bed, thinking about my purse. It was as if I hadn’t slept at all. All night long, one single thought had occupied my mind.

I’m broke.

Immediately, I made a virtual list of all the things I could do to generate some side income. I’m not yet qualified to work with any legal firm so I started with the most common approach: start an online business and sell shawls! To tell you the truth, I’ve tried this before but I failed miserably when I ended up wearing the shawls myself, so that’s obviously out of the list. Maybe I could sell tie-dyes. I’m sure everyone would love some classic handmade tie-dyes but again, this is not a possible solution since I’m always busy with mooting. I’m also not the most creative person on earth; I’d probably ruin the t-shirts

Ideally, the South China Sea should be jointly controlled through cooperation between the Southeast Asian nations. This way, each nation would be able to peacefully negotiate their rights and interests. China’s behavior indicates that it does not want to share with other ASEAN nations. The South China Sea dispute is, therefore, a real threat to peace and security in this part of the world.

and end up wasting my money on unused fabric paint. Even so, I do have friends who have great online shops, so I guess it’s not really a bad idea.

Aside from having an online shop, maybe I can start up a car rental business. Except that I don’t have a car. The one I’m using now is my mother’s so I dare not take the risk. If something bad happens to the car I can already imagine myself walking home from IIUM. However, my friends who are venturing into this business are making really good profits. A friend’s brother just recently got married using his own money from his car rental business and I don’t know if this excites you as much as it excites me, but note that he’s just 19.

I also used to be an Add Maths tutor. It was actually quite an easy job. My classes were mostly at night, so I had time to go shopping or do whatever I wanted to do during the day. If you’re looking for a job that takes up little of

HELP! MY PURSE IS THINNING!  

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    your time, try tutoring. It’s fun and you also get paid well.

My last option would be to be a research assistant (RA). Most lecturers are in need of RA’s and if I polish my researching skills well enough, I’m sure one of them would notice me.

Don’t worry if your research skills are bad, you can always join the mooting team to improve. Mooting may be tiring but it shapes you into a better law student, I promise. So don’t forget to go for selections later!

Alright, I think I now know how to handle my financial problems.

I’m sure most of you are in the same position as I’m in, so you would understand exactly how it feels like when your purse is empty. But let’s not stop there, let’s try something new and challenge ourselves. What about me, you say? I say I might just give the first option a try again... (And hope this time it won’t be a failure! Again!)

Destruction: A Poem By Eznur Aisyafiqa Zakaria

It does not flinch – this destruction,

Yet, it was he and she who have chosen to breathe the air of caution, Again, it was he and she who put the fire off in unpretentious humanity,

So they could shield themselves from the fumes of the ruthless and mighty, Yet, they see not that those shields shatter onto the lands of damnation.

Should we not speak of the truth thrust upon us, in the revelation?

Should we not break those shackles that bind our kind from alleviation? Should we not turn back to glimpse at the tormenting fatalities?

Should we not be outraged on the number of breaths lost in these ceaseless atrocities?

The whole of mankind are watching innocent souls dragged on the soil of brutality, Still the whole of mankind, did nothing, to put an end to this hostility,

There could be no uprightness coming out of any indemnity, Breathing life into the dead is the only path to restore humanity,

And that hour, will draw itself closer, as it is an unbreakable promise of Allah, The Almighty.

WETTING YOUR OWN PANTS AND TELLING THE WORLD ABOUT IT

.  

This article was written on 24th March 2014 and the writer is inspired by Matluthfi’s ‘Buat Kepala’

I was among the fifty IIUM students who had a short course at a camp site in Bentong, Pahang, and therefore had no contact with the ‘outside world’ at all until we boarded the bus to head back to IIUM on Sunday, 9th of March. As usual, the excitement from the course takes time to subside so we were all still laughing and enjoying ourselves during the first 10 minutes on the bus –  

 

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14    that was until the songs on the radio stopped and we first heard the tragic news on MH370. At that point of time, the word ‘missing’ was unfathomable to most of us. Some refused to take the news as it was. As we traveled towards civilization and our mobile phones started beeping and ringing, a couple of girls read aloud circulated WhatsApp text and blogs on the theories of the missing MH370. They had started to assume: ‘Perhaps they had an emergency landing in a jungle somewhere...’. A few had already relayed the wrong information by going: ‘There’s a plane crash and they do not know where it is!’ while some remained quiet, praying for the best and patiently waited for authentic resources.  

Growing up with aeroplanes all my life, I began to wonder, how could the gigantic Boeing 777 disappear? But what baffled me more was how on earth could these undergraduates believe in circulating WhatsApp texts and blogs especially when it involves the lives of hundreds of people? They had simply announced it in the bus without quoting any authority or thinking of its consequences.  

As days passed more conspiracy theories were irresponsibly shared on social media. The most ironic share was on the infamous coconut and carpet video. Numerous Malaysians were condemning the act of using a shaman while sharing the mockeries Malaysians had gotten from international media. The logic that I had in mind was this: If you are embarassed about wetting your own pants then why did you show it to the public? If these myopic Malaysians had not circulated the video just to criticise it, then the video would not have gone viral and invited the derision it had. Relevant complaints could have been easily addressed to their respective State Religious Department, recorded and documented so that further actions could be taken.

The best Malay idiom to successfully illustrate this situation is ‘Membuka pekung di dada’ which means exposing your own shame to others. Most of the time, expressing your problems on the media or sharing them with irrelevant parties would not solve it. Even the mouse in Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson knew that it had to

Dr. Spencer Johnson knew that it had to find the other way through the maze rather than to sit, wait and complain when the cheese was not at its usual place.  

What is lacking in our community today is the ability to control ourselves from pressing the ‘post’, ‘like’ and ‘share’ button. Just like the information management team in industries, we need our personal information management system – at our individual level.  

Hence, here are two useful pointers to prevent redundant or false information from flooding our social media:  

1. How true is the information?  2. Why is it necessary to be

shared?  

The only reminder that we should have in mind when considering these two points is that silence does not mean ignorance because ‘Diam-diam ubi berisi’. And with that, I must now turn off my iPad as my plane is taking off in minutes.  

Al-Fatihah for the crews and passengers on board MH370. May they rest in peace. Our heartfelt condolences to their families and friends. Berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu memikul.

Editors for Issue 14:

Nur Aiman Kautsar Binti Shaharudin Shah - Munirah Binti Hamdan - Nik Nuraisha Alia Binti Hanafi - Yazid Bin

Zakaria

Layout for issue 14 by:

Farhana Zain – Muhammad Syaqil bin Iberahim

AHMAD  IBRAHIM  KULLIYYAH  OF  LAWS       ISSUE  14