Sunday 27 May 2012

The Founding of Penang

Who found Penang? Francis Light or someone else?

It was not Francis Light. He did not come here first. He obtained Penang illegally and without papers from the Sultan of Kedah. The Portuguese got here first, at Batu Feringghi (Portuguese Stone). The Dutch didn't set foot here and there is nothing Dutch on the island. The first Muslim to arrive here was Nakhoda and his brother/pal, Datuk Jenaton. Nakhoda (or his real name Muhammad Saleh) built a prayer place, now the mosque, at Batu Uban, called Masjid Batu Uban. He was Khatib Muhammad Saleh. 

The Sultan of Kedah had sought help from Datuk Jenaton from attack by Siam. Datuk Jenaton defeated the Siamese attack. The Sultan of Kedah rewarded him with a large land acreage on Penang island, the entire area today called Minden Heights plus Universiti Sains Malaysia plus Batu Uban, right down to the sea.

The problem now is some people (developers) want to demolish Masjid Batu Uban. Why do they want to destroy our heritage? Don't they know Penang history? Don't they know that Masjid Batu Uban is a tourism spot and under Malaysia Tourism? Don't they know this mosque is 278 years old in 2012? It has a village, Kampung Batu Uban, where a lot of Malays reside - including my uncle, Pak Cik Syed Ahmad bin Syed Sahil Jamalullail.

I think we are at a crossroad now, where we need to sit and re-think about what is becoming of our madness for wealth creation and wealth accumulation. We destroy everything beautiful in our state (Penang) and in our country (Malaysia) and we do this because we see a lot of money coming into our big ever-hungry pockets. Because greed overtakes us, we are blind and tend to take risky roads to any decision, make ruthless decisions, make heartless decisions - with no ending to upsetting and hurting people - the very people we are robbing in order to become rich and super rich. We are killing the poor people who want to remain on their land and use that mosque, as their ancestors have done before them - since 278 years ago.

Please remember that there is a verse in Quran, where Allah SWT says, He wants to destroy this land where heartless people dwell (orang-orang zalim), like the greedy developers who prey on poor people, but He can't do so because there are good people as well in that land, who pray to Him and ask for His Mercy. So, those heartless greedy pigs out there and up there, you must be thankful to that little mosque down below from your high-rise. Stop for a moment and think what it feels like if you were in the mosque and people start attacking you and the mosque. Stop throwing water bombs at the mosque just because you worship a motionless tangible god while the people at the mosque pray to Allah SWT - the God that created you in your mother's womb, even if your mother was a bitch or a slut. Just open any medical textbook and you will see this leech-like structure which is called Halaqah in the Quran - also described as chewing gum with teeth marks - that's how you were made in the beginning. Did your scripture teach you about what was developing in your mother's womb? There is no scripture in this world that tells about Creation of Man except the Quran. So please, read the Quran and stop disturbing the little mosque down below and stop hurting its people. There is always room to learn from the poor people - they live without fear of not becoming rich but they fear becoming rich. Why? Because you become rich at someone else's expense. So becoming rich and richer actually is a deadly weapon of mass destruction that kills. So don't start but stop hurting Masjid Batu Uban - let it live. The mosque was there first - 278 years ago. You don't kill your own father. Give your respect to Masjid Batu Uban.



I married a very poor Chinese man and he is a Muslim, and prays at that mosque, the same mosque that you wish to demolish. He can read the Quran for you but you got to come down to the mosque to hear him read it for you. Learn not to be greedy and uncaring. Learn how to be caring from poor people, like me and my man. It is alright to be poor but there is every wrong to be rich. So the next time you hold your money in your hand, ask yourself where and how you got that money. Those thugs in Ayer Itam are a dying fad - they will grow old and sick one day. Learn to be good for once in this life. That's my medicine for you, greedy pigs.

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