By Ahmad Faizuddin
Monkey See Monkey Do
It is ironical to see our political elites actions through televisions and newspapers. Politics is heating up. Ideally, the House of Representatives should be a place where educated people know how to act and react wisely. I believe that leaders lead by example. Hence, if they want people to respect them, they must set a good example themselves.
I remember an old picture shared by one of my friends on Facebook. It illustrates three monkeys in which each covering its eyes, ears and mouth. They are known as three wise monkeys or three mystic apes. I believe some of you have seen the picture.
Purportedly, it came from China in the early 8th century or Japan in the 17th century. It became one of the famous proverbs, i.e. œsee no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. The three monkeys are known as mizaru (see no evil), kikazaru (hear no evil), and iwazaru (speak no evil). Some people also believe that there is the fourth monkey known as shizaru. It is portrayed as the monkey who crosses its hands, which means, œdo no evil. The ‘four-monkey proverb’ was a reminder to all of us to constantly be aware of what we see, what we hear, what we speak, and what we do, especially in front of people.
To be clear, I am not a fan of Darwins evolution theory and I am not comparing human beings with monkeys at any circumstance. Yet, a monkey is the closest mammal to human beings. It has a unique behaviour, i.e. monkey sees, monkey does. If there is one thing that annoys me the most, it is the political elites that show no manners to the public. It is like parents or teachers who allow their children to misbehave by watching their bad actions. As peoples representatives, they should be aware that there are many eyes watching and following their behaviours.
On the other hand, the proverb can also be translated negatively. The monkeys are depicted as the state of blind, mute, deaf and do not care of our surroundings. As human beings, we should develop social awareness and responsibility to our nation and ourselves. Not to mention, if we are the leaders, we have even greater responsibilities to the community. As Ben Parkers uncle said in Spiderman movie, œwith great power comes great responsibility. A leader cannot be blind, mute, deaf or do nothing with all social problems.
In one hadith, Imam Muslim narrated from Abu Said Al-Khudri that Prophet Muhammad SAW said, œWhoever amongst you sees an evil, he must change it with his hand; if he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is unable to do so, then with his heart; and that is the weakest form of Faith (Book 1, Hadith no. 184).
Ideally, the change with hand is only possible by the power that the government have. While the change with tongue is the hands of people or citizens through their good advices and help.
Thus, what have we done so far for the community? What can we do then? We do what we are capable of. We do not need to wait until we become a leader, or have a power, so then we contribute something to the community.
As parents, set good examples and provide our children the best support for their life. As teachers, give the best effort to teach students and promote the best education for them. As athletes, exercise and fight hard to bring national pride. As politicians, guard democracy, serve people and do the best for the betterment of our nation. Do not only fight over your interests and distribute power among yourselves. Everyone should play his or her roles accordingly.
In the moment of economic crisis like this, hopefully we can learn the lessons of sacrificing our valuable belongings for others. Not sacrificing others for our personal gains. Today we are overwhelmed with moral problems and its challenges. Thus, we have to sacrifice our selfishness. We should remember that evil acts will continue if we do not educate our families and communities well.
Immoral acts, such as backbiting, spreading rumours, false accusation, bribery, and even ‘killing’ others, all of those need to be controlled. We find that people are confused with misguidances, so they need to be revived and rescued from the immoral acts. Even though we complain having bad economic growth, we should have plenty of reasons to be grateful. Compare to other Muslim countries like Palestine, Egypt, and Syria, we are not going through wars, conflicts, and bloody turmoil.
So, again, why monkey? As an Arabic proverb said, œExamine what is said not him who speaks. It means that we can learn from anybody, including the monkey. Perhaps it is easy said than done, but let us stop concentrating on the negativity (speaker) and focus on the message (truth). Maybe then we can start improving and helping each other.
The above-mentioned philosophies can be invaluable lessons for us. Everyone is expected to act wisely. However, we should not only blame the leaders or political elites. As leaders, they also should not be blind and deaf with their surrounding. Do something for improvement.
Perhaps it is true that it is hard to be human than to be monkey. But monkey can only imitate. Monkey sees, monkey does. We, as human beings, can do more than that. We can learn from monkeys, yet do not be monkeys.
If we learn about our great scholars or educated figures in the past, they were never arrogant. If they have to choose between defending their arguments and preserving unity, they will choose the latter. As to continue the noble legacy of them, we should remain patient, civilised, and forgiven.
At the end, we should always be sensitive with all social issues around us. Our concerns require continuous efforts and sacrifices. We do really hope that Muslim countries can be a voice of moderation, not only to fight racism and intolerance, but also to spread respect and kindness to one another.***