Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Manila at standstill for Aquino

The body of Corazon Aquino will lie in state until her funeral on Wednesday [EPA]

Tens of thousands of people have lined the streets of the Philippines' capital, Manila, to pay their respects to Corazon Aquino, the late former president, as her body was transported to city's cathedral.

The 76-year-old died in the early hours of Saturday morning after a long fight against colon cancer. The scene in central Manila on Monday was reminiscent of the Philippines' so-called "people power" uprising in 1986 that toppled Ferdinand Marcos, the former president, and brought Aquino to power.

Her body will lie in state at the cathedral before she is buried in a private funeral on Wednesday. Masses of people yelled her name as Aquino's coffin was escorted through the rain-soaked streets of the capital along a historic avenue that was the site of the revolt against what many saw as Marcos' authoritarian rule.

Tens of thousands left their offices, schools and homes and converged on to the streets with yellow balloons, waving yellow ribbons and showering confetti on Aquino's flag-draped casket. Yellow became a symbol of the non-violent uprising in the country. "I have not seen a crowd like this," Franklin Drilon, Aquino's former cabinet aide, told the Associated Press.

"The people here are very enthusiastic, people in sandals, people in coat and tie, young and old with babies, they're coming out waving."

Aquino rose to prominence after the 1983 assassination of her husband, Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino, upon his return from exile in the United States to challenge Marcos.

As his widow she led the largest funeral procession Manila had ever seen, with as many as two million said to have attended.

'People power'

The killing angered many Filipinos and unleashed an opposition movement that pushed Aquino into the role of leader. Marcos claimed victory over Aquino in a 1986 election but the polls were widely viewed as rigged. Corazon Aquino became the icon of the Philippines' struggle for democracy [EPA] A group of military officers subsequently rebelled against him, triggering three days of "people power" demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of protesters that finally toppled Marcos, forcing him to flee into exile in Hawaii.

Many mourners during Monday's procession flashed the letter "L" sign with their fingers – symbolic for the world "laban", meaning "fight", Aquino's slogan during the her election campaign. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all," the youngest of the Aquino children, actress Kristina Bernadette, said as the convoy stopped in front of the statue of her late father, Benigno Aquino. "Our hearts feel so wonderful because you are letting us feel that you loved my mum very much," she said. "I feel so blessed to be a Filipino."

She said allowing the public to openly view her mother's body was "our way of saying thank you to the people who were with us from the very start."

Reluctant leader

As a former housewife who reluctantly became president, Aquino once said: "What on Earth do I know about being president?" before taking up the challenge to run against Marcos. During her presidential term Aquino, known as Cory to millions of Filipinos, helped cement the democratic process and oversaw the writing of a new constitution, thereby limiting a president's time in office to one six-year term.

She left office in 1992, but remained politically active until beset by illness. Aquino was forced to withdraw from public life after being diagnosed in March 2008 with colon cancer, which spread to her liver just days before her death.

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Dan adapun orang-orang yang takut kepada kebesaran Tuhannya dan menahan diri dari keinginan hawa nafsunya. Maka sesungguhnya syurgalah tempat tinggalnya. (al-Naziat ayat 40-41)

"Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes...known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. . . No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."
- James Madison, Political Observations, 1795

santapan rohani ii

Al-hadith :ثلاثةٌ قد حَرّمَ اللهُ - تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى - عليهم الجنةَ : مُدْمِنُ الخمر ، والعاقّ ، والدّيّوثُ الذييُقِرُّ في أَهْلِهِ الخُبْثَ . رواه أحمد والنسائيErtinya : "Tiga yang telah Allah haramkan baginya Syurga : orang yang ketagih arak, si penderhaka kepada ibu bapa dan Si Dayus yang membiarkan maksiat dilakukan oleh ahli keluarganya" ( Riwayat Ahmad )

PEGANGAN

Ingatlah firman Allah Taala:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا بِطَانَةً مِنْ دُونِكُمْ لَا يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالًا وَدُّوا مَا عَنِتُّمْ قَدْ بَدَتِ الْبَغْضَاءُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَمَا تُخْفِي صُدُورُهُمْ أَكْبَرُ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ (118) هَا أَنْتُمْ أُولَاءِ تُحِبُّونَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِبُّونَكُمْ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ كُلِّهِ وَإِذَا لَقُوكُمْ قَالُوا آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا عَضُّوا عَلَيْكُمُ الْأَنَامِلَ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ قُلْ مُوتُوا بِغَيْظِكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ (119)

Maksudnya: “Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! janganlah kamu mengambil orang-orang yang bukan dari kalangan kamu menjadi “orang dalam” (yang dipercayai). mereka tidak akan berhenti-henti berusaha mendatangkan bencana kepada kamu. mereka sukakan apa yang menyusahkan kamu. telahpun nyata (tanda) kebencian mereka pada pertuturan mulutnya, dan apa yang disembunyikan oleh hati mereka lebih besar lagi. Sesungguhnya telah Kami jelaskan kepada kamu keterangan-keterangan itu jika kamu (mahu) memahaminya. Awaslah! kamu ini adalah orang-orang (yang melanggar larangan), kamu sahajalah yang suka (dan percayakan mereka, sedang mereka tidak suka kepada kamu. kamu juga beriman kepada Segala Kitab Allah (sedang mereka tidak beriman kepada Al-Quran). dan apabila mereka bertemu dengan kamu mereka berkata: “Kami beriman”, tetapi apabila mereka berkumpul sesama sendiri, mereka menggigit hujung jari kerana geram marah (kepada kamu), Katakanlah (Wahai Muhammad): “Matilah kamu Dengan kemarahan kamu itu”. Sesungguhnya Allah sentiasa mengetahui akan Segala (isi hati) yang ada di dalam dada.” [Ali Imran: 118 & 119]
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تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَتَرْزُقُ مَنْ تَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍآل عمران : 27

"Engkaulah (Wahai Tuhan) yang memasukkan waktu malam ke dalam waktu siang, dan Engkaulah yang memasukkan waktu siang ke dalam waktu malam. Engkaulah juga yang mengeluarkan sesuatu yang hidup dari benda yang mati, dan Engkaulah yang mengeluarkan benda yang mati dari sesuatu yang hidup. Engkau jualah yang memberi rezeki kepada sesiapa yang Engkau kehendaki, dengan tiada hitungan hisabnya".

bermubahalah

“Siapa yang membantahmu tentang kisah Isa-Setelah engkau beroleh pengetahuan yang meyakinkan tentang hal itu, maka katakanlah kepada mereka : Marilah kita panggil (kumpulan) anak-anak kami dan anak-anak kalian, isteri-isteri kami, dan isteri-isteri kalian, diri-diri kami dan diri-diri kalian, kemudian kita bermubahalah kepada Allah, mohon agar Allah menjatuhkan laknat-Nya kepada pihak yang berdusta.” (Ali Imran : 61)