By Hader Glang
Voting unworthy candidates a major sin in Islam
Election fever can be felt now everywhere you go. That's because of the campaign period, which will run from October 19, 2007 until October 27, 2007. But what I observe right now, many candidates both for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) are violating election policies.
In the urban barangays in the City of Flowers, not Asia's Latin City, it is observed that many candidates seeking re-election have not spared a single electric post with their campaign posters illegally hung, and believe it or not, other election propaganda are put up outside the Comelec-designated common poster areas.
The question now: what the Comelec officials are doing about these posters hung and pasted illegally? Will they just tolerate it? What about doing their job and start disqualifying the violators? I think they should not just ask candidates to minimize litter but they should take down all these illegal posters now and punish those unscrupulous politicians.
It's very sad to note that aside from illegal postings, most of the Barangay and SK candidates at the present time are subservient or beholden to incumbent influential politicians. Worse is that they receive bribery from these corrupted leaders, who style themselves as pro-poor and pro-people but in reality these are deception for favors later and for their own political future.
In my column recently, I said that corruption in politics is truly widespread that often the person elected to office is not the most qualified. I, therefore, urge the electorates to know and reflect upon the qualities or traits of candidates that deserve our votes. We should realize that each and every one of us has its own share of responsibilities toward our community.
We don't need these personality-oriented politicians anymore whose motivations and activities are directed towards the benefit of their persons and who are only seeking public office for the interest of their friends, masters and relatives.
What we need today are leaders who have their stand on barangay issues, as well as their competence. We should select honest and generous those who pass resolutions beneficial for the whole and use barangay resources for the good of the people.
Don't join these personality-oriented politicians. You know who the deserving candidates are. Vote accordingly and choose candidates, who attend to basic services like collection of garbage, etc., and disregard projects that are short term but give more focus on important projects like improvement of barangay roads.
But most we should support candidates who have integrity, ability and competence to hold public office and most importantly, a platform or political agenda that would tell us what direction he wants to lead our barangay towards.
In Islam, voting in favor of a candidate that one knows is not worthy will be unlawful and a major sin. Allah, Most High, says: "Surely Allah commands you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due and that when you judge between people you judge with justice; surely Allah admonishes you with what is excellent; surely Allah is Seeing, Hearing." (Qur'an, Surah An-Nisa, 58).
One Muslim, Muhammad ibn Adam, Darul Iftah, explains: "In a situation where there is no worthy candidate (as in non-Muslim countries, where at least the ideologies and beliefs of the relevant parties are contrary to the teachings of Islam), then the vote should be given to the one who is the better and more trustworthy than the other candidates."
Therefore, he said, to give a vote on the purely basis of personal connections, family relationship, and the like (when one is aware that the one given the vote is not worthy) will be considered impermissible. Vote should be given to the candidate that one believes will give people their rights, prevent oppression, and so on.
If we really want development in our respective barangays then we should vote those who possess a holistic character – those who have the capacity, knowledge, and the heart to serve, not those who keep on promoting themselves in the media and always lifting their own chairs. We should vote for a candidate based on the qualifications, platform of government and track record – not based on selfish and myopic considerations.
For your comments and suggestions, please e-mail at hader.glang@gmail.com or contact/text at mobile phone # 09203145750
In the urban barangays in the City of Flowers, not Asia's Latin City, it is observed that many candidates seeking re-election have not spared a single electric post with their campaign posters illegally hung, and believe it or not, other election propaganda are put up outside the Comelec-designated common poster areas.
The question now: what the Comelec officials are doing about these posters hung and pasted illegally? Will they just tolerate it? What about doing their job and start disqualifying the violators? I think they should not just ask candidates to minimize litter but they should take down all these illegal posters now and punish those unscrupulous politicians.
It's very sad to note that aside from illegal postings, most of the Barangay and SK candidates at the present time are subservient or beholden to incumbent influential politicians. Worse is that they receive bribery from these corrupted leaders, who style themselves as pro-poor and pro-people but in reality these are deception for favors later and for their own political future.
In my column recently, I said that corruption in politics is truly widespread that often the person elected to office is not the most qualified. I, therefore, urge the electorates to know and reflect upon the qualities or traits of candidates that deserve our votes. We should realize that each and every one of us has its own share of responsibilities toward our community.
We don't need these personality-oriented politicians anymore whose motivations and activities are directed towards the benefit of their persons and who are only seeking public office for the interest of their friends, masters and relatives.
What we need today are leaders who have their stand on barangay issues, as well as their competence. We should select honest and generous those who pass resolutions beneficial for the whole and use barangay resources for the good of the people.
Don't join these personality-oriented politicians. You know who the deserving candidates are. Vote accordingly and choose candidates, who attend to basic services like collection of garbage, etc., and disregard projects that are short term but give more focus on important projects like improvement of barangay roads.
But most we should support candidates who have integrity, ability and competence to hold public office and most importantly, a platform or political agenda that would tell us what direction he wants to lead our barangay towards.
In Islam, voting in favor of a candidate that one knows is not worthy will be unlawful and a major sin. Allah, Most High, says: "Surely Allah commands you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due and that when you judge between people you judge with justice; surely Allah admonishes you with what is excellent; surely Allah is Seeing, Hearing." (Qur'an, Surah An-Nisa, 58).
One Muslim, Muhammad ibn Adam, Darul Iftah, explains: "In a situation where there is no worthy candidate (as in non-Muslim countries, where at least the ideologies and beliefs of the relevant parties are contrary to the teachings of Islam), then the vote should be given to the one who is the better and more trustworthy than the other candidates."
Therefore, he said, to give a vote on the purely basis of personal connections, family relationship, and the like (when one is aware that the one given the vote is not worthy) will be considered impermissible. Vote should be given to the candidate that one believes will give people their rights, prevent oppression, and so on.
If we really want development in our respective barangays then we should vote those who possess a holistic character – those who have the capacity, knowledge, and the heart to serve, not those who keep on promoting themselves in the media and always lifting their own chairs. We should vote for a candidate based on the qualifications, platform of government and track record – not based on selfish and myopic considerations.
For your comments and suggestions, please e-mail at hader.glang@gmail.com or contact/text at mobile phone # 09203145750
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