The Board of Trustees of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Foundation has awarded their “Distinguished Pathfinders Award” to Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail of Malaysia.

The DISTINGUISHED PATHFINDERS AWARD was established by the Foundation to “honor distinguished contemporary leaders and global institutions, in all fields, whose life or mission resembles the path followed by the great Islamic Pathfinder, the second Caliph Omar Ibn Al Khattab”.

Bismillah alrrahman alrrahim, Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullihi wa barakatuhu, Al hamdulillah wabihi nasta’in wassalatu wassalamu ‘ala rasulillah wa ‘ala aalihi wa sahbihi ajma’in

I would like to offer my profound thanks to the Board of Trustees and the Founder and elder of Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation Hajji Mohamed Dakhil, Resident scholar and elder Professor Dr. Fathi Osman, distinguished guests, academicians, and community and interfaith leaders. I am deeply honoured by your invitation to be here tonight.

I was initially reluctant to receive this award as I believe we are all pursuing justice in our own way, but when Mr Mahmud and Mr Dafer Dakhil invited me again as part of dakwah for the sake of correcting misconceptions of the supposedly downtrodden Muslim woman I humbly accepted the invitation.

Ladies and gentleman,

In dispatching and receiving justice though, individuals who make up a society require wise and just leaders. Justice, intertwined with wisdom beckons sound judgment, as illustrated by the poignant story of Sulaiman(as) or Solomon, the judicious prophet and ruler of men and jinns.

The account of two mothers who came before Sulaiman to resolve a quarrel about who was the true mother of a baby. Two women came up to Sulaiman to settle the dispute. The two women claims to be the mother of a baby, as one of the two women’s baby died in the night and each claims the surviving child as hers. Upon hearing the account of both women, who pleaded with equal vigour, Sulaiman, endowed by Allah with wisdom delivered a judgment that enabled true justice to be served. As both women’s claim can neither be proven true or otherwise, (as DNA evidence of course is a recent discovery) the prophet proposed to divide the living child in two, so that both women would have an equal one half share of the baby. Upon hearing this judgment, one of the women, still overcome with grief, declared that the child belongs to the other women, and that she would give up her right to the child. Upon hearing this, Solomon declares this woman, who showed genuine compassion and willingness to give up the baby as the true mother, and gives the baby back to her.

As many of you already know, my husband was imprisoned for 6 years on trumped up charges and the charges were later overturned. He was the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia; he was arrested in a dramatic style with special squad police,masked and armed with submachine guns attacking our house after we just finished isha prayers. and I became an “accidental politician.” I am an opthalmologist by training, I do not envisage getting involved in politics, but we plan and Allah plans and Allah is the Best of Planners.

Once catapulted into politics, in a matter of 9 months, I had to stand for the country’s elections (and won!)in three general elections. It was at this period that I fully realized Allah’s Bounty and Mercy in the people He has sent to help me.

Allah does not test an individual more than he or she can bear, and He ensures us that after hardship comes ease. I would like to thank those people all over the world who Allah sent me to give me strength and support to endure those six difficult years and have given our movement a measure of success in recent years.

In the March 2008 general elections with my husband’s release from incarceration, the political climate of Malaysia changed and our party won the most number of seats among the Opposition coalition and I became the first woman Opposition Leader. When Anwar was in prison my party forged a partnership with the other two opposition parties (Islamic Party and the Action Democratic Party) working together towards a common agenda for reform and justice. We have our inherent differences and in the face of the government media propaganda and the diverse population makeup it is a delicate process to make our coalition a formidable force to be reckoned with.

And at the same time I had to hold my family together with the glimmering hope that our continued sacrifice and our struggle for justice would not only lead to my husband’s freedom, but also to freedom for the entire nation we love so much.

I was asked to lead a fledgling movement against a behemoth that had never lost power in what is now five consecutive decades of rule. In this time the ruling party had grown more decadent and corrupt. It views the country’s coffers as its own. In fact, recently the Deputy Finance Minister has admitted that 28 billion Ringgit(equivalent to 9 billion USD, or nearly 20 percent of Malaysia’s GDP) a year is lost on account of corruption.

The courts have been made to enforce not the Rule of Law but the Rule of their laws, which means protection for the elites at the expense of the masses.

Even today while our coalition controls four of Malaysia’s states and over 1/3 of the seats in Parliament(meaning the Federal government) the Ruling Party continues to wield its power to undermine and destabilize our governments and elected officials. Projects have been cancelled and money destined to alleviate the plight of the poor and marginalized has been frozen. One poor young man-a witness- died while under a Gestapo style interrogation trawling for evidence of corruption amounting to a paltry USD 700 allegedly committed by an opposition state assemblyman- and there is an ongoing enquiry whether it was a murder.,

The numerous police reports made by us the opposition against members of the ruling elite are covered up.

This abuse of power is no more glaring than in the renewed campaign against Anwar. Once again the police, media and judiciary are being used once again to humiliate and defame my husband’s reputation and character. It reminds me of the quote from Macbeth ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’ to describe the latest onslaught on Anwar. – which means he may be sent once again to prison as a desperate attempt to thwart the movement for change and reform that he is spearheading.

A successful government in my opinion means to end this constant abuse of power which degrades the nation. It is commonly said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Given the tendency for those in the corridors of power to become intoxicated and lose their moral compass, institutions must be in place to ensure accountability. This means more than just elections, although when they happen there must be a standard of legitimacy and credibility.

But it also means a free and independent judiciary, the separation of powers, free media and a vibrant civil society. Call it democracy. Call it shura. We are not so concerned with the terminology as we are with the underlying principles – which is that a just Muslim society must uphold the high objectives of the sharia, the maqasid, namely the preservation of faith, life, lineage, intellect and property.

Fighting for justice has a way of bringing people from diverse backgrounds together. We have made great strides in bridging the gap between muslims and non-muslims. I believe that Islam is in a position to work with non-muslims, and that upholding the maqasid of the sharia and dispensing of justice applies to muslims and non-muslims alike. In multiethnic Malaysia with 60 percent of Malay muslims the ‘conviventhia’ or working and living together between the diverse ethnic groups I believe, will develop the future.

Sharing though, is not enough to receive trust. The key to this cooperation is the belief that justice must be dispensed against transgressors, whether they are muslims or non muslims alike. The current ruling party promotes race based politics, and they themselves are race based people. Each major party in the ruling coalition consists of one race, Malay, Chinese, Indian. Instead of viewing the different races as distinct social and political groups, we fought for the idea of one race-the human race. Islam’s egalitarian approach on justice became a unifying social and political force, that protects and promotes the human race. We champion Islam that is colour blind, and unites Malaysians of all races to fight against greed and fitnah.

This approach I would like to share with you and for you to share with our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. If muslims clearly trangressed against muslims or non-muslims, we must vigorously take up the challenge to protect those oppressed, irrespective of their affiliation, skin colour or beliefs.

Peace Equality and Justice in the name of freedom, human rights, gender equality, and democracy can only be significant if filled with virtues in their pursuit and implementation. All human institutions must function in concert to bring about the desired results.

From government, to family, to individual, every part of the social structure must work to ensure virtue becomes the heart of these institutions. A good family nurtures the individual to become a good person, but without good government policies and actions one cannot fully achieve our desire for a civilized society.

Likewise, the government may introduce good policies but without the family institution to instill love,respect and trust between the young and old, it will not work.

We need the individual, the family and the government to deliver the goods( AL KHAIRAT)

Hence, strengthening the family institution is one of the most important task for us, Divinely inspired and ordained, a relationship permeated with tranquility,love, and mercy RAHMAH, MAWADDAH and SAKINAH.

It provides for the production and procreation based on protection and preservation of a healthy and vibrant UMMAH, a Guardian of Morals of the individual and society.

In our ummah today we definitely need more of our mother’s mercy and we need families which are strong and stable. To be merciful and forgiving with one another will only come when we have brothers and sisters in positions of leadership who are willing to extend the olive branch more readily.

We must remember that while the companions of the Prophet were the forefathers of our religion they were also human and applied the teachings of the Prophet in different ways. ‘Omar, as a great champion of our religion, also at times struggled to apply the elevated status and rights that Islam granted to the women of his time. He once said:

“By God in jahiliyya we did not consider women…”

The impression we have from the hadith and historical record is that ‘Omar was very harsh with both friend and foe. Yet we cannot forget there was another side of him – a side which was prepared to moderate his position and admit mistakes. In one famous sermon he said he believed that the women of his time were asking for extravagant dowries so he tried to limit the amount they could request from their prospective spouses. When he said this, an elderly woman in the audience raised protest, reminding him that the Prophet himself never set a limit on the value of a dowry. ‘Omar replied, “This woman is right and ‘Umar is wrong….”

This is the ‘Omar we must remember. We must also remember the compassionate ‘Omar who gave generous state pensions to the Mothers of the Believers and the wise ‘Omar who consulted ‘Aisha in his political affairs, acknowledging that she had special knowledge of Muhammad’s(SAW) ways, sayings, and character.

To end I would like thank the foundation once again and to dedicate this award to Muslim women around the world are brave enough to speak truth to power, just as the old lady confronting Omar did, and with a doa tha Allah SWT Grant us wisdom to make the right decisions in life.

Jazakallah and Thank you.

Wassalamu’alaimkum warahmatullahiwabarakatuhu