Category: Personal Development

Garis Panduan Bagi Usahawan Menggarap Peluang di Norma Baru

Krisis coronavirus, yang bermula di China pada akhir 2019, muncul sebagai wabak penyakit pandemik pada bulan Mac dan telah mencetus krisis kesihatan global dan kemerosotan ekonomi. Krisis ini secara semulajadi telah mentakrifkan semula maksud “kehidupan normal”. Kerana penyakit ini menimpa setiap negara, pandemik ini memberi kesan yang jauh lebih mendalam berbanding krisis lain yang pernah kita alami sepanjang hidup kita. Kalau perlu, satu-satunya tragedi yang dapat dibandingkan dari segi impaknya, adalah wabak Black Death yang bermula pada tahun 1346. Wabak ini mengakibatkan kira-kira 100 juta kematian di Eropah dan Asia.

Kita biasa dengan pepatah “Dalam setiap krisis, ada peluang”. Di karakter Kanji dalam Bahasa Jepun, kata “krisis” ditulis dengan dua simbol yang menandakan “bahaya” dan “peluang”. Inilah hakikat sebenar bahawa setiap krisis, dalam keadaan ketidaktentuan dan ketidakstabilan, terdapat peluang untuk diraih dan direbut. Maka, dalam krisis ini, terdapat peluang untuk kita sama-sama rungkai dan rebut.

Apabila kita menghadapi krisis seperti yang kita harungi hari ini, tiga perkara akan bermain difikiran kita:

  1. Bagaimana kita menghadapi krisis ini sekarang? Soalan ini paling utama difikiran usahawan
  2. Peluang apa yang diciptakan oleh krisis ini?
  3. Apa yang dapat dilakukan untuk menjangka krisis di masa depan dan bagaimana kita dapat mempersiapkan diri dan bisnes? Sekalipun kita tidak mungkin untuk mencegah krisis seperti ini di masa hadapan, bagaimana kita dapat mempersiapkan diri untuk bertindak balas dengan cepat dan berkesan?

Sebelum kita melihat persoalan-persoalan tersebut secara strategic, kita perlu memetakan hakikat keadaan pada hari ini. Kerajaan telah mengarahkan Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan dan mengerahkan pasukan beruniform untuk mengawal keadaan. Ini membawa implikasi berikut:

  1. Syarikat-syarikat meminta kebanyakan pekerja bekerja dari rumah.
  2. Sekolah dan universiti telah menghentikan arahan kelas tradisional dan beralih ke pembelajaran dalam talian.
  3. Kedai runcit – selain pasar raya, farmasi dan stesen minyak – telah diminta untuk tutup. Barang-barang peruncitan juga kini boleh didapati secara dalam talian.
  4. Penjarakan sosial sudah menjadi norma, yang merapatkan hubungan manusia adalah komunikasi digital dan hubungan digital.
  5. Perjalanan udara sebahagian besarnya ditangguhkan dan perniagaan terpaksa beralih ke persidangan audio, video dan web sebagai mod interaksi yang dominan.
  6. Rantaian bekalan global telah terganggu.
  7. Pengangguran telah menggantikan pasaran buruh dalam beberapa minggu. Pendapatan akyat di dalam ekonomi informal seperti penjaja, peniaga, kelindan lori dan buruh harian terjejas.
  8. Institusi kebudayaan dan rekreasi seperti zoo, muzium dan teater telah ditutup. Perhimpunan awam dan juga majlis perkahwinan telah ditangguhkan atau dipindahkan secara dalam talian.

Walaupun ini adalah reality yang baru, tidak bermaksud kita harus menyerah kalah atau bersifat “complacent”. Kita dapat mengubah krisis menjadi peluang jika kita mengubah minda kita dan seterusnya berusaha untuk berubah. Atas dasar itu, saya telah melakarkan beberapa garis panduan agar kita dapat sama-sama menerapkannya pada situasi kita sendiri.

  1. Ubah Model Mental Anda

Daripada melihat keadaan sekarang sebagai cabaran jangka pendek yang perlu kita harungi secepat mungkin dan kembali ke masa sebelum krisis, kita harus bertanya bagaimana kita boleh menggunakan keadaan semasa untuk mempercepatkan perubahan yang telah lama tertangguh.

Kita ambil bidang latihan sebagai contoh. Banyak syarikat-syarikat bidang latihan telah bermain-main dengan pembelajaran dalam talian selama beberapa tahun. Walaupun beberapa kemajuan telah dicapai dengan kursus dalam talian terbuka yang besar (atau Open Courses), model pedagogi yang dominan tetap tidak berubah. Pergerakan ke arah pengajaran dan pembelajaran dalam talian bukan hanya sangat lambat, tetapi juga terlepas dari usaha arus perdana syarikat-syarikat ini.

Trainers atau Pendidik tahu bahawa kaedah pengajaran tradisional tidak lagi berkesan, tetapi hampir mustahil untuk membuat mereka berubah sebelum krisis ini muncul. Sekarang, mahu tidak mahu, bukan setakat trainers, tetapi university, sekolah dan pelbagai institusi pendidikan telah menutup kampus mereka, para pelajar telah dihantar pulang, dan pendidik diminta untuk menjalankan kebanyakan kelas secara dalam talian.

Dengan krisis ini, pendidik mahupun trainer yang menawarkan kelas dalam talian mempunyai  tiga peluang unik: Mereka dapat mencipta semula pengajaran mereka dengan mencari cara baru untuk melibatkan peserta mereka dalam talian, seperti melalui penggunaan humor; mereka dapat meningkatkan relevansi penyelidikan mereka; dan mereka juga dapat meningkatkan impak mereka dengan menawarkan kepakaran mereka kepada organisasi, perniagaan dan juga NGO.

Perkara yang paling kritikal adalah bahawa selepas krisis, pendidik mahupun trainers harus mempertimbangkan untuk mengembangkan kaedah inovatif untuk menggabungkan dalam talian dengan pembelajaran di kelas agar ia terus berkembang memanfaatkan teknologi terkini. Institusi yang memandang krisis sebagai peluang untuk berinovasi – termasuk memikirkan kembali model perniagaan dan pendapatan – akan berada pada posisi yang lebih baik untuk berjaya dalam dunia pasca pandemik.

  1. Meningkatkan transformasi digital anda dan melabur dalam infrastruktur

Penutupan dunia fizikal dan peralihan ke dunia digital mengubah bukan sahaja pasaran runcitan tetapi juga organisasi dalam bidang lain. Lihat apa yang berlaku kepada muzium, orkestra dan teater. Mereka semua tiada pendapatan mahupun tidak berfungsi pada ketika PKP ini. Semua organisasi seperti ini memerlukan infrastruktur digital yang kuat. Perniagaan “brick and mortar” yang terpaksa ditutup memaksa organisasi tersbeut untuk mempercepat transformasi digital mereka.

Sebagai contoh, Teater Nasional di London, yang tidak dapat membuat persembahan di auditorium semasa penutupan, telah mengumumkan bahawa ia akan mengalirkan persembahannya secara percuma di YouTube. Perluasan keupayaan digitalnya – sekiranya bahan mereka menarik – akan terus diterima dengan baik, lama setelah PKP tamat. Organisasi yang memanfaatkan tempoh PKP untuk meningkatkan keupayaan digital mereka dan memanfaatkan tren yang ada akan mampu meraih pasaran ketika ekonomi mula pulih semula.

  1. Kenalpasti peluang perniagaan baru yang dihasilkan oleh krisis

Salah satu cara untuk merebut peluang baru adalah dengan memahami kekurangan, ketakutan, ketidakpastian dan kurangnya kepercayaan orang ramai. Sebagai contoh, kekurangan tempat tidur hospital yang sangat besar, terutama di unit rawatan intensif atau ICU, untuk rawatan COVID-19 telah muncul di seluruh dunia. Untuk menghadapi perkara ini, usahawan di Itali telah merekacipta “unit rawatan intensif dalam kontena” untuk hospital. Sistem bermaksud untuk membantu hospital menambah kapasiti ICU mereka. Contoh lain syarikat melihat peluang dalam krisis ini adalah Zoom, platform persidangan, yang membolehkan pengguna menambahkan “latar belakang maya” semasa mereka bekerja di rumah.

Ini adalah tiga perkara yang setiap usahawan harus garap dan teliti bagi merebut peluang dikala krisis ini. Dengan menganalisa tiga perkara ini, usahawan mampu menjawab persoalan-persoalan diatas. Usahawan harus mengubah minda, meningkatkan infrastruktur digital mereka dan menyelidik peluang-peluang untuk menonjolkan idea kreatif yang mampu menyelesaikan masalah orang ramai dan seterusnya merebut pasaran kini dan masa depan.

Justice in Islam (2)

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Saidina Umar’s example of justice captured hearts and minds of the people of his time and is also relevant as an example for us today. In his view, justice was a practical way of calling people to Islam and opening people’s hearts to faith. He followed the same method as the Prophet (SAW), a way which based on justice that encompassed all people. Unlike many countries today who propose an ‘Islamic Justice’ without actually implementing it.

The Prophet s.a.w. and Saidina Umar r.a.’s success on the practical level is unprecedented, so much so that their names became synonymous with justice and anyone who learns even a little about their lives story can hardly separate the two.

There are 3 key reasons why Saidina Umar r.a. was particularly successful:

  1. Lead oneself: He adhered firmly to the truth, to such an extent that he was stricter with himself and his own family than with the people.
  2. Vision: The concept of meeting Allah was deeply rooted in his mind, to such an extent that in all that he did, he sought the pleasure of Allah before the pleasure of the people, and he feared Allah but he did not fear anyone among the people.
  3. Followers: The authority of shari’ah held sway in the hearts of the Sahabah and Thabi’een, so that Saidina Umar actions met with strong support and a great deal of cooperation from everyone.

There are some examples of his attitude in establishing justice and fairness the people:

Justice Transcends Religion

Saidina Umar ruled in favour of Jewish man against a Muslim; the fact that the Jewish man was a non muslim did not cause him to be unjust towards him or to be biased against him. Iman Malik narrated from Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib that a Jewish man and a Muslim referred their dispute to `Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA). `Umar saw that the Jew was in the right and he ruled in his favour. The Jewish man said to him: “By Allah you have ruled aright.”

Justice with Governors/Politicians

Saidina Umar r.a. used to command his agents to come and meet him on certain occasions, and when they had gathered he would say: “O’ people, I send my agents to you to beat you or take your money, rather I send them to protect you against any injustice and to divide the war booty among you. If anyone has had everything else done to him, let him stand up.” No one stood up except one man who stood up and said, “O’ Commander of the Faithful, your agent gave me one hundred lashes.” He asked, “What did you beat him for? Get up and settle the score.” `Amr ibn al-As stood up and said, “O’ Commander of the Faithful, if you do that, things will go out of control and it will set a precedent that people will follow after you.” He asked, “Should I not establish justice when the Messenger of Allah allowed people to settle scores with him?” he said: “Then let us make a deal with him.” He said: Here he is, work it out with him.” So they compensated him by giving him two hundred dinars, two dinars for each blow of the whip. If they had not made this deal, Saidina Umar would have allowed the man to settle the score.

Justice Regardless of Position and Affiliation

A man Egypt came to complain about the son of `Amr ibn al-As, who was Saidina Umar’s governors in Egypt. He said: “O’ Commander of the Faithful, here is man running to you from oppression. He said, “I will offer you protection.” He said, “I raced with the son of `Amr ibn al-As and beat him, and he started hitting me with a whip and saying, `I am the son of noble people.’ “Saidina Umar wrote to `Amr (RA), telling him to come (to Madeenah) and bring his son with him. `Amr came and Saidina Umar said, “Where is the Egyptian? Take the whip and hit him.” So he started hitting him with the whip, and Saidina Umar was saying, “Hit the son of noble people!” Anas said he hit him, and by Allah we liked that hitting, and he did not stop until we thought that it was enough. Then Saidina Umar said to the Egyptian, “Hit the bald head of `Amr.” He said, “O’ Commander of the Faithful, his son is the one hit me, and I am satisfied. Saidina Umar said to `Amr, “Since when did you enslave people whose mothers bore them free?” he said, “O’ Commander of the Faithful, I did not know about (this incident) and he did not come to me.”

The state of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs was based on the principle of justice. How well ibn Taymiyah put it when he said: “Allah causes the just state to prevail even if it is a non-muslim state, and He does not allow an unjust state to prevail, even if it is a Muslim state …”

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Something for muslims today to ponder.

Justice in Islam (1)

I chose to write about this topic at a pertinent time when we tend to blur the line between what government is and what government should be and where Islam stands in this issue. In many cases, what is portrayed (or even practiced by muslims) is far from what Islam preaches or is contained in the scriptures.

The establishment of justice between people on the individual, social and international levels is not voluntary matter that depends on the moods or whims and desires of the ruler or the government. Rather the establishment of the justice between people is a universal tenet and basic human principle. In Islam, it is regarded as one of the most sacred and important of duties in Islam. The ummah is unanimously agreed that justice is obligatory. Al-Fakhr ar-Razi said: “They (the scholars) are unanimously agreed that whoever is a ruler (or judge) must rule (or judge) with justice.”

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One of the aims of Islamic government or administration is to set out the principles of the Islamic system for the purpose of establishing a prosperous and well-balanced society. Among the most important of these principles are justice and equality and these principles are evident in the administrations of the righteous caliphs.

I refer to the speeches which Saidina Umar gave to the people, he affirmed these principles, and his justice and sense of equality were manifested in the speech which he delivered to the people on the day when he became caliph. Undoubtedly justice, in Saidina Umar’s and all the Companion’s minds, meant the justice of Islam, which is the main pillar of Islamic society and Islamic rule. Islam cannot exist in a society where injustice prevails and justice is unknown.

This ruling is supported by the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah. One of the goals of the Islamic state is to establish an Islamic state in which justice and equality prevail and injustice is eliminated and opposed in all its forms. There are 3 key principles that an Islamic administration must do to ensure that justice is done and seen to be done:

  1. The state should provide opportunities for each person who is seeking his right to attain them in the quickest and easiest manner possible without that costing him any effort or money.
  2. The state should prevent all means that put obstacles in the way of the one who is seeking his rights.

This is what `Umar did in his state. He opened the doors to enable all people to get what is their due and he himself checked on the people’s situation, protecting them from oppression and establishing justice between the governors and the people, not caring whether the one against whom judgement was passed was a relative or an enemy, rich or poor. Allah (SWT) says:

O’ you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah as just witness; and let not the enmity and hatred of others make you avoid justice. Be just; that is nearer to piety; and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do. (Qur’an 5:8)

We will dissect a few examples of justice during the time of Saidina Umar r.a. for better understanding in the next article.