I AM PREPPER

putri bahaman posted a comment

salam, firstly sorry for taking some times to respond to your entry dedicated to me.been busy with all 'bread & butter' stuff.actually, after i watched the program i feel quite depressed, and that's why i wrote to you asking about the doomsday prep. personally, i don't think we, can do preparation like that with underground bunker that surely cost a lot. maybe you can suggest something more practical?

My answer

Assalamualaikum Putri,

Well, we can always hope that our government would be able to maintain the peace and prosperity currently enjoyed.

But other than that, there's no shortcut. Simply praying will not suffice. We all have to be Preppers at some level.

Under the concept of Qada and Qadar, we as Moslem cannot simply pray and hope for Allah to do all the work. That's not how the universe work. We ought to remember that all previous prophets were performing even tougher physical efforts than us despite the fact that all their wishes would undoubtedly be okay-ed if they choose to ask from God.

Physical and spiritual efforts must be performed together. That is the underlying principle in Islam. Qada and Qadar teach us that every efforts coupled with doa will 99% be granted by Allah. This is how the universe work by as pre-programmed by God. The only reason why there is 1% probability of failure is if God Himself have to intervene in order to save us from suffering something worse. For example, a guy might miss a plane to his holiday destination one day and he might ended up either cursing fate or thanking God. For example, he might start yelling things like "O MY GOD! Why are you doing this to me? I have work hard to save money for this trip. Didn't I deserve a 7 days break from all the hardship?". What he didn't know is that if God allows him to board that plane, he might inadvertently start a chain of event which lead to the plane crashing resulting to the death of 127 people on board. Similarly, when Khidir sank a boat, some passengers probably hated him thinking that he had prevented them from migrating to a greener pasture. What they didn't know is that Khidir had just saved their family from being brutally raped, tortured and killed by a Tyrant King and his band of barbaric army. Some people might not understand how the universe work, but our life actually are more connected to each others more than we care to imagine. That's why whenever you experienced some bad luck no matter how bad it is, you might want to thank God for saving you from the worst thing that should happen.

If we really wanted to save our self and our family from what might lay ahead, then Qada and Qadar dictates that we have no choice but to pray and become preppers following the foot steps of the people seen in the Youtube Video. Seriously speaking, unless our level of holiness had reached the status of Prophet Ibrahim whom God sent Gabriel to create the source of Zam-Zam water to satisfy thirst, then don't expect God to send Gabriel bringing a few box of McDonald burger and Coke to save us from hunger.

Praying will complete the efforts, but God still want us to move our arse.

That being said Putri, you're totally mistaken to think that it's difficult to become Preppers. Don't be so discouraged watching the Youtube videos I posted in previous articles. Those Preppers seen there are people who have been prepping for many years in order to achieve what they now have. They are the example of what anyone could achieved if persistence and discipline are maintained. The Larson family (the one with underground bunkers) is undoubtedly the winner because their preparation is as good (if not better) as any Illuminist family (Yes, the Illuminist are all preppers too). If you want to think about practicality, I think you should try to adopt the Bedford family's preparation (the lady who store bags of food) and later try to follow the footsteps of the McClung family (the one with the pool who grow their own food). That's a good way to start.

Being a Preppers is actually quite easy. The most difficult part is not changing the lifestyle itself, what's difficult is escaping the stereotype mentality which we have installed into our mind since the beginning of our adult years. I'm talking about our reliance to the banking system.

Since adulthood, we have been thought by the society and the media to rely on the banking system in order to survive. Sometime ago, people becoming too lazy to grow their own food and so they began to devise a way to buy food from others. Hence money was created. Then people who have too much money began to think "I have lots of money but I can't use it all to buy food or otherwise the food will rot in less 7 days". Then Eureka! Since food will always be around (presumably) then why not just store money? Since that day, the banking system began and all sorts of bankers such as money keepers and money lenders began flooding people's life.

The typical mentality of people today is "if there's money, there's life". This is because we always assume that that food will always be around the corner and to get it all we need is to exchange it with a few colorful papers (Money).

The truth is, those bunch of colorful papers we have in our wallet is only good for wiping shit off our ass if not of the banking system. Similarly those plastic card (Credit Card) is only good to spread butter on bread if not of the banking system. It is the bank which gives value to that papers and plastics today.

If we believe in Al-Quran, then we must believe that the days of fitna and hardship is coming. It is therefore stupid to assume that the banking system will still be around during that period. What good would those papers and plastics then?

Preppers according to stereotype definition are people who preparing themselves for doomsday. This is true if define based on their intention. No wonder why the society looks negatively at Preppers. Preppers are perceived as a bunch of freaks and Doomsayers.

However, if we look from the lifestyle point of view, Preppers are in reality just a bunch of people who no longer 100% rely on the banking system. Preppers no longer rely on the bank as a middle man to convert papers (money) into foods and grocery. They eliminate this middle man role by either learning to grow their own food or by immediately purchasing food and store it. Preppers knew that when the banking system collapsed, there will be no fuel and electricity company running and therefore it is wise to learn how to live with a limited supply of it and consequently leave a minimum carbon footprint in their lifestyle.

I will admit that there will be major changes in our life if we decided to escape from the Bank's dominance on our life. For a starter, our preference will have to change into buying everything in cash rather than through loan. Preppers avoid their budget from being impended by the monthly commitment to the bank. Hence they spend every dime wisely to buy things they can only afford in cash.

Preppers have no tendency to change family car every year because the old one (loan fully paid) is good enough as long as it is serves the purpose of transporting them safely from point A to point B. If your husband decided to be a prepper, he will began to show interest to learn DIY (do-it-yourself) in about everything, from fixing the family's vehicle to cementing the crack on the wall. That I believe is a good thing, because a husband would be sexier looking like a mechanic rather than a couch potato.

Preppers have no desire to move into a new house because they know what's matter is not beauty but security. Even if a prepper have to borrow money from the bank to buy a house or a vehicle, preppers will chose an easy mortgage plan which will ensure that there's no risk of the house/vehicle being repossess because they will be spending lots of energy and time installing the best security system for the house. As far I know, no prepper has ever fails in paying the monthly installments for their houses. Preppers house might be small, but upon closer examination you will find out that the doors, the walls and the rooftop had been installed with materials which capable of withstanding any break in attempt.

If you analyze the life of Prepper, you will realize that becoming a prepper family is indeed a good thing. Preppers lead a simple life and avoid owing money unless they have to and can pay back for it. The cardinal rule of every preppers are "always be closed to your family" and as a result every preppers family members are very loving and close to each other. Preppers think something bad might happens tomorrow and therefore they love and cherish each other like the nuke might explode tomorrow, but at the same time they work their asses off making money because they need to fund their preparation for survival. That pretty much how Islam want us to lead our life - Live today like there is no tomorrow and do each prayer like it is your last.

In Malaysia, we are quite lucky because it's not as difficult to become a Prepper unlike the McClung, the Bedford and the Larson in the US. The biggest concern for Preppers in the US is the heavily armed marauders who might come fully equipped with machine gun and rocket launchers. Furthermore, there's quite a number of Nuclear plant in the US which poses a real risk of nuclear fall out. In Malaysia, the biggest threat are merely marauders with knife and machete. Therefore, in order to survive, all we have to do is to figure out a safe passage back to Kampung or to a nearby community for us to seek refuge.

I think it is not too far fetch to say that the only disaster that we might have to survive through is the racial based riot. Whether it be a 2012 corona mass ejection the McClung are predicting, or the hyper inflation feared by the Bedford, or the nuclear explosion foreseen by the Larson, or the election winning of PKR-PAS-DAP I think around the corner of 2013, any type of disaster in Malaysia will be followed by a deadly racial riot. When the banking system goes down and canned foods are missing from the grocery store, the blaming game will begin and one group of a race will began attacking another group of a race.

Therefore it is wise to prepare a refuge somewhere where you can be protected by your own group of race and family members. In order to avoid having to travel outside your refuge area to seek supply, it's wise to start stock piling food in your refuge center like what the Bedford had done with their home.

I am not ashamed to say that I'm sort of a prepper too.. although not as extreme as the McClung, the Bedford and the Larson. I've spent RM4,000 already funding the building of small four bedrooms under my wife parent's house. Fortunately for me my father in law is a house builder and therefore there's no need for me to pay for labor. The three rooms will be used by my in laws to make money via rental and the last room is for me. Once it done (another RM3,000 I expect) I will start modifying it as a small bunker with no windows and steel door. If I can save more money, I want to build a second bunker in the middle of my dad's orchard. Currently I store 12 bags of Beras Nasional and a stock pile of canned foods in a special store in my own house. Once my bunker is ready, I will start storing more rice and other things in my bunker. I'm also browsing the internet to see if anything good can be bought such as solar powered lamp or whatever. If I can afford it, buying a solar panel seems like a good idea.

I say, let us all become a Preppers.. If the whole country become preppers, the only one losing are the Banks. Contrary to what the Bankers might say, Preppers are actually good for economy because they spent every dime they earn on tangible things. If the whole country become Preppers then there would only be a small portion of national wealth sitting idle in the bank because the rest will go into circulation. When people began spending their money and buy tangible items, it will spurs the economy like you won't believe it. Do not be duped by western media who portrayed preppers as harmful to the economy by not spending their savings. Preppers perceive money as it really is - papers - and see no point in stock piling stack of papers for the Armageddon and therefore they always make sure those papers are converted into actual goods while the banking system still standing. It is the millionaires and the billionaires who harm the economy because they kept their money in the bank out of circulation. Preppers do exactly the opposite.