The Only Thing We Should Fear

Sis: So you believe in the viability of multi-racial politics?

Bro: Yes, the non-malays who are here think of this country as theirs. we can’t ask them to go back to China or India. malaysia is their home.

Sis: I don’t trust the NM’s not to take advantage and grab political power. After all, that’s the Malay’s trump card – our only edge

Bro: After 50 years, we have played the race card. Where has it got the Malays? UMNO’s feudalism has resulted in an ‘feed me, it’s my right ‘ culture. Single mothers who ask for handouts from politicians to pay the electricity bill rather than look for ways to earn an independent living even as babysitters for their neighbours.

Sis: The NM’s will not do business with us. They’ll protect their own as has always been the practice. The Malays will be victimised in their own country.

Bro: As if the Malays haven’t taken advantage of Malays all this while. The credo of the UMNOputeras from their own lips in efforts to indoctrinate Uni students ” I come first, my leader/boss second, my family third and last my religion”. Malays have felt the sting of being undermined and sidelined by their own kind when others are afraid of losing influence to someone better qualified. Cream cannot rise to the top in UMNO, they are skimmed off and tossed aside to sour. We need to change this culture and ‘feed me, it’s my right’ mindset that traps us in mediocrity and sloth.

Sis: But the NM’s may use this as pay back time. Revenge of the NM’s

Bro: They are still the minority compared to Malays – hey, we are 60% overall population.

Sis: We do control both the army and the police..

Bro: Do u actually think they’ve forgotten that the race riots of ‘69 resulted in more NM’s deaths then M’s ? They haven’t but neither do they want to continue to live at a constant disadvantage to the M’s. They have to jump higher, run faster and yet still will not make the ‘meritocracy’ quota. While our children are imbued with this sense of ‘just do what u can and we’ll see where that gets u’. Worse, the govt will take care of u. Hence Malays are taught ‘no need to jump as high or run as fast’..You’ll be taken care of”.

Sis: Malay children will lose out. The NM’s even speak English better than our rural malay kids. They will ask for the scholarships and awards .. and will get it at the expense of ours.

Bro: Then we have to help our malay children to be equally proficient. And being an NM does not mean you are born speaking the Queen’s English. They have to learn like we do. So we teach them together. Once the race card stops being played, then peop[le will have to start looking beyond the skin colour .

Sis: They’ll take over the economy and the politics of our country. We even have to put up with their places of worship being too near ours. Being the majority should have some clout.

Bro: We have to learn to live together – accept and compromise. All parties have to be sensitive to the sensitivities of the other races and not bully our way through in the name of democracy. We have to stop thinking as a race and start thinking as a nation. Unlearn and discard prejudices.

Sis: But we must still be alert to the possibilities our rights will be taken away.

Bro: That’s in the constitution and I don’t see PR people voting for that constitutional amendment, not if they want to be around for the next election. We have to ask ourselves whether these fears are coming from the realisation that these are the things we would do if we were in their shoes…payback..

Sis: We did that to protect ourselves and our children’s future. If we don’t do this who will?

Bro: At the expense of others with no power or influence. And the ‘others’ include other malays who did not comply either economically or politically to the criteria set by the powers that be. Stepping on the backs of others should not be the way to progress. It doesn’t do the stepee any good in the long run. Something rots from within.

Sis: We are talking about the here and now and the outside real world, ok.  Now that they are the powers that be -  why wouldn’t they do the same to us?

Bro: Because it will end up in a vicious circle and no one gains? Plus the current stand of the PR state govts seems to be that of cooperation not confrontation. The federal govt on the other hand seems to focused on obstruction  and punitive actions. And they seem to be gaining the upper hand because they are the ruling government. They are  still the ones in control.

Sis: But the other  NM groups are becoming so much more demanding – asking for more posts, more representation.. hey, they are still the minority. Plus not every malay voted for them or even support them. I don’t think Malaysia is capable of being truly multi-racial on all fronts. We are too emotional about our own race and prejudiced about other races regardless whether we are the minority or majority.

Bro: Well, people are moved to action by ideas coupled with emotion and not by reason. Our emotions about other races must evolve from a state of selfishness and fear to that of  unselfishness and trust. To move from the low trust society that we are to being a high trust society we must link the idea of multi-racialism with harmony, gratitude, compassion and consideration.

Sis: We have to practice it, live it. I know, I know. But what if we give in so much, they’ll just see us as weak and take advantage. A one-sided relationship,, we give and they take..

Bro: We have to mix – interact on all levels, socially and professionally. And there has to be fail safes and contingencies to safeguard the interests of ALL races We need to understand that we all want the same things – fairness , equal opportunity, security and a bright future for all our children.

Sis:   Easier said than done. But as u said  change can’t come by reason alone. As long as Malaysians harbour fear and prejudice in their hearts about others different from them – the tsunami’s effect will only be temporary.

Of ‘True’, Semi and Should-be Muslims

Being a mother of four children, a practicing born Muslim and a Malay, the case of Revathi or Siti Fatimah just strikes me as a symptom that something is drastically wrong in how Islam is understood in
Malaysia today. While Islam preaches tolerance and no compulsion, authorities gave approval for families to be separated and for bodies to be reclaimed in the name of Islam. There is a toddler out there who misses her parents and will not understand why she was taken away. In the case of the husband who converted to Islam, the non-Muslim mother may lose custody of both her children, a three-year old and a two-year old, if their custody is decided by a Syariah court., even though she is not a Muslim.  The authorities advocating these actions seem to be ignorant of the Prophet Muhammad’s stand on tolerance  (/www.islamreligion.com/category/73/) and non-Muslim rights as stated clearly in his Saying :   “Beware!  Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, or curtails their rights, or burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (Abu Dawud) 

Issues involving a hint of apostasy and religion are latched on as a hero-making device for the self-righteous everywhere. After all, solving it is easier and more sensational than a critical review of the Islamic Religious Education curriculum being taught in schools which piles on rules, rituals and exhortation at the expense of understanding and internalisation. Now, sending a Should-Be Muslim into a rehabilitation centre, that currency, in this world and the Hereafter, right? Support from Muslims whether urban or rural, educated or uneducated can definitely be counted on, unless of course, one is a liberal Muslim. They should be discounted after all they are can be categorized as Semi-Muslims who seem to pick and choose which part of Islam they are willing to practice and dare to to question Islamic practices of polygamy and wearing the veil.  The liberal sounding Mufti of Perlis should not be really taken seriously, after all he seems to have political affiliations. (Of course, we must keep a lookout for Straying Muslims even if infringes on their privacy, so what if Caliph Umar was reprimanded for doing so and he humbly admitted his mistake, we are better Muslims??)   The ‘True’ Muslim, the born, practicing Muslim on the other hand are of course conservative and practice the Islamic Way of Life. They would never question such key practices as polygamy, the veil, women’s chastity and the necessity of an Islamic State. After all, a multi-religious approach towards managing social ills would never be as effective as an Islamic approach to anything ( never mind that Muslims were exhorted to search for knowledge wherever it can be found even as far as China – ironic that it still hold true till today !) Those Should-Be Muslims are an affront to their sensibilities and must be brought back to the Right Path. Their blinkered view seems to prevent them from considering the treatment of apostates in other Muslim communities as the Malaysian way is undoubtedly correct – we are not talking about effectiveness only correctness. 

If what happened to Revathi was reversed i.e Siti Fatimah was brought up as Muslim but was asked to convert to another religion to marry and then separated from her husband and child to relearn the teachings of another religion – well, that’s another Natrah case in the making (http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natrah).  The irony of the ‘true’ Muslim is that they too select which parts of Islamic thought and teachings of Muhammad that they want to adhere to and internalize. That in my book also makes them Semi-Muslims though I’m sure many would object most vociferously. What if the non-Muslim parents who gave their children up for adoption to Muslim families now want to claim them and their grandchildren and make them convert? What will we do then? Go to court? Hide them? Or just shrug our shoulders and say, “They can’t do anything, they have no power – no court, no authority in
Malaysia will send a Muslim adult and her child back to a non-Muslim family”. 

Therein lies the rub. How is it we can do unto others what we would never allow onto ourselves? A continuing double standard will erode public faith in our systems and may encourage more and more religious spats which may result in an atmosphere of deep suspicion and paranoia among Muslims and non-Muslims. Hardly the best way to foster unity and integration on the 50^th  year of
Malaysia’s independence. Muslims must stop this constant need to look outwards as  to why there are people leaving Islam, but to look inside critically at that is done to help themselves as Muslims and their non-Muslim brethren understand what Islam is truly all about – its Spirit, not only its rituals. In truth, no one wants to be judged how religious or unreligious they are for that in truth is between the person and his God. So what makes a True Muslim? Perhaps he or she is someone who believes that funeral rites of whatever religion, would not part a soul from His Maker. How a soul is received by His Maker, depends on what sort of person he was like in his lifetime, not whether he was buried or cremated. For God is All-Forgiving, All-Knowing and All-Compassionate… Or someone who believes that living in harmony with their fellow man is more important than “whose religion is better?” arguments… Maybe someone who internalizes the meaning of  “Bismillahirahmannirahim – In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful” and translate that in how they live their life, how they raise their families, carry out their responsibilities and interact harmoniously with their fellow man and environment. Would that be a “True’ Muslim? 

Let us listen to voices of reason among us and step back from the pulpit of emotionalism and tunnel vision to a common platform of tolerance, mutual understanding and respect. A deeper knowledge of what each other’s beliefs and a stand to stop using religion as an instrument of control and conformity. Arrogance and religions do not mix well and should be mutually exclusive. Look and learn from Muslim minorities and majorities all over the world.  Let us stop chasing and judging and start working and learning from each other – the True, the Semi, the Should-Be and the Non! Better still, throw away the labels and see each other as people with hopes, fears, loves and beliefs..

Entertainment, Malaysian Style

The sensational always seems to be part of what makes people buy papers, watch talkshows and exchange comments over teh tarik and nasi lemak. Recently, the controversy of a ‘blasphemous’ remark resulted in a Malay comedienne being ‘gummed’ and the ‘offensive’ lyrics of a song “Papa Jahat” being changed to me were prime examples of sensationalism affecting judgement.

Preventing someone from earning a living as chastisement for a silly remark is spiteful, in my opinion. While it was unwise for her to seemingly equate herself with the Prophet’s wife, (after all the only similarity was that of age and younger men – how dare she..), it hardly merits shutting her out of performing in one television station and effectively discouraging others to employ her. Artistes in Malaysia have a notoriously short shelf life except for a select, lucky few. It is cavalier to say’ its only for one year’ when one has a fixed income to someone who doesn’t.

Another example of hypocrisy to me is the unreasonably sensitive reaction to the lyrics of “Papa Jahat” where a child says that to a father who is unfaithful to the mother. Why so defensive? There is a Malay saying ” siapa makan cili, rasalah pedasnya!” (those who eat chillies, will have to accept that chillies are hot, for goodness sake!). There must be many men out there, including the sanctimonious ones who go around censoring lyrics of Malay songs yet remain blissfully ignorant of lyrics of English songs (” My Humps”, “Smack That” and a host of other hip-hop sexist , suggestive and demeaning to women song lyrics), who feel that they must defend their honour of their sex in this way.

This must be the Malaysian way – to penalise artistes who say their piece – not conforming to what is ‘acceptable’ in terms of the facade of Malaysian life and culture. Never mind that there are rich and successful men who discarded their wives to marry women half their age – May and December relationships are only acceptable – even milked for their media value if it’s older male and much younger female – not the other way round please, we’re Malaysian. Intelligent lyrics that remind men to better husbands and responsible father cum role models aren’t acceptable because Malay men in Malaysia are good husbands and great role models for their children. Let us not mention the ever increasing divorce rate among the Malays, recent tragedies involving children whose father was seemingly unfaithful or the many cases pending in Syariah Courts of errant fathers who do not support their children once they divorce or marry another.

As responsible Malaysians, we need to look beyond the obvious and superficial. We have the depth of character and the spiritual power as a nation to tackle the underlying problems that come from applying hypocrisy as policy. We should stop sensationalising the superficial and set our priorities straight. ‘Gum’ the producers of the talkshow, reprimand the over-enthusuastic and insensitive  hosts – have responsible programming and proper guidelines and policies for such shows. Proactive not reactive decision-making.  Compassion not condemnation, please for we are Malaysians.. We can think for ourselves and not have our opinions set out for us.