By Baru Bian
I wish to add my voice to the rational voices of Tan Sri
Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, Dennis Ignatius and the Rev Justin Wan in response to
several disturbing incidents or events in West Malaysia recently.
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| Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian |
People like the owner of the laundrette are emboldened to
act in such a way purely because the government has never taken any action
against similar incidents in the past, and to make matters worse, the Johor
Islamic Council advisor and Johor mufti supported his actions.
It looks like this
is the tip of the iceberg, with another Muslim-only laundrette being reported
in Perlis.
The telling thing about the state of the leadership of
this country is that there were very few voices against this discriminatory
practice, among the few who spoke up being Nazir Razak, the Perlis mufti Mohd
Asri Zainul Abidin and Amanah vice-president Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus.
Where was the voice of the Prime Minister who is supposed
to lead this nation, and who boasts to the overseas community about Malaysia
being a model country of moderation?
His squeak was only heard after the royal telling off by
the Sultan of Johore, who did not mince his words, saying the owner’s thinking
was ‘sick’.
Taking the cue from the Sultan, the PM could only offer
his usual hollow platitudes about the ‘country’s desire to nurture a united,
harmonious, moderate and tolerant society’.
It has not escaped
notice that he not make a stand before the Sultan did, and this is yet another
sign of his lack of leadership qualities and moral courage.
Other past incidences have been similarly badly handled.
The ‘Allah’ issue, for example. Anwar Ibrahim and the late Nik Aziz made their
stand very clear, that the word did not belong to the Muslim community.
The Prime Minister and his minions however, made up some
fatuous guidelines to placate Sarawakians and Sabahans, and yet the harassment
of Christians continues.
The persistent pestering of Hannah Yeoh by Muslim groups
would stop if those in positions of authority and power would take a strong and
unequivocal stand against such harassment.
By keeping silent, they are condoning the unreasonable
and hateful behaviour of these extremist groups. When I first knew of the
harassment of Hannah by these extremists, I was concerned and sent Hannah my
prayers.
Dennis Ignatius is spot on in his analysis of the
situation and his point about Christian phraseology being prone to being
misunderstood.
The need to be judicious about media postings is
undeniable. In the same vein of his observation, it will not be surprising if
one day, those extremists will call for the ban of our old hymns such as
‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ and ‘Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus’.
The cancellation of the beer event in KL is also an
indication of the slide towards intolerance and extremism, made worse by the fact
that the authorities offered a variety of reasons for the cancellation after
the fact, while the initial reason given was that PAS had objected to the
festival, saying that it was immoral, could lead to ‘unIslamic acts such as sex
outside marriage, criminal activity and even rape’ and turn Malaysia into the
‘largest vice centre in Asia’.
These are spurious reasons and for DBKL to make their
decision based on them is proof of the government pandering to extremist groups
and their religious beliefs.
This is racial and religious bigotry given tacit support
by the authorities. The festival had been held at least twice before with no
untoward incidents, and this cancellation has not only cost a huge loss of
revenue to the organisers and the country, it has further damaged our image
internationally.
Unsurprisingly, a few days after the cancellation, the
police stepped in to explain that the reason for the cancellation was because
of a security risk and that extremists were planning a terror attack on the
event.
This ever-evolving excuse game played by the authorities
has become an accepted scenario and nobody bats an eyelid when this happens. It
appears that only in Malaysia does the government cancel events for fear of
terror attacks, and even then, these cancellations are selectively imposed.
It is the job of
the police to keep all these events safe. By recommending events be cancelled,
the authorities are not only playing into the hands of these extremists and
giving them unwarranted power, they are also taking the easy way out of their
duties.
What about standing up to these extremists and showing
them that we cannot be cowed?
Recently, there has been news of a vigilante group in
Flora Damansara issuing warnings and making demands on other communities, and
video clips of a group of Muslim men shouting abuse and threatening some
Indians at a temple.
Then there is the issue with dress codes. The case of the
man being threatened with a fine for wearing shorts to play futsal in Kelantan
is just unbelievable.
And only on
September 29, 2017. there was another uproar in social media when a
professional lady was denied entry into DBKL by a security guard even though
she was smartly and decently dressed.
We are turning into a country that places more importance
on outward appearances – on form instead of substance.
Moral policing and imposing religious belief on others is
unacceptable in a progressive and moderate country, any yet, it is happening
more and more in Malaysia.
Even as Saudi Arabia is showing signs of liberalisation
in the recent move to allow women to drive, Malaysian society continues to
regress with all these muftis and ulamas making up rules and laws never heard
of before.
The Malaysia of the 60’s and 70’s was one where life was
easy, light and fun for all the races in the community. Today, there is
suspicion and distrust, and it appears that the qualities that made a good
Muslim in those days are no longer good enough now.
There are so many impositions not only on the Muslims,
but non-Muslims are also being told to modify their lifestyles and behaviour in
order to help the Muslims be good Muslims by removing all forms of temptation
from their surroundings.
The reknowned Turkish journalist Mustafa Akyol who was
recently detained in Malaysia said it best when he wrote about his experience
in Malaysia: ‘By policing religion, the authorities are not really protecting
it. They are only enfeebling their societies, raising hypocrites and causing
many people to lose their faith in or respect for Islam.’
(https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/opinion/mustafa-akyol-detention-malaysia.html?mcubz=1)
I fully agree with Rev Justin Wan that these events point
to the creeping Islamisation of Malaysia, and Sarawakians view this development
with much anxiety and disquiet.
I must applaud Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah for the stand
he took that Sarawak will have no issue with holding Oktoberfest and I urge
more leaders to take this sensible and rational view.
Sarawak and Sabah have many non-Muslims and our festivals
such as Gawai and Keamaatan involve alcohol such as tuak.
As far as I know,
these celebrations have not brought about any of those problems that PAS is so
concerned about.
They are an integral part of our culture and identity,
and we must be vigilant to protect them from the creeping influence of the
moral and religious policing that is happening in West Malaysia.
Will we be told one day that Gawai celebrations must be
stopped in order not to offend the Muslim sensibilities?
Not only should we be worried about our lifestyle here,
we should be concerned about our friends and family members who may be living
or studying in West Malaysia and are subject to this religious and moral
policing.
Sarawakians must speak up and reject these elements which
were not present when our forefathers agreed to join in the federation of Malaysia.
They had envisaged a secular Malaysia, not on an Islamic
Malaysia, which these extremist groups and even government bodies are trying to
turn this country into.
We need our leaders to show by example that Malaysia
still has the spirit of acceptance and harmonious co-existence that was evident
in the early days.
I believe that this is what most Malaysians wish for, but
the majority do not dare to speak up, for fear of being labelled unIslamic or
being targeted by extremist groups.
Our leaders must follow the example shown by the Sultan
of Johor, and emphatically reject the extremist elements, and discriminatory
and bigoted practices that are creeping into our society.
Sadly, instead of resounding support from the government
leaders and other royal houses, the positive responses have mainly been from
members of the public
In the absence of a decisive stance and direction from
the current government, it is up to the citizens to make their feelings known
through the ballot box,
This country is losing our most valuable and intangible
asset – the free and easy mixing of the people, and the freedom to enjoy our
lives without hindrance from racial and religious bigots whether they be
individuals, NGOs, government bodies or Islamic authorities.
As said by the Coalition on Plan of Action for Malaysia
(GBM), ‘Malaysians need to think hard where this country is going’. The longer
we wait to take action, the more difficult it will be to undo the damage done
to the country. - October 2, 2017
Note: Baru Bian is chairman Sarawak PKR and
Ba'Kelalan state assemblyman
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