To manipulate a man is a careful project. Too light a hand and he
follows on his own whim. Too heavy a hand and he will turn on you.
Malaysia still remains on
autopilot mode while religious NGOs have been making plenty of noises,
bickering trivial matters that is as like intruding people’s privacy, and
religious authorities have a hand in making policy decisions that goes down to
every individual. All this remains and yet the government is not very firm in
making their stand on these matters. While these people bicker, thumping their
chests declaring themselves holier than thou, the fabric of society and economy
in Malaysia is slowly disintegrating, as there has been countless number of
cases of blood of innocent people spilled, being crime victims, people being
discriminated, places being torn down, and so forth.
Why? One of the answers would be
that bear in mind that Malaysia to this day has only ratified two of the nine
articles of human rights, namely articles regarding women and children. But
other articles like civil / political rights, economy / social / cultural
rights, refugee status, racial discrimination, torture and cruel degrading
punishment, disabled persons and even migrant worker protection rights (signed)
were never ratified at all. This has indirectly given a loophole in law to
allow bad apples in the authorities / enforcement entities to do things that
can be kept secret. It is no doubt that there have been plenty of reports from
various human-rights NGOs in Malaysia about third-degree interrogation (beating
in custody) and all the misconduct coming from the authorities (just because of
a few bad apples).
Human rights NGOs have been
heavily whacked to and fro by Muslim NGOs, ISMA in particular. Likewise, even
MPs have accused other MPs for supporting LGBT. Most individuals in the accusing
NGOs have demonstrated emotional vulnerability and inferiority complex when
they commit such accusation. What they are unaware of is that their statements
indirectly hint of the tendency to put aside these groups of people, who are
even humans, who cry for help, but yet treated like lepers.
Most youngsters today are no
longer the same in the mindset against the previous generation. Sometimes,
their actions have drawn the ire of the older generation, old men in particular
who have called various measures to stifle them all for the reason of security
and public order. The question remains on where do we exactly draw the line or,
if there’s a line being established, rather to raise the line or lower the line
to the point of being considered of committing something out of order.
Example: some concerts from international artists that youngsters of all
races have been waiting for were cancelled at the last minute. The last hurdle
towards getting the permit to perform at any venue is always the conservative
dress code. Make fans happy and you are actually forcing these people to go to
either Bangkok, Jakarta or even Singapore just to see this show as result of
not letting them have their fun in their lives. Boohoo.
There is now a trend of Muslim
youths shifting towards freethinking and atheism in the Middle-East. The trend
kept on expanding despite the popularity not being reported in their own
country’s presses? While many think that the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule in
Tunisia and Egypt seem to make people turn against people who thinks liberal,
secular, and trying to think beyond the boundaries of religion, on the
contrary, it had a reverse effect. The myth that Western influences over them
is not entirely true and accurate. However, it underlines the notion that is that the
heavy hand of religious interference has impede the ability of think further in the advancement of knowledge and science
Few may understand that some of
the social-related authorities in the country are their own worst enemy. They
have introduced various measures that are tantamount to violating a person’s
privacy. Even the raids on people suspected of committing acts of adultery and indecency
are also not even spared. On the worse cases, it seems that the some of the
Friday sermons that were reported by the news were more or less going astray
from the original teachings. Some of the instances include the (GST) sermon or
even the Chinese bashing were already showing that the organization uses the
religion as cover and a political instrument to coerce agreement (manufacturing
consent) by force, by drilling the falsehoods for the people to turn against their
fellow non-Muslim Malaysians.
I am quite surprised to see a
remark from the Islamic affairs minister that there would be a proposal brought
forward to arm religious officials with guns, bringing them on the same status
with the police. Oh my, you mean if they are going for those raids, they can
bring their new toys and point those things at people? Religion at the whims of
a gun barrel? So the national society has gone cuckoo.
Look around. I thought Malaysians
would be exponentially highly educated after 50 years, but it has gone roller
coaster from the mid-70s until now. Literacy rate instead is around the precarious
levels of dunces. Most of them can’t even speak perfect English, most of them
don’t get those professional level jobs, and many of them would rather skip the
knowledge and feel of hard work to get the quick buck. I guess the English and
the Dutch’s (colonial)’s negative assessment of the natives here was right
after all after more than four centuries here.
Kemal Ataturk was ultimate proven
right after all, 75 years after his death. He knew that if religion being mixed
into administrative affairs it will hamper the society’s progress in facing
with the rest of the world. He would rather let the religion be elevated by
itself; it should not be a political instrument that can be wield by any party
ruling or otherwise. The 1928 amendment, one of the first since the republic’s
foundation removes the clause of “Islam as the official religion” was part of
the goal of establishing a more real democratic Turkish front. As for religion,
the stance as specified in their constitution was put at neutrality.
It is more or less being left up
and giving to the people to believe and decide for themselves, while having a special
department administering. In his Kastamonu speech in he did say the following:
In the face of knowledge, science, and of the whole extent of radiant
civilization, I cannot accept the presence in Turkey's civilized community of
people primitive enough to seek material and spiritual benefits in the guidance
of sheiks. The Turkish republic cannot be a country of sheiks, dervishes, and
disciples. The best, the truest order is the order of civilization. To be a man
it is enough to carry out the requirements of civilization. The leaders of
dervish orders will understand the truth of my words, and will themselves close
down their lodges [tekke] and admit that their disciplines have grown up.[56]
The bottom line is that young
people already have enough of what religious authorities are trying to tell
them to do. Many are still in the time warp, particularly the older generation.
Many inherited the response and the inferiority complex from the British
mindset 60 years ago. Today, the English mindset has totally changed. It is no
longer the same as was before Merdeka. The Malaysian society has to rely more
on knowledge and science, and not material and spiritual benefits from the
clergymen.
Part of the way to achieve that
is also via what you dress as well, although not to the extent of making it a
by-law but to provide encouragement and the clear reason of professionalism and
an identity in facing the futuristic age (in fact the age we’re living is still
considered at the infancy of advanced tech age). Since we’re in a world where
order is based on the “survival to the fittest” mantra, Malaysians, not just
Malays must get out of the need for protectionist. There’s still the
complacency thing being underlined from news reports that are designed to
elicit manufacturing consent from the public.
No wonder some of the other
articles written by other a few other writers cited here are exactly what I am
trying to say. It’s time for politicking religion to take a backseat permanently,
while giving women more chances to stand up in their skills as well rather than
making them mundane.
Reference reading material:
Malaysia Today – RPK’s No Holds
Barred
The Nut Graph:
