Majority Should Be Considerate

Conversion is so very sensitive in this country, yet during the week when Hindus are celebrating the auspicious festival of Deepavali, the message from our national film production development board, FINAS, is an advertisement glamourising a Hindu who converted to Islam ... showing the Muslim wife of a Hindu convert not wanting to eat food at the table of her non-Muslim in-laws. What exactly is the meaning of this advertisement here, if not to belittle the Hindus?

By Datuk A.Vaithilingam

Recent actions or utterences by politicians and public servants belonging to a section of the majority community in this country of ours have been most insensitive, hurting the feelings of the minority. Can it be thoughtlessness or is it a feeling of superiority by some who feel they are above the law?

We already know of cases when some members of the teaching profession lost their cool and made racial and slanderous remarks to belittle our young and taint their young minds. I suppose not punishing these professionals (who, legally, seemed to have infringed the Sedition Act) has resulted in others of the same profession continuing to taunt minorities!

Civil servants who continue to slander other Malaysians, especially from minority ethnic groups, only face the sanction of being 'investigated' with some minor internal transfers. The negligence by the Government leadership to take decisive action to give clear signals that such insensitive actions are unacceptable, has created a perception that slander of this nature is condoned, thus giving freedom to other civil servants to go ahead with remarks against the defenceless.

Dato Seri Zahid has been quite popular with the substantial number of Indian voters in Hutan Melintang and Bagan Dato areas. Until his recent statements questioning the patriotism of non-Malay Malaysians. Was he just careless or was this deliberate? Now, he has no choice but to withdraw the statement and apologise to the Chinese and Indian communities to regain their confidence.

Religion has similar majority control treatment. Although the BN and PR governments have generally stopped demolishing temples, the 'Little Pharoahs' ie civil servants of local councils have had their ways demolishing places of worship, with no regard for sensitivities of the worshippers in these communities, such as in the recent case of the Hindu temple in Puchong.

Conversion is so very sensitive in this country, yet during the week when Hindus are celebrating the auspicious festival of Deepavali, the message from our national film production development board, FINAS, is an advertisement glamourising a Hindu who converted to Islam. This advertisement was repeatedly highlighted and telecast in Astro and RTM. The storyline of this advertisement is most insulting to Hindus in general, even to the extent of showing the Muslim wife of a Hindu convert not wanting to eat food at the table of her non-Muslim in-laws. What exactly is the meaning of this advertisement here, if not to belittle the Hindus?

A government agency fined TV3 over a Hari Raya Aidil Fitri message which was said to be offensive to Muslims. Why has nothing been done to Finas and the media concerned for this offensive advertisement against Hindus?

1Malaysia as envisaged by our Prime Minister pledges to look into and serve all the different ethnic and religious groups as people of one Malaysia.

In a democracy it is the duty of the majority to protect and look after the interests of the minority.

I have my doubts if this is happening. I sincerely hope that leaders of the majority community would be more considerate in their actions.

There is still hope.

By Datuk A.Vaithilingam

Petaling Jaya

- Former President Malaysia Hindu Sangam
- Former Chairman, Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism & Taoism (MCCBCHST)