A heavily edited video clip showing the controversial JAIS raid on an AIDS dinner event at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church building is making waves amongst the Muslims, and can be expected to be heavily condemned by the Christians.
The 6-minute clip emanating from a pro-UMNO blog showed a series of scenes linked together and accompanied by a written commentary by the blogger. The aim of the clip was to portray a situation where JAIS officers were suitably justified in alleging proselytization of 12 Muslim guests by other Christians attendees. Indeed the clip ended with the words that one of the attendees, Sophia was guilty of proselytiztion when she admitted she had invited "saudara baru" to the event.
The clip was also shortened and the explanation given was that the blogger did not want to "politicise" the matter. But how sincere is the blogger and to what extent did he really manipulate the tape remains to be seen. Given the latest development, it is obvious Malaysians will only be able to know the truth if the full recording of the tape plus the JAIS report ordered by Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim is finally revealed.
At the moment JAIS appears to be dragging its feet, while Khalid is trying to pressure it to release the information after Aidil Fitri which takes place at the end of this month.
What the tape showed
The tape began with showing JAIS officers walking along a corridor towards Hall 3, where a sign stated aThanksgiving Dinner and the date August 3. It then cut into a scene where a Muslim man in spectacles was speaking, aparently sharing a slice of his childdhood and family life with the audience.
"...learing the translations and what the Quran really says in BM is something that we didn't understand so I read it blindly without really knowing what it meant. I was raised by my dad and we were - my siblings and the whole family - were raised to be very disciplined Muslims. So, we did all the things, 5 times prayers, additional prayers, additional doas, additional everything. And that's about my family...".
The scene was then ended abruptly and the next slide that was shown was entitled "Inilah dalang nya" or "This is the mastermind". The mastermind turned out to be a tall lady wearing a name tag 'Sophia". The camera showed JAIS officers questioning Sophia and several other women who clustered around her and appeared to be the event's co-ordinators.
The JAIS officer could be heard telling her they wanted to "investigate the event" and if there were "any Muslims?". Sophia could be heard replying "it's a thanksgiving" and "errr... it's an open event". The scene was then stopped and her full reply was not heard.
The next scene showed another JAIS officer waving some paper apparently containing song lyrics with the word "Allah". The JAIS officer could heard asking if they knew what the words meant and Sophia was able to tell them. The JAIS officer then said it was "very sensitive" and a lady standing next to Sophia could be heard saying that "but the government hasn't banned these word ...".
The last scene that was shown was a lady in black carrying a black sling-handbag. It was clear she was trying to help out Sophia who was being grilled by the JAIS officers in the corridor. When asked by the JAIS officer, the lady in black said she did not know if there were Muslims inside the function hall, but Sophia could be seen trying to intervene and explaining that the lady in black was her guest.
The final slide carried the word that it was clear Sophia was guilty of proselytizing when she admitted to inviting "saudara baru" or new members.
Flashbacks of other UMNO-linked clips
The whole clip was reminiscent of the Christian state row, where shots of Christian pastors shaking hands and gathering together was taken to mean that they were praying and plotting for Christianity to replace Islam as the official religion.
It is also reminiscent of the Datuk T sex video clip where shots that showed a very fair-skinned and fleshy man having sex with a prostitutes was alleged to be Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. But only clips showing angles that resembled Anwar were presented but not other scenes where the man's full physique would have immediately given away that it was not Anwar.
In other words, the JAIS-DUMC clip was full of insinuation. It is chilling to realize that whoever is behind this video clip could possess so much venom against the Christians as to deliberately twist the picture against the community. Critics of UMNO say the clip is typical of the style of its bloggers. The tape carried the words "screwkuat69.blogspot.com" and it cannot escape notice that several scenes with the camera zooming in on Sophia's breast region were deliberately picked.
Giving UMNO a headstart in the psy-war game
At this stage, until the full video and JAIS report is released, no one can tell the truth. This clip apears to be aimed at giving UMNO a headstart in the psy-war game agianst the Pakatan Rakyat. It aims to convince the Malays and Muslims that JAIS was justified in its raid.
But the fact is, proselytization and to what extent could not be determined in the clip at all. Even the speech of the Malay man does not in anyway indicate he was converting to Christianity or was already a Christian. It would interesting if his full speech was screened.
What iis clear though is UMNO's hand in the matter. As PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali had pointed the raid, which was carried out without a warrant, was intentionally conducted without the knowledge of the state excutive councilors and the JAIS director. The manner in which the Sultan's name was used to prevent MB Khalid from demanding the release of the full video recording is another key indication.
“I must reveal such information as there has been much speculation about the raid. Normally, the Selangor Menteri Besar, the state Exco and JAIS director will be responsible for the department’s actions but all three were only informed after the raid was conducted. The aim is to destabilise the Selangor government and disunity among the Pakatan Rakyat component parties," Mustafa had said.
JAIS committe members are supposed to report to the state administration but many are UMNO stalwarts like state secretary Khusrin Munawi, who was the former JAIS director. It is easy to stir up a ruckus without being noticed by the higher-ups given the control UMNO has over the various state and federal machinery.
- Malaysia Chronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.