Isn’t it puzzling?

I have many close friends who are Mamaks. Some of them even speak Tamil very fluently. They are certainly Indians but Muslims. I wonder how they feel when they read the comments in Malaysia Today and they see Mamaks being run down as if being a Mamak is akin to being a leper or a pariah.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Chin said Koh should face the reality and not try to bring his beleaguered party back to the mainstream of politics via the back door. “Gerakan lost in their own soil in Penang, so it must stand up again from there in order to earn the trust and respect of the people.”

“Perhaps Koh thinks that Gerakan now has three ‘imported’ assemblymen two of whom are full state ministers and therefore is hoping to be given the chance to contest the three seats,” he said. “We want to tell Koh that his three assemblymen are ‘frogs’ who have not been tested yet, so one wonders what will happen if they are using Gerakan’s symbol.”

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I always find it puzzling that those who change parties are called ‘frogs’. Zulkifli Noordin, Ibrahim Ali, Zahrain Mohd Hashim, Hee Yit Fong, Keshvinder Singh, V Arumugam, Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi, Osman Mohd Jailu, etc., are all frogs.

Actually, Ibrahim Ali used to be in Umno and a Member of Parliament for Barisan Nasional. He was not chosen to contest a pre-2008 election so he contested as an independent candidate and lost badly (he lost his deposit as well).

He knew he could not win as an independent candidate in the 2008 general election, and Umno does not want him back, so he contested on a PAS ticket (and won of course).

I do not remember anyone calling him a frog back in 2008 although he flirted with the opposition and contested on an opposition ticket. In fact, the opposition supporters voted for him and gave him a win. He was not a frog then although, if those who jump parties are considered frogs, he was most certainly a frog.

So you see, you are a frog only when you leave the opposition to join the ruling party. But when you leave the ruling party to join the opposition you are not a frog -- you are a patriot, true son of Malaysia, hero, etc.

And that is what happened when one Perak State Assemblyman from Umno joined the opposition. He was greeted as a hero, not called a frog. However, when he went back to Umno bringing three others with him (Hee Yit Fong, Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Osman Mohd Jailu) he became a frog together with the three other frogs.

Remember when Anwar Ibrahim said that 30 Members of Parliament from Barisan Nasional are going to jump over to the opposition and Pakatan Rakyat will be able to form the new federal government? There were cheers all around. Only Karpal Singh was against it.

How many of you condemned this and called the 30 prospective Barisan Nasional turncoats frogs? You did not consider them frogs. They are only frogs if they leave the opposition to join the ruling party. But if it is the other way around then they are not frogs.

I suppose the opposition supporters only like happy endings. When the beautiful princess kisses the frog, the frog must change into a charming prince and they get married and live happily ever after. They don’t like stories that end: when the beautiful princess kissed the frog, she changed into a frog and they lived happily ever after in the pond croaking whenever it was about to rain.

I find this the same when it comes to religion, at least as far as Islam is concerned. When a non-Muslim converts to Islam, they call him saudara baru (new comrade; or saudari baru if female). If Muslims leave Islam they would be called murtads (apostates).

Aren’t Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, etc., who leave their religion to become Muslims also apostates? Are they not also frogs? To their religion they certainly are.

Basically, Malaysians love name-calling. It makes them happy that they can curse other people. Maybe they are sexually deprived and running down others gives them the orgasm they can’t get in bed.

Look at what happens whenever a news item or article about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is posted in Malaysia Today. We will get hundreds of comments cursing Dr Mahathir and calling him Mamak (or Mamakkutty).

It appears like Mamak is a dirty word. It is like the word pariah or nigger or chink or whatever. Mamak is supposed to mean Indian Muslim. But now it means something dirty. It is like pariah, nigger, chink, etc.

I have many close friends who are Mamaks. Some of them even speak Tamil very fluently. They are certainly Indians but Muslims. I wonder how they feel when they read the comments in Malaysia Today and they see Mamaks being run down as if being a Mamak is akin to being a leper or a pariah.