The hypocrisy of it all

Furthermore, to equate ‘DAP’ with ‘Chinese racists’ is not good for the election effort. We want the Malays and Indians to vote for DAP candidates. If just the Chinese vote for DAP while the others refuse to vote for DAP, that would not be good for DAP’s future. It would mean we will be turning the clock back to May 1969 when only the Chinese voted Chinese.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

A few weeks ago, many Chinese readers were huffing and puffing when I rubbished Ibrahim Ali’s white envelope fiasco. I was accused of being insensitive to Chinese feelings and of not respecting Chinese culture.

I really don’t believe that white envelopes for Chinese New Year ‘ang pows’ are bad luck whereas red envelopes are good luck as much as I don’t believe it is bad luck when a black cat crosses your path or you touch wood to avoid calamities. Nevertheless, if you want to go on believing all this rubbish then be my guest. It is, after all, a free country.

The response of many readers was: how would I feel if the Chinese served pork during a dinner I was invited to? Hello…I live in England…unless you specifically go to a halal restaurant, you will find pork everywhere.

Sometimes I go for a Chinese dinner with my Chinese friends and they serve pork. I just don’t touch it, that’s all. Why foam at the mouth and scream about them not respecting ‘Malay culture’?

If you don’t like the idea of pork being served then just don’t attend the dinner. You are the only Muslim in a group of 20 or 30 Chinese. They eat pork. If you don’t, then just skip that dish. Or don’t attend the dinner. Why attend and scream?

So don’t equate the white envelope thing with pork and use that argument against me. It is a very shallow argument that can only come from the mouth of small-minded people.

You scream about respecting Chinese culture and about being sensitive to the feelings of the Chinese and about not insulting the Chinese and so on. I can subscribe to that. In fact, those who have been following what I have been writing will know that I have, in fact, been propagating this long before the fight for freedom of expression became fashionable to most of you.

However, while you demand that we respect Chinese culture, show some sensitivity to the feelings of the Chinese, not insult the Chinese and whatnot, are you also able to do the same to others who are not Chinese?

Just read what is being said by many of you regarding the Ustaz Badrulamin khalwat case. Are you being sensitive, showing respect, etc. to the Malays? You just say what you want to say without a care in the world how the Malays would feel.

Let me tell you what many Malay and Indian readers have to say about Malaysia Today’s readers. This is not what I say. This is what they say. They say that the majority of Malaysia Today’s readers are a bunch of DAP Chinese racists.

Do you think that is a nice thing to say? I don’t like it because that means many Malays and Indians would no longer bother to read Malaysia Today if they are of the opinion that the majority here are a bunch of DAP Chinese racists.

Furthermore, to equate ‘DAP’ with ‘Chinese racists’ is not good for the election effort. We want the Malays and Indians to vote for DAP candidates. If just the Chinese vote for DAP while the others refuse to vote for DAP, that would not be good for DAP’s future. It would mean we will be turning the clock back to May 1969 when only the Chinese voted Chinese.

The Ustaz Badrulamin case is sensitive. The government claims he was caught for khalwat. The Ustaz denies it of course. So we shall have to wait and see who is telling the truth here. Was he or was he not caught forkhalwat? Time will tell.

But why must the Chinese make comments such as ‘stupid law’, and so on? Like it or not, Muslims are obligated to live by a certain moral code, the adeen (way of life) of Islam. That is an obligation imposed on all Muslims.

Khalwat (close proximity) means being caught alone in secluded or private place with another man/woman who is not your spouse (parents, siblings, children exempted) -- even if it was just to watch TV and no sex is involved. If it involves sex then it would be zina (illicit sex), not just khalwat any more.

Who are you to say whether this is stupid or not? You don’t like it when someone comments that the belief in white and red envelopes is stupid. But you can comment that Islamic laws are stupid. What gives you that right to comment so?

Can you tolerate it if someone comments that the belief in the wafer biscuit as the body of Christ and wine as the blood of Christ is stupid? Can you tolerate it if someone comments that burning paper cars and paper houses during a funeral is stupid? Everyone has some form of beliefs. You may think that the Muslim belief is stupid. Muslims also believe that your beliefs are stupid, in fact, even more stupid.

The only thing is, for Muslims, it is taboo to comment about or criticise another religion. Islam forbids criticism of another religion lest it attracts retaliation and those of other religions will criticise Islam.

The Quran says: to you your beliefs and to me mine. In other words, live and let live. I don’t whack you and you don’t whack me. And if you whack me in retaliation of me whacking you then it becomes my fault, not yours.

So think before you open your mouths or comment. Respect begets respect. You can’t demand something that you yourself do not offer others. And you will never get respect if you show disrespect.

And please, avoid at all costs being labelled ‘DAP Chinese racists’. That is bad. That may result in DAP losing many non-Chinese votes in the coming election. Why are you helping Umno and Barisan Nasional gain back the non-Chinese support? Stupid, isn’t it?