Overshadowing the Festival of Lights

Will it upset Najib if his 1Malaysia concept is summarised at best as a political stunt, going by the disrespect shown to the ‘Festival of Lights’, both by the media and the politicians?

COMMENT

The nation’s politicians never tire of boasting about the camaraderie that the people of different faiths share, recycling the term muhibbah to dreaded proportions.

But their words remain mere lip service, for had the kindred spirit been alive and kicking, the love, affection, empathy and compassion shared by Malaysians of different faiths would have stood the test of time.

Had “muhibbah” or goodwill been alive, the respect shown to one another would not have been taken for granted, as is the case these days.

To shove the minority races aside by virtue of their “immigrant” status has left a blotch on the country’s reputation as a multi-racial nation.

The truth cannot be hidden or ignored that the non-Malays, especially the Indians, have never been treated with all due respect. Had they been, their Malay brothers would never dream of severing the head of a cow, an animal worshipped and considered sacred by the Hindus simply to prove their supremacy.

Still, are the Indians crying foul over this insensitivity shown? No and it is because the Indians have learned to tolerate and accept.

However, such acceptance and tolerance has been taken for granted by some quarters, especially when it comes to the yearly celebration of Deepavali or “Festival of Lights”.

Dismissing the existence of other races

Even though the Indians form a relatively small number at 16%, that does not make their festivals any less significant. Deepavali, celebrated tomorrow, is held auspicious for it marks the victory of good over evil, of darkness being conquered by light.

Still, the message behind the celebration of Deepavali fails many, as seen from the Petronas advertisement featuring the antics of a bunch of people wriggling to perform Dappankuthu, a dance prominent in Tamil cinema.

To some who saw it on the telly or YouTube, it was fun but to the rest the “Do the Dappan Deepavali” advertisement by the country’s national oil and gas company has left a bitter taste.

It leaves many wondering why is Deepavali regarded as “trivial” to the extent that it is hardly portrayed fervently, a far cry when compared to the exaggerated excitement surrounding the Hari Raya Puasa and Chinese New Year?

Petronas’ Dappan effort was a tepid affair, done with no understanding of the meaning “Pesta Cahaya” or “Festival of Lights”.

The Dappan instead came across as a half-baked effort by Petronas in dragging itself to partake in the Deepavali celebration.

Why? Was Dappan any cheaper to produce compared to Petronas’ Hari Raya Puasa and Chinese New Year advertisements? Or was the Dappan done for the sake of coming out with something to placate the Indian community?

While Petronas has since removed its Dappan video from its official YouTube page after the brickbats that came its way, the replacement advertisement is just as nonsensical.

It is at such times one wishes that “storyteller” Yasmin Ahmad was alive for she would have done a superb job in understanding and relating to the Deepavali spirit, as she always did while producing festive advertisements for Petronas.

Treat Deepavali with respect

Recently, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak warned of repercussions should the country’s official religion Islam be insulted in any way, that is, films, video clips, You Tube, Facebook or Twitter.

The “threat” was prompted by the “religious freedom for all” remark that came from PKR vice-president, Nurul Izzah Anwar about a week ago.

The premier took great pains to be politically correct when he “advised” Muslims to defend and not compromise on matters relating to aqidah (faith) in spite of the universal values that all religions shared.

By making such statements, what message is Najib sending to the non-Malays? For one, it is obvious that he is uninterested in the disrespect accorded to them, be it by the Barisan Nasional politicians or the advertisers who find it “unprofitable” to sponsor Deepavali advertisements.

Had respect been the bedrock of our so-called muhibbah society, Najib woud have voiced out his unhappiness over the Dappan advertisement or the fact that there are hardly any Deepavali greetings coming the viewers way or that both the government and Media Prima-controlled television stations respectively have not bothered to foster goodwill among the rakyat by arousing the Deepavali spirit by way of a festive tagline and an array of programmes.

Why the discrepancy and discrimination when it comes to the “Festival of Lights”?

Why are the TV stations in no mood to usher Deepavali, as they do in the case of Hari Raya Puasa, providing viewers with exciting programmes that stretch over 10 days, instead showing an Ikea (the Swedish home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture) advertisement promoting products heralding the coming of Christmas?

1Malaysia a political stunt

Will it upset Najib if his 1Malaysia concept is summarised at best as a political stunt, going by the disrespect shown to the “Festival of Lights”, both by the media and the politicians?

The opposition politicians have the presence of mind to wish the rakyat a “Happy Deepavali” via banners unlike the Barisan Nasional MPs and ADUNs.

Were 1Malaysia a “serious business” for Najib and company, the premier would watch his mouth and that of his colleagues and predecessors each time the topic of Malay supremacy or ketuanan Melayu cropped up.

It was just last year that “statesman” Dr Mahathir Mohamad berated the non-Malays, asking them to be thankful to the Malays for being allowed to regard this country as “home”.

In 2005, the then deputy internal security minister Noh Omar chastised foreign visitors asking them to return to their home countries if they felt the Malaysian police were as cruel in view of the “nude squat” controversy.

Despite making an apology and assurance to be more cautious, five years later Noh again stepped on the toes of the non-Malay rakyat when in his keynote address at the Selangor BN convention Noh quoted former MCA president Tan Siew Sin and former MIC president VT Sambanthan as praising Umno and the Malays for granting citizenship to the non-Malays.

Now, it is Najib who has added fuel to fire by instigating the Malays to defend their faith at all cost, irrespective of the universal values that all religions shared.

No surprise then why the “Festival of Lights” continues to be overshadowed by insensitive politicking.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.