MP SPEAKS The return of ‘Interlok’ is certainly not the right way to start the process of national reconciliation.
In response to the controversial novel being made into a television drama serial funded by the government, Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek (left) has said that there should not be any problems because the drama will not involve any contentious words.
He was quoted as saying that the issue with ‘Interlok’ is with certain words being used, and not the storyline or theme.
It seems that the minister is not aware that, when the controversy erupted, the government’s proposed solution of removing some words was not accepted and the novel was eventually withdrawn as a school textbook.
The whole issue is therefore not just about some offensive words.
In fact, in May 2011, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy (right) revealed at a state assembly meeting that the state government had decided to bar the novel from public libraries in the state.
He said the state government was of the opinion that certain parts of the content are racially offensive despite the Education Ministry having made amendments to remove these.
Let me remind Ahmad Shabery that when ‘Interlok’ became a controversy in 2010, not only was the Indian Malaysian community hurt by the contents, but that the Chinese Malaysian community, too, raised objections.
I reproduce below an extract of media report of the stand and views taken by the Chinese groups on March 30, 2011:
“In a statement today, Chinese associations from across Malaysia said the book was not only offensive to Indians but Chinese as well, as it depicted the character Kim Lock as a ‘miserly opium addict and callous adulterer’ and his son, Ching Huat, as ‘cunning, greedy, unscrupulous and someone who would happily sell his daughters’.
“‘Interlok’ in its totality propagates the ideology of ketuanan Melayu. In our considered opinion, this novel is not only unhealthy but an insidious poison.
“In fact, ‘Interlok’ is barely a step away from the Biro Tata Negara brainwashing that promotes racism and disunity. ‘Interlok’ conveys the central message that Chinese, Indian and other minorities are second-class citizens in addition to perpetuating the divisive notion of a host community (the Malays) versus foreigners (‘bangsa asing’ Cina dan India ).”
The groups also condemned the ‘major thread’ in the book, which depicts the Chinese as ‘cheating and oppressing’ Malays or as ‘nasty and immoral’ communist guerrillas.
The statement was signed by the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, LLG Cultural Development Centre, Malaysian-China Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Chinese Associations Johor, the Penang Chinese Town Hall and 40 others, including the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia and several Indian organisations.
On May 5, BN head Najib Abdul Razak had called for national reconciliation after his coalition won the 13th general election with a simple majority of 128 seats.
“National reconciliation is necessary to weed out extremism and racism,” he told a press conference at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
With the recent political crackdown, and now the return of ‘Interlok’, many Malaysians would be justified in doubting whether the prime minister is serious about or committed to the process of national reconciliation.
In response to the controversial novel being made into a television drama serial funded by the government, Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek (left) has said that there should not be any problems because the drama will not involve any contentious words.He was quoted as saying that the issue with ‘Interlok’ is with certain words being used, and not the storyline or theme.
It seems that the minister is not aware that, when the controversy erupted, the government’s proposed solution of removing some words was not accepted and the novel was eventually withdrawn as a school textbook.
The whole issue is therefore not just about some offensive words.
In fact, in May 2011, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy (right) revealed at a state assembly meeting that the state government had decided to bar the novel from public libraries in the state.He said the state government was of the opinion that certain parts of the content are racially offensive despite the Education Ministry having made amendments to remove these.
Let me remind Ahmad Shabery that when ‘Interlok’ became a controversy in 2010, not only was the Indian Malaysian community hurt by the contents, but that the Chinese Malaysian community, too, raised objections.
I reproduce below an extract of media report of the stand and views taken by the Chinese groups on March 30, 2011:
“In a statement today, Chinese associations from across Malaysia said the book was not only offensive to Indians but Chinese as well, as it depicted the character Kim Lock as a ‘miserly opium addict and callous adulterer’ and his son, Ching Huat, as ‘cunning, greedy, unscrupulous and someone who would happily sell his daughters’.
“‘Interlok’ in its totality propagates the ideology of ketuanan Melayu. In our considered opinion, this novel is not only unhealthy but an insidious poison.
“In fact, ‘Interlok’ is barely a step away from the Biro Tata Negara brainwashing that promotes racism and disunity. ‘Interlok’ conveys the central message that Chinese, Indian and other minorities are second-class citizens in addition to perpetuating the divisive notion of a host community (the Malays) versus foreigners (‘bangsa asing’ Cina dan India ).”
The groups also condemned the ‘major thread’ in the book, which depicts the Chinese as ‘cheating and oppressing’ Malays or as ‘nasty and immoral’ communist guerrillas.
The statement was signed by the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, LLG Cultural Development Centre, Malaysian-China Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Chinese Associations Johor, the Penang Chinese Town Hall and 40 others, including the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia and several Indian organisations.
On May 5, BN head Najib Abdul Razak had called for national reconciliation after his coalition won the 13th general election with a simple majority of 128 seats.“National reconciliation is necessary to weed out extremism and racism,” he told a press conference at Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
With the recent political crackdown, and now the return of ‘Interlok’, many Malaysians would be justified in doubting whether the prime minister is serious about or committed to the process of national reconciliation.
M KULA SEGARAN is the DAP’s member of parliament for Ipoh Barat. - Malaysiakini
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