Zaid: Celaka is offensive, but ...

Weighing in on the 'celaka' saga, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim is of the view that the word is indeed offensive.

In view of this, he advises non-Malay politicians to be careful in choosing their words.

Irrespective of this, Zaid condemned the action of the mob comprising Umno Youth members and others who stormed into the Penang state assembly building on Tuesday.

He likened their action to that of gunmen who killed Rashid Rehman, a prominent lawyer who championed human rights in Pakistan.

The incident in Penang was sparked off by DAP Seri Delima state assemblyperson RSN Rayer, who described certain Umno leaders as celaka and refused to apologise.

Rayer slammed Umno leaders over a protest they organised in January (left) where they unfurled a banner stating: 'Because of DAP leaders’ mouths, May 13, 1969 happened... Want some more?’

Yesterday, Umno Youth members threatened to torch the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

“The word ‘celaka’ is insulting, in my view, although in Indonesia it means something harmful or an accident, which means there’s nothing abusive about it,” said Zaid.

“Regardless, the mob’s reaction was not justified at all,” he added in his blog.

On the same note, the former de facto law minister suggested that the Penang state assembly penalise members who utter offensive words.

“Political parties must do something to educate their assemblymen on the sensitivities of our political system. This is no easy task but it needs to be done.

“Non-Malay politicians should do their part by being careful not to be too ‘liberal’ with their choice of words since we live in a country where everything has a different meaning, depending on who we are talking to,” he added.

Malaysia has turned into Pakistan

Meanwhile, Zaid also lamented Malaysia has reached the same level of intolerance with Pakistan, with the only difference being that it is harder to obtain firearms here.

He added that Pakistan and Malaysia have taken the same path where leaders believe that as long as there are vibrant economic activities, they need not address the behaviour of mobs.

“In Malaysia our leaders do not condemn those who make statements attacking Christians or other non-Muslims for fear of alienating so-called Islamic NGOs.

“This is just like in Pakistan, where the government refused to even consider a review of the country’s British-inspired blasphemy laws.

“When the human rights commission asked for Rashid Rehman to be protected after his life was threatened openly, the government refused for fear of alienating the mobs,” he added.

Expressing hope the authorities would take appropriate action, Zaid said the government, especially the police, must send a strong message.

If one mob goes unpunished, he added, it is sure to invite other mobs to respond accordingly.

“Law and order is essential if we want to avoid making any kind of public disorder and violent conduct our way of life. Now is when our hardline home minister should be expressing anger and outrage—let’s see if that’s what he will do.

“Today tolerance is at its lowest in Malaysia, which is a sure sign that we are vulnerable as a democracy. In a democratic and free country it’s inevitable that some members of society will annoy, upset or be openly provocative from time to time.

“A tolerant society is able to react to these provocations or abuse without resorting to violence,” he added.

Zaid explained that being tolerant does not mean becoming unaffected by abuse and provocation.

“It does not mean we are immune to outrage. It just means our response is non-violent and in accordance with the law and the customs of civilised behavior. The measure of our tolerance is in the way we respond to abuse or to points of view we do not approve of,” he said.