EXTREMIST MALAYSIA, where non-Muslims are being forced to cover up in mimicry of Arabic culture

My favourite Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has suggested that a revitalised and restructured MAS should give Muslim stewardesses the option of wearing the tudung, if they are so inclined. I am all for letting them make these personal choices, just as I accepted my wife’s decision to wear the tudung after we got married. I of course tried to dissuade her by saying that beauty is God’s gift to mankind—why hide it? But it was to no avail.

In a free country people must be given a choice, unlike say in North Korea or the Islamic states in Iraq where the ruling classes dictate and compel everybody else to follow what they say on everything from how to dress, to how best to conduct themselves in this life and how to prepare for the hereafter.

What I found disturbing about Khairy’s suggestion was not the mention of the tudung. It was how it demonstrated our Ministers’ unwillingness to trust the new owners and management of a corporation to make such a simple decision on their own. This is another clear sign that the new MAS is also doomed to fail.

If you trace the history of MAS’s failures, you will see that they all stemmed from meddling politicians making decisions for the airline. They were the ones who decided that MAS should be privatised and placed under the control of individuals of their choice, without bothering to let us know why these people were selected. The politicians then decided when and why these individuals needed to be bailed out. The politicians also got involved in deciding which routes MAS should fly; whether the airline should buy from Boeing or Airbus; and who should get the airline’s catering business. Now they want to have a hand in deciding the uniforms too—all in the name of national interest, of course.

We will undoubtedly see the same scenario being played out again. The Prime Minister and his coterie of advisers will most probably be involved in all the decision-making, and we have no reason to believe that Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak will do anything differently from his predecessors. Our leaders believe that the rakyat are not sophisticated enough to understand or remember the past fiascos, and that they will probably tolerate another round of MAS failures. We are a rich country after all, and squandering billions of ringgit here and there makes no dent in our march towards a developed country.

Back to the issue of choices—I think it should not be confined to MAS stewardesses. School teachers, civil servants and students should also be encouraged to exercise their personal choice when it comes to wearing the tudung. Those who want to show their hair and wear a kebaya instead of the loosely-tailored baju kurung should be allowed to do so without attracting the threat of disciplinary action or even demotion. Our schools and government departments would be more colourful and lively, I am sure. More students may also be more willing to engage in sports such as gymnastics if their garments and uniforms were not too restrictive.

I am, of course, indulging in wishful thinking. In this Islamic country, more and more of our Muslim ladies are thinking and behaving like the women of Saudi Arabia. They wear the tudung as a mark of their Muslim identity. Of course, if they are rich they will not forgo their expensive Birkin bags or Ferragamo shoes.

The thing that bothers me is this imposition of a Muslim “identity” via a dress code. Just the other day, my friend Chinese friend was not allowed to enter a Road Transport Department office in Petaling Jaya because she was wearing shorts, thus showing her knees. The security guard told her that the RTD enforces their dress code strictly. This also means that the RTD imposes a Muslim dress code on others, even though the Transport Minister himself is a Chinese from a “moderate” Chinese party. This country, it seems to me, has gone completely upside down! -Zaid.my