Destroying the legacies and heritage of the past to spite former leaders would put Malaysia on the same footing with the Taliban says a former minister
"And in a curious unbelievable turn of events... someone said that the government can even bring down the twin towers... if it wanted to erase a former leader's legacy.
"Am I hearing it right?" asks former international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz in a Facebook posting.
She was responding to the blog post by Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak yesterday, which hinted that if the government really wanted to erase the legacy of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, it could tear down KLCC.
She lashed out that such measures would make Malaysia on a par with the Al-Qaeda and Taliban.
"Are we adopting the approaches of Osama bin Laden (the late Al-Qaeda leader) and the Taliban?
"Does heritage mean anything to anyone in authority. Our collective past, our history. What we stood and still stand for?" she asked further.
Rafidah said the twin towers is not the personal legacy of Mahathir, but the collective legacy of the government and Malaysia at that time, representing how far we have come as a rapidly developing nation, acknowledged in the eyes of the world.
She said that nowadays such unsuitable actions is not limited to the minister and his remark, but has become widespread.
"I am quite disturbed by the various actions, opinions, remarks, comments and bravado sabre-rattling by some people... in and outside of government and politics.
"First the destruction of the decades-old sculpture in Kuala Lumpur. Then the attacks on that harmless, lifeless symbol of the helang in Langkawi. It could have been our national flower the hibiscus... or our famous animals.. the tiger and the kancil."
Rafidah said no Muslims would ever regard those symbolic structures as "objects of worship", let alone let them erode their faith, though she cynically said that some may actually want the prime land that such structures stood on for their own profit.
Rafidah urged those in power to concentrate on putting the country on the right track instead of their incessant talk, denials and rabble rousing.
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