When Ramadan makes lives of dark-skinned Chinese, Chindians, indigenous Malaysians ‘a tad difficult’

 

Letter to Editor

IT WAS with great interest that I read of a Sarawak university undergraduate being interrogated and assaulted at a Family Mart outlet in Johor Bahru.

His crime? For being dark-skinned and looking like a Malay.

Apparently, that is enough for another Muslim citizen to get on his high horse and ask why the said student was NOT fasting. He even demanded to see the student’s identity card (IC).

It has been suggested that this is an isolated incident and that the perpetrator was of unsound mind.

Mental health issues notwithstanding, I can assure you that this is not an isolated incident. This was highlighted in another social media post on Meanwhile in Malaysia forum

In the rant, another Malaysian citizen who is a Chinese with dark pigmentation complained of being verbally abused by a Malay man when he was munching on a bun outside a convenience store.

Not only was he abusive and also demanded to see the person’s IC, he was unconvinced when it was finally produced by claiming it to be “fake”.

Have a tattoo, folks!

Speaking from experience as a person of mixed heritage (thus also looking like a Malay), I am constantly subjected to dirty looks whenever I eat in public during Ramadan.

I am also regularly denied service at fast food outlets or forced to produce my IC as the multitude of Muslim F&B (food & beverages) staff also turn ‘religious enforcement officers’.

It has gotten so annoying that I only eat at non-halal restaurants during the fasting month. Now, the problem is somewhat alleviated by my having clear and obvious tattoos on my arms. The question hardly ever arises anymore.

The point is that such harassment has been going on for years, perhaps only getting highlighted today because of social media.

While many Muslims have come forward to condemn such incidents as acts of extremism, it does NOT detract from the fact that many more of their brethren seem to think that it’s fine – if not obligatory – for them to be unofficial moral police during Ramadan.

The holier-than-thou faction would defend such behaviour on the pretext of “friendly advice” or “guiding one back towards the true path”.

Well, guess what? Non-Muslims do not want this friendly advice nor do we consider that we have in any way strayed.

Never isolated

It would be disingenuous to dismiss the above episodes as isolated incidents, trust me they are not. We often hear that Malaysians must be mindful during fasting month and to try accommodate Muslims who are fasting.

Yes, for sure.

But shouldn’t the same respect for individual rights be accorded to non-Muslims, especially those with darker complexions?

Are we not allowed to enjoy a meal in peace without dirty stares from the unofficial religious police? Are we now having to live in fear of getting slapped for such insouciance of eating in public during Ramadan?

This goes beyond a mere inconvenience. It is a question of individual rights and if we don’t put this right, soon we will have similar “religious officers” telling non-Muslims how to dress, eat and whatever else that is deemed to offend their sensibilities.

This is just a poorly disguised attempt at forcing others to adhere to a set of rules. We have already seen security guards at government offices taking on this role of “moral guardians” by inspecting and enforcing dress codes of visiting tax payers.

Or how about teachers at public schools insisting that non-Muslim pupils can only eat in the toilet?

Wake up! This is 21st century when even as our neighbour Indonesia which prides itself as the biggest Muslim nation in the world is progressing spiritually, we as a nation is regressing to the medieval era. – Focus Malaysia

 

Irritated Chindian Malaysian
Seremban