VIDEO INSERTED PETALING JAYA - A spate of political hypocrisy has rocked Malaysia in recent weeks. The latest being non-Muslim pupils in an urban area primary school allegedly being forced to eat their meals in the toilet because it is the fasting month for the Muslims.
Another is the Alvivi case, where the two 'stars' involved - Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee - were accused of insulting Islam and put behind bars for mocking Muslims and the holy month of Ramadan as well as posting pornographic pictures on their blog.
Alvin, 25, and Vivian, 24, were jointly charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act, subsection 5(1) of the Film Censorship Act 2002 (Act 620) and Section 298A(1) of the Penal Code. The clear "overkill" attracted anger from the non-Muslims and also drew ridicule from the international community as the duo had no previous record and their action was not in anyway criminal.
Alvivi, as the duo are also known as, had posted on their Facebook page a photo of themselves eating bak kut teh (a herbal soup dish that is usually made with pork, but which can also be vegetarian or made with chicken or other meats) with the greeting Selamat Berbuka Puasa (Happy Breaking Fast). They described their meal as “fragrant, delicious and appetising bak kut teh”, and also put at the corner of the photo a 'halal' or kosher logo.
And while the initial response, including from the non-Muslims, had been to condemn the duo, the government's overzealous move has triggered a pendulum swing.
Photo taken in a 'mamak' restaurant?
The excessive discrimination against the duo is also seen by many political observers to be a a sign the Muslim hardliners in Prime Minister Najib Razak's Umno party were gaining the upper-hand and more civil society leaders have begun calling on the Najib administration to exercise restraint and not to give into political hypocrisy at the expense of the 2 youngsters - who stand to be imprisoned for up to 15 years if found guilty of their charges.
"There has been quite a lot of talk about these 2, the young man and woman. They have purportedly been so insensitive during this fasting period to use 'bak kut teh' to break fast. But I heard it seems they did it in a 'mamak' (Indian Muslim) restaurant but there is no proof (of this talk)," MP for Wangsa Maju Tan Kee Kwong told Malaysia Chronicle.
"Whatever it is, if you follow the due process of the law they should be allowed bail. After all, they are not charged for murder or trying to blow up the country or something terrible like that and that is why the country is not happy. For certain people, you use the full weight of the law... (like) these people, they may not be so matured, they may be misguided and insensitive but they are still entitled to the full process of the law."
The High Court is due to hear on Thursday the duo's application for leave for judicial review. Their lawyer Chong Joo Tian has told reporters that the application was filed on July 19 and would be heard by High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Azman Husin. Alvin is being detained at the Sungai Buloh Prison while Vivian is in the Kajang Prison.
Alvin's mother has expressed disappointment in the government and holds the authorities responsible should any harm come to her son and Vivian while under remand.
Another Ramadan fiasco
As for the latest outbreak of religious bigotry in predominantly Muslim Malaysia, where non-Muslim pupils in a school in Sungei Buloh were made to eat their meals near to a toilet and not the canteen so as not to offend the sensitivities of the Muslims, the news is still causing shock waves around the country.
"The school teachers should recognize that there are some students who are not Muslims who still want to take their food during tuck shop time and they must be provided a suitable place to take their food. If this incident of the students being forced to eat near the toilet is true, it truly reflects very badly on the school authorities and I am very surprised the Education ministry and all the other bodies did not take up the matter sooner," said Kee Kwong.
Another leader who has scathing words for the racial and religious politicking frequently used by the Najib administration and the Umno-BN coalition is Zaid Ibrahim, a former law minister.
"What has happened is the result of heightened Malay-Muslim consciousness, promoted by politicians and Islamic bureaucrats who-under the cloak of race and in some cases religion or both-want to be identified as champions of their race and religion. But by invoking false ideologies of patriotism and Islamisation, they have invaded the public space and filled the minds of the people with so much indoctrinal nonsense that some Malays and Muslims have forgotten basic human decency and moral values in their interpersonal relationship with others," Zaid wrote in an op-ed titled When will kindness prevail.
"The process has numbed the conscience of these administrators, a condition described by our Malay elders as 'hilang hati perut'. It means they have lost their sense of fairness, empathy and understanding and can no longer appreciate the consequence of their actions on others who do not belong to their group.They simply no longer care enough.These false champions of their race and religion then blame non-Malays and non-Muslims for being insensitive."
Malays becoming a community of bullies
"Just this morning a deputy minister blamed the Chinese for organising a beauty contest knowing about the fatwa issue, implying the Chinese must also follow the fatwa. I believe that, if at all, the ones who need to undergo a course on nationhood are Malays and Muslims who have forgotten that there are Malaysians who are unlike them," Zaid wrote.
"The non-Malays and non-Muslims must stand up for their rights; because only then will we have a country of equals.The Malays will also benefit from this situation where people are treated as they should be treated, with fairness and equanimity.The real culprits for the present day distortion are the Malays who always blame the Chinese for their shortcomings, and the false Muslim preachers who teach the Muslims to have an all-consuming fear of God but then conveniently forget that Allah commands us to look after our fellow beings more than ourselves."
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