Sacred texts and race relations

Anwar's call for social reformation through the study of ancient religious scriptures is best directed at those who consistently disregard the existence of any other faith outside Islam.

COMMENT

Amidst all the pandemonium created by extremists groups out to silence the non-Malays and endorse ‘Malay supremacy’, the call for Malaysians to reach out and understand messages texts like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Thirukkal by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is comforting.

While he believes the Malays could do well to read these ancient texts, Anwar also encouraged the Hindus to read the Quran. “I am confident that this is the new Malaysia. I’m still Muslim and Malay,” said Anwar in Kajang on Tuesday.

The approach taken by Anwar in the hope of changing the Malay mindset, while welcome, does not begin and end with reading the suggested texts. The prolonged insecurities and threats to religious practices in Malaysia has put the rakyat on the defensive.

Internalising the words of Valmiki’s Ramayana or grasping the truth behind the Mahabharata alone is not the elixir to blissful race relations and peace between Malaysians. A united and harmonious Malaysia is only possible when each and every Malaysian takes to heart the truth behind the saying ‘love thy neighbour’.

And that will continue to remain a struggle for the nation if its religious scholars and politicians refuse to pull up their socks and stop politicising religious issues.

As it stands, the respect for all religions agenda in Malaysia is far from promising. When politicians take the liberty of humiliating the faiths of non-Malays, it does not augur well for a country which hopes to stand tall through its ‘Vision 2020′.

Neither is it in the best interest of the country when the federal government starts politicking with the ‘Herald and Allah’ issue.

The Federal Court has deferred its decision on the fate of the Catholic Church’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision which prohibited the Herald from using the word Allah in its Bahasa Malaysia version.

Did the impending Kajang by-election trigger the Federal Court’s decision to reserve its decision, that too at the behest of the ‘powers that be’?

End bad blood among Malaysians

Anwar’s call is laudable. But he should have the gumption to ‘call a spade a spade’ by extending the need to read and understanding religious texts to fellow politicians, muftis, ulamas and all those who consistently disregard the existence of any other faith outside Islam.

A controversial politician like Anwar has made an equally contentious call for the Hindus to read the Quran. Will this prompt the National Fatwa Council mulling a religious prohibition to bar non-Malays from going anywhere near the Quran?

What does the scandalous Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) have to say to Anwar’s suggestion? Before Jakim feigns a gasp and goes on a ‘halal-haram’ liturgy, it will do the department good to comprehend the message behind the call for Malaysians to read different religious literature.

To dismiss Anwar’s call as a political propaganda to upstage BN and influence voters to his side and ensure victory in the March 23 Kajang by-election would be a folly, for given Malaysia’s racial diversity, such encouragement has been long overdue.

So it is Anwar who had the foresight to make such a call, not some Umno or ruling coalition Barisan Nasional politician. That, however, should not serve as an excuse to bury this thought.

On the contrary, Umno and BN should take cognisance of fact that there’s a lot of animosity between the non-Malays and Malays, which more often than not has been attributed to the doings of politicians from the Umno camp.

What is preventing BN from mustering the much needed political will to get brutally serious in dealing with extremists who continue to disturb the nation’s peace and stability? This question has been playing on the rakyat’s mind for a long time now.

Forming the National Unity Consultative Council in the hope that it can miraculously tackle the problem of ‘national reconciliation’ is not going to improve the tense situation overnight unless the federal government is genuine about wanting to end racial battles back home.

That said, reading the Quran or Ramayana aside, the way to ensure Malaysians can live in unison and sleep peacefully at night is when racial and religious bigots start respecting the religious practice and freedom of every citizen of this country.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.