To JAWI, JAKIM and the rest: Don’t Be Overzealous

by Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff MD Kassim@www.the star.com.my

An Outrage?

I WISH that our religious authorities can give space to our Malay girls to enjoy life like others do and not pounce on them every time they get into the news over some youthful behaviour which may look shameful or embarrassing to some but to the new generation of Malays, an incident like the hugging on stage with the Korean pop stars was harmless.

How do we expect our Malay girls to behave when they go to see pop shows? To remain sober and grim without showing any emotions when the rest of the crowd is clearly clapping, singing and swaying with the rhythm? The Malay girls are humans, too.

If the girls get a little excited and hug the stars, it’s just for the moment. The next morning, the girls will have forgotten about the previous night as they get ready to go to work or school and face all the daily chores at home. All work and no play makes Minah a dull girl!

The real issue is how far should we allow the religious authorities to take on the role of moral guardian when this is really a personal matter for the parents to decide how they want to bring up their children.

We are worried that the authorities may blow this little episode out of proportion as an excuse to introduce more laws on morality and to ban all kinds of pop shows, making Malaysia a hermit kingdom like some countries.

Cultural activities come in many forms. If we ban youth music because of one or two incidents that are deemed unMalay or unIslamic, then we will soon become a cultural desert.

Without youth culture, there is no life in a society. A dull country is not exactly a favourite place for investments and tourism.With no economic growth, and with high unemployment among the youth, this country will see more crime and drug addiction.

We are enjoying peace and prosperity in the country because our youths are gainfully occupied either in studies or in employment. Let’s give them the freedom to live their life.

It’s Okay by Me, but then who am I?–DDM

It’s not rocket science to understand this. Just look at some Muslim countries which claim to be highly moral in Islamic terms but under the surface, with grinding poverty everywhere, there are more sins and crimes committed by the poor and the desperate girls in those countries than in more open and liberal societies like Malaysia.

During the Soviet communist rule in Russia, culture was strictly controlled and pop culture was not allowed because it was considered as decadent western lifestyle.

But look at what happened to the Soviet Union as the dull life under state control cast a depressing shadow over the whole population and made workers turn to alcoholism to get over their monotony.

Worker productivity was low, the economy became sick and the mighty Soviet empire collapsed under the weight of popular discontent over the rigid state control of the people’s daily life.

Our religious officials should understand all this before they think of more laws to regulate the lives of Muslims.