Making A Turban Mountain Out Of A Wisecrack Molehill

MM Online - Blogger’s racist attack against Amar Singh invites hate against Sikhs, council says (extracts):

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council has condemned controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s remarks against veteran policeman Comm Datuk Seri Amar Singh as derogatory and racist.

Its president Jagir Singh also said the remarks towards the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) directorare also likely to create hate and disrespect towards the Sikh community in Malaysia.

“The turban to a Sikh is an article of faith that represents honour, self-respect, courage, self-confidence, spirituality and piety,” he said in a statement.

Jagir said the turban is also a reminder to every Sikh of his duty and responsibility to uphold truth and justice at all times.

Last Friday Amar criticised Raja Petra for alleging RM43.3 million had been stolen by the police following the raids on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s premises in May, calling it “baseless and simply ludicrous”.

The blogger responded with a vicious attack on Amar’s turban, prompting Amar to express his surprise over the retort.

This is sheer over-the-top and unnecessary fanning of a wee campfire into a raging conflagration. I am disappointed that the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council is making a turban mountain out of RPK's cheeky molehill response to Amar Singh's warning-threat to him.

RPK did blog on the disparity between police and Najib's numbers in the amount of cash taken away from Najib's residences by police for investigation. There was then a war of words between the two, with the police commissioner describing RPK as not a investigative reporter but a mercenary writer.

Earlier, Amar Singh did warn RPK about his post - NSTreported:

Amar Singh has challenged blogger, Raja Petra Kamarudin, to be brave and come forward to lodge a police report in Malaysia if he has credible information that police had stolen RM43.3million believed to belong to Umno.

“I will not pay heed to such a writer. RPK claims to be an investigative journalist, but looks very far from that.

“This is a frivolous and vexatious accusation against the police and I will not stay quiet against such an accusation.

“This is a baseless accusation. If he has such information on him, please lodge a police report in Malaysia, and don’t hide behind the cyber curtain.

“So, I am urging him to be brave. Action will be taken against him if the report is proven false,”

What RPK then wrote was "Amar Singh Ishar Singh’s turban must be too tight that it is restricting the flow of blood to his brain".

RPK was cheekily referring to the possibility of poor flow of blood to Amar Singh's brain, thus making the policeman's thinking naive in calling him (RPK) 'mercenary writer'. RPK retorted: Everyone is a mercenary, Amar Singh included. We all work for money, every single human being in this world. Even Mother Teresa needed money, plenty of money, to do what she did. What, did you think Mother Teresa just raised her hands to the sky and prayed to God for help and bread dropped from the sky?

RPK's line above, namely, "Amar Singh Ishar Singh’s turban must be too tight that it is restricting the flow of blood to his brain" plus his following clarification have nothing to do with the subject of Sikh turban per se, but rather, Amar Singh's reasoning powers.

As I mentioned earlier, Amar Singh obviously has (a) ultra sensitive feelings and (b) no sense of humour, perhaps indirectly proving RPK's point. His accusation of RPK being racist in this instance has been pathetic and irrelevant, especially after his determined resolve not to pay any heed to such a writer.

And the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council has definitely gone over board by commenting that RPK's line has been "vicious" and also likely to create hate and disrespect towards the Sikh community in Malaysia.

That has been just plain silly and really, nonsensically making a turban mountain out of a wisecrack molehill.

Saying "Amar Singh's turban must be too tight" in that contextwas equivalent to saying "Singh has his knickers in a knot".

It means specifically "to become overly upset or emotional over something, especially that which is unimportant" as per the Police Director of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department challenging/warning/threatening an overseas unofficial/private blogger for his speculative post.

But ooops, I might have unwittingly offended another of Amar Singh's 'Sikh sacred issue', namely the Kaccha (cotton underwear) - no offence intended. Please blame it on the English for their politically incorrect idiom.

kaccha 

Apart from being disappointed with the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council for ratcheting up a silly issue when it should be cooling down the unnecessary acrimonious exchanges of words, I opine that Amar Singh and the Council members should be geographicists with their common propensity to "make mountains out of molehills". Wakakaka.