Brouhaha over khat reveals the depth of mutual suspicion in Malaysia.

When I visited Lebanon years ago, the tour guide climbed onto the bus and apologised for being late because he had been drinking & partying late the night before. 

He said he was a Lebanese Christian who spoke Arabic and greeted people with Assalamualaikum. Like many Malaysians, I had always associated Arabic with Islam. This was an eye opener.

Sadly, the recent brouhaha over khat has revealed the depth of mutual suspicion in Malaysia. One Chinese guy told me he was against “taugeh writing”. Surely, we can disagree with a policy without resorting to insulting a writing script (and by extension, the culture & religion)?

Political scientist Wong Chin Huat has written many good Facebook posts on this topic and I agree with his view that non-Muslims will need middle-ground Muslims to achieve any real change in this country. Insulting won’t help.

In addition, non-Muslims should know that, like it or not, we are a minority in this country and do not control the levers of power. Any perceived insults against Muslims also provokes counter threats - backed with state power. 

For instance, when Dong Zong said it was starting a petition against khat because it was a step towards Islamisation, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed responded by calling Dong Zong racist, claiming that they opposed Wawasan schools because they didn’t want “Chinese to mix with Malays”.

Already some Malays are using the phrase “bagi petis, nak peha” (give an inch, demand a yard), while Bersatu Youth launched an online petition to ban Dong Zong (which garnered 50,000 signatures in just nine hours).

Both sides are wrong, because khat-Jawi is not Islamisation (as I shall explain below). Dr Mahathir was also wrong to twist the Wawasan schools issue when in fact, as Dr Kua Kia Soong has noted, Dong Zong had opposed it 19 years ago because vernacular schools would lose their autonomy, not because they opposed multiracial mixing (as can be seen with the many Malays in Chinese schools).

We can’t go on escalating tensions this way.

Yes, non-Muslims are not happy with cultural domination and Islamisation. I find it “amazing” that the police will act within hours when someone insults the Prophet or Agung online, yet nothing is done when Malay politicians (and Facebookers) regularly stir up racial-religous hatred.

But for khat, it is worth clarifying some facts blurred in the heat of arguments. It is calligraphy of Jawi Malay, not Arabic. If someone can read Malay-khat, it doesn’t mean he can understand Quranic verses written in Arabic calligraphy (also called khat, to confuse things).

Just like if someone understands English written in ABC, it doesn’t mean he can understand Italian written in ABC - except for words like 'cappuccino' and 'spaghetti', of course

Over 1,000 years ago, Malay was written using Kawi, an Indian-derived writing system, because Srivijaya and Parameswara were Hindu-Buddhist. Later, when Melaka became Muslim, Malay was written with Jawi, an Arabic-derived script.

But it was STILL Malay, not Arabic. By the way, early Malay translations of the Bible were also written in Jawi, as were erotic novels in the 1950s.

Early British officials like Francis Light and Raffles knew Jawi, but that didn’t make them Muslim. Anyway, with the British, eventually Malay was written with ABC, also known as Latin (Roman) script or tulisan Rumi. I wonder when the British introduced this, did some Malays object, claiming they may be influenced or “terpengaruh” to become Christians?

But these explanations of history are probably futile now because sadly, too many things in this country are judged by the packaging, not the substance.

For non-Muslims, Jawi-khat “looks like” Arabic, which therefore “looks like” Islamisation, nevermind that Lebanese Christians also worship Jesus using Arabic.

On the other hand, some “nationalists” and politicians decided to continue a Barisan Nasional era policy for khat in schools probably for the same reason - it “looks Islamic”.

Was this based on political calculations to burnish Pakatan’s image among Malay voters? Or was it an oversight about a policy they didn’t realise would blow up this way?

The non-Muslim suspicion of Islam/Malays is understandable given our racial history & politics. I also have my own prejudices (and need to check myself).

But if we are honest, to say that our children are on a slippery slope towards becoming Muslims when they learn Jawi-khat is like the Malays claiming they may be “confused” and, abracadabra, become Christians when they see a cross shape on a jam tart. 

Is our faith in our own religions (if any) so weak that we will be shaken (tergugat) when we see the symbols of another religion?

Maybe the Malay objection to a jam-tart cross is rooted in the politics of fear. So is the non-Malay rejection of Jawi-khat. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but we still insist on our Right To Be Outraged.

We are also doubly outraged because one side seems to have the political power to push or impose their fears, such as halal supermarket trolleys, while the other side does not.

Why isn’t there a beef-free section in school canteens that respects Hindus for instance? (But Hindu “beef politics” can go very far in India where Muslims are killed for transporting cows for slaughter.)

Why did Minister Maszlee Malik push for khat when there are so many other more pressing problems in our education system? Is it, as conspiracy theorists because somebody wants to weaken DAP after splitting PKR?

Where does this lead us? Both sides are pushed to extreme views and people who try to advocate a middle ground are insulted (even Lim Kit Siang (below) for saying that learning Jawi did not make him less Chinese). 

The ultimate insult to DAP, of course, is that they are becoming MCA 2.0, or the new “maa waa jou gou” ("MCA running dogs" aka traitors to their own race), willing to do anything for power. This continues even though the khat policy has been diluted to virtually nothing in vernacular schools.

What do these critics want? For DAP to quit Pakatan in a huff and let frogs (crossover politicians) from Umno, PAS or GPS take their place? 

DAP is in a very difficult position, the slightest thing they do that seems anti-Malay will give Umno-PAS ammunition to use against Pakatan. On the flipside, Umno-PAS are constantly accusing PKR, Bersatu & Amanah of “betraying their own race” and being “controlled” by DAP.

The use of such racial fear mongering is a perfect double pincer attack that traps both the non-Malays and Malays to become “heroes” to their own groups, and threatens to split apart Pakatan Harapan.

Clearly, we can’t go on this way if we want a Malaysia Baru.

Luckily, on Aug 15, the leaders of Pakatan’s four parties calmed the situation and signed a statement calling for unity and mutual understanding (however, it was “interesting” to note that Dr Mahathir did not sign this statement).

These idealistic statements need to be backed up with real action - those who continue to stir up racial hatred should be punished under the law. In that respect, it was good that the police have taken in Zakir Naik for questioning.

Our society is fragile. Simple disputes over smartphones led to racial protests at Low Yat and Kotaraya shopping malls in KL. Even a road rage incident can turn racial, like the one on Aug 10 near Bangi, Selangor.

Both non-Malays and Malays need to understand each other’s fears. Those of us who are fair-minded, moderate & reasonable need to be more vocal, to push for the middle ground.

We have to learn to disagree in a civil way, without resorting to insults. We need more inclusive policies and projects where everyone feels valued as Malaysians.

All of us (including myself) need to look in the mirror and recognise that we have racial prejudices. If we all try to see the other side of the story, maybe we can all empathise and cool down.

That may be the best Hari Merdeka present that we can give to this country.

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ANDREW SIA is veteran journalist and editor who prefers teh tarik khau over tepid English tea. You can add milk, sugar and halia to his drink at tehtarik@gmail.com - Mkini