For decades, politicians from PAS or Umno-Baru, would tell us that the Malays need protection and Islam needs defending.
When we asked, "From whom, or what?", they were silent; but now we know. Malays need protection from other Malays.
Islam has been around for 1,400 years and will be around in the centuries to come. It does not need defending.
However, the Malays present a different story. Malays do need protection.
The threat Malays face is not from the non-Malays, or non-Islamic religions like Christianity, or even the agnostics. The threat is from within.
A simple illustration of why Malays need protection can be demonstrated by the tragedy of the victims of Global Ikhwan Service and Business Holdings (GISBH).
If a non-Muslim children's home had been exposed as a hotbed of sodomy and sesat (deviant) teachings, there would have been a public outcry from the usual racist and conservative figures. They appear to have lost their tongues with the GISBH expose.
The successful Malay politician pretends to care about the Malays, once every five years. He throws religion (read Islam) into the equation, because it acts like a placebo, especially when the promise of a fantastic afterlife is thrown in.
He tells the Malays what they want to hear before a general election, but fails to fulfil his promises when elected to power. As former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad pointed out, “Melayu mudah lupa (Malays easily forget).”
Hence, ordinary Malays need protection from many Malay politicians.
Jakim fails Malays
The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) is the religious agency under the Prime Minister's Department that manages Islamic affairs in Malaysia, but Jakim has failed the Malays.
Despite the billions of ringgits pumped into it over the decades, it failed to save hundreds of GISBH children and women from sexual abuse, being sodomised, slave labour, and being denied medical help until their illness became critical. Hundreds of suspects were detained.
Jakim failed Malays. The wardens who ran GISBH homes failed to realise that Islam forbids the evil acts they practised. The clueless, contemptible GISBH CEO admitted merely one or two cases of sodomy. One case of sodomy is one too many.
Jakim is as broken as Malaysian Airlines, another Malaysian institution. Both suffer from political interference, and both haemorrhage money.
Jakim didn't just fail the Malays. It failed the nation. A bakery cannot even ice its Christmas cakes without being admonished by Jakim's religious mafioso, and yet serial sodomisers and paedophiles thrived for decades. Jakim polices our private lives but fails in its duty of care to protect vulnerable children.
What happened to monitoring, enforcement and regular checks by Jakim officials? Khalwat raids do not happen in five-star hotels but are commonplace in budget hotels and lodging houses. How did the GISBH homes escape the khalwat squads?
Attempting to control the damage done to their credibility, Jakim claimed that they were aware of GISBH's activities and had conducted workshops to contain the issues. These workshops clearly failed.
Local workshops are like the ministerial junkets and study trips to desirable overseas locations. They are an excuse to spend more taxpayers' money.
In most civilised countries, the buck stops at the top. Leaders take responsibility.
Despite the severity of the GISBH scandal, our religious affairs minister, and the Jakim director-general managed to cling on to their positions.
More scandals will surface in the future because, in the past, no one was punished or made accountable.
Child protection
Do professionals manage these children's homes? Did the wardens possess a minimum set of qualifications like a diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare, or social care?
People working with children need to be verified by a regulatory body that they have no previous convictions involving children. Which body performed this role?
One can imagine the panic in government, like in the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry. A day ago, minister Nancy Shukri said the cabinet would discuss "the future of 572 foster children rescued from charity homes linked to GISBH", and that other ministries would be involved.
Nancy shut the stable door after the horse had bolted. Sodomy and child sexual abuse in children's homes and religious schools are not new. If only ministers talked less, instead of convening a meeting whereby more meetings are arranged.
Nancy reeled off her proposals, including safe houses, the next action plan, and the collaboration with other ministries for next week's cabinet meeting.
The irony of the whole situation escapes her. The reforms should have been done ages ago.
Last year, Sinar Harian described her stellar achievements in empowering women and enhancing child protection with a Child Development Department. Is the CDD still in its embryonic stage?
To be fair to Nancy, previous women's ministers also failed to translate talk into action.
PAS urged the police not to be over-zealous in its probe against GISBH. A former law minister warned that dismantling GISBH businesses would threaten people's livelihoods.
These two failed to appreciate that the proceeds for running the GISBH global empire originated from evil practices. Moreover, soliciting donations by hiding behind Islam and using the orphans' plights to gain sympathy is abhorrent.
The lives and futures of several hundred children and women have been destroyed. Their trauma, and mental and physical scars remain for life.
Children cannot un-forget the abuse they endured. Forming relationships and trusting adults will become serious issues.
Clearly, education has failed every adult involved. - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, X.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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