Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Posted: 29 Jul 2013 03:39 PM PDT

So in the meantime, the siege mentality has burst out on many fronts with the pervasive who's-right-who's-wrong frenzy hell bent on race and religion. The "us and them" mindset has come to a point where everything controversial is either politicised or spun out of context, leading some people to believe they are really under siege.

Syed Nadzri Syed Harun, MM

Looks like national reconciliation, the Race Relations Act and the National Unity Consultative Council could be doomed to remain just what they are in the present Malaysian context — a load of meaningless polysyllables and a mouthful of tongue-twisters.

Against a backdrop of caustic name-calling, abrasive communal-centric behaviour and hopeless insecurity in our midst, we wonder whether anyone is actually following up on the prime minister's call for national reconciliation that came on the night the results of GE13 were known nearly three months ago.

On top of that, the proposed National Unity Consultative Council seems to be taking forever to come into shape, let alone function, while the once intense Race Relations Act is stillborn.

And most significantly where is the Rukunegara?

This very foundation of national philosophy is lost, its coded concept seldom uttered even in schools and the spirit buried.

So in the meantime, the siege mentality has burst out on many fronts with the pervasive who's-right-who's-wrong frenzy hell bent on race and religion.

Don't believe? Get into the social media whirl.

The "us and them" mindset has come to a point where everything controversial is either politicised or spun out of context, leading some people to believe they are really under siege.

The fiasco that perpetuated from a makeshift canteen at a shower room in Sekolah Sri Pristana, Sungai Buloh has degenerated into a tinderbox of a race-religion issue waiting to explode.

Similarly, the move by the education authorities to introduce Islamic and Asian Civilisation (TITAS) as a subject in schools is read by some quarters as a step towards indoctrinating non-Muslims, again the race-religion factor coming into play.

There are so many other issues flaring up the same way of late — the one surrounding the intake of students into universities, complaints of racist doctors in Penang, deaths in police lockups, inefficient delivery system in the civil service, etc. Even court verdicts have been turned into racial subjects.

It does not help, of course, when once in a while we do have stupid people committing stupid acts or nutty politicians blurting out senseless statements that could trigger nasty reactions.

Everyone has become very sensitive and death threats have surfaced regularly. If you notice, even offers of apology have been deemed inadequate on most occasions.

Given the scenario, there has to be a real desire by the people in power to check the rising temperature.

The national reconciliation proposal, for instance, has not moved an inch despite the initial heat.

On the contrary, blame is heaped on everybody else for the flop (and this makes it worse).

There has to be a remedy. The country went through an uglier episode in 1969 but the recovery was swift, mainly due to sincere efforts to mend fences.

The authorities played a major role, of course.

There was the National Consultative Council, set up specifically to deal with divisive issues.

It worked wonders because the spirit for unity was sown in.

The buzzword at that time was "muhibbah" which in the context then meant more than goodwill.

It signified a real urge to work towards better race relations.

There were regular muhibbah gatherings, muhibbah durian parties and even the "muhibbah" song became a big hit.

Sadly, the spirit is gone and efforts to bridge the race-religion gap today would, in many cases, be met with scepticism that breeds questions like "why are we giving too much face to them?" or "they want to persecute us and deny our rights". Classic cases of distrust.

The Rukunegara that came into being post-1969 does not come with a shelf life deadline.

So why not live its spirit?

For the benefit of those who have forgotten, the Rukunegara declares these principles:

● Belief in God

● Loyalty to King and country

● Upholding the Constitution

● Rule of Law

● Good behaviour and morality.

The clash between liberty and morality in Malaysia

Posted: 29 Jul 2013 03:21 PM PDT

Of late, the clash between morality and liberty in Malaysia has intensified. Morality has always reigned supreme ever since the rapid Islamisation of Malaysia. However, the bastion of morality is facing a sustained assault by the forces of liberty.

Aerie Rahman, TMI

The train of modernisation is accelerating at breakneck speed, without an end point. Concomitants to modernisation such as urbanisation, individualisation, liberalisation and secularisation transform the world as we know it. A consequence to these "-isations" is a rupture to much cherished traditional social arrangements.

Every society is touched by modernisation. Resistance is a natural reaction. But what makes a society genuinely progressive is not modernisation per se. Its how they choose to deal with the side effects of modernisation is what makes the progress sustainable.

Female Malay Muslims are forbidden to enter beauty pageants while their Muslim counterparts in Indonesia are allowed to do so. The Shiite sect is proscribed. The tentacles of moral policing are far reaching.

Khalwat raids are pervasive, victimising Malay Muslims. Malay Muslims are forbidden to consume alcohol. Malay Muslims are punished if they gamble. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is compulsory for Malay Muslims.

The religious authorities mete out punitive measures - with state backing - to victimless crimes. Hardly any third party is directly harmed as a result of these so called "immoral activities" - yet they are punished for their different standards of morality. These punishments would surprise anyone from any liberal democracy, infused with enlightenment values.

The screws of repression are being tightened by the self-appointed custodians of morality.

Why do these conflicts happen? Why do religious moralisers seek to impose their will upon another human being? Shouldn't people deserve to do whatever they want as long as they don't harm others?

The evolution of morality

The cultural and moral strains that Malay Muslims are facing do not happen without a cause. Structural forces determine how we behave. Our circumstances and social situations are major influences that condition our behaviour. We act and react in response to the surroundings and environment we are in. Cultures around the world are different because they encounter different social problems and solve them in numerous ways.

The rapid modernisation that Malaysia is facing is changing the moral and social landscape that we are in. As Karl Marx pointed out, the base (economy) determines the superstructure (laws, behaviour, religion etc). Economic development in Malaysia empowers the individual. Malay Muslims interact and are able to relate with ideas that celebrate liberty, egalitarianism, rationality, relativism, utilitarianism and the right to be left alone.

These ideas might originate from the West, but it doesn't mean that they are exclusively applicable to the West. An idea's origins will have universal application if it passes the litmus test of rationality. After all, aren't the origins of Islamic values, which are deemed universal, from the deserts of the Middle East?

Most Malay Muslims go through a partial transvaluation of values. For most, Islam is still their religion. But they go through re-interpretations and process of rationalisations of Islam, accepting some beliefs but suspending beliefs in some. Call it cognitive dissonance, if you want.

We are all aware of that Malay Muslim friend who "drinks and parties but would never consume pork while prays 5 times a day." Or the Malay Muslim who will commit all sins in the present but will repent after marriage or hajj, sometime in the future.

In short, the changing social milieu is changing the habits and behaviours of Malay Muslims - especially among the urban, Western educated, English speaking and bourgeois.

For every action, there is always an equal and opposite reaction

Malay Muslims who are embedded in traditional beliefs react differently to the changing social landscape. They feel that the traditional social arrangements are collapsing in front of them. Public morality is being upended by liberty. Thus they appoint themselves as sanctimonious moral guardians - in charge of preserving the sanctity of morality.

READ MORE HERE

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Selasa, 30 Julai 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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