Morally Upright Citizen: "Public Display of Affection will lead to Terrorism"

Technorati tags: Malaysia, Morality Police, Idiocy

Not having Internet connectivity at home is real pain. This post would have been out sooner, but wait Walski must.

This post comes courtesy of Aliran, that posted a commentary on a letter written to The Star, that appeared on Sunday, May 7. It was submitted by someone with the pseudonym "Morally Upright Character" (and hence the title of this post), and is so ludicrous, that it really deserves immortalization on myAsylum. A sterling example of how loony tunes some of us Malaysian's can be. (Emphasis on silly parts of the letter are by myAsylum)

Indecent today, criminal tomorrow

EFFENDI Azmi Hashim talked about the confusion and ill feeling brought about by the current flare-up over moral policing (The real value of progress, A Yuppie's Progress, StarMag, April 30). Maybe we need to look at it from the viewpoint of the authorities.

I disagree that moral policing is not needed. In fact laws that exist should be enforced without fear or favour. Where was everyone when the law was enacted, why only complain now?

I fully support the proactive action taken by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in policing our gardens and lakes so that no hanky-panky takes place. In fact, I suggest all gardens and the lakeside be closed down so that all those who even dream about hugging and kissing in public will not have any place to go so that they have to go to hotels and inns which in turn will boost their business.

The recalcitrant youngsters who break the so-called “decency” laws now are those who grow up to be criminals, bribe-givers and takers and anti-social elements. Who knows, they might also grow up to be terrorists.

Best nip all this in the bud by coming down on them hard and giving them a tough time now so that they grow up to become good citizens. I am sure if you were to interview those rotting in prison for all sorts of reason, they must have started off by hugging and kissing in the public. I am sure those who pollute rivers, park indiscriminately and engage in corruption all started with breaking the decency laws.

DBKL and other local councils must have learned all this from their overseas (lawatan sambil belajar) trips.

I also suggest that separate queues be introduced in all government offices and there is segregation between males and females in the civil service and private sector.

Restaurants, cinemas and supermarkets must have separate sections according to gender or have different usage times. All this will reduce the incidents of immoral acts taking place.

I take my hat off to these enforcers for their forward thinking and wisdom. Bravo!

Morally Upright Citizen, Kuala Lumpur

Hmmm, yeah. Taken at face value, this has to be one of the most undeniably inane letters to the press that has made it into the newspapers.

Or was it... cynical satire? (more in the full post)

Let's assume for a moment that it's serious. Who, in their right mind, could ever have made the correlation of someone who hugs and kisses in their youth would grow up to possibly become a terrorist? Or that every crime known to mankind (it seems) has its roots in hugging and kissing (in public or otherwise)? Or that eating in the same restaurant with the opposite sex is a sure path to shagging in the streets, and planting bombs while screwing your brains out.

It almost seems like this Mortally Uptight Citizen comes from a different planet. Planet Kelantan, perhap? Where life is pristine, free from pollution, vice and crime - except for the occassional rape (but that's okay, 'cause the victim asked for it since her tudung was not wound tightly enough around her head).

However, I almost tend to believe that it was a satirical letter taken to be serious. It's almost something Walski would have written (myAsylum promises you it wasn't Walski).

So, what do you think? The jury's out on this one... Serious or Satire?