The Square Root of Evil

Technorati tags: Religion, Conservatism, Islam, Malaysia

Walski’s very delayed post apology forenote: This post was started almost 2 weeks ago, when the topic was still piping hot. Although no longer boiling, the brew still has some simmer in it, and still worth a look see… and a gulp or three.

Pick up a dictionary, and you’ll find several meanings for the word evil – depending, of course, on which dictionary. One of the meanings you’ll find is: "causing harm"

At least according to Mirriam-Webster, among other dictionaries. The Oxford Dictionary lists the above as one of the possible meaning, as well. It is this pernicious context of evil that Walski has in mind, and not the supernatural context of the word.

Now, unless you’ve been living under a rock, lodged in a cave buried underneath a landslide, you’ll know that the news last week has all but been dominated by the harassment that former Perlis Mufti Dr. Mohamad Asri Zainal Abidin (better known as Dr. Maza) has been getting from the religious authorities and some NGOs. And for the purpose of this post, the evil that Walski refers to is in this context – the harmful way that these so-called Malaysian authorities of Islam have behaved. 

But before we go further, a quick recap of what’s transpired. For a more complete catchment of related articles, Minda Tajdid, Dr. Maza’s blog, has compiled links to related articles (in Bahasa Malaysia and English).

It all started with a memorandum from PGSM – the Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia (Persatuan PeGuam Syarie Malaysia) – to the Yang Di Pertuan Agong (Malaysia’s ceremonial King).

PGSM’s English acronym, quite coincidentally, spells SLAM. Coincidental, because slam Asri is exactly what PGSM did in that memorandum. 
(conservatism and the square root of evil, in the full post)

The PGSM memorandum was dated October 12, 2009, and for a short while was published on PGSM’s website, but taken down for reasons only known to the association. National language web news portal mStar Online picked up the memorandum and published it on their news site, and if you read BM, you can take a gander at it here.

PGSM, it seems wasn’t the least bit thrilled that Dr. Asri had been offered to head YADIM, a Malaysian federal government Islamic propagation agency. And in the process of voicing their protestations to the Agong, they made some pretty serious accusations, which, of course, were refuted by Dr. Asri in a press conference held on October 31st, 2009 – you can view it (via YouTube) in three parts, here, here, and here.

And not surprisingly, PGSM weren’t pleased with Dr. Asri coming out into the open refuting the claims and accusations made in the memorandum. They issued a press release the very next day.

Not long after the press conference, Dr. Asri was arrested by the Selangor State Religious Department (JAIS), assisted by the police no less (over 30 persons in total, just to arrest one ex-Mufti). But when he showed up at the courts the next day, as he’d been instructed to, confusion reigned as no one seemed to know what to charge the fella with.

In the end, though, it appears that Dr. Asri will now be charged with proselytizing without the necessary JAIS permits and credentials. An ex-Mufti, mind you. Walski wonders if all those wandering tabligh fellers you see wandering from mosque to mosque (even in Selagor) have the necessary credentials from the state religious agency.

Well, Walski could delve much deeper into the divide between SLAM PGSM, JAIS and Dr. Maza, but that would be pointless, since many have already done so by now. Instead, let’s look a little bit deeper, as to why such a thing could happen.

Now would probably be a good time to clue you in on what Walski means by Square Root of Evil in the post title. It has little to do wit mathematics, by the way, but has much to do with the word “Square”. No, not the 4-sided polygon meaning of the word, but the slang meaning of it: “regarded as dull, rigidly conventional, and out of touch with current trends” (via Urban Dictionary).

In other words, conservative.

Earlier, in this post, Walski had theorized about what he calls The Third Power Column – the collusion between various individuals within the political parties, government agencies, and NGOs. Their common currency? “Mainstream” Islamic Conservatism.

Their goal, ultimately, is to steer this country to becoming an Islamic state. Or, at least that’s what Walski thinks.

Not long after the Asri hoo-ha, a well-known conservative state Mufti came out in support of the action taken by JAIS (from Berita Harian, via Tok Wan). Which Mufti? Harussani Zakaria, that’s who. Arguably, he’s perhaps the most influential cleric in Malaysia, and quite conservative in outlook. Even better, this guy can say just about anything and get away with it (remember the Silibin incident?). Other Islamic bureaucracy related persons and organizations also came out in support of the action by JAIS.

The conservatism that Walski speaks about has certain key characteristics that he’s surmised through observation. Among them:

• That there is one, and only one TRUE interpretation vis-á-vis Islam – the mainstream conservative viewpoint. There’s also this prevalent view that “mainstream equals right/correct”, and any alternative minority opinions seen as bordering on heresy. This is partly exhibited by which books relating to Islam have been banned in Malaysia (apparently Harussani sits on the KDN’s Quranic Texts Department book review/censorship board).
• Support of strict regulation on who can or cannot speak about Islam. And there are numerous inconsistencies relating to this – it appears as though conservative groups are “tolerated” (Hizb ut-Tahrir, for example).
• The tendency to not want discussion done openly – this was exhibited quite clearly in how PGSM rebutted Dr. Maza’s rebuttal press conference. This aversion towards transparency gives the whole Third Power Column a sinister feel to it, rightly or wrongly perceived. Last Friday’s congregational prayer sermon (khutbah) at the Putrajaya mosque, authorized by Jakim, was clearly targeted at curtailing speech when it comes to discourse about Islam (see here for a transcription in Jawi)
• Islam is constantly under threat – this scare tagline is used to put blame on everything else except the failure of the Islamic bureaucracy itself. And it’s always other sinister elements out to do Islam in. Introspection is superficial, and it’s always someone else’s fault (this is a common trait of conservatives the world over).
• Obsessive protection of the predominantly conservative ulama (cleric) institution. No matter how skewed their opinions may be, these ulama are never in error. The more conservative the opinion the better, it seems.

This list is by no means exhaustive, by the way, but represent some of the characteristics that Walski has observed. The evil (read: harm) here is not only pervasive within the various government and non-government agencies, but also within the political parties themselves. So, on the one hand you have official government policy wanting to be more progressive and open, and on the other, almost in the same breath, forces within the government itself ensure that openness and progressivity grinds to a halt.
Remember the Executive Cabinet’s move to try to put a stop to child conversions some months back, how the council of Rulers had an unscheduled meeting soon after, and essentially put a stop to the Government’s idea?
Who called for the meeting? Hint: it wasn’t the Prime Minister, the one usually calling for unscheduled meetings by convention (or so Walski’s been told).
And that’s exactly how powerful the Third Power Column is – without mandate from the electorate, they can, have, and in the future, will, influence public policy.
Still think that the religious conservatives are a benign lot, who albeit loud, don’t have any real influence? Think again.
Sadly, Malaysian society today is ripe for the picking – Malay/Muslims grow up conditioned to NOT ever question authority, especially religious authority, coupled with a steadily declining education standard, and the ability to think critically. No matter what discipline one practices professionally, logic simply goes out the window when it comes to religious matters. Logic and reason are, in fact, shunned, claiming that religious matters transcend logic.
Another popular argument against opining about religion in the open: the doctor/mechanic analogy – the one where you wouldn’t go to just any Tom, Dick, or Harun to consult about medical matters. What this argument ignores is the fact that in the current situation, one is not allowed to seek a second opinion either. And the truth is that there are many opinions and viewpoints within the fold of Islam.
Well, today will see an acid test, of sorts, as to how pervasive the influence of the Third Power Column is – because later this morning, Dr. Asri will (finally) be charged in the Gombak Syariah Court. And for what? Enactments aside, the real reason is that Dr. Maza presents a problem to the conservatives.
The real purpose of charging him is to attempt to silence him, and the learned criticisms he makes about the conservative ulama class, and those who blindly support them.
Today will see whether rationality can overcome the influence of the real SQUARE root of evil…

Click here for the full post......

Jom Skate!

Technorati tags: Wheel Love, Store Opening, Skateboards, Inline Skates, All Skate No Hate

Fortunately, the past couple of weeks hasn’t entirely been doom and gloom. Naah… that would just cave in to the morons who want to ruin this great nation of ours.

Being an eclectic person means that Walski has several diverse circle of friends. And one of those circles – skater kids. In particular, a couple of young Malaysian skaters who’ve taken it a notch further, and have opened up their own skate shop in Subang Jaya.

The shop’s called Wheel Love, and it’s located at 28 Jalan SS15/4 in Subang Jaya (entrance is via the alleyway).

The store had it’s soft-opening on Saturday, October 24th, which Walski and the Mrs attended, lending our moral support to what we felt was a great thing for our friend Wei Yeng, one of the owners. The co-owner of this venture, incidentally is Su Keats, whom we met through Yeng.

Walski’s been told that apparently there is this rivalry between various types of wheel-based sports, even between in-line and board skaters. Dunno… Walski’s no skater, so he’ll take that at face value. So in that sense, Wheel Love, as a concept, means that as long as you’re on wheels, you’ll be loved – in-lines, boards, or even bikes. Or something along those lines.

Hence the phrase “All Skate, No Hate” that the Wheel Love boys love to use…

Rumor has it that this thingy lights up when it's dark...

But back to the shop opening… Walski, and his better half, got there at about noon, not long after the “auspicious” opening time of 11am that morning. Yeng, SuKeats and the crew were busy with final touches on the store interior.

Walski can say this much – he’s impressed and sees great things afoot with this store! 
(more about the skate shop, and more soft-opening pictures, in the full post)

Wheel Love, incidentally, has been in business online for quite a while now. But it’s only now that Yeng & SuKeats have managed to take their business to the realm of the physical. Check out the Wheel Love online store and blog if you get a chance. And if you’re on Facebook, you can also be part of the Wheel Love Skateshop fan club.

A wide range of nifty and cool board designs await you...

In addition to skateboards, inlines, and their respective accessories, Wheel Love also carries a nice collection of fashion accessories and apparel – neat tees and shoes, including their own range of Wheel Love tee-shirt products.

A wide range of über-cool tees...

... plus Wheel Love's very own tee-shirt range

In addition to skate-related merchandise and cool apparel, Wheel Love is also a sales outlet for the Kendama gizmo, a deceivingly simple-looking ball and cup toy, which to play requires a lot more skill than meets the eye.

Consisting of a ball and hammer-like cup, with a strand of string attaching the two, you play the thingy by trying to land the ball onto the cup’s surface. Sounds simple enough, but it’s pretty darned difficult to do.

Essentially, the Wheel Love boys offer the gizmo in collaboration with Kendama MY, Malaysia’s very own Kendama community.

Admittedly, Walski didn’t try it for himself, but having had a look at SuKeats semi-struggling with it, Walski thought… hmmm, maybe next time. But intriguing the thing looks, for sure.

What really impressed Walski about Wheel Love is the cozy environment the guys have created, making it not just a great place to get your skate gear, but a neat spot to escape the hustle ‘n bustle of busy Section 15 to chill for a bit.

A cosy cool interior to chill for a bit...

The soft-opening was also reported at Wheel Love’s own blog posting, and has been covered by Juice (Online). Hopefully this posting will keep up the promo momentum for the guys – they really do deserve it, what with the effort they’ve put in to carve their own little niche in the ever-shrinking space of cool we have here in Malaysia.

Walski’s not sure when the official opening of Wheel Love will be, but rest assured that if he’s around town, he’ll be there for sure. And that you’ll hear about it, too. In the meantime, if you’re ever in the Section 15 area of Subang Jaya, and got some time to kill, pay Wheel Love a visit, won’t ya?

And don’t forget to tell ‘em Walski said Hi…

Walski’s promo disclaimer footnote: Just in case you’re wondering, Walski’s not getting an iota of anything by doing this post. It’s so that he gets to spread the All Skate, No Hate love... nothing more, but certainly nothing less than that!

Click here for the full post......

Mental housekeeping in a brewing Perfect Storm

Technorati tags: Islamism, Malaysia, Politics, Oppression, Depression

Yes, Walki’s bad... he’s been away from this blog for way too long. Worse, without a word of why. So as to not sound like a broken record, he won’t say why, only “Sorry”. But if you must know, it’s pretty much the same reason that he’s mentioned more than once or thrice before.

On top of that is a creeping feeling of depression about the immediate future of this country, and the feeling of helplessness in not being able to do more to make it a better place for everyone. This post, hopefully, will bring Walski back into the mood of blogging and to get the posts out with more regularity. The source of this feeling that’s overcome Walski, therefore, becomes the central theme of this long-overdue post.

But first things first – a very terribly inexcusably belated Happy Diwali (or Deepavali) to one and all, in particular Walski’s Hindu friends and myAsylum readers. Light pwns Dark, good over evil, and all that jazz…

Gee, that was what… two weekends ago? And it’s been around that long since the last post. So yeah, a very belated greeting to the bloggerhood.

You see, apart from work (yup, same excuse reason) and the associated travelling, the mood to blog has somewhat diminished – not because there’s nothing to blog about, per se, but because of the crap that’s been happening in the past half a year. Be it politics, socio-pathalogic nutcase shenanigans of the religious right, the economy, etc. There’s just too much crap that’s been happening, and it’s mostly pretty depressing stuff.

And then there’s Twitter – this blogger’s new writer’s block escape hatch. Hence, the Twitter window on the sidebar. Just so that you know Walski’s still alive somewhere. 140 characters at a time.

So, exactly what else has been happening over the last few weeks, while Walski’s mind was wandering the four-to-the-power-of-n corners of space-time?

In this dimension alone, lots. Even in the small section of our space-time continuum called Malaysia. For starters, the continued cramping of our lifestyle by the religious fruitcake mix that for some reason today inundates Malaysia. 
(khalwat by committee, bouncing Beyoncé off the menu, and more, in the full post)

Walsk doesn’t intend to list out every single thing that’s happened in the last couple of weeks. That would be so… well, last couple of weeks. Instead, he’ll merely rant about some of the highlights, or low-lights as the case may be.

One real big low-light was this snippet of news, reported by The Malay Mail, on Monday, October 19th – about the home invasion by the resident’s association at one of the condos at Prima Damansara’s, just outside KL.

More than two, but it's still khalwat
Vice raid by 'officers' from residents' association allegedly leaves man with black eye

IF you think that you can’t be nabbed for khalwat (close proximity) just because you are found together with more than one other member of the opposite sex, think again.

Aqmal (not his real name) and four of his friends found this out the hard way when their durian-eating session at their condominium unit in Block F of Indah Condominium at Prima Damansara came to a halt when several men from the local residents’ association came knocking on their door.

He claimed that the men were not only aggressive and thuggish, but also hurled insults at him and his friends.

To compound his misery, two of the men also punched him three times, leaving him with a black eye.

But the worse part for Aqmal is not about whether he was beaten or not; it was that the men who knocked on his friends’ home did not even identify themselves.

“I had just sat down to watch a DVD while my friends (three female and a male) were preparing food, others were in their rooms and one was on the computer when there were loud knocks and rattling of the grilles,” said Aqmal.

When his female friend opened the door, the shouting men, numbering about eight to 10, barged in and demanded their identification.

“They were without tags or any identification and they wrote on exercise books; one even called my friend a prostitute for inviting over male friends,” said Aqmal, who said he followed their directions without complaint.

But when they were bringing him and his three friends (two males and a female, as the other female was apparently a Christian), out the door, one of them told Aqmal he acted like an American — to which he replied: Lebih kurang lah (maybe).
(source: The Malay Mail)

But think about it though – it’s very fortunate that the occupants of the condominium unit didn’t panic and start jumping out of windows, as sometimes happens in these types of moral police raids. Funny, but Walski doesn’t recall any instance when there have been serious injuries, or death, as a result of these raids, that the people conducting the raids have ever been charged with anything. Much less for causing bodily hurt, or culpable homicide.

What a wonderful climate for attracting more direct foreign investment, eh? Ok, from Saudi Arabia, maybe.

What’s also interesting is that the Selangor State religious department (JAIS) came out with a statement (also in the Malay Mail), that the raid was not authorized. Which is not at all what the resident’s association claimed. Who’s right? Who’s wrong?

Who cares?

Speaking of religious departments… isn’t it strange that Muslim NGOs have been sprouting up like mushrooms on dew-wet dung of late? And it seems like whenever there’s a new controversy or something contentious to do with Islam, you hear of a new NGO that appeared out of nowhere. Is the Malaysian Islamic bureaucracy actually encouraging their emergence?

And what about when you have a local NGO, belonging to a larger global movement that promotes things contrary to nationhood? The one Walski is talking about is, of course, Hizb ut-Tahrir. They have a local chapter, Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia, whose aim is to champion Malaysia becoming a theocratic Islamic state. Support from the Islamic bureaucracy Walski can understand. But support from the Malaysian government itself?

Anyone that’s tried applying for a KDN number will know that it’s not exactly a trivial matter. Similarly with setting up an NGO and getting it registered with ROS (Registrar Of Societies). So, what gives?

Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia somewhat came into the spotlight a couple of weeks ago when they organized a seminar entitled “Sisters In Islam – Pembela atau Perosak Wanita?" (Sisters In Islam - Protectors or Corrupters of Women?"), held one week ago on Sunday, October 25th in Petaling Jaya. As it turns out the seminar was a rather tame affair. The HT Malaysia official report concluded, however, that SIS is a “grave danger to the Muslims” (last paragraph: ‘amat berbahaya kepada umat Islam’).

They see SIS, and any other organization or individual that dares raise criticisms as a danger to their dogmatic views, so their conclusion comes as no surprise whatsoever.

The same goes with many other Islam-centric NGOs that have sprouted – the champions of a rigid world view and dogma that they believe to be ‘true Islam’.

Now, Walski is in no way suggesting that voices such as these voices be banned. Far from it – they have every right to voice their opinions. What bothers Walski however is the double-standards surrounding who is given leeway (by the Islamic bureaucracy) and who isn’t. And what he asks for is a level playing field of discourse and debate.

And there lies the conundrum – on the one hand, the UMNO/BN led government is pursuing a more progressive, modern and competitive Malaysia. On the other hand, parts of the same government want to ensure that no healthy debate or alternative viewpoints are allowed when it comes to Islam, a faith that’s professed by a majority of the country’s citizenry.

Walski’s observation is that what we’re witnessing today is the beginning of a “perfect storm” – a nexus of seemingly unrelated events that will one day culminate in calamity. An education system that does next to nothing when it comes to creating a generation that can think critically for themselves, encroachment after encroachment of state-sponsored religious authorities into our personal lives and space, prohibition on any materials deemed contrary to populist and majoritaristic Islamic thought, a religious bureaucracy that is allowed to operate on the periphery or even outside the bounds civil law, insistence on the prohibition of debate when it comes to any religious matter regardless of how far-reaching its effects on the entire populace, attempts to change (again) the Federal Constitution that will take this nation one step closer to becoming an Islamic totalitarian state (via The People's Parliament)… the list goes on and on. 

Last week, Egyptian freelance journalist Mona Eltahawy wrote in her Washington Post column, highlighting that Malaysia is at a point in its history where the confused state of the nation, as seen from external eyeglasses, makes it necessary for the country to decide what kind of nation it wants to be. The same article was re-published by The Malaysian Insider last Thursday.

"The Malaysian government must acknowledge that interfering in people's private lives and sentences such as caning are the antithesis of a "moderate" Muslim state. Malaysia must make clear what kind of country it wants to be. Is it the nation of the splendid Kuala Lumpur skyline, blending the traditions of its mosques and temples with the modernity of the dazzling Petronas Towers? Or is it a judgmental, moralistic nation that obsesses over the private lives of its citizens?"
(source: The Washington Post)

Unfortunately, it would be a lot simpler if it were merely up to the government. There are also numerous extra-governmental forces at work – a 3rd quasi-political column operating in the shadowy periphery. While Mona Eltahawy asks the right questions, she mat not be asking them to the right people. Not entirely, anyway.

Quo vadis, Malaysia?

In Walski’s eyes the next few years do not look at all promising. The momentum of those wanting to make Malaysia into something else gets stronger with each passing day. All he can do is to point out the danger, in hopes that the warning doesn’t fall onto deaf ears. It’s quite depressing actually. Worse still when he knows that there are those who actually look forward to Malaysia sliding deeper and deeper into religion-fueled decay, seeing it as an almost demented fruition of God’s promise of greatness.

Just remember that the Iranian Revolution brought great promise of an era free from oppression, only to be replaced by another kind of oppression.

Be careful what you ask for – it may just come true. In spades.

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