Wooden Horses prancing around the political bush

Technorati tags: Chinese New Year, Politics, Selangor, Pakatan Rakyat, Anwar Ibrahim, Kajang

First off, Walski wishes all Malaysians Gong Xi Fa Cai.

Yes, ALL Malaysians. None of this "to those who celebrate it" nonsense. Because ALL Malaysians should be celebrating it. That's the Malaysian way. 

Or at least it used to be, once upon a not so long ago time.

These days, it's "Happy [insert festival here] to [relevant demographic group] and happy holidays to everyone else"… Like, what the heck's up with that? "Oh, it's sensitive, bro. If I accidentally wish someone wrongly God will punish me. Murtad nanti."

Well, not in Walski's book. For him, everyone should celebrate everything. And unlike the religious authorities, God is not petty (Walski believes so anyway).

Life is short. And a couple of days ago, Walski got a reminder about just how short life can be. We'll just leave it at that, without delving into the who, what and why. Don't be so kay-poh. Just take it at face value: in the bigger scheme of things, life is short.

And because life is short, we should cherish every moment we have with our friends and loved ones. And that includes celebrating life. Any excuse you get, celebrate life. Hence, Happy Chinese New Year to, well, everyone.

With those niceties out of the way, let's get to the meat of what Walski really wants to say...
(the meat, with lots of sauce, and more, in the full post)

Unless you've been living under a rock, lying in a remote cave someplace not detectable by the GIS satellites, you'll know that there's been a lot going on politically in Selangor. But for the sake of brevity, Walski will assume you know what he's talking about.

Just in case you have been under said rock, though, it has to do with Pakatan Rakyat, PKR, Selangor and Anwar Ibrahim. Here's a link if you need a refresher.

Needless to say, there's been a lot of disappointed people talking about voter trust being betrayed, that internal party politics shouldn't spill over into state governance, Anwar's behaving badly furthering his ambitions, etc.

Frankly, Walski doesn't blame you lot one bit. Yes, it's disappointing. Provided you're looking at it in isolation, and not taking all the other shenanigans that's been happening, vis-a-vis Selangor, particularly from the religious front.

Now, ask yourself: what's the root cause of this religion-driven melee that's happening in Selangor (and elsewhere, but mainly in Selangor)? Walski won't spoon-feed you the answer, just give it a thought for a bit. Here are some bullet points to help you:

• State religious authorities lobbying and clamoring for more authority
• Mooting of a federal-level religious police squad
• All of a sudden, JAIS goes into overdrive wanting to enforce Article 9 of the Selangor state enactment pertaining the "forbidden words"
• UMNO-friendly "Muslim" NGOs come out of the woodworks in support of the raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia by JAIS
• UMNO goes on a state-wide roadshow to "educate" Muslims on the provisions of the state enactment (mentioned in the third bullet point above)

There are a few more bullet points Walski could add, but that would be spoonfeeding.

The point is, UMNO has always regarded Selangor as its "crown jewel", and losing the state in 2008, and coming nowhere close to regaining it in 2013, has been a big blow to the party. Kinda like losing your 'family jewels', if you catch Walski's drift. And the opportunity to strike emerged with the JAIS action.

Walski's question: is Pakatan-led Selangor government to just sit still and not address this onslaught?

Logically, the whole mess with regards to JAIS, the Bible seizure, etc. can be easily solved. How? By amending Section 9 of the Selangor state enactment, removing the "Forbidden Words". Because as is, that section is actually un-Constitutional. And it's also unenforceable without being un-Constitutional. It's not just Walski who thinks this, by the way, but a whole brood of lawyers happen to think so, too, in particular Art Harun who wrote this piece for Loyar Burok.

"Forbidden Words" no longer forbidden, problem solved. Sort of. Except, of course, if HRH Sultan of Selangor refuses to sign off on it, creating as one constitutional expert put it, a Constitutional Crisis. Walski doesn't know the answer to this, but were the "Forbidden Words" inclusion back in 1988 made with prior consultation with the then-Sultan, or did the UMNO-led state legislature pass the enactment through sans consult?

Okie-dokie - so that's the partial backgrounder of what's going on in Selangor. Walski had to make this lengthy diversion because it's a well-known fact that Malaysians have a very short memory. Except when it comes to food, but that's another tale of gastronomical proportions we won't get into right now.

With that backdrop, let's revisit what's happening in Selangor: the Kajang state assemblyman quits, making way for a by-election in which Anwar Ibrahim is slated to run. To the one-dimensional dismay of many people, PR-supporters included. The feelings of betrayal are expressed, and condemnation of an Anwar-fied power grab are made. Campers aren't happy one bit.

Well guess what folks? It's politics. And because, in the bigger scheme of things, life is short, we probably shouldn't get all emo about it. Sure, if it suits you, you can champion moves to ensure Anwar doesn't get elected. That's your right to call for such a play.

Look, Walski has no love lost for Anwar Ibrahim. Walski does, however, care for what happens to Selangor. And the last thing Walski wants to see is Selangor fall back into the slimy hands of UMNO. Is that scenario what YOU would consider a better alternative? And while it may not be a very likely scenario at this juncture, with Pakatan Rakyat's majority in the state legislature, it certainly is not impossible to maneuver. What with the Malaysia Boleh spirit and all.

Think about it for a bit. Politics is a chess game. And in a chess game, one does not pre-publish what one's planned opening and game plan are for one's opponent to see, and have a heads up. 

Now, if the Kajang Maneuver is about nothing more than Anwar wanting to become Menteri Besar, please explain this statement from current MB Khalid Ibrahim. Not to mention that Anwar running for the Kajang seat has the endorsement of both DAP and PAS (but not the purported moves for the MB post).

So perhaps now you understand why the CNY greetings graphic Walski put up is what it is. And Chinese New Year is something ALL Malaysians should celebrate - no change there.

Not to say that all is well within the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat camp, particularly within the ranks of PKR. What former party member Zaid Ibrahim had to say about the whole issue deserves a mention, and a read. So, too, does this lament, written by Nathaniel Tan, someone quite close to Pakatan Rakyat and PKR, up until not too long ago.

Another valid grouse, of course, is that PKR's internal politics has allowed itself to spill over, affecting the voters and constituency. 

End of the day, however, it's politics.

Here's what a good friend mentioned recently with regards to what's happening in Selangor. Her dad is a retired politician, incidentally, and so her viewpoint is one Walski thinks pertinent: "Yes, a lot of unhappiness being expressed, but this is politics. You talk about the party and strategy and sacrifice. Learned this many years ago: no point getting emotional and upset. They don't think like us."

It's human nature to want to think that ours is an ideal world, and that issues can be looked at in isolation. Well, it's not an ideal world. More so when it comes to politics. Let the politicians involved sort it out, and let the people of Kajang decide: do they look short term and punish Pakatan Rakyat, or do they look at the bigger scheme of things? It really is their choice.

So what do we non-Kajangian mere mortals, do? Well, we can whinge and whine, like many good Malaysians do, about how politics is a dirty game, about how voters are treated like dirt, and go out of our way venting our frustration and anger at this less than perfect country, within the larger context of a less than perfect world.

Or, we can enjoy the remainder of Chinese New Year - and life, for that matter - with our friends and loved ones. Nighttime war-zone annoyances notwithstanding. It ain't CNY without a few things going bang-bang-bang, right?

Walski chooses to do the latter - subdued somewhat, with what's transpired on a personal level, but enjoy it all the same, as much as he can.

What you choose to do lies entirely up to you. Walski doesn't judge.

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

It's all explained in ONE word...

Technorati tags: Rant, Rot, State Of The Nation, The Nation's In A State

In the quiet shadows, Walski has been following what’s become of this nation of once great potential. And suffice it to say, what he’s observed is not pleasing one single bit.

Disquiet in the quiet, so to speak.

On the one hand, the ruling BN coalition is pulling out every single conceivable (and sometimes inconceivably ludicrous) ploy from their now dog-eared playbook, to the point of stating that at least what we have now, no matter how decrepit, is at least familiar.

Never mind that we’ve pretty much become 1FascistMalaysia. Fascism is good if it’s familiar. That’s the bullshit we’re being forced-fed. And suffice it to say, Walski doesn’t like it one single bit. Not a fucking molecule of it.

And then, on the other hand, just about everyone, and their pet amphibian, who has an iota of an inkling of Islamic credentials, is pushing for hudud.

“Oh, my hudud is better than your hudud. Your hudud is false-hudud, mine is God-ordained. You’re going to Hell if you implement your hudud; my hudud gets us to Heaven…”

Okay, maybe in not so many words, but you get the idea.

Well newsflash numbnuts…. the only good hudud is no hudud.

Exactly what shithole, God-forsaken nation do you aspire Malaysia to become, pray tell? Somalia? Afghanistan? Iran? Exactly what model of a despotic state do you have in mind when you dream your wet dreams at night?

Assuming you pro-hudud types can comprehend English, The Malaysian Insider published a really intelligent article on this issue (written by Dr. Ahmad Farouk Musa, director of the Islamic Renaissance Front), and in it we see why, in the case of Malaysia, a secular democracy is the ONLY system that ensures justice for ALL Malaysians.

Never mind that our Federal Constitution does not allow for it. Too much detail to derail your wet-dream fantasy, is it? Well, continue to spew your pro-hudud rhetoric, because in a nutshell, that’s about all that it will ever amount to – a lot of hot air.

Sheesh… Seriously, between the two, Walski can honestly almost bring himself to stick his head in a gas oven, turn the knob to ‘Cremate’, and light the burner…

There is one word in the English language that pretty much sums up how Walski feels about what’s happening to Malaysia. And extrapolating a little from there, pretty much describes how he is starting to view life in Malaysia generally.

No thanks, of course, to the nimrods on the one hand, and the Oxygen-deprived dickheads on the other.
(and the word is…. in the full post)

Well, if you've been observant, and bothered to look at a clue Walski included above, you'd have already guessed what that word is. But if not, Walski invites these aged rockers of yore to enlighten you...

Walski’s never really been a big Aerosmith fan. But you have to admit that they’ve written some pretty powerful lyrics during their long career.

And in one word, they manage to explain how Walski’s been feeling for quite a while now.

Yes, Walski is JADED.

He’s jaded with how Malaysians are now expected to honor and revere STUPIDITY and IGNORANCE. And how the more ludicrous and nonsensical the argument, the more reverence that’s demanded of us.

Walski has about had enough with the race and religion baiting that’s being perpetrated by the political grassroots, primarily those of the UMNO persuasion. Do you imbeciles know how desperate you look? Malaysia must really be suffering from severe brain-drain if you lot are the cream of the crop future leaders of this country. And incidentally, scum also rises to the top, not just cream.

Yes, Walski is JADED.

Despite what the “statistics” say, crime is on the increase. No, it’s not just a perception, as we’ve been forced to believe. Walski has a real friend who really had her car smashed into while stopped at a traffic light, and had her handbag snatched (fortunately she didn’t suffer anything more than the hassle of getting important thing replaced). Walski may be a lot of things, but he certainly isn’t delusional, nor does he have imaginary friends.

And if this letter written to the Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) is accurate, we are being lied to about the country’s crime situation. Walski doesn’t know about you, but he doesn’t like being lied to. In fact, he fucking hates it.

Remember the phrase Mark Twain popularized?

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
(source: Wikipedia)

The devil is in the details, and the details, apparently, involve creative crime classification. The letter to the CPI is definitely an interesting read, and if true, explains why our “perception” paint a totally different picture from what’s officially being reported.

Oh, and did Walski mention that he’s JADED?

Then, there’s religion. More and more things seem to be halal-ized, whether or not it’s necessary. Granted, the majority view is that beer is not halal (there is at least one minority opinion that states it is not entirely forbidden). But does that mean the word ‘beer’ is haram as well?

That WTF moment when you realize even labels need to be kosher
(click here for source)

Seriously, do you think you make Islam more attractive by making it more restrictive and prohibitive of this, that and the other? Think about it. Oh, Walski forgot… the pious aren’t allowed to think, only follow…

Yes, boys and girls, Walski is JADED.

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The above are but some examples of why Walski says he’s JADED. And by the looks of it, things aren’t going to get any better. Not for the lack of trying, on the part of concerned citizens, though.

Earlier today, Anas Zubedy announced a Say Something Nice campaign, targeted to run between August 31^st and September 16^th.

You can find out exactly what the campaign is all about via Anas’ blog posting, but in a nutshell it is one man’s attempt to make everyone’s mood better. By saying something nice when you Facebook-post, tweet, blog, etc.

Will it work? Best not ask Walski that question right now. Not when he’s feeling JADED. But it’s a positive attempt. There – Walski said something nice. Happy?

Truth is (and it’s an ugly, inconvenient truth), while it’s nice to be positive and all, that’s not going to change the underlying rot that’s the real root cause of our national woes. Not much anyway. It’s a rot that’s been slowly festering for a long, long time. So much so that it would take a lot more than just smiling, and saying nice things, to heal that rot.

Perhaps invasive surgery to yank the rotting cancer out of our collective national soul would be a better option. Bonus if the surgeon smiles while he slices and dices. And says something nice about the rot in the process.

And you get the chance to play surgeon – GE13 will be coming our way anytime over the next 6 to 8 months.

In the last line of his posting, Dr. Mahathir wrote, “Better the devil you know than the angel you don’t” (which was later picked up by The Malaysian Insider). Yes, change brings uncertainty, and (some) change cannot happen overnight – unless you’re a stupidly optimistic person, you will realize that these are real-world realities about change.

To Walski, the 25-point posting by our esteemed former PM is nothing much more than a desperate attempt to sugar-coat a terminally ill and dying Barisan Nasional as an entity that’s able to take Malaysia to the next level.

Next level down closer to Hell on Earth maybe, but certainly not to the next level of positive development, to be a nation par excellence.

Is it better to live out this life with a familiar mediocrity, rather than take a chance for possible excellence? With all due respect, Dr. M, Walski has to say, courteously, Fuck No.

Dr. Mahathir is, of course, entitled to state his opinion. That’s his right. Doesn’t mean we have to swallow it wholesale. Like many Malaysians Walski knows.

And perhaps that’s the problem with this country – the general ineptitude to  critically analyze, and to accept wholesale what a political leader friendly to one’s own persuasion has to say.

Compound that by 27 million, and you still wonder why Walski’s feeling JADED?

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

Opinion Poll: Censorship & Suppression of Ideas

Technorati tags: Poll Position, Opinion Poll, Censorship, Suppression Of Thought, Irshad Manji, Book Banning

Unless you’ve been living under a rock without Internet, you would have heard by now the problems that ZI Publications has had with the “law”… Not civil law, but Selangor Syariah law. It’s a reminder that we are, after all, living in 1Apartheid.

The Legion of Silencers has once again struck, it would seem…

Long story short, Irshad Manji’s “Allah, Liberty & Love”, and it’s Bahasa Malaysia translation, “Allah, Kebebasan & Cinta”, have been banned by the Malaysian government, although no gazette has been officially issued as yet.

This is the latest is the long standing tradition of banning things in Malaysia, something that some of our fellow Malaysians seem to be proud of. And of course, when things like this happen, you know that a myAsylum poll can’t be too far away.

The pretext of this latest banning, as with many others before it: protection of Islam and Muslims. And it is because what Irshad Manji writes about. And believe it or not, what she writes about is about MORE than just sex, something what most Malaysians have been led to believe the book is about.

Frankly, Walski has not read the book – yet – so he can’t tell you exactly what it is about. It is a safe bet that those who have been instrumental in the book’s banning have not read it either. But based on what he surmises, sex is NOT the central topic, and very likely NOT a topic at all.

In fact, why don’t we do away with supposition and hearsay, for once, and find out what the chapter topics in the book are:

• Introduction: From Anger to Aspiration
• Chapter 1: Some Things are More Important than Fear
• Chapter 2: Identity Can Trap You, But Integrity Will Set You Free
• Chapter 3: Culture is Not Sacred
• Chapter 4: You Define Your Honor
• Chapter 5: Offense is the Price of Diversity
• Chapter 6: In Times of Moral Crisis, Moderation is a Cop-Out
• Chapter 7: Lack of Meaning is The Real Death Threat

And perhaps most “shocking” of all, Recipe: Irshaddering Chai Tea (which follows after Chapter 7).

So far, thankfully, the MCMC has not ordered Amazon.com’s site to be blocked, and it is quite easily accessible, so go verify the table of contents for yourself, since the “majority” of Malaysians probably view Walski as nothing but a lying bastard not worthy of being believed.

Funny, but Walski couldn’t find one single mention of the word sex in the table of contents. Or perhaps it was the new offensive word in the book’s title that got the clerics’ panties in a bundle: liberty.
(the poll, its details, and more, in the full post)

In any case, back to the poll – this time around, you get to pick THREE (3) choices out of the list given. Or suggest your own answer, reflecting what you think.

Not what you reckon the government wants to achieve, but WHAT YOU THINK. It may come as a surprise to you, but here at myAsylum you are allowed to express what you really think, unlike in most parts of real-world Malaysia.

As with other polls before this, you can share this poll via your Blogger blog (by clicking the icon below the poll, located at the sidebar on the right), or if your blogging platform of choice is Wordpress, you can use the shortcode [polldaddy poll="6256206"]. On other platforms, drop Walski a line via the comments and he’ll provide you the codes you need.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Being that Walski has been labeled a “liberal” by most quarters, and being that these days, being a liberal is deemed to be a bigger sin than murder and rape, it would be a good idea for you to tell your friends of ALL orientations to participate in this poll. Only because Walski DOES want to know the opinions of everyone, and not just the opinions of like-minded people. Yes, we liberals are strange that way.

The poll will be open until Midnight, Sunday, June 10, 2012, after which Walski will announce the results, and throw in some of his personal thoughts and analysis.

Don’t worry: your opinions and how you vote are actually anonymous to Walski, so please participate in the poll according to how you actually feel, and be honest with yourself. Honesty is what Walski expects, nothing more, nothing less…

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

Cancer of the mind

Technorati tags: Religion, Islam, Irshad Manji, Compulsion, Liberty, Freedom Of Conscience

It has been a very, very long while since Walski has written anything related to religion. But recent events have made it necessary for him to do so.

In the Quran, there is one basic commandment that is seldom talked about these days, going by the rhetoric from the many so-called “protectors” of faith.

Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things
Quran 2:256 Yusuf Ali translation

Instead, what we hear today here in Malaysia is compulsion – in spades. Compulsion to believe that there is one, and only one, interpretation of what Islam is, and what it demands of the faith’s believers. Compulsion to accept what the “majority” accepts, and the compulsion to denigrate any point of view not in concordance with what’s “accepted”. Worse, the compulsion to prevent any expression of said viewpoints.

How else could one explain this news report, published by Malaysiakini earlier this week?

A Muslim lawyers’ group is protesting Canadian author Irshad Manji’s programme in Kuala Lumpur on account of her “liberal” Muslim position, and wants her out of the country.

...

Persatuan Peguam Peguam Muslim Malaysia (PPMM) president Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar in a statement today said PPMM “objected to Irshad Manji’s programme” scheduled for this week.

“PPMM urges the government not to allow her to continue with her programme and have her leave Malaysia immediately, as it can be a cancer to Islamic practices in Malaysia,” Zainul Rijal said.

He added that several groups have lodged police reports over the matter, and also urged the ulama to come up with “rebuttals to counter” the ideas the author allegedly propagates.
(source: Malaysiakini, subscription required)

Two things occur to Walski immediately: Zainul Rijal is afraid. And Zainul Rijal has no bloody clue what he’s afraid of.
(what the real cancer is, and more, in the full post)

In fact, Walski dares venture that Zainul Rijal has never read anything Irshad Manji has written. Not her first book, “The Trouble With Islam Today” (via Goodreads), nor her new book, “Allah, Liberty, and Love: A Path to Reconciliation".

And, as Walski’s learned friend Haris Ibrahim has suggested in his posting on The People’s Parliament, Zainul Rijal "has, himself, no answer to her points of view".

Instead, the vehement opposition to Irshad Manji is based on her sexual orientation, and the fact that she’s a “liberal”.

And as we all know, the word “liberal” has become a foul seven-letter word among the seemingly growing number of folks wearing a conservative façade.

Even worse, without even delving into what her message is – probably because these naysayers don’t have a clue – there is the immediate assumption that she’s here to champion LGBT issues. And as Walski has mentioned elsewhere, LGBT has become a manufactured political issue du juor.

So, exactly what points of view does Irshad Manji have? Here’s an example:

Irshad Manji on the Bob Edwards Radio Show by Irshad Manji Podcasts

The clip above is from approximately two months ago, and talks about her new book “Allah, Liberty, and Love: A Path to Reconciliation”. Any mention of LGBT and the championing of LGBT issues?

So what is it that Irshad Manji says that orthodox Muslims find so repugnant and repulsive, to the point that they do not even want her on Malaysian soil? And please do Walski a favor – get your orthodox and/or conservative Muslim friends to listen to the the clip above, and then ask them the same question.

If you had the moral courage to listen to the clip above, allow Walski to ask you a couple of other questions: Did you spontaneously combust, or get struck down by a bolt of lightning? Has your faith in God (assuming you have it in the first place) suddenly disappeared?

It is a safe assumption to say that the probable and most likely answers to both these rhetorical questions are ‘No’.

Having heard what Irshad Manji had to say in the clip above, do you still think that she is a “cancer to Islamic practices in Malaysia”?

Walski’s personal opinion? “Islam” in Malaysia has been reduced to a very narrow and rigid interpretation, and nothing other than the “approved” Sunni-flavored “Islam” is tolerated. Just look at how the Shi’ah sects are viewed in this country, not to mention other schools of thought that have been deemed to be “deviant”.

Oddly enough some of these very same “deviant” schools of thought are generally accepted elsewhere in the Islamic world. Ever heard of the Amman Message? Malaysia is one of the signatories, and yet, the various Shariah laws we have in Malaysia do not reflect the consensus arrived at within this message.

The gist of what is contained within the Amman Message can be summarized as follows, what’s commonly known as the Three Points of the Amman Message:

1. Whosoever is an adherent to one of the four Sunni schools (Mathahib) of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i and Hanbali), the two Shi‘i schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Ja‘fari and Zaydi), the Ibadi school of Islamic jurisprudence and the Thahiri school of Islamic jurisprudence, is a Muslim. Declaring that person an apostate is impossible and impermissible. Verily his (or her) blood, honour, and property are inviolable. Moreover, in accordance with the Shaykh Al-Azhar’s fatwa, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare whosoever subscribes to the Ash‘ari creed or whoever practices real Tasawwuf (Sufism) an apostate. Likewise, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare whosoever subscribes to true Salafi thought an apostate. Equally, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare as apostates any group ofMuslims who believes in God, Glorified and Exalted be He, and His Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) and the pillars of faith, and acknowledges the five pillars of Islam, and does not deny any necessarily self-evident tenet of religion.
2. There exists more in common between the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence than there is difference between them. The adherents to the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence are in agreement as regards the basic principles of Islam. All believe in Allah (God), Glorified and Exalted be He, the One and the Unique; that the Noble Qur’an is the Revealed Word of God; and that our master Muhammad, may blessings and peace be upon him, is a Prophet and Messenger unto all mankind. All are in agreement about the five pillars of Islam: the two testaments of faith (shahadatayn); the ritual prayer (salat); almsgiving (zakat); fasting the month of Ramadan (sawm), and the Hajj to the sacred house of God (in Mecca). All are also in agreement about the foundations of belief: belief inAllah (God),His angels, His scriptures, His messengers, and in the Day of Judgment, in Divine Providence in good and in evil. Disagreements between the ‘ulama (scholars) of the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence are only with respect to the ancillary branches of religion (furu‘) and not as regards the principles and fundamentals (usul) [of the religion of Islam]. Disagreement with respect to the ancillary branches of religion (furu‘) is a mercy. Long ago itwas said that variance in opinion among the ‘ulama (scholars) “is a good affair”.
3. Acknowledgement of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Mathahib) within Islam means adhering to a fundamental methodology in the issuance of fatwas: no one may issue a fatwa without the requisite personal qualifications which each school of Islamic jurisprudence determines [for its own adherents]. No one may issue a fatwa without adhering to the methodology of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence. No one may claim to do absolute Ijtihad and create a new school of Islamic jurisprudence or to issue unacceptable fatwas that take Muslims out of the principles and certainties of the Shari‘ah and what has been established in respect of its schools of jurisprudence.

The Malaysian reality, however, is that apart from the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence, all others are officially seen as not entirely kosher. Despite Malaysia being a signatory. Compulsion by the powers that be, therefore, to ensure that only “approved” Islam is practiced.

And while Walski may not agree 100% with the Amman Message, it is a good and positive start towards reconciliation between the major schools of thought.

The same Malaysiakini report quoted earlier also had this to say:

Meanwhile another pressure group Persatuan Persaudaraan Muslimah Malaysia (Salimah) said they vehemently objected to the arrival of one who they said “insulted Islam with her writings and attitude” that allegedly “denigrated the views of venerated scholars”.

“Inviting someone like her is surely an effort to challenge the sensitivities of the Muslim community in this country,” said the group’s chief Aminah Zakaria in a statement.

She said her group rejected Irshad’s presence charging that it would “raise confusion and incite anger” of the Muslim community.
(source: Malaysiakini, subscription required)

Honestly, Walski doesn't know where to begin commenting on this. For starters, he seriously doubts that Salimah has read anything Irshad’s written. Secondly, why is it that champions of the brand of Islam we’re being force-fed are so damned sensitive and angry all the time? And why is it that just about anything disagreeable incites anger?

Thirdly, by their own admission, Salimah are of the opinion that being a Muslim necessitates not thinking, and therefore prone to being confused all the time.

Solution? Suppress ideas, and enforce this suppression through the stance of compulsion.

The truth is that groups like the PPMM and Salimah refuse to accept that there exist views other than those that jive fully with the state-endorsed narrow world-view version of “Islam”. They live in denial, and would prefer that the rest of the Muslims (over whom they have no jurisdiction, incidentally) also be in denial just like them.

That is the real cancer – the self-inflicted refusal by vocal ultra-conservative groups such as PPMM and Salimah to use the God-given gift of reasoning, in fear of possibly insulting the views of “venerated” (and centuries-long dead) scholars.

But before you think Walski is being unduly harsh, he happens to think that theirs is a conditioned condition. It is the result of having been raised in an environment that loathes healthy inquiry, and damns questions as leading towards religious infidelity.

In turn, they compel their dogma unto others, stopping at nothing to ensure that any opposing views are silenced. And yes, sometimes resorting to using ultra-conservative elements within government to ensure that their suppressive tendencies appear legitimate.

Compulsion in religion, to Walski, does serve some purpose. Control is the primary one.  And compulsion in religion breeds hypocrisy, as pointed out by Mustafa Akyol in his recent opinion piece published by The New York Times.

From Walski’s point of view, the root cause of the mind cancer that afflicts Mulsims at large, not just in Malaysia, but in many parts of the Islamic world, is in fact, compulsion. Coupled with the notions that the human intellect should not be applied to matters pertaining to religion, and religion is best left to those “more qualified”, a fertile environment is created for cancer of the mind to metastasize.

That is the real threat facing many Muslims today. As things stand, the notions of liberty only threaten those in positions of religious influence, positions that facilitate realpolitik power. And power, once tasted, is something difficult to relinquish.

Perhaps the fear Walski senses in Zainul Rijal is the fear of liberty, and perhaps more fearful, freedom of conscience. Both are potential show-spoilers that can unravel the hold that persons of religious influence have.

But it is exactly liberty and freedom of conscience that are needed if we ever want to eradicate the cancer of the mind that afflicts us.

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

LGBT: A scare of ridiculomendous proportions

Technorati tags: LGBT, Public Scare, Fascism, Politics, Hate

If you've been following the news of late, particularly the Malay language media, Malaysia is apparently under threat from this “menace” known as LGBT.

No, not Legless Goats Bleating Terrifyingly – which admittedly would be somewhat scary – but a section of our community, collectively known as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender.

No specifics as to exactly why LGBT is so threatening, apart from making some people insecure (more on that later), but yeah, we’re apparently under threat.

The government needs to create a “homosexual rehabilitation centre” to combat the phenomenon in Malaysia, according to Barisan Nasional MP who today claimed 30 per cent of Malaysian men were gay.

According to a Bernama Online report, Datuk Baharum Mohamad (BN-Sekijang) said in Parliament today that this was to aid those with homosexual tendencies or engaged in same-sex relationships to stop such behaviour.

“We have to find a solution to combat these activities from getting rampant just like the efforts we take to combat drugs,” Baharum said.

“A study has found that, right now, three out of 10 men in Malaysia are gay. This is scary.”

It is unclear what study the lawmaker was citing when he made his address.
(source: The Malaysian Insider)

Well, Walski did a bit of poking around and found out what “study” the MP was referring to. Essentially, it was a statement by a counselor named Hushim Hashim that was published (presumably) in Mingguan Malaysia a couple of weekends back.

And the findings of this “study” are indeed shocking...
(using stupidity to shock and awe ridiculously, in the full post)

All Walski could find was a scanned newspaper clipping. And he’s taken the liberty of transcribing (and translating, in this color) what this so-called expert had to say.

Ancaman lesbian, gay, biseksual dan transgender (LGBT) kini menjadi barah dalam masyarakat apabila penularan budaya songsang itu meningkat mendadak khususnya dalam kalangan penuntut institusi pengajian tinggi.

The threat of LGBT has now become a cancer in society since its prevalence has increased tremendously, particularly among students in institutions of higher learning.

Perkara ini didedahkan Kaunselor Berdaftar, Hushim Salleh (gambar) yang telah mengendali dan memberi terapi kaunseling kepada lebih 1,000 golongan LGBT yang ingin kembali ke pangkal jalan sejak 20 tahun lalu.

This was revealed by Hushim Salleh (pictured), a Registered Counselor, who has facilitated and provided counseling therapy to more than 1,000 LGBT who have wanted to repent their ways, for the past 20 years.

Paling mengejutkan, berdasarkan kajian beliau hasil pengakuan bekas-bekas golongan LGBT, daripada 10 lelaki di negara ini, tiga adalah gay.

More shocking, based on his research through the confessions of former LGBT, three out of 10 men in this country are gay.

Mereka ini golongan split identity (pelbagai identiti) iaitu sebelah pagi dia boleh jadi imam kemudian tengah hari meliwat orang.

They are individuals with split personality, who in the morning can become 'imams', then sodomize people in the afternoon.

Berdasarkan pengakuan golongan ini, mereka mendakwa bahawa daripada 10 lelaki, tiga adalah gay. Ini tidak termasuk pondan dan lesbian. Sebab itu, saya harap semua pihak jangan pandang remeh benda ini.

Based on their confessions, they allege that out of 10 men, three are gay. And this doesn't include effeminate men and lesbians. Because of this, I hope everyone doesn't take this lightly.
(source: Newspaper clipping obtained from Minta Tolong!)

So let's get this straight – 3 out of 10 men in Malaysia are gay? Doing the math, that would translate to around 42 male BN Members of Parliament being gay (there are 127 in total), and also 21 Pakatan Rakyat and 2 Independent male MPs! Shocked? You should be, particularly at the blatantly pseudoscientific methodology used to derive the figure of 30%.

Which, if you think about it, isn’t all that surprising, considering what this same “expert” had to say in another article published in – you guessed it – Utusan Malaysia (translation by myAsylum, in this color).

Dari segi ilmu kaunseling memang benar orang yang terlibat dengan budaya LGBT adalah orang sakit. Mereka sebenarnya sakit jiwa walaupun dikurnia mental yang bijak. Kalau jati diri kita tetap, tarikan pada jantina berbeza tetapi orang macam ini tidak. Gay ini pula terbahagi kepada tiga golongan iaitu homoseksual, heteroseksual dan biseksual.

From the angle of counseling knowledge, it is true that people involved with the LGBT culture are sick. They actually suffer from mental illness although bestowed with intelligent mentality. If their self-esteem is strong, the attraction is to the opposite sex, but not so with people like these. Gays are divided into three groups: homosexuals, heterosexuals and bisexuals.

Homoseksual dia memberi dan menerima. kebanyakan terdiri daripada lelaki-lelaki macho. Heteroseksual pula hanya memberi sahaja manakala biseksual paling bahaya kerana mereka tidak pernah puas dan boleh berada dimana-mana sahaja dalam masyarakat. Gay adalah manusia yang paling susah dikesan kerana mereka berperwatakan seperti sesumpah.

Homosexuals "give" and "receive". Most are macho men. Heterosexuals only "give", while bisexuals are the most dangerous because they are never satisfied and can be anywhere within society. Gays are very difficult to detect, because the are chameleons in their character.
(source: Utusan Malaysia)

Walski honestly doesn’t know from which dark, deep, God-forsaken abyss this guy’s “counseling knowledge” comes from, but since heterosexuals are also gay, doesn’t that mean EVERYBODY’s gay?

So if that’s the case, what the hell is the big deal?

You know what Walski thinks, though? This recent ultra-focus on LGBT is a ploy. Not the Baldrick kind of “cunning plan” ploy, but something more basic and political in nature.

It’s no accident that Utusan has been on the offensive. A quick look at the NGOs also on the forefront of combatting this “menace” indicates that they’re mostly UMNO-friendly. NGOs such as JMM and Perkasa.

An UMNO MP recently mooted in Parliament that gay rehabilitation centers need to be set up. And of course, at the end of the day, only Muslim LGBT will be persecuted, according to another UMNO she-warrior. After all, in case you didn’t already realize it, we live in a 1Apartheid nation.

The ploy, in Walski’s opinion, is to divert attention from more serious issues, such as corruption, abuse of power and misuse of public funds, all of which have been, of late, dogging the UMNO-led BN-constituted federal government of the day.

Think about this: if Seksualiti Merdeka had not made the mistake of inviting Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan to be the keynote speaker, do you think anyone would have batted an eyelid? And believe Walski when he says this: Ambiga sends shivers down the spines of these UMNOphiliacs, with what had been achieved with Bersih 2.0, whether they want to admit it or not.

Incidentally, Walski is not the only one who thinks that this is a ploy to divert attention, going by the snide posting this past Thursday by fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

Well, Walski’s advise to Malaysians, particularly you Melayu fellers who think that UMNO is the best thing since the invention of nasi lemak, DO NOT BE FOOLED. JANGAN TERTIPU.

Without a shadow of a doubt, LGBT will be used as a MAJOR election issue by UMNO, in the hopes that you don’t focus on what will really destroy this nation: corruption, blatant misuse of public funds, loss of human capital to other lands, inefficiency, and of course, institutionalized discrimination.

Do you really have to wonder why Malaysia is slow to ratify UN resolutions against all forms of discrimination? We bloody thrive on it, that’s why – discrimination, part of the modus operandi that keeps those holding the reins of power entrenched.

And in keeping with this important core competency, LGBT is made into a big, threatening issue. It is once again the use of discrimination to plant irrational fears into a populace that has been programmed to accept any form of bullshit as long as it’s bullshit from the right people.

What this anti-LGBT campaign will achieve, in Walski’s opinion is more homophobia, more hate, and yes, more discrimination. 

LGBT will not bankrupt or destroy this nation, but corruption and abuse certainly will.

Open your eyes, moist robots, and do what’s right – ignore these creeps who want nothing more than to turn this great nation into a self-righteous wasteland devoid of any reason to be part of the world citizenry.

As Walski’s parting shot dedicated to those who think that Malaysians are stupid enough to buy your crap, he leaves you with this well-known classic ditty…

And he certainly hopes you don't get fooled by this ridiculomendous initiative of hate cultivation either...

Walski’s etymologically made up footnote: In case you can’t find the word ridiculomendous (and in all likelihood you won’t) in any dictionary online or off, it is a word made up by Walski. It essentially is a concatenation of the words ridiculous and tremendous, and can mean either one of two things: ridiculously tremendous, or tremendously ridiculous.

For the purposes of this particular post, the latter meaning is intended. But you probably already knew that, didn't you?

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

Neo-Soul artiste banned by No-Soul country

Technorati tags: Erykah Badu, Concert Ban, Yorais, Neo Soul, No Soul

That’s about the only headline missing from reports around the globe about Malaysia banning the performance by Erykah Badu, slated for later this evening.

And that’s exactly the headline Walski thinks most appropriately describes what happened yesterday, when the already infamous #yorais announced that the concert would not be allowed to go on.

Rais: Bigger  problem with Muslims if Erykah Badu concert allowed

Datuk Seri Rais Yatim justified on Twitter today the cancellation of Erykah Badu’s concert, which was scheduled to take place tomorrow, saying that if the concert had been allowed to go ahead, it would have created “a bigger and prolonged problem”.

“The ‘Allah’ graphic on the singer’s body will surely create religious controversies among Muslims who do not appreciate such practice.

“The cancellation of the concert is based on justification, if continued, will create a bigger and prolonged problem,” he said in a post on the micro-blogging site this afternoon.

The information, communications and culture minister had earlier today announced on his official Twitter page that the concert has been banned after a photograph revealing a tattoo on the American R&B singer with the Arabic word for “Allah”, or God, appeared in English-language daily The Star yesterday.
(source: The Malaysian Insider)

Assuming it ever had one, this damned country has totally lost its soul.
(a country with an evaporated soul, and more, in the full post)

Sure, we’ve got great infrastructure, complete with potholes, and a an abundance of uneven manhole orifice covers strewn all over our  roads. But gazing at the splendor of the KL skyline only gets you so far.

Walski’s Facebook and Twitter friend, the very prolific Art Harun, had this to say this morning:

We ban a singer with an Allah tattoo. We objected against Valentines day celebration. 40 yr old sex education book - we ban. We assisted in a kidnapping of a visitor to our country. We look with askance at electronic Bibles. And TV3, at 6.50am today discussed bras from Indonesia which apparently could cure cancer. Sometime I think the NFC project is a big prank and all of us are actually the cows.
(Art Harun, via Facebook)

In which case, grazing at the splendor of the KL skyline only gets you so far, if what Art says is true…

What has Malaysia turned into?

Some dare venture that we’re fast becoming another Saudi Arabia – minus, of course, the sand and the almost-unlimited supply of black gold, and unbridled male tribal chauvinism.

Frankly, if you were to ask Walski, Rais Yatim is merely the manifestation of the kind of knee-jerk conservatism that has gripped the nation, which is fast squeezing the very soul out of it. Of course, he opens himself up to ridicule in the process. Someone’s gotta be the #yorais scapegoat, and it’s always better that a dinosaur be assigned the task.

The process of Malaysia transforming from a vibrant secular democratic country into a relgio-hypersensitive despot state didn’t happen overnight, nor did it begin in 2008, as some might think. Although, that said, the process certainly has accelerated since then.

No, from Walski’s observation, the process began in the late 1980’s when legitimacy for increased Islamization was given on a constitutional amendment platter (albeit unintentionally), topped off with that infamous declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state. Both, for no other reason than short-sighted political expediency. We are today enjoying the fruits, rotten even before they are ripe for the picking.

We have a situation today where anything with the slightest whiff of even coming close to touching the hypersensitivities of “Muslims” gets nipped in the bud. Faster than you can painfully scream ‘castration’.

And while the political bastards politicians play the game of “if PAS can do it, UMNO can do it more drastically” one-upsmanship, the soul of this nation evaporates, leaving the loud self-proclaimed majority in this country wallowing in glee, concerned with the nether regions of high profile personalities. All the while oblivious to the damage their almost voyeuristic obsession creates.

No-Soul trumps Neo-Soul

As far as Walski is concerned, Malaysia has pretty much become a lifeless shell, glittery on the outside, festering and rotting beneath the epidermis. And you don’t even have to peel that much off before the stench permeates, and overwhelms you with flustered frustration.

And then you sit there wondering why the Malaysian diaspora is so unwilling to return?

Another individual, prolific in his own country Pakistan, a college friend of Walski’s, once commented that from what he has seen, Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful city that he would like to spend more time in. But the friend asked this question: “but what does Kuala Lumpur have to feed my soul?”

At the time, some weeks ago, Walski was hard-pressed to answer. If asked the same question again today, he’d have no hesitation to say, “Nothing. Like the rest of this country, whatever little we had resembling a soul, we’ve sold to the Devil. In God’s name”.

Seriously… soul, my friend? What soul?

For to ban a neo-soul artist, simply on the superficial basis of an offending tattoo, if we aren’t already, Malaysia is fast becoming a country without the semblance of a soul… whatever life it used to have quickly evaporating into a murky, misty, long forgotten past that can never be reborn.

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

Fascism, by any other name, still smells as foul

Technorati tags: Fascism, Islam, NGO, Force, MAPIM

Lately, more and more religious NGOs seem to be getting more vocal and coming to the fore to prevent others from airing views that are contrary to these organizations' point of view. It's not that Walski is against them airing their dissatisfaction, as that is well within their rights to do so in a civil society.

The problem Walski has with these NGOs is the assertion that only their view is valid, only their viewpoint must be accepted, and that they have the right to prevent others from speaking out. And on the basis of perceived political risk, the powers that be let them have their way.

It's part of a rising trend - we're seeing in it in Perkasa, and we're seeing it more and more in these religious NGOs. Call it Islamic resurgence if you want, but Walski calls it by its real name - fascism.

MAPIM could very easily have gone the more intelligent route and insist on dialog. Instead, they choose the fascist route - repress any discussion. Quo vadis, Malaysia?

Amplify’d from www.malaysiakini.com

Muslim NGO bares fangs over gender rights forum

A Muslim NGO is taking issue with a roundtable discussion on gender rights and women’s issues on the basis that it allegedly promotes “Western” ideas that it claims are a threat to Islamic values.

The group, Majlis Perundingan Pertubuhan Islam Malaysia (Mapim), in a statement today objected to the event ‘Gender Equality: Unaddressed Women's Rights Issues’ organised by Empower on Oct 31 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Mapim general-secretary Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid singled out two sessions at the roundtable in particular, ‘UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in Defending the Human Rights of Lesbians, Bisexual Women and Transgenders in Malaysia’ by Angela Kuga Thas and ‘A CEDAW Approach to Family Law in Advancing Equality and Non Discrimination’ by Lalitha Menon.

“Mapim rejects attempts by a group of secularists and liberals who are keen to be slaves of the Western agenda,” said Mohd Azmi.

“Discussions such as this is secretly aimed at fuelling campaigns and advocacy to change the values and moral foundations of Islam that are central to Malay-Muslims and Malaysians in general,” he charged. Read more at www.malaysiakini.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1g2jr

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

Proselytizing the Halloween way...

Technorati tags: Zan Azlee, Religion, Scare Tactics, Psychology

Let's face it, there are people who go around scaring people into submission. It's a subtler form of coercion, if you think about it. But is this practice based on scriptural recommendations, or the vivid imagination of those who practice it?

In this article, Zan Azlee offers his opinion...

Amplify’d from www.themalaysianinsider.com

Scaring people into submission

Another popular story is of an old woman (or man, as the stories do vary) who is at her deathbed surrounded by friends and family.

She is about to die but seems to be struggling and in tremendous discomfort. The story continues to explain that this goes on for weeks.

Then it is discovered that she had led a sinful life and used to (insert dreaded sin of your choice) and she is now being punished for it.

They had to do special prayers to ask for forgiveness and only then did the old woman die, and into the next life where she will presumably be punished again.

Recently, stories like these have been making its rounds on FaceBook and as spam emails and the senders always make comments like “repent now!” or “fear Allah!”.

After reading one too many of these stories whenever I log on to FaceBook, it’s actually making me want to repent of all my sins… NOT!

I wonder if it’s desperation that Muslims are trying to preach to other fellow Muslims to repent and return to the right path.

How low do you have to be when you feel the only way to pull somebody back to Islam is by scaring them witless? Read more at www.themalaysianinsider.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1f6xr

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

Painting the man-made as Divine... Who, dude?

The biggest misconception that is today being propagated: the "hudud" that the Islamists in Malaysia are so keen on unleashing are divine laws verbatim. Well, they're not.

They may have their basis in revelation, but what we have today are human interpretations, containing human alterations, and therefore are as man-made as the civil laws that these Islamists are so gung-ho to replace.

Many cite "hudud" and then point to Saudi as a prime example where there are very few rapes. But does this reflect the truth? Could it be that the stringent conditions for reporting such cases, potentially put the victim at risk of herself being prosecuted for adultery, makes it less than ideal to report the crime in the first place?

The article from The Nut Graph below delves into "hudud" and raises some very pertinent questions. What's clipped below is just a portion of it, and do click on the links provided below to read the article in full.

Amplify’d from www.thenutgraph.com

Whose hudud?

IF we were to believe everything the politicians are saying about hudud, we would come to three conclusions. One, that implementing the punishments prescribed under hudud is divine law that no Muslim can question, and hence is inevitable. Two, that hudud cannot be implemented in Malaysia because of the Federal Constitution and our multi-cultural composition. And three, non-Muslims have no business worrying about this Islamic penal code.

Are any of these assumptions about hudud accurate? Beyond that, what are the proclamations by PAS, Umno and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) politicians regarding hudud really all about?

Hudud: Divine or man-made?

When a Muslim says he or she has to uphold hudud, one needs to ask which hudud do they mean? The truth is, hudud as we know it today is human-made and therefore changeable and contestable.

For example, how many of us know that the Quran prescribes punishment for only four types of crimes — theft, robbery, adultery and slanderous accusation of adultery? And that classical jurists, i.e. men, expanded it to six, and in the 2002 Terengganu hudud and qisas legislation, it was expanded, again by men, to seven.

Three crimes that are today punishable under hudud — apostasy, consumption of alcohol and treason/armed rebellion — are not provided for under hudud in the Quran. Neither is the punishment of stoning for adulterers prescribed in the Quran. And neither, by the way, is death for apostasy.

What else about hudud as we know it today is based on human understanding and interpretation, and not divine authority? Read more at www.thenutgraph.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1e2k8

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

Saying No to 1Apartheid

It's about damned time a Muslim spoke up against the latest hudud hubbub that seems to have taken grip. And this piece by Zainah Anwar does just that. In fact, you could say that Zainah dishes it out good, in spades.

There's a big misconception that this hudud thing (to Walski a pre-cursor to turning this nation into an Islamic state) is accepted by all Muslims. The truth is that many who disagree to not dare speak out, in fear of being labeled this, that and the other.

To begin with, Walski thinks that this latest spate of hudud-talk is really a non-issue, being played up primarily for political reasons - just follow the stale cookie trail, and you'll probably draw the same conclusion.

Meanwhile, enjoy Zainah's tirade... it's about damned time, too.

Amplify’d from www.thestar.com.my

No hudud please, we’re Malaysians

ARE our politicians plain bad, crazy or stupid? In this divisive, corrosive, cynical political climate of ours, if I were the Opposition, I would jump and present my party as the party of first and obvious choice for the electorate.

I would have not only welcomed the Prime Minister’s bold announcements in repealing those repressive laws and states of emergency, I would also up the ante and begin a public debate on how we as citizens should exercise and enjoy our Constitutional guarantees of fundamental liberties.

I would be planning over the next few months on how to build public opinion to hold the Government accountable and ensure that whatever alternative national security or public order laws that might emerge will uphold my fundamental freedoms.

I would want to make it politically very costly for the Government if it falls short or back-pedal on the promises of democratic reform it has made.

Instead, what do we get? An offer of the hudud law and its grim serving of chopped-off Muslim hands and feet, and stoning to death! What kind of future is that?

And we have politicians, who supposedly hold the mantle of leadership, who simply and continually miss the point.

“It’s okay to implement the hudud law because it doesn’t affect non-Muslims.” So it’s okay for Muslims to be brutalised? Read more at www.thestar.com.my

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1e044

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

The Stream, The Divide, and cutting through The Noise

Technorati tags: Aljazeera, The Stream, Ethnic and Religious divide, Insights, Commentary

Aljazeera has this regular segment called The Stream. In essence, this program delves into more detail the less talked about stories they find in the social media circuit, looking beyond the popular hashtags, in the case of Twitter.

In their own words, “#8millionBeliebers and #TeamSheen will not figure on The Stream”.

One of those stories is the ethnic and religious divide in our country that is becoming, it seems, more and more apparent. It’s not something we here living in Malaysia are not already aware of, and in the case of Walski, it’s something he’s seen being talked about more and more in our own little corner of the social media world.

The Stream, on Friday, did a segment on this, featuring three well-known Malaysian personalities: Khairy Jamaluddin, Marina Mahathir, and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

In the age of instant gratification we live in today, 27 minutes may seem like a long time, but it’s 27 minutes worth watching. It’s only after watching the whole thing that he could provide his own opinions. And boy, does Walski have a lot to say... 
(the state of our nation, and more, in the full post)

First off, if you bothered to watch the segment in its entirety, you’ll notice that the segment wasn’t very well moderated. In fact, in went off in several tangents, quite incongruous to the central topic (the foreign student and “refugee-swap” tangents specifically).

That said, the fact that The Stream featured this issue is an indication that the world is indeed starting to take notice. We have to come to terms with the reality that Malaysia can no longer prevent what happens within her borders from being seen outside, despite the sugary sweet delusion of Malaysia, Truly Asia that we aggressively promote outside.

Screenshot from The Stream

And despite the rather shoddy moderating, there were a few good points raised. First is the question of whether the heightened tension we’re seeing is something manufactured by interested parties in the run-up to an anticipated election around the corner. Nik Nazmi’s careful politician’s comment aside, Walski is of the opinion that the answer is a resounding YES. In fact, it started just after the last general election, with the formation of Perkasa (more on that later).

Between then and now, more religion-based elements have crept into Perkasa’s rhetoric and actions, to the extent that they’re trying to portray themselves as champions of race and religion. It should not be forgotten that what JAIS did (the “visit“ to the DUMC) was in response to a tip-off from an unnamed party. Who was responsible for the tip-off? And who is it that continues to harp ad nauseum about the attempt to convert Muslims, in relation to the multi-faith charity event at DUMC, despite there not being any clear evidence?

So yeah, it could very well be that what happened at DUMC was engineered to set a campaign platform that Islam is at risk, and that one and only party can protect Muslims from their faith being attacked. From there, garnering Malay support is almost a given.

Second point, raised by Khairy, is on Article 153 – there is no mention of special rights of Malays or anyone else in that article. What is there is mention of the special position of the Malays and indigenous peoples of the country, upon which policies can be formed to provide quotas in public service and education. In Walski’s opinion, there’s nothing wrong with Article 153 per se. What’s wrong is with the policies set, and more importantly, how they’ve been executed.

The NEP, looked at on a macro level, had noble intentions, to make economic function unrelated to ethnicity, and to eradicate poverty. But that’s where the NEP’s nobleness stops, because it’s execution over the last four decades has made it into something contemptuous for the most part.

One large elephant-in-the-room fact that the so-called protectors of race and religion refuse to see is that changing, or even eliminating, the NEP does not negate Article 153. In fact, the NEP has nothing directly to do with Article 153. Only someone terminally stupid would believe otherwise. And terminal stupidity a condition that seems to be exhibited by Perkasa, and those in the same mental time zone as that organization.

A policy set in a different era and circumstance cannot be perpetual (it was NEVER designed to be in the first place). Of course, the likes of Perkasa, and similar mental midgets, will want us to believe that the 2011 situation is identical to that of 1970. Walski honestly doesn’t know if they themselves believe this, but that’s the impression he gets – they’re trapped in time. That’s the only plausible explanation why Perkasa will warn and threaten others to not question their superiority, but in the same breath say they still need their crutches.

Third, what little Marina managed to get in – that Malaysian politicians themselves are talking about race and religion, as if nothing else were important. Just think about – when something untoward happens, who is it that turns the incident into something politically contentious? More often than not, it’s the politicians themselves, or members of bodies politic.

Any comments made, politicized. Any criticisms, politicized. Sneeze, and someone says “bless you”, it gets politicized from a religious angle about how the wrong thing is uttered and this is due to us being subtly proselytized by the Christians... every damned thing becomes either political, or religiously political.

Not a day goes by, it seems, without a politician, or politician-wannabe-in-NGOs-clothing (sometimes ulama-clothing), sounding the clarion call for either Malay unity, or Muslim unity, or both in the same breath.

Viewed from the outside, what an observer sees is that Muslims in Malaysia are really very fragile, and sees EVERYTHING as a threat to their religion.

The reality? From Walski’s perspective, it’s the inability of entrenched minds to accept the fact that Malays today are no longer a monolithic force, with an identical mindset, having a carbon-copy worldview that can easily be manipulated for the sake of political power-mongering.

This, by the way, was the observation made by Professor Clive Kessler in his Merdeka essay, published by the Malaysian Insider, earlier this week.

The historic reason for the present lack of Malay unity is clear. The Malays of Malaysia are now irreversibly divided, as they never were in the past, by the NEP.

Not by current debates about the NEP — whether it is good or bad, whether it should be extended or phased out, whether it should give way to reward on the basis of merit and proven achievement — but by the long accumulating effects of the NEP over the last 40 years.

What the NEP sought to do, and succeeded triumphantly in doing, was to promote a rapid and far-reaching diversification of the Malay people of Malaysia: economically, socially, culturally and intellectually, in their orienting everyday attitudes and personalities.

The reason why Malay unity has become so elusive, even impossible to achieve in these present times, is simply the NEP. And the NEP was the project, and what it accomplished has been the much-vaunted result, of nobody other than the Umno.

So it is strange indeed to hear the Umno, or those who profess themselves concerned for its future and fate, bemoaning and denouncing the contemporary lack of Malay unity.

Today’s irrepressible and advancing Malay diversity is nothing other than one of the finest achievements, in its best years, of one of Umno’s finest, most favoured policies.

It is a triumphantly accomplished fact.
(source: The Malaysian Insider)

While the NEP may not have achieved its stated objectives, nor has it managed to conjure the mystical 30% that’s etched into Ibrahim Ali’s brain, it has produced some good along the way. What Professor Kessler’s pointed out is one of those positive side-effects.

Make no mistake, though – the apparent widening of the race and religious divide in Malaysia is very real. But hidden behind the rhetoric and scare-mongering, let’s not forget the root cause of what’s happening.

Just like a lot of other things in Malaysian public life, at the core of this divide is none other than politics. Cutting through the noise, that’s what it all boils down to.

You have a simple choice to make – either fuel the political fire these fossilized minds are trying to fan, or quite simply tell these politicians and politician-wannabes-in-NGO-and-sometimes-ulama-clothing to fuck off; get on with our lives towards a better Malaysia that every citizen can be proud of.

Walski’s already made his choice, and it’s time for you to make yours, as well...

Our forefathers, bless their souls, delivered this nation from the clutches of colonialism not so that we could one day be re-colonized from within, by those who view power as the only end their many means seek to achieve. It was so that we could stand tall as a sovereign nation all Malayans (and later Malaysians) can be proud of.

We have certainly come a long way from that point in history some 54 years ago when Tunku Abdul Rahman declared us an independent nation. It’s time we reclaimed the ideals and aspirations that our Bapa Malaysia, together with his contemporaries, strived to realize.

Not a nation divided along any lines, and not a nation where one demographic claims lordship over the rest, but as one Bangsa Malaysia forging our future together.

 

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