Apabila pegawai Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan menyerbu kedai-kedai perkakas di seluruh negara untuk merampas berus cat yang diperbuat daripada bulu babi, ia mencetuskan kemarahan dan perasaan tidak senang di kalangan rakyat Malaysia.
Saya ingin bertanya satu soalan mudah; Setiap kali isu begini disensasikan oleh media, siapa yang mendapat faedah?
Propagandis yang memainkan isu ini adalah mereka yang cuba menanam ketakutan di kalangan Muslim dan bukan Muslim, dengan niat menimbulkan rasa sangsi antara kita. Apabila hal ini berlaku, ramai yang akan kembali ke ‘zon selamat’, iaitu dalam lingkungan kaum dan agama masing-masing. Akhirnya, kita akan kekal berpecah.
Sebagai rakyat Malaysia, saya sedar bahawa orang Muslim amat mengambil berat tentang isu makanan halal. Ramai di kalangan bukan Muslim juga faham perkara ini. Tetapi apabila berus cat, kasut, jaket dan barang-barang lain juga perlu diklasifikasikan sebagai halal, orang bukan Muslim tertanya-tanya sama ada hal ini benar atau hanya satu justifikasi untuk diskriminasi.
Ramai pemilik perniagaan kecil bukan Muslim takut dengan pihak berkuasa. Ramai di kalangan mereka adalah rakyat yang mematuhi undang-undang, dan ramai juga yang sedang bergelut untuk hidup. Pastilah mereka kecewa apabila melihat undang-undang yang berkaitan dengan Islam dipaksa ke atas mereka.
Di mata Berita Harian, serbuan berus cat itu telah menjadikan kementerian sebagai ‘juara dan pelindung agama Islam’ menentang ‘perniagaan bukan Muslim yang tidak bertanggungjawab’. Pada masa sama, perniagaan kecil dan bukan Muslim kecewa apabila isu itu dipaparkan di muka depan akhbar-akhbar berbahasa Cina.
Seolah-olah, Muslim dan bukan Muslim bersaing pula antara satu sama lain.
Ini bukan kali pertama situasi begini terjadi. Kontroversi ‘kek halal’ baru-baru ini yang melibatkan McDonald’s dan Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) juga telah menyebabkan rasa tidak senang antara Muslim dan bukan Muslim.
Bagi saya, ini bukanlah isu agama. Jadi, Muslim dan bukan Muslim harus berhenti daripada menyerang satu sama lain.
2017 merupakan tahun di mana rakyat Malaysia hidup dalam bahaya apabila kita memasuki kitaran pilihan raya dengan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak dikaitkan dengan pelbagai skandal serta tidak lagi layak memerintah.
Semakin berpecah masyarakat, semakin mudah untuk pemimpin yang ada sekarang kekal berkuasa.
Dikhuatiri akan wujud lebih banyak isu yang bertujuan menanam ketakutan di kalangan Muslim yang kononnya akan mengancam kehidupan harian mereka, seperti isu halal ini. Akan ada juga provokasi Islamofobia di kalangan bukan Muslim. Kontroversi sebegini akan menjejaskan seluruh rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira kaum dan agama, secara emosi dan psikologi.
Penting untuk orang Muslim sedar bahawa kebanyakan bukan Muslim tidak ada niat jahat terhadap mereka, dan untuk bukan Muslim memandang tindakan keras oleh pihak berkuasa itu bukanlah cerminan kepada tanggapan umum orang Muslim ke atas mereka. Generalisasi akan hanya menyebabkan prejudis dan rasisme.
Kita mesti bersama-sama berjuang menentang pengepungan mentaliti sebegini, terutama dalam situasi krisis politik yang hanya memberi keuntungan kepada kerajaan jika rakyat terus berpecah. – Liew Chin Tong,Roketkini.com
Paintbrushes and paranoia
What has it got to do with the pigs?
Having read yesterday's front page headline, I was shocked to find the pig a truly precious animal that can be made into not just bak kut teh and paint brushes, but also train brakes and facial masks for women.
I couldn't help but feel enormously thankful for this largely misunderstood creature.
As a matter of fact, my misperception of the animal began with an epidemic over a decade ago, seeing how the virus spread through pigs killed precious human lives and then the merciless culling of the innocent animal.
Since then, a pork dish on the dining table could easily evoke memories of the intertwined bitter relationship between man and pigs.
When people saw that I stayed away from pork, they would jokingly ask if I had embraced Islam.
People unfamiliar with me might look at me in a curious manner, and would privately ask fellow diners on the same table: Is he really a Muslim?
I don't know how to respond to this kind of reactions. What I was trying to say is that pig is a very special species in this country.
It has a very close relationship with the local Chinese residents so much so that any Chinese Malaysian refraining from taking pork is often seen as an un-Chinese weirdo.
But, to the majority Malays in this country, pig is an unclean animal, a taboo. The Holy Koran has made this very clear and there is no question about it.
Between the Chinese and the Malays, pig is not only sensitive, but could be an embarrassing issue, too. Indeed, one man's meat is another man's poison, and there isn't any intersection by chance.
This is the realistic scenario in diversified and multicultural Malaysia. Being diverse means you and I are not exactly the same.
In no way should a Chinese tell his Malay friend: Pig is very good, and you should like it and accept it like me.
Neither should a Malay tell his Chinese colleague: Pig is unclean and you must stay away from it!
Yes, we are different, but just let it be so. We cannot and must not force anyone to look and behave exactly like us.
Being diverse is more than just skin deep. While we are not the same, we can learn to respect and understand, and not to offend the others.
This is precisely where the pig bristle paint brush issue comes into picture.
Most Muslim consumers are not aware that the brushes have been made of materials derived from the body of pigs. If they knew it earlier, they wouldn't have bought the brushes.
If such information has been purposely held back by the retailers, that's sheer dishonesty.
Of course the retailers won't do this, as no one will risk tremendous trouble for himself and the society just because of a minute profit.
The retailers' failure to specify the materials used to manufacture paint brushes could constitute an act of negligence, or that they have simply taken things too lightly or have overlooked the reality of our pluralistic society.
The problem does not lie with the pigs but the labels. If the labels have been put earlier, everything would have been fine.
Proper merchandise labeling is a kind of responsibility retailers should have towards the consumers, failure of which could be seen as an attempt to deceive or mislead the public.
If a retailer is well aware of the Muslim taboo and the fact that the paint brushes have been made of pig bristles, then they shouldn't have knowingly sold the products to their Muslim customers.
Although I am not a Muslim, I can understand their frustration.
If things get blown up further, it could as well evolve into a major religious issue. All parties involved, including the sellers, importers, wholesalers and retailers cannot be excused.
That said, there is no way I should agree with the way the enforcement officers have carried out their operations, nor the incensed reactions from some Muslim NGOs.
Mindless enforcement, boycotts and counterattacks will only amplify a simple labeling issue into a major racial and religious controversy.
The ministry of domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism should give the operators grace period to rectify their labeling lapses in a bid to prevent the matter from getting worse and damaging our social harmony.
The minister's directive to stop the raids is a move in the right direction. We cannot solve our problems by meting out punishments or suppression. What we need is more candid dialogue.- mysinchew
Anifah's grand moment has arrived,
state your stand...
In the last 24 hours, Sabah has suddenly become the epicentre of a political storm in Malaysia.
It all started with a tweet by the Selangor Mentri Besar, Datuk Azmin Ali asking whether a senior minister had resigned over the 1MDB imbroglio.
Then the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, got into the picture himself, declaring last night that he was not informed of any resignation from his ministers.
He demanded Azmin reveal the name of the said minister to prove he wasn’t lying.
Azmin countered by saying that Najib denying the claim was not a surprise, declaring that he had been informed of this by the minister himself.
For some 18 hours, the social media swirled with the subject as to whether a senior Minister had resigtned, whether it was because of 1MDB and the identity of the Minister.
Then the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid gave a face to the senior Minister in the social media storm, that it was none other than the Foreign Minister, Anifah Aman, but the Zahid accused Azmin of lying, saying that there was no resignation tendered by any senior minister, and that he was with Anifah last night and that “today, he has gone to Brussels representing Malaysia as the Foreign Minister”.
Although Zahid claimed that he had attended a Sabah UMNO event with Anifah and the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Musa Aman, and he had even posted a picture of himself and Anifah through Twitter, he Deputy Prime Minister should know that his explanation lacks credibility.
As the social media storm had erupted last night about a senior minister resigning over the 1MDB scandal, with the finger pointed at Anifah, why didn’t Anifah rebut the story before he left for Brussels?
Zahid and Anifah should know that in this age of information 24/7, there is no way a person can hide from the public wherever in the world.
Anifah must surface to clear the air or Sabahans and Malaysians cannot be blamed for concluding that some political power play is taking place among the top echelons of the UMNO leadership.
I believe that Azmin was telling the truth when he said that a senior Minister had told him that he was resigning over the 1MDB scandal. The senior minister could be persuaded not to go through with the resignation.
I for one would require a lot of convincing that a senior Minister would resign over the 1MDB scandal, as it have been months and even years since the 1MDB scandal had erupted, staining the country with the infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.
Could it be that Anifah is feeling the shame and humiliation for being a foreign minister of a global kleptocracy? Continue reading...
The Islamic State (IS) in Southeast Asia...
This is an interview between the host Professor James Chin of the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on South East Asia at Sunway University and tProfessor Joseph Liow who heads the Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technical University in Singapore. It is less than 15 minutes and worth listening to carefully.
Ostb : Note how Prof Joseph Liow just matter of factly mentions Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as supporters of terrorism. Meaning they must be state sponsors of terrorism. And yet no action is taken against these two countries.
Afghanistan in the 1990s was actually a bachelor's game. Not a single Malaysian jihadi was allowed to marry an Afghan girl. Some people say the Afghans are very proud. Well the Afghans can actually be quite racist. "You can come and fight for my country, thank you, but you are not marrying my daughter". So after a few years of being "bachelors" our lonely-hearts mujahideen came back home from Afghanistan to reconnect with their jandas in the kampongs.
In the second decade of the 21st century they have taken their families with them to Syria and Iraq. Some turban stood on a rock and said, "I am the Caliph" and these folks dropped their cangkuls and jobs and flocked to Syria. They must be seriously stupid. The Arabs too will never welcome them. Plus the ISIS has lost the war in Iraq and Syria. So now the jihadi terrorists have to come back, with their wives and children.
Joseph Liow says the "ISIS narrative" is still there. It is challenging. What is this narrative?
This is the narrative of "my imaginary pet unicorn is better than your imaginary pet unicorn". Lets stop for a while dear Muslim reader. Dont you also believe in this "imaginary pet flying unicorn" ? Welcome to ISIS. You only differ by degree.
The problem is the ostards are sympathetic with and support certain narratives that are also shared by the ISIS. So indirectly the ostards speak for the ISIS as well - without even realising it. They are all cut from the same cloth.
For example, by constantly harping against the Shiahs, the state sponsored ostards like the ones we have in Jakim etc are directly also parroting the ISIS narrative, and thereby they are helping spread the ISIS recruitment campaign.- ostb
MAAF Madey .. TAK PERLU TUNGGU SEBULAN...
Presidennya Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang berkata dasar PAS sangat jelas iaitu parti Islam itu tidak akan bekerjasama dengan parti yang mempunyai hubungan dengan DAP dan Parti Amanah Negara (AMANAH).
“Tak perlu tunggu sebulan dengan BERSATU. Kita sudah ada dasar. Dasar (kita) tidak kerjasama dengan parti yang ada hubungan dengan DAP dan AMANAH.
“Kita sudah buat keputusan, semua parti ada hubungan dengan DAP dan AMANAH, kita tak ada hubungan dengan mereka.
“Tak perlu tunggu (BERSATU). Bila dia dah ada hubungan dengan DAP dan AMANAH, habislah,” katanya kepada pemberita dalam sidang media selepas merasmikan Konvensyen Kebajikan PAS di Auditorium Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ) di Ampang hari ini. - f/bk
Lebah bukan sebarang lebah,
Lebah terbang di tepi paya,
Bila Hadi sudah gelabah,
Dia merapu apa saja...
Hari ini 2 tahun Arwah TGNA meninggalkan kita semua.
Tokoh pemimpin yang tiada ganti.
Beliau sangat benci dgn perjuangan perkauman bangsat...
cheers.