Extremism can flourish only in an environment where basic governmental social responsibility for the welfare of the people is neglected. Political dictatorship and social hopelessness create the desperation that fuels religious extremism.
– Benazir Bhutto, 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan
It has become somewhat of a trend for us Malaysians to fight over matters on politics, even more so lately.
This is to the extent that we don’t agree with one another on anything. The things we fuss over are very frivolous in nature and actually can be avoided.
That is why the value of understanding and mutual respect has always been highlighted. It is the very pillar of harmony in the country which we have enjoyed for some time under governments of the past.
Simply put, now everything is fair game. Nothing is deemed too sensitive and seen as crossing the proverbial line.
I am concerned about the extremism trend in the country today. One side seemingly intent to outdo the other. It has become a question of how extreme one group can get to rile up and antagonise the other group.
It is somewhat like playing with fire, just this time, we don’t even care what or who gets burned – we just want to see whose fire is bigger.
That is somewhat of a crude analogy but that is what I can come up with. Recently, there was a controversy regarding a purported ban on writing Christmas wishes on cakes for bakeries.
It has somewhat lit a fire and invited harsh criticisms against the government and the particular department which issued the order.
The Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (JAKIM) ended up overturning the earlier ban on the public display of food items with festive greetings of non-Muslim faiths.
What I am saying is this should not have happened in the first place. It is trivial, but the impact in terms of damaging race-relations is saddening.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg was among the critics of this directive and many Sarawakians are echoing the same sentiment.
But that did not stop the die-hard supporters from the conservative camp to somewhat assert their convictions on why this ban was justified. They feel that they cannot be outdone by others.
In any policy decisions, be it from the legislative, executive and agency level, some considerations must be given towards public reception and acceptance.
That is why level-headed people are needed to be the voice of reason in their capacity as lawmakers, administration members and department heads.
Similarly, another issue that has cropped up is reinstating local government elections. This is not new and has occasionally been bandied about by parties that form the current federal government, particularly the DAP.
Federal Territories DAP chief Tan Kok Wai recently called for local council elections to be held in Kuala Lumpur.
Local government elections were suspended in the 1960s and replaced with a system of appointed heads, where state mayors of city councils and presidents of municipal and district councils are appointed by the state governments.
This was described as an “intentional provocation against the status quo” by UmnoYouth chief Dr Akmal Saleh who said an imbalance would occur given the demographics of Kuala Lumpur which the Bumiputera made up only 45.9 per cent of the population.
In the eyes of Malay political observers, local elections would only serve DAP’s agenda to strengthen their grip on local councils rather than the aspirations of the Chinese and Indian communities.
I am not opposed to the principle and concept of democracy, but it has to be said that while we look to uphold this, we must consider the impact to the society.
Similarly, was the recent call by DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang who stirred public sentiments by calling for a non-Malay prime minister.
While it is not mentioned constitutionally that a prime minister must come from a specific ethnic group, the clear understanding by political parties vying to be federal government is that the prime minister candidate should be a Malay. That is the political reality.
So, in the end all the bashing and swordfight on such issue is just a waste of energy.
While many would say everything is politics, I say we should not inject politics into everything.
Let’s not make mountains out of a molehill and as the Malays would say, let’s not be a “batu api” and stir the hornet’s nest.
The value of understanding and mutual respect must be upheld and as we progress as nation, we must try to have neutral dialogues that doesn’t necessitate political sentiments bordering on race and religion.
That is when we will see meaningful change, not now.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
