Farish Noor Gives His Opinion on the "Battle for Time and Space"
Mack Zulkifli recently invited Farish A. Noor to write a guest column for his blog, brandmalaysia.com, and this is the result. Quite outspoken for a Muslim; I can almost hear the right-wingers calling him out now. I've been meaning to write about this proposal to limit television/radio broadcasts during the call to prayer, and this looks like a decent opportunity.
The problem is, Farish Noor's essay seems to pretty much cover all the bases, including the "tyranny of majoritarianism". So instead, I'll focus on something else: the outrage that would occur if the author of the column had been non-Malay.
There would be people screaming for blood, I can assure you. "Ketuanan Melayu" and the mixture of mosque and state is still a pretty sensitive issue (and technically illegal to discuss under the constitution), and yet, even though these issues very much bear on our lives as Malaysian non-Muslims (if not our pockets as well), it's taboo for us to discuss them.
Yet, somehow, Malays can get away with it without people screeching for someone's blood. Why? Hehe, "ketuanan Melayu" of course! Speaking of the "tyranny of majoritarianism", the concepts of "no taxation without representation" as well as appropriately considering indirect effects both seem to be alien to your average defender of oppressive practices such as banning the broadcast of entertainment shows during the call to prayer. Sure, it doesn't directly affect non-Muslims, but who's kidding?
Do you have to be a rocket scientist to see that it's, as usual the non-Muslims footing the bill for policing this crap, or to see that it's the non-Muslims who will be affected more by the ban on entertainment during the call to prayer? I don't think so. When it can get to the point where this proposal is actually not being condemned in public, something has gone wrong.
If you're going to make us non-Malays pay for scholarships for Malays who can afford the fees, or give that Malay tycoon a discount on his new car, could you at least avoid infringing on what little rights we have left? It's as though we gave an inch, and now you take a mile. Is this what our forefathers had in mind when the social contract was signed?
I don't mind supporting the poor. Who the hell does? But when it comes to footing the bill for religions other than my own, footing the bill for scholarships and discounts to those who don't deserve them, and then being banned to even mention these things in public, then yes, I very much do mind.
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| Related comments from forum thread "RE: Pan-Asian Models and the Road to Apartheid": | |
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kufar
Member Posts: 23 IP Logged | Posted at 2:23:37 am Feb 24, 2007
johnleemk wrote at: http://www.infernalramblings.com/articles/Malaysian_Socio-Politics/134/
Are not Malaysians Asians too? Obviously, you are ranting nonsense and do not know the root cause of the ban is not skin colour (as Malaysia does not discriminate by skin colour) but rather religion. Tudungless women are not allowed and a Chinese man must wear Baju Melayu and Songkok, while a Chinese woman must wear Baju Kurung and Tudung. No sexy Malaysian is allowed in accordance to Islam Hadhari.
How do you know it is about looks of people? Did the government tell you they discriminate by skin colour? Or you are writing a spin like self-proclaimed pro-blogger Jeff Ooi, which got him ultimated sued by NSTP? The special status of the Melayu is hardly racial as a Melayu could be any Muslim (or Muslimah) regardless of skin colour. A yellow-skin Chinese Muslimah is also legally an ethnic Melayu.
What is wrong with chauvinist policies? Cultural chauvinism is hardly racism. UMNO is the most multi-racial party with ethnic Melayu of various skin colour, such as Yellow-skin, Brown-skin, Black-skin and White-skin. Any Pan-Asian model must be dressed either as a Muslim or Muslimah. This could give job oppurtunities to Chinese Muslimah instead of non Muslim women.
Skin colour was never a factor for 49-years of Malaysian history as a Melayu is hardly a race in the sense of a Chinese, as Melayu has various ancestry, Chinese-looking Malays (such as Pak Lah's late wife, Endon) or Pakistani looking Malays (such as Tun Dr Mahathir). Only those who love to propaganda opposition propaganda would claim Malaysia is a "racist" state and call concept of Ketuanan Melayu as racist, when it is not but Muslim supremacy.
Are you suffering from mental illness? You keep insisting Malaysians have to be brown-skin to enjoy a 7% discount on housing! I am a Chinese convert to Islam and look very Chinese, and am proudly an ex-MCA member who now is an UMNO member. Yes, yellow-skin Chinese-looking Malaysians can join UMNO if they masuk Melayu (convert to Islam). I support ban on Pan-Asian models as most of them are tudungless and this will be against UMNO policy of Islam Hadhari.
Only according to *you* will the Bumiputra be jobless! Why do we need tudungless Pan-Asian models to be advertised in the newspapers and TV? To be a citizen of Malaysia is to be Malay (which includes not only those who are ancestrally Malays but also Chinese Muslims and Indian Muslims who are naturalised Malays). Unconverted Chinese like yourself John Lee Ming Kuan should be deported to Singapore and stripped of your Malaysian nationality. Malaysia is for the adherents of Islam only.
You are guilty of misusing words. The word "apartheid" refers to organised racism - racial discrimination. There is absolutely *no* racism in Malaysia as concept of Melayu as in "Ketuanan Melayu" refers to any adherent of Islam irrespective of race. According to the 1957 Federal Constitution and 1946 UMNO Party Constitution, every Muslim and Muslimah regardless of skin colour or ancestry is considered a Melayu. So, Palestinians, Iraqis, Afgans and Somali (though ethnically Arab) are also Melayu in the same way Chinese Muslims are Melayu. |
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johnleemk
Infernally Rambling Thoughtless Mind Head Administrator Posts: 949 IP Logged | Posted at 12:14:27 am Jun 12, 2007
Actually as I recall it, the Straits Chinese/Peranakan/Baba/whatever you call them have never been fully accorded their due. Even in the 1920s and 30s, they were revolted by being treated the same as any other recent Chinese migrant - even though the latter probably deserved second-class treatment, why should those who could trace their roots back be treated the same? In the 1940s, there was even a secessionist movement in Penang because the Straits Chinese thought they were not treated fairly. |
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Michael Chick
Member Posts: 7 IP Logged | Posted at 8:47:41 am Jun 19, 2007
And to that effect, the Baba's are supposed to be rightfully restored as Bumiputeras. If you read my above post, even the Indians should be accorded Bumiputera status, coz they were here 2,000yrs ago at Lembah Bujang, and converted all the Malays to Hindus. Where's the fairness? And yet, the recent Chitti's (in comparison) are Bumiputera. Heck!!! Even an Indonesian who arrives in a boat tomorrow can claim to be a Bumiputera. What insignificant definition is Bumiputera now? |
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Mujaheed
Member Posts: 1 IP Logged | Posted at 12:03:16 am Apr 13, 2008
[Potentially offensive/illegal and nonsensically incoherent post removed by admin] |
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tigasuku
Member Posts: 1 IP Logged | Posted at 7:42:24 am Apr 20, 2008
Michael Chick, I really like your long article Posted at 11:26:00 am Jun 11, 2007. A little bit too late to discover this subject but I hope other Malaysians read it too. Why are we bickering about Malay, Chinese, Indians, Bumiputra bla..bla..bla when maybe tomorrow the world will come to an end? Or one of us will die unexpectedly. We should just enjoy our life when we still can. For those who don't want to share the living space with others or other races, then they should live in a cave. By a brown color Malay. |
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darkgold
Member Posts: 1 IP Logged | Posted at 12:10:25 pm Apr 23, 2008
Funny this...how many mixed raced people are actually replying? Not that many! I've read your responses and frankly I don't see why you would give a darn about mine since I happen to be a 'dumb and confused' monrel but I'll say it anyway. Mixed race - the term doesn't apply just to half whites. It applies to a mixtures of cultures be they black brown or yellow. I have no idea whether my future kids who might be part African/Middle Eastern/Indian will face this ban-under my household they better look good because hey, that's part of being a Mongrel. That said what really tees me off is the amount of people who are proudly proclaiming they are Malay just because they are Muslim. So what does that make the other Muslims all around the world? Are you going to dictate their race to them too? Or are they not 'Muslim' enough because they don't have a clue what Malay as and frankly would give a c**p? You want Muslim models, go ahead. There are lots of Muslims who are mixed race-I'd say they set an even more better example of Islam because Islam is not about 'sticking to your own kind'. If I saw a part Trinidadian, part Maldivian Muslim model on Malaysian billboards, I would say he/she is just as Islamic as as a thousand tudungs and skullcaps. Islam is not just about dress. What about looking after the environment and not gossiping in the Surau or wolf whistling at other women? You see signs crossing out mini skirts and bare hair-what about a sign that bans Mat Rempit and snatch thieves? I would never tick the box that autiomatically denomenates me to Malay-it would only negate my Chinese and Indonesian race. And before you start going on about how Malays are a mix of this and that, sure they are, but what culture do they follow? I'm not into having babies by the time I'm 22 (past that already) nor leaving it all to 'riski' or 'tiada apo'. Neither would I go near that Bumputera benefical system with a bargepole. My family are Malay, Chinese and Indonesian and adopted ones are Indian. If they're not entitled to this bumiputera system, why the hell should I be? Most likely my children's dad will not Malay-what will they be entitled to when they want to buy a house because my race as 'only the mum' means diddles**t (apart from the fact that I don't call myself Malay anyway) So for all you purists-stop thinking you have a claim on us. You don't speak for us mixed raced Malaysians-that is our job. We don't care about your racial spats. We don't care about your pure 'pride' because like it or not it's ours too. Call it selfish but we prefer not to make your problems ours because you disowned from the very day we were born and implemented such stupid rules such as banning our united blood. |
