Murugiah's attempt to stifle legitimate political discourse (and give BN an edge in Bagan Pasir) must be opposed!

From the New Straits Times 4 days ago (bold emphasis mine):

Instant detention threat for talk on cow's head

2009/09/28

PORT DICKSON: Anyone bringing up the Shah Alam cow's head incident during the Bagan Pinang election campaign will be detained immediately and could face charges of inciting racial tensions.

The warning was made by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk T. Murugiah, who said that it applied to Barisan Nasional and the opposition.

"We will assign officers to keep tabs on all ceramah and other activities during the campaign and they will alert the police immediately if the issue is raised."

Murugiah is the deputy minister in charge of the National Unity and Integration Department.

"We want a clean and fair campaign and to ensure no racial or religious issues are raised to incite the people."

The real purpose of this threat is to protect Umno/BN from the political fallout resulting from the deep outrage Malaysians from all walks of life felt at the Umno/BN inspired cow's head incident. Futhermore, it is a pernicious attack on free speech in Malaysia and the right of Malaysians to freely discuss and exchange ideas on matters of national interest. If this threat is left unopposed, it will set a dangerous precedent for the future of political discourse in Malaysia: that the party in government can decide what we Malaysians can and cannot speak about.

To see that this threat has nothing whatsoever to do with preserving racial harmony in Malaysia, let's take a closer look at it, by examining some definitions first:

• Incite - to stir up or provoke to action
• Tension - a situation or condition of hostility, suspense, or uneasiness
• Racial - Arising from or based on differences among human racial groups

Put them together in this context, and "inciting racial tensions" means stirring up or provoking hostility, suspense or uneasiness between groups of Malaysians based on their race. The result of "inciting racial tensions" is that Malaysians would feel (and perhaps behave with) hostility, enmity and agression towards other Malaysians, just because they are from a particular other race.

Next, let's look at the cow's head incident. Was it a racial (or religious) incident, or was it a political one? Is it credible that the Malay/Muslim residents of Section 23 spontaneously decided to insult their Hindu neighbours? While there had been dissatisfaction over the temple for some time, the aggressive, thuggish behaviour only began after GE-12, when Pewaris, one of Umno/BN's "astroturf" organisations, got involved. After the incident itself, Hishamuddin and Mukhriz Mahathir provided justification and sympathy for the protesters, and Perkasa, another Umno/BN proxy, took up their case as a "jihad".

No, the cow head incident was not about race or religion per se, but Umno/BN would like it to have become one. It was just one of a series of activities inspired and encouraged by Umno/BN to destabilise Pakatan Rakyat led state governments, and in the longer term to polarise Malaysians racially and by religion. Although we Malaysians have not yet reached the stage of accepting and truly cherishing our diversity, we have been living and praying side by side and in relative peace and with mutual tolerance for centuries. Whenever there has been serious inter-racial conflict (e.g. 13 May 1969), it's easy to identify the political hands behind it.

However, this time it backfired badly on the perpetrators. Malaysians of all walks of life were horrified, and in a heartwarming demonstration of good values, principles and unity, civil society groups and opinion leaders of all races and religions rose as one to condemn the antics of the cow head protesters (and their backers). Unfortunately, Malaysia had already become a laughing stock in the world media.

Umno/BN were caught on the back foot, and realising how damaging the truth would be to them, they tried to expunge the evidence by getting the MCMC to go after Malaysiakini to remove the videos of the incident itself, and Hishamuddin's support for it, with the ridiculous excuse that the video was offensive to Hindus. In reality it was the spitting and stamping on the cow's head, as well as the threats of violence that was offensive to all Malaysians. All that the videos could do was to embarass Hishamuddin, and further damage Umno/BN's credibility as a party with values and principles for all Malaysians.

Now, is it important that Malaysians know what Umno/BN has been up to? Of course it is. We have the right to know how our government and politicians try to manipulate and divide us by race and religion so that they may hang on to power uninterrupted. We voters need to know the truth about the perfidy that pervades Umno/BN, so that we can boot them out in elections.

Would telling the truth about the cow head incident be "inciting racial tensions"? Only if the facts were twisted to imply that Malays and Muslims as a group are behind it, and meant to insult Hindus, and that Hindus should feel enmity towards all Malays and Muslims in turn. Given the fact that it was Umno/BN inspired, and that many Malay and Muslim Malaysians have strongly spoken out against it, this would be factually wrong. Anyone who argued so would be in the same category as the cow head protesters, their supporters, and people like Ridhuan Tee and Awang Selamat; they would certainly be inciting racial tension (whether all these people should be charged with sedition is another matter altogether).

Would it be in PR's interest to incite racial tensions in this way? They would have to be stupid to do so. The PR candidate in Bagan Pinang is a Malay from the Muslim party PAS. How would PR best explain the incident to the voters? By exposing Umno/BN's hand in the incident, and making it clear that it was about politics, not about race. Report the truth and let the facts speak for themselves; res ipsa loquitor, and the only ones who would deserve the rakyat's enmity would be Umno/BN dalang behind the incident.

Would doing this incite racial tension? Not in the least, but it would effectively kill off support for Umno/BN amongst reasonable peace loving Malaysians, including the Indian community who form 20% of the voters in Bagan Pinang. That is what Umno/BN is afraid of, and that is why they sent Murugiah to issue the threat. The last thing they want is a "clean and fair campaign", where Umno/BN's shenanigans can be laid bare for voters to see, and they have no qualms about abusing their position in government to threaten the rakyat.

So, how should we respond to this politically inspired "order" that is masquerading as concern for racial harmony? IMHO, we have to expose it. We need to organise ourselves so that the facts about the cow head incident are as widely known to every voter in Bagan Pinang, by all means possible. We must take great pains to show why it has nothing to do with race and religion per se, and everything to do with Umno/BN using racial and religious issues for political gain; i.e. politics as usual, Umno/BN style.

One more thing we must do. We must never let the idea, that the party in government can dictate political discourse, become accepted practice here. IMHO, we must call their bluff and challenge it by peacefully disobeying such an unjust order. We need a large multiracial and multireligious group of Malaysians who are willing to speak the truth and give the voters of Bagan Pinang the facts about the cow's head incident. These people must be prepared to be detained; and there must be sufficient others ready to take their place and be arrested in turn. Let's see how many of us Najib's 1Malaysia can arrest, and if it is willing to face the acute embarassment that will result once the free newsmedia start exposing it for the two-faced scam that it is.

Sincerely ,
Malaysian Heart

Rest in Peace, Mary Travers

Mary Allin Travers
(9/11/1936 - 16/9/2009)

Mary Travers, folk singer, activist, and member of Peter, Paul and Mary, the influential folk trio of the 60's, passed away on 16 September 2009. How influential were they? Speaking for myself, the first time I heard Blowin in the wind, it made me think hard about some of the values that I had adopted, and some of the things that I had taken for granted. Such is the power that a good song, book or painting can have, and such was the power of many of the songs that she sang.

Peter Paul & Mary - Blowin in the wind (lyrics here)

Their sang about simple things, but with deep underlying truths. Mary's voice and presence added a charisma that I don't think 2 guys with goatees would have had on their own!

Peter, Paul & Mary - Where Have All The Flowers Gone

Their songs became the anthems of a generation, and provided the music for the sea-changes taking place in America and the world then. Would the struggle for civil rights, to end the Vietnam War and nuclear disarmament have been the same without them?

Peter Paul & Mary - If I Had A Hammer (lyrics)

All throughout, Mary herself remained an activist, speaking and acting for the cause of human rights the world over.

Thank you, Mary Travers, and may you rest in peace.

Peter Paul & Mary - These times they are a-changing

Her obituary in the New York Times here.

The Charter of the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia Initiative

ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA

PREAMBLE:
Recognising that our beloved Malaysia is:

• A sovereign and independent member of the global community of nations;
• A polity founded on the principles of a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy;
• A multi-ethnic, multi-faith and multi-cultural society formed on the basis of a shared choice of membership;
• A country built and nurtured by the immeasurable efforts and invaluable contributions of all her people, past and present;
• A nation where her people are inextricably bound by a shared history, heritage, a common interest and destiny;
• A land blessed with rich natural and human resources.

And fully subscribing to the immutable and universal principle that we are all of a single human race and born equal;

DECLARATION
We, Anak Bangsa Malaysia, hereby declare that we are first and foremost Malaysians and Malaysia is our Home. We aspire to be the conscience of the nation and therefore pledge to:

1. Nurture the spirit of 'Unity is Strength' as enunciated in our Merdeka and Malaysia Day proclamations;
2. Honour and Uphold the Federal Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land;
3. Defend the constitutional provisions of fundamental liberties and equal rights for all citizens;
4. Respect our fellow citizens irrespective of ethnicity, faith, colour, class or gender;
5. Oppose all forms of prejudice, discrimination, oppression, persecution and injustice;
6. Cherish our multi-cultural heritage and celebrate our rich diversity; and
7. Respect and safeguard our natural and built environment;
   

COMMITMENT
We, Anak Bangsa Malaysia, herewith undertake to:

1. Engender a National Mindset to think and act first and foremost as Malaysians;
2. Engage the Hearts and Minds of our people to rise above the social constructs and divisive forces of ethnicity, faith, colour, class or gender;
3. Promote the humanitarian Values of inclusiveness, equality and justice for all;
4. Advance the principles of Good Governance, namely, stewardship, integrity, accountability and transparency;
5. Educate our people to be responsible and caring Global Citizens contributing to peace, prosperity and sustainable development.
   

We are committed to actualising the spirit and substance of Anak Bangsa Malaysia —
"One People, One Nation".

Towards this end, we are determined to take this message to the PEOPLE.

25th April 2009


Note: I photographed and OCRed this; please excuse any errors. You can read more about the SABM initiative here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. BM Version here.

MUST READ: What does Umno value? Another GREAT article from The Nut Graph

Dear Readers,

The folks at The Nut Graph have done it again! I reproduce here part of another powerful article from there, this time by Ding Jo-Ann. This article is sharp and incisive; it gets to the heart of the matter and drives a stake through it. It lays bare what our ruling party is all about:

"Since the March 2008 general election, calls have been growing for the BN to rethink the race-based politics that has kept them in government for more than 50 years. In the past, Umno has let its partners in the coalition, such as the MCA and MIC, speak up on Chinese and Indian Malaysian issues. This formula is not just lacking in terms of ensuring national unity; it's myopic in protecting the legitimate rights of all Malaysians.

The responses of Umno leaders to recent events prove just as much. They tell us that Umno's main priority is in ensuring that particular interests are protected. These interests, however, don't include those of minority communities such as non-Muslims and the indigenous people.

Additionally, there are many other ethnic groups that are not directly represented in the BN formula such as the Penan. There is no Penan-based party in the BN. With the current model, who then is supposed to speak up for them? Should the Penan have to set up a National Penan Party and win seats in Parliament before their plight is taken seriously by the government?"

If we find Umno/BN's values and priorities grotesque, let us remember that WE are the ones who are keeping them in power! Are we and our families registered voters? Did we vote in the last elections?

Please, please read the entire article here: http://www.thenutgraph.com/what-does-umno-value

If you like the quality of journalism practiced by The Nut Graph, please consider supporting them. Their investors cannot continue funding them, and they will have to close down if they cannot find adequate support.

As far as I know, The Nut Graph is the only Malaysian news organisation to have published a statement of their journalistic principles, that you can hold them to. If we do not support good journalism when we have it, then we have only ourselves to blame when we are left with the likes of Azmi Anshar and the mainstream media telling us what to think.

Sincerely,
Malaysian Heart

The Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative: launched on Hari Malaysia!

On the 46th anniversary of the formation of Malaysia, another endeavour of hope has been launched: the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiative, the goal of which is to actualise the spirit and substance of "One People, One Nation".

It is an initiative by a group of Malaysians who believe that we can, and need to, do better as a nation. The difference between this particular effort and the others that have gone before and that continue to suck our precious resources, is that these folk believe in, and know, what they are doing. They:

• Have identified the things (attitudes, mindsets, policies) that are holding us back as a nation
• Suggested a set of values and guiding principles that (I strongly believe) our nation needs
• Proposed a programme of specific actions to address those needs
• Suggested many ways how we as individuals can help realise the goals, starting with things we can practically do
  

Why is there a need for such an initiative? Because, as events post GE-12 have clearly shown, our political parties (on both sides) have not been able to effectively address our nation's need for a national identity and consciousness; for justice, human rights, freedom and democracy. Even though DS Najib is promoting his One Malaysia, it is vague and undefined beyond platitudes, and seems to be designed to present different faces to Malaysians from different communities. Furthermore, even as our PM goes around the nation promoting it, his cabinet and their mainstream media are working hard to divide Malaysians by race and religion, just so they stand a chance of winning GE-13.

PR on the other hand, have fared no better. As Kg. Buah Pala has shown, they have made election promises which they have seen fit to break, resulting in injustice being done to poor Malaysians.

It's clear (to me) that we need civil society groups to be the voice of the rakyat. We need to educate and empower ourselves to hold our elected representatives and our public servants to account. We need to decide how our nation is going to move forward and progress as a diverse democracy. We have to do this ourselves, for the political parties have let us down.

Who are leading this initiative? A small group of Malaysians led by civil rights lawyer Haris Ibrahim, of the People's Parliament. They are the folks who came up with the groundbreaking People's Voice and the People's Declaration way back in February 2008. Here they are during the launch of the SABM on 16/9/09:

And here is Haris presenting the SABM initiative:

This is a video where he talks about discrimination, social justice, inclusiveness and diversity (apologies for the poor video quality):

Please do visit the SABM website here and please do read the SABM Charter if you can (note: I've also posted it here) . I believe that if we want a Malaysia that is free from all forms of racism, discrimination and inequality, we need to seriously practise its principles in our daily lives.

Sincerely,
Malaysian Heart

New Nationalism: Freedom with Empowering Peace

Dear Readers,

This is a joint statement made by more than fifty civil society organizations, where they spelt out a framework for a new national discourse which embodies diversity and dissent and the rejection of political violence as the true signs of nationhood.

New Nationalism: Freedom with Empowering Peace

We the undersigned civil society organizations believe that Malaysia must renew our national independence after Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak were brought together to become a new nation 46 years ago.

Following a series of saddening and outraging developments since the last Malaysia Day, we feel strongly the need for a new discourse of nationalism that denounces political violence and pursues empowering peace.

Diversity and dissent are signs of real independence.

We fully appreciate the complexity of Malaysia in ethnic, religious, linguistic, cultural, regional, socio-economical, gender, lifestyle and physical terms. We therefore do not pretend that there is a single Malaysia that would meet the expectation and aspiration of every Malaysian. We are proud with our own vision for the nation and at the same time respect those of others.

We see the differences in preferences and opinion of how this country should move forward as both inevitable and desirable - inevitable because we are free to choose; and desirable because we have plenty alternatives to consider. Diversity and dissent in public opinion are beautiful signs of real independence.

We believe, however, every Malaysian, politician and voter alike, must sign up to one common position: the elimination of political violence.

Political violence threatens our independence

Political violence refers to actions that aim to achieve certain political goals by causing harm to others or subduing them with violence. This must not be confused with legitimate exercise of freedom of speech, assembly and association where violence is not preached, threatened and executed.

More than violation of peace, political violence is exploitation of the physically weak and outnumbered. It deprives the victims of political violence their right to participate in public affairs and prevents the emergence of an inclusive outcome through the use of reason.

In fact, political violence is at the core of colonialism as it was the very means how colonial rule was imposed on us. National liberation is in this sense meaningful only when all citizens are free from further colonization of violence and may exercise freedom and reason in running their public life.

Four principles of Empowering Peace

In this regard, peace associated with fear that inhibits us from full participation in public affairs is but pseudo peace.

True peace must be empowering and inclusive to allow all Malaysians to contribute to and enjoy the national life. True peace requires rule of law and protection of human rights. It is therefore political, but in no way partisan.

We call upon every Malaysian citizen and organization, especially the politicians and political parties, to sign up to the following principles:

1. Zero tolerance for violence as a political means

Civilized life requires restrain and self-control. Conflicts should be solved through dialogues, deliberation, debates or litigation. There must be zero tolerance for the use, threat or incitement of violence as a political means, regardless of circumstances or subject matters.

In this sense, the perpetrators of the cow-head protest should be charged for incitement of violence, not sedition or illegal assembly. The thugs who threatened to rape Rodziah Ismail and to murder Khalid Samad, the elected representatives in Shah Alam, must be investigated and prosecuted for criminal intimidation. The threat of sexual violence, a common trait in many communal conflicts, is especially alarming and absolutely intolerable.

2. Fighting Hatred with Reason

Hatred exists in every society and can only be effectively eliminated by reason, not law. Given a vibrant public sphere, the flaws of hate speeches can be exposed and the perpetrators shamed. Legal suppression only weakens the society’s resistance to hatred by removing the need for intellectual rigour and moral courage to confront bigotry.

The latest harassment of Malaysiakini by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for featuring video-clips of the cow-head protest and the Home Minister’s press conference justifying the act is not only violating freedom of expression, but also protecting violence from public shaming.

3. The State’s Duty to Protect Political Participation

The state which monopolizes the legitimate use of violence should exist only to protect citizens from private violence, not to inflict more violence than necessary. The state’s coercive power therefore must never be used against peaceful political activities. Instead, the state has the duty to protect political participation.

Instead of arbitrarily arresting over 160 1BLACKMalaysia protesters, lawyers on duty, 589 Anti-ISA protestors and bystanders, the anti-PPSMI, Kampung Buah Pala and Hindraf protesters, and using unnecessary violence, the police should have only controlled traffic and maintained order. After all, the validity of the protesters’ causes should be judged by the citizen, not the police or the Executive.

4. Upholding Elected Government

The threat of political violence is greatest when political elites resort to means other than elections to attain power. Democracy is the only guarantee for political stability and peace. Politicians and political parties must therefore do their best to win elections honestly, not usurping power after elections. Otherwise, democratic breakdown may lead to coups or revolutions.

The Perak coup has seen an elected government being overthrown by a host of unelected institutions including but not limited to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Election Commission (EC), the Judiciary, the bureaucracy and the police. The partisan investigation of MACC in Selangor amidst the Barisan Nasional’s express wish to takeover the state had led to the death of Teoh Beng Hock, the first of a state official in the custody of a federal agency. If there is no firmed commitment from both sides of the political divide to democracy, the next election may see the military being the next unelected institution dragged into political struggle.

On the auspicious birthday of Malaysia, which should have been made a national holiday 46 years ago, let us all vow to make empowering peace the basis of public life of our nation so that all of us may enjoy real freedom.

The signatories:

1. 1BLACKMalaysia Facebook Page and Group

2. Aliran Kesedaran Negara (Aliran)

3. All Women’s Action Society Malaysia (AWAM)

4. Amnesty International Malaysia

5. Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)

6. Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI)

7. Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS)

8. Civil Rights Committee, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (CRC-KLSCAH)

9. Civil Society Committee, LLG Cultural Development Centre (LLG-CSC)

10. Civil Society Initiative for Parliamentary Reform (CSI@Parliament)

11. Council of Churches of Malaysia Youth Network

12. Durham Malaysian Scholars

13. Gabungan Bertindak Mahasiswa Utara(GBMU)

14. Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC)

15. Institut Kajian Dasar (IKD)

16. Institute for Development of Alternative Living (IDEAL), Sibu

17. Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF)

18. Jaringan Orang Asal Semalaysia (JOAS)

19. Jawatankuasa Penduduk Zon 23 MPSJ

20. Justice for Beng Hock Facebook Page and Group

21. Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth Section (KLSCAH-YS)

22. Kumpulan Aktivis Mahasiswa Independen (KAMI)

23. Malaysia Youth and Student Democratic Movement (DEMA)

24. Malaysian AIDS Council

25. Malaysian Indian Development Association

26. Middle Eastern Graduate Centre (Magc)

27. Monitoring Sustainability of Globalisation (MSN)

28. Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF)

29. National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI)

30. Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute (OHMSI)

31. Pahlawan Volunteers

32. Partners of Community Organisations, Sabah (PACOS)

33. Penang Du Zhong Education Society

34. Penggerak Belia Zon 23 MPSJ

35. Persatuan Alumni PBTUSM Selangor

36. Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower)

37. Persatuan Meditasi Projan KL & Selangor

38. Persatuan Penduduk Taman Muhibbah Seri Kembangan

39. Research for Social Advancement (REFSA)

40. Sarawak Central Region Friendship Association

41. Semparuthi Iyakkam

42. Sisters in Islam (SIS)

43. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram)

44. Tenaganita

45. The Micah Mandate (TMM)

46. The People’s Parliament

47. TONIBUNG (Friends for Village Development), Sabah

48. Women's Aid Organisation (WAO)

49. Women's Candidacy Initiative (WCI)

50. Writer Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)

51. Awal Nahdah Resources

Would a British politician stand on stage with a weapon in hand? - Response to an anon

In response to my previous post "MUST READ: Would a British politician stand on stage with a weapon in hand? - Article by Dr Farish A Noor, from the Nut Graph", an anonymous commenter replied as follows:

No need to imagine, violent anti-islam demonstration did happen in Britain
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205263/Police-arrest-31-demonstration-Islamic-fundamentalism.html

This is my response to him:
@ anon 3:02 pm,

Good of you to bring that to our attention, because it demonstrates the very obvious differences with our cow head incident, and our Malaysian political culture in general. Let's revisit what Dr. Farish wrote:

"Can anyone of us imagine a British politician standing on stage with a weapon in hand? Can anyone imagine a demonstration in Europe against a mosque or a Hindu temple where a pig's or cow's head is dragged out into the streets?

Can we imagine those involved not being arrested on the spot? Can anyone imagine a press conference in any European city where a politician is publicly threatened with rape — and the police do nothing?"

The protesters who claimed to be anti "Islamic extremism" were the so-called "English Defence League". They are the UK version of Pekida and Pewaris: thugs who threaten their fellow (minority) citizens with violence if they do not "toe the line". Just like Pekida, Pewaris and their UMNO inspired friends, the EDL were protesting against a place of worship.

Questions to consider:
1) Even with their disgusting fascist agenda, did the EDL protestors carry the head of any dead animal to insult any religion? No.

2) Did the police stand idly by while the violence went on? No. "A "significant number" of people have been arrested during clashes between right-wing protesters and anti-fascist campaigners in Birmingham." The UK police chief would have been sacked for incompetence if he had stood by and done nothing.

3) Did any UK government minister meet/sympathize with the EDL protesters and/or provide support and justification for their actions, like Hishammudin and Mukhriz did? No, the exact opposite happened. John Denham, the UK Communities Minister unequivocally condemned the EDL. This is what he said (extracted from here):

Right-wing groups who claim to oppose Islamic extremism are trying to provoke violence on Britain's streets, the communities minister has said.

Mr Denham said such right-wing protesters were trying to provoke an "overreaction" from the Asian community.

"Then people blame the people who overreact and the situation gets out of control," he said.

"We know from the recent past that provocation can lead to community division and overreaction unless we nip it in the bud very quickly."

The minister singled out the EDL in particular: "If you look at the types of demonstrations they have organised, the language used and the targets chosen, it looks pretty clear that it's a tactic designed to provoke, to get a response and create violence

John Denham has so accurately described what Umno/BN are trying to do in Malaysia, with their cow-head protest, Utusan headlines and blogger stories. Any UK minister who did what our Hishamuddin and Mukhriz have done would have been sacked.

4) The group which opposed the EDL were the UAF (Unite Against Fascism). As you can see in the video here, and the report here, UAF consists of Britons from various communities and religions, even white people. Their chant is "We are black, we are white, together we are dynamite". The UAF Chairman is Ken Livingstone, a white man. These people there fight for what is right regardless of their race, religion etc. In Malaysia, if a person speaks for justice regardless of race, he is called a "pengkhianat bangsa" by our racist politicians and their newspapers.

We in Malaysia too need to fight for what is right and just regardless of our own race, religion, gender, age, social status, class, selfish interests, etc. For 52 years we have not been able to learn how. I believe that with the "Saya Anak bangsa Malaysia initiative", we can.

Well done. Please provide more such examples, thanks.
mh

The magpie barks propaganda: How to read partisan blogs 5

For this fifth instalment of HTRPB, we'll be looking at a post by blogger Pasquale of Barking Magpie. In the past, he has posted entries titled "When will the Malays learn!!! The Chinese will and can never share power once they ARE in power!", and "CPM stands for Chinese Party of Malaya and they failed to form a Chinese entity in Malaya...cept for Penang!". The post we will be looking at is more recent, and titled "A short note on Anwar Ibrahim by a commenter using the handle "Deacon1957".

In it, Pasquale reproduces in its entirety a comment left at his blog, which accuses Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) (inter alia) of being:

1. A CIA agent working to destabilise Malaysia;
2. Responsible (through "his Indonesian network") for the current Indonesian "hatred for Malaysia"; and
   
3. Of working to "discredit traditional Islam and plant one of two of America's version of Islam in all Islamic states..."

If the commenter (or Pasquale himself) had any evidence for these accusations, it was not shared there. You can read the entry for yourself here, but what I want to focus on are the propaganda techniques used by Pasquale when he uses a photograph to reinforce the accusations against DSAI.

The above photograph is placed at the beginning of the article, captioned as follows:

Flanked by former US President George Bush's most right wing Jewish-Zionist American cabinet members (Cohen and Wolfowitz), and the man in the middle will sell his soul (or already sold) to the Devil, and already betrayed the Malays and will betrayed his mother, and at all cost, even destroying the country just he thinks he can be the next PM! This picture was taken in 1997 in Penang.

What we see here is a classic example of propaganda, i.e.:

"...communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda." (bold emphasis mine)

In just this photograph and its caption alone, Pasquale has managed to use the following propaganda techniques:

• Reductio ad Hitlerum (in this case, ad Bushum)
• Labelling
• Appeal to prejudice
• Big lie
• Half-truths
• Transfer
• Name-calling
• Appeal to fear

Let's see where and how he uses them. First, Reductio ad Hitlerum: Since George W. Bush is the most reviled US President in Malaysia, if not the world (imho, quite rightly so), by identifying Cohen and Wolfowitz as members of his cabinet, disapproval is cast upon them.

Second, labelling and appeal to prejudice: By labelling both Cohen and Wolfowitz as Jewish, and relying on prevailing stereotypes and prejudices against Jews, again a negative light is cast upon them.

Next, the big lie(s), which I debunk below:

1. William Cohen was never in George Bush's cabinet. He was in Bill Clinton's cabinet, as Secretary of Defense.
2. He is not Jewish. His father was Jewish, his mother was Protestant; he went to a Jewish school, but he is a Unitarian.
3. In 1997, Paul Wolfowitz was Professor of International Relations and Dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University; George W. Bush was not elected President until 2000.

Next, the half-truth: Are Cohen and Paul Wolfowitz Zionists? Yes, especially Wolfowitz. Was George W. Bush a Zionist? Yes. How about Barack Obama? Not as much as Bush, but basically yes. Can you get elected or appointed to public office in America if you do not support Israel? Probably not. Given longstanding US foreign policy, it's safe to say that the vast majority of American public officials (with a some rare exceptions) are pro-Israel. Is it uncommon, unusual or somehow sinister for Malaysian leaders to have been seen with Zionist American officials? Certainly not; scroll down to the end of this post to see who else has been photographed in their company.

Next, transfer: By presenting an image of the target (DSAI) with Cohen and Wolfowitz (identified as "George Bush's most right wing Jewish-Zionist American cabinet members"), the propagandist wants to project their supposedly negative qualities onto DSAI. Note that the context of the photograph (besides when and where it was taken) has not been given.

Finally, name-calling and appeal to fear (in bold): "the man in the middle will sell his soul (or already sold) to the Devil, and already betrayed the Malays and will betrayed his mother, and at all cost, even destroying the country just he thinks he can be the next PM!"

There you have it: just take a photograph, neglect to mention it's context (what was the occassion, what was said), neglect to mention that others have been in similar situations, add some outright untruths, half-truths, racial prejudice and fear; uncritical readers will irrationally adopt a negative attitude towards the target, in this case DSAI.

So, what should critical readers bear in mind when reading anything:

1. Independently verify the "facts" presented. Propagandists like Pasquale never let the truth get in the way of a good smear.
2. Look for the half truths and selective presentation of facts, ask if any relevant information that could reframe the situation has been left out.
   
3. Be aware of any irrational, emotional response they feel; is it the result of a specific propaganda technique being used?
4. Most importantly, ask where is the evidence for the message being pushed? Without solid evidence, it is merely a smear.

Although Pasquale denies this, Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored have made (what I believe to be) a convincing case that Pasquale is actually Rusdi Mustapha (or Rosdi Mustafa). Furthermore, according to Dato' Ariff Sabri of Sakmongkol AK47 (in his post of 16/5/09), this Rosdi Mustafa "works in the PM's outfit and one of the media handlers". This is how Dato' Ariff describes Rosdi (these words were probably written in anger, so please read with a pinch of salt. I've underlined the parts I feel are relevant):

I see him loitering around Dato Najib's office engaging in whispers with other officers prompting us to believe he is privy to some top state secret. These are all symptoms of juvenile childishness. It is just his way of urinating to mark territory. I am here, you are out there kind of thing.

What do you make of someone who works in the PM's office saying the above? I can only say, this is someone who shamelessly exploits his official status to excoriate others just for the fun of it. He mistakes vile and abusive remarks for forthrightness. I am afraid that reflects his deficiency in moral and intellectual fibre.

If Pasquale is indeed a civil servant, my question is this: are Malaysian taxpayers paying for (or subsidising) a propagandist at the PM's office? While all civil servants must be free to pursue their own political beliefs on their own time (although the present DG of PSD seems to think otherwise), it is wrong for government leaders (and civil servants) to use their offices, staff and other government resources for party political purposes (even though Umno/BN seems to do otherwise). Pasquale's post was posted on Thursday, 10 September, 2009, at 11:23 am; that is well within standard Malaysian civil service working hours. Did he use a Government issued PC and internet connection? These are reasonable questions for Malaysian citizens and taxpayers to ask.

When Damian McBride, then special advisor to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown was caught discussing the setting up of a website to smear the Labour Party's political opponents, public outrage forced him to resign. From Wikipedia:

"...he [McBride] and another prominent Labour Party supporter, blogger Derek Draper, had exchanged emails discussing the possibility of disseminating rumours McBride had fabricated about the private lives of some Conservative Party politicians. The emails from McBride had been sent from his No. 10 Downing Street e-mail account."

Gordon Brown had to apologise, and was called to account in Parliament, for his subordinate's shenanigans.

If Pasquale is a civil servant in our PM's office, shouldn't we be demanding the same of him and DS Najib?

Sincerely,
Malaysian Heart

Note: This photograph (from here) of Tun Dr. Mahathir (TDM) and George W. Bush was taken on 14 May 2002, during TDM's visit to the White House. Just obtaining an invitation for TDM to visit Bush cost RM 4.4 million (US$ 1.2 million), which was paid to lobbyist Jack Abramoff. For the record, Abramoff (who was later convicted of fraud), "diverted 'money meant for inner-city kids' to Jewish settlers occupying the Palestinian West Bank in order to help them 'fight the Palestinian intifada'", AND is Jewish. Was taxpayer money used to buy TDM's invitation? Read more about the issue here.

What was Hindraf singing during their vigil?

Those of us who have seen the video of Hindraf's candle light vigil on 5/9/09, and the subsequent arrests by our police, would have heard the vigillers singing a song in Tamil, as they tried unsuccessfully to get to Dataran Merdeka. For the benefit of those of us who would like to understand what they were singing, and why, here is some info.

The title of the song is Tholvi nilayena ninaithaal, and it is from the 1986 movie Oomai Vizhigal. In the movie, politically connected thugs (who had earlier killed a journalist), destroy the printing press of a newspaper, in order to silence their investigative reporting. This song is what the editor sings to motivate his team after the attack. Here is a translation in English:

If we only dwell on on our defeated condition, how can we even hope of living?
If we consider this life a burden, isn't that trampling upon our mothers' dreams?

Having lost our rights, having lost our belongings, shall we give up our humanity too?
Being human, and still alive, how can we forget our dreams?

When dawn is about to break, why should our hearts be heavy?
When our hearts are full of courage, why should our eyes have tears?

Even if they oppose us, even if they spill our blood, can we ever change our path?
Our blood will only drive our fear away, then can our principles ever die?


Here is the song in full, as sung in the movie by P.B. Srinivas and Abavaanan:

Tholvi nilayena ninaithaal from Oomai Vizhigal

Some people find that anything which is unfamiliar to them makes them uncomfortable; hence they become intolerant towards it. This is especially true if there are negative stereotypes and prejudices already associated with that particular community. People like blogger Dnightcaller even go so far as to call Hindraf "biadap" simply for choosing to sing a Tamil song.

I believe that if we take the trouble to understand our fellow humans better, we will find that they feel exactly what we feel, and that what they want for their children is exactly what we want for ours. However, we first need to get over our own prejudices and speak (and act) against the subtle (and often not so subtle) racism that our fellow Malaysians still suffer in our midst.

If you would like to join them in singing this song, here are the lyrics in Romanised Tamil.

Sincerely,
Malaysian Heart

My gratitude to M.A. for providing the translation, and explaining its meaning to me.

How old is the Sri Mahamariamman temple in Section 19?

There seem to be at least two different figures quoted as the age of the Sri Mahamariamman temple in Section 19. The news media seem to believe that the temple is 150 years old, as can be seen in these reports:

• The Star: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/5/nation/20090905110154&sec=nation
• NST: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/7cowhead/Article/index_html
• Malaysian Insider: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/37144-khalid-samad-cow-head-will-haunt-umno-in-bagan-pinang-
• Malay Mail: http://www.mmail.com.my/content/12637-call-amicable-solution-relocation
• The Sun: http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=37742

However, Hindraf, which was formed to protect (inter alia) Hindu temples from being demolished, has a different figure. In their open letter to the Attorney General way back in June 2007, it is stated that among the thirty one Hindu temples within the Klang Valley that have been threatened with demolishment, is the "Sri Mariaman Temple (109 years old) in Section 19 which has a sacred 100 year old tree given notice to relocate on 18/10/2006." If this is true, then the temple is 111 years old now, and not 150.

So, which age is correct? Is it important? I believe that it is. While a 111 year old temple is just as worthy of protection and preservation as a 150 year old one, inaccurate reporting can be used to impugn the credibility of the people working to preserve the temple, as well as that of its devotees. This has already been done in these two pro-Umno/BN blogs: here and here.

Working to promote the human rights, including the right to freedom of religion, is not made any easier by sloppy reporting.

Sincerely,
Malaysian Heart

Democracy, according to Rocky

In Rocky's latest post, "Seksyen 23 residents prevail", he writes (bold emphasis mine):

Temple relocation shelved. Not a good day for Khalid Ibrahim. The Menteri Besar's dialogue with the Section 23 residents this morning went awfully awry.
Lessons for the govt:
1. Unilateral decisions don't pay, especially with a weak government/leadership
2. Democracy is alive (especially after a demonstration)

Is this is what he is referring to as Democracy?

Y.B. Khalid Samad - a principled Malaysian leader (UPDATED)

(Photo of Y.B. Ir. Khalid Samad from here)

Never let it be said that there are no principled politicians in Malaysia. There is at least ONE, and his name is Y.B. Khalid Samad, M.P. for Shah Alam, and a member of PAS Central Political Bureau.

In the wake of the BN inspired cow's head incident, when our government ministers have chosen to defend bigots who threatened violence on their fellow Malaysians, our law enforcement has chosen to practice double standards, and BN's propaganda machine is working overtime to spin the story in their favour, Y.B. Khalid has chosen to stay true to his principles and values, even if it means losing in the next election.

Instead of doing what politicians do to stay "popular", i.e. pander to their "base", dog-whistling and engage in populist demagoguery, he has become (along with some very principled non-politicians and politicians) the voice of reason in a sea of intolerance and hate.

Here is his letter to the residents of Section 23, in full (from here):

Friday, September 4, 2009

Surat Terbuka Untuk Penduduk Seksyen 23

2hb September 2009 M
13 Ramadan 1430 H

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Kehadapan penduduk Seksyen 23 yang dihormati,

Semoga surat ini menemui tuan-tuan dalam keadaan sihat wal afiat serta keimanan yang teguh dan jitu berkat bulan Ramadhan ini.

Saya mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengingatkan diri saya serta tuan-tuan akan Firman Allah, Surah Al Maaidah ayat 8 yang bermaksud;

“Bertindak adil! Ianya lebih rapat dengan keTaqwaan.”

Semoga dalam usaha kita membina keTaqwaan dalam bulan Ramadhan ini, kita mengingati hakikat bahawa ‘keTaqwaan’ yang diusahakan itu mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan keadilan. Keadilan ini pula perlu dilaksanakan terhadap semua, walaupun terhadap yang tidak disenangi. Ini ditegaskan di dalam ayat yang sama yang bermaksud,

“dan jangan oleh kerana kebencian kamu terhadap sesuatu kaum menyebabkan kamu tidak berlaku adil…”

Kalau terhadap kaum yang dibenci sekalipun dituntut keadilan, apatah lagi terhadap jiran sekampung dan warga sekota? Walaupun mereka tidak sebangsa dan seagama, hakikatnya mereka tidak memusuhi kita atau memusuhi Islam. Maka, mereka layak mendapat layanan yang adil. Adakah adil sekiranya kita menafikan mereka hak tempat beribadat yang berhampiran dan sebaliknya memaksa mereka ke seksyen 22, di tengah-tengah kawasan Industri berat, jauh dari kawasan kediaman? Tiada apa di sana kecuali kilang-kilang.

Saya hanyalah seorang wakil rakyat yang dipilih oleh tuan-tuan melalui pilihan raya yang diadakan pada masa-masa tertentu. Saya tidak berhak memaksa apa-apa pandangan atau keputusan ke atas tuan-tuan semua. Saya hanya mengharapkan keputusan yang tuan-tuan rumuskan sendiri berhubung cadangan pemindahan kuil ke Seksyen 23 mengambil kira persoalan keTaqwaan dan keAdilan seperti di atas.

Islam adalah agama yang adil. Keadilannya mampu menawan hati semua manusia. Yang paling saya takuti adalah tindakan yang memberikan gambaran bahawa Islam adalah sebaliknya. Allah murka terhadap mereka yang bertindak dengan cara yang merosakkan imej Islam sehingga menyebabkan manusia terhalang untuk mengenali keadilannya. Allah berfirman ayat 94 Surah An-Nahl yang bermaksud:-

“Dan kamu ditimpa kehinaan kerana menjadi penghalang kepada jalan Allah (disebabkan tindakan buruk kamu) dan untuk kamu azab yang amat dahsyat (pada hari akhirat kelak)”

Ada yang bertanya kepada saya, tidakkah saya khuatir saya kalah dalam Pilihan Raya yang bakal tiba oleh kerana isu ini. Bagi saya sekiranya itulah kehendak pengundi, apakan daya? Yang penting sejarah akan menjadi saksi bahawa ada Ahli Parlimen dari parti Islam yang memperjuangkan keadilan untuk semua walaupun orang Hindu. Seperti kisah seorang raja Islam di Mysore, Bangalore, India pada abad ke 18 yang bernama Sultan Fateh Ali Khan Tippu (Tippu Sultan). Rakyatnya terdiri daripada orang Islam, Hindu dan Sikh. Hingga ke hari ini rakyat India masih menceritakan mengenai pemerintahan beliau yang berasaskan Islam sebagai sebuah pemerintahan yang adil.

Semoga Allah memberkati kita semua dan memimpin kita ke jalan yang diRedhaiNya.

وسلام عليكم و السلام على من التبع الهدى
YB KHALID BIN ABDUL SAMAD
Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam


Reading his letter, what are the principles and values that we can see him hold dear? I can see him uphold justice, fairness, equality, inclusiveness and acceptance of diversity, civility, good neighbourliness, empathy and humility. These are the very values that we need if we are going to rid Malaysia of racism, bigotry, corruption, oppression, bad governance and tainted judiciary.

Y.B. Khalid has shown himself to be one person who is truly worthy of the title "Yang Berhormat". Such people are more than mere politicians; they are leaders, and statesmen. Long may he lead us, and may Malaysia be blessed with more citizens such as he. If you appreciate his principled stand, and would like to encourage and support him, please consider sending him a message at his blog here.

Sincerely,
Malaysian Heart

UPDATED: Please read this excellent article on Y.B. Khalid at "Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia". He/she writes: "Inilah bakal pemimpin Malaysia yang akan membawa Malaysia ke arah perpaduan." I concur.

What possessed the protesters? - Article by Jacqueline Ann Surin from the Nut Graph

Dear Readers,

This is part of an excellent article by Jacqueline Ann Surin, who is the Editor of The Nut Graph, which was published there today:

What possessed the protesters?

4 Sep 09 : 8.00AM

By Jacqueline Ann Surin
jacquelinesurin@thenutgraph.com

WHAT possessed them? That's the question I'd like to ask the protesters who desecrated a cow head on 28 Aug 2009 after Friday prayers to object the building of a Hindu temple in Section 23, Shah Alam.

We know that it's not Islam that teaches intolerance of and disrespect toward other religious beliefs, nor is it Islam that preaches violence or force if Muslims don't get their way. We also know that it is really not Malaysian or Malay custom at all to be so obnoxious, threatening and crude. For all my life as a Malaysian, I have known Malay customs to be gentle, sophisticated and inclusive. This is most likely because the "Malay" race was actually historically constructed; its customs weaved from a convergence of different continents and cultures.

So, if neither Islam nor Malay custom drove the 50 protesters to publicly despoil a sacred Hindu creature and to threaten bloodshed because of a Hindu temple, what was it?

Possessed by superiority

My hunch is that these protesters were emboldened by a culture of Malay Muslim superiority that has been carefully cultivated and strategically stoked by the Umno-led government, Malay Muslim politicians from Umno, PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), and by the judiciary both civil and syariah.

Please read the entire article here: http://thenutgraph.com/what-possessed-the-protesters

If you like the quality of journalism practiced by The Nut Graph, please consider supporting them. Their investors cannot continue funding them, and they will have to close down if they cannot find adequate support.

As far as I know, the Nut Graph is the only Malaysian news organisation to have published a statement of their journalistic principles, that you can hold them to. If we do not support good journalism when we have it, then we have only ourselves to blame when we are left with the likes of Azmi Anshar and the mainstream media telling us what to think.

Sincerely,

Malaysian Heart

Let’s stamp out racism - article by Azmi Sharom in the Star

Dear Readers,

This is an excellent article by Dr. Azmi Sharom, an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at Universiti Malaya, which was published in the Star today:

Thursday September 3, 2009

Let’s stamp out racism

BRAVE NEW WORLD
By AZMI SHAROM

Not only must we condemn the cow-head protest in Shah Alam last week but we must look into ourselves and make sure we don’t think and speak like racists.

THE cow-head protest in Shah Alam last week left me feeling utterly disgusted. The men who organised and participated in that foul act are nothing but rank racists, and by cloaking their activities in a veil of piousness they show themselves to be even more despicable.

Yes, I was furious, but sadly I was not surprised. How can I be and how can anyone else be? We have allowed racists to have their way for so many years now.

Their appalling words and actions get progressively bolder and it just builds and builds until we have these men feeling they have the right to insult another religion in the most vile and brutal manner.

In the light of how Malay and Islamic supremacist thinking and expression have caught hold in the last few years, this sickening behaviour is simply a natural progression.

It happened because we allowed it to happen. Those bigoted thugs did what they did because we did not stamp down on the racists among us hard.

We allowed racist politicians to spout their garbage about “immigrant races”; we allowed them to tell our brothers and sisters to “go back to where you belong”; we allowed them to wave weapons of war; and we allowed them to ask for the weapons to be bathed in blood.

It’s too late for any politician to condemn something now when all the other acts of bigotry that have been brewing in the past few years were not even protested against because they suited their political needs.

It is too late to be making pleas of unity on National Day when not enough has been done before.

Let’s look at something recent. Two books that attacked the Mentri Besar of Selangor and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim are blatantly racist.

They claim that Selangor is for Malays only. They claim that the Pakatan Rakyat state government threatens Malays because they hire non-Malay staff.

In other words, the government must only hire Malays so that only Malays get benefits from the government. This is racism pure and simple. But because it suits the ruling party, as these books attack Pakatan, nothing is said.

Racism is racism, be it some vile words published in some cheap self-published drivel, or a bleeding cow head stomped and spat upon. Racism is racism and it must be fought.

When it is not fought, when it is not faced down every single time, then those without the courage to fight it are merely accomplices who, through their cowardice or selfishness, support it.

And how should we fight it? The law that should be used is the Penal Code. The Sedition Act is a blunderbuss of a law and could be used against genuine dissent as well. Let us not look to that archaic leaving of the British.

Use the provisions in the Penal Code that make incitement an offence. Charge these people under the Penal Code and lock them away.

But that is for the authorities to do, if they so choose to. We, the people, must look into ourselves and make sure we don’t think and speak like racists. We must be even more careful that we do not infect our children.

We should speak out against racism and we should tell our political leaders that if they do not fight racism then they are supporting racism and we will not support them.

We must make sure that what happened in Shah Alam faces utter and complete public contempt. Only in that way can we ensure it is not repeated.

Dr Azmi Sharom is a law teacher. I fully subscribe to and support his views expressed here.

You can read more about Dr. Azmi here, here and here.

Dead cow heads vs. dead political aides?

In response to a post on Malaysia Today titled "Cow’s Head, Pig’s Head, Chicken’s Head and next?" (taken from the Kadayan Journal), a regular MToday contributor and commentator, who uses the handle "batsman", posted the following:

written by batsman, September 03, 2009 09:10:09
Are we now more concerned over assaulted dead cow he*** than assaulted dead political aides?

This is my response to him, which I have posted there:

Batsman wrote: "Are we now more concerned over assaulted dead cow he*** than assaulted dead political aides?"

The cow head incident is cause for deep concern, because:

1) The protesters (in no uncertain terms) threatened violence and bloodshed to solve their "grievances". This could well become a new trend in Malaysia.
2) Their actions were quite obviously done with the intention of insulting the culture and religion of some Malaysians.
3) Such an intention to insult could have been followed by an (equally planned?) reaction which would have played into Umno/BN's hands, by allowing them to justify continuing their high-handedness and unjust laws.

It is made even more serious by the apparent fact that they have been aided and encouraged by our Umno/BN government. It must be seen in the context of Umno/BN's larger strategy of:
1) destabilising PR state governments, to precipitate a BN takeover,
2) causing racial and religious hatred, distrust and fear, so that Malaysians will stop working with each other on issues of national importance, and instead get in line behind the BN party representing their respective race.

To think that it is only about the life or death of a cow is extremely shortsighted and lacking in intelligence.

If Malaysia is to have any hope of being liberated from BN's rule, people and groups who profess to work to that end need to be able to work together on multiple issues, without having petty arguments over which is more worthy of concern. United we stand, divided we live [and die] with BN in power for another 52 years.

(For the record, I believe that it's people who feel insulted, not religions per se. However, people's reactions need to be considered and taken into account)

Please consider endorsing this - The Cow-Head Lesson for Merdeka: Delegitimize Violence and Hatred (updated)

Dear Readers,

Please join me in supporting the following statement by Malaysian civil society organisations, that, in the wake of the cow's head incident in Shah Alam, seeks to promote civil discourse and condemn the use of violence, the threat of violence, and communal fear and hatred for political purposes. You can state your support by signing the online petition here and here (for best results, please sign both). Please circulate this statement to your family, friends and colleagues for their endorsement as well.

Civil Society Joint Merdeka Message

We, the undersigned civil society organizations are shocked, angered and saddened by the “Cow-Head protest” in Shah Alam last Friday, 28 August 09, against a proposed Hindu temple in Section 23 of the city. The carrying of the head of a freshly slaughtered cow, a sacred animal to the Hindus, and the unveiled threat of blood shed on the eve of Merdeka celebration suggest that all Malaysians need to reflect deeply about our 52 years of nationhood, and the clarion call of 1Malaysia.

From the outset, these heinous acts of crime perpetrated by the irresponsible few must NEVER be seen as a conflict between the two faiths or the two faith communities. All major spiritual traditions, Islam and Hinduism included, uphold peace and human dignity as their common and core values. Our spirituality and love for humanity mandates us for the perpetual quest for peace and abhorrence of all forms of hatred and civil disorder.

The Shah Alam incident sadly reveals that violence and hatred are still inadequately delegitimized in our society. We exhort all Malaysians to unite in our joint efforts to decry and delegitimize violence and hatred to prevent any individual or grouping from resorting to intimidation or provocation when faced with any town-planning disputes or rows of similar nature.

We the undersigned, taking cognizance of the above, do hereby :

1. URGE that all disputes in civil society must be resolved through peaceful means such as peaceful demonstrations, rational dialogues, extensive consultations and legal suits. The Selangor State Government’s plan to hold a town hall meeting to facilitate communication and engagement with all stakeholders is highly commendable.

2. CONDEMN in the strongest possible language any act to humiliate and intimidate any ethno-religious community, in this case the irreligious and irresponsible display of a cow head. In the Shah Alam incident, not only the Hindus are humiliated and hurt but also all thinking Malaysians – Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, those of other spiritual traditions and atheist. We particularly share the pain and anguish of the Shah Alam Hindu community.

3. URGE all religious authorities, community leaders and political parties to unreservedly condemn the perpetrators of the reprehensible “Cow-Head” act. Every racial and religious bigot should be shamed and distanced by the general public especially by their ethno-religious community which they seek to represent. Political parties must also take disciplinary action against members involved in inciting hatred. This would deprive them the pleasure and gratification of self-righteousness and heroism. Legal punishment alone may prove inadequate because it may instead grant the offenders the self-perceived honour of martyrdom

4. SUPPORT a thorough investigation of those responsible for the “Cow-Head” protest for threatening violence (not sedition) on both the local Hindu community and the elected State Government of Selangor. Threats of violence, for whatever reason, has no place in a civilized society. Violence must be condemned and can only be completely delegitimized when society has zero tolerance for it and every offender is appropriately punished.

5. EXPRESS shock and dismay at the failure of the police force to stop the protestors from issuing their threats of bloodshed. An independent investigation on professional negligence should be immediately initiated to examine these policing failures of a potentially fulminating racial and religious crisis. This incident among others further highlights the dire importance and urgent need for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). The IPCMC is a must if the Najib Administration is genuinely committed to peace in Malaysia.

6. CALL on all Malaysians to heed our plea to completely delegitimize violence and hatred and to strive towards its elimination from our public life. Let this be our joint resolution for our nation’s forthcoming Merdeka anniversary. Let us usher in a Malaysia which cherishes the values of peace, reason, justice, freedom, equity and inclusion for all Malaysians.

The undersigned groups:

1. All Women’s Action Society Malaysia (AWAM)
2. Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI)
3. Civil Rights Committee, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (CRC-KLSCAH)
4. Civil Society Committee, LLG Cultural Development Centre (LLGCSC)
5. Civil Society Initiative for Parliamentary Reform (CSI@Parliament)
6. Coalition of Malaysian NGOs Against Persecution of Palestinians (COMPLETE)
7. Coalition of Selangor Indian NGOs
8. Consumer Association of Klang
9. Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) Youth
10. Council of Malaysia Indian Trustee
11. Friends in Conversation (FIC)
12. Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC)
13. Hindu Youth Organization, Port Klang
14. Human Development and Research Centre
15. Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM)
16. Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF)
17. Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM)
18. Justice for Beng Hock Facebook Group
19. Kelab Sukan Depot Port Klang
20. Klang Vellarun Kalai Pannai
21. Letchumi Pooja Dhana Manbran Klang
22. Majlis Kelab Bell Tamil Selangor
23. Malaysia Belia Hindu Negeri Selangor
24. Malaysia Hindu Sangam Klang Council
25. Malaysia Hindu Sangam Selangor state council
26. Malaysia Indian Youth Council Selangor
27. Malaysian Hindu Dharma Mamandram Selangor
28. Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF)
29. Nadaraikia Sangam Selangor
30. Pamban Swami Maha Teja Mandala Sabai
31. Persatuan Alumni PBTUSM (Lihua) Selangor and Kuala Lumpur
32. Persatuan Kebajikan Bharathana Selangor
33. Persatuan Kebajikan cahaya wawasan Selangor
34. Persatuan Kebajikan Nammakkal
35. Persatuan Kebajikan Vanniar
36. Persatuan Kemajuan Pendidikan Malaysia
37. Persatuan Pembaca Tamil Klang
38. Persatuan Peniaga little India Klang
39. Persatuan Penyelidikan Astronomi Selangor
40. Persatuan Prihatin Belia Malaysia
41. Persatuan Thiruvallavar
42. Persatuan Wawasan India Selangor
43. Pertubuhan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian India Selangor
44. Pertubuhan Kesedaran Hara Krishna Klang
45. Research for Social Advancement (REFSA)
46. Selangor Indian Video graphers Association
47. Sri Vadivelu Culture and Welfare Association Selangor
48. Sri Vaishnava Paribalana Saba
49. Suara Raykat Malaysia (SUARAM)
50. The Divine Life Society Port Klang
51. The Micah Mandate
52. Vishnu Periyaval Sabai
53. Writer Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)
54. 1BLACKMalaysia Facebook Group

Please read more about this issue here, here, here, here and here

UPDATE: The are two online petition sites, with the same statement: here and here. I suggest signing both. Can we have only one site for the next petition, please?

After 52 years of independence, we need a declaration of INTERdependence

After 52 years of independence, it is no exaggeration to say that inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations in Malaysia are in a bad state. Recent events such as the cow head incident in Shah Alam only serve to underscore what Malaysians know to be true.

However, Malaysian inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations have never been very good, and have been dragging us down for some time. I believe that this is due to our system of government; although we claim to be a democracy, the reality is that all this while we have been run as a consociationalism. Under this form of government, it is accepted belief that the people from various groups cannot work together in a normal democratic process, and the elites of each group are ones who need to bargain with each other behind closed doors to decide on how to run the country, and who gets what.

The consequences of this system in Malaysia has been that, freed from having to be accountable to the rakyat, the elites (i.e. Umno, MCA, MIC etc.) have been able to indulge in corruption, cronyism and nepotism with impunity, thereby concentrating power and wealth in their hands.

Another consequence is that there has been no real public discourse on matters of national interest. Indeed, discussion of key topics is deemed "sensitive" and clamped down upon. The threat of violence, either official or unofficial, has been used to prevent this discourse. The rakyat have kept divided by the elites in order to protect their grip on power; playing the politics of communalism has succeded to an extent in getting each group to identify with the elites who "represent" them.

We can see why while neighbours and colleagues from different groups may form friendships and close relations, there is no real understanding between groups. Acceptance of each other has not become part of the collective consciousness; the "muhibbah" planned and organised by elites remains superficial, and barely limited to tolerance.

In this way, inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations have been held hostage to the political interests of the various elite parties in Malaysia. It is no coincidence that inter-ethnic conflict has flared whenever the elites find their monopoly on power threatened: in 1969, 1987 and 2001. In the sensational Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian articles, chauvinistic posturing by BN leaders, and most recently, the cow's head procession, I believe that we are seeing BN trying to repeat its so far very successful use of communal politics, this time to gain an advantage in the post GE-12 scenario.

Is there something that we Malaysians can do to once and for all remove this knife that BN is holding to our throat? 64 years ago, the philosophers Will and Ariel Durant (the husband and wife authors of the magnum opus, The Story of Civilization), along with some like-minded people, pondered the same problem. The world had just survived a world war in which racial intolerance and hatred played a large part, with millions dead. How could civilisation be protected from once again suffering the brutality and violence of dictatorship and demagoguery?

They decided that the best way was to form a movement to promote human tolerance and fellowship through mutual consideration and respect. In the words of Will Durant, "no democracy can long endure without recognizing and encouraging the interdependence of the racial and religious groups composing it." They came up with a Declaration of INTERdependence, which represented their core beliefs. This is the entire text of the declaration at present:

Declaration of INTERdependence

Human progress having reached a high level through respect for the liberty and dignity of men, it has become desirable to re-affirm these evident truths:

• That differences of race, color, and creed are natural, and that diverse groups, institutions, and ideas are stimulating factors in the development of man;
• That to promote harmony in diversity is a responsible task of religion and statesmanship;
• That since no individual can express the whole truth, it is essential to treat with understanding and good will those whose views differ from our own;
• That by the testimony of history intolerance is the door to violence, brutality and dictatorship; and
• That the realization of human interdependence and solidarity is the best guard of civilization.

Therefore, we solemnly resolve, and invite everyone to join in united action.

• To uphold and promote human fellowship through mutual consideration and respect;
• To champion human dignity and decency, and to safeguard these without distinction of race, or color, or creed;
• To strive in concert with others to discourage all animosities arising from these differences, and to unite all groups in the fair play of civilized life.

ROOTED in freedom, bonded in the fellowship of danger, sharing everywhere a common human blood, we declare again that all men are brothers, and that mutual tolerance is the price of liberty.

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I believe that if Malaysians realize that all of us are interdependent, and if we practice the principles of this declaration, we will achieve the following:

• Build real understanding and trust between ethnic and religious groups in Malaysia
• Build the foundations for real dialogue and discourse on matters of national interest, including "sensitive" ones
  
• Prevent attempts by political parties to use communal politics to divide and rule over Malaysians
• Be able to tackle corruption, cronyism and nepotism and promote good governance without being accused of ethnic and religious bias
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, free ourselves from the constant implied threat of politically sanctioned violence and chaos when we attempt to build a Malaysia that is truly free, just and democratic.
  

If you feel that this declaration is something that can help us Malaysians, would you consider helping to spread its message? We could blog about it or share it with our family, friends and colleagues. Perhaps the best thing we could do is to practice it in our daily lives. In the words of Will Durant:

"Our main task is to reduce the causes of racial animosity. First by recognizing that we are all guilty. Which of us has never uttered a word of racial hositility? Let us resolve never to do it again. Let us watch our own conduct, and by our moderation, our modesty, our good will, give no handle or excuse to racial division. Let us burn the second half of this Declaration into our hearts, and make a sacred vow, here and now."

Are we up to it?

Sincerely,
Malaysian Heart

P.S. Thanks to Fisha of Dream a Little More Dream, for first making me aware of the life and work of Will and Ariel Durant. To participate in the international signature campaign, please visit this webpage.