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Thursday, November 6, 2014

Sedition Act or Stupidity Act? – S. Vell Paari



I know a foreigner who converted to Islam and when I asked him the reasons for doing so, he told me that he was inspired after reading an English version of the Quran, which in a nutshell, he described as promising man that whatever nonsense happened, something good would emerge in the end.
I was reminded of this conversation after reading about the objection by a Muslim consumer association over the placement of an image of the Batu Caves temple with its immense statue of Hindu deity Lord Muruga on mineral water bottles next to the “halal” logo.
The company had done this as part of a tourism drive featuring significant and iconic destinations in Malaysia.
Being a Hindu myself, I am outraged over the placement of the image of Lord Muruga on the bottles which will end up in the rubbish bin after the contents are consumed.
I would be similarly upset to find the images of other iconic places of worship in rubbish bins.
However, I do understand that the company embarked on the campaign with the good intention of promoting Malaysia's tourism spots.
Perhaps the Muslim consumer group should also file a police report against the Tourism Ministry for citing Batu Caves as among the locations to visit or perhaps even exclude non-Muslims from tourism paraphernalia.
As for the argument that putting the image of Lord Muruga next to the halal logo might “confuse” Muslims, it clearly shows how “confused” this consumer group is about the faith of Muslims.
Its argument only serves to belittle Muslims by giving the impression that after drinking from the particular mineral water bottle, a Muslim might resort to carrying the kavadi during Thaipusam in a state of “confusion”.
I strongly believe that the time has come for the government to repeal the Sedition Act and replace it with a Stupidity Act to rescue our beloved nation from being ruined by ignorant imbeciles.
I was also deeply disturbed to read about the recent protest over the construction of a church in Sunway.
I view these recent incidents as a sign of desperation among those who realise that race and religion can no longer be used as tools of control.
It is said that when a creature is under attack, that is when it is most ferocious. Similarly with moderate voices seemingly gaining ground, the conservative and narrow-minded forces are clawing for survival.
On the posters to encourage foreigners to visit Malaysia, our nation is portrayed as a land rich in diversity where people of all races and religions live in harmony.
But unfortunately, Malaysia is now making international news for being a land rich in intolerance with the constant playing up of an "us versus them" agenda between the Muslims and non-Muslims as well as Malays and non-Malays.
However, it would be foolish to think that change can be stopped.
* Datuk S. Vell Paari is the strategic director for the Malaysian Indian Congress. TMI

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