No room for threats
WHICH of these questions can be answered in the affirmative?
» Have some of the principles and thoughts of our founding fathers been blatantly ignored for political expediency?
» Did we elect a bunch of lawmakers who do not see the thick lines that exist between common sense, the law and religion?
» Have some of the people’s representatives gone bonkers with their wayward notions and concepts? » Is the nation in a state of crisis? As an individual, you are entitled to your opinion as much as your neighbour or the garbage collector who calls at your house three times a week. No one can and should prevent you. But as much as you have an opinion, they too have a right to disagree with you. That’s a given.
But that right does not empower anyone with a differing view to cause harm or threaten bodily harm or violence. That would be a breach of the law as encapsulated in the Penal Code, which is enforced by the police.
To be honest, race, religion and politics are taboo to this column, but occasionally when the situation demands, self-drawn boundaries are transcended because common sense and decency are thrown out of the window.
It will not be untruthful, unfair or biased if one says the Kelantan lawmakers and certain parliamentarians are using religion and its diktat to distract the people from all the ills in the state.
And if I go on to add that this country is one where people fight over religion and race while the economy deteriorates, it would not be totally wrong either.
Why then are people making threats on the life of radio presenter Aisyah Tajuddin (pix) who read out a somewhat similar message from a text prepared by a script writer?
Are these people from outer space or the lunatic fringe? Or are they suffering from a siege mentality? These questions can only be answered by themselves but what is more alarming are their threats.
The hate-filled utterances on social media underline the fact that they are serious. They are well aware that there is no longer any anonymity in cyber space with all the forensic investigations and cyber sleuths who have in the past traced and identified similar people.
Media practitioners sometimes term such threats as “occupational hazards”. But it is not the case. The choice of words and their intended actions sound sinister.
Four years ago, I bumped into a minister and his entourage at the wake of a mutual friend. After paying our respects, the subject of hudud laws was raised. I allowed him to rant on and then said: “It is not applicable to us.” He replied: “Later, all of us also kena!” My riposte: “In that case, we will see a lot of your party members and some cabinet colleagues walking around without hands.” It did not go down well with some of the cronies, one of whom uttered words which amounted to a threat. I stood my ground: “If you inflate costs and make commissions on government projects, it amounts to stealing from the people.”
That was the end of the episode and is being related to differentiate between “real” and “imaginary”.
Look at how Borders bookstore manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz has been maligned and treated. Even an A-Level student will tell you that at the time the books were seized, they had not been banned. And yet, the authorities seem adamant in wanting to fight an impossible case.
Isn’t there anyone to rein in these people who show little respect for the rules of the land?
But what has caused this “new” phenomenon – a surge in religious extremism? Is it our much-tinkered education system that does not allow critical thinking? Have our young men been fitted with blinkers and taught not to look beyond the four walls of their confines? Despite all the money being pumped for their education and welfare, why have they remained like katak di bawah tempurung?
As I read the words of Professor Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi, I reflected on those prophetic words of moderation and acceptance made by the prime minister in Oxford in 2011. I hope he will make a stand on this issue.
In the Malaysian Insider portal, the good professor, who is Aisyah’s father, wrote: “With this incident, I ask Malaysians again… is it safe to raise our children in this country? If not, should we start looking elsewhere and create a much safer place for our children to have a future? I write these words with a heavy heart. I write these words as a concerned Malaysian citizen and as a simple Muslim for the sake of all our children.”
So, who do you blame for the brain drain? Why are people emigrating? Why are we allocating large sums of money to lure back those who have given up on this country? You can’t achieve anything by having people who can’t think and act rationally.
By the way, the answer is not exactly rocket science and please don’t spend millions of taxpayers’ money to commission a study to find the reasons for such ills.