What does religious freedom mean if we would use it as a cover for hate and privilege?
DaShanne Stokes
Before Walski continues with what’s on his mind, he asks your indulgence to take this simple poll:
So, you might be wondering: what is it that got under Walski’s skin to write about this?
Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few weeks, you will probably have heard about the plight of one Loh Siew Hong. Her husband, who converted to Islam, took their three children, left them at a charity home where they were converted to Islam, with only the husband’s consent.
Granted that the High Court has ordered the release of the three children into her custody, Madam Loh’s ordeal is not over. Pretty much the entire Malaysian Islamic Bureaucracy, and the countless NGOs of the Islamic vein, are pressuring to ensure the three kids remain Muslims.
Now, bear this in mind: at the time of conversion the twin girls would have been around 11 years old, while their younger brother around 7. Now, would anyone that young appreciate or understand their “decision” (assuming there was no coercion involved) would be binding for the rest of their lives? Walski contends that the answer is NO. For pretty much the same reasons why driver’s licenses are NEVER issued to 7 or 11 year olds.
The now question is whether or not the Malaysian Islamic Bureaucracy, and the NGOs that prop them, will leave Madam Loh to raise her kids in the best of her ability and conscience, OR will they continue to force their way into the family’s lives?
So yeah, that’s what’s gotten under Walski’s skin.
Back to the question the poll asks: is there freedom of religion in Malaysia? Walski will leave the poll up until the end of February, after which we’ll look at the results and discuss. If you were following the earlier myAsylum blog or know Walski first-hand, you’ll probably be able to guess his answer to the question. So as to not prejudice the poll results, we’ll leave this as it is for now.
But before Walski concludes this post, consider what the Federal Constitution says about freedom of religion:
Clause (1) in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution states thusly:
(1) Every person has the right to profess and practise his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.
Clause (4), which is a qualifier, states: State law and in respect of the Federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and putrajaya, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.
So effectively, freedom of religion is, in theory, enshrined in the Federal Constitution. But does freedom of religion, in practice and in reality, exist in Malaysia?
(Hey god) can this world really be as sad as it seems?
Trent Reznor, “Terrible Lie” (1989) – from ‘Pretty Hate Machine’
If Malaysia is good at one thing, it’s grandiose programs and schemes announced with superfluous fanfare and pomp, but without much substance to make them really worthwhile. And we have a stellar track record for it.
Logo for Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia, with the Year 1 slogan, which translates to “People First, Performance Now”
Take 1Malaysia(via Wikipedia), for example. While the idea behind it – creating a more cohesive Malaysia across cultural and religious divides – wasn’t new, not many trusted the sincerity of the campaign. The idea of a unified Malaysia across divides is, of course, something that terrified the general UMNO body politic, as well as other conservative race/religion-driven NGOs. Through various water-down maneuvers and what not, the campaign became diluted, and in the end, became 1Big Joke.
Making it worse were the multitude of services and products riding on the 1Malaysia branding, which ended up either not delivering as promised, duplications of what’s already available, or downright ineffective – Klinik 1Malaysia, KR1M (Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia), and of course, the granddaddy of mega scandals, 1MDB.
And before 1Malaysia we had Vision 2020(via Wikipedia), which also died in the most unglorified of ways, simply because the race/religious supremacists that hold the reins of power in this country didn’t have enough IQ to even consider having that conversation. The same demographic of fucktards, by the way, who helped make 1Malaysia a stillborn joke. Najib Razak took it to a different statospheric level with 1MDB, but that’s another story.
And so now we have yet another national catchphrase – Keluarga Malaysia. Or, Malaysian Family. Which to Walski is much worse than Vision 2020 or 1Malaysia because it literally is built on a lie. Because to claim all Malaysians belong to a family necessitates that all Malaysians are equal. And any fool knows that’s furthest away from reality.
At best Keluarga Malaysia is a very dysfunctional kind of family, one in which favoritism is rife, where some children are more important than others, and where the favorite children get whatever whim they demand, at the detriment of their siblings (whom they loathe to begin with). Don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like any family Walski would want to have anything to do with.
“Keluarga Malaysia” launch, complete with a hashtag that’s as difficult to read as the campaign is to comprehend
So what kind of fucked up family are we promoting? Seriously. Keluarga Malaysia has thus far been seen more as yet another catalyst for us to Keluar Malaysia (i.e., LEAVE). Because the reality is that the current government-nobody-voted-for-and-no-one-wants is controlled by those whose agendas are race/religious supremacy over any semblance of true unity.
One just need look at how the rickety overstuffed cabinet is constructed; mostly older males from ONE demographic: Malay/Muslim. Plus the minimum number of token MIC & MCA errand boys, for the sake of appearances.
Keluarga Malaysia is yet another public-funded campaign that will amount to nought. It will fail the same way 1Malaysia failed, and for pretty much the same reason – the ethno-religious bigots that holds the government in sway.
The only way Keluarga Malaysia could possibly succeed (assuming it’s sincere to begin with) is if there is political will to ensure all Malaysians are equal before the law, the constitution, and national policymaking. And you’d have to be a complete moron to believe that this could ever happen with the current lineup of so-called leaders in our rickety cabinet.
Instead, it’s the same-old, same-old UMNO trying to reassert what it believes to be its birthright – to lord over Malaysia. And don’t be fooled by the so-called Ummah-centric Muafakat Nasional. It’s more political power shadowplay than anything else, to pull wool over the eyes of overzealous sycophants who think the universe revolves around them, and them alone. In reality, it’s three groups of conservative ethno/religio-nationalists vying for the ultimate prize. They’re both friendly AND constantly backstabbing each other, often in the same breath. Pretty surreal, actually. In a very farcical way.
Add to the mix are other Islamists, such as ISMA, PPIM, et al, whose role is pouring fuel into the already volatile mix in hopes to profit from the fire sale. As things stand there is one and only one outcome Walski sees for the nation: WE’RE FUCKED. Thoroughly.
So yeah, take your Keluarga Malaysia and kindly shove it where the sun don’t shine, because Walski ain’t buying your blatant lies. Instead, what he’d recommend is to join the “movement” writer-extraordinaire and Twitter friend @amirhimself has come up with: the FleeMasons. The objective? FLEE! FLEE! FLEE! Get the hell outta Malaysia if you can, while you can…
Logo for the FleeMasons, courtesy of Amir Hafizi on Twitter
Seriously, the more Walski thinks about it, the more he’s convinced that there’s little left that the common people like us can do to save this nation. She’s become damaged, almost to point of no repair.
Democracy? Well, for the moment democracy is pretty much dead in Malaysia. How could it not be when a democratically elected government can easily be swept aside by unscrupulous scumbag politicians all-too eager to subvert and betray their coalition partners to claim the prize of wielding power for themselves.
Well, some of those traitors have themselves been given the boot, while the other traitors remain in Cabinet. PPBM, the main orchestrator of the deceitful Sheraton coup, are today fighting for their political survival against their then silent partners in crime, UMNO and PAS. Serve PPBM right for now experiencing firsthand what betrayal tastes like.
And that leaves us ordinary Malaysians with what to look forward to, exactly? Not much, as long as UMNO is in power. Because power is what that supremacist party craves, and once it’s gotten it, craves for more. And more after that.
Any party that has the audacity to contribute to the formulating of a national campaign based on a lie is not a party that only has one entity at heart – themselves.
And what of Pakatan Harapan, MUDA, and other aspiring political groupings? Pakatan Harapan (PH) has issues of their own to resolve, coupled with the non-stop barrage of political mudslinging and character assassination attempts. And their performance in both the Melaka and Sarawak state elections leave much to be desired. MUDA is still, well, too muda… but that said they are beginning to gain traction. Then you have Warisan, recently entering the Peninsular political fray expanding out of their home state of Sabah; again, early days but like MUDA are gaining some high profile traction(via The Edge Markets).
Keluarga Malaysia thus far has been not much more than sloganeering. Sure, there’ll be branded products and service to come, for sure. But the real powers that be – the Ketuanan Melayu and Ketuanan Islam folks – will ensure that their agenda is numero uno, screw the rest of the nation.
What a duplicitous fuckwad, conveniently using Keluarga Malaysia; such a restriction, which if this super-groper minister were sincere about Keluarga Malaysia, wouldn’t have even been mooted in the first place. “Detrimental to public order”? Yeah, because it’s YOUR demographic that will probably disrupt public order, NOT the public in general.
Bottom line, as long as all Malaysians don’t have equal standing, same rights, same privileges, Keluarga Malaysia remains a political sham, meant to cover up the failings of a government NOBODY VOTED FOR, and worse, INEPT. In short, Keluarga Malaysia is a big, fat lie.
And truth be told, it’s a terrible lie. Because it’s a lie so blatant, so disingenuous, so clear-cut, everyone knows it’s a lie. And nobody in their right mind believes it to be anything other than a politically motivated lie.
(p.s. While the FleeMasons is not a serious (or any kind of) movement, the sentiments of despair, dismay, and being thoroughly fed up are very real)
Happy New Year • Happiness & Prosperity • Wishing You All The Best
Walski takes this opportunity to wish one and all a very Happy Lunar New Year, may the year of the Tiger bring with it the RAWWRRR of good health, happiness, and prosperity for one and all…
Have a safe and enjoyable new year with your family and loved ones!
myAsylum 