“Don’t play with fire! Don’t ever touch on religious and racial sentiments. Whatever the excuses given, the forum still provokes Malay sentiments and creates uneasiness and public disorder, particularly among the Malays.”Read the article here.
My first response to the said politicians was that it was an insult to the Malay people and the people of Islam faith. Surely they are not so sensitive! Surely they are mature enough to handle it. Surely they are not so insecure!
Well, apparently, i was wrong! They are! Well, some of them, anyway. I'm referring to the group of people who gathered purportedly in the name of Islam and resorted to violence and vulgarity to disrupt the forum. Read about it here.
Let's put things into perspective - the forum was regarding conversion to Islam. It is IMHO of benefit to the Islam faith too. The Islam faith had been getting a lot of bad press in recent times when people who did not fully understand the implications of conversion, converted to Islam and then tried to convert out of it. By having a forum like this, people will be able to make an educated choice when converting to Islam and not change their minds easily later - and no more bad press to the Islam faith.
Instead, the Bar Council is accused of threatening and challenging Islam (see pic). What a bunch of morons - those who protested today.
Furthermore, this is another attack on freedom of expression - can't we not have open discussions freely and in a mature manner? Must we always bow to the whims and sensitivities of one race in this land? Unless the exceptions to this human right are fulfilled, then the forum should be allowed to go on.
Of course people are free to demonstrate - that is another form of freedom of expression. But to threaten violence? No, of course not!
Oh, those protesters who were allegedly defending the Islam faith? Well, these people did so with obscenities and vulgar words. Read the above mentioned news report. Now, does Islam teach its followers that?
But they won in the end. The cops - instead of dispersing the protesters with tear gas and water cannons (like they do to the opposition protesters in the past) - told the Bar Council to end the forum early.
Malaysia boleh!
1 comment:
I think that this is more to politics move than about sensitivity. With the DPM and PM saying no to talks, they'd think they would get some support from the rural or the ultra conservative folks. If the police spray water cannons to the protesters for this protest, I'd see a lot of lost votes for UNMO for the by-election.
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