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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Posted: 09 Aug 2011 05:02 PM PDT

AUG 10 — The first week of Ramadan has been interesting.

There was the usual lethargy at the beginning of week, before most of us picked up the pace, as we got used to the lack of caffeine and nicotine.

Tempers were probably a little short at the workplace, but I am happy to observe that there is a conspicuous absence of swearing and raised voices. Thankfully, no one has been stabbed with a pair of scissors so far, and that's always a good thing.

One of my most enduring Ramadan memories from childhood is reading the newspapers about how adults who were caught enjoying lunch at some hidden kedai makan were hauled into a van jenazah and paraded around the city. None of my mates have been caught by the authorities for not fasting so far this year, and hopefully it'll remain that way.

Anyway, I just came back from the horrifying spectacle that is a Ramadan buffet at a restaurant near Bulatan Kampung Pandan. I am happy to report that the nasi Arab was exquisite. The behaviour of the rampaging buka puasa crowd? Not so much.

There was the usual public display of gluttony, and the stampede at the buffet spread started about 45 minutes before buka puasa time. The whole over-eating is quite a sight to behold, and we should seriously consider including this Ramadan sideshow as part of Tourism Malaysia's "Visit Malaysia" campaign.

I mean, if to know Malaysia is to love Malaysia,[1] then to know the true eating habits of Malaysians is to fall head over heels for this bumi bertuah. Foreigners — subversive or otherwise — should be introduced to this particular facet of our bubbling, bustling melting pot of races and religions.

Ramadan also means we can all look forward to the usual plethora of Hari Raya TV commercials (TVCs) with the usual tear-jerking storylines. Ogawa™, the healthcare and wellness products distributor, was among the first off the starting blocks, while others are expected to follow suit especially in the third week of Ramadan, budget and media buying permitting.

And this brings us neatly — and rather conveniently — to the achingly stupendous Public Service Announcement (PSA) by 8TV which created quite a storm recently. The funny [2] video was so, urm, well-crafted that it triggered a strong reaction from the usually docile Malaysian public.

The blatant stereotyping of the Chinese community epitomised bad taste, and got the Malaysian public all riled up. The PSA was roundly thrashed for implying that non-Muslims are ignorant and insensitive about Ramadan.[3]

Having misjudged the public reaction to the PSA, the nice folks at Media Prima reportedly proceeded to tick off the public for overthinking and taking the whole thing too seriously. The PSA can't be all that offensive, we were told, because it was produced by a multi-racial team in 8TV.[4] A multi-racial team, you hear?

In order to make this analysis look clever and penetrating, I am now going to thoroughly examine the messages of the Public Service Announcement:

(1) "Do not be loud or obnoxious."

There are a lot of gedik people roaming about in Malaysia, and believe me, it has got nothing to do with Ramadan. A campaign to stamp out national gedikness in general is really something I can support, but it's a bit rich to suggest that it's not unusual for Chinese girls to go around harassing and terrorising stall owners. I spend a fair bit of time going to Pasar Ramahan but I've never seen anything like that. More often that not, people are too greedy to even bother groping others.

(2) "Don't be greedy and eat in public."

Yes, a lot of us get over-excited at the sight of food in abundance, although I don't think it's a Muslim/Malay thing or a Chinese thing or an Indian thing or a "Dan-Lain-Lain" thing. I rather suspect it's a Malaysian thing, and you only have to attend the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) of public listed companies in Malaysia to see how greedy and gluttonous us Malaysians can be. I'm pretty sure it's hardwired into our DNA or something.

And no, Muslims don't suddenly go all wobbly and break our fasts at the sight of someone else eating and drinking in public. We've had plenty of training since we were little, so we are fine.

(3) "Do not wear tight and revealing clothes."

Seriously folks, if you have a hard-on and start salivating at the mere sight of a girl in sleeveless tank top, then I posit that you actually have an altogether bigger, more serious issue that goes beyond Ramadan.

Now, since when are Muslims easily offended when our non-Muslim friends eat or drink during Ramadan? I remember my MBA classmates eating and drinking during our weekend classes in Ramadan, and it felt normal to me. I mean, it was just what they do and I didn't feel particularly affronted or anything like that.

Sure, they were rather sheepish and apologetic when they realised that it was a bit inappropriate (their word, not mine) but I couldn't have cared less. It was my duty as a Muslim to fast and not ogle at scantily clad girls, not theirs.

My staff at the office likes to eat her breakfast at her workstation and she drinks something like 20,000 litres of water every day, including during Ramadan. I don't feel aggrieved and I certainly didn't make her stand in the blazing sun as punishment. I stand corrected, but I doubt that there is any provision in Islam that insists on non-Muslims observing any kind of Ramadan etiquette.[5] I personally have no problem with my non-Muslim friends eating, drinking and carrying on with their normal lives.

The whole business of self-restraint is only for Muslims, and we shouldn't start imposing our value system or religious obligations on others. I mean, whatever happened to mutual respect and understanding?

The 8TV public service announcement was a shambles, and it certainly did a great disservice to Islam. At best, it is shallow and disrespectful.

8TV could have focused on Ramadan as a process to cleanse our mind, body and soul. They could have emphasised the humbling lesson from empathising with the sufferings of the less fortunate. They could have highlighted the fact that fasting is also about the triumph over our earthly desires.

They could have picked any of these key messages of Ramadan, but they chose to insult our collective sensibilities.

Following the public backlash, the folks at 8TV/Media Prima attempted a rather baffling explanation when, really, a simple apology would have sufficed. After one too many dismissive tweets on Twitter™, the damage was complete, and the whole episode has "public disdain" written all over it. For their bumbling and fumbling, the folks at 8TV probably deserve some kind of Foot-in-Mouth award.

So OK, maybe I'm overthinking here. Maybe in the bigger scheme of things, the whole unfortunate incident and, urm, momentary lapse of reason on 8TV's part is a mere blip. For most people, it will soon be forgotten anyway and there are serious things to worry about like rising inflation, corruption, flagging economy and the damned trombones in the brass section of an orchestra.

But it is rather condescending of 8TV to have dismissed the public reaction in the first instance, and telling us to "just chill out." And really, trying to legitimise the whole thing by saying that a multi-racial team developed the PSA was a little low.

Not offensive at all?

Well, to quote Boris Johnson,[6] "I could not fail to disagree with you less."[7]

Notes:

[1] I like this tagline better than the more pedestrian, neither-here-nor-there "Malaysia Truly Asia."

[2] Not funny Ha! Ha!, but funny peculiar.

[3] Surely a non-Muslim who grew up in Malaysia will know a thing or two about Ramadan? Perhaps not the full meaning of the Muslim holy month (and to be fair, not every Muslim does either), but the tacit understanding is there.

[4] How on earth this fact makes the silly PSA more kosher, I'll never know.

[5] Is there such a thing, to begin with?

[6] Mayor of London since 2008. I can't believe I'm quoting him. I feel slightly un-clean now.

[7] "Have I Got News For You" TV programme, 2004.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Of Christians, poor Muslims and kittens

Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:36 PM PDT

AUG 10 — My attempt to sleep in one Saturday morning was foiled by the sound of plaintive mewling. It sounded like a kitten was stranded in my backyard. And lo, it was.

This particular little grey tabby was one I'd seen before. Usually, it would be frolicking with two others of its litter, with mother cat arriving once her babes had started a distressed chorus for milk.

There was no mother cat this time. No other kittens but this one. She (I found out her gender later) was most unappreciative of my concern, promptly biting me when I attempted to pick her up. A valiant little kitten but she obligingly went limp when I picked her up by the scruff, taking her to the warmer confines of my living room. She was uninjured, pretty clean with no evidence of mite or fleas, so I returned her to the yard and hoped her mother would return.

Her mother never came. Instead I had to endure a whole night and morning of the kitten's desperate mewling. Perhaps her mother had been carted off by an animal rescuer. Or, more likely, her mother was attacked or hit by a car while transporting her litter to my backyard. So I took her in and for my efforts, ended up smelling like a weird pungent mix of kitten, milk and tuna. Eau de Erna, indeed.

Said kitten (who I christened Oolong) is in someone else's loving arms now. Yet I wonder, if she had ended up in someone else's yard, would she have been taken in or left to starve? Not that I'm that much of a good Samaritan — I just couldn't bear hearing her cry or face waking up to a kitten corpse in my backyard.

So when a church feeds poor and starving Muslims, must it always be seen as fulfilling an agenda? If a Christian has any reason to be kind to the poor, it is called the Bible. Hundreds of passages exhort believers to help the needy; nowhere does it say that Christians must help only Christian needy. For poverty knows no religion, suffering is colour blind and injustice has no creed.

Imagine if I had seen the kitten and declared that because it was not a puppy or fluffy bunny, I would not feed and care for it. It was motherless, it was starving and it needed me. That was all the reason I needed. So why do we human beings need justification to help another?

Should I only help the needy who share my race, religion or nationality? Should I make distinctions when suffering doesn't?

We can find it in ourselves to care for beings that are not even of our own species, as can be evidenced by the legions of pet owners and animal doctors who find their calling in healing animals. Yet why do we harden our hearts to other human beings?

In a previous column, I argued that poverty is everyone's concern and a problem we all must have the courage and will to address. Instead of questioning the church's motives, why isn't Harian Metro, Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian finding out why the poor aren't getting the help they need?

I am so tired of the public posturing and the so-called championing of race and religion in this country when we are still failing the poor, the underprivileged and the suffering. For we are a country that makes believing in God part of our creed, and yet forget the part about serving God by caring for one another.

Perhaps we are just too used to ignoring the cries in our own backyards.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Rabu, 10 Ogos 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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