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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Posted: 27 Nov 2012 04:07 PM PST

NOV 28 — So, we now have rules in Parliament to stop lawmakers from saying sexist things.

You can stop them saying sexist things but it doesn't change their mentality. It doesn't change the fact that both Umno and PAS have chauvinists in their ranks who demean women with their words and actions.

It's not just Kinabatangan boor Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin. Let's not forget PAS spiritual advisor Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat who said, "Padan muka kena rogol" (Serves you right for being raped).

This is also the same man who said attractive women shouldn't work as they can get husbands, unlike their "uglier" brethren.

If I were to tell one of our chauvinistic MPs to his face that he hated women, he would probably reply, "Of course, not! I love women!"

Of course you do.

You love having women in your kitchen.

You love having women in your bedroom.

You love women when they tell you you're right. When they agree with you. When they're meek, pliable and not nearly as good at anything you do.

And when some woman tells you off for something like sexism or chauvinism, you brush her off as some "man-hating feminist."

There's a big difference between chauvinism and chivalry, but to some Malaysian men, they seem to be one and the same.

You don't have to be an MP to be sexist. Take former Umno Kota Kinabalu protem head, Roselan Johar Mohamed, who is famous not because he is current chair of the BIMP-Eeaga Malaysian Business Council but for saying "If you cannot fight rape, better lay down and enjoy it."

He claims he got that from a proverb by Confucius. I counter with a real quote from Confucius: "To subdue one's self and return to propriety, is virtue." Or, in other words, the right thing to do is have enough self-control to conduct yourself properly.

By that measure, too many of our politicians are very un-virtuous indeed.

It's not just the way our male politicians talk about women but the way female politicians are treated in this country.

Why the need for separate women's wings? Why, for instance, can't a woman contest for leadership positions against men in our political parties?

Why must there be separate wings and positions just for the women?

Why can't, say, a woman be the division head for Umno Selangor? Heck, why can't a woman be the mentri besar? Why aren't any of the mentri besar women? Where in our constitution does it specify that a woman cannot be head of state?

The reality is that sexism and chauvinism are entrenched in our local as well as political cultures. Telling our MPs to be "good boys" in Parliament isn't enough because all our men need to be taught to acknowledge women as equals.

Sexism, like racism, is something that will never really go away. But it doesn't mean that we can't do our level best to fight them.

You can start small by gently reprimanding someone like Bung by saying, "That's a sexist thing to say."

Mentally, feel free to imagine hitting him about the head with a rolled up newspaper. Even virtue has its limits.

(The writer would like to emphasise that she suggested to "imagine" and not actually perform acts of violence, no matter how tempting.)

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

To boycott Israel, we first need ties

Posted: 27 Nov 2012 03:48 PM PST

NOV 28 ― The Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be an emotional matter to many Malaysians. While there are diverse opinions on the conflict, the pro-Palestinian sentiment is firmly in the majority in Malaysia.

Each time the conflict between Israel and Palestine flares up, the pro-Palestinian side will egg the public on to do at least two things. One, they will organise a demonstration in front of the United States embassy on Jalan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur.

The other is a boycott against products sold in Malaysia that the pro-Palestinian side believes has something to do with Israel. McDonald's has been on the receiving end of the call to boycott, but in a brilliant public relations move involving free burgers, I think the boycott died prematurely.

The truth is the demonstrations and boycotts generate more heat than light. It does nothing practical and significant to affect the situation in Israel and Palestine.

The reason for that is this: Malaysia has no traction with Israel because Malaysia does not maintain any significant relations with Israel. There is no real direct leverage that any Malaysian can use against Israel in the conflict.

To Israel, Malaysia is just that little trading country far out on the other end of the world that has little to do with Israel. Malaysia probably does not even exist to most Israelis, maybe apart from that one time when former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed that the Jews ruled the world by proxy at a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference hosted in Kuala Lumpur in 2003.

If Malaysians truly want to have some traction on Israel, then perhaps Malaysia needs to find some leverage on Israel. One of those leverages may involve having an official relationship with Israel, which includes significant trade ties.

The power of a boycott is that it gets to where it hurts when it works, which is the pocket. At the moment, however, there is really no way a boycotting Malaysian can hurt Israel.

A successful boycott at the very best hurts those who have ties with Israel and not Israel itself. That has the potential of making more enemies than friends. And influence comes from making the right friends.

As always, the boycotts and demonstrations against Israel are really directed against the United States and anything related to the US. The rationale is that the US is Israel's greatest ally.

Yet, making an enemy of the US is not the best thing to do for Malaysia given how China looms to the north and countries in South-East Asia sorely need a power to balance Chinese influence in the region. Never mind that the US is one of Malaysia's biggest trade partners. That means there are a lot of jobs in Malaysia created by US-related corporations.

Look at the boycotters' favourite target: McDonald's. Who do they employ? They are mostly Malaysians. In fact, who owns the McDonald's franchise in Malaysia? Malaysians.

So, the ones who would have been hurt by a boycott launched by the pro-Palestinian camp are Malaysians first. Israel itself is probably somewhere down the list, receiving the least brunt of all, if any.

With significant economic ties with Israel, perhaps Malaysians with strong opinions on the matter can do something more practical.

With such links, the threat of a Malaysian boycott has a real and direct impact on Israeli interests.

With interests in Malaysia which are susceptible to a Malaysian boycott, maybe then Israel may want to take Malaysian voices more seriously.

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

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Rabu, 28 November 2012

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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