Malaysia’s Political Ulamas
Non-Muslims should for example, push for public executions and whippings, following Afghanistan’s example. Turn those into revenue-producing events, with “premium” front-row seats commanding hefty prices, and market them as showcasing the “beauty” and “superiority” of Islamic laws.
Sell ads to whip and sword manufacturers, much like oil companies advertise at Formula One races. Such public executions and whippings could rival major spectator events like boxing to draw foreign tourists.
It is also in the self-interest of non-Muslims to encourage Malays to be obsessed and consumed with matters religious and the pursuit of the Hereafter. With more young Malays preoccupied with studying revealed knowledge and prophetic traditions, there would be that much fewer to pursue STEM. Meaning, less competition for non-Malays wishing to become doctors, scientists and engineers.
With young Malays opting for Al Azhar and Pakistani madrasahs, there would be less competition among Malaysians aspiring for Oxford and Harvard. Not that our community is a formidable competitor on that front.
For non-Muslim politicians, embracing pro-Islam postures would be a sure way into the hearts of Malays and capturing their votes. Those politicians would become instant darlings of the Malay community, fast eclipsing the likes of that mualaf Ridhaun Tee, and without having to change your name or religion. You don’t have to suck up to UMNO or PAS politicians either! All you have to do is don white kopiah (or hijab, for a woman) at Muslim functions, and of course support RUU355 and similar legislations.
Non-Malays should be heartened that the Padang Merbok pro-RUU355 rally drew thousands; overwhelmingly Malays. It went well past midnight. Not even the early evening rain dampened the mood. They came from as far north as Perlis and Kelantan, giddy with the excitement of doing God’s work, as they had been led to believe.
Imagine the acres of paddy fields not tilled that day and the next, the thousands of rubber trees not tapped, and hundreds of fishing boats idle in port. You do not need to be an economist to see the impact; all negative. Or perhaps it was minimal as they were marginal participants in the modern Malaysian economy, consumed as they were with the Hereafter.
As one of the few non-Malays present at that rally noted, the only non-Muslims affected by RUU355 would be casino operators. Few, Muslims or non-Muslims, have sympathy for them.
I compliment that the non-Malay for his deep understanding of Malay culture and values. It is a sad commentary that individuals like him are a rarity today. Not so a few generations ago.
Following the failed Malayan Union, a coalition of populist Malay organizations under PUTERA, together with the primarily non-Malay trade union group AMCJA, put forth a proposal for self-rule.
A central feature of that proposal would have liberalized conditions for citizenship. The leftist Malay leaders in PUTERA enthusiastically embraced that simply because those new citizens would be called Melayu, not Malayans. Non-Malays, being pragmatic, too accepted that. They could not care less about the label as long as they were granted citizenship.
Malays were easily seduced into relaxing the citizenship requirements in return for the Melayu label. Never mind that those would-be culup Melayus were not Muslims and could not speak Malay or give a hoot about Malay mores and customs!
Thank God the British rejected the PUTERA/AMCJA idea and instead imposed the Federation Agreement.
To Malays, the label is all important. Do what you want with the content, in line with our culture’s premium on peragga (appearance). It was true then and it is even more true today. Label something as Islamic or hudud, and Malays would swallow it without question. Likewise, anything from the land of the Prophet is holy. Even the flies in Mecca are hallal! It is not a surprise that Najib’s receiving millions from a Saudi sheik be viewed as borkat (divine bounty) by Malays and not, as the rest of the world sees it, blatant corruption.
Two centuries ago the British nearly succeeded in destroying the Chinese civilization by giving the masses what they craved for–opium. In the process the Brits made tons of money and controlled China. The Chinese elite, from the emperor down to the mandarins, were aware of the dangers opium posed but they could not prevail against the mighty British.
With Malays on the other hand, our leaders are the biggest pushers of the metaphorical opium. Non-Malays should let that be and let Malays be narcotized. Then like the British in China of yore, non-Malays could control the economy and country even more. If Malays were to complain or be resentful, flatter them that a much bigger and better reward awaits them in the Hereafter.
That however is a distracting issue. The key conclusion from Najib’s latest U-turn on RUU355 is that he and the party he leads are now vulnerable. Najib is floundering. As any boxer will tell you, that is the best time to knock your opponent out.The chorus for building a Ram temple is growing within the BJP as more and more outrageous public utterances by party workers suggest.
The latest such utterance came today from Raja Singh, a BJP legislator from Hyderabad. He went so far as to suggest the beheading of those opposed to building a Ram temple on the disputed Ayodhya site where Hindu nationalists destroyed the Babri Masjid in 1992, ANI reported.
“To those who warn of dire consequences if Ram Mandir built. We were waiting for you to say this so we can behead you,” said Singh.
The MLA has made similar comments before. In December 2015, he threatened a lynching similar to that of Mohammad Akhlaq‘s in Dadri near Noida in September 2015. He said he and his like-minded colleagues were ready to kill to protect cows. Akhlaq was killed by a ghoulish mob that suspected he had stored beef in his house. He hadn’t.
“We warn them against a Dadri-like incident in Telangana. We can both give our lives and take life for the sake of protecting the cow”, he said back then.
Just yesterday, Singh’s party colleague Uma Bharti also strongly expressed her support for the construction of a Ram temple. The Union water resources minister said that a temple in Ayodhya was a matter of belief for her and she was ready to go to jail for it.
“Ram temple is a matter of belief for me and I have immense pride in it… if I have to go to jail for it I will go, if I have to hang myself for it I will do it,” said Bharti after a meeting with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath, another self-professed lover and protector of cows, who’s also in favour of a Ram temple being built on the disputed Ayodhya site.In February, before his party, the BJP, swept Uttar Pradesh in the Assembly elections, Adityanath said that hurdles on the path of the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya will be gradually removed and its construction will start soon.
He also said ‘Ram Bhakts’ (Ram devotees) will play a key role in the construction of a Ram Temple at Ayodhya. “Ram Bhakts did whatever happened in Ayodhya and in future whatever will be done, it will be done by them,” he said.
Whatever happened in Ayodhya” was a clear reference to the destruction of the 16th century mausoleum of Mughal emperor Babar.
Nambikai Online English Edition 