NOV 16 — There comes a time in every nation's history when a firm decision has to be made on where it stands when it comes to the fundamental freedoms and justice for all. For Malaysia, that time is now.
The decision lies in the hands of the current and upcoming generation of leaders who will carry the country into an ultra competitive era where it can ill afford to be unsure of its footing at home.
Thus far, the country's journey has not been of this generation's own choosing. We did not choose to be divided and ruled. We did not choose to be part of May 1969. We certainly were not part of the decision to implement the race-based policies that followed the riots.
We were also not part of legislative misadventures like the Internal Security Act and the Sedition Act that came into being a long time ago. More importantly we were not part of the unwritten policy decision circa the late ‘70s to practise a possessive brand of Islam that seeks to marginalise other religions.
Unfortunately, today's generation of Malaysians still live in the shadow of the decisions and policies of yesterday's leaders. We promulgate the mistakes of the past and are content to let them fester and modernise itself into demons that we can no longer control. There are many examples of this.
Today we are still having a debate as to whether or not the word "Allah" is reserved for Muslims and therefore cannot be used by Catholics. The reason it has been purportedly reserved for Muslims is so that Muslims don't get confused when people of other faiths use the word.
The absurdity of this is made even worse by the fact that the government has yet to firmly decide on where it stands on the issue and appears to be content to leave the dirty work to the courts.
This has resulted in an unsatisfactory on-off situation where one day the Herald is allowed to use the word — provided that they help the Muslims out of their confusion by putting "For Christians Only" on the masthead —but on the next day no one is sure whether the Home Ministry would renew publishing permit.
Not only is this sorry state of affairs an affront to religious freedom, it is also an affront to the intelligence of all the Muslims in this country. In fact, it is an assault on the very nature and character of Islam, which may be now seen as intolerant when it is clearly not so. It is also abhorrent to use the draconian Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 in the name of Islam.
Across the seas in East Malaysia, we have a young 17-year-old girl by the name of Marina Undau who was burdened by fact that she is intelligent.
She scored 9As and 1B in her O-level examinations, packed her bags for university but was then told that she could not go. The reason being that she was not "exclusively" Bumiputera as her mother is Chinese.
How do we look ourselves in the mirror when we can find it in ourselves to do such a thing to one of our own?
Soon we may as well be telling Nicol David that we do not recognise her achievements and will not reward her as the world squash champion because she is not Bumiputera. Maybe we should also tell Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes that we can no longer give him any space to land his AirAsia planes on Malaysian soil because he is not Bumiputera. Perhaps we should also tell the Genting Group to leave the mountain.
How about telling Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow of Public Bank to rename his bank? Surely we cannot allow a bank headed by a non-Bumiputera to pass itself off as the public's bank. This confuses people.
To top it all, Marina Undau's father is no millionaire. He is a civil servant in the service of his government. The same one that told him his daughter does not meet the guidelines used by the Student Intake Management Division of the Higher Education Ministry.
The guidelines appear to follow Article 161(A) of the Constitution which says that in Sarawak, both parents have to be "exclusively" a native for a child to be Bumiputera.
Last Friday, the Cabinet was reported to have made an administrative ruling officially recognising Marina Undau as a Bumiputera pending an amendment to the Constitution.
Why all the commotion? What happened to doing the decent thing by simply creating a policy that recognises excellence?
The Majlis Amanah Rakyat or Mara paid RM42,000 for a laptop but we are unable to give Marina Undau a helping hand to study without creating an almighty ruckus. In fact that RM42,000 may even be able to carry Marina Undau through to post-graduate studies.
Religious intolerance, draconian legislations and racist education policies which all violate the fundamental freedoms must end.
It will not be easy. Religious bigots and right-wing troopers will fight change but this is a time for heroes. It is a time for upcoming leaders and ordinary folk to stand up and etch their name in history by saying enough is enough.
It is time 1 Malaysia meant just that. — mysinchew.com
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