It’s time to speak up

They came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up

These are the famous words attributed to Martin Niemoller, the outspoken German pastor who was arrested and imprisoned by Adolf Hitler from 1937 to 1945.

Niemoller’s words warn against sitting comfortably in the safety of our own homes and watching without protest as unjust acts are visited upon the lives of others.

Niemoller’s words also remind us that if we do not speak up against tyranny and oppression, then the freedoms that we enjoy will eventually disappear.

Perhaps the time is right to look at Niemoller’s words in the context of Malaysia.

We bar some religions from using the word “Allah” during worship. When people speak up, the cabinet warns against discussing the issue.

We should be discussing the issue because there is no other way to resolve the impasse. The Court of Appeal cannot forever pretend that the case is not on its docket. There will come a time when it will have to hear the matter.
What happens then?

Does the Court of Appeal overrule the High Court in ignorance of the fact that the Home Minister has already come out to say that the whole issue stemmed from a mistake made by his predecessor?

The government should facilitate a meeting of minds between citizens of the different faiths where an agreement is reached that all faiths may use the word respectfully during worship.

The government should also tell the fundamentalists who fear confusion if the word is used by non-Muslims to take a hike.

To say that the reason for the ban is that Muslims will get confused is a slur on the intellect of the Muslims.

The more the government panders to these extremists, the more this country eats itself up from the inside.

Recently, a headmistress in Johor told her Chinese students that they can return to China. She also likened the prayer strings worn by Indian students to be akin to a dog leash. The headmistress reportedly said all this during the launch of the school’s Merdeka day celebrations.

One of the first responses from the government came from Education director-general Alimuddin Mohd Dom who tried to brush aside the matter by calling it “just a misunderstanding”. Clearly a case of anything to shut both eyes and move on.
We do not shut our eyes to these things.

The said headmistress is not fit to be an educationist. And this must be said.

The said headmistress should be sacked as a teacher. And this must be said.

She is welcome to find a job elsewhere, perhaps with her brothers in Perkasa, but she is not welcome in a noble vocation where one is tasked with the heavy responsibility of molding young minds to be wise and upstanding citizens that are blind to colour and race.

But who can blame her for being so brazen?

From the Utusan Malaysia to Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa, the racist diatribe is spewed almost on a daily basis and absolutely nothing happens to them.

Ridhuan Tee Abdullah’s Mingguan Malaysia article on 15 August titled “Jangan terlalu berani mencabar” has got to be one of the most bigoted articles I have ever come across.

He rants about how we might as well change Malaysia’s name to “Cinasia” or “Indiasia” because of the demands made by the non-Malays.

Where is the prime minister’s response to this in the face of his 1-Malaysia policy?

Is he keeping silent because he is affording Tee the right to free speech as guaranteed by Article 10 of the Federal Constitution?

If so, then the government should repeal the Printing Presses and Publications Act so that the mainstream media, other than the Utusan Malaysia and Mingguan Malaysia — to which the Act does not seem to apply, are free to publish opposing views without inviting punishment under the guise of “national security” or “compromising race relationships”.

Anyway, this country will be not be what it is today without the role of the Chinese and the Indians and all the other races. From nation-building to sports to commerce, citizens of every faith and race have contributed.

In his speech at the proclamation of independence at Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur on 31 August 1957, the country’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman said:

“From henceforth we are masters of our destiny, and the welfare of this beloved land is our own responsibility: Let no one think we have reached the end of the road: Independence is indeed a milestone, but it is only the threshold to high endeavour – the creation of a new and sovereign state.

At this solemn moment therefore I call upon you all to dedicate yourselves to the service of the new Malaya: to work and strive with hand and brain to create a new nation, inspired by the ideals of justice and liberty – a beacon of light in a disturbed and distracted world.”

The Tunku uses terms like “we” and “you all” because he means all of us, regardless of race or faith.

We have to speak up just like the Tunku did. If we don’t, then we allow this country to be inspired not by the ideals of justice and liberty but by hatred and close-mindedness.

Much of this country’s future depends on the moderate Malays who believe in the ideals of justice and liberty. If they do not speak up, then one day the following words may well be spoken on these shores.

They came first for the Christians, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Christian.

Then they came for those who fight for liberty, and I didn’t speak up because I was comfortable.

Then they came for the Chinese, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Chinese.

Then they came for the Indians, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t an Indian.

Then they came for the moderate Malays who believe in justice, equality for all and the fact that this country is a secular one, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.