April – a haram month?
By Art Harun
The poco-poco dance has apparently been decreed as haram in Perak. The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, has asked everybody not to question such decree.
Well, knowing how hyper-sensitive all of us are when it comes to everything religion lately – and this applies to ALL of us, regardless of our religion – nobody in his or her right mind would be questioning such decree, Datuk Seri Minister, rest assured.
You will note that I am not even using inverted comas for the word haram anymore. That is because haram has become a generic word in Malaysia. It is already accepted as a Malay word as well as an English, Tamil and Chinese (all dialects) word. If you mention the word haram in Malaysia, everybody, regardless of his or her race or faith understands the word.
This propensity to decree anything and everything with the slightest connection with different faith or religion as haram in Islam is however a very interesting trend, if not a cause for concern.
As a citizen, I am horrified – and fearful – at the prospect of the State trying to regulate my private life. Laws should regulate actions which threaten the society as a whole. Laws should never be an instrument to govern private life or to foist upon anybody any moral value or any code of moral behaviours, unless such behaviours threaten the society as a whole.
In Malaysia, all sorts of decrees have been made and imposed on Muslims lately. These decrees run from the most trivial – such as the prohibition against wearing Manchester United and England football jerseys – to that which smirks of institutional xenophobia – such as that which prohibits Muslims from “celebrating” other religion’s celebrations or festivals.
Almost invariably, the reasons proffered for such prohibitions would be that such act, if done by Muslims, would affect their faith, or the preferred word, “akan merosakkan akidah mereka” (loosely translated, “such acts would affect their faith”).
Malaysians Muslims cannot therefore wear England and Manchester United jerseys because the logo on the former has a crucifix and on the later has the depiction of the devil (although of course, nobody in Malaysia could seriously testify how the devil looks like, as yet). As the rationale goes, if I wear the jerseys, my faith might be affected and I would convert to Christianity after I take three steps forward and turn to the left to the left while wearing the jersey.
Velentine’s day is a no no. Because it may lead to sex. Wearing Santa Claus apparels is also a no no because apparently Santa Claus is a Christian thing. Now the poco-poco dance is also a no no in Perak. Why? Of course it is because the dance has elements of other religions/faiths.
To top it up, according to the Home Ministry, Malays are not to read the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia.
