China must be universally condemned for Ramadan ban!
Ng Kee Seng, The Ant Daily
China is again in the international media’s focus for all the shamefully wrong reasons. Its authoritarian rule and blatant disregard for human rights and religious freedom are just unbelievable.
All peace-loving Malaysians hope that what is being practised in China will not be exploited by religious bigots and zealots to mean Malaysian Chinese endorse China’s bigoted sense of civilised administration.
A July 2 International Business Times (IBT) report titled “China Bans Ramadan: Uyghur Muslims Punished for Fasting in Holy Month” is most certainly disturbing.
It is as shameful as the religious disputes that had been hogging the media limelight in Malaysia. It is nothing more than repression and escalating conflicts.
Religious intolerance is certainly no more just a domestic affair but a growing global concern that reeks of world disunity.
Not only is Malaysia in a dilemma with China’s religious and human rights intolerance, but the rest of the world is also at loggerheads with the world’s most populous nation and biggest economy.
Malaysia’s bilateral relations with China, like the rest of the world’s, are to be treated with care for it is the country’s biggest trading partner.
According to the Malaysia’s Department of Statistics April release, China accounts for 14 per cent of the country’s total trade of RM473.2 billion for the first quarter this year.
The balance of trade between Malaysia and China is in the latter’s favour, with China accounting for 12.4 per cent of Malaysia’s exports and 15.9 per cent of its imports.
Can Malaysia, or for that matter any country in the world, afford to sour ties with China and risk trading interests?
