Islamophobic media hit the panic button
Sin Chew sliding down the slippery slope
By Danial Ariff Shaari, Tanjak
I wish to respond to an article ‘Hadi’s bill a cause for concern’ carried by the Malay Mail Online (MMO) on Nov 25, and which was originally published in the Sin Chew Daily (SCD) on Nov 24.
The Sin Chew editorial is obviously paradoxical when its inherent oxymoron can be found within a single meandering sentence. Here is the extract:
“Perhaps, if we just look at the bill per se, non-Muslims may not even need to be overly sensitive over it — as those people [Umno and PAS leaders] have claimed — but once the issue is placed within the realistic frame of Malaysia, the crisis could be just lurking around the corner and we absolutely have good reasons to be worried.”
In one sentence, they admit that there is no need to be overly sensitive and worried but immediately after the comma, they also claim that there is indeed a need to be worried given the “realistic frame of Malaysia”.
They’re “easily confused”, evidently.
Now I have a few issues.
First, there are clearly paradoxical statements in this extract.
In fact, it is true that non-Muslims should not be worried and be overly sensitive as the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 – popularly known by its shorthand ‘RUU355’ – only concerns Muslims after all.
Second, this is nothing less than a slippery slope fallacy which is made upon the belief that whatever happens at the present, something might follow in the future. That is why in the latter part of the article, the author claims as follows:
“However, the bill is a foundation stone paving the way for the implementation of hudud law in the future.”
So the Sin Chew editor(s) admit there is no hudud as yet but predict that hudud is soon to come, and this dire forecast should make Malaysians very worried.
Third, it is clear that even SCD and MMO fail to impose the narrative that RUU355 is about hudud. On the other hand, they are well aware and understand that the present RUU355 is not the hudud that they fear might be proposed to be implemented in the future.
Fourth, this extract proves the slippery slope fallacy in its line of argument that RUU355 will be a door or stepping stone towards implementing hudud as put forth by SCD and its like.
It’s a fear shared by MMO, DAP, MCA, the Federation of Hokkien Associations (pix below), lawyer Siti Kasim and anti-Islam propagandists who are proponents of liberalism and secularism.
