“Hadi’s bill will drag us back to the Dark Ages” — Boo Su-lyn
(Tanjak) – In her weekly Malay Mail Online column today, Boo Su-lyn touted the template of a letter prepared by Bebas which voters could use to petition their MPs to vote against RUU355.
Afghanistan will happen in Malaysia “if we don’t stop the trend of religious fundamentalism”, says the MMO assistant news editor – pix below – earlier in her speech at the recent anti-RUU355 rally.
The anti-355 folks think if Hadi Awang’s bill to amend the parliament act is passed, “Malaysia will eventually turn into a Taliban state”.
Boo Su-lyn’s opinion above anchors the groupthink of the Bebas activists who wish their personal lives to be free of Islamic law.
Boo is baffled that premarital or consensual sex is being criminalized in Malaysia, asking, “How does any of that hurt anyone?”
According to her, “They [religious authorities] cannot tell us what to eat, how to dress or who to have sex with. That is for us to decide, not the government”.
She feels oppressed that “people have been killed during khalwat raids” where some officers of the enforcement squads were alleged to have “behaved like thugs” or “acting like Peeping Toms who only have sex on their minds”.
Boo Su-lyn speaking at anti-355 rally
“Fight for our way of life”
Ms Boo vehemently objects to the idea that just “because Malaysia is supposedly an ‘Islamic’ country, all Malaysians, including non-Muslims, must follow Islamic laws”.
Among Boo’s laundry list of Islamization complaints include the raid on “our businesses”, confiscation of the bible and dress code for members of the public visiting government offices and hospitals.
Boo further complains they [religious authorities and orthodox Muslims] have gotten “more and more paranoid over halal issues” to the point of forcing “our children to eat in toilets at school during Ramadan”.
This strict preservation of Islamic sensitivities, particularly over the haram aspect, has tyranized Boo Su-lyn and her Bebas friends so much so that “we feel we’re too dirty for them, as if our very existence offends them”, she laments.
It seems grossly unfair to Boo that she is being told to Balik Cina, treated like a second class citizen and warned not to interfere in Muslim matters when at the same time “they are interfering with our lives every single day”.
Our tax money is not dirty though
Ms Boo is moreover getting unpleasant vibes that non-Muslims of Tongsan origin are unwanted in Malaysia, on top of being made to feel “dirty” over the Muslim halal imperatives.
“Yet, they’re happy enough taking our money, money from non-Muslim taxpayers, to fund their moral policing,” Boo adds.
She suggests that if PAS really wants to increase the court penalties, then the Islamist party ought to fund the entire syariah system themselves.
“Don’t take money from non-Muslim taxpayers or from Muslims who oppose Hadi’s bill,” grumbles Boo.
“Let PAS and their supporters pay the salaries of religious officers who conduct khalwat raids. Let them pay for the cost of jailing people for 30 years over syariah offences. Let them pay for everything,” she continues.
“Don’t tell us not to interfere but take our money!”
So on the one hand, the religious conservatives are agitating for a wider implementation of syariah. On the other hand, the secular liberals – who are centain they contribute the most income tax to the state coffers – refuse to be compelled to foot the bill.
“That’s not what we pay taxes for,” insists Boo.
