Chinese and Indians say they are being oppressed in Malaysia

Of course, we also hear the other side of the story from liberal Muslims such as the children and grandchildren of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and so on. No doubt, when you hear from Malays who have enough money to last ten generations, they will sing a different song. But the majority of the Malays in Malaysia just want to be left alone to practice their faith without being told by the non-Malays how Islam should be practiced or be called racists and extremists just because they believe in the Qur’an.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Why do the non-Malays and non-Muslims, and some liberal Malays-Muslims as well, want Malaysia to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination or ICERD?

The reason, they say, is because Malaysia practices state-sponsored racism and discrimination of non-Malays/non-Muslims like how Nazi Germany used to do. Some even call Malaysia’s New Economic Policy (NEP) a form of apartheid.

So, what is it they want? What do they hope to see happen once Malaysia ratifies ICERD?

They say they want equality for all races and religions and freedom of choice.

What equalities in particular are they talking about and what is the extent of the freedoms they are asking for?

They have not gone into details but if Malaysia wants to really become a civilised country, and no longer be considered a third-world country, then we need to look at, say, France as an example.

In France you have freedom to insult Islam and Prophet Muhammad

Why France? Well, in the late 1700s France abolished the oppressive and undemocratic monarchy and turned the country into a republic of the people, for the people, by the people, while in the early 1800s France got rid of the church and religion and the country was turned into a secular state.

More importantly, freedom in France extends to you can insult Prophet Muhammad in cartoons while if you make fun of the Jewish holocaust you will get arrested and will get sent to jail (so minorities such as Jews receive the highest level of protection in France).

And this is precisely what the Chinese, Indians and liberal Malays want to see happen in Malaysia. In fact, they insist that when Malaya became independent or merdeka in 1957, the country had in essence been turned into a secular state. Malaysia is not an Islamic state with Shariah laws as the law of the land.

Of course, equality for all means equal before the law so there must not be separate laws for Muslims while non-Muslims enjoy exemption from these laws. That would be unfair and unjust to Muslims who get punished for certain things that the Qur’an says are crimes while non-Muslims can do what they like.

Freedom of choice à la civilised countries or à la France is very broad. You are either pregnant or you are not. You cannot be a little bit pregnant. Hence this must include many things such as drawing cartoons that mock religion, becoming an atheist, entering into gay unions, and much more. You practically no longer draw lines and there are no boundaries. Freedom to be ‘indecent’ will be your right under the constitution.

Malays just want to be left alone without being told by the non-Muslims how Islam should be practiced or be told that Islam is uncivilised and barbaric

Equality and freedoms are big words. And the meaning is very broad. Most Malaysians do not realise this. They think they can cherry-pick what suits them and discard the rest. This will not happen. As America knows, the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the constitution but the consequences can be very damaging.

Of course, we also hear the other side of the story from liberal Muslims such as the children and grandchildren of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and so on. No doubt, when you hear from Malays who have enough money to last ten generations, they will sing a different song. But the majority of the Malays in Malaysia just want to be left alone to practice their faith without being told by the non-Malays how Islam should be practiced or be called racists and extremists just because they believe in the Qur’an.

Anyway, if the Chinese and Indians really feel they are being oppressed, maybe they should view these reports on how the Chinese treat Muslims in China. For sure the minorities in Malaysia do not suffer such a fate. So they should stop exaggerating by telling the international media how they are made to suffer in Malaysia.

Chinese and Indians say they are being treated like how Muslims are treated in China

https://youtu.be/hKf2qI8xgZo

https://youtu.be/8RWXihsv6Dw