Two boats were
just rejected by Malaysia, a non-signatory member of UNHCR refugee’s
convention. Many of commented the action (or “inaction”) as rather inhumane and
selfish. Whilst agreeing that lives must be saved regardless of colours and
faiths, long term affecting factors must be addressed – employment in jobs and
socio-economy, mainly – because as witnessed in Myanmar currently, Rohingya’s
refugees are not to be sent back to their home in a month or two given the
current condition.
Pondering deeper
into the root of the conflict itself, the Myanmar’s politics and public
perception towards Muslims there, there are so much to learn on inter-religion
and inter-faith perception and relation.
It’s
stereotyping, or worse, with remote “tales”, that have endangered Rohingya and
possibly (but not hopefully) the Malaysians minority in the future.
It is interesting
to relate to Malaysia when Alan Strathern, an Oxford fellow writing in his
column (http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22356306) in BBC News Magazine pointed
out that it is a fear of being converted to Muslims, the ones they claim
“radical” and destructive to the whole world by building Islamic States that
drives their “defense mechanism”.
A dejavu is felt
there, isn’t it?
In Malaysia,
though have not experience civil war between faiths, we have long experienced
the generalized labeling and stereotyping towards members of opposite faiths,
especially ones driven by the fear of conversion.
Does labeling DAP
as a party that aims to convert Muslims to Christianity ring a bell? As for my
record, I remember receiving a pamphlet of a propaganda to reject DAP because
most of the Chinese DAP members are Christians, implying that DAP – directly or
indirectly – reject membership from Buddhist Chinese, quite explicitly.
Of course there
are more things like the fear of the cross sign, the holy water mixed with some
brands of drinking water to convert you to Christianity within days as well as
the “Allah” claim.
But to be fair,
members of other faiths are do get unjustifiably sensitive when non-Muslims are
given free copies of Koran.
Unlike in the UK
for example, Malaysian’s public are too afraid (or shy, if you prefer) to
engage with one another in inter-faiths talk and discourse. While there was
once a forum titled “Memeluk Islam” got banned here, BBC had taken an
initiative to televise a talk show to discuss the acceptance of LGBT community
in Islam, nationally!
We, bearing the
“traditional Asian minds” are to fearful of knowing new things and addressing
things we rarely discuss. So what did we do is we strictly confine ourselves in
our own side of knowing things. We never consider what the others think of
Jesus. Heck, some Malay Muslims might even get confused upon knowing the
English translation of the Prophet Isa in Koran is written as “Jesus”. And they
will go “Is this a Christian-sabotaged copy?”.
We have never
given our kids more choices to know more things outside of our own belief in
principles of lives and interaction between different races. What we do are
shouting racist stereotypical curses towards people different from us from
inside a car while our kids are sitting at the back. Now we wonder why the
racial relations never get better. Surprise, surprise!
It is now the
time for us to man up and start talking and more importantly, listening to what
the others got to say, not simply putting them in “hell residents” category.
If one believes
that his faith is the most righteous one, then what he got to do is to prove
it, not to smear dirt on it; give more reasons why people should join you, not
to stay away from you.
Now we already
heard someone said that some of the non-Muslims community here in Malaysia are
“kafir harbi”, the ones considerable to be executed in the name of Islam. If
you ever consider that, do consider this one as well; are you Burmese Bin Laden
wannabe?
