Only right to respond with reason

TWO weeks into a new year and an old issue rears its head again. A Muslim MP made a statement about the “inappropriate” way alcoholic drinks were displayed to the public in a shopping mall in Penang. Judging from the reactions the statement garnered, Malaysians still do not know how to deal with sensitive racial and religious issues 60 years into nationhood. At this rate, we will never change. I would like to present a different strategy to handle this issue that will, hopefully, offer a way we can live together in some semblance of harmony.

A few days before that statement was made, I already had an inkling that something like it might crop up. How? Well, when I was at a mall in Kuala Lumpur recently, I saw a lot of lovely hampers being sold in the central concourse. I love looking at hampers and have bought a few over the years, so I went over to check them out. When I saw that the prices went up to over RM1,000, I wondered if they might have alcohol in them; close scrutiny did indeed reveal bottles of alcohol.

I did not think anything of it except to decide not to buy any for my Chinese friends as I do not know which of them drink and which do not.

I never once thought that the display of alcohol in the main aisle was wrong because its presence was disguised by the lovely designs of the hampers as well as tanglung (lanterns) and artificial cherry blossom trees placed around the Chinese-looking pavilions.

As a person who has many Chinese friends dating all the way back to my alma mater SMJK Hua Lian, being around alcohol is just biasa (ordinary) to me. When I’m invited to our get-togethers, there is always alcohol around. I never mind it because I don’t drink and have never been tempted to.

When I was studying architecture in Wisconsin in the United States, some of my Malay friends drank alcohol; now all of them are retired and trying their best to be on the side of “good Islam”. My father drank beer once in our police flat but never did again after my mother had a quiet word with him.

I grew up understanding that drinking alcohol is the right of others and that Muslims were not to have it, that’s all. I never associated alcohol with “bad people” since many of my friends, both Muslim and non-Muslim, drink, even now. To me, people are good because they have compassion for others and accord dignity to all, not because of what they do or don’t drink.

Now, what happened in Penang? After the PAS MP made that statement, a member of the DAP responded by saying something along the lines that we’re living in a multicultural society so the display of alcohol is supposed to be tolerated by all.

This response is how we Malaysians have long dealt with religious sensitivities. It’s a knee-jerk response – we practise freedom of speech but never wisdom of thought. I feel such responses tend to fan the flames of an issue and worsen relationships among the different faiths and races.

If we could take a step back and deal with such issues in a different way, then perhaps much of the conflict between faiths could be averted or diluted. We shouldn’t become accessories to inflammatory situations or add fuel to the fire.

What if the DAP MP first asked local authorities whether the required permits had been issued to sell alcohol during the lunar festivities more openly than is the usual way? If the authorities said yes, then there would be no issue as most local authorities are Muslim.

Or what if he asked the opinion of a mufti or an academic with religious credentials about the issue? Perhaps the answer would have been a neutral one that didn’t give any political party ammunition for state elections. Or at least ask a Muslim member of DAP to respond to the concerns of the PAS MP using both religious and institutional reasons.

All religiously sensitive issues raised by MPs and others previously, like wearing a tudung, concerts or the dog issue, must be addressed seriously and not be dismissed or belittled by others.

I happen to think that all of these are non-issues to begin with as I understand deeply the real teachings of Islam. But most Malays generally have a cultural understanding of their own religion and they are not as tolerant. Understanding that context of Malays in society, we must use our wisdom to deal with these issues so that we do not inflame the situation or, worse, provide the extremists in our midst with ammunition.

Let us practise a little bit of wisdom rather than respond recklessly under the guise of democracy or free speech. The Malays have a saying, “Terlajak perahu boleh diundur, terlajak kata, buruk padahnya” (a boat that goes too far can be turned back, but words that go too far will lead to disaster).

Let us pray that the Chinese New Year brings much needed wisdom to us all so we can change our ways in order to live peacefully in this country.

Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Studies at UCSI University. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.