Reclaiming the higher moral ground

Pembela has to come off its high horse, restrategise and leave its perceived xenophobia. Its recent forum which was poorly attended despite huge publicity should sound a warning bell for its continued relevance. Pembela has to reclaim the higher moral ground. It cannot rely and hang on to the shrills and thrills of the bigoted and jingoistic Perkasa's inflammatory bandwagon. Perkasa's modus operandi of blowing up hot air, severe alarmism and extreme hollers achieves nothing for the community. Perkasa's agenda seems only to be scaring Malays and Muslims into becoming a besieged community ever paranoid distrusting everyone except its ever scheming and corrupted leaders. Perkasa makes it its only goal of not wanting Malays to change.

Pembela cannot be associated with lies and deception just because it believes it is fighting for a good cause. Pembela must side with justice and uphold truthfulness. If not, the Muslims it represents, the people's hope and our trust is put in bad light.

Pembela has just cause and genuine concern which Muslims cherish and support. However, it must not betray this faith by being a pliant political accomplice of an ailing and desperate ruling regime. Pembela has to remain upright, honest and true to its noble spirit without fear or favour.

Pembela should not have defended Utusan's inexcusable diatribes and irresponsible racist spins especially the latest mischievous attempt at Christian baiting. Pembela should be above such low journalistic morals and it must spurn gutter politics. Such despicable newspaper reports and followed by upsetting shoddy reactions only afford Christians a higher moral ground, gives them stronger resolve and unfortunately shows up as further evidence of their perceived persecution.

Utusan's persistent lies and slander must come to an end. Pembela should not tie its fate to such misguided purveyors of doom, mischief and disorder.

Bahaya Sang Saka Bangsa

Itulah bagi orang-orang fasik yang inginkan sangat dipanah halilintar, mereka suka sangat bersumpah dan sering mencabar susunan serta ketenteraman peradaban masyarakat. Mereka gemar memecahkan suasana aman damai dan harmoni. Mereka kata mereka hanya ingin membawa kebaikan untuk agama, bangsa dan negara. Dentuman hujan batu tidaklah menerjah bumi yang mereka pijak namun fitnah yang dijaja memberanakkan lagi fasad dan mungkar yang berjela-jela.

Segala mambang dan jembalang dijelmakan dengan hantu-hantu raya lama dibela melalui akhbar-akhbar saka berbisa. Pontianak dan langsuyar diupah dan dihantar merata-rata memaki hamun dan mencarut tanpa batas dan hilang hormat diri. Maka segala macam santau dan peleset dikirim melalui utusan pena-pena penulis berpuaka yang memberitakan secara harian. Gerombolan keris mengamuk menggila. Katanya apabila bulan purnama mengambang, lagi meraung kumpulan pemuja ini.

Akibatnya jenuh jiwa dan semangat Melayu dilanyak dan diasak dengan tahyul dan mitos cerita buniyan. Orang Melayu dibuai halimunan dan ditakutkan-takutkan dengan jaruman halus dan tikaman tajam untuk mencurigai jiran, meninggalkan kawan, mengkhianati sahabat, memporak peranda agama, melanggar pantang larang muhibbah dan meninggalkan kebijaksanaan akal.

Fitnah jahat menjadi-jadi bermaharajalela sebagai mentera untuk menghapuskan musuh politik dan memperdayakan umat. Pawang dan bomoh memuntahkan lagi jampi dendam kesumat. Dukun sesat muncul di kalangan pemimpin yang sepatutnya lebih waras dan berilmiah. Alangkah bisa racun ditanam di dalam dada-dada siaran dan kaca-kaca TV. Pengacara media dan askar maya meludahkan santau dan kahak jangkitan pembohongan. Para agamawan rasmi yang mungkin kurang cermat melepaskan tangan, menyimpan diam dan membiarkan poyang dan syaman menabur upas dan menyesatkan lagi masyarakat.

Kaca, miang buluh dan jarum dicucuk sehingga menjerit kesakitan batang tubuh negara yang ingin bebas dan terlepas daripada rasukan histeria penguasa gila kuasa yang melepaskan gerombolan penyebar naba' fasik - berita jahat. Sihir gila dinamakan propaganda lebih dahsyat daripada ilmu hitam segenap nusa. Katanya ada sang penunggu tua mahawangsa di sebuah menara yang merancang dan mengatur kejahatan ini semua.

Tiada yang terselamat dari sentuhan khurafat dan usaha toyol-toyol merosakkan dan mengelabui umat dengan tuduhan kesat dan tayangan lucah. Tidak cukup dengan itu, Cina dan Nasrani pun dituduh secara merasuk dan meracau.

Maka si fasik masih bersumpah merasa senang hati tiada disambar petir dan kilat. Hanya umat merana kerana alah bisa yang tak berubat hinggalah akhir padahnya.

Siapalah yang akan menjunjung panduan kebenaran dan membawa ayat-ayat syifa bagi penawar memulihkan keruntuhan jatidiri bangsa dan menyelamatkan negara?

Tell me lies

A while back several years ago, a friend called up from Ipoh on a Sunday. He sounded very emotional and asked me why I was not there at the vicinity of a church. He said that they had gathered and surrounded it because of word that a mass conversion was about to take place. There already many people inside the church, he confided. I told him to get out of there because it was a hoax. I said that Christians pray mass on Sundays so there is nothing unusual with the many people going to church on that day. My friend simply huffed saying that he got the information of the purported conversion through people of authority. It seemed that someone with clout had gone on preaching about mass conversions or apostasy. It turned out to be untrue after all but had left an indelible mark on everyone, with some still not accepting that it was just a futile ruse.

I remember an incident in my daughter's school when she reported that she was bodily searched by teachers looking for blasphemous symbols. They were looking for crosses supposedly being worn by subjecting schoolgirls to embarrassing searches. Again, someone had spread the incredible news that some of our girls were being converted by wearing such crosses.

Then, there was the ridiculous rumour of the holy water thing. Word had it that a sprinkle of such priestly water can turn someone away from his or her faith. It had the magic powers of breaking the shahadah or the testimony of faith. Again, people became unduly worried and suspicious. Defence of the faith had become reduced to dealing with absurd threats. I asked Animah Ferrar, a Muslim scholar who was previously Catholic about such matters at a seminar and she assured us that Catholics do not associate any power or magic with such rituals. Muslims ought to know better.

A funny anecdote on conjured up threats was when a much hyped speaker introduced to his audience a hand signal in his motivational talk. This hand signal was purportedly about secret Satanic gestures for Black Metal worshippers. This infamous hand signal was becoming popular among teens loafing about in shopping malls around the country. The signal was in the form of putting up the thumb, forefinger and last finger. It looks like a devil with two horns and a tail, if you look at it that way. Luckily, a member of the audience who was familiar with working with the deaf and sign language as well as adolescent teens straightened the issue with the sign. She pointed out that in standard sign language it is the short form for the letters I, L and Y meaning I love you. So teenagers adopted this as their gestures reflecting their coming of age which may be morally questionable and problematic but definitely not Satanic!

Indeed much jive and hype had been made of the heavy or black metal thing but it seems to be a passing phase but well spun among captive Malay audience. Moral challenges facing our youth are indeed grave but solutions have to be forthright and must not be led by ignorance or deception.

Another dubious story was a tragic and moving one. It involved a apostate daughter who visited his father's shop with her fiancé resulting in humiliating her father and beating him up. The person known to infamously relate this incredulous story is one of those defecting MP's who made his name back then from regurgitating such believable myths and far fetched apostasy threats.

Hence, it is not surprising that the propaganda agenda has been raised or reduced to such incendiary reporting and Christian baiting. After all, everyday Utusan bashes the Chinese and tries its best to terminate a character called Anwar Ibrahim.

When the ruling fears lost of political support base, it begins to undergo lost of political nerves, leading to lost of morality. It then becomes unjust in its actions, spirals out of control and condones lies and deception. It has lost the spirit of Malaysia, it only retains slogans which it cannot fulfil.

The Malaysian public deserves much better. They cannot be treated as fools be they whatever race, colour or creed.

We must uphold truth and justice and disassociate ourselves from bigots, extremists, provocateurs, political opportunists and desperados who trade the future for short term ill-gotten gains.