OCT 22 — I am appealing to the Home Minister to immediately ban the word bodoh (stupid). I have heard this word being used all too frequently of late in many places, from Sarawak to the business districts of Kuala Lumpur. I know the law says that a ban is only called for if the use of a word endangers public order and security, but that’s the official requirement.  For all intents and purposes, the Home Minister’s certification and belief is sufficient.

You remember the word “Allah”? The person who banned the word was from Johor and he was not happy with the way it was being used. At that time, many Muslims in the Peninsula didn’t even know that East Malaysians have been using the word to mean “God”. Did the Home Minister tender any evidence before the court to show that organised violence was being perpetrated against the public because of the use of the word?  Was there evidence that it was part of a plan to convert Muslims to Christianity? None whatsoever.

In Sarawak, where the word has been used in the last 200 years, the people never once expressed anger and disappointment with the use of the word. Only some Malays (some of them immigrants) from the Peninsula were unhappy. Still, the ban was held to be valid. We clearly do not need evidence in this country, just beliefs. And when the people are unhappy with the decision, just remind them that they can be charged for contempt!

With the word bodoh, the Minister also does not need to provide evidence of his belief. He just has to believe that the use of the word bodoh by non-Muslims is detrimental to public order and security.  Ibrahim Ali & Co are there to make it look like the whole country wants the ban. Without it, a non-Muslim may use the word bodoh indiscriminately and we will never know their intention or context. Chances are he or she is deliberately and subtly implying that Muslims are bodoh.

This could be part of a plan to attack Islam by using the word bodoh repeatedly, and by process of hypnosis, the Muslims might be persuaded to believe that they are indeed bodoh. This will then weaken the community in the fight to save Islam. This of course will endanger national security and cause public disorder. The Court could also support such a decision by saying that the use of the word bodoh is not an integral part of the life of non-Muslims so they should not utter it at all.

There are other words that should also be banned but I will come to them later. For the moment, I feel that non-Muslims are “targeting” me whenever they use the word bodoh (even if they are talking to their dog) and I need the Home Minister to intervene on behalf of the community. If non-Muslims do not like the ban they can always go and live elsewhere, for there are many places in the world where bodoh is not used at all.

Alternatively, if the ban is felt to be unwise just a few days after the historic Court of Appeal judgement, then I appeal to the Prime Minister to direct the bloated department JAKIM to make sure that Friday sermons dedicate themselves to addressing this issue. We as Malays and Muslims should never allow non-Muslims, particularly Christians and the liberal Muslims, to use the word bodoh. We are entitled to conclude that their intentions are not good and we are entitled to think the worst of them. They should know that if we feel insulted or if they hurt our feelings or if we are just plain unhappy with their conduct, it constitutes “endangering national security and public order.” Hidup Melayu!

* Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim is a prominent Malaysian lawyer turned politician and is a former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of legal affairs and judicial reform. ** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.