APRIL 11 — You know how scorned lovers often lament about their loss of love, their rejection, how life is unfair, etc.? Is it not true that some of these folks, when pressed to discuss the reasons why their boy— or girlfriend has left them, nevertheless adopt an attitude of NOT wanting to know?
They would choose ignorance because the very act of being depressed is “enjoyable” in itself, a form of enjoyment which would be diminished should the truth come to light (that, say, the relationship had lost its romance or that one’s girlfriend couldn’t stand one’s constant bickering, etc.).
Such people simply cannot take the loss of enjoyment which comes from more understanding; they prefer to continue bemoaning and weeping over their lost love.
Not for the first time, consider the on-going (and seemingly never-ending) fiasco with “anti-Christianisation” seminars in Malaysia.
I’ve said this repeatedly and will say it again: Fundamentalist Muslims (like those within UiTM) require a constant element of fear as an integral part of that which constitutes its own faith. Not unlike some groups which can feel threatened by 5,000 copies of the Alkitab (the Bible in Malay language) coming in to the country; could parties like UiTM simply be doing nothing more than producing what they have to believe i.e. that other religions were up to no good?
Are threats to fundamentalist faith something which such faiths need to include into itself? Or, to twist it further, do fundamentalists ENJOY feeling threatened?
Like tooth-aches we complain about yet yearn to stimulate again and again. Like our own farts which we can’t help but inhale with anticipation. Like trauma victims reliving the ordeal non-stop. Like anti-vice or anti-LGBQT preachers who have a craving for gay porn.
It is NOT that Muslim fundamentalists are afraid that their members will commit apostasy and therefore feel the need to educate the community (and if this is so, the irrationality behind such a fear only begs the question of why).
It is that the fear of apostasy is part and parcel of what it means to be a fundamentalist, a fear which “makes up” the faith as they know it, a fear which drives them to even greater efforts at religious policing and outward “righteousness.” A fundamentalist faith without fear would be like Hollywood without narcissism.
In the context of inter-religious issues in Malaysia, then, it’s not about what people believe but how they believe. It’s about those aspects of their beliefs which do not “show up” in official doctrine yet manifest themselves in broad daylight (or, in this context, seminar titles).
Not unlike Panama?
The UiTM “anti-Christianisation” seminar is also a minor reflection of this week’s global scandal: the Panama Papers.
Thousands of super-rich people storing their wealth in offshore accounts in order to conceal how much dough they really possess. Is it illegal? Not quite, so what’s the problem?
The problem is not the unknown/dodgy income sources, not the shell companies, not the conflict of interests generated, not the tax avoidance (i.e. the loss of government income for public use), not the very probable links to money laundering and terrorism — it’s the fact that only the super-rich can do this.
Such a privilege (to have secret cash stashed somewhere, removed from any accountability whatsoever) not only reflects their elevated position, but also consolidates it. That’s what the world is pissed at.
Can we see the connection with the UiTM seminar?
The truth in Malaysia is that no other religious community or conference will be able to remotely run anything even resembling the “threat of Islam.” Like the Panama Papers, this not only shows you how much inappropriate power is held by certain parties, it’s also a way in which such parties extend their supremacy.
The question is: Is UiTM accountable to anybody in any meaningful way when they run these kinds of dodgy “intellectual discourses”?
Minister in the Higher Education Ministry Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said that UiTM merely wanted to discuss the threat of the Islamic State. That makes as much sense as the Islamic State telling the world that its true agenda was to educate the Middle-East on Buddhism.
Datuk Idris’ remark that the seminar was held “in accordance with constitutional provision” ironically echoes Paul Low’s comment that tax avoidance is perfectly legal — and that, in effect, Malaysians shouldn’t be overly concerned if certain rich, powerful members of the rakyat have secret accounts holding millions.
So, with Idris, it’s “Don’t worry, it’s just a talk about history”; with Low, “Chill, it’s all legal.” How convenient, then, that when a private party was gate-crashed and its participants arrested (including activist lawyer Siti Kassim) that the phrase, “Relax, it’s just entertainment” is deemed unacceptable.
If I was a UiTM big gun with any sense of honour, I would make public the slides and materials used during the seminar and if these are shown not to correspond heavily to any kind of “anti-ISIS” angle, I would either a) apologise or b) resign.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
