Poor Edi blamed tiredness for his bad behaviour. Maybe the folks of Kampung Manjoi were tired too. Maybe they were tired of seeing non-Malays enjoying themselves after a hard day’s work with a cold brew, laughing and talking with like-minded citizens.

Maybe they thought that excessive laughter was verboten in Bumi Melayu and it was their job to see that people do not have access to substances which encourage such behaviour.

Told and taught

Think about it. You are told that your race is superior. You are told that your religion is superior. You are told that the other communities should be grateful to exist in your country.

You are told that other cultures are unequal to your culture. You are told that you are allowed to run amok if things do not go your way. You are taught that other races should not intrude into your domains.

You are told that the political system will protect you because nobody wants to spook your race. Is anyone surprised when political operatives who have far more rights, then engage in such behaviour? 

The question we as non-Muslims have to ask ourselves is why aren’t Muslim political operatives who are supposed to be allies and defenders of the Constitution not sticking up for the rights of non-Muslims?

Meanwhile, as a woman MP, Kok has to endure the harassment that comes with being a non-Muslim woman in this country and the religious misogyny that comes with that. What do I mean by that?

We do not have to go very far to understand how the religious state has demonised non-Muslim women when it comes to issues like dressing and piety.

We live in a time when petty minions of the state attempt to enforce dress codes in government buildings. We live in a time when political operatives like PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang declare that non-Muslims should dress decently to be respected.

The reason why Langkawi MP Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah, who is from Perikatan Nasional, made that remark which constitutes harassment in my opinion, is because he does not respect Kok.

If you do not respect someone, an uncivilized person feels he does not have to demonstrate an ounce of courtesy or civility.

There is enough empirical evidence to suggest that many Muslim women face pressure to wear the headscarf, indeed one Malaysiakini columnist related how her college-going daughter was pressured by her female contemporaries to “cover up” but chose to deal with it in her own way.

Some Muslim women do not think it is an obligation to cover up. Liberals are always telling us that covering up is a choice and not an obligation as some Muslims claim.

A country of equals

Non-Muslims are constantly told not to hurt the sensitivities of Muslims in this country. This is why non-Muslims cannot use certain words, cannot construct their places of worship in the manner they choose, cannot proselytise, and lately, cannot hold fellowship with Muslims in certain states because apparently, this would confuse their Muslim brethren.

Yet, we are told we live in a country of equals. We live in a country of equals where a young non-Muslim/non-Malay kid cannot dream of becoming the prime minister because this would spook the Malays.

Non-Muslim communities, although having to struggle, have for the most part overcome the systemic dysfunction against them.

And this has been used against the non-Muslim communities. Our success in the face of systemic discrimination has been weaponised against us.

If we are successful, this is at the expense of the majority of Malays. If we stand up for our rights, which necessarily means everyone’s rights, we are warned not to spook the Malays.

Consider this a response to Malaysiakini columnist Andrew Sia’s piece on Oct 30.