hypocrites

Malaysiakini : Latheefa Koya, the former MACC chief, has claimed that someone high up threatened the whistleblower. Let us assume that there is a conspiracy to silence the whistleblower and cover up this corruption scandal.

The politically strategic thing for Madani to do is to announce that the government takes these allegations extremely seriously and an investigation would be carried out.

The whistleblower would be afforded protection by the state, and the graftbusting body would have carried out an investigation.

This way, Madani could have stage-managed everything, mitigated the damage and generated optics that would make it seem that Madani was tackling corruption seriously.

Instead, what we witnessed was a manure show of epic proportions. This, to me at least, demonstrated that Madani does not even care what the rakyat thinks.

Instead, the participants in this sordid drama are issuing laughable denials, the MACC by perception is seen to be either abetting or enabling their denials and the political class remains silent.

The way things are and will continue to be

Why, for instance, is the opposition not making this an issue? Well, because they understand that this is the way they are going to handle things when they assume power.

In fact, by remaining silent, they allow Madani to be the corrupt party in this, and what they say will not come back to bite their behinds when they assume power and do the same thing.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose platform on the campaign trail was governmental corruption and malfeasance, has now become the poster boy for enabling the kleptocratic class.

Anwar claimed the charges against his number two, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, were politically motivated.

He has defended convicted felon and former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s reduced sentence. His home minister apparently has the power to define any location as a prison.

And now, of course, his number two publicly hopes that another former prime minister gets the “justice” he did when it comes to the latter’s corruption investigation.

If this is not a “wink, wink”, I do not know what is.

All part of complex, corrupt system

Let us be honest here. We can talk about “big fishes” when it comes to corruption, but recall when Pakatan Harapan was in power for the first time.

Remember when the investigation into former Sarawak governor Abdul Taib Mahmud - perhaps the white whale of oppositional talking points when it came to corruption - came to a standstill?

Then de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong said: “They were not new evidence that would allow MACC to open a new investigation paper.”

At the time, Latheefa said of the status of high-profile cases: “However, not all complaints ended up being investigated, especially those with evidence which were just printouts from the internet.”

This was a really queer thing to say because Harapan made its case against corruption from printouts from the internet or at the very least had no problem making such cases against their political adversaries.

Now, do not get me wrong. I think that Latheefa and Lawyers For Liberty are doing good work here, but ultimately, what they are doing is exposing the corruption of the system in place, one which has been sustained because of the will of the political class and its factotums.

The entire political system of this country is part of a complex ecosystem of private and public interests that seek not only political hegemony but also religious hegemony.

We are not dealing with corrupt individuals within a system but rather a system of corruption with a few honest men and women.

Rotten to the core, for decades

Corruption is not a recent phenomenon, but rather it is part of the DNA of the organism fueled by racial and religious imperatives and a compromised electoral system.

Umno/BN designed the system, and Madani is attempting to replicate it, so any attempt at corrective measures is met by a deluge of propaganda or the spectre of the “Green Wave”.

Let us not forget that when we talk of corruption we are not only talking about the corruption of the political elites but also of institutions which are considered sacred cows to the bangsa (race) and agama (religion) crowd.

So you see, even though I believe that there are many honest political operatives in Harapan, they are outnumbered by people who are willing to make compromises and sustain the system either for political gain or because they are so narcotised by their political party that to make waves would be detrimental to their political survival.

The tragedy here is that Madani is doing something about corruption, albeit nothing that would reform the system.

This is something that PN is not even capable of doing. When it comes to corruption in this country, it truly is the devil’s alternative.

Yes, his deportation is extraordinary and should give any American pause. It is not every day that the U.S. government takes such decisive action against a university student for their so-called “political speech.” But should Khalil’s advocacy for Hamas—along with his support for the hordes of zealous Palestinian “civilians” who gleefully and grotesquely committed the atrocities of October 7—not be regarded as even more extraordinary?

The real question is: Which should shock us more—Khalil’s likely removal, or the reality that a guest in our country, within one of our major American universities no less, was not only permitted—but actively aided in fomenting hatred for Jews and publicly supporting Hamas, a designated terrorist organization responsible for some of the most brutal atrocities in modern history?

Free speech is, of course, a central issue here. The First Amendment guarantees the right to express even the most offensive opinions. Yet, even in the freest societies, there are limits.

To refresh your memory:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The government has long drawn a line between free speech and incitement. According to reports Mahmoud Khalil crossed that line—from ‘peaceable’ protest to incitement to the manifestation of actual violence.

The Limits of Free Speech

Khalil, an international student on a green card, allegedly engaged in activities that not only glorified Hamas but also actively disseminated its propaganda and facilitated campus demonstrations that escalated into outright intimidation of Jewish students.

This isn’t a simple case of a student voicing unpopular views. It’s about whether a person residing in this country should be permitted to openly advocate for a terrorist organization that has tortured, raped, and murdered civilians, including Americans, in cold blood. And as of this writing, Hamas is still holding 59 hostages in Gaza. This includes 24 individuals presumed to be alive—22 Israelis, one Thai national, and one Nepali national. Additionally, the bodies of 35 hostages who were confirmed dead remain in Hamas’s custody.

Imagine the Double Standard

Consider for a moment if a student had led massive rallies praising the Ku Klux Klan and calling for violence against Black students. Or if a campus group openly cheered attacks against LGBTQ+ people. Or imagine a university allowing a student to distribute materials praising the murder of Latinos and calling for the destruction of Mexico, El Salvador, or Colombia.

Would anyone hesitate to remove that student?…

It’s a cri de coeur, from a long way down. Read the rest here. I found it impressive. And, just possibly, you may, too.

Malaysiakini : What serious offence did the duo commit to warrant such treatment?

The police force, especially then inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, said the arrests were made for “insulting Islam” after the death of PAS spiritual leader Haron Din the previous day.

In Ooi’s case, the police interpreted the Spanish word adios (goodbye) as derogatory.

The truth is that the police can be “super-efficient” if they choose. If it is argued that this incident occurred in September 2016 and the situation has changed, let’s look at a later case.

In March last year, Ricky Shane Cagampang, 33, pleaded guilty in the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court to making a Facebook post deemed insulting to Islam concerning the sale of socks bearing the word Allah.

The case was investigated, and the offender was arrested, got a nod from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, produced in court, convicted, and sent to prison - all in five days.

Velvet gloves for PAS

Last week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail both claimed the police do not use favouritism or double standards in investigating cases related to race, religion, and royalty.

But on Sunday, Saifuddin told a different story.

He said that if Putrajaya is strict in enforcing laws involving the “3R” issues of religion, race, and royal institution, leaders from PAS would make up most of those implicated.

“I can confirm that if action were taken based on existing laws, many of (PAS secretary-general) Takiyuddin Hassan’s colleagues would be affected,” Sinar Harian quoted him as saying.

“If I or the police were to enforce provisions under the Penal Code, the (Communications and Multimedia Act), or other laws, they would be among the most frequently penalised,” he added.

So, he is confirming that members of the Islamic party are treated with velvet gloves and, above all, there is selective police action and prosecution.

Is this why no action has been taken against those making provocative statements touching the 3Rs?

Is Zamri untouchable too?

Is this why Muslim convert preacher Zamri Vinoth has not been touched and allowed to continue to taunt and mock the Hindu religion on social media?

Zamri last week said Hindus performing the Kavadi ritual “dance” are like those who are drunk or possessed.

After Meta removed his post on Sunday, he re-posted it later that night, claiming he did not need to be remorseful for his remarks as he only stated facts.

He defiantly wrote: “I only stated facts and truth. No court has decided that what I wrote insulted anyone nor has there been a ruling telling me to remove the post.”

Is this why he defies the government and its institutions with impunity?

Is this why calls by government MPs and ministers continue to fall on deaf ears? Is Zamri one of those “untouchables” like PAS leaders who can say anything and everything as if above the law?

This is not the first time Zamri has mocked, ridiculed, and scorned the Hindu religion and it will not be the last. He will continue his tirade unless he faces the full wrath of the law.

But when the police close the files on his cases and classify them as “NFA” (no further action), can we expect anything?

Anwar and Saifuddin cannot pull wool over our eyes and continue to say one thing and do another. They must ensure that the laws of the land are applied equally and fairly to all.

Malaysiakini : COMMENT | We should start with what Zamri Vinoth said: “If you find it upsetting, then stop doing it so that others won’t follow.

“If you choose to continue, then don’t be offended (when others mock it). So, pick one.”

He is saying that the religious practices of Hindus are debased (macam orang kena rasuk) while intoxicated (mabuk todi), but if you do not want people to mock your debased practices, stop doing them.

In other words, Zamri, who has links with the state religious bureaucracy, is telling Hindus that they have to stop their religious practices if they do not want people to mock them.

If you listen to what Zamri says or even Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, another state-linked religious convert, you will notice the echoes of what Zakir Naik pushes in his “inspirational” sermons.

This idea that there is something wrong with your faith is why conversion is necessary to ameliorate doubts about your faith and circumstances.

You have to understand who Zamri is - a preacher who was arrested and then released in 2019 for a sermon which insulted Hindus in Malaysia.

Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin claimed that Zamri was only testifying when it came to his personal experience with the Hindu faith.

What Zamri was doing as a professional proselytiser was creating a narrative for Muslims to use to convert Hindus in the course of his professional duties.

Understanding Zamri

You have to understand the role of a preacher like Zamri.

A follower of Zakir and member of Angkatan Skuad Mubaligh Malaysia, Zamri is known as an “independent” preacher as if there are a plurality of Islamic narratives in this country. There isn’t.

The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) hooked up with Zamri in 2017 to give courses on the Tamil language to increase productivity when it comes to proselytising in a multilingual milieu.

What this course was supposed to do was make it easier for Muslim preachers (state-sanctioned) attempting to convert Indians, using Tamil as an entry point into their lives.

The idea of Muslim converts as the perfect vehicles to proselytise is nothing new.

Ridhuan, for instance, always pleaded “special knowledge” when it came to the Chinese community, hence, his “attacks” against the community had the appearance of legitimacy to a certain section of the Muslim community.

This idea of using converts to preach is propagated by proselytising faiths all over the world.

I understand the Hindu outrage when it comes to what Zamri said.

While most Hindus expect their faith to be mocked, especially in the current political climate, the reason why the video of these deejays mocking Thaipusam struck close to home was that this spiritual experience is both personal and public to the community.

It is a personal act of devotion on public display. This, of course, means it is open to interpretation and discussion.

Power to sanction

The problem with the religious discourse in this country is not that people are going about insulting each other’s religion, but rather the state has the power to sanction people for trespassing on religious and racial issues.

This power is often applied unequally, with the state-sanctioned religion and its adherents getting off scot-free, when the same does not apply to the other religions.

The question is, will the state take action against Zamri, or will the religious apparatus of the state take action against him?

The state apparatus took days to take action against Zamri’s post.

This preacher, in response to a rather dumb debate challenge by MIC, claimed that this was probably the first time in history that a Hindu MP was up for debate, which just goes to show you how ignorant this preacher is.

If this had been a transgression against the religion of the state, all hell would have broken loose.

Clearly, if you follow Jakim’s reasoning, Zamri did something that went against the tenets of Islam.

However, various Muslim political leaders have cautioned against raising religious sentiments instead of calling for the sanction of this preacher.

Maybe he did this because he thinks that since he has been arrested by the state and let off, sued by people and let off and has faced no sanctions from the state religious bureaucracy, he believes that what he said was in accordance with the teachings of Islam and the ideas promulgated by Jakim.

Or is Zamri mocking Jakim? Maybe Jakim understands that whoever is backing him is more powerful and has more influence than Jakim?

Maybe Zamri understands that Jakim will not take action against someone whom the state has relied on in their proselytising efforts?

Sowing discontent

What we are dealing with here are state-sponsored religious provocateurs. We are dealing with people whose aim is to sow discontent in the Indian Malaysian community.

The fact that Zamri continues to be a state actor when it comes to religious discourse should tell us something about the way Jakim views other religions.

The fact that Zamri can openly mock the supposed tenets of Jakim and the religion of the state is demonstrative of how much influence he and his ilk have over Madani.

You have to wonder, is the state enabling Zamri to engage in Zakir-type proselytising?

In Libya, converting to Christianity is a crime punishable by death. For instance, a Christian convert from a Muslim background received a death sentence in September 2022. He remains imprisoned while his case is pending with the Supreme Court.

In March 2023, at least six Libyan Christians from a Muslim background were also arrested. The authorities tried to force them (under torture) to recant their faith. At the same time, two American Christians were arrested and forcibly expelled from the country following accusations of proselytizing.

The main Christian groups in Libya currently consist of Sub-Saharan migrants and some Egyptian Copts. Open Doors reports that all Coptic Orthodox churches in the country have been destroyed or abandoned. The remaining Sub-Saharan African Christians are doubly vulnerable to persecution and discrimination based on race and religion.

There are few church buildings that remain standing in Libya. They remain vulnerable targets for an attack, especially by Islamic groups.

Virtually all Muslims in Libya belong to Sunni Islam. Sharia law is upheld throughout the country. Muslim converts to Christianity face violent pressure from family, their community and the government to renounce their new faith. Hence, most Libyan nationals who are Christians keep their faith secret.

Homes where Christians live and the small shops that they run are vulnerable to being targeted by criminal groups, radical Islamic groups, and even government officials.

As in most Muslim countries, converting from Islam brings massive social pressure and converts are always most at risk first from their families. Libyan Christians are often afraid to meet with other Christians since any kind of non-Islamic religious gathering, including worship at churches, is forbidden for Libyans.

Depending on the region, migrants may gather in (house) churches but doing so exposes them to serious security risks; thus, many stay away out of fear. Even so, they still face threats of kidnapping and other forms of abuse.

Bringing Arabic Christian literature and Bibles into the country is strictly forbidden. Proselytizing or missionary activity among Muslims is officially prohibited.

According to the research conducted by Open Doors, in Libya, in recent years,

• Both convert and migrant Christians in Libya have been detained for faith-related reasons. Tribal groups, as well as government officials (who are often connected to radical Islamic groups or militias), are responsible for such detentions.
• Several church buildings and other places of Christian worship have experienced being attacked. They are often demolished or damaged.
• Several Sub-Saharan African Christians have been kidnapped for ransom.
• Several Christian migrants (mostly from Sub-Saharan African countries) held in detention centers in Libya have reportedly been raped and beaten.
• Slavery, forced labor and human trafficking are still widespread despite an international outcry in 2017 when CNN showed video evidence of an auction of Sub-Saharan Africans. Many of the Sub-Saharan African migrants are Christian.
• Women have a lower position within Libyan family life than men, caused by tribal norms corresponding to Sharia.
• If suspected of being interested in Christianity, a Libyan woman can face house arrest, sexual assault, forced marriage or even death.
• Christian migrant women crossing Libya are also vulnerable to abduction and trafficking, especially when separated from their male companions, such as is common at migrant detention centers. They are reported to have been forced into prostitution.
• Women often experience sexual violence because of their faith, sometimes as a form of punishment. They encounter social and cultural barriers to the prosecution of any offense.
• Christian men face loss of employment, physical and mental abuse, and eviction from their family home.
• Libyan men and boys have been increasingly forced to fight in militias, causing many to flee their hometowns to evade such a fate.

Libya is currently divided between two governments: the Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah in Tripoli and a government in Benghazi under the protection of Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF).

Parliamentary and presidential elections were originally planned for 2021 but were indefinitely postponed after major disagreements erupted between all political factions.

Representatives of both the Eastern-based House of Representatives and Western-based High Council of State are now working on a new election framework, but it is unlikely that any major faction will agree to ceding power.

“Having just one central government controlling the whole of Libya would seem to be the only way to end the lawlessness in the country… But whatever the outcome, the situation for converts from Islam to Christianity will remain very sensitive and insecure,” notes Open Doors.

It is not only Christians who are subject to severe abuse in Libya. Ibadi and Sufi Muslims in Libya who do not belong to the Sunni Islamic traditions also face violations in the form of violent attacks by Sunni militant groups. They also face general discrimination in society. In addition, atheists and those who openly question Sunni Islamic doctrine are very much at risk.

Libya, however, was once a majority-Christian land.

The area of North Africa which has been known as Libya since 1911 was part of the Roman, then later the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire, between 146 BC and 643 AD.

The name of the country comes from the Ancient Greek Λιβύη “Libue” which, at the time, referred to the continent of Africa in general.

In ancient times, Greeks, Assyrians and Persians, among others, ruled parts of Libya. The Greeks left profound traces in ancient Libya. Cyrene, for instance, was an ancient Greek city in Libya, founded in 631 BC by a community of Greek emigrants from the island of Thera in the Aegean.

Cyrene became one of the great intellectual centres of the classical world, providing a medical school. There were renowned scholars such as the geographer Eratosthenes, and the philosopher Aristippus, founder of the Cyrenaics.

In 96 BC Cyrenaica came under Roman rule and in 67 BC was united with Crete to form a senatorial province, with Cyrene as local capital. With the Roman conquest, the entire region of present-day Libya became part of the Roman Empire.

The territory of modern Libya had separate histories until Roman times, as Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. The origins of Christianity in Libya are also ancient because its foundation is attributed by many historians to the Evangelist Saint Mark.

Professor Thomas C. Oden writes:

From about A.D. 68 till the Muslim conquest of A.D. 643, Libya housed a vibrant, creative Christian community that contributed to the shape of the faith even as we know it today. By the mid-190s A.D., Leptis Magna could claim favorite sons as the Roman pontiff, Victor the African, and as the Roman emperor, Septimius Severus. A rich and energetic community produced a wide variety of key players from early martyrs to great thinkers to arch-heretics.

The brightest period of Roman Libya was under emperor Septimius Severus, born in Leptis Magna.

“Leptis Magna was enlarged and embellished by Septimius Severus, who was born there and later became emperor. It was one of the most beautiful cities of the Roman Empire, with its imposing public monuments, harbour, market-place, storehouses, shops and residential districts,” says UNESCO.

Tragically, this civility was not to last. North Africa was invaded by Arab armies in the seventh century. That’s when its downfall began – alongside the process of violent Arabization and Islamization.

What is left today of the once Roman, Greek, Christian Libya? A country in perpetual war, ruined by Islamic barbarians.

Once a heartland for Christianity, Libya has become a country known for the persecution of not only its tiny Christian minority but also other non-Muslims. It is one of the world centres of terrorism.

Schoolchildren across the non-Muslim world should be taught about the true history of Islamization and the destruction it has brought to numerous, magnificent civilisations.

European coalition politics and dysfunctional right-wing parties which often make it impossible to form a government continue to cripple any meaningful European response to the crisis.

America’s strong executive branch and two-party system have their pitfalls, but they also make it possible for someone like Trump (or, vice versa Obama) to be elected and have free reign to make significant changes over the course of four years. That’s difficult to accomplish in Europe where governments rise and fall, and can be brought down through coalition and internal party backstabbing. If Trump had won an election in Europe, he would have likely lasted six months before being brought down in a palace coup. Most likely though, like Geert Wilders, he would never have even been allowed to take office and make any changes in the first place.

Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, who survived multiple rounds of elections and coalition failures to become one of the country’s longest serving prime ministers, shows that it is possible to remain in office, but at the cost of constant political maneuverings and compromises with coalition members that make it difficult to make any meaningful changes in the country.

Parliamentary governments are meant to be fragile by design, but that weakness has not made Europe more democratic, rather it has turned over control of countries to unelected officials, lifetime bureaucrats running ‘caretaker’ governments while the parties squabble, NGOs, activist groups whose externally funded street riots can topple government and the European Union.

And all of that may make it impossible for Europe to vote its way out of the Islamization crisis.

European voters have been slowly moving to the right as the pace of Islamic terrorism continues to pick up. But the rising number of terrorist attacks is only a symptom of the growing Islamization. The same demographic processes that gifted Germany with 3 terrorist attacks in 3 months and Austria with two terrorist plots in two weeks also raises the power of Muslim voters.

After Geert Wilders called for “no more Morrocans”, the Netherlands compromise ruling coalition, from which he was excluded, included a Moroccan immigrant.

There are two arrows trending upward in Europe. One is growing voter awareness while the other is rising Muslim demographics. The race between those two arrows may determine whether Europe, formerly the cradle of Western civilization, has a future.

Islamic terrorism serves the same function in Europe as it does across the Middle East. The twin alternatives of Islamization by ‘choice’ or by force. Much of Europe’s elite political class has chosen Islamization by choice. Islamization by force is a reminder that choice doesn’t enter into it.

In the UK, a man burned a Koran in front of the Turkish consulate.in London. A Muslim man attacked him with a knife. The authorities arrested both. They released the stabber on bail while the Koran burner was kept locked up on charges of “intent to cause against the religious institution of Islam.”

That and the coverup of countless girls raped by Muslim sex grooming gangs is what Islamization by choice looks like.

Current numbers appear to show a lead for Nigel Farage’s Reform party, ahead of the mainline parties, for the first time, but Farage has also made it clear that he’s no longer opposed to Islamization. Reform has received sizable funds from Muslim millionaire Zia Yusuf.

UK voters may want a change, but much like voters across Europe, there is no easy way for the country that once prided itself on democracy to vote its way out of an impending theocracy.

Voters may be ready, but politicians aren’t.

PIS

Let me be very clear. PAS and their ilk have always claimed that the urban centres are the domains of non-Muslims and, thus, anathema to Islamic values. They have made it very clear in their strategies and propaganda that DAP is a stand-in for the non-Muslim community.

They have accused DAP of interfering in Islam, most recently in Perak, and secretly controlling the Madani government.

Hence, this supposed displacement of urban, especially Malay poor, is said to be through the secret manoeuvres of DAP because they are the supposed puppet masters of the Madani regime.

Mind you, they do not have to say this openly because they do not have to. This is exactly the kind of anti-Jewish rhetoric that has been around for decades and not only in Malaysia. This is the kind of dog whistle politics that the Malay political establishment has been enabling for decades.

Remember, blaming the Jews for the problems of Muslims is exactly like blaming the Chinese for the social, economic, and political problems of the Malay community.

PAS has played this card before. Just last year, PAS had a very vocal and overt campaign comparing Malay ownership in Penang to the Palestinian issue.

As reported in the press, “The party claims that Penang has carried out a ‘systematic seizure’ by taking over ownership and control of areas that were originally predominantly Malay-Muslim. They allege that this was done by changing the status of rural land to urban land and implementing mega projects and luxury developments.

“If this matter is not stopped, it is possible that in 50 years, the Malays will disappear from their own homeland.”

Hate speech

Everything most Malays are taught about the Palestinian conflict, they get from National Civics Bureau courses and state-sponsored sermons in mosques.

This is why PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang gets to say something like this: “When Umno and PAS unite, they are accused of wishing to go to war with other races. (Our accusers are) like the Jews who did not want Muslims to be united during the Prophet’s time. This is a disease we must fight. Let’s join forces and send the enemy to hell.”

Consider the hate speech of Muslim convert Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, a preacher, who took anti-Semitism to a new level by comparing his Chinese brothers and sisters to the most obscene stereotype of Jews, pleading special knowledge about their community since he was a kafir (infidel) like them before embracing Islam.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed that the Jews are “crooks”: “(So) what is the reason we don’t allow Israelites to come here? We say they are crooks (penyangak), and we just got rid of one crook.”

And this was when he was stumping for a non-Muslim Pakatan Harapan candidate.

This idea that spreading hate for the “Jews” makes good capital is what every Islamic political party in this country does.

No subtlety

Except, of course, when the real world intrudes and Islamists are made to understand that you cannot expect to be part of the international community and think you are exempt from certain rules.

This is a competition about who defends the Palestinian cause better for a local audience. And in case the prime minister hasn’t noticed, he is playing a rigged game that the state (and him) created decades ago.

Remember in 2017 when convicted felon and then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, in propping up the Palestinian cause, claimed that he will not back down from the Jerusalem issue even if his body is cut into pieces, did anyone else think of the “It’s just a flesh wound” scene from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”? Maybe it is just me.

Of course, the non-Muslim component of Harapan will keep their mouths shut because by opposing anti-Semitism, they suddenly become anti-Muslim, except of course when they need the help of Malay political operatives on the campaign trail.

Ultimately, it’s hard to blame PAS for following this rancid playbook because everyone else does it, too. It is just that PAS is not subtle about it.

If the Malays are the Palestinians in this narrative, who do you think the Jews are?

Ahmed Al Yamahi, the UAE appointed ‘president’ of the Arab Parliament, accused Israel of a “genocidal war in Gaza” “unequivocally placed the blame for this escalation on the Israeli occupation authorities”, urged the UN to “hold the Israeli government and its settlers accountable for their crimes and violations against the Palestinian people” and and called for Arab unity to support the ‘Palestinian’ cause.

And unlike the fake grand mufti quotes, these were published directly on government sites.

The Saudi and UAE governments issued statements condemning terrorist attacks in their own countries and even some abroad, and many condemnations of Israel, none of Hamas for its treatment of the Bibas children.

Coverage in state owned media outlets sometimes read like outright Hamas propaganda.

A story in Al-Bayan, a Dubai state owned media outlet, described Hamas as having “handed over the bodies of four Israeli prisoners” while falsely claiming that they were “killed in deliberate Israeli airstrikes designed to kill them”.

Al-Bayan used the term ‘Asra’ to refer to the murdered children which in Arabic tends to refer to ‘prisoners of war’ as in Koran 8:67: “It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land.”

While not every media story from the Saudis and Emiratis was this bad, the more sympathetic accounts tended to appear in English while the Arabic language coverage was muted or hostile.

I found no official condemnations from either Saudi Arabia or the UAE: all I could find was an interfaith panel discussion with Jewish and Muslim participants at the Dialogue of Civilizations in Abu Dhabi. The Muslim participants were veterans of dialogue with Jews and Israelis, and had expressed opposition to Hamas and Islamic terrorism against Israel.

At the panel, one Emirati participant called for a moment of silence for the Bibas children.

But such views were coming from a small group of young activists with a large presence on social media rather than from actual government officials and religious leaders. The Abraham Accords has made it possible for such views to be aired, even with government sponsorship, at interfaith events, but they are not by any means the actual position of their governments.

The single condemnation at an interfaith panel, like the fake quotes of the grand muftis, shows that there is no larger rejection of the Hamas coffin spectacle in the Muslim world. The distaste for Hamas in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as in other parts of the Arab world, have nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with hostility toward the Muslim Brotherhood.

The UAE offered an initial condemnation of the Oct 7 attacks followed by a long string of condemnations of Israel throughout the war including support for war crimes charges.

And the UAE was the least bad of them all.

The unfortunate truth is that there is very little opposition to Muslim terrorism unless it’s directed at fellow Muslims. ISIS has the highest margin of Muslim opposition not because it burned people alive and raped little girls, but because it declared a caliphate and treated all Muslims who refused to acknowledge its supremacy as heretics and infidels. Al Qaeda enjoyed wide support in the Muslim world when it was flying planes into skyscrapers, but once it bombed a hotel wedding in Jordan and began a civil war in Iraq, its popularity diminished among Muslims.

The UAE turned on the Muslim Brotherhood after it plotted to seize power. The Saudis joined the crackdown on the Brotherhood a year later. But a few years before all this, there had been an uproar over the Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in Dubai.

The Saudis and the UAE distrust Hamas because of its sponsorship by their enemies, Qatar and Iran, and its origins as a Muslim Brotherhood organization, but their objections have nothing to do with its killing of Israelis of whatever age or opposition to terrorism as a general principle.

After the atrocities of Oct 7, Saudi approval ratings for Hamas rose from 10% to 40%. 95% of Saudis polled did not believe that Hamas had killed civilians. The vast majority of Saudis opposed improving relations with Israel and believed that it would eventually be destroyed.

Expecting the Grand Mufti to condemn Hamas is a fantasy. As is Saudi normalization.

The Abraham Accords is at best a regional alliance against common enemies in Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, and not based on a deeper friendship or a recognition of mutual humanity. Those desperate to believe otherwise have been forced to invent fake condemnations to substitute for the real ones that should have been issued, but weren’t and never will be.

Americans and Israelis have spent too long living in a fantasy world when it comes to peace in the Middle East. Fake quotes are no substitute for dealing with the reality of Islamic terrorism.

Zakar Naik the bearded Goat

Now to be clear, I do not know how many “English people” were around, but when the camera panned to the audience, there were many people who were obviously not “English people”.

Now I do not know why Zakir spoke in English and not BM. I mean if people bemoan the lack of BM usage, surely at such a prestigious event with a world-renowned speaker, there should have been some effort to promote the national language.

After all, English speakers are accused of not understanding Malay sensitivities but then how does someone like Zakir, who speaks at these events attended predominately by BM language speakers manage to convey his ideas about the religion of the state without offending anyone?

Hadi said leaders who use foreign languages are “those who are still colonised and lack a sense of national identity” which is strange because Zakir is a world-renowned Islamic leader and he speaks in English to attentive audiences all over the world and apparently now in Perlis.

How is this possible? I get that Zakir comes from a country which was colonised but why would he speak in the language of his colonisers? I mean sure, he speaks English because he wants a wider audience but doesn’t he know that he is only reinforcing the colonial mindset at the expense of his religion’s superiority?

Is Hadi really saying that Zakir is shackled by his colonial mindset? It is also kind of strange. Hadi said it is chaotic with all these languages spoken in the city and the capital, etc, but here we have English spoken at a religious convention and everything is serene. It was as if Zakir speaking in English held their attention.

‘All languages are knowledge’

In 2002, when the old maverick decided it was time for Maths and Science to be taught in English (PPSMI) across schools in different stages, the opposition was throwing up roadblocks.

Indeed, so comical were the protestations that Hadi, who was then the menteri besar of Terengganu, issued a statement expressing “full support” for Dong Jiao Zong and the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall “in their effort to uphold the use of mother tongue in the teaching of Science and Maths in Chinese primary schools”.

Indeed as reported in the press, “Hadi, who is Terengganu menteri besar, also said PAS was not against the effort to upgrade the proficiency of English and other languages to help Malaysians cope with globalisation. The statement reaffirmed that PAS ‘regards all languages as knowledge’.”

Would you believe that PAS back in the day (2002) from reportage “passed a resolution at their national convention to support wider use of the Chinese language in Malaysia.” The next day, Sin Chew Jit Poh quoted a PAS vice-president, Dr Hasan Mohamed Ali, as saying that China has become increasingly important in regional affairs and the global economy. As such, he said, learning Chinese was crucial as it would enhance the competitiveness of Malaysians.

So all this is really nonsensical when you really think about it. What makes Malaysia great is that we have the possibility of being a major meeting place in the region where nearly every Southeast Asian language is spoken and with the volatility of current geopolitics, this is a good thing. As PAS believed back in the day.

Language is knowledge. And as we know, knowledge is power. The only threat to BM are those who wish to weaponise the national language.

Lastly, I don’t really know how Zakir self-identifies, but I know I could find out because if I had a conversation with him it would be in English.

Malaysiakini : Second fiddle

Of course, Umno/Perikatan Nasional defines this new era with the DAP having to play second fiddle to Malay uber alles (above all else) parties, which are playing an extremely dangerous religious and racial game.

At each turn, DAP partisans argued that the various permutations of these Malay uber alles parties were different - but the reality is, all that these Malay uber alles parties desired was dominance over the Malay polity, as measured by electoral power, and used DAP at one time or another to reverse their political fortunes.

Loke says the DAP speaks up through the proper channels. Mind you, “proper channels” in Malaysian parlance are private channels, and nobody can hold you accountable for what you said or claim to have said.

Remember when Ronnie Liu bid sayonara to the DAP, he made public statements which highlighted the similarity between the way how DAP operates now and how the MCA used to operate - “They may not know it (but) they are starting to say (things like), ‘we have to compromise’, ‘we have to look at the bigger picture’, ‘we’ll try to deal with the problem internally’.”

And what exactly has the DAP done for the meritocratic agenda of this country? Before the DAP tasted real political power, they were gung ho on the concept of meritocracy and their guns were trained on Umno.

Remember back in the day when DAP national chairperson Lim Guan Eng debated then MCA big cheese Chua Soi Lek, the former thundered - “I’ll tell you why MCA set up TAR College, it is because there is a quota for Chinese students to enter public universities, and therefore the need (for MCA) to compensate for it.”

DAP never gave MCA the benefit of this excuse, and neither should anyone who believes in any kind of institutional reform.

Honestly, even a convicted felon played a part in recognising TAR College - now a university - which earned the ire of the old maverick Dr Mahathir Mohamad - “If last time we could only get a government job by having a diploma from public universities, now we have to accept a diploma (certificate) from TARUC.

“This is all because of votes. All these have occurred because of the stupidity of the Malays.”

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Will DAP cave?

These days, the rakyat is left wondering if DAP will cave when it comes to important policy issues because, with the creation of this coalition government, all they seem interested in doing is justifying the policies of the government, even if it goes against their campaign manifesto or more damning, their so-called principles.

What is important for the non-Malay polity to understand, is that the MCA’s power-sharing model was a big failure in terms of acting as a moderating force for politics in this country although it did produce long-standing beneficial results for the non-Malay community.

This last bit is made worse by the reality that the DAP is attempting to emulate the BN-era power-sharing model, which a significant percentage of the Malay voting public has chosen to reject.

What hurts the DAP the most is the hypocrisy of cuddling up with Malay structures - donning the hijab, waxing eloquent about reading the Quran in Malay, and a host of other initiatives to reach out to the Malay community - and then having a base which wants a secular egalitarian government which the DAP plays to.

This is why PN uses this line of attack against the DAP because they understand Malay power structures in Madani will leave the DAP to fend for itself.

I would argue that Umno/PN’s propaganda that DAP is “anti-Malay” and “anti-Islam” was beneficial to the DAP because non-Malays flocked to their banner under the mistaken impression that secularism and egalitarianism were the bedrock on which DAP was founded on.

As a supposedly multiracial party, the DAP has now got to contend with the reality that the Indian community is now coming to the realisation (no matter how hard partisans attempt to push the Bangsa Malaysia Kool-aid) that the dialectic between the legacy parties revolves around the Malay/Chinese dialectic at the expense to genuine inclusive reform.

Want to know why someone like Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh takes potshots at every opportunity at the DAP?

Political operatives like him understand that it really does not matter what they do because the DAP support base will not punish the DAP, unlike the Malay majority polity who have demonstrated their willingness to shift their support to whatever reactionary Malay/Muslim party they think best serves their interests.

We are in a very dangerous period in Malaysian politics. I have no idea if the DAP can or even wants to maintain the secular democratic line. All I know is that this could be a golden era for the religious extremists and it remains to be seen the role DAP plays in this.