Monday, January 22, 2018

How Muslim values affect non-Muslim Malaysians

FMT - In Year of the Dog, Malaysia plays down, skirts dog decorations (in full):


KUALA LUMPUR: Some businesses in the country are skirting around or playing down the portrayal of canines in Chinese New Year decorations this year, wary of offending the Muslim majority in the Year of the Dog.

Dogs are considered “unclean” under Islamic tradition and Muslims are required to carry out a ritual of washing themselves if they are in contact with the animal.

Multicultural Malaysia has seen an increasing intolerance towards activities considered insulting to Islam, reflected in protests in recent years of beer festivals and concerts.


While Muslim Malays are the biggest ethnic group among the nation’s 32 million people, Chinese make up the second-biggest group with 23% of the population.

One shopping mall in the popular Kuala Lumpur tourist area of Bukit Bintang did not depict dogs in its decorations ahead of the new year in February, focusing instead on the 10th-anniversary theme of the centre, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.


actually I'm a dog in disguise 

Director of Marketing Kung Suan Ai said religious and cultural sensitivities were a determining factor in conceptualising decorations. The mall attracts three million people of various backgrounds each month, she said.

“One of the considerations we take in when we work on decoration concepts for Pavilion KL is to create something highly experiential… and also to be socially accepting (for) all,” she said.

Twelve animals, including a dog and a pig, another animal Muslims consider as unclean, make up the traditional Chinese zodiac.

M
uslim leaders have been vocal about events that involve dogs before. After the 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow, when athletes paraded with a Scottish terrier donning their country’s name, local politicians aired their disapproval, calling the stunt “disrespectful”.




she's holding doggie not realising South Korea is not a member of the Commonwealth Games , wakakaka

In 2016, religious authorities asked popular pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s to change the name of its “Pretzel Dog” to “Pretzel Sausage”.


As a dachshund I'm German, hence I'm a Frankfurter

At MyTOWN, another Kuala Lumpur shopping centre where half the visitors are Muslim, the mall downplayed the depiction of dogs in its decorations.

“We have the dogs but it’s in how we (display) them. They are not the main object. They are life size and placed as ambient decorations,” said Head of Marketing Christopher Koh, so that the canine would not appear like an idol.

“It’s the same with the pig (for the Year of the Boar), Malaysian retailers won’t usually put up a giant pig as a centrepiece.”


actually I'm a pig in disguise 

Alex Chow, who runs a company supplying packaging materials, said corporate clients have stuck to generic illustrations for their packaging designs this year.

Chinese Malaysian Wong Wei-Shen, who has several dogs as pets, said businesses were being “ridiculous”.

“It’s a shame because Malaysia is a multicultural country. To dismiss the fact that the Chinese have a dog as one of the zodiac animals is unfair,” said Wong.


actually I'm a pony (ranian) in disguise 

“Every zodiac animal has its good attributes, and the dog represents a guide, a best friend, a comforter and loyal friend,” said Wong.




42 comments:

  1. The last round of the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Dog 12 years ago , there was no problem.

    Why is it an issue now ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it's not an overnight thing, this growing intolerance and religious arrogance

      Delete
  2. Anjing & babi (khinzir in arabic) ada disebut didalam alquran. Moslems are only prohibited to consume pork, that's all. Islam which is the way of life is very simple & practical, not rigid, tidak menyusahkan.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 'Things' r always simmering below the surface when it's related to the intolerance & arrogance of alifbata.

    When a master agitates the game to the surface to suit an urgent 'need', he keeps a close eye & quickly quenches the flame before it touches 3 ft high.

    Mamak did that & did it well.

    For a amateur desperado, all things go as in the releasing of the evils within the Pandora's box. Once open, tak payah control, lah tambah minus.

    That's yr pinklips showing!

    Indeed, it's not an overnight thing for he doesn't care/understand/mischievous allow the issues to come to boil.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 16 years since 2002 - wonder who opened Pandora Box then, stating Malaysia is a fundamentalist Isllamic State

      Delete
    2. Alquran doesn't advocate islamic state becos allah swt is the lord of the worlds. Ini semua rekaan manusia, kerana apa? Kuasa nothing but the kuasa.

      Delete
    3. The correct analogy is that of a train continuing to accelerate out of a railway station.

      The train started moving many years ago, based on a BAD call, BUT the only reason the train continues to pick up speed TODAY is the CURRENT locomotive driver setting maximum tractive power for the engine.

      Delete
    4. The Pandora analogy refers to a mischievous person deliberately opening a forbidden box, and allowing certain evil forces out but which he cannot control and order back.

      The Pandora Box was opened by one person

      Delete
    5. Nothing that had been screwed up by bapak penswastaan cannot be reversed by bapak transformer, dia maha kuasa (emperor), kenapa tak buat?

      If you believe in pandora box, you are no different from those who believe in the flying unicorn so, your analogy tak boleh pakai.

      Delete
    6. then u have to justify y pas shared yr hatred towards mahathir but taking a totally diff position. could it be mahathir established the best balance in term of islamisation that suit msian by ignoring the extremist from both end, ie fundamentalist n atheist.

      Delete
    7. Pandora Box analogy is NOT something related to the supernatural, but is merely an allegory (or as I've written, an analogy). In the case I have been referring, it was a political allegory exploiting religion which affected and still affects Malaysians

      Tomorrow we can talk about unicorns, roc and griffins, wakakaka

      Delete
    8. Ayoyo, pandora box once opened dah tak boleh tutup balik but whatever disasters created by chedet, nothing will stop ahjib to reconstruct sekiranya dia mahu.

      Delete

    9. If we don't hold the current government accountable for its actions, democracy is meaningless , and will become dysfunctional

      The Pandora's Box analogy implies a kind of fatalistic inevitability once an action or series of actions is set in motion.

      It would sound like Ktemoc is very superstitious and fatalistic .... eakakakaa....

      For me , I believe in both the power and responsibility of individual action.

      That is why I hold the incumbent Prime Ministers and other power players who have been in charge since 2002 accountable.

      Mahathir is , of course , part of it, but by no means the only one.

      Delete
    10. This senile (possibly acting) Pandora's box promoter is just tak bolihland tahan in regurgitating one-sided grandmother fake news!

      Granted, mamak opened the evil box in 2002, but NOTHING like what we see now in sopo-religious outpourings happened during his 22 yrs regime!

      What gives?

      Perhaps, he opened ajar, saw what he didn't like & closed it back tight. (wakakakaka.... eat yr heart out lah). Hence the devil was unable to get out.

      Meanwhile, pinklips followed that act - thinking that what mamak can do he can do better.

      Just like everything he touches, NOTHING goes right. The devil escapes from her confinement & managed to control pinklips ever since!

      Right???

      Delete
    11. Accountability from 2002 until now

      2003 - Mahathir 1 year.
      2004 - 2008 - Imam Badawi - 5 years.
      2009 - 2017 - Mullah Najib - 9 years.

      So , who is most accountable ?

      Delete
    12. obviously the man who gave the ulamaks the belief Malaysia is a fundamentalist Islamic nation - once he did that, no one could erase that implanted belief. Ad once again, the Malaysian Constitution was mutilated by him

      Delete
    13. Ah Yes...the rule of fatalistic inevitability ...

      events that occur in this world are predetermined, events once set in motion are impossible to resist..

      that's your superstitious believe, I don't suppose there's any point to try to convince you otherwise...

      It's one of the Articles of FAITH that many people have , but I'm just surprised a self-avowed Atheist clings to such FAITH and Superstition.

      Delete
    14. nothing to do with faith, divinity, superstition or whatever.

      It's all about political-religious dynamite. When a PM told the (Muslim majority) nation their country is a fundamentalist Islamic nation, no matter how unlawful or arbitrary he was, which succeeding PM dares to contradict him?

      Delete
    15. Similarly, when a PM told the (Muslim majority) nation their country is a fundamentalist Islamic nation, no matter how unlawful or arbitrary he was, which succeeding PM dares to contradict him?

      That exPM also put his 'strong' hands down in restricting the zombies from playing amok (wakakakaka... zombies going amok, what a scene) based on what he had declared!

      Which succeeding PM dares to follow suit???

      When tickling both ends, DO make sure u read deeper into the difference of each modus operandi lah.

      Unless, like that mom, u ONLY pick & choose whats fit into yr scheming.

      Right?

      Delete
    16. actually you have been the one who ONLY pick & choose what fits into your arguments (and presumably schemings)

      Delete
    17. When Tun approved the crooked bridge and the HSR and even some sort of papers signed, Pak Lah dared to cancel them and he did! Wakakaka............

      Delete
    18. Pick & choose what fits into YOUR arguments!

      Read again, YOUR le!!!

      I choose & pick, I ONLY response accordingly lah.

      江郎才尽..... Wakakakaka...

      Delete
  4. There is not even a gentle nudging from any religious authorities NOT to exhibit dogs for CNY decorations/celebrations.

    If this no dog display is actually an exaggeration to create hate effect on the Muslims then it is bad on the part of the Chinese.

    However, if it is to invite more conservative Muslims to join in the merriment of the CNY then the act deserves love salutations from all the Malays/Muslims.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For businesses, the strongest recent chilling effect was Jakim's denial of Auntie Anne's Halal Certification because of the "Dog" name in its menu.

      "Dog" is an internationally known trade-name for a sausage bun, well-known for the last 40 years in Malaysia, especially Malays in the form of Hot-Dogs. Nothing to do with Canis Familiaris.

      There is not even any suggestion that any food sold by Auntie Anne's does not comply with Halal standards.

      Message sent by Jakim to businesses
      a) Muslims consider "Dogs" as offensive.
      b) Businesses which do not consider this will suffer consequences.

      This was no gentle nudge. This was a brutal shove..

      Shopping Malls exist to pull in business and earn a profit - for their owners and also their tenants.

      They will avoid controversy as far as possible, especially avoid potentially offending a large segment of their customers or trouble with government authorities.

      Delete
    2. in general I agree with Monsterball. Jakim has been nothing but a halal-business terrorist. It threatens, gets the certification business or else. Additionally it benefits from the myth of its extraordinary super-halal-ness, which has been why it puts itself forward as a halal-ization expert/consultant for the Japanese Olympics

      Jakim begs (mind you, not in the sense of 'plea' but 'desire') to become some sort of 'expert' on Islamic business- malaysia is both its training ground and secured market ('fixed deposit' by Islamic laws), and Malaysian Muslims it captive (not captured) customers

      Delete
    3. Food and decoration for CNY celebration are different issues. It is reasonable request if you want a halal certification, you need to replace the name dog bun to beef or chicken bun. Decorations or print on t-shirts should not be an issue. I agree with unknown, the Chinese want to punish/teach JAKIM a lesson. But what difference does it make? The Chinese have already decided to vote for DAP.

      Delete
    4. Firstly, punishing/teaching JAKIM a lesson is merely your supposition.

      Secondly, what has that got to do with Chinese voting DAP?

      One is religious related while the 2nd is political choice

      Delete
  5. Politics of hatred is bad for society.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who's the master of this game?

      Delete
    2. Wakakakaka..... the ketuanan freaks+the zombies pack lah.

      The West plays it fair & cut across races while the amok pack plays it with fatalistic zero sum game amongst racial lines!

      Delete
    3. Keep using yr idol's "kepala bapak kau" lah.

      It shows!

      Delete
    4. "The West plays it fair & cut across races ..."???

      wakakaka, you are certainly naive

      Delete
    5. There is racism and discrimination everywhere.

      But my experience with travelling in many Western countries is there is really no structured or official race discrimination. Usually, nobody and no organisation ever bothers to ask you what race you are.
      Its even illegal in many countries to ask for your race in an official form.

      Of course social racism persists, that will probably never disappear from this earth.

      Humans are naturally suspicious of anyone who looks different...even toddlers pick that up, just as they naturally gravitate towards others who have the same interests and look similar to themselves.
      I believe its hard-wired via DNA into our brains.
      It probably had some evolutionary or survival advantage somewhere in the past.

      Delete
    6. "even toddlers pick that up"

      I agree. We have experienced that several times, especially with the whites.

      Delete
    7. "The West plays it fair & cut across races ..."???

      wakakaka, you are certainly naive"

      Temporal lah!

      Or put it simply time & places lah!

      The old West & to a certain degree - certain sections of the modern West, r still playing bigotry game.

      But there r more enlightened West, ie Scandinavia, Germany for accepting the 'refugees' openly.

      It all boils down to PD - at what state of humanity evolution u stand & talk cockagroo!

      Reflect on that lah.

      Delete
    8. but aren't you yourself a racist in calling Malays zombies, blur sotongs etc?

      Delete
    9. I strongly qualified my calling of zombies/ketuanan freaks/blur-sotongs for certain segments of the Malays.

      Ain't the religious wannabes zombies? Just ikut what the moronic doctrines as if an inbuilt reflect actions.

      Ain't the ketuanan crowd, a freaking inferiorists? Every f**king issues must be 153/nep sanctified for them to have the 1st bite, regardless of their ability to chew?

      Ain't those heartlands blur by the f**king alifbata above every sensibilities?

      Ada baca betul2¿¿¿

      Or u just tembak to suit yr scheming?

      Delete
    10. Methinks thou protest too much

      Delete
    11. Better than playing mahjong whole day on election day le!

      Wakakakaka...

      Delete