The revengers: A divinity war saga

FMT:

The revengers: A divinity war saga

by D. Raj

What’s hotter than the Black Panther, bigger than Wakanda, with a greater product than vibranium? And right here in Malaysia?

As far as netizens are concerned, the answer is Wakedah, the “super wealthy” northern state, which is poised to provide a bigger saga than anything Marvel or the Russo brothers can dream of.

Where Wakanda was all action, Wakedah is turning out to be a tragicomedy. Wakanda had vibranium but Wakedah has rare earth elements – a whole RM62 billion (or is it RM43 trillion?) worth of it.

In place of the Avenger T’Challa, there is the vengeful Muhammad Sanusi Nor, the PAS menteri besar who seems to be on a campaign to make as many enemies as possible. Drunk with new-found power, he has become almost incorrigible, to the point that even Umno firebrands like Papogomo are shocked.

Sanusi started out by announcing that Kedah would not help any non-Muslim places of worship, saying it would be unconstitutional as Islam is the religion of the federation.

Of course, as Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto pointed out, he is forgetting Article 8(2) of the constitution. It states that, except as expressly authorised, there “shall be no discrimination against citizens on the grounds only of religion, race, descent, place of birth and gender in any law”.

How then can Sanusi discriminate against non-Muslim houses of worship and only care for one religion?

To make things worse, he decided to go on the attack when a local council tore down a roadside shrine in Kuala Kedah. Those affected were complaining and their representatives had to bring their complaints to him.

The thing is, the council was legally right in what it did.

The shrine was not one of those century-old legacies of the British colonial area. And it was certainly not one of the ancient candis that tell us that Kedah was once a Hindu kingdom some 2,500 years ago before King Phra Ong Mahawangsa converted to Islam in 1136 and called himself Sultan Mudzaffar Shah I.

This shrine or small temple in Taman Bersatu had only sprung up some 30-odd years ago under a large tree in the area, right next to a padi field. It sat on what is normally called “leftover land” – idle land with no plans drawn up for it.

There was not just the Hindu temple. Chinese residents in the area set up a hut where they could hang out and the Malays built a dewan where they could gather to chat in the evenings. It was their own little three-race community centre.

None of the buildings were legal, and all of them were torn down, ostensibly to make way for a futsal court. Residents, however, say there is plenty of idle land nearby for such a court without having to tear down any of those structures.

I will be the first to admit that Hindus in Malaysia build too many temples and shrines that don’t serve their real purpose. Instead of being religious, education and community centres, these shrines become money-making ventures for some unscrupulous people, besides allowing practices that have no place in real Hinduism.

The Hindus there, however, claim the temple was set up to make life easier for them. With the demolition, the nearest temple is now some 15km away.

Things could have been so different. The menteri besar could have listened to the plight of the residents and been more diplomatic to solve the matter. Instead, he came out like a punch-drunk boxer, swinging wildly. He likened the leaders who spoke for the residents to toddy drinkers who got very drunk after taking a little of the hard drink.

It was strong stuff and a very low blow, coming from a state leader from whom more maturity is expected.

The victims of the attack were incensed and the war has begun. Illegal factories have been drawn into the story, and of course, that infamous find of his – the RM43 trillion (or RM62 billion) rare earth element.

Suddenly, Wakedah’s version of T’Challa is looking more like a Malaysian Joker. First, there was that boo-boo about how much the minerals were worth. Then, he said he has signed a deal with an unknown KL-based firm to mine the elements – by just sticking pipes into the ground. Talk about a pipe dream.

According to official data. there are deposits of rare earth elements in places like Sik, Kulim, Ulu Muda and Padang Terap. There may even be radioactive minerals like uranium and thorium there somewhere, all with a total value of about US$14 billion or about RM56 billion – still a long way from the claimed RM62 billion.

The problem is almost all the deposits are in forest reserves, or close to water catchment areas where logging is prohibited.

Even Energy and Natural Resources Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah has now pooh-poohed the menteri besar’s plans, saying no mining of any sort will be allowed in those areas. The RM62 billion dream is now in tatters.

MIC leader S Vigneswaran, meanwhile, is pissed at the “drunken man” analogy and has vowed to go all out in his onslaught against the menteri besar. Already, he has alleged that Kedah is being taken for a ride by the company in Kuala Lumpur, and by Sanusi.

It looks like Killmonger is on the warpath, and the menteri besar is in for a rough ride, indeed.