S Thayaparan
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!”
COMMENT | It would be easy with all the provocations by the religious far right to wallow in cynicism this Christmas day.
The great comfort I get from this season is that the animosity shown by mainstream politics and the pusillanimous attitude of non-Malay power brokers, the divisions they seek to sow, was not always like this.
There was a time when Malaysians from all faiths celebrated religious festivals with fervour and brotherhood that only came when people knew that though their cultures may be different, we were all in the same boat.
Those were the days when religion was not mired in identity politics and a live-and-let-live attitude was embraced because the commonality of different religions was celebrated.
But things slowly changed and what we are left with, what our children and their children are left with, is the animosity that comes with being constantly told that we are foreigners in belief and deed in our homeland.
An old friend related to me how his children were shocked to discover that their school-going children were bullied by other children during religious classes because they were allowed to attend Christmas parties, Deepavali parties and Chinese New Year parties.
“The teacher did not do anything”, he said. His children who were brought up in an extremely mixed neighbourhood didn’t have this problem when they were growing up.
But yet days like these are a respite from such realities. On days like these either by religious observance or by brotherhood, we remember that if things can change for the worse, they can revert to the better.
We must always remember that however much the forces of divisions in this country attempt their dark arts, it is the average rakyat who resists and continues to interact with their brethren with as much charity as the situation allows.
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!”
- Dr Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
COMMENT | It would be easy with all the provocations by the religious far right to wallow in cynicism this Christmas day.
The great comfort I get from this season is that the animosity shown by mainstream politics and the pusillanimous attitude of non-Malay power brokers, the divisions they seek to sow, was not always like this.
There was a time when Malaysians from all faiths celebrated religious festivals with fervour and brotherhood that only came when people knew that though their cultures may be different, we were all in the same boat.
Those were the days when religion was not mired in identity politics and a live-and-let-live attitude was embraced because the commonality of different religions was celebrated.
But things slowly changed and what we are left with, what our children and their children are left with, is the animosity that comes with being constantly told that we are foreigners in belief and deed in our homeland.
An old friend related to me how his children were shocked to discover that their school-going children were bullied by other children during religious classes because they were allowed to attend Christmas parties, Deepavali parties and Chinese New Year parties.
“The teacher did not do anything”, he said. His children who were brought up in an extremely mixed neighbourhood didn’t have this problem when they were growing up.
But yet days like these are a respite from such realities. On days like these either by religious observance or by brotherhood, we remember that if things can change for the worse, they can revert to the better.
We must always remember that however much the forces of divisions in this country attempt their dark arts, it is the average rakyat who resists and continues to interact with their brethren with as much charity as the situation allows.
We’re still together
PSM political operatives always remind me that on the ground, people still want to connect. They want to play well with others and they rarely bear animosity towards their countrymen.
A young social activist reminds me that the desperation of factotums from the state to decree things “haram” is directly related to their fear of how easily Malaysians come together on most occasions.
A self-described “pondok educated” small-town preacher told me that he and his small congregation wished people a Merry Christmas even though they were not sure if the non-Malays they greeted were Christians. But always they were met with smiles and outpourings of camaraderie.
“Too much, politik, commander,“ he intoned over the phone and wished me a Merry Christmas as he wishes me a Happy Deepavali, every year.
The problem with these small gestures of solidarity is that eventually the forces of the state will clamp down and people will be too scared to act beyond what is sanctioned by the state.
This is why urban centres which reflect the slowly decreasing diversity of the Malaysian experience are terrifying to the theocratic forces of this country.
And that is the thing about the non-Malay experience in Malaysia. Throughout all the various provocations, race and religion baiting, we still manage to thrive and celebrate our festivities which really means we are celebrating life.
The reason why the political class weaponises the religion of the state is because it wants to keep people apart. The reason why they want to keep people apart is because when people discover they have more in common than what has been propagandised to them, they realise who the real enemies of unity are.
I tried to ignore the whole Christmas cake brouhaha and all the other nonsense this season seems to inspire in the feeble-minded but cunning forces that seek to divide citizens of this country.
And of course, people forget that this seeps into every institution of this country. Can you imagine the outcry it would cause if our public services put up decorations and celebrated the Christmas season?
This is what we as a country have been reduced to. Do not for one moment think that we were always headed for a theocracy. The political class rejected everything that made Malaysia truly Asia.
The problem with this Madani government is that it cannot have it both ways. It cannot claim to want to be an inclusive society while pandering to ketuanan (Malay supremacy) first principles.
The fact that the religious bureaucracy, various independent preachers and an assortment of rabble-rousers attempt to determine how the majority community interacts with minorities, is the fault line that any rational inclusive government would seek to overcome. It may be too late now.
How does it go again? Peace on earth and goodwill to all men.
We may not have any influence on the former but as a community, we should at least try to accomplish the latter.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
My PAS contacts are adamant there should be NO , repeat ZERO Christmas or New Year celebrations in Malaysia because majority Christian countries are complicit in aiding Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.
ReplyDelete