Saturday, December 08, 2018

Caught nude in a racist rally!

Many people in the West are not aware of the open racism practised in Malaysia. Racism is written into the Malaysian constitution and laws. Children become aware from a very early age what it means not to be a Malay or a Muslim in Malaysia. There are schools you are not allowed to go to and places in schools and colleges are very much limited if you are not a Malay or a Muslim. Every aspect of life is tainted by firm racist policies. Even private developers who sell houses to the public are required to give a huge discount to anyone who is a Malay and a Muslim and to charge the non-Malay and non-Muslim a higher price. A church has been ordered to remove a cross from its roof because it was offensive to Muslims who lived nearby. And Hindu women whose husbands secretly converted to Islam have been refused custody rights of their children when their husbands divorce them under Islamic law that allows for easy unilateral divorce by the pronouncement of three 'talaks'. A typical Malaysian is plagued by millions of racist abuses every day of his life from cradle to grave if he is not a Malay or a Muslim. 

I keep saying 'Malay or Muslim' but in reality, all Malays are required to be Muslim by law. Apostasy (the renouncing of faith) by a Muslim is not permitted by law. Under Sharia law, the penalty is death by stoning. Any Muslim who loses his faith is under Sharia law to be sentenced to death by stoning, no questions asked.

I booked my hotel and flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL) last week. Last night, I got a travel directive alert from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in my country warning all citizens of a huge racist rally to be organised in Dataran Merdeka in KL which happens to be just next to my hotel. The thought did cross my mind to cancel my trip. But I told myself what a wonderful blog post I could write if I continued with my trip. I could post a photo of me nude at my window overlooking the place where the racist rally is held. Wouldn't that make a wonderful photo? Just think about the risk I took just so I could write this blog post!

What is this rally all about? When the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) asked countries to sign a treaty against racial discrimination, Malaysia dithered. Malaysia then took the decision to oppose ICERD. This rally in KL is not the first rally against ICERD. There have been other such rallies all over Malaysia. This rally in KL is the biggest. Many Malay and Muslim groups including the former ruling party UMNO, the Opposition Islamic Party PAS and many others encourage the holding of such rallies all over Malaysia. The Islamic Party PAS which rules the State of Kelantan even announced a public holiday on Sunday (tomorrow) to encourage its people to come to KL for the rally. Sunday is normally a working day in Kelantan; their weekend is on a Friday, the Muslim day of prayer.

But the government of Malaysia is all for racial discrimination against non-Malays and non-Muslims in Malaysia. Racial discrimination has been a part of Malaysian life since its independence. It's because Singapore refused to accept racism in its internal politics that Malaysia expelled Singapore from the Federation in 1965, and thank God for that!

What then is the purpose of the rally when the government has made it clear that racial discrimination must continue in Malaysia? What this rally has done is to declare to the world that organised State-sanctioned Constitution-protected racism is very much a part of its culture. The Malays / Muslims in Malaysia want to make a firm statement that nobody should try to abolish racism in Malaysia.

Here's a link to an article in the official Malaysian newspapers, The New Straits Times, on the huge rally today:
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/12/438588/anti-icerd-rally-so-whats-estimate

Now, that I'm safe in my hotel room, here's a pic of me by my hotel window overlooking the rally ground. After the risks I've put myself through, I deserve an applause for this photo! And it's a good photo to post because naturism is inherently opposed to racism. Racism is all about skin colour and the usual prejudice we see in the world is against the dark skin. But it's still no less racism when the discrimination is against those of a lighter colour, as is the case in Malaysia. Of course, in Malaysia, the racism also takes on a religious tone - non-Muslims are discriminated against. Didn't Ben Affleck in a talk with Bill Maher give Malaysia as an example of a moderate Muslim State? Western defenders of Islam such as Ben Affleck should look for another more palatable example of a moderate Muslim state, if they can really find one.


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6 comments:

  1. Techman08 December, 2018 22:11

    Thank you for brief education on a topic not typically covered by press for those of us in the West.
    Bravo -- and yes, I appreciate the window picture
    Sincere regards
    Larry

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    Replies
    1. Lim08 December, 2018 23:07


      The liberal West has for some strange reason looked upon Islam as a minority racial group in need of protection when Islam is neither a minority nor a racial group and it certainly needs no protection.

      Delete
  2. Nevada Motojicho08 December, 2018 22:21

    i always learn something new from you my friend. thank you for being a committed teacher.

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    Replies
    1. Lim08 December, 2018 23:02

      Thanks, my friend, you are very kind. I grew up as a boy in Malaysia and so I know quite a bit about that country.

      Delete
  3. De McClung09 December, 2018 03:37

    Thanks for the educational post, Lim. Always interested to learn about other countries, cultures, even if it is disheartening. I can't imagine a modern [21st Century] society that still clings to oppressive, archaic, mythological nonsense and STILL engages in barbaric practices [like stoning], but there it is! I also can't imagine living in a place like that! It sounds like a horrible place to live. I don't know how they do it! I probably wouldn't last a week in such an insane society. Then again, I do live in America. AmeriKa has its share of crazies, some even control the government! "Insane" does seem to describe some of the laws here. I won't elaborate. It's depressing [and maddening] enough just to know that a majority of Americans are... well... not right in the head! [To put it as nicely as I can]
    I fancy myself to be some sort of "teacher", but the truth is most Americans don't want to learn. Many [most?] Americans are opposed to logic, Freedom, and sane thinking, or simply cannot, or will not, comprehend how "wrong-headed" they are. It really is sad in its absurdity!

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  4. Lim09 December, 2018 11:38

    Thanks. It's always a pleasure to read what you have to say. The US isn't so bad as many other countries. It's huge and incredibly beautiful. I get angry and upset when I read about Indian Hindu women who are not allowed custody of their children when their philandering husbands have converted to Islam and have pronounced the "talak" three times and divorced them. And I'm not pleased when I read about how Muslims are offended by a cross on top of a church and demand its demolition. All these things are happening in Malaysia today and yet people such as Ben Affleck hold Malaysia up to be a modern moderate Muslim country. Many people in the West don't understand how pernicious some ideologies (whether religious or secular) can be and they insist, in the interest of multi-culturalism, to pretend all is well. Much of what goes on in Malaysia is not reported in my country for fear of creating inter-racial and inter-religious unrest but today, everyone gets to read everything online. If you think it's bad in the US, you can have no idea what it's like in other countries such as Malaysia. And of course it's much worse in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia or Iran. Frankly, I don't know of a single Muslim country that is OK.

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