More importantly,
it trained a searching spotlight on the uncivil nature of Madani and the
falsity of its touted attributes: care, compassion, and respect.
Caught off-guard by the curved ball of a question on racial quotas
in education, the Madani man, to quote an observer: "Ticked her off for
not listening to questions in earlier Temu (Meet) Anwar sessions; kept
cutting her off even before she could finish her question; hectored her
on not knowing history or about the social contract; scolded her for
allegedly not thinking about the plight of disadvantaged students in
Kapit. He was confrontational and belittling in his tone throughout."
That
was Madani in full bloom and it has set the operational tone for all
Madani agencies to follow, which neatly explains the directed harassment
of the two activists Arun Dorasamy and S Shashi Kumar. The duo
was questioning the man's act of leading the conversion of the Indian
youth as the nation's prime minister with a camera crew in tow and then
uploading the proceedings on Facebook.
Apa pun boleh:
The police must be seen to act fairly. Whether it is the majority or
minority, if the law is breached, the police must act. If not, it is selective persecution. But is this what the police have been doing? Are Arun and Shashi the first ones to have criticised Anwar over the
conversion show? It was a 'show' because it was filmed and circulated on
social media and Anwar did not object.
In our multi-racial
country, race and religion is a highly sensitive matter. We are
repeatedly warned not to provoke the sensitivities of those of other
faiths. Even more, one's religious belief is a private matter between
the adherent and God. Those who choose to wear it on their
sleeves and make a spectacle of it for whatever reason cannot cry wolf
if others find it to be offensive. Let us keep our beliefs within our
communities if we do not want to be criticised.
Anwar was
criticised because his actions were seen to be unwarranted. It did not
resonate with the political image he had created as a moderate and
enlightened Muslim leader who was against the race and religion-centric
policies of the previous governments.
That stand of his was also
instrumental in creating for himself a large non-Muslim following and
political base. Anwar knew very well the amount of hurt suffered by the
non-Muslims on the various illegal conversions that have taken a toll on
non-Muslim families. They saw Anwar's action as insensitive to the
feelings of the non-Muslims that had backed him.
Though what he
did was lawful, the spectacle of it was uncalled for and highly
insensitive as well as antithetical to the moderate stand and image
Anwar had created for himself among his supporters.
The barrage
of cries and criticism came from disbelief and disappointment at Anwar's
unprecedented act that could set a precedent for other moderate Malay
leaders in Pakatan Harapan. Not the conversion per se, that was a
private matter. Under the circumstances where many leaders have
expressed unhappiness with Anwar's conduct, the questioning of Arun and
Sashi comes across as unwarranted.
Baijebo: The current government is useless,
unprincipled, incompetent, and to a certain degree, shameless, based on
its performance for the past eight-odd months. How many ministers can we
describe as decent, never mind good?
The less said about Anwar, the better. What reformation have he and his ministers implemented during these eight months? Repealing of draconian laws, maybe? No. What he could and should do, although Umno is part of the coalition, what has Anwar done?
To
Anwar's hardcore supporters, don't even use the excuses that he needs
time, that Umno is part of the coalition. I give him benefit of doubt.
He has failed to do other things that he could and should have done. To
those diehard Anwar supporters, you can enumerate Anwar’s achievements
since mid-November 2022. Perhaps then, other readers and I will be
convinced as to his and his government's ability.
