A COUPLE of weeks back, a capable and steady pilot landed his plane safely despite an engine failure. He should be praised for keeping his composure and exercising skill in the face of an emergency situation. It should have stopped at that.
But simply because he asked passengers who felt like it to join him in saying a prayer for their safety, he was questioned and criticised, had his integrity and professionalism doubted, and was accused of causing panic and even proselytising.
Perhaps more telling than the response of the politicians was the response of the public. Online articles were littered with claims of Islamisation and how it has “spread” to AirAsia. Poor AirAsia. First, they get slammed for un-Islamic uniforms and now they get slammed for Islamic prayers.
While many of concerns regarding the spread of radical religiosity are legitimate, in this case, it really isn’t a big issue.
For years, buses or taxis in Malaysia have had “Doa Naik Kenderaan” in stickers, or a tasbih hanging from the rear view mirror, a mini Guan Gong Goddess of Mercy or Ganesha statue on the dashboard or a St. Christopher medal stuck on top of the glove compartment.
Likewise you find various altars and “Doa Sebelum Makan” in eateries, with little to no issue. Remember in the days before Astro, when TV programmes were interrupted by the Muslim prayer time announcements complete with quotes from religious texts? Those were simpler, less sensitive times.
Some things people take as “creeping Islamisation” is actually nothing more than commercialism using Islam as an excuse. And it isn’t just Malaysia doing it.
Western fashion designers like Dolce and Gabbana have launched their own hijab collection and collections, while Tommy Hilfiger has an exclusive Middle Eastern line.
The UK has six Islamic lenders and many more banks like QIB and Gatehouse offering Islamic banking products. It should hardly be surprising as Muslims represent a large, important and growing market segment. Fortune magazine predicted that by 2019, Muslim consumers worldwide would spend over 400 billion dollars on fashion alone.
“Islam” isn’t the only thing that triggers people these days.
Bahasa Malaysia does, too.
A few days back, it came to light that medical graduates were being asked to re-sit six core subjects if they did not meet the Bahasa requirement of government service (all medical graduates are required, by law, to serve four mandatory years with the government before they are able to practise privately). The issue arose when there was a confusion about the waiver given for foreign graduates who sat for GCE “O” Levels instead of the local SPM.
While the request to re-sit six subjects is unfair and ridiculous, the requirement to obtain a credit in Bahasa Malaysia for government service isn’t. And many seem to be convoluting these two.
It is the prerogative of the hiring party to set the criteria of employment, and given that Bahasa Malaysia is the national language and official medium of communication of the Government, why is it so surprising that a credit in BM is a must to enter government service?
A credit in Bahasa Malaysia is also required for other professional papers, such as the Certificate of Legal Practise, and is widely regarded as an advantage in the private sector, including multinationals. Given its mongrel nature with many borrowed words, working knowledge of Bahasa Malaysia helps its speakers grasp other languages more easily.
Some Malaysians use these credentials to secure lucrative oil and gas jobs in Brunei and language tutor jobs in Singapore.
It is surprising that 60 years after independence, with 11 years of mandatory education of and with Bahasa Malaysia, this is still an issue.
Could it be latent, pent-up racism of some Malaysians surfacing as a retaliation of what they believe is racism or bigotry against them?
Counter-racism and counter-bigotry?
Sounds counter-productive. – July 4, 2017.
* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.
* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.
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Comments
For example, an indian guy who has never touched alcohol in his life will at least once in his life, meet someone who will treat him or think of him as if is he is an alcoholic, not because he did
anything to suggest that he likes to drink, but because his race is seen as one that likes to drink.
I think that if the pilot was criticised for calling for people to pray during a crisis, it is perhaps because he is seen as a muslim and because the mood of the times.
Anti-muslim sentiments is everywhere in the world at the present times, so it is inevitable
that to be reminded of islam, especially during a time of crisis where you are already stressed, will be seen as adding stress to your already stressed condition, and wont be taken positively by some people who do not share the muslim beliefs.
If the same incident was to happen, but if the pilot was thought of as buddhist or christian for example, and if that pilot asked all the passangers to pray during a moment of crisis, i have a feeling that his gesture would not have been taken that negatively by that many people.
Posted 8 years ago by Nehru Sathiamoorthy · Reply