Men in skullcaps drag cow-head in protest against Hindu temple

On Thursday morning I woke up to an sms from mom to say that our beloved cat Comot has died. I was devastated to learn the news, particularly since it was only three weeks ago that I last saw her, during my recent trip back to the family home. I will miss the way she would scratch my face as I incessantly kiss her, the way she bites my hand with her small set of teeth as I vigorously pat her head, unable to contain myself over how adorable she is. She grew tired of me after five minutes on my lap but I never tire of her.

As sad as it makes me feel, I take her death as an inevitable part of life, for despair is the matching partner of happiness. If we had never taken her into our home we would be spared this pain, but we would also be bereft of the joy her presence brought us. Other than the sad news, the first week of Ramadan has been a spiritually enriching journey for me, as I join Muslims the world over in our individual and communal effort to increase our good deeds and try to be a better person in the remembrance of God.

Therefore, it was with extreme outrage and disappointment that I read in the Malaysian news that earlier today, on the holiest day of the week in the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, a group of zealous Malay Muslims chose to protest against the relocation of a Hindu temple to their neighbourhood by parading a severed cow’s head during their demonstration after Friday prayers. Already there are suspicions that the demonstration is a perverted ploy by interested parties to stir racial unrest among the Indian Hindu and Malay Muslim communities in Malaysia, and that the protesters weren’t in fact residents of the neighbourhood known as Section 23. Regardless of whether it was a conspiracy or not, the protestors remain as Muslims and for that they should hang their heads in shame for publicly desecrating the Muslim faith in the holiest of months.

I am reluctant to comment about matters pertaining to Islam because I am neither a religious expert nor do I consider myself a pious Muslim. But to remain silent would be a betrayal of my conscience, for these vile actions affect me deeply as both a Malaysian and a Muslim, however flawed I may be.

The spokesperson for the protesters claim it is inappropriate to relocate the Hindu temple in a neighbourhood where 80% of the residents are Muslim. This argument is both disturbing in its simple foolishness and flawed outright. What is so inappropriate about building a house of worship for the remaining 20% of the residents who are not Muslim? If we go with the simple man’s logic, would it then be “inappropriate” to build a mosque in a predominantly non-Muslim neighbourhood? I would hope not. No one should be denied their right to perform their religious obligations, particularly when it does not intrude upon others. I recall this flawed argument being used by residents in the Sydney suburb of Camden against the building of an Islamic school sometime last year, with the rabid protesters deeply disturbed at the prospect of the Islamic school blemishing the Anglo-Saxon character of their locality.

It pains me to note the utter disrespect these Malay Muslim protesters showed to the Hindu community by dragging the severed cow’s head along the streets, wearing skullcaps and chanting “Allahu Akbar!” (God is great!) as if they were the last defenders of Islam. They were obviously aware of the symbolism, but have they forgotten that the cow is sacred in Islam too, as are all creatures created by God? They demand the meat they consume to be halal, that is, to be clean and pure, treated with dignity and respect from birth to the moment of slaughter, yet they parade the dismembered animal with the joy and enthusiasm of barbarians, thoughtless in the sanctity of animals from the Islamic perspective.

They may wear their skullcaps and parade their piety in full display, but I take heart that Islam does not condone such callous acts of disrespect towards those who do not profess our religion from these verses:

Say, O you disbelievers
I do not worship that which you worship
Nor do you worship what I worship
Nor will I ever worship that which you worship
Nor will you ever worship what I worship
For you your religion, and for me my religion

Surah Al-Kafiroon (The Disbelievers), verses 1-6
109: 1-6

Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord, there is no god but He; and turn aside from those who join gods with Allah;
And if Allah had pleased, they would not have set up others (with Him) and We have not appointed you a keeper over them, and you are not placed in charge of them;
And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance. Thus We have made fair seeming to every people their deeds, then to their Lord shall be their return, so He will inform them of what they did

Surah Al-An’Aam (The Cattle, Livestock) verses 106-108
6: 106-108

Flip-Flopping in Malaysia: Should We Revert to Teaching Science and Mathematics in Malay?

In July this year, the Malaysian Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a decision to reverse the 6-year experiment of teaching Science and Mathematics to school students in English, citing research findings which showed low levels of proficiency among both teachers and students, particularly those from rural or disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Teachers’ inability to communicate effectively scientific and mathematical concepts in English compounded the students’ difficulty in understanding said concepts, leading to low levels of participation and enthusiasm in Science and Math.

The policy of Teaching and Learning Science and Mathematics in English, known by its Malay initials as PPSMI, was initiated by then premier Mahathir Mohamad to arrest the declining proficiency of Malaysian students, partly caused by the earlier policy of designating Malay as the medium of instruction in national schools in newly independent Malaysia. Prior to Independence fought from the British, the primary language of instruction was English, thereby creating a preceding generation more fluent in the language than the current crop of Malaysians.

The most strident opponents of the policy of teaching Math and Science in English are the giants of the Malay literary scene, most notably National Laureate A. Samad Said and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the Malay equivalent to France’s L’Académie française. Their grievance is understandable, for it is true that teaching and learning Science and Math in English would decimate any prospect of Malay as a significant scientific language. But common sense must prevail, and it is imperative for us to acknowledge that the Malay language never had a chance as a medium of the sciences. Even at its peak during the Malacca sultanate when Malay was the lingua franca of the Malay archipelago, its function was to facilitate trading between peoples, not to exchange scientific knowhow. That is not something to be ashamed of; we were and remain to this day a trading nation and our Malay language is a living testament to that proud heritage. But we cannot keep deluding ourselves into thinking that Malay can and will be a medium of the sciences when we are merely translating and borrowing hundreds of terms from English and creating none of our own.

Meanwhile, a small but vocal section of the Malay community, in a defiant display of misplaced arrogance and uncensored infantilism, continue to chastise those in favour of the English language policy by labelling them ‘celup’ (dipped, as in brown Malay skin ‘dipped’ in white Anglo-Saxon cast) and traitors of their people. It sounds preposterous because it is; a Western European doesn’t transform into an Indian simply by eating curry; likewise Malaysians don’t become less Malaysian just by conversing in English. This sort of narrow-minded logic is usually thrown aside as stupidity, but this stupidity is unfortunately extremely prevalent in Malaysian society and continues to shape public policy designed by politicians more interested in keeping the votes.

A more valid reason to oppose the PPSMI are rural parents’ and students’ real concern that their low proficiency in English will seriously impede their academic achievements in Science and Math, and in a worst case scenario, possibly hinder otherwise interested rural students from taking up tertiary studies in scientific and technical fields such as engineering and medicine. They further argue that the government is taking a hasty and haphazard approach in arresting the decline of English proficiency; rather than teach Math and Science in English, the best way to improve the standard of English is by increasing the time spent teaching English as a subject on its own. It is easy, this group asserts, for urban, middle-class Malaysians such as me to support the use of English in Math and Science since we would not be faced with the difficulties of having to learn not just a subject (Math or Science) but also a language at the same time.

I agree with their assertion to a degree and I sympathise with their predicament. But as a Malaysian and a Malay, I support the use of English in Math and Science not because it would be easy for people like me, but because not doing so would make it harder in the long run for everyone, in particular those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Most of the world’s scientific references today are expressed in English, and the dominance of the Internet over printed publications means that it would be virtually impossible for Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka to translate even a fraction of the scientific knowledge that is out there. By refusing to learn in English, we are effectively limiting our ability to absorb and transmit scientific knowhow. By delaying the teaching and learning of English from school to tertiary level (because eventually Science and Math will be taught in English at universities), we are only making it harder for ourselves.

Postponing the challenge of acquiring a language only makes it more difficult later on. In any case, the previous generations of Malaysians had even lower levels of exposure to English to start with, yet they survived, even thrived, in the English-dominated education system brought on by the British. We Malaysians, particularly Malays, seem to make ourselves appear stupid by propagating this idea that we are perpetually unable to learn in English, but let’s face it, we’re not that stupid. We will become more fluent eventually. The government can make the transition easier by assigning additional tutorial assistance to rural students who have difficulty with English, and intensify the immersion of the language through various media – the Internet, video, television and print.

We are a small nation in an increasingly intertwined world. In order to succeed we need to be able to understand and communicate effectively with the world around us. Science and Mathematics are the fields which will ensure the continued prosperity of Malaysians, and if we continue to shelter ourselves from the tide of English for the sake of convenience, we risk drowning in the sea of globalization, with the world oblivious to our torment.