One of the worst aspects of Malay conservatism reared its ugly head today.
In Shah Alam, in protest against construction of a Hindu temple, a group of individuals — no, barbarians is a more apt description for only barbarians are capable of committing such an uncivilized act — brought along with them a severed head of a cow with clear intention to insult.
SHAH ALAM, Aug 28 — A group of Malay-Muslim protesters claiming to be residents of Section 23 have threatened bloodshed unless the state government stopped the construction of a Hindu Temple.
Amid chants of “Allahuakbar,” the group also left the severed head of a cow at the entrance of the State Secretariat here as a warning to Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. [Protesters threaten bloodshed over Hindu temple. Shazwan Mustafa Kamal. The Malaysian Insider. August 28 2009]
They are multiple other more respectful ways to protest. For instance, they can bring the state government to court. Yet, they just had to do it in the most insulting way, given that cows are held sacred by the Hindus. The provocation was utterly unncessary and distasteful.
The group of barbarically educated protestors should be roundly and harshly criticized for what they had done. The most responsible action is to bring these barbarians to shame. Continuous moral pressure must be applied on them unrelentlessly. Condemnation in the strongest terms is in order.
That however is not the worst of the whole episode. They made explicit threat of bloodshed.
That threats must be taken seriously by the authority. Criticism and shaming alone will not be enough to ensure that that threat will not be carried out by the barbarians.
I intend to make myself clear. The protesters, at least the leaders, especially Ibrahim Haji Sabri, should be arrested for making threats. They should not be arrested for the gathering or for savagely parading the cow head, no matter how digusting the act is.
It is imperative that any action taken be grounded on proper rationale, even if the end result is the same.
p/s — the other side of the story.
A protester said that the temple was supposed to be moved to Section 22 instead of 23 from Section 19. I am interested in the truth behind the statement and if it is true, the reason why the state government decided to do so.
pp/s — after some desktop research, I stumbled upon Khalid Samad’s explanation:
Ada pula yang menambah Seksyen 22 adalah tapak cadangan kerajaan BN dulu, majoriti masyarakat Hindu. Hakikatnya tapak cadangan BN adalah kawasan kilang, jauh dari mana-mana penduduk, Muslim mahupun Hindu. Terlalu jauh dan amat tidak sesuai. Kalau betul ingin membantu, biarlah ikhlas, biarlah adil. [Respon pengunjung: Persoalan Kuil Seksyen 23. Khalid Samad. August 19 2009]
I encourage others to read Khalid Samad’s full post.
2 replies on “[2069] Of barbarians in Shah Alam”
regardless of whatever reason…. this is the WORST action ever.
This is a reflection of the way UMNO has fostered a high level of arrogance among sections of the Malay population – the fact that these guys even thought they could get away with this tells you that. And the fact that the police stood by and watched tells you all you need to know about the farce of ethnic equality in Malaysia. Non-Malays attempting a similar stunt would have been beaten and imprisoned without hesitation.