'Why do so many Malaysians enjoy laughing at others' misery? Do we think that we are immune to suffering? What if it happened to us or our loved ones?'
Malay daily's tsunami cartoon causes outrage
Paul Warren: I actually have to excuse Berita Harian for this cartoon. After all, in all their - and Utusan Malaysia's vitriols - it is only the sensitivities of the Malays that concern them. It would seem as if only the Malays have sensitivities and everyone else does not.
The Allah issue, body snatching, Hindu temples, the cow-head issue, the desecration of the Christian sacrament, calling others pendatang - they justified all of these, if not condoned them. They did not criticise the conduct of the Malay leaders who depend on this for their media appearance. So I guess in that spirit, they dealt with the Japanese the same way they treat their own fellow countrymen.
So really, no need to apologise. And those asking you to apologise are hypocrites really, because they don't squeal in shame when the rest happens.
Lonestar: What an idiotic, insensitive and obnoxious daily. How shameless can you be in this time of disaster and grief?
Atan-Toyol: I have not bought this paper for a long, long time. I knew about the cartoon only from Malaysiakini, and I condemn the paper's insensitivity to other people's tragedy. This is not representative of Malay etiquette nor Malaysians'.
It is unfortunate that the management is made up of Malays, who are the majority ethnic group of this country, and this reflects badly on the community. However, Berita Harian does not represent the community at all. People should not read this newspaper for a long time, despite the apologies.
Solaris Mas: And this while Malaysia relies so much on the Japanese economy and financial help? It's a great reflection on the management of Berita Harian .
Christy: Ugly, disgusting and distasteful. Why do so many Malaysians enjoy laughing at others' misery? Do we think that we are immune to suffering? What if it happened to us or our loved ones?
FreeEgypt: "We never meant to make fun of the disaster which has struck the country, and we deeply sympathise and share in sadness with the people of Japan," said Berita Harian .
If it's not to make fun, what was it for then?
NCIS: The whole world is trying to help Japan in whatever manner they can, and we have idios in Tanah Melayu poking fun at Japan's misery! This is ketuanan at its best.
Gen2: This is what you get when you appoint people with low mentality to become editors of national newspapers. No wonder the mainstream media circulation figures are dropping. Their brains can only understand slap-stick comedy.
Moontime: Berita Harian will definitely lose many readers by publishing this cartoon which was in extremely bad taste. It took furious protests and threats of boycotts for the editors to realise what a colossal mistake they had done.
While other news agencies are organising donations and relief efforts, the editors of this newspapers decided to agitate its readers with a cartoon that not only made a mockery of the tragedy but also made fun of a hero albeit an imaginary one.
Mike_3dcd: Berita Harian has got a funny sense of humour. I wonder how Malaysians will feel if the Twin Towers were to be hit by a MAS plane and a cartoon of it was published in Japan or elsewhere. We would have demonstrations on the streets clamouring for revenge and the burning of their flag. Tak tahu malu .
Nuckin: It's either Berita Harian staff are totally ignorant of what's happening outside their little tempurung (shells) or that they are just plain evil.
Geronimo: CNN has already reported on this case. Gosh, it is so embarrassing. I wonder what other idiotic things they will do when another disaster strike somewhere around the world?
Quite honestly, I don't think anyone in BN cared. If they don't care about the Indians and the Christians in this country, I doubt they give two hoots about the Japanese.
Outahere: When the Japanese start pulling out from Malaysia, we know who to blame. Not that Berita Hairan and their faithfuls care anyway. They will continue to blame the rest of the world, while they take two-generation housing loans and pay nine years for their Honda Civics.
Malaysiasakit: It seems to these fellows only the Malays and Islam cannot be insulted, while everybody else can be.
Proarte: This is what 'ketuanan Melayu' and ‘ketuanan Islam' as practised by Umno, PAS and Anwar Ibrahim has done to the Malays. It has made them immoral and insensitive. Look at the low level humour and gross insensitivity of the cartoon - this is what the powers-that-be think would appeal to the Malay masses.
No wonder then is there no protest from Malays over the trashy and disgusting 'Interlok' which humiliates and gratuitously insults Indians and Chinese. In fact, they have honoured the writer and made him a national laureate and enforced this immoral book on schoolchildren. It would appear that Malays somehow feel elevated when others are denigrated or facing a human tragedy like a tsunami.
What has happened to the cultured, polite and civilised Malay of old, where 'adat' held sway? A novel which would be more appropriate for students which has a moral message is 'Shit' by Shahnon Ahmad, another literary laureate. It is a metaphor for what has happened to Malay society - no longer repulsed by shit.
NuckinFuts: Small-minded people who run this newspaper do not see the big picture at all. They do not see that there are Japanese people who live and work here in Malaysia. They do not see that there are Malaysians in Japan who may be studying or living in the disaster struck area.
They do not see that there are people who are worried sick about their loved ones who may be lost or missing. They do not see the need to be a responsible Malaysian newspaper. They couldn't be bothered to be responsible global citizens.
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