Low Yat incident a symptom
COMMENT The Low Yat debacle is more than a theft story.
While the facts point to an attempt by one youth walking away with a Lenovo S860 handphone, the July 12 incident appears to be more than just that.
COMMENT The Low Yat debacle is more than a theft story.
While the facts point to an attempt by one youth walking away with a Lenovo S860 handphone, the July 12 incident appears to be more than just that.
Under normal circumstances, anyone cheated by a trader should have complained to the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry, and produce the receipt and the fake phone as evidence.
Walking away with a genuine phone is theft - I repeat, THEFT - in the strictest sense of the word. No one would believe any other versions, especially after a scuffle has taken place.
After all, there was a gift which should come along with the phone. Who would not want the special gift, especially if the purchase had been genuine in the first place?
Since there is a twist to the story, all that the police need to do now is to ask the youth to show his receipt of an earlier purchase. No receipt? Then, the youth is telling a lie. A wrong is a wrong, regardless of race. Period.
No one else should therefore exploit the situation or create racial tension. Personally, I am shocked to see the video clip of an unidentified man standing in front of Starbucks Coffee, whose speech was so full of hatred.
Such speech is nothing new. One can easily find it on the social media yet only certain people were being prosecuted for hurting the feeling of others, while it appears that others are given special immunity.
A bigger problem
As pointed out by PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, this incident is only a symptom of a bigger problem that the country is facing.
What will the future hold for the younger generations of Malaysians? If we care enough, we will not be resting on our laurels.
If the moderates from all walks of life, race and religious adherence fail to stand up to condemn the act of hooliganism, powered by race politics, the Low Yat debacle will continue to rear its ugly head time and again.
Edmund Burke once said: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Shame on all of us who consider ourselves Malaysians but we just stand by to watch, without doing anything to stop the rot.
It is time for us to tell the politicians that it is time that they walk the talk, and stop acting out of insincerity.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak promised that the Sedition Act will be used against hate mongers but over the number of incidents in the past, he had failed to act against fellow Umno minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for his boycott Chinese traders comments and the recent incident in Taman Medan involving another Umno leader Abdullah Abu Bakar.
In 2008, when a group of alleged Umno members paraded with a cow head in front of the Selangor state secretariat, the then-home affairs minister had no business in defending them, yet he saw it fit to come to their defence. They were let off with only a slap on the wrist.
Another group of alleged Umno activists also barged into the Penang state assembly. The actions are not necessarily racial in nature, because even former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s bus was splashed with red paint on a tour around the country. In another incident in Johor, his windscreen was smashed.
Knowing our beloved national laureate A Samad Said (Pak Samad), I can tell you that he is saddened at the number of incidents that prompted him to write a poem that has since gone viral.
Umno does have a serious problem. Instead of helping the Malays who are marginalised and still economically underprivileged, it has failed to provide a purpose of their existence in the global village.
In many ways, unless disciplinary actions are being taken by the more sound-minded veterans within the party, these actions by a few bad hats, including those with senior positions, will only erode people’s confidence in the party.
Selective prosecution
Selective prosecution has raised a lot of unhappiness with Najib’s style of leadership since coming into power in April 2009. This is one major reason why the Chinese community is largely indifferent, when Najib is being attacked by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He called it the Chinese tsunami after the poll results were announced during the last general election, but one reason why the Chinese abandoned the Barisan Nasional can be attributed to Najib’s lack of sincerity in his style of leadership.
On my part, as a Chinese Malaysian, I humbly apologise to all Malaysians for what had happened on July 12. While I can understand these young people were acting in self-defence and retaliation on behalf of their friends, this is the solution.
Instead, this is something that we should all be ashamed of especially during the month of Ramadan. Engaging in a fight will not benefit either party.
This is not the Malaysian way of handling problems especially when it involves crime. Let the long arm of the law deal with those involved in the brawl.
Nip the problem in the bud
If the problem is not nipped in the bud, more such incidents may end up becoming racial or even religious riots. It may give opportunities for a third party to try to destabilise the country by making it appear that it is an ethnic issue, when the motives are to topple the government through violence, instead of using the ballot boxes.
No religion, for example, would condone such violence. How did religion come into play then when violence is also used?
Although I am not Muslim, but to use the name of God in carrying out violence is a sin for anyone claiming to be religious or pious. God in the Bible has said in the Ten Commandments: “Do not use my name in vain.”
In his response, Persatuan Kebajikan Dakwah Islamiah (Pekida) president Jamaludin Yusuf was quick to deny the organisation’s involvement in it, but Jamaluddin fell short of outrightly condemning the use of Pekida by one of its members who claimed to be an ayahanda (Pekida leader).
Under such circumstances, Jamaluddin would be in the best of positions to haul up the so-called leader for disciplinary actions to be taken against him, and warn others not to exercise violence.
We have to show to all political parties and non-governmental organisations that violence will not be tolerated by Malaysians. I wish more Malaysians will speak up to show to the government that we mean business.
Only when Malaysians are united against acts of violence of this nature can we stop it from happening again. Meanwhile, I take this opportunity to wish all my Muslim friends, “Selamat Hari Raya! Maaf zahir batin.”
STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.
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