There is a hadith (tradition of the Prophet Muhammad) which some Muslims are in the habit of taking very literally. The hadith goes like this: "If a man reaches the age of 40 and he has still not repented, then he should prepare himself for hell."

Why do I say that some people take it literally? I mean that instead of being good all the time, some Muslims take it as tacit license to be as bad as they wanna be right until the eve of their 40th birthday. On the auspicious day itself they will then taubat (repent), preferably by throwing out all those liquor bottles and starting an account with Tabung Haji, all the better to get on the first rung of the stairway to heaven.

I realise how dangerous it is to put in my two dinar's worth when it comes to religious matters, but I honestly could not help thinking of the popular misreading of the hadith when I came across all the fuss surrounding the programming of Astro's channels.

You know, by now, that a few Malay "cultural leaders" had expressed alarm at the number of Chinese and Indian programmes available via satellite, as their proliferation could lead to "neo-colonialism" and the erosion of sound values. What's strange is that these "cultural leaders" did not feel unduly alarmed at the far greater number of American shows which can come right into your living room in the same manner.

Chief among these self-appointed cultural leaders is film-maker and actor Datuk Jins Shamsuddin. You know Jins, of course. He's been acting since the 1960s and he's always claimed P Ramlee as his mentor. He's also known for his Esok quartet from the late 1970s and early 1980s, a melodramatic clutch of movies revolving around fate, love, tragedy and long side-burns.

Jins has lately been remaking himself as a curried nationalist, no doubt in preparation for his long-delayed movie Pasir Salak , which revolves around the triumphant killing of that meddlesome Englishman JWW Birch, who had dared suggest, inter alia, that Malays should give up the practice of indentured slavery.

Jins' profile as a cultural spokesman has been raised by interviews in places like Dewan Budaya, and by receiving awards like Tokoh P Ramlee and Tokoh Perfileman Negeri Perak at two different Malaysian Film Festivals. (Odd coincidence: Jins was the head of the organising committee at both of the festivals that so richly rewarded him, but we will let this pass without much comment).

So, anyway: Does the hadith relate to Astro and Jins Shamsuddin? Yes, in a way, though not in a literal sense. I'm thinking more of analogy and metaphor, which are always more interesting than a merely literal reading, don't you think? For although Jins is much older than 40, and although matters of satellite programming are far too trivial and profane to be discussed on the same level as religious edicts, there ARE a few suggestive parallels.

Think about it. Jins made a huge name for himself by starring in a James Bond-inspired movie called Jefry Zain Dalam Gerak Kilat (1966). This was way back in the days when Malay movies had a few redeeming vices. The movie, true to its inspiration, featured gunplay and a campy megalomaniac (Salleh Kamil) intent on world domination, but also had alcohol, sexual innuendo, and an international gallery of bikini-clad woman.

The movie looks very different from the type you get today. It is wilder and faster. A huge pre-release controversy erupted when word leaked out that the movie contained a kissing scene. The matter was even raised in Parliament. The director Jamil Sulong (in his autobiography Kaca Permata ) included an Utusan Melayu press clipping (April 24, 1966) which began:

" Pergerakan Pemuda Umno Bahagian Bangsar telah mengambil keputusan untuk mendesak Menteri Besar Selangor Datuk Harun Haji Idris supaya mengharamkan tayangan filem-filem Melayu yang menunjukkan babak-babak cium seperti yang terdapat dalam filem 'Jefry Zain Dalam Gerak Kilat'."

Jamil also revealed that although the female lead Sarimah refused, Jins went along with the publicity gimmick by enacting kissy-kissy poses with a few other women in the cast. Those were the days!

The bulk of Malay movies back then were still based in Singapore and funded by Hong Kong conglomerates. If the Umno Youth division had been so inclined, it too could have raised the spectre of "neo-colonialism", although that's a mighty fancy concept for 1966.

Fast-forward three decades and what have we here? Jins has gone from the Malay James Bond to some kind of "ultra Malay" (to use a term which WOULD have been applicable in the late 1960s). It is not for me or for you to judge his personal motivations; I am merely pointing out how some people can make a complete turn-around.

Whatever the "mistakes" he made in the days of his heady youth, I just think it is unfortunate that Jins now chooses a redemptive platform which can smack so much of cultural myopia and racial chauvinism. It is especially ironic that this man has received the Tokoh P Ramlee award. When you reflect on the splendidly plural vision of the late Tan Sri, whose essentially moral world-view could encapsulate rather than alienate all the different races and traditions of our fair land, it is obvious that we have come a long way, baby. But at what cost?