YOURSAY | ‘How can a religion have a holy or unholy war? There should not be any wars.’

On the way to Malaysia’s Islamic paradise

Cogito Ergo Sum: Well-written and analysed, Commander S Thayaparan. And the picture painted is all the more frightening because it is very plausible and real.

Malaysia is really a paradise lost. We had it all but threw it all away.

Armchair Newspaper: Non-Muslim Malaysians politically have been collectively engaged in this self-deluding retreat from their constitutional rights as citizens for the sake of keeping the peace.

The current political hegemony, demographic trends and growing economic disparity have resulted in the paradox that the non-Muslims are now perceived as the aggressor, ungrateful and harbouring ill-will towards the supreme race and religion.

It has a historical parallel in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich. It is therefore troubling and will plague the nation.

FairMind: This Malay-Islamic state where Sunni Islamic supremacy is fused with intolerant Malay nationalism is evident in the way Umno perpetuates its power over Malaysia.

The civil service, the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Armed Forces, the religious departments, the sultanates and the courts have already fused into the system in enabling Umno to remain in power since independence.

So the mufti of Pahang’s utterance of bloodshed and killings and the banning of the word ‘Allah’, intolerance of the Bible, temples, religious symbols, destruction of idols, etc, are all the work of supremacists.

The reasons given that they could be confused or misquoted are just red herrings as it allows the other parts of the fused system to take actions or overlook them, like in the cases of Ibrahim Ali and Ali Baharom (Ali Tinju), just to name a few.

This hegemony has been fool-proof until recently when Umno became too corrupt and arrogant, disregarding the burden of the masses by the imposition of onerousness taxes, and curbing of freedom and cracking down on dissidents.

Vent: Thanks for this article. As always, thought provoking and well-researched.

By the way, lest we forget as James Chin points out, Jakim (Department of Islamic Advancement) and its vile branches is the hydra that was created by none other than Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the man some actually believe is best placed to save Malaysia.

Our desperation deludes us. Nor will religious dogma save us. Religion is a crutch, never the solution.

AngryBird: Now we know who is whom in our country. But the problem is, it's already too late to act to remedy the situation.

Nehru: How can a religion have a holy or unholy war? There should not be any wars.

Cops, explosives and Islam in Malaysia

Armchair Newspaper: The ambivalence towards IS (Islamic State) shown by certain political leaders, from within Umno and PAS, is quite telling.

The muftis do not publically denounce IS as terrorists. Instead they are more interested to demonise their own citizens as anti-Islam.

From cradle to grave, Muslims in Malaysia are subject to the indoctrination of "them versus us". Is it any wonder why IS and radical Islam appeal to so many?

Social activist Marina Mahathir is correct. The government is responsible for the radicals and jihadists we export (and import).

Our politics of race/religious supremacy, championed by Umno, is at the heart of this radicalism. They are coming back to roost soon.

The Analyser: The forces of Bukit Aman will never be able to fully address the issue of Islamic extremism in Malaysia.

Mathematically for every one anti-terrorist police officers, there are 20 (?) imams working hard to produces fodder for religious fundamentalism.

Then there is a backlog of nearly 60 years of extreme religious indoctrination waiting for the right trigger to turn their religious delusions into a religious obsession.

And the triggers are many - poverty, greed, jealously, unemployment, rejection in love, arguments with parents, etc.

While Bukit Aman is pursuing a handful of known militants, the imams are hard at work destroying the ability of young Malays to think rationally and logically while at the same time filling their impressionable heads with nonsensical promises.

In addition, they idolise the characteristics of an illiterate plagiarist to whom violence and self-enrichment at a cost to others was acceptable.

Prudent: Thank you, Thayaparan, for a very informative, factual and insightful article presented in a straightforward and easy to understand manner.

SSG: Thayaparan, long ago I had an Indian friend/classmate who admired you. That was when I first got to know about you. My question then was, how could an Indian in Malaysia become commander in the Royal Malaysian Navy? Now I know why.

Your articles are concise and informative to say the least. You are also a strategic thinker, perhaps one of the many qualities you must have shown in your character which were noted by our leaders of that time.

That was when meritocracy was a requirement for promotions. Incidentally, my friend has migrated to a foreign country. He was part of the brain drain our country has suffered when mediocrity set in.

Perhaps that is one more important reasons why our country is going through this period of difficulty.

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