2 posts tagged “hyprocrisy”
If a straight persons tells you he / she is married, would that person be considered to be flaunting his or her heterosexuality? Would a statement "Oh, I am married" elicit responses such as "Wah, he's / she's so open about her marital status!" or "I don't know why he / she had to say she is married, it's a private matter." Chances are, hearing that a straight person is married wouldn't cause anyone to bat an eyelid these days.
Reading some of the responses to Otto Fong's letter where he outed himself as a gay man, there are some folks who think that one's sexual orientation is a private matter which shouldn't be declared to the whole world. The only reason why people think it's a private matter is because these people being gay is wrong, otherwise, why would they think it's something which shouldn't be mentioned or announced in public? I think that people who say that one's sexual orientation shouldn't be declared in public as those who are homophobic and don't want to confront the issue that there are indeed non-heterosexuals in society. It's like having a mentally handicapped child who's the shame of a family. The fact that non-heterosexual people exists is not the problem, but society's indefensible prejudice and resistance towards accepting and respecting them in the same manner as they do for straight people which is the problem. Knowing that there is a gay person in their midsts may cause some people to reassess their prejudice against homosexuals and there are many who are not prepared to have their perspective of the status quo challenged.
It's hard not to notice them; the many billboards along the roads with the faces of all the Prime Ministers of Malaysia, saying that we should be grateful for their sacrifices made for the country. What about the contribution of the many ordinary Malaysia people - read tax payers? How come nobody is celebrating the collective contributions of the citizens of this country who have brought it to where it is today? Not a peep, which means to say that we're not important enough to be recognised. It riles me to no end to see inanely meaningless billboards which tout "Malaysia Gemilang". Gemilang for what? For falling standards in education? For increasing crime and corruption? For getting our priorities all screwed up - we have money to splash on a needless exercise to send someone to space to make teh tarik but the funds are somehow not available to make schools safe so that teachers don't crash through the ceilings of upper floors....
Despite the countdown to August 31 by the media to celebrate our 50 years as a sovereign country, I can't help but feel that there's not very much to celebrate or to be proud of as a nation. Fifty years of anything is always a milestone to commemorate, but I don't think there're many positive things to celebrate in Malaysia as things stand today. The main reason for my lack, or actually, absence of enthusiasm to celebrate this Merdeka, is that looking back from where we came from, this country has regressed in critical areas like race relations, religious freedom and the judicial independence. People are less tolerant and accepting these days compared to the days of my grandfather. The races seem to mix less and are more suspicious of each other. It doesn't help to have a heap of half baked, lobotomised and hypocritical politicians who pay lip service to the importance of racial harmony but have no qualms to score cheap political points in playing the race or religious card whenever they think it's expedient to do so.
I remember an old Malay gentlemen who was my late grandfather's friend and lived a couple of houses from my home. His name was Yusuf and he came from a world which has been swallowed by the tide of religious intolerance. Like my grandfather, Yusuf served in the army in World War 2 and was quite an anglophile. Many years ago, I remember my family invited Yusuf to our reunion dinner during Chinese New Year, simply because he had nowhere to go and nothing to do. By this time, Yusuf was already in his late 70's, but still lucid and sprightly. Before the dinner, my grandpa informed my grandma who was in charge of cooking the reunion dinner, that Yusuf was coming to dinner and to have some non-pork dishes prepared. It was so nice to have Yusuf join in our reunion dinner - our family is very small and untraditional, so we usually have friends over during such dinners. He didn't make an issue that we had pork and chicken dishes on the dinner table, although we ensured that we put the chicken dishes right in front of him. He didn't insist that he bring his own set of cutlery because our kitchen was not halal-ised. Much to our surprised he asked whether he could have a drop of whiskey as well to join in the celebration. Reading recently about some religious leader's instruction to Muslims not to attend non-Muslims' open house celebrations is a painfully jarring contrast to people of Yusuf's generation who came from a more easy going time and were able celebrate the diversity of our differences.
I remember than not so long ago, I came across an exhibition of old photographs from the 1940's - 1960's from the archives of the New Straits Times at a mall. Looking at those photos, many of which captured the innocence and hope of a young nation amongst the earnest faces of the different races photographed together moved me to feel more affinity for this country. Where did we go wrong between those early days and now? Where did we fuck up so badly that we find ourselves in this rut? Why do Malaysians vote the same unworthy politicians into office every general election?
