Malaysiakini.com（http://www.malaysiakini.com）
１．Gaza & Malaysia - Charity with an agenda, 28 January 2009
by JJ Ray
The government’s untiring efforts to raise money for the people of Palestine is being justified as an humanitarian act and not one which is religion-focused.
Millions of ringgit have been raised and street protests have been held by the Muslims in Malaysia.
Unfortunately, with blessings from the government, schoolchildren too have been dragged into these protests.
It is very apparent that as the issue concerning Palestinians involves Muslims being persecuted by the Israelis, the Malaysian government has become extremely worried and is leaving no stone unturned to provide any form of assistance possible.
But the people know better. While the efforts are being justified as a human rights concern and not one due to religion, the truth is really out there.
Certainly for Malaysia, being a predominantly Muslim nation, watching fellow Muslims in other parts of the world being slaughtered riles her up. To get very angry because innocent people, young and old alike, are being crucified is understandable but the justification must be genuine.
To quote human rights as the reason for rendering assistance is once again the Malaysian government’s way of taking its people for a ride. It is no secret that the government is concerned because the persecution involves Muslims.
Had it been the killing of other races, for sure the government would not have bothered to raise millions and cry out for justice nor would it have “used” children in its street protests.
The world at large is very, very angry at the slaughter of the Palestinians but to offer support because the element involved is religion is unacceptable.
It is all about Islam and Muslims
If religion is not the concern, then why the calls for Muslims to boycott American products like McDonald’s, Starbucks, etc? Why not ask all Malaysians to boycott “all things American” by way of the human rights approach?
And why must the concern be heightened at this stage? Is it because the attacks on Gaza are becoming incessantly unbearable? Why was there no concern about the human rights of the people of Palestine several months back?
And is there any assurance that the so-called concerned people of Malaysia will continue to respect human rights of the people of Palestine or is the concern just a knee-jerk reaction?
Indeed, it came as a shock to hear Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi attributing human rights as the reason why Malaysia is terribly concerned with the persecution of Palestinians.
This is an outright lie because Malaysia’s worry is very much because the lives of Muslims in particular are at stake. This therefore makes Malaysia’s concern religion-based.
It is tiring to see how the Malaysian government is taking the people for granted by seeking funds for the people of Palestinians on the pretext that it is all about human rights. The truth is it is all about Islam and Muslims, not about human rights.
Yes, the persecution of the Palestinians is a violation of their human rights but then Abdullah and company must not create lies to lend a helping hand. Let those interested in helping do so sincerely because of the rape of human rights of the Palestinians.
It is bad enough that the people of Malaysia are being lied to that the government is going all out to help the Palestinians because it is all about “human rights”.
To make things worse, the likes of Abdullah and his deputy Najib Abdul Razak, have proved what hypocrites they are when they resorted to using children to carry out street protests. Why must the children be involved?
Don't get our schoolchildren involved
On Jan 9 this year, the ever-controversial Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein declared the government’s intention of mobilising the country’s five million schoolkids and their 360,765 teachers in a mass rally to protest the brutalities of the Israelis.
It was stupefying to note how politically-motivated Hishammuddin is that he is willing to take students and teachers away from their duty just to serve the government’s political agenda. Who bears responsibility over the safety of our schoolchildren then?
What about the psychological trauma the pupils will undergo being exposed to the atrocities of the Israelis? Has Hishammuddin ever thought of these?
Yes, many children have been killed by the Israelis. Still, gathering all our schoolchildren for the sake of supporting the government’s own game plan is not welcomed.
If Hishammuddin is so concerned by the abuse of human rights in Gaza, then let there be street protests by children and teachers each time the education system screws up and education suffers or each time a student or teacher is abused.
Or for that matter let children, teachers and parents take to the streets in a show of protests each time a child is abducted and the police fails to solve the case? Or let the children and the non- governmental organisations participate in street protests each time children’s rights are abused.
Or when domestic workers like Nirmala Bonat are inhumanely abused, allow the people to vent out their anger by hitting the streets.
Why are the police silent now when schoolchildren are being involved in street protests? In 2003, about 200,000 people including children crammed their way to Stadium Nasional in Bukit Jalil in a show of protest against the United States invasion of Iraq.
What is disgusting is the government’s double standards in supporting issues, all done to meet an agenda.
If indeed the Palestinian issue is heart-wrenching for Abdullah and Najib, what about the persecution of human rights back home? The censorship on freedom of expression is conveniently misused and abused by the “powers that be”.
A crappy way of showing leadership
In the Palestinian issue, even children are roped in as a form of freedom of expression. But why the unnecessary brouhaha when children supported the Jerit protests? Was that too not because they were concerned about the abuse of human rights in Malaysia?
Why condemn the Opposition for using children in their bicycle rally from Sungai Siput to Parliament House as a show of protest against the Internal Security Act? Was that not a demonstration against the abuse of human rights?
It appears that for Abdullah and Najib, it is only they who have the final say in determining who can and cannot engage in street demonstrations. What a crappy way of showing leadership!
When there are cases of child abuse being reported, where are our leaders and where are their enthusiasm in tackling such serious incidents? Why does Abdullah and Najib instruct teachers to collect pupils for street protests as a sign of fighting heinous crimes against children?
Why are our so-called leaders silent when many cases of abandoned babies are reported and when women cry rape? Why are there no aggressive efforts to ensure rape survivors are compensated in the form of monetary claims to help them seek professional counselling?
Why must human beings be so choosy in rendering help or aid to another in distress? Is the glamour behind it the only reason why help is calculatively offered?
There is no intention to insult the efforts of the federal government in wanting to raise as much money as possible for the people of Palestine.
What is sadly intolerable is the fact that human rights have never been on the agenda of our government and never will be because the government has never learned the ABC of human rights.
Looking at how the prime minister has conveniently latched on to the human rights agenda to justify the government’s help, it is high time that the government be educated about the ABC of human rights and then go on to educate the people too.
Media should not sensationalise war
For the ever-generous Malaysians, do they ask themselves why they without qualms drop their hard-earned notes into the Gaza donation boxes? Are they donating because they feel for the people in Gaza who have become refugees in their own homeland or is there any other explicit reason?
Where are these “sensitive” corporations and individuals when there are cries for help by the less underprivileged people? Are they offering help now because they want to win the hearts of the country’s top politicians like Abdullah and Najib?
The help towards the Palestinian people’s plight has become a vehicle to propagate Islam especially. How then can the non-Muslims place their faith in the Barisan Nasional government when it is not capable of being honest in its intentions?
The media too plays a crucial role in jolting the politicians back home on the importance of recognising and respecting human rights.
The media also must never sensationalise such tragedies nor portray journalists covering such horrors as heroes. Let the reporters do their job without any lure of glamour.
On the issue of the Gaza tragedy, schoolchildren in Malaysia are being forced to participate in demonstrations. Was parental consent a concern with the government? Why not educate the young and old alike on the topic of human rights?
Why the unrest when the Bar Council organised its previous human rights march? It is obvious our government does not practice what it preaches. So the question of leadership by example remains just that – a question.
Until and unless the Barisan Nasional government decides to get its act together and is genuine in offering help, the trust from people back home will always waiver.
・JJ RAY started her career with a mainstream publication. A non-conformist, she soon saw the barriers that went up whenever, through her writing, she tried to make the world a home for one and all.
２．Malaysia exercised over Gaza, 22 January 2009
by Baradan Kuppusamy
As an economically advanced country that seeks a key role in the Muslim world, it is perhaps natural that Malaysia and its people are exercised over Israel’s war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Malaysia has taken a lead role in persuading the United Nations to hold a special session on Gaza and this initiative has fructified, according to an announcement by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday.
Abdullah said that he is in receipt of a letter dated Jan 12, from Miguel Brockman, president of the UN General Assembly, saying that a session would be called on Thursday.
Brockman said in the letter, that the session, originally set for Jan 8, had to be postponed because of the UN Security Council meeting which passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Following the failure of the Security Council to get Israel to withdraw from Gaza, a sitting of Malaysia’s parliament was convened on Monday, in which a 10-point resolution was passed which, among other things, called on the UN to hold a special session themed ‘Uniting For Peace’.
Meanwhile, ordinary Malaysians have been showing their anger in daily demonstrations, fund raising and a widening boycott of famous brand names like Starbucks and Coca Cola in the hope of hurting Israel’s principal backer, the United States.
Numerous organisations, from newspapers to universities, non-governmental organisations and even uniformed bodies like the police and army units, are raising cash and essentials like medicines, packaged food and blankets to be rushed to Gaza.
Highway toll operators have agreed to set up collection boxes at their toll plazas for motorists to donate to the Palestinian victims in Gaza. One minister has suggested filling a large ship with essentials, and landing it on the Gaza coastline.
Experts attribute the high levels of public anger to the prominence given by the national media to the events in Gaza, with television channels endlessly screening images of injured or dead civilians, especially children, without any censorship or scale back for viewer sensitivity.
Widespread anger against Israel
Consequently, public demand to boycott US goods (Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel) is taking on an ugly tone worrying major American enterprises like Coca Cola and Starbucks, which have been incorrectly accused of supporting Israel in the war.
Both these companies and others are hoping to minimise the impact of a boycott, explaining they are locally incorporated, hire local workers and sell their products locally.
"Our product has no political content to it, we are non-political," Coca Cola Malaysia said in a statement to counter criticism that it supports Israel. Starbucks also refuted allegations along the same lines.
Of greater significance is Malaysia suspending, on Tuesday, ongoing talks for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) worth billions of dollars with the US. This is the toughest step Malaysia has taken to press the US to intervene and get Israel to agree to a ceasefire.
Experts said local political rivalry is also contributing to the unprecedented anger, strong words and large scale mobilisation to boycott American made goods.
Despite widespread mobilisation and venting of anger against Israel, there is still frustration among Muslims and non-Muslims alike that Israel can ignore international opinion because of US support.
"US support for Israel is so total that it can attack Gaza with impunity," S Arulchelvam, secretary general of Parti Sosialis Malaysia, told IPS. "There is mounting frustration that public action has no effect on Israel," he said.
Arulchelvam advocates co-ordination with other countries to launch a simultaneous worldwide protest that includes boycotting of goods and services.
Prominent intellectual SM Mohamed Idris has urged the government to abrogate the FTA altogether as one way to show the US that small nations like Malaysia matter. "Where trade and commerce is involved it can hurt the aggressor," he told IPS.
However, numerous trade organisations warned that a boycott is no answer because it would hurt the income of local businesses allied with US multinationals and create local unemployment and even invite retaliation.
A similar boycott of American goods during the US attack on Iraq had failed largely because the general public was not convinced that the U.S. was doing a bad thing by attacking an ‘evil’ nation like Iraq.
Five years later the public mood has changed and not only Muslims but Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Hindus have joined hands with Muslims to organise protests and raise funds for the injured.
Coming together in a crisis
In scenes not seen before, scores of Sikh temples are raising funds for the Palestinians; sending doctors to the border with Egypt along with Christian churches and Hindu temples in a show of unity not seen before.
Most political observers who expressed surprise at the unity among the various races speculate that the sea-change in the political landscape in general elections last year that saw the rise of multi-racial political parties and the retreat of race-based policies as a key reason for the outpouring for Palestine.
"People here see themselves and the world differently, no longer through the prism of race or religion but as oppressed and oppressor," said opposition lawmaker Nasir Hashim.
"They see the sufferings of the Palestinians and can easily empathise with them. They can clearly see who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed, the victim," Nasir said.
Under pressure from an angry public the Malaysian government is on a diplomatic offensive to pressure the US, European Union, China and India to raise their voices at official levels and at international forums on behalf of the Palestinian people.
"We cannot let this slaughter of innocent people go on," Abdullah told parliament to an applause on Monday. "We have to wake up the international community to the genocide and act fast to save the Palestinian people."
Abdullah who is president of Umno is himself under pressure from PAS to take a hard line against the US and the west for backing the Israeli aggression.
PAS and Umno are rivals for the loyalty of majority Malay-Muslims who form 65 percent of Malaysia’s 25 million people.
Although small in size compared to neighbouring Indonesia with a population of 210 million, Malaysia is coming into its own in the Muslim world because of its economic successes and sees itself well-positioned to play a role in the Middle East conflict. - IPS
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