By P Ramasamy
Acts that seek to belittle religion or ethnicity are becoming increasingly common in Malaysia. These acts cannot be dismissed as something of an aberration, but are ominous symptoms of increasing racial and religious polarisation in Malaysia.
The slides of a Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) compulsory module for undergraduates – part of the Tamadun Islam and Tamadun Asia (Islamic and Asian Civilisation) course, poured scorn on Hinduism and Sikhism.
The slides mentioned that Islam introduced “manners of life” and “personal hygiene” to Hindus in India. It said Hindus preferred to be “dirty” as it was the requirement of their religion. Sikhism was the combination of Islam and Hinduism but unfortunately its founder Kabir did not really understand Islam and came more to be influenced by the Hindu environment.
It is very much regretted that a teaching slide such as this aimed to convey wrong information to students. Whoever prepared the contents of the slide either did not have an understanding of these faiths or simply was too bigoted to say anything positive about faiths other than Islam.
What a way to promote the greatness of Islam. The information conveyed is not only factually wrong but also done with the ill intention to put down religions like Hinduism and Sikhism.
How can Islam be viewed positively in Malaysia if its adherents seek to belittle the faiths of others?
It is wrong on the part of the Vice-Chancellor of UTM to say it was a mistake and that he would ensure the module be “corrected expeditiously.”
What is the point of rectifying the module when it was not a mistake in the first place but a deliberate act on the part of those who prepared the module to demean Hinduism and Sikhism?
As usual, the Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan sought to defuse the matter. He is obviously incapable of handling it well or even taking appropriate action against those responsible for this terrible thing. Kamalanathan is good at pleasing and humouring those in power.
In fact, the Vice-Chancellor should have been told to resign and action meted out against those responsible for smearing Hinduism or Sikhism. But Kamalanathan pathetically assured the public that the Vice-Chancellor had promised not to repeat the mistake again.
What kind of solution is this? How do you appease Hindus and Sikhs if Kamalanathan is merely happy to say that such acts will not repeated?
The Ministry of Education should mete out punishments. At least the ministry should suspend the Vice-Chancellor and those responsible pending investigation.
One could just imagine what would happen if Islam had been insulted.
The question is how those in responsible leadership positions continue to get away with such acts that hurt Hindus and Sikhs.
Other than the Sedition Act, we do not have specific laws that deal with hate crime and racial and religious discrimination in the country.
These and other acts of belittling faiths other than Islam is becoming a norm in Malaysia. These are not acts that can be dismissed as the work of some madmen but acts that find their nourishment in the majoritarian impulses that are strongly rooted in ethnicity and religion.
Too much focus on ethnicity and religion, produces outcomes like these.
P Ramasamy is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang.
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