Two Rohingya refugee boats were turned away by Malaysia, a non-signatory member of UNHCR refugee's convention.
Many called the action (or "inaction") as rather inhumane and selfish. While agreeing that lives must be saved regardless of colour and faiths, long-term factors around this issue must be addressed - employment and socio-economy, mainly – because as witnessed in Myanmar currently, Rohingya's refugees cannot be sent back to their home in a month or two given the current condition.
Pondering deeper into the root of the conflict itself, Myanmar's politics and the public perception towards Muslims there, there is so much to learn on inter-religion and inter-faith perception and relations.
It is stereotyping, or worse, with remote "tales", that have endangered Rohingya.
It is interesting to relate to Malaysia when Alan Strathern, an Oxford fellow writing in his column in BBC News Magazine, pointed out that it is a fear of being converted to Muslims, the ones they claim "radical" and destructive to the whole world by building Islamic States that drives their (Myanmar's) "defence mechanism".
A deja vu is felt there, isn't it?
In Malaysia, though having not experienced a civil war between faiths, we have long experienced the generalised labeling and stereotyping towards members of opposite faiths, especially ones driven by the fear of conversion.
Does labeling DAP as a party that aims to convert Muslims to Christianity ring a bell?
From my own experience, I remember receiving a pamphlet containing propaganda to reject DAP because most of the Chinese DAP members are Christians, implying that DAP – directly or indirectly – reject membership from Buddhist Chinese, quite explicitly.
Of course, there are more things like the fear of the "cross" sign, the holy water mixed with some brands of drinking water to convert you to Christianity within days as well as the exclusive claim to "Allah".
But to be fair, members of other faiths do get unjustifiably sensitive when non-Muslims are given free copies of the Quran.
Unlike in the UK for example, the Malaysian public is too afraid (or shy, if you prefer) to engage with one another in inter-faith talks and discourse.
While there was once a forum titled "Memeluk Islam" which was banned here, the BBC had taken an initiative to televise a talk show to discuss the acceptance of LGBT community in Islam, nationally!
We, bearing the "traditional Asian minds", are so fearful of knowing new things and addressing things we rarely discuss.
So, what we do is strictly confine ourselves to our own way of knowing things.
We never consider what the others think of Jesus.
Heck, some Malay Muslims might even get confused upon knowing the English translation of the Prophet Isa in the Quran is written as "Jesus". And they might think, "Is this a Christian-sabotaged copy?"
We have never given our kids more choices to know more things outside of our own belief in principles of lives and interaction between different races.
What we do is simply shout racist stereotypical curses towards people different from us from inside a car while our kids are sitting at the back. Now we wonder why racial relations never get better. Surprise, surprise!
It is now the time for us to man up and start talking and more importantly, listening to what the others have to say, not simply putting them in "hell residents" category.
If one believes that his faith is the most righteous one, then what he has to do is to prove it, not to smear dirt on it; give more reasons why people should join you, not to stay away from you.
Now we are hearing some people say that some of the non-Muslims here in Malaysia are "kafir harbi", the ones considered to be executed in the name of Islam.
If you ever think that way, then do consider this as well: are you a Burmese Bin Laden wannabe?
Many called the action (or "inaction") as rather inhumane and selfish. While agreeing that lives must be saved regardless of colour and faiths, long-term factors around this issue must be addressed - employment and socio-economy, mainly – because as witnessed in Myanmar currently, Rohingya's refugees cannot be sent back to their home in a month or two given the current condition.
Pondering deeper into the root of the conflict itself, Myanmar's politics and the public perception towards Muslims there, there is so much to learn on inter-religion and inter-faith perception and relations.
It is stereotyping, or worse, with remote "tales", that have endangered Rohingya.
It is interesting to relate to Malaysia when Alan Strathern, an Oxford fellow writing in his column in BBC News Magazine, pointed out that it is a fear of being converted to Muslims, the ones they claim "radical" and destructive to the whole world by building Islamic States that drives their (Myanmar's) "defence mechanism".
A deja vu is felt there, isn't it?
In Malaysia, though having not experienced a civil war between faiths, we have long experienced the generalised labeling and stereotyping towards members of opposite faiths, especially ones driven by the fear of conversion.
Does labeling DAP as a party that aims to convert Muslims to Christianity ring a bell?
From my own experience, I remember receiving a pamphlet containing propaganda to reject DAP because most of the Chinese DAP members are Christians, implying that DAP – directly or indirectly – reject membership from Buddhist Chinese, quite explicitly.
Of course, there are more things like the fear of the "cross" sign, the holy water mixed with some brands of drinking water to convert you to Christianity within days as well as the exclusive claim to "Allah".
But to be fair, members of other faiths do get unjustifiably sensitive when non-Muslims are given free copies of the Quran.
Unlike in the UK for example, the Malaysian public is too afraid (or shy, if you prefer) to engage with one another in inter-faith talks and discourse.
While there was once a forum titled "Memeluk Islam" which was banned here, the BBC had taken an initiative to televise a talk show to discuss the acceptance of LGBT community in Islam, nationally!
We, bearing the "traditional Asian minds", are so fearful of knowing new things and addressing things we rarely discuss.
So, what we do is strictly confine ourselves to our own way of knowing things.
We never consider what the others think of Jesus.
Heck, some Malay Muslims might even get confused upon knowing the English translation of the Prophet Isa in the Quran is written as "Jesus". And they might think, "Is this a Christian-sabotaged copy?"
We have never given our kids more choices to know more things outside of our own belief in principles of lives and interaction between different races.
What we do is simply shout racist stereotypical curses towards people different from us from inside a car while our kids are sitting at the back. Now we wonder why racial relations never get better. Surprise, surprise!
It is now the time for us to man up and start talking and more importantly, listening to what the others have to say, not simply putting them in "hell residents" category.
If one believes that his faith is the most righteous one, then what he has to do is to prove it, not to smear dirt on it; give more reasons why people should join you, not to stay away from you.
Now we are hearing some people say that some of the non-Muslims here in Malaysia are "kafir harbi", the ones considered to be executed in the name of Islam.
If you ever think that way, then do consider this as well: are you a Burmese Bin Laden wannabe?
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