theSun | TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1 2009
speak up!
Making sense
of cow sense
DURING my vaca-
tion in the UK, I
promised myself
that I would try for
the first time in 10
years to have a real
break. That meant
no phones, no col-
umns, no peeking
into the office email
and disengaging
myself from what Down2Earth
was going on back
home. by Terence Fernandez
But, as John Len-
non says, “life is what
happens to you when you are
busy making other plans”. With
a coterie of Malaysian friends
and relatives in London, the
topic of conversation was always
Malaysian politics, the new lead-
ership and ethnic relations. The
goings-on back home were too
serious to ignore, starting with
the Teoh Beng Hock tragedy in
my second week there. Even
when I tried to keep away from
Malaysian news portals as part
of my “detox” regime, I could
rely on my drinking buddies to
keep me abreast of what was
happening.
Flicking through the British
dailies, Malaysia kept popping
up. Three weeks ago the UK’s
Tourism Office released its
2009 summer holidays figures,
where arrivals from Malaysia
ranked No 1 with a massive 59%.
However, if we had something
to boast about, it ended there, as
a week later UK dailies carried
the case of model Kartika Shu-
karno who was sentenced to
whipping by the Syariah court
for consuming alcohol – a first
for the nation.
Malaysia is still very much in
the news in the UK, no thanks
to the “cow protesters” with
their antics while demonstrat-
ing against the relocation of a
Hindu temple in Shah Alam.
What was also mentioned was
the uncharacteristically sedate
riot police who had decided to
allow the protesters to exercise
their right to protest – an impor-
tant tenet for any democracy.
Unfortunately, the UK media
did not report on the prime
minister’s strong condemnation
of the provocation. Neither were
his instructions to the inspector-
general of police to book those
responsible.
The message here is that
bad news sells but good news
seldom makes the pages. Our
image abroad is taking a beat-
ing and Malaysians like myself
who in effect are ambassadors
of our country when we are
overseas find it tough to defend
our nation’s image.
Outsiders as well as Malay-
sians who have been abroad for
decades have a pre-conceived
notion about this country, no
thanks to what they read on the
Internet as well as their own ex-
periences and the experiences
of those close to them.
The condemnation of the
civil service, especially the
police and political parties from
the ruling coalition, are com-
mon fodder for much of the
50,000 Malaysians in the UK at
least. I get dirty looks as though
I have been compromised when
I say things like “the civil serv-
9
ice is improving” or
“I have met several
standout personali-
ties in the anti-cor-
ruption agency” or
“in spite of what
you hear, there are
many good people
in Umno” or “not
everyone in Pakatan
Rakyat are angels”.
In spite of having
heated arguments
over pints and nuts I
cannot blame them
as long as there are
individuals back home who go
out of their way to take us to
the dark ages and God forbid,
a system of government that
only the likes of Robert Mugabe
and Myanmar’s military junta
would approve.
Now with the latest contro-
versy over the proposed temple
relocation, one can already
guess what the headlines are
going to be: “Malaysia celebrates
52nd Independence Day amid
simmering racial tensions.”
I am told about this village in
Lombok, Indonesia, dominated
by Muslims and Christians
where the locals have been liv-
ing in harmony for generations.
During Christmas and Easter
when their Christian neigh-
bours attend mass, the Muslims
there are entrusted to keep an
eye on their homes. The favour
is returned during Ramadan
and Aidil Adha.
The need for this sort of
watching each other’s back
is necessary according to the
villagers as there are elements
from outside the village who
have been trying to cause ethnic
tensions by setting fire to homes
and places of worship.
Not to say that this is the case
in Shah Alam, but it would not
be inaccurate to say that judg-
ing by the hatred displayed at
the gates of the state secretariat
last Friday, there are many ele-
ments who are not on the same
page as the majority of Malay-
sians who have embraced the
premier’s 1Malaysia outreach.
And for a temple that has
been in existence for over 100
years, it is intriguing why the
relocation has suddenly become
an issue. The authorities must
nip this in the bud. The police’s
apology for not acting swiftly to
stop the illegal gathering is un-
acceptable especially when they
are ever ready to manhandle
peaceful candlelight protesters.
More importantly it is in-
cumbent upon the more level-
headed among us not to stoop
to the level of those who want to
divide rather than unite. Play-
ing football with any form of
livestock is not how we want to
mark 52 years as a nation and
allow elements to crush all that
we have built over the past five
decades.
Terence wishes all readers a
happy Merdeka Day but feels
that we have not achieved true
freedom if we are still shackled
by bigotry and intolerance. He is
deputy editor (special reports &
investigations) and can be con-
tacted at terence@thesundaily.
com