Will Malaysia Ever Be Free From Narrow Mindedness

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The top news items this week were about a Malaysian transgender cosmetics entrepreneur surfacing in Australia, and the brouhaha about a Malaysian made whisky with a name that might be confusing and offensive to certain sections of the population.
All media platforms were alight with supporters and opponents of both stories.
There were people who were wishing the cosmetics tycoon, who faces a blasphemy charge here, the very best in her new life in Australia. After escaping Malaysia to Thailand, she was granted asylum down under.
The millionaire herself on a live Instagram chat was asked by a fan why she had chosen Australia and replied: “…because they respect human rights.” That’s a damming indictment of Malaysia.
Of course, social media was also, in equal measure, filled with vitriol and bile about her lifestyle choice with free-flowing hate messages.
The whisky fiasco was equally perplexing.
Usually, if Malaysia wins an award in an international competition, we celebrate joyously. And this Malaysian made whisky won an award. Well, the award might be questionable. You know, these world branding awards, and how they work. Often, the promoters of a product pay top dollar to get listed as a top brand.
But winning an award, albeit of dubious provenance, did nothing to stop this “Malaysian whisky” from becoming the target of complaints and objections. There have been numerous calls for a ban on its production, saying that the very name was offensive to some Malaysians.
And once again, people have opted to take one side or the other, polarising the nation with something as innocuous as a brand name for a beverage.
Next week, it could be something else that people find offensive. There’s just no telling!
As a nation, do we disagree about everything? Are we such divisive and irritable people that we naturally start arguing, and choosing sides in whatever that crops up?
It seems that we are always contentious, and never content.
Too many Malaysians pick fights with each other at the drop of a hat. And, it looks like we have reached such a poisoned and prejudiced point in our nationhood that any topic, once it reaches the level of national discussion, can easily trigger off tremendous outrage, anger and bitterness.
Malaysia seems to be a hyper-sensitive country. Maybe this is why politicians are fond of reminding us not to raise or discuss certain issues they deem “sensitive”.
If you are sensitive about something, it means you easily become offended or emotionally upset. So, when we classify a subject as “sensitive”, we have to deal with it delicately. And, everyone walks on egg-shells because it might cause disagreement and upset someone or a particular group in our society.
If we continue to mollycoddle a chosen segment of Malaysians, and “protect” them from engaging in discussions about topics like religion, sexuality and race relations, can we progress collectively as a nation?
Doesn’t it stand to reason that if we don’t have mature national discourse on these topics, it is likely to reinforce existing biases and ignorance, which are the root cause of fanaticism and racism?
Ignorance suffocates the mind!
The reality is that a Malaysian-born, self-made cosmetics mogul, who should have been celebrated by our country, had to instead flee her homeland because of the discrimination, persecution, harassment, and even death threats, which she faced for years.
Can we have a proper discussion, untainted by religious zeal, about the ramifications this has for Malaysia as a society, and specifically about doing business in a country filled with such prejudices?
Is this how we treat people who may not fit into the prescribed and religious authorities-approved mould of what a Malaysian should be?
The country has just been elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Can we expect an improvement in protecting the rights of all of its citizens and our vast migrant population, if we keep getting caught up with moral and religious policing?
Our authorities also have a penchant of portraying Malaysians as highly confusable people.
So, when we see an alcoholic beverage that has a local name for a metal, which sometimes may also be used as a moniker for a female name, we get muddled up, and therefore it can offend some sensitivities.
This is the fundamental premise of the objection to the name of that Malaysian made whisky.
Are we really so easily confused as a people? Do we mysteriously get uncontrollable urges to do the things we normal wouldn’t, just by hearing a familiar name, or seeing a label?
There is fear that open discussion about delicate issues threaten the peace that we have managed to maintain for a long time in Malaysia. There is anxiety that if we openly talk about such matters, it will lead to discord and hatred. Or at least this is what we are told by our political leaders.
But history shows that it is ignorance which is the definitive cause for discord and hatred. To be incessantly told that we must not touch on sensitive issues is perversely counterintuitive.
If we don’t debate and discuss contentious issues, we can never get past them. They will remain, fester, and ultimately blow up in our faces.
When will we have mature discourse in Malaysia, free from the shackles of religion and dogma? - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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