Lina Joy sets discrimination against Muslims in stone (Part One)

How many societies in the world actively celebrate discrimination against their own? As various Muslim groups and quarters laud the decision of the Federal Court in Lina Joy v. Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan & Ors, the more devious implication of the majority decision is lost on many.

As a result of the aforementioned case, an extra requirement is imposed upon members of the faithful in matters relating to membership of the faith; a requirement which is not imposed upon other segments of Malaysia’s various religions. This means that non-Muslims, and therefore by implication the non-Bumiputeras, are afforded more human rights than the princes of the soil. But instead of being up in arms over this form of discrimination, conservative Muslim groups have decided to celebrate the decision as a move which protects the special status of Islam in Malaysia at the expense of a human right.

This discrimination was mentioned by His Lordship Richard Malanjum FCJ himself in his dissenting judgment:

Regulation 4… has, however, singled out Muslims for additional procedural burdens and impediments which are not connected to personal law. It requires that any registrant or person applying who is a Muslim has to state his or her religion. The requirement does not apply to non-Muslims. There is therefore a differential treatment for Muslims. Hence, in my view this tantamount(s) to unequal treatment under the law… In other words it is discriminatory and unconstitutional and should therefore be struck down.

The case of Lina Joy also signifies the growing Islamisation of the country when conservatives are willing to sacrifice their very own freedom in a bid to protect Islam as the religion with a special status in the country. It is worrying when one imagines what else they are willing to sacrifice. Yes, it is noble to protect Islam from unwanted influences, but one must realize that any idea or belief which unifies also operates by way of exclusion. Are the wishes of one woman enough to bind the whole ummah? Taking that further, are we willing to imprison Bumiputeras so as to protect its special status?

The case of Lina Joy merely sets the road upon which this nation is travelling on stone, and it has deviated so far we know not where we are.

At least Jonathan Kent does have a halo

A certain ‘Mark’ wrote in to Malaysiakini clarifying BBC’s supposed partiality towards the British government, noting that:

On the contrary, the BBC board is appointed by the government, its licence and budget comes up for review every few years, and it has demonstrably bent over backwards to keep the government happy. What shred of dignity it once had disappeared with its appalling (and appallingly ongoing) non-coverage of the Iraq war.

Media studies consistently show the BBC to be the most pro-government of broadcasters. For example, in the lead up to the Iraq invasion it virtually barred sane anti-war voices from its screens (there’s plenty of evidence, see the Glasgow and Cardiff Universities studies for examples).

Malay Dailies Criticize Maybank U-Turn

Amidst talk of boycott and angry Malaysiakini letters, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia carried news of statements by various Bumiputera factions claiming that Maybank’s proposed ruling on empanelment which required a law firm to have three partners, one of whom must be a Bumiputera with at least a 50% equity stake in the firm, should have been enforced.

In the Berita Harian, it was reported that Gagasan Badan Ekonomi Melayu (Gabem) felt the rulings would have ensured the preservation of Bumiputera interests as well as allow them to compete in a fairer environment.

The chairman of Gabem, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, said that the organization wants Malaysia to not only be economically developed, but also for the people to live in unity. As such, he continued, what Maybank did was patriotic and positive towards the efforts of placing Malaysia as a developed and unified country.

Maybank Revises Guidelines

A few days after Maybank’s new ruling on selection of law firms based on race equity for empanelment, the country’s largest bank has decided to revise the aforesaid ruling. According to Bernama, ‘Malayan Banking Bhd, Wednesday said it will continue to select solicitor firms based primarily on performance, efficiency and merit, revising earlier guidelines requiring legal firms to have Bumiputera equity if they wanted to do business with the bank.’

Germany’s Old Aryan Ruling

In early 1930s Nazi Germany, the party in power began isolating the Jews from almost all spheres of national life; boycotts of Jewish professionals were encouraged in informal decrees and it was not long before formal rulings were introduced to bar Jews from being doctors, lawyers, judges and other members of esteemed professions.

“Avoid Jewish Physicians and Lawyers”

“Jewish Lawyers And Notaries May No Longer Have Legal Responsibilities Regarding the City of Berlin. 18 March 1933.”

1 April 1933: the public is advised “Don’t go to Jewish lawyers”; warnings on red notepaper reading “Visits prohibited! Jew!” were affixed to the
doorplates of Jewish lawyers’ offices, here in Munich at the Stachus.

Maybank’s New Bumiputera Ruling

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), the country’s largest banking group, introduced new regulations which would require law firms to have a minimum of three partners, of whom one must be Bumiputera with a minimum 50 per cent stake in the firm. The new regulations were supposed to take effect 1 July 2007, but may be changed pending a review of the said regulations following criticisms from various quarters, not least the Bar Council. Another bank, which has not been identified, has been reported as planning to introduce to same regulations.

Political Apathy

Politics in Malaysia remains the domain of those who are involved within it. If voter turnout in the recent by-elections are anything to go by, one would think that that statement is not true. However, sentiments among the populace are strangely those of resignation, of apathy, of non-commitment. Ask anyone their political affiliation and the answer is a perplexed rebuttal questioning the very role of political affiliation in a country like Malaysia, where Barisan Nasional has been at the helm of power ever since independence and the closest it got to a democratic defeat ended in fists and violence in order to maintain the status quo.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat gets busy

Various members of Parti Keadilan Rakyat seem to have their hands full these days. Namely, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim has recently announced his intention to contend for the presidency of the party regardless of the outcome of an appeal to the Registrar of Societies; a potential outcome being that the party be de-registered or suspended should the Registrar not allow Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s appeal and if the former Deputy Prime Minister maintains on regaining the party’s presidency. The party’s current leader, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also his wife, has already made known that she would resign to accommodate her husband’s ambitions.

And so US$50 billion disappears

It is now March, and the story that was has since completely disappeared. If the entire proceedings were true, then it has gone great lengths to hide itself. If it turns out to be a fabrication, a mere creation of fantasy by an overzealous citizen, then we have all been made fools of ourselves. No matter. We’ve all forgotten about it anyway.

US$50bil Loan – A fiasco of a fiasco

On the 12th of January 2007, popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin posted on his own website details of alleged wrongdoings by several parties including a section of the Malaysian Government involving a US$50bil loan. The story was also reported in Malaysiakini. The gist of the matter concerns the use of a company, which is in the process of a winding-up, to obtain the massive loan from 25 prime banks, which in turn would be funneled to the Malaysian Government in its efforts to finance the 9th Malaysian Plan.

The story itself allegedly involves numerous persons, including Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Khairy Jamaluddin, certain individuals from Bank Negara as well as other individuals affiliated with the aforementioned company and the financing corporations related to it. There are even details of meetings between some of these individuals down to the time and place, as well as pictures of scanned documents allegedly lining out the deal.