Time to halt the ‘madness’

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak 
My View - The Sun Daily 
September 30, 2015

FINALLY the much dreaded word gets into the picture – gila! Although this time it is confined to some stray dogs, the feeling of "madness" has long been felt during the many dog-eats-dog moments of late.

For instance, what boggles the mind is how a state like Penang – a supposedly modern and technologically savvy state – ends up alongside Kedah and Perlis in a stray dog saga?

One would think the "healthier" Penang slogan would have cleansed the state of such basic issues. Basic because casual observation points to uncollected rubbish sites along the roadside as the rendezvous points for the strays (including cats and rats) scavenging for food. This is the case at Taman Pekaka, Sungai Dua, near the spot where cars are parked illegally over the yellow line and under the "No parking" and "Clamping" signs, as highlighted six months ago.

The least that should have been done is to remove the signs to "legalise" the parking. So what are we to expect of more complicated tasks of clearing rubbish heaps attracting stray dogs? This is a madness that makes monkey of the slogan-laden island.

Another madness is the claim of "lslamic racism" by a politician from an east coast state known locally as "the corridor of Mekkah". This can only be put down as a slip of the tongue, and hopefully not the fault of the mind! Otherwise it raises a vital question as to what madness is going on in the heads of some politicians. At a time when Islam is coloured with other madness to promote "Islamophobia", mislabels like "Islamic racism" do not help. It plays into the hands of those that liken it to another Zionism of sorts.

What a disservice for Islam which is race-blind? The "racists" have forgotten the last sermon of the Prophet of Islam who flatly demolished the discriminatory ideas and practices in Islam. The Prophet categorically said: "All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action." There is no room for any kind of racist madness in Islam except to serve the "bad" actions of some political desperados.

Closely related to this is what I term the "Cold War-like" madness. It is typified by dark clouds of suspicion, untrustworthiness, blame games, unveiled threats, lack of transparency, recycling of unsubstantiated news and petty gossip. These invaded the public sphere many months ago. Of late the pressure was heightened when two large "illegal" gatherings were held.

Fortunately good sense prevailed thanks to the more matured Malaysian psyche and in particular the uniformed personnel who are (un)learning some of the tactics of crowd control leading to more "peaceful" gatherings. The only way for such assemblies to eventually fizzle out is to get rid of the Cold War-like madness and have a direct and more civil dialogue that gives room for honest dissent and alternative views to be channelled in an unthreatening atmosphere towards national reconciliation. This will go a long way to diminish the apparent "psychological tension" that is beginning to envelope the country like the thickening smog with all of its unhealthy consequences. Any draconian measure will only create more dis/mistrust.

The choice of course is on the part of the relevant authorities to create a path of least resistance, as there are still many "friendly" measures that could be taken so that the Cold War-like madness does not become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Ultimately we need to avoid yet another form of madness that will seize us as a nation. That is "gila babi" – nothing to do with the "animal" going mad but a colloquial phrase for mental seizure of some sort generated by general aberration of thoughts, bordering on uncontrolled aggressive behaviour leading to untoward violence. This is a crossroad of no return that all Malaysians must be forewarned against because once we cross it all hell will break lose that none will gain from, except for the proponents of all manner of madness that is slowly nibbling at the prevailing sanity. Hence there is a need to immediately dismantle the expanding circus of madness involving the stray actors – animals and humans – before it turns into a theatre of national tragedies. This genre of "gila" is unacceptable that all peace-loving Malaysians must stand firm against to save our beloved nation.