TIMING: While prioritising economic issues should take priority over hudud, espousing the view at a time when the bill was being debated, was not wise.
HITHERTO unknown to much of Malaysia, Aisyah Tajudin has suddenly become the latest Internet sensation for dipping her toes into the hyper-sensitive issue of the day.
By design or chance, her portrayal in a video where she gives a perspective on hudud in Kelantan is all it takes for her to earn the infamy.
The crux of the video merely promotes the idea that Kelantan should prioritise economic issues instead of insisting on enforcing hudud.
For a long time, others before her have presented the same argument, only with decorum to keep religious sentiments in check.
Now, enraged online mobs are baying for her blood, not dissimilar to the misfortune of author Salman Rushdie when Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini imposed the death sentence for mocking the prophet in his book, the Satanic Verses.
Rushdie's offence in the eyes of the Iranian spiritual figurehead was blasphemy, which is the same basis reportedly to be used in the police investigation into Aisyah's video following several reports against her.
Rushdie had to go into hiding for years and assume different identity for personal safety when the sentence was hanging over his head then.
Similar also to Rushdie, Aisyah is practicing freedom of speech when she chooses to act her part in the video.
Having a divergent view on any issue is tolerated in the country but the tolerance quickly evaporates when the subjects of race and religion are thrown into public domain.
Civility easily becomes the first casualty when madness starts to reign over who is right or wrong when the two subjects are raised.
Religious issues of any faith in the country has always had the tendency to consume people to the point of building so much hatred against one another.
It is within this understanding that anyone who wishes to be critical of any religions or the practices need consider before opening their mouth, post a video or write online comments.
Others with misgivings on the implementation of hudud in Kelantan have appeared to stay clear of adopting a mocking tone by keeping their objection based on the issues of law and the racial diversity of the nation.
This is wise in the larger interest of the country as picking a bone specifically with Islamic teachings might unnecessarily provoke a backlash.
Rude and vile statements should therefore be confined to talks at office pantry, or private comments shared between close friends as the risks are not worth the misery to personal lives.
Similarly, those threatening harm on Aisyah are just as intolerant for forgetting that there is law to deal with her alleged offfence.
The release of her video is about the time Kelantan government passed the Syariah Criminal Code Enactment (II) (1993) Amendment 2015, or hudud, on March 18.
It was the time when everybody was transfixed with the move by the state government to introduce hudud in Kelantan.
As it now seems, two distinct sides have formed when the passing of the amendment based on their views which are divided mainly along the line of Muslims and the others.
The video, reportedly not produced or scripted by Aisyah, has since been taken off YouTube by the maker Business FM Radio station when the heat against her escalates.
But, digital technology and its savvy users have ensured her immortality lives on the cyber world by keeping the video on other sites.
Aisyah, unfortunately, happens to be an unsuspecting victim caught in the circumstances of the day for trying to delve into a subject which is out of her depth.