MAY 10 is a special day for Malaysians. For those of us who voted for change, it meant waking up to a renewed sense of pride because, for the longest time, many of us were embarrassed by our country.
Malaysia had made world headlines for the wrong reasons — corruption, fraud and misappropriation — and it had become difficult to face the world without shame. So, in the 14th General Election, we changed that because our love for our country spoke louder than our urge to run away from it.
And we thought that, given the questionably low bar set by the previous government where connectedness with the community was concerned, it would be hard for a party that claimed to be people-centric to let us down.
So, excuse us for feeling disappointed because we voted for a progressive new Malaysia that is eager to be recognised by the world for the right reasons —a Malaysia that we can be proud of.
So, it is appalling that not only are there videos of public caning being circulated on social media, there are also people encouraging the act to be normalised.
It is disturbing that a state government wants people to be desensitised to see other people be publicly humiliated and hurt. It is even more troubling that Islam is used to justify such conditioning.
In the Quran, Allah tells us that, “those who love (to see) scandal published (and) broadcast among the Believers will have a grievous penalty in this lifetime and in the Hereafter” (24:19). In fact, Prophet Muhammad said it is wicked for someone to demean a fellow Muslim.
To be respectful of each other’s dignity is so sacred that Allah tells us that it is wrong to defame and be sarcastic to each other or call each other by offensive nicknames because we can never know if they could be better people than we are [49:11].
It is time we stopped using Islam as an excuse to exert oppression over others and accept that Islam is, and must be, known foremost for its gentleness, kindness and mercy.
This is the beauty of Islam that must prevail over everything that we do as a people and as a country. This is the country that we want to be proud of.
Majidah Hashim, Kuala Lumpur