16 February
from http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/2/16/features/10115425&sec=features
Morals at stake
By Marina Mahathir
AS urban parents today, we have one of the most difficult jobs in dealing with teenage children who want to go out with their friends at night. Safety is an enormous concern. So we become the boring parents who nag them about the dangers of drink, drugs and talking to strange men. It's tough but it's got to be done.
Now we have a new topic to add to our "danger" list: raids by people who claim to be religious officials. How do we warn our children about this? Do we tell them that they are to ignore orders and call home immediately? Do we tell them to simply obey what will be humiliating and degrading orders?
The recent raid at one of KL's discos was eye-opening because it revealed the sheer perversity of the people who have the job of doing this. Does it make them feel righteous when they treat young people with such disregard? Are they counting how many points they will get before they go to heaven when they ask young girls to reveal their bodies to them, these people who insist that women should cover up so as not to tempt men?
As a parent, I am sickened by it. It is bad enough trying to protect our children from various predators but what do we do with officials who apparently have the "blessings" of the state? No, it is not feasible to simply lock up our kids at home. Not only will that create defiance and rebellion but also, if they are over 21, we have no more right to keep adult children under lock and key. But how do we protect them from the sanctimonious?
The answer is that we should simply stop putting up with it. There should be an end to these kinds of raids because they smack of hypocrisy. If the principle is that a sector of our population should not be out in discos for fear of compromising their morality, then why raid only one club on one night?
It's not an issue of raiding "politely" or "sensitively"; these raids should simply be stopped. We ought to fight against something that is so obviously abusive, especially when the grounds for the raid are suspicious in the first place. We should hold these people accountable for the damage they do to our children, traumatising and humiliating them so needlessly and indeed, since this is supposed to be done in the name of religion, turning them off religion completely.
How do we convince them that their religion is just and compassionate when the self-appointed guardians of it are obviously not? If I were one of the parents of the kids who were subjected to (let's call a spade a spade) harassment on that night, I would sue the harassers to oblivion.
This type of incident really should test the limits of our patience, if not completely end it. It is time we really put our money where our mouths are if we want to call ourselves a modern developed Muslim country.
We have to walk the talk so to speak. If we want to project an image of a just and tolerant society, then we should not put up with those who are unjust, intolerant and obviously happy to abuse what little power they have. We should stop all these so-called morality raids, both in nightspots and on couples. In the end we answer to only one Boss. Who are these people who appointed themselves our Boss's representatives on Earth? Excuse me, but we definitely don't want the type of sick people who want to take a good look at our frightened daughters' bodies under the auspices of some religious authority.
Everywhere I go around the developing world, people tell me how they look up to Malaysia as a progressive Muslim country; a shining example of what can be achieved if one always has people's well-being in mind. They admire the way we've been able to bring up our people's living standards, educate, house and improved their health and built a country that can compare with any in the developed world. Then these sorts of things happen and you get so embarrassed, you don't know where to put your face. Believe me, only the Taliban types (and those who think Malaysia should be taken down a peg or two) think these raids are a good thing. HI, HI, I AM ONE OF THEM! YAY! I'M TALIBAN!! People who think that the rest of the world isn't watching are living under the proverbial coconut shell.
What is going to be the result of this? Those who can afford it are simply going to send their kids away so they don't have to be subject to these idiocies. The gap between those who have the means of escape will increase, not to mention the loosening of ties to their homeland that kids who are sent away will feel. Those who remain will only become more resentful of their bad luck. We sit atop a volcano of simmering youthful rebellion. Who's to blame for that?
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I am positively angry, disappointed, sad, and in disbelief. I feel sick.