LOL! \’!1Funny Malaysia\’

LOL. For a very long time, I did not know what this SMS-speak acronym meant. So, I asked my daughter for a translation, and she replied: ‘LOL Dad is for L aughing O ut L oud!

I could not help but also laugh out loud when I read that \”the authorities had confiscated two Malaysiakini books\”; but what was really ‘1Funny Malaysia’ was that one of them was Zunar’s cartoon book by the same title.

I better go out and buy one before the price goes up – at least for its prestige value – as this must be the first ever cartoon book to be seized by the authorities! In ‘1Funny Malaysia’, anything ‘boleh mah!’.Malaysia truly funny pun ‘boleh!’

I had said that my favourite political/cultural cartoonist was Lat. Maybe Zunar ( below right ) now has opportunity for my adoration and admiration too after this, his now famous episode because I will take this cartoonist more seriously if he can really become a serious threat to the nation by simply drawing cartoons! LOL!

Cartoons are by definition for those who can ‘enjoy cryptic jokes in summary form by artistic sketches’. It cannot educate the large masses about really anything other than to create, maybe, mass hysteria! LOL!

I am sorry, but I think these authorities are stupid to say the least. In fact, my preferred language is that they are incompetently uniformed. Not within two weeks after Judge Mohd Ariff Yusof’s decision on the Sisters in Islam book case, the Publication Unit of the home affairs ministry performs this comedy act.

Why do I call these administrators of the law incompetently uniformed? First, if one is in the book division or in the book or knowledge business, one has to know the root word for both ignorance and knowledge is the same Greek word, gnosis . From the extrapolation of this word in English we get the word ignosis and thence ignorance. Gnosis is knowledge and the absence of the same is ignorance.

I used to sit on the National Book Council of the education ministry during my international trade and industry ministry (Miti) days. That was when I was fully educated about the complete ignorance of the home affairs ministry. The Book Council’s biggest complaint to the then Miti minister was that ‘home affairs does not know the difference between books which threaten security and those that inform and educate people’.

Book division or ignorance division?

Let me give a simple example. The book by Karen Amstrong entitled ‘The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism’ is currently banned. Why? God only knows because only He can understand the thinking and logic of the so-called book division or ignorance division I would say!

On the other hand, for another example, another book entitled \”Crucifixion or Cruci-fiction,\” by Ahmed Deedat is not even banned when it fully and totally abuses Christians and their theology.

In fact, at one post-cabinet meeting which I attended under the then prime minister who was also home affairs minister, the inspector-general of police, yes, the IGP himself complained to the PM that ‘this Ahmad Deedat fellow is causing many problems because he abuses the Christians and their theology whenever he speaks in Malaysia’.

Apparently, according to the then IGP, the late Ahmad Deedat, a South African by citizenship, was sponsored to visit Malaysia by a powerful political leader and therefore was untouchable by the police even when the Christians were increasingly becoming upset by his speeches.

Which raises the same question raised by Judge Mohd Ariff as to why the SIS book – which has been in publication for some time – was only now seized? That makes me curious whether it is because either the ‘wrong’ political leaders are behind these books or maybe the ministry now intends to show their stronger arm of the law?

But why do it with power of the law or ignosis ? I have always argued that empowerment is really an older but decrepit version of theology and philosophy of life. What do I mean?

Empowerment comes from the root word ‘of power’. To ‘em-power’ is to put in more power. How can one put in more power than the law allows? Where does all power come from? From the law of the land, I presume. Where does this land get such power? From the United Nations, I believe.

For if one is not accredited by the UN then I am not sure where one goes to seek modern remedies for inter-nation wrong-doings other than to start wars as in the old days. Then we are back to the bad old days.

Where then do all nations of the UN get their power from? The UN System of Global Governance set up after the Second World War to mediate and moderate disagreements without starting new wars. Therefore the UN has an elaborate system for civilised governance based on a set of rules and regulations.

Our ‘Father of Justice’

The UN Declaration of Human Rights is just one of the many agreements which a large majority of nations have signed. Therefore all citizens of the world can turn to the UN system to seek resolution for any national disagreements including any aggrievement, I believe.

Where then does the UN system get its authority for power from? The short answer is from the seven members of the UN Security Council; the ‘Big Brother Nations’ of the UN system (if you will), who can and will enforce the will of all nations. When the seven members agree with all others, as historical victors in the last global war, they enforce peace.

To me, the more profound answer is that this authority and power comes from the Author of all life and living; the Creator of the universe. If this is true (or at least the majority of us believe this to be true) all authority and power comes from this Author of life. We can, therefore, only institute and instruct what we already have.

We cannot delegate or empower more than we possess. Therefore, is it not relevant to ask ‘What power do these authorities have to enforce their ignorance’? You see, if God is God, then all human power is only an opportunity for good stewardship of the administration of a nation on His behalf as trustees or ‘caliphs’.

Can we allow abuses and misuses to continue in this nation anymore? Poor and decrepit administrative governance seems to be the order of the day today. We have a home affairs minister who says that he ‘…will arrest even Umno members’! Of course he must even if the arsonist is his own brother. That is rule of law in the nation.

Hishamuddin should know better after all he is a lawyer and so was his father. His father Hussein Onn ( above ) put in jail an extraordinary Umno member; none other than the former menteri besar of Selangor who was viewed as one of the greatest and most powerful king-makers within Umno.

That was not empowerment by any logic or imagination. That actually took all of the courage of a personal religious, moral and ethical conviction and therefore I would dare to call his father the ‘Father of Justice’ in Malaysia.

In comparison, where are we today? We have many real crooks running all around us but the government of the day has only what it takes to accuse small individuals of pocketing a few thousand ringgit or take away books and documents from civil society whether it is published by the Herald , or SIS, or Malaysiakini ? Why? Can the prime minister of ‘1Funny Malaysia’ answer my questions and queries?

May God continue to guide our mal-administrators onto the true path to justice in Malaysia for after all, Teoh Beng Hock died when in custody of a government organisation! ‘Whither Justice in Malaysia’?