Thesun 2009-06-30 Page14 Playing The Politics Of Morality

14

theSun

| TUESDAY JUNE 30 2009

speak up!

Playing the politics of morality WITH everyday life on earth almost coming to a standstill in the wake of the death of the King of Pop, one feels out of place in trying to touch on – yes, more pressing issues. But as fate would have it, the moonwalker’s demise actually reminded me of my first encounter as a journalist with what has since become everyday fodder – the incompetence and arbitrary nature of governance. For those of you who remember, Michael Jackson’s first and only performance in Malaysia in October 1996 almost did not take off. After 90% of the tickets for the two shows of the HIStory World Tour at Stadium Malawati Shah Alam were sold out, the Shah Alam Municipal Council withdrew its approval – backed by the state government. Of course, the usual reasons were given – that Jackson posed a serious threat to the morals of youths who would be attending his shows; that it was disrespectful to

Muslims since Shah Alam has been portrayed as the Islamic city of Selangor, with the blue domed Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque a stone’s throw from the stadium. Good thing his child molestation allegations did not emerge until later or this would have given the authorities and politicians another reason to ban him. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the then Culture, Arts and Tourism Ministry got involved after an SOS from show promoters Jojo Entertainment chief Tan Sri Syed Yusof Syed Nasir. The public were urged to “hold on to your tickets” as a new venue was sought. Before long, Kuala Lumpur City Hall came to the rescue, decreeing that the show must go on at Stadium Merdeka. One suspects that had things turned out differently, MJ would have come to our shores again, as his 50-date London shows were to be extended to a three-year world tour which included stops in either

Down2Earth by Terence Fernandez

Malaysia or Singapore, or both. (Whether his frail frame would have survived even one show is another story) Whether Syed Yusof, (the Jojo in Jojo Entertainment) would have risked another headache in bringing him here is anyone’s guess. One is sure that MJ would have said yes to his friend but as we continue to bear witness, our guardians of morality are relentless in ensuring we don’t go down the dark path that leads to eternal damnation. However, what is mind boggling is that instead of focusing their energy and resources on fighting corruption, alleviating poverty and ensuring the fundamental rights of all citizens are protected – all moral issues in their own right – the moral police are transfixed on banning alcohol, preventing the use of the national language in some places of worship and banning concerts of artistes they had not even heard of till now.

Remember how Beyonce thumbed her nose at us when she was imposed with a “dress code” and instead took her show to – of all places Jakarta? Rod Stewart’s Merdeka Eve concert 15 years ago was cancelled after the powers-that-be said it would be unpatriotic, prompting the Scotsman to vow never to play here – as the last-minute cancellation also affected the rest of his tour. Avril Lavigne who covers herself from head to toe was deemed “too sexy” by PAS members who asserted pressure on the authorities to revoke the permit. A show promoter had wanted to bring Kylie Minogue down last December, with the Aussie superstar’s people confirming the dates and fees – only problem was the promoter got cold feet as he felt whatever approvals he received from the authorities would be subject to being revoked at their whim. The PAS protest over Avril Lavigne convinced him that the authorities would be pressured to call off the Kylie show. Ms Minogue, after all, is known for her eyepopping outfits although she does cover up for more conservative audiences. It was too risky for a businessman and he dropped the idea. As in all concerts, bans are political. Why approve only to withdraw? Because two political parties are falling over each other to determine who is more religious? Who is the

letters

Terence is glad that he managed to tick “Attend a Michael Jackson concert” on his list of “Things to do before I die”. He is deputy editor (special reports & investigations) and can be reached at terence@the sundaily.com.

Tribute to MJ

[email protected]

Treat H1N1 for what it is IN THIS globalised world, different countries seem to be responding differently to the H1N1 outbreak. In the United States, ground zero where H1N1 began and with nearly a million estimated cases, there are no thermal scanners at the airports. In Japan, with over 900 cases, travellers only need to fill a health declaration form. In Singapore and Malaysia, airports have thermal scanners, hospitals have special tents for suspected cases, quarantine is mandatory and schools have been closed. Although new, this flu does not appear to be dangerous. The WHO update on June 26, lists 59,814 confirmed cases with only 263 deaths giving a mortality rate of less than 0.5%. Our response to H1N1 may have been inappropriately influenced by the experience with SARS which had a mortality rate ranging from 15% to 19%. The Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in the US states that “not all patients with suspected H1N1 need to be seen by a health-care provider, only patients with severe illness or those at high risk of complications” (www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ identifyingpatients.htm). The document then goes on to give detailed advice on how to care for a patient at home, and how to prevent spread among members of the same household. Here we quarantine the entire household,

forbidding them from even going out for food. The CDC also says that “not all people with suspected H1N1 infection need to have the diagnosis confirmed, especially if the illness is mild”. While our policy is to quarantine health-care workers who may be exposed to even suspected H1N1 patients, the CDC states that “health-care workers who do not have a febrile respiratory illness may continue to work” and even “asymptomatic health-care workers who have had an unprotected exposure to H1N1 also may continue to work if they are started on antiviral prophylaxis”. Although H1N1 is a benign infection, it is highly contagious. Over a week from June 19 to 26, the number of H1N1 patients in Singapore jumped from 100 to 365. Singapore has only a small area to trace contacts and enforce quarantine using a highly trained and efficient health-care service. Yet being an open trading country, Singapore’s containment measures have not been successful in preventing the spread of H1N1 in the local community. Malaysia is a similarly open country with a much larger area as well as multiple entry points, we are unlikely to succeed where Singapore has failed. Instead of expanding the number of people quarantined, forcing employers to give full pay unrecorded leave and increasing the strain

on our health-care personnel, we may be better of bypassing the Singapore experience and get onto what the CDC in the US is recommending. The Health Ministry has initiated numerous measures to contain the H1N1 outbreak. We are using valuable health-care resources in this containment policy against H1N1. How many other health-care areas will now be left underfunded and undermanned by this diversion of resources? Should we not be proactive, look at the situation of those ahead of us in their experience of H1N1, save on resources and avoid unnecessary, hurtful and ultimately unsuccessful endeavours? Should we not treat H1N1 for what it is, new and highly infectious, probably uncomfortable, but not at all serious or dangerous for those without underlying illness? After all, as doctors we must not make the treatment more unpleasant than the disease itself.

Are we patriotic or nationalistic? I’M INTRIGUED by the question of whether Malaysians are patriotic or nationalistic, or both, or neither! Or are we more inclined to be patriotic in some contexts and nationalistic in others! Or are we generally more patriotic than nationalistic or vice versa! Patriotism and nationalism are emotions and convictions that people have about their country which are inspired by love for and pride in its socio-cultural symbols – its myths and history; its traditions and way of life; its language and cultural norms. Being patriotic or nationalistic means one has a conviction as to which nation one formally belongs and to which one wants to formally belong. It implies loyalty to one’s country. This sense of a national identity or national self-image can also be triggered by feelings of protectiveness and defence in the face of incursions and intrusions from outside or inside. “Nation” and “national identity”

rightful guardian of the souls of the people? Local authorities and state governments have no reason to fear over withdrawing applications although promoters spend hundreds of thousands of ringgit – in MJ’s case almost RM2 million – to confirm the shows. They know that concert promoters would not dare take a local authority to court as this would mean they would be blacklisted for all future shows. Meanwhile, the beer ban in Selangor is still being debated and several bumiputra communities in East Malaysia are restricted in their use of the national language during worship. Journalists are being persecuted for reporting the truth and the politics of patronage is widening the gap between the haves and have nots – not to mention making doing business more expensive. It would be great if our guardians of morality would concentrate on such issues instead of the height of the slit on an artiste’s dress and the gyrations of a dangdut singer. But I doubt that will ever happen because their intentions are not as noble as they would have us believe.

are political constructs built upon the collective identity of the people through their shared experiences. In other words a nation is an “imagined political community” with a collective/national identity (Anderson 1983). And interestingly, this notion of “nation” is not static but is continually reconstructed through processes of exclusion and inclusion (Schlesinger 1991). Thus, patriotism and nationalism can vary synchronically (in time) and diachronically (in space) as they can vary within the positive and negative poles. If I may use a linguistic term, patriotism and nationalism are not absolutes but occur along a continuum. Of the two, patriotism refers to one’s love for one’s motherland and an attachment to the national values – albeit laced with a critical understanding. Thus there can be degrees of attachment and understanding with in-groups and out-groups demonstrat-

ing facets of their national identity. We can be more patriotic at one point in a nation’s history and less patriotic at another. Merdeka saw the high point of patriotism and nationalism in the run-up to the country’s freedom from colonial rule and the establishment of self rule; 1Malaysia may not be so lucky in a country that’s politically divided! However, unlike nationalism which can manifest itself in the negative feelings of superiority and dominance over other nations or peoples (Feshbach 1994), patriotism never implies a rejection and oppression of out-groups or a dominance over them. While patriotic groups would espouse liberalism and tolerance, nationalistic groups are inclined towards intergroup differentiation of “us” vs “them”. BN vs PR; Malay rural poverty vs Indian estate poverty; Chinese business ventures vs Malay corporate undertakings! If we go by what is happening in the

Dr Ong Hean Teik Penang

A talented child t’was Above others his talent soars Starting from the Jackson Five it was music for his life An icon in the music industry He has inspired thus many From Moonwalk to anti-gravity He is indeed a born prodigy! The King of Pop we hail him A performer who uses every limb Belting scores of record-breaking hits Enticing music lovers to every beat MTV was his brainchild where his dances arranged in style The story of his songs briefly told in choreography of multi-fold The most successful entertainer of all time A record holder through rain and shine Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean Songs fondly recalled from our TV screens Remember Heal the World and Earth Song issues of nature that we sing along With intention to unite the universe he tells the world with every verse For the better or for the worse, it is a choice made by all of us! Racial discrimination is of concern A nation gap widely discerned Black or white it does not matter As long as we all get together Come, every boy and every girl As we proudly sing We are the World!

political arena, it’s easy to see where Malaysians are along the continuums of patriotism What a great loss t’was, or nationalism. The racethe world marks the date today, based nature of our political the King of Pop we lost, parties ensures that the vision but in our heart his legend stays! of a national identity which is indivisible and a nation which Christina Kim is 1Malaysia will meet with Kuala Lumpur stops and starts. The dream of perpetuating our shared experiences, myths and histity tory, traditions and way of life, language and cultural norms into an among a nation of people who are more nationalistic than patriotic. It may take overwhelming sense of patriotism is in danger of being aborted by the nation- the form of a war against an outside alistic forces which play up elements force like the US war against terrorism and the deep fear of terrorists. God which are disparate. Perhaps each of us should ask our- forbid Malaysians need the grief of a national tragedy like 9/11 to unite us and selves where we are along the continuums; who or what we are loyal to? But evoke the love for our motherland! can we really be honest? Otherwise, like Halimah Mohd Said the US, Malaysia may have to artificially Kuala Lumpur create a cause to forge a national iden-