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Saturday, 07-Feb-2004 1:11 PM HARAKAH DAILY When no dancing can cause bloodshed on the streets Raja Petra Kamarudin The Terengganu Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) has accused PAS of “disrupting racial harmony”. And in what way is PAS doing this? Did the PAS Youth Leader (like a certain one-time UMNO Youth Leader) hold up a keris (curved Malay dagger) during a Youth Movement rally and threaten to bathe it in Chinese blood? Did the PAS Deputy Youth Leader (like a certain UMNO Deputy Youth Leader) storm a Chinese association building and threaten to burn it down? Did the PAS Chief Minister of Terengganu (like a certain one-time Umno Chief Minister of Selangor) organise an anti-opposition march that resulted in a race riot, bloodshed and the loss of hundreds (some "authorities" say thousands) of Malay, Indian and Chinese lives? No, none of the above! What PAS did was to reject an application for a permit to hold a song and dance event during the Maghrib prayer time. The organisers failed to comply with the state's rules prohibiting entertainment in a school during the evening prayer time for Muslims, said the Terengganu Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang. Hadi added that it was the Terengganu state government's policy not to approve dancing featuring female performers. But the door has not been totally closed. “The organisers should either cancel the programme or make some changes, after which they can appeal for the permit,” said Hadi. However, the Terengganu MCA deputy chief, Wong Foo Meng, stubbornly said that the organisers would proceed with the event, which is being jointly organised by the MCA and the Culture, Arts and Tourism Ministry, with or without a permit. In response to this Hadi warned, “We will not tolerate any activities with female performers dancing and singing, especially when Muslims are supposed to perform the Maghrib prayers. If they insist on holding the programme, we will take action against them later.” A storm in a teacup if ever I did see one! What’s the big deal? Were not public functions banned during prayer time even when the state was under UMNO control? This is not something new. It is not like PAS just made up these rules only recently. Even during the UMNO days dancing was not permitted, and certainly no functions could be held during the Maghrib prayer time. And UMNO or Barisan Nasional will NEVER organise a function during the Maghrib period. It will always be held after that, at 8.00pm or so. And this goes for ALL other states as well, even those under UMNO control. And why is a school being used for political activities? You might say this is merely a Chinese New Year gathering. But the MCA, a political party, is organising it. When the Reformasi activists organised a Family Day recently at the Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya in Shah Alam, the police were summoned to stop the event. The event is just a family gathering, a picnic by the lake, argued the organisers. Not if it is organised by a political party or an anti-government movement, replied the police. It is not the event that is in question but who is behind the event that determines whether it is a political function. The police then proceeded to seal off the park and refused to allow anyone else in. Many, including the PRM President Dr Syed Husin Ali and Nurul Izzah Anwar, were stranded outside the park and the event had to be called to an early end. The fact that old women, babies, people in wheelchairs, etc, were at the picnic and certainly posed no security risk was of no consequence. It was also an event of Malays, Chinese and Indians, certainly a multiracial event that could promote racial harmony. Nevertheless, the riot police -- complete with tear gas, batons and shields -- were called in to show the picnickers that they meant business and heads would be broken if they did not disperse. Was this action not also “disrupting racial harmony”? The planned Terengganu MCA Chinese New Year singing and dancing event during the Maghrib prayer time was certainly an opposition organised event, just like the Reformasi family picnic, seeing that the MCA is the opposition in Terengganu. Should not the state government then curtail opposition activities just like the government does in the other states? The planned Terengganu MCA Chinese New Year singing and dancing event during the Maghrib prayer time was going to be held in a school. Did the government not say that schools should not be used for political events, in particular by the opposition political parties, and is not the MCA the opposition in Terengganu? UMNO too does not allow dancing and singing, or even ceramahs, during the Maghrib prayer time. Why then is only PAS being faulted? Is not UMNO then also detrimental to racial harmony by not allowing singing and dancing during the Maghrib prayer time? Yes, there is certainly more than meets the eye here. Wong is no stranger to Islamic customs and traditions. He speaks Bahasa Malaysia better than a Malay can. If you had your back to him when he spoke, you would swear it was a Malay talking. Imagine your surprise when you turn around just to find it is a Chinese that is talking. Wong also mixes with Malays more than Chinese. That is why, when he contested the Kuala Terengganu state seat in the mid 1980s, he lost as the Chinese did not like him and regarded him as too “Malay”. And Wong will utter phrases like “InsyaAllah”, “MasyaAllah”, “Alhamdulillah” and so on, and can even “mengucap”. Wong can at times appear more Islamic than a Muslim. He knows exactly what Islam is all about. And he respected Islam when the state was under UMNO control. Why now does he want to hold a song and dance event during the Maghrib prayer time, which he knows is a no-no? Is it so that PAS will be forced to turn down the permit application whereby he can then make an issue out of it? Wong is no Jahiliyah (ignoramus). He knows what is permitted and what is not. And he purposely asked for something that even UMNO could never agree to. I challenge MCA to apply for a permit to hold a song and dance event at Shah Alam in Selangor during the Maghrib prayer time. Maybe they can hold it next to the swanky Shah Alam Mosque. And let’s see whether Khir Toyo, the Selangor Chief Minister, approves it or rejects it.
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