Malaysians Say The Darndest Things!

We Are A Nation ‘Tolerant’ Of Other Cultures And Beliefs. Yeah, sure.

June 4, 2008

Photo credit: Answers.com

The ad contains images of sandy beaches and blue seas, historical locations like A Famosa, and cultural dances by different groups in Malaysia. The ad then ends with “Malaysia, Truly Asia”.

The politicians tell us that we are a nation of mixed ethnicities, and we tolerate each other’s cultures and beliefs. What the rakyat wants, however, is acceptance and respect for each other’s cultures and beliefs, not just mere tolerance. But does this message filter down from the ruling politicians to the civil service? Don’t forget that the civil service is an extension of the government, and we, the normal people deal with the civil servants more than with politicians. If the civil service doesn’t get it, then whatever the government actually says is inconsequential.

So what’s the latest hoo-hah over religious intolerance?

Group barred from holding customary dance prayer

IPOH: A row has broken out over the matter of a traditional prayer ceremony conducted before a dance performance.

The directors of an Indian classical dance school here were upset they were not allowed by the new state director of the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry (Kekkwa) office here to conduct the ceremony before their annual performance this year in Taman Budaya.

State Kekkwa director Ramli Salleh, however, said they had asked the organisers not to conduct the ceremony, as there was concern over the smoke and smell from the prayer items lingering in the enclosed auditorium.

“We told them to just do the dance and they even agreed. Moreover, Kekkwa had never allowed them (to conduct the ceremony) in previous years,” he said.

Nritya Kalanjali dance school director P. Sasikumar, who runs the school with his instructor wife T. Sudha, said that it was customary among the community to honour Nataraja, the Lord of Dancers, before every Indian classical dance.

“It is a simple ritual where we put a statue of Nataraja and an oil lamp on stage, and offer flowers and prayers before the performance,” he said after the event here on Monday night.

He said he and two other schools – Natya Kalamandir and Ananda Narthana Choodamani – had always offered prayers before a statue of Nataraja when performing at Taman Budaya in 2000, 2002 and 2006.

The three-hour performance, conducted with two other classical dance schools, kicked off at 8pm without the ceremony or any speech from guest-of-honour Perak assembly speaker V. Sivakumar.

Sivakumar later told reporters that the directive suggested a kind of “intolerance” against the practices of other cultures.

Concerns over smoke and smell. Hmmm. I’ve actually asked, and it seems like this pre-show prayer is a simple ceremony, and the smoke that is produced is actually quite minimal. So I think the director’s assertion of ’smoke and smell’ smells like bullshit. And NST provides a more serious view of this issue:

Uproar over ruling against prayer, statue

IPOH: At the beginning of every Bharatanatyam performance, artistes of this famous South Indian classical dance pay obeisance on stage to a statue of Lord Nadaraja.
This common practice is also carried out to invoke the deity’s blessings so that the dancers perform well without any obstacle.

However, on Monday night, a group of Bharatanatyam dancers performed before a full gallery at the Taman Budaya public auditorium without the customary on-stage pooja (prayer) to Lord Nadaraja.

This was because the owner of the venue, the state Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Department, permitted the dance on condition they did not install a statue or portrait of the deity and offer their prayers on stage.

In the past, the dancers were allowed to offer their prayers on stage, said P. Sasikumar, who acted as the spokesman for the three dance schools.

“This time we were not allowed because the department imposed this condition.

“This is ridiculous. The pooja is an integral part of the performance and has been practised for hundreds of years,” he said before the start of the Bharatanatyam performance at Taman Budaya.

He said the practice of paying obeisance to Lord Nadaraja was important because the deity was worshipped as the king of dance.

In defence, the department said the organisers were informed beforehand of the conditions and chose to go ahead with the performance.

The department’s public relations officer, Shaliza Azlin, said the organisers had agreed that the prayers would be performed backstage to respect the sensitivities of the audience, who also comprised Chinese and Malays.

“We did not stop them from doing the pooja. We did not want them to do it in public.”

Shaliza said the same conditions had been imposed on other cultural groups.

Perak state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar, who was at the performance, said: “The prayer is very much part of the cultural performance and should have been allowed on the stage.”
He said he would bring the matter up with the state government as well as his party so that such “intolerant behaviour” could be nipped in the bud before it became widespread.

Yes, Mr. Sivakumar, make sure such policies are nipped in the bud. How are we going to learn of other Malaysian’s religious beliefs, if we sideline and put it on the backburner? It is shameful that such a directive has been issued by the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts, and Heritage. To promote unity, an easy way is to teach and learn respect for other people’s differences.

If I were the Pakatan Rakyat state government, I would make sure the such policies do not endure in the state of Perak. Does the state government want to be known as the government that banned such prayers, but the BN government allowed it previously? Think about it.

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