FOLLOWING the recent controversies that threaten our unity, Malaysians brought out the best in them on the second day of Hari Raya.
From the ashes of the Putra Heights gas blast, we saw people from all walks of life come to the aid of their fellow Malaysians by providing food, shelter, medical aid and transport to those who had to leave their houses, due to the dangers of the heat and chemicals.
Suraus, mosques and a Hindu temple turned into make-shift first aid centres to treat injured victims.
During the fasting month of Ramadan there were a number of challenges that were thrown at the state of our nation.
For awhile, one would be forgiven to assume that the elements are taking turns to p**s off and then appease both Muslims and Hindus.
The arrest of preacher Zamri Vinoth for insulting Hindus on March 27 came hours after the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Madani Mosque – which is being built on the site of the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple. The temple had to make way for the mosque after weeks of heightened temperatures.
Just prior to this three Muslim DJs of radio station ERA FM had to apologise for poking fun at the revered Hindu Festival of Thaipusam in a Tik Tok post that went viral.
Some bright spark thought having the three of them go to Batu Caves to apologise to the Hindu community – in the shadow of the 42.7m statue of Lord Murugan – would be a good idea.
But this excessive display did not go down well with the Muslim community and appears to be creating a precedent.
As expected, Umno Youth s**t stirrer Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh demanded that a subsequent insult to Islam in the Facebook account of one “Vijayan Savarinathan” be resolved by the perpetrator apologising at a mosque.
Akmal of course, is the same person who raised the ham and cheese sandwich matter against KK Mart. He questioned the 24-hour convenience store’s halal logo on the food packet since “ham” is not halal (eye roll).
Last year Akmal went after KK Mart over socks which displayed the words “Allah”.
On both occasions, it is said that KK Mart was planning to go for listing when the controversies occurred.
Back to Zamri. He is a clown but he is a Malaysian. That makes him our clown.
Contrast this with another preacher who insults Hindus and non-Muslims Zakir Naik. This fugitive from India who is being harboured here on taxpayers’ money, is still allowed to traverse the country at the behest of political and state leaders. He enjoys their hospitality and protection while sticking by his past comments that cause conflict and division among Malaysians.
In the midst of this tit-for-tat, we witnessed the famous Ramadan slap in Johor where a non-Muslim Chinese boy was slapped by a elderly Pak Cik for not fasting.
But just on March 25, another Chinese man in Johor was arrested for Facebook posts insulting Islam.
So what is this yin-and-yang of taking turns to insult and disparage religions?
But just when one thinks the worst, the folks of Putra Heights and Taman Harmoni remind us that we are the sum of our parts and when it comes to it, our better nature always emerges.
Perhaps it was a divine message in the month of Syawal to start anew and embrace the spirit of “kosong kosong”. – April 2, 2025
Terence Fernandez is Group Editor in Chief of Big Boom Media which publishes Scoop. He wishes Muslim readers Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri