By CC Ping, J.P
Tokoh Wartawan Sabah and FT Labuan
RECENTLY, Malaysians were drawn into (of course thru the social media lah) exchanges on –
1) requiring non Muslim-run restaurants to be certified halal and banned from serving Muslims
2) that Prophet Mohamad’s young wife Aisha has roots in Malay Land,
3) Malaysia’s weird posturing over the Gaza conflict and proposals to import and treat Palestians hurt in the war, give them university places and citizenship.
Remember, Malaysia just had a new prime minister and is trying to progress and stay relevant in a global environment of conflict, geopolitical intrigues and an economy tossing in the aftermath of a turbulent post-Covid environment .
While I believe that we should not be cowed by thoughts that the world it too big for us in a developing country, I thought we should be wise to prioritise our own people, don’t bite more than we need to or crawl into self-created ratholes with no exit.
There are so many things that ought to have our attention.
The sluggish Ringgit, rising inflation, worsening inter-racial distrust, a stagnant economy, etc, etc.
But, instead of Malaysians discoursing about how, from the masses to the political establishment and govt institutions, ideas can be generated to rally the people to pull together as a nation, we are drawn to a half–baked ‘professor’ and her ‘new theory’ linking some early Islamic events and personalities to Tanah Melayu.
And, instead of exploring the billion-dollar potential in the halal industry world wide based on Malaysia’s reputable halal certification standard in a world of up to 2 billion Muslims, we are being led to discuss the wisdom (or is it a lack of it?) of dragging a few million non Muslim Malaysians into the unnecessary debate about halal.
Entities and endeavours failed because there was no communication.
Malaysia can stay away from such disastrous path by getting our people to talk (that’s communication, isn’t it?) and about the right subjects.
I, as an ethnic Chinese, who loves Malay food, am convinced that halal is safe as it is and halal or otherwise is not hampering Malaysia in anyway.
Chinese and Tamil schools are OK to be left alone as they are not affecting the Ringgit value or inflation.
And, does anyone think that our genius professor should be nominated for a Nobel Prize for Literature.
Come on, beware that we risk becoming stupid talking too much about trivial, inconsequential things.
Editor: The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of talantang.com
