COMMENT | Perak’s Raya open house an insult to Islam? If one reads the 134 readers’ comments, most of which criticised the writer of the comment piece, Mariam Mokhtar, one would not think so.

Here are excerpts of the article that stirred the hornets’ nest.

Mariam wrote, “Hari Raya is a solemn and important religious holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, a month of empathy for the poor. It is signified by acts of charity, discipline, self-control, special prayers, patience, abstinence and forging a stronger bond with God.

“In the balik kampung exodus, individuals return home to share this special day with parents and family members. People seek forgiveness, and in typical Malaysian fashion, the doors of the family home are thrown open to receive friends and relatives - the ‘open house’. Many people also pay their respects at the graves of deceased family members.

“This year's ‘open house’ at MAPS (Movie Animation Park Studios) is a serious error of judgment by (Perak Menteri Besar) Ahmad Faizal. People do not spend hours in a gridlocked highway, only to queue up and be bribed with free food and free entrance to the theme park. It makes a mockery of Hari Raya.”

Here is a classic example of a clash of ideas that requires deeper insight and reflection to understand the conflict. In my opinion, I believe both Mariam and her critics are right for their own reasons.

Indeed, Hari Raya Aidilfitri is as much a secular holiday as a religious occasion for Muslims. Ramadan is a religious activity and a time for spiritual reflection. Hari Raya is the culmination of 30 days of fasting and abstinence. As in all religions, not everyone will follow the faith to the letter.

To Mariam, it seemed a wasted day to spend Hari Raya in the ungodly traffic snarl in pursuit of temporal pleasures. There is a hint of self-righteous indignation but for a deeper reason.

In Mariam’s eyes, a theme park, especially one mired in controversy, would not be the ‘proper’ place for Muslims to celebrate the day. Maybe, to her mind, it was sacrilegious to be in such an ‘unholy’ place engaged in ‘worldly’ activities. Hence her criticisms. Whether that occasion in a theme park is “insulting and disrespectful” of Islam is arguable.

Here is what one critic, Pahat Mari, wrote:

“Mariam, I always thought that you are very open-minded and always criticised when the religious group doing something funny, such as checking on a mini-market selling beers. I was surprised to see you criticising the MB for holding the Raya open house in a theme park. If he can revive the theme park, why not?”

The Muslims might already have done what she said they should do. After all, there is only so much “asking for forgiveness” and all that sort of thing one can do on Hari Raya after 30 days. How else could they spend their time with their family than to do something exciting and recreational together? There is a time and a season for every activity under heaven, we are told.

Would it make any difference if the Raya open house was held at the menteri besar’s residence? Would the MB’s residence be a hallowed place and less ‘haram’ though it has more of the former MB’s fingerprints and footprints than MAPS? That’s beside the point.

Usually open-minded Mariam appears uncharacteristic in this instance by criticising the Raya open house event. For that, she attracted much flak. I don’t think it was “insulting or disrespectful” to Islam to hold the event there. There are always two sides to a story and if anything can be read into it, perhaps the choice of venue is either one of political naivety or ulterior motive. Or maybe neither.

It is not where you are at but what you are at that matters to God.

A wet blanket?

But I don’t think Mariam is being a wet blanket and objects to Muslims having fun. After all, many non-Muslims also benefit from the free food and free entry. But I can understand her chagrin. It is not something those who treat their faith in a nominal manner will understand. You can open the place to the public any other time, not the auspicious day, Mariam thinks.

Mariam’s angst, to a degree, can be compared to the righteous anger of seeing something holy desecrated. To her, Hari Raya is a day sanctified (set apart) or holy for a more spiritual purpose. Jesus drove out the traders because they turned God’s sanctified house of prayer into a temple of thieves. I too get angry when I see the historic event, deemed Christmas, the time when God reached down to humankind, celebrated in the West as a time of drunken revelry and debauchery.

The crux is the integrity of the occasion. We can honour or abuse it.

To Mariam, Hari Raya should not be a time to splurge on carnal activities but a spiritual affair. Going to a theme park is to fritter away an important time for more sober and spiritual activities. The venue MAPS was incidental.

The silver lining in the clash of convictions apparent in Mariam versus her critics is that it also raises the question of the reform agenda. Will there be a clash of convictions? Will the party-hoppers be toxic to the reform momentum once in power? Will a new political patch sowed on old cloth tear at the seams? Time will tell.

The fact is a rose by any name smells the same. Disturbingly, there are many former Umno leaders in the new government. So how new is it? More importantly, how different will they be from the time they were in the Umno and BN leadership? There are positive signs there is sincerity in effecting change, albeit some reforms are disturbingly overdue and some of the ‘old guard’ have yet to show their true colours.

Reform is not possible simply from top to bottom. The government cannot expect to pass an edict and overnight all affected are changed. Some reforms take time to materialise. Only the people can reform themselves.

The government is quick to ask the rakyat for money. It should also be quick to ask the people for their ideas on reform and do it in a formal and ongoing manner.

Some reforms ought to have been carried out yesterday. For example, the pledge to repeal certain draconian laws including the Sedition Act, the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the National Security Council Act, etc, must be fulfilled. Why the delay, is a question people rightly ask.

‘Sacred cows’ may take longer to slay but reform is meaningless or incomplete until every citizen is free to think, say and do anything within the bounds of the constitution. No one is free if they are not free to think and act for themselves.

Dr M can’t do it alone

Reform is not a government-only activity and process. Changing the mindset of the people is of paramount importance and requires the people’s cooperation. Once Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad even lamented his failure to change the Malay mindset. It is mission impossible to many, but I think it is possible. After all, the reform movement saw ‘mission impossible’ achieved in GE14.

Where Mahathir failed, the rakyat may succeed, given the conditions for change.

Do not rely entirely on an already burdened Mahathir to initiate the reforms. De facto Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim has to get alongside him and help. Young people whose future is affected ought to have a say. As both Mahathir and Anwar adapted to change to clinch power, they have the more difficult task of working together now in power.

They who don’t learn from the past are wont to commit the same mistakes. Keeping short accounts with God and one another builds relationships on a deeper level.

That is why people like Mariam Mokhtar prefer to treat Hari Raya as a time and opportunity to get right with God and one another. Others may have done that at other times and celebrate the day in a joyous company. Each has their own idea and conviction of a special day. Still, religion is both a private matter and public responsibility. How people act in public is affected by their private times with God.

Every day is a Raya open house if we open our hearts to God and one another and build up one another and the country. Every day is a day to reflect on bettering one’s society because former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and the BN federal and state governments all failed to cultivate the moral character of the nation.

The reform agenda would want to encourage Malaysians to not quibble over religion but unify themselves in the pursuit of strong common moral values to elevate their country. It is not an insult or disrespectful to any religion if reformers act on Mahatma Gandhi’s adage – “Be the change you want the world to be.”

STEVE OH is the author of the novel ‘Tiger King of the Golden Jungle’ and composer of the musical of the same title. He believes in good governance and morally upright leaders.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.