<神人之间>

今天看了林吉祥部落格这篇文章，使我忆起当年我在和丰管理幼儿园的其中一个经验。

当时我们全幼儿园上下午班共有280多位学生，而穆斯林孩子每年都不会超过10位（教育局规定若超出这个人数，就得聘请宗教老师给他们授课）。

某日，有一对巫籍夫妇带了5岁的儿子来报名。他们询问一切有关的资讯（尤其是食物，是否halal)，后来看到办公室墙上挂着个十字架，就告诉我是否可以把十字架拿下。

我微笑问他（幸好当天心情正常，心底也不希望他们报名上学以免提升穆斯林学生人数，省下许多麻烦等等）：

“Encik, kalaulah saya melawat rumah encik dan minta encik tanggalkan gambar kat dinding rumah encik, boleh tak?”

他微笑说： “Macam tu tak baguslah …”

后来，他们唯一的儿子报名上课，他们也成了家长群里最合作的家长。

回顾这个经验，我想了很多，也回忆一些其他的经历；其中一项是马上把之前修女在各课室拿下的十字架挂回墙壁上。其实，有些教会学校负责人在接管校务时，在听闻别人的分享后，没接受通知或有关当局指示下就马上把课室宗教圣象拆下，以免受到警告或威胁，对如此举动，我常感心寒！

它个中原则是宗教自由，而非纯粹的外在形式或圣象，如果没人出声，就是表示赞同，而迫害者会越发嚣张，也许有一天，就连我们颈项挂着的小小神牌也不可穿戴了。

并不是所有的事是无声胜有声！

转载
Source
http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2007/06/27/tolerance-my-ass/#more-353

I have received the following very angry email from MS, with a very ferocious heading which I am using – breaking a rule of this blog:

Couldnt help feeling this angry today. I know at my age, I am supposed to be mellowing out, looking forward to a nice chilled day and now what? I find myself with the same amount of righteous anger as I had when I was 16 – going through puberty and finding the world most unfair that my mum wouldnt allow me to have my first pair of cargo pants!

I was sitting in the banana leaf shop this morning having a roti and a coffee when a group of JAWI officers entered the premises. 10 officers to be exact, into this little shop. They spent a good 20 minutes going through the place (and it is a small place!) and finally one officer writes out a writ and gives it to the cashier. They then left. Curious, I asked the cashier what that was all about and he replied that they were not allowed to have their little altars and pictures of their deities in their shop “because otherwise, Muslims cannot come into their shops” . What utter nonsense! Are we still living in the Malaysia that is so “famed” for its “religious tolerance”?? The shop is not a mamak shop. It is an Indian Banana leaf shop. Why would it be surprising that they should have signs of their religious beliefs in their own space? I didnt think that sort of thing was illegal (please correct me if I am wrong). What is wrong with this picture? Will it come down to the point when my Muslim friends should not visit my home just because I have a cross or a chinese altar there? PLEASE!

Better yet, I discovered as I was leaving , that the JAWI personnel had targetted the other 3 banana leaf shops along that row of old shops (near the vets office – off Jalan Maarof). There were at least 4 nos of vans for the officers , ALL double parked on the main road and causing an inconvenience to the other road users. Is there a separate set of laws that govern these people? Notwithstanding the fact that they are trampling all over the definition of religious tolerance in this country , they also flaunt the general laws of the land. This makes me really angry and sad about the state of our country.

I now find it difficult to speak up for Malaysia when there are arguments comparing Malaysia to other countries. It is sad that we can have the once world tallest building and still think like we came out of the jungle yesterday.

My Personal Big Sad Day today

MS