Extremes of behavior

Me and a buddy from the hostel had sank a few beers. We were feeling them, but not too heavy – unlike the table full of Malaysian men at the next table, who were having a grand old time, to say the least.

One of them came over to our table and refilled our glasses of beer, apropos of nothing. Typical Malaysian friendliness, I figured. I smiled, gave a heartfelt ‘Terimah Kasih’ (thank you) and he nodded enthusiastically and sat back down. Then his friend sat across from us.

He was stumbling drunk and Indian. He asked us where we were from – my friend said ‘England,’ I said, ‘America.’ He frowned, pitched a bit, then said, loudly, ‘America is just controlled by the Jews.’

My friend raised her eyebrows. “I’m sorry?”

“The Jews! Yahudi! Control….everything.” He pitched a bit more in his seat and embarked on a rant that went in plenty of directions, always brought home and anchored by his hatred of ‘Yahudi.’

I was a little drunk, like I said, so I smiled evenly and said, in a non-confrontational way, “Have you ever met a Jew?”

“No!” Pitch.

“Well, you have now.

I can’t say his reaction was particularly pleased. He started yelling, sputtering and stumbling all at once, before finally getting up and shouting, “You are not welcome in Malaysia!”

As, it seems, in any country removed from an actual conflict, the bitterest partisans are the ones who have nothing to lose and lots to hate. Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country, is particularly hard on Israel, a sentiment none too exacerbated by the recent Gaza war. I’ve seen banners in both Kuala Lumpur and here, in Kuala Terranganu, advocating boycotts of both America (interestingly represented by a Starbucks symbol, Colgate and McDonalds) and ‘Yahudi.’

On top of this, political Islamism – not Islam the religion but the political philosophy that Islam and governance are inseparable, has enjoyed something of a resurgence in Malaysia since the 1990s. A little background: in the past, Islam was often ridiculed as an impediment to development in this rapidly developing country. The Muslim population seethed, and when Malaysia experienced a degree of political liberalization, the opposition to the ruling party often took the form of Muslim activist groups. Political theory becomes gray here – by some standards (anti-corruption and social welfare programs) these parties were pretty left wing; by others (my own standards of women’s rights, institutionalized anti-Semitism, and more pertinently, disenfranchisement of Malaysia’s Hindu, Christian and Buddhist communities) they are fascist demagogues.

PAS (Parti Islam SeMalaysia, or the Islamic Part of Malaysia) was at the vanguard of this movement. The party has performed in a middling way in recent elections, but as with the Christian Coalition, it has cumulatively bumped this country and its incumbent ruling party into a more religious fundamentalist state of mind – to win the last election, UMNO (United Malays National Organization) essentially ‘out-Islamed’ the Islamic Party. Interestingly enough, PAS now forms one leg of a three-party opposition bloc in the Malaysian parliament that includes  the DAP (Democratic Action Party), a secular, multi-racial party that seems to be opposed to just about everything PAS stands for – except the all important anti-corruption stance. Terranganu state, where I currently am, is part of Malaysia’s, for lack of a better term, Koran Belt – a rural, very religious and socially conservative corner of the country.

Anyways. Back to last night. The drunk continued railing against Jews. I didn’t budge from my seat. The man’s friends began yelling at him. One walked out angrily, obviously cursing the drunk as he left. Another – bless him – came to me, held my hand and said, very heartfelt (if also quite drunk) “I apologize. I am very sorry. You have nothing to fear when you are here.”

Most Malaysians I have met are incredibly friendly and accommodating. I prefer to judge them based off these experiences, and the embarrassment of the bigot’s friends, then the actions of said bigot. I’m more sad than mad at what happened last night, although with that said, I’m going to keep my religion under my hat now – which I hate doing.

I remember, in India, watching an American (complete with John McCain button) go off on his own screed, to an Indian, about the eternal war between Islam and the rest of the world, that the only solution was war till the bitter end. I would love to place that man and last night’s idiot and all their ilk on some island and let them do us all a favor by killing themselves until the rest of us can salt the earth where their bones lie. I take that back. Rather than salt the earth, we’ll grow something there. Let these bastards have their irredeemable hate and death and insecurity. I prefer walking on.

 

 

Comments

[Vijay]

Well said Adam. Thanks!`

[kennhyn]

thing like that should happen, beer drinking suppose to be chill and not tense in this way, indeed M'sia people are convince by their government of the outside world. All I need is to sit down, relax and chill with my pint... cheers!