When fear rules

Fear!
That can help us avoid doing the things which can hurt us.
However, it can also sometimes prevents us from doing what is right.
And that is not the only consequence of experiencing fear. Remember that most of us are parents and as parents we are the examples which our children will follow. Our children will inherit the very same thoughts and attitudes towards things they face in life.

Now, where do the above thoughts emerge from? Well, in Malaysia today, the citizens have to be careful with what they utter in public, write on paper or on face-book. If the authorities were to deem what has been said or written as insulting to the government, the Islamic religion or one of our many rulers, the author of such material can be facing the sedition act.

So, it is not uncommon these days to not say what they see,  hear or know or believe in, for a statement of fact can be construed as seditious as long as certain people's feelings have been claimed to be hurt. So what kind of situation has arisen as a result of this? Perhaps, it is best illustrated by a comment from one of the readers from Malaysiakini, a news portal. Below is the copied comment with my comment given within brackets:
    
The comment: Remember the story of a young boy who shouted, "The emperor is not wearing any clothes"?

All the members of the court said the emperor’s clothes were the finest they had seen. The public agreed with the courtesans. (Why? Because all of them were afraid of disagreeing with the emperor. They fear the consequences of telling the truth!)

The emperor was fooled into believing the flattery of his inner circle. (And so, the emperor thought he was majestically right in his lovely invisible clothes when in actual fact he was totally naked.) Only the innocent boy really saw what everybody said they did not see. Sometimes real life is like that. (How true it is!)

It was only yesterday that someone told me her female neighbour was so stupidly courageous as to throw an old worn-out Malaysian flag into a dustbin. In a most horrified expression, she asked me to imagined what could possibly happened if somebody were to see it and report to the authorities. Oh, my God, imagine the trouble she could have got herself into, the lady cried.

Upon hearing this, I asked her what could be wrong with throwing away what is no longer useable. It obviously is the right thing for her neighbour to do. So, I asked her if she were the one with such a flag, how would she dispose of it.

"Oh, no!" she replied. If I were her, I would stealthily burn it when I am absolutely sure no one is around. I wouldn't want to get myself into trouble even though the flag ought to be replaced with a new one." she exclaimed. That is the kind of fear that may have got a good grip on Malaysians. 

"Not only that! Soon after that, another person came; wanted the stick holding the flag and so, ripped off the flag to be able to take only the stick home," she continued.

So, I asked her what was wrong with that. The guy wanted the stick but not the worn out flag. Certainly, he had to remove the flag from the stick.

"Ripping the Malaysian flag?" She put on a horrified face and stood rooted to the spot with some kind of fear in her expression.

Imagine such unwarranted fear even when there is no disrespect shown or felt for an object; even when it is doing the necessary.

Is such fear healthy? Maybe good for members of the Malaysian society to avoid being charged with sedition, but when society becomes so easily fearful over such small matters, there is certainly something wrong somewhere.

There are Muslims who do accept God's most intelligent animal.

It is heartening to read in the Malay Mail Online this morning of the acceptance of a dog by a Muslim cab driver.
Below is part of the report on Mohd. Kamil, the cab driver.

Mohd Kamil said he was not afraid of dogs as his mother once told him to help a stray dog that lay in the middle of the road after being hit by a car.

“It started in 2010 when I was sending mum to the airport for Umrah and then she saw a dog lying on the road helpless.

“She suggested that we help and I carried the dog to the side of the road and contacted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,” he said.

His view on dogs changed since then.

“Muslim passengers need not worry because I cover my seats with newspapers and clean it with a lint remover once the dog and its owner get off,” he said. 

“I was initially worried what the community will say if they found out. So I kept quiet about what I did. But I believe there is nothing wrong to help those in need.”

Mohd Kamil said there was no policy stating a taxi driver cannot carry animals. He had even consulted other Muslim taxi drivers regarding this matter. 

Land Public Transport Commission chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar previously said there should not be a problem allowing guide dogs to assist the disabled in using public transportation, as well as in public places.

“Most of the other Muslim taxi drivers I talked to were also receptive to ferrying animals including dogs but they rarely talk about it fearing negative reaction from the community,” Mohd Kamil said.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/hop-on-board-doggie-says-cabbie#sthash.BKXS1HWa.dpuf

Without a doubt, the dog is one of the most intelligent animals, if not the most intelligent, created by God. As such, I have always felt so sad to see so many Muslim children throw things at them. Such ill-treatment from God-fearing children ought not to have happened. 

When it comes to this animal, it is one that we should care for for its loyalty, unconditional love and assistance towards mankind. I write through experience with this animal as i have reared them and in return it has given me so much love, happiness and feeling of security in my home.

Even the police in a country like Malaysia where Muslim form the majority of the citizens use dogs to help them to track criminals and smell out drugs. In doing so, they indirectly acknowledge the well-known intelligence of dogs. 

I have known of a Muslim teacher who have dogs in his plantation to look after it and from the way he talks about them, he obviously appreciated their presence.

I may have been wrongly informed but according to what i do know, dogs ought not to be ill-treated as all animals (Even pigs which I have written about elsewhere in this blog in which I reproduced with permission what a Muslim scholar said about them when people condemned a university student for holding one of them.) are the beloved creation of God. All followers of God have to admit that God is all powerful and having only creatures He wishes to have in this world is certainly within His power. Only atheists have the right to deny the power of God. 

I was also told, correctly or not, that a law was once passed to disallow the touching of the dog due to rabies, the mad dog disease which was prevalent at that period of time. However, rabies is no longer a problem during the 21st century and therefore such fear and dislike of the dog, one of God's most wonderful creatures, should no longer exist. 

Furthermore, where is the need to dislike dogs when it is said that what have to done after contact with the dog is to wash the hands a number of times.

So, it is so good to wake up to the fact that a Muslim cab driven can accept dogs in his cab when it is necessary to have them accompany their responsibilities to various destinations. Not only that! Sometimes the wisdom of ordinary people is so much greater than those who hold higher positions in society. In them, I see the greatness and blessings of God.

 

 

Mohd Kamil said he was not afraid of dogs as his mother once told him to help a stray dog that lay in the middle of the road after being hit by a car.
“It started in 2010 when I was sending mum to the airport for Umrah and then she saw a dog lying on the road helpless.
“She suggested that we help and I carried the dog to the side of the road and contacted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,” he said.
His view on dogs changed since then.
“Muslim passengers need not worry because I cover my seats with newspapers and clean it with a lint remover once the dog and its owner get off,” he said.
“I was initially worried what the community will say if they found out. So I kept quiet about what I did. But I believe there is nothing wrong to help those in need.”
Mohd Kamil said there was no policy stating a taxi driver cannot carry animals. He had even consulted other Muslim taxi drivers regarding this matter.
Land Public Transport Commission chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar previously said there should not be a problem allowing guide dogs to assist the disabled in using public transportation, as well as in public places.
“Most of the other Muslim taxi drivers I talked to were also receptive to ferrying animals including dogs but they rarely talk about it fearing negative reaction from the community,” Mohd Kamil said.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/hop-on-board-doggie-says-cabbie#sthash.BKXS1HWa.dpuf