LETTER | Desecration of 'kolam': It’s not only about being ‘unprofessional’

LETTER | The ugly head of extremism bears upon an otherwise peaceful, respectful multiracial Malaysia.

A Malay male clad in traditional attire with songkok was seen desecrating a “kolam” decoration at a private hospital.

The hospital had since issued a statement saying the "unprofessional" conduct will be investigated.

I also understand police report/s have been lodged. Now, let us pause and stay collected.

We need to ask some serious soul-searching questions and not keep harping on "don't politicise it" or "don't jeopardise our investigations" arguments.

Obviously, the hospital is dead wrong in even labelling this horrible act as "unprofessional".

It threatens peace, safety and security. Period.

Examining this horrible and unacceptable criminal action raises some hard questions.

Is it not the tip of an iceberg on the wrongdoing that echoes years of political indoctrination and religious extremism in the country?

Politicians who have used race and religion as their bait and political arsenal to grab power have successfully sowed seeds of extremism among citizens.

Destructive behaviour

While many Malaysians - Malays, Chinese, Sabahans, Sarawakian and of course Indians are angry over this act, we need to call for a national reflection on political agendas that have made some people bold and brazen.

Such actions, if treated as just being "unprofessional" or as an "isolated incident", would not cleanse our society and rid the nation of this besieging, destructive conduct.

We need to demand that henceforth, anyone screaming for political power using race and religion as weapons must be arrested.

Only then, will all these deranged behaviours like this boy can be phased out from our society and Malaysians can focus on nation-building.

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