YOURSAY | Watches cannot destroy a nation, extremism can

YOURSAY | ‘Stop fighting shadows and address real problems.’

Home minister defends Swatch raids, citing public complaints

BOBBYO: Watches cannot bring a nation down, but religious extremism can destroy a nation. How many reports are made against speakers who insult and degrade other religions? Why the silence?

How many reports were made and even judgment passed against Indira Gandhi's husband? Why the silence? How many reports were made against PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang for creating disharmony in the nation with his racial outbursts? Why the silence?

The list goes on. But when it comes to two books and some watches with just LGBT letters written, your officers are fast to act. What has changed under Pakatan Harapan? All the laws that Harapan leaders stood against and spoke against while in the opposition are still in force.

So, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, books and watches won't destroy the nation, but inaction against religious extremism and dissatisfaction within the hearts of the citizen will.

Thunderbolt: Saifuddin, you are a real disappointment to us who voted for your party PKR and to those who supported you all these years. Please stop fighting shadows and do the real fight like a man. I am sure you know what I mean.

There are issues plaguing us incessantly - dress codes, religious bigotry, corruption in agencies under your ministry, and the list goes on. You want to know something, many people I spoke to have given up on you and your unity government.

It has been nothing else since coming to power for more than nine months (after last year’s November 2022 general elections. There seems to be a lot of pandering and more pandering (to certain groups). But no matter how much pandering, what have you achieved?

For example, banning the Swatch rainbow watches incident seems to be the unity government pandering to religious bigots just to show your government is more Islamic than Perikatan Nasional or PAS. What have you achieved by this? A lot of hot air that achieves nothing and insults the intelligence of ordinary Malaysians.

Meanwhile, we are still economically behind, people are still struggling to live day by day, and the ringgit is in shambles. There are more “syiok sendiri” (feel good) elements in our education system, religious bigotry and racial issues. These are getting worse under the unity government. To say the least, you and your unity government are a lost cause.

Apanama is back: Saifuddin, your interpretation of the provision under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 which concerns undesirable publications has a flaw. Look at Section 7 (1) of PPPA.

“If the minister is satisfied that any publication contains any article, caricature, photograph, report, notes, writing, sound, music, statement or any other thing which is in any manner prejudicial to or likely to be prejudicial to public order, morality, security, or which is likely to alarm public opinion, or which is or is likely to be contrary to any law or is otherwise prejudicial to or is likely to be prejudicial to public interest or national interest, he may in his absolute discretion by order published in the gazette (my emphasis) prohibit, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, the printing, importation, production, reproduction, publishing, sale, issue, circulation, distribution or possession of that publication and future publications of the publisher concerned.”

The above section mentioned your absolute discretion, but it should be "by order published in the gazette”. Do you understand or simply raid, and now, coming up with this fairy tale? Now you are telling me the son is born before his father?

I suspect you have messed up the whole raid because the deep state is playing behind you.

Coward: Public complaint is not carte blanche to raid. It tells you there are concerns. If it is legitimate and cannot be addressed by current law and regulations, change it first, then raid, on the first day of the changes if you must.

That's called the rule of law. Granted, there are emergency powers given to the ministry in case a delay causes a risk to life and limbs, but it is not the case here.

Knucklehead: Saifuddin, you just can't defend such a blatant act by your officers. Please show us how many public complaints were there. Please tell us, what law/s did you apply in confiscating the said goods? Please give us intelligent answers, we have brains to think!

"Books not seized, just taken to check contents", said Saifuddin. This got to be the height of one's absurdity. Does the minister know what he is even talking about? Like a kindergarten kid telling us, he wanted to read a book, so they confiscated it.

By the way, who read the book and who decided on the content, whether it was suitable or not? Who? Do they know and understand English or not?

PW Cheng: The excuse of public complaints, real or cooked up has been used spuriously and incessantly used by politicians when they feel any of these actions can give them brownie points in the quest of their political agenda. Are these public complaints in words or in writing?

On the same grounds, I see that many of us had also made a lot of complaints about corruption in the government service. But why no action? So, where do you draw the line?

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