Government punishes Makkal Osai over picture: What would Jesus do?
By ANDREW LOH
I am Christian and I am against any government action against Makkal Osai.
In an ideal world, my religion would be a non-issue. But in super-sensitised Malaysia, it’s probably safer to do some pre-identification before anyone makes a stand on a controversial issue.
The Tamil Daily reportedly published on its front page this picture of Jesus with a cigarette in one hand and a beer can in another, captioned “if a person repents of his mistakes, then heaven awaits him.”
(Used with permission from bobjots.org)
Makkal Osai has since openly apologised, with its general manager S.M. Periasamy saying that the picture was mistakenly inserted by a graphic artist. The staff member involved has been suspended.
However, the Internal Security Ministry suspended Makkal Osai for one month for “publishing articles or pictures which could threaten public security, harmony and morality, or seriously disturb the thinking of the people, or that contravened the law and threatened public or national interest.”
Reaction: Forgiveness…
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) initially wanted the Home Ministry to investigate and take action against those behind the publication of the picture. It has since issued a retraction from its previous position, and now regrets the suspension as “it is an unfair and hasty decision when the council… had accepted the apology by the newspaper.”
“It is our opinion that a warning would have been sufficient. We will appeal to the Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister to reconsider,” said its president Datuk A. Vaithilingam.
First describing the picture as “a desecration and therefore hurtful to the religious sentiments of Catholics,” Kuala Lumpur Archbishop Murphy Pakiam later accepted Makkal Osai’s apology and considered the matter closed. He expressed surprise at the paper’s closure, saying that Christians believe in reconciliation and that the paper had indeed appeared to have sincerely repented of its mistake.
Some Christians/Malaysians have gone on record stating that the suspension of Makkal Osai ought to be lifted.
… Or Revenge?
Juxtapose the more forgiving folks with Bishop Julious Paul of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malaysia, who went further and called for a ban on Makkal Osai. He claimed that a precedent had been set in the past with the indefinite suspension of the Sarawak Tribune and two-week suspension of the evening edition of Guang Ming Daily during the Prophet Muhammad cartoons fiasco.
Not to be left out, MIC Youth submitted a four-page memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office asking to revoke Makkal Osai’s publication permit. Another police report was made because the publication was a “threat to national harmony.”
Its deputy president, Datuk G. Palanivel, wanted the ministry to act against the paper which “had hurt the feelings of Christians in the country” to “drive home a clear message as religion is something which cannot be made fun of.”
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi slammed the picture as “hurtful” and “an insult to Christians,” and said “if the Christians get to know about it, it will create problems.” “I am sure the Christians, as we Muslims, cannot accept this,” he also said at a separate occasion.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili supported the action, saying that “stern action must be taken against those who flouted the law and mocked other religions.”
In a twist of circumstances, Makkal Osai’s general manager Periasamy lodged yet another police report, alleging that Tamil Nesan also published the Jesus picture in its August 23 edition, and insinuating that it too should be punished.
Five Reasons Not to Ban Makkal Osai
There are a few issues at stake here, and we would do well to identify and address each of them.
Was the publication of the picture in bad taste? It probably was.
Was the publication accidental? I doubt it.
Was the picture offensive? This is debatable. I personally do not think so; others might disagree.
Do any of these really matter? Absolutely not!
Regardless of whether the picture was offensive and/or accidental, the publication of the Jesus picture does not warrant a one month-suspension of Makkal Osai.
I offer you five reasons.
Firstly, Makkal Osai has apologised for publishing the picture. Forgiving, surely, is the Christian thing to do, as embodied by MCCBCHST and Archbishop Pakiam! Do we not pray that Jesus “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us?”
Two wrongs do not make a right.
Anil Netto, Deputy Editor of Aliran Monthly, noted that the theme of the caption of the picture was, ironically, forgiveness.
Secondly, the punishment does not fit the crime. Note the rhetoric used by those to justify their actions against Makkal Osai. A satire of Jesus is hardly a “threat to national harmony (MIC),” and would definitely not “threaten public security and morality (Internal Security Ministry).”
Our Prime Minister is clearly mistaken if he thought that Malaysian Christians will take to the streets to riot, even if his projected fears are based on a precedent. Many Christians can take jokes, even those in horrible taste.
Freedom of speech must not be muffled at such vague, flimsy excuses. Malaysians do not need any more censorship on our already muzzled press.
A letter to Malaysiakini argued, compellingly, that in the current intolerant political and religious climate in Malaysia, Christians “should be known for their their sense of tolerance, charity, religious conviction, commitment, and love but certainly not intolerance, humourlessness, insecurity or sensitivities,” and should instead regard this as “a challenge and an opportunity to engage non-Christians in dialogue to explain the Gospel and our faith.”
Thirdly, the entire brouhaha smacks of political manoeuvring . Makkal Osai, owned by former MIC deputy president S. Subramaniam, has been “very critical of (MIC president) Samy Vellu since Subramaniam’s defeat last year in the MIC deputy presidency,” stated Indian Malaysian Online (IMO). Its rival Tamil Nesan is allegedly aligned with Samy Vellu.
According to IMO, Makkal Osai has been reporting extensively about the recent Sujatha’s suicide case (Indian actress and personal assistant to Vellpaari, Samy Vellu’s son), and the Maika Holdings scandals.
Now perhaps this explains the overenthusiastic responses of MIC to capitalise from Makkal Osai’s blunder and shut it up before the coming elections.
Nathaniel Tan speculates that this is a classic case of divide and rule: the government playing Indians against Christians.
Fourthly, the very purpose of satire is to rouse emotion. Satire, funny, offensive, or not, is almost always based on some amount of truth.
Take for example the following pictures.
While the pictures might be offensive to some, they satire the modern Church’s addiction to materialism. Depending on your interpretation, they might bemoan how some funds are misappropriated for suspect purposes, or lampoon the overemphasis some Christians place on earthly, as opposed to heavenly wealth, or decry how some Christians and their lifestyles seem to be unaware of grave economic injustice in their midst.
Such is the power of satire.
The point is, Christians have more reason to learn from satire than to be affronted. Most satire carry with them many painful truths, and I think Christians should approach satire from a self-questioning, introspective, critical perspective.
Lastly, and most importantly, Jesus does not need us to defend Him. Do you really think Christianity is in any way threatened, demoralised or defiled just because of a lousy picture?
Instead, some bloggers argue that Christians should get their priorities right. What is needed is to focus our energy on things that really matter, like political, economic, religious and social justice. Bob Kee, a Lutheran, even writes critically about the support the Evangelical Lutheran Church has lent to this “suppression of civic discourse.”
Netto asks, “So why aren’t we as outraged when the rights of the weak and marginalised are violated and trampled upon on a daily basis? For it is the wretched of the earth with whom Jesus identified most through his life-giving sacrifice on the Cross.”
Wouldn’t you also agree that ultimately, Christians should take offence at the injustices of the world rather than at one trivial picture? Surely we have better things to worry about.
What Would Jesus Do?
Coming down to it all, I believe that Jesus isn’t all that petty to take vengeance against those who satire him. He’s probably either laughing at how good the joke is, or how bad. And He would probably expect Christians to learn from satire to better themselves and the world in which they live.
The last thing Jesus would want is for this controversy to be turned into a political drama in His name for the government to conveniently remove an alternative, critical voice just before the elections; Christians should find slimy opportunists who manipulate their faith to squash free expression exponentially more offensive than any satire.
Malaysians should too.
Let us set another precedent.
I am Malaysian and I am against any government action against Makkal Osai.
Isaiah 58:6
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
–
ANDREW LOH is a staff writer for theCICAK.
Uber-kiasu, nocturnal Andrew is a rising sophomore in Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, where he is learning Arabic. Andrew won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for Young Malaysians in 2006. He has also won two national debating tournaments and co-coached SMK Damansara Jaya to win two more. Visit his site.
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Comment of the week
I defend my right as a Malaysian to talk about anything that concerns Malaysia.
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if it takes only an unconventional picture or song to “threaten public or national interest”, we ought to evaluate our politicians’ portfolio. in the event of such, apologise already been made, what’s done is done… isn’t “forgiveness” one of the value in every belief?
i don’t particularly praise what the press has done (but one do have to admit that it is nonetheless a very creative ART… and more so i am certain Jesus or any messenger of GOD would expect challenges from all angles, since no one can claim superiority of their beliefs… if so, there wouldn’t be so many version of religions as of today.
media is a medium of expression of whats-on, thus let them operate as constructively as they are… for all we know (and always misinterpret), the picture might represent a message from Jesus to advise his followers to quit smoking and drinking…
as citizen, and as a human being, i do believe that i have the right to decide what is right and what is not… with all do respect to government and certain bodies of their efforts in protecting the people’s best interest, at times the people need to do their own thinking and construct their own defense… it is what often refers to as “first-world mentality” =)
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I would think the precedence of banning any newspaper which printed the Prophet Muhammad cartoons published in Denmark has an affect on this case. I may not be a follower of Christ (I actually followed the next guy in line), however I do think that if we were to take sensitive considerations against the printing of all religious figures in a satirical manner, then I see no wrong in the government banning the newspaper.
Masal Okai apologized. So did the Sarawak Tribune. But in both cases, I think the people in power have found it necessary to suspend publication for whatever reasons they have in the background.
We cannot argue an act that is actually according to the laws of the state. We may protest and state our disapproval as mentioned in the above article, but in the end it’s still in line with our laws. If we were so mad about the freedom of the press, we should have made amendments on the licensing of publications to more than a year, and to be handled by an independent council instead of a biased government, should we not?
Besides, if we were all seriously asking ourselves what would Jesus or Muhammad or Buddha or Ganesh even would do, none of the politicians would be in Parliament, and Malaysia would have been a utopia.
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If you ask me, the decision to close down the Sarawak Tribune was wrong, and so is the decision to suspend Makkal Osai. It may be lawful for the government to have taken action against both papers, but in my opinion, it shouldn’t be so. The government has discretion to act, and it should have not acted in these petty cases. What does it say about Muslim and Christian morality if it is feared that we will start rioting if papers critical of us are banned?
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What is simply says is that we were all gullible idiots who voted in the fervor of the moment, being taken in by sweet lies of our leaders.
Obviously, the principles of politics and morality are opposed to one another in our country, as we can clearly see in the issues of inequality and racial division.
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SEKARANG BILA ORANG BUAT GAMBAR JESUS HISAP ROKOK MINUM BEER, ORANG BERUGAMA KRITIAN MESTI MARAH, THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR THEM., YES I SOKONG YOU ALLS, WHY TUTUP SATU BULAN, TERUS TUTUP LAA. SO THIS CERITA SAMA DENGAN ORANG NYAYI KATA AZAN MACAM AYAM KOKOK., SO ALLS OF YOU BASTARD DON’T MAKE A JOKES WITH RELIGIOUS. I AS MUSLIM FEEL ANGRY. IF YOU NOT HAPPY WITH GOVERNMENT YOU CAN COMPLAINT, MAKE A GOOD SONG OR MAKE A GOOD CARTOONS OR WHATEVER YOU LIKE.
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It becomes a ’sensitive’ issue because we call it so.
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Such lowest of lows Grandfather Lah has stooped down to hit a few political punches and he seem to have scored points too.
the conspiracy theorist in me says that grandfather staged the whole thing in the first place.
the cynic in me says if u can’t take a joke, stay home and sulk.
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Orang Kampung,
Read the post again. Kita tak marah pun.
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orang kampung, jangan la marah marah, takda orang marah pun, bacalah dulu.
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Jesus is not worth a joke of life..
It would be more pleasing to most of the christians in Malaysia for the government to ban any articles from the aleged person to be published in any news papers anymore, so as to give a lesson to all who intend to bring up religious segregation in the country like Malaysia which has a variety of religions. Such publications are the ones which have caused chaos in Darfur Sudan. It will be more wise to ban this guy from publishing any articles any more. This is real intimidation of the minor Christians in Malaysia.
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everyone behind this should be punished with zero telorance to discourage such intimidative characters from society any more. since pic was published on the front page i gues there are many form the top management of that daily who are behind this religious segreation which can lead us into religious chaos.
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Let Christians decide for ourselves what should be the appropriate action. Let the bible, which asked us to forgive a person seventy-seven times lead us in this ruckus. Most importantly, let us not be drawn into a fight that has ulterior motive.
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does anyone remember how sarawak tribune got closed down for a cartoon on some muslims or sthg not long ago?
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i think most christians can handle a joke. There certainly wont be any riots or killings in the christian community.
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A a christian, i totally agree with this article! They’re making too big a fuss over one picture. If the christians are willing to forgive already, then why can’t they? However, on the somewhat brighter side, it’s good to note that at least the government is willing to take action against offensive things that concern other religion, not just Islam =)
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Dear everybody,
Why the government decided to ban the Makkal Osai ? To impart the message that media should not try to play with religious matters/issues. IN OTHER WORDS, ISSUES ON RELIGION ARE CONSIDERED HYPERSENSITIVE. NO MEDIA SHOULD TRY TO EXPERIMENT THE FOUNDER OF ANY RELIGION(S) IN A WAY THAT COULD BE SEEN AS BELITTLING THE SACRED FIGURES.
You know what ? Muslims do worship and look up at Jesus as he was the second last prophet before Mohamad. Well, the point here is that Jesus does not only concern the christians but also to Muslims all over the world. Please ask any oustanding Islamic leaders what they have to say about Jesus Christs.
Muslims believe that Jesus is in Heaven waiting to come back and restore peace and order for this troubled earth plagued with wars, conflict, genocide, sins , etc.
FYI, muslims worship all the prophets, namely Abraham, Issac, Zachary, Joseph, Moses, Jesus and Mohamad.
I can uderstand the government’s prudent action against the Makkal Osai.
If the government were to just let the media go off scot free, in future this will set the precedent for other media to publish religious issues and action should not be taken against them due to past precedent.
You all said that we r not angry and they have apologised and the matter should be considered closed. the same tune that you have been singing on the infamous NameWee’s negarakku vdeo rap and call that action should not be taken against for insulting the country’s national anthem. ACTUALLY YOU PEOPLE ARE THE ONE WHO BE PARTIALLY BLAMED FOR LETTING THIS TYPE OF INSULT TO TAKE PLACE UNDER THE SO-CALLED FREE SPEECH, PRESS FREEDOM, HUMAN RIGHTS N ETC.
Can someone rell us what the real motive for the Makkal Osai to publish picture of Jesus with a cigarette in one hand and a beer can in another, captioned “if a person repents of his mistakes, then heaven awaits him.”
just testing the water ???? u should not the test the water as you could head to troubled water …..
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I strongly concur with Lawrence of Arabia’s view that the media Makkal Osai has greatly erred in publishing the pictures of Jesus holding a cigareete and beer and promise a salvation to heaven if a person repents.
any religious founder(s) are considered sacred and should not be treated as an object of ridicule in any media or in the printed form, viisual and aural.
Most of you said that u r not annoy with the pictures and action should not be taken against Makkal Osai . Unfortunately it’s not your call to determine the action that should be imposed as it’s the government ’s call to decide. And the government has imposed one month ban for the Makkal Osai to learn the lesson as not to experiment the sacred religious figurehead in its articles..
The lesson here is that don’t mess around with the sacred Prophets. Jesus is much revered by Muslims as much as they worship Mohamad, Moses, Issac, Zachary , Abraham and etc.
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first impression : Oh for pit sake *facepalms*
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[…] http://thecicak.com/?p=292 […]
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It’s the government ’s call to impose a deterent action to media not to touch on issues on religions particularly to the reverred founder of the religions.
Please respect the government’s decision as you are also the ones that voted in the government to administer the country.
tHE MESSAGE IS VERY CLEAR, FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND DEMOCRACY WOULD HAVE CERTAIN LIMITS..TO RIDICULE A MUCH REVERED PROPHET BE JESUS , MOHAMAD, MOSES,,ABRAHAM SHOULD NOT BE CONDONED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
MOST OF THE ISLAMIC COUNTRIES REGARD ALL PROPHETS AS SACRED AND SHOULD NOT BE AN OBJECT TO MESS AROUND..DO YOU GET THIS ????????????? /////
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The picture of Jesus that the makkal osai had published is no doubt very provoking. what would the Christians feel? have you, whoever has “accidentally” published it think before you carry out this irresponsible action of yours? if it is so by accident, why would you people want to publish the paper anyway? forgiving is one thing. yes, forgive those who has sins against us. i believe that as i am a Catholic myself. but will those who we have forgiven will remember their mistakes and reconciliate? what about the Sarawak Tribune paper which have been banned? was the mistake forgiven? apparently not. i am not supporting whether makkal osai should be banned but i do hope, towards the near future, messing around with religion is nothing to be laughed about. it is a serious issue, not only in our community but around the globe as well. the publishing of the picture of Jesus is very childish like act and the point of publishing it, i do not know as well. but to whom who have did this by accident, i hope you understand what your action have caused you and to the people around you. think it as this way, would you be content and not breathe a word if something so sacred to you be made fun of? no matter how open you are, i don’t think you would want to see such things happening to you. remember one thing, be glad that you are forgiven by the whole Christian community. cigarette in one hand and beer in another, in Jesus’ hands which so happens to be a sacred thing for us Christian. it is not a surprise why many people are provoked by this. frankly speaking, it is very disturbing. if you have the heart to do carry out such act, i am sure you also have the heart and put your thought into doing worst things than this. i pity those who find this matter amusing because you do not know the suffering Jesus had gone through for his people. so, think twice, look before you leap cause i am sure, you were taught about that since the day you were born till today, somehow, you have forgotten the very first thing you learned about facts of life. good day~
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First of all, i DID NOT vote this government into power, i wasn’t a voter then.
Second of all, if i did vote for this government into power, then IT IS PRECISELY BECAUSE I AM THE CITIZEN OF THIS COUNTRY THAT THIS GOVERNMENT SERVES that this gives me the right to criticize the very persons working for my welfare when I seriously think they’re doing a outright lousy job, ISN’T THAT WHAT DEMOCRACY MEANS?
it’s not the rakyat’s decision, because the rakyat here never chooses to say anything outloud in public and in crowds. NOT because the almighty Malaysian government can do whatever they want, get that straight, holy-warriors.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH DOES NOT EXIST IN MALAYSIA, why do u think we all hide behind blogs on the internet and blab about the government when what we should be doing is coming out in droves to SAY WHAT IS WRONG ABOUT THIS COUNTRY?
to scrap on the surface of religion regarding this issue isn’t even close enough to what the real motives behind this poilitical move is, and unless, at lease for this one little insignificant incident, we do not succumb to the usual political card of religion, we may never move away from religious segregation.
WHO CARES IF THEY APOLOGISED OR NOT?
The point is YOUR RIGHT TO SAY WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT IS VIOLATED
and MOST IMPORTANTLY: YOUR RIGHT AS A HUMAN BEING TO CHOOSE WHAT TO THINK IS VIOLATED
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Makkal osai has been ban for 2 week then it is going to be okay again,but the hurt the u have created do u think that u can run away with it?The person who recreated the picture of Jesus Christ thinking he is smart has fallen into a trap that will last for 7 generation to his family.
In ten commaments is writen ‘Thou shall not call they god in vain’ this was the law during mose (great prohet) time.He has said any one who say bad thing against god will be punish…..but here he has done against certain rules drawing on Jesus picture( the sacred heart)…. i just pity his family for his wrong doing,actually u are not cursing people but u are cursing God,May the lord help u in this journey of tis life……good lesson learn……work hard and think smart .JESUS IS NOT ANY BODY HE IS GOD HE WILL COME BACK TO THIS WORLD..CHRISTIAN BELIEF.
jxc help us
10 q
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SOMETHING FOR YOU TO KNOW ABOUT JESUS
I found the following helpful in my spiritual life and thought you might find it encouraging as well.
4 Steps To God - Click here for the web version
1. God Loves You!
The Bible says, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
The problem is that
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2. All of us have done, said or thought things that are wrong. This is called sin, and our sins have separated us from God.
The Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says “The wages of sin is death.”
The good news is that, about 2,000 years ago,
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3. God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.
Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. “God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life — of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.”
God reaches out in love to you and wants you to be His child. “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name.” You can choose to ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and come in to your life as your Lord and Savior.
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4. If you want to accept Christ, you can ask Him to be your Savior and Lord by praying a prayer like this:
“Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior. I want to serve you always.”
Did you pray this prayer?
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Do think that this website should also be banned for showing the three”insensitive” and “hurtful” pics?haha..
I’m sorry bad taste
but seriouly,as a Christian I think that the picture only tests my faith….
just chill …….
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I really liked the emphasis you put on forgiveness, Andrew. Yes, it may have been wrong for them to print it. Yes, it may have been insulting and offensive. Yes, it was within the remit of our publishing laws for makkal osai to be suspended.
Yet, is there really anything wrong with summoning a bit of forgiveness? As Andrew points out, they apologised. They’re not likely to abuse the forgiveness shown to them. If they do, well, maybe a harsher penalty might be justified. But let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.
I salute you, Andrew, as a Muslim who had his own Prophet insulted just last year, and I hope I can find as much forgiveness in my heart as you do in yours.
I’d also like to point out that it doesn’t matter who voted who in the last election - dissent, especially constructive dissent, should be cherished and supported all the time. If I voted BN last time round, surely as a Msian citizen, I still have the right to criticise them in the intervening five years. Hoping that they would respond, and thereby give me the trust to vote them in again. And if they don’t respond, then that’s a signal for me to change my vote. And if I didn’t vote BN in the last election, I have a right to criticise the actions of a government that I didn;t even want.
The country doesn’t just come alive during general election time - it’s alive all the time. Long live comment and dissent.
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i as malaysian do not understand these people. i guess you people really don’t understand why did makkal osai published the picture. if you all don’t understand, you guys are not qualified to give comment about ANDREW’s blog. let me tell you all, they published the picture of Jesus with a cigarette in one hand and a beer can in another just to show people that there are people insulting CHRIST by publishing these pictures. This doesn’t mean that they are insulting too. You guys know how many hollywood movies where released mentioning about Jesus and got movies where they insult Jesus by action or words. do you guys ban thosemovies!!!! No. You guys enjoy watchig those movies. for you guys information, these movies directors or actors didn’t apologise for their actions but they made good profit by selling those movies.
For those muslim broters and sisters, please don’t write something you don’t understand basically.i can understand that you all believing that Jesus as ‘NABI ISA’ ,but don’t you all “pour oil in burning flame”
To anyone would like to comment, please do not comment if you all don’t understand basic story
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i disagree with part of your argument, jack. i think everyone has a right to comment.
regardless of whether they are christian, regardless of whether they are malaysian.
to comment is human nature.
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TWO WRONGS WON’T MAKE A THING RIGHT— Dear Jack.
the paper publised a picture of Lord Jesus holding a cigarette and a beer.
The editor should have determined before hand whethet it was ethically right or wrong to approve the picture in the press.
This is where ethical relativism took place. A sub-editor will say it’s ethically wrong to publish due to religious issue. Then the chief editor to his principle of ethical relativism it’s right to allow this picture to be published. he made the decision on what he believed was accetable to him with total disregard to the country’s rukun negara. ONE OF THE BASIC TENET OF THE RUKUN NEGARA IS TO BELIEVE IN GOD. If the editor believe in god, then he should not approved the pic and the article in the first place.
JACK- u seem quite arrogant for asking people not to comment if they don’t know the basic story. Andrew’s article is about the issue of the media publishing the pict and reflects his opinion that action should not be taken against the media.He welcomes comments from everybody. Eveyone is entitled to his/her opinion. IF YOU R DAMNED KNOWLEDGEAABLE ABOUT THE BASIC STORY THEN WHY NOT YOU TELL US YOUR STORY ???W R MORE THAN OBLIGED TO LISTEN.
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I would like give Jack big star cause he has mention about the prohet and son of God,it two different thing Jesus is not prohet he is son of God;nabi isa is prohet jack it was nice of u to bring up the isuse.Any andrew is doing a good job thank u Mr.Andrew what can we say each of as touch our heart and ask is right to to that?
Just remember that someone is watching.
God bless
jxc
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No big deal. Religious argument on the internet is a waste of time. Argue on the internet is like joining the special Olympics, even if you win, you’re still retarded.
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To lawrence of arabla friend of saladin the great and saladin the great.
Just wanna point out that, while your comments were all well and good, I do have to correct you on a point that you made. Yes, Muslims do look up to Jesus, in our case Nabi Isa A.S, but we in no way worship him nor do we worship the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. It is reverence that we show our prophets.
About the picture:-
I really don’t think that it should be viewed as just one picture. This is prolly the picture to start all other pictures. I don’t believe they should be publicised in any way. If you say OK to it now, what about later? Honestly, if it were up to me, the less satires like this exist, the happier I’ll be. I don’t like people making fun of the Prophet more than the next guy, and the same applies to Jesus and all other religious figures.
And dude, Jack, who’s to say, as a Muslim, I don’t know what I’m talking about? Just because I don’t practice Christianity doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about it. We’re no fools. You may misconstrue the fact that just because people are born Muslims means they disregard everything else out there. I was born a Muslim and I grew up being Muslim till I was 14. But after much deliberation I chose it in the end and I am still Muslim to this day because of the choice I made and not because of my birth. So don’t go around saying Muslims don’t know jack about Jesus. And please la, what movies are you talking about? Malaysia has like the most retarded censorship board, they may block out the word shit but not pussy, but when it comes to matters of religious-sensitive material, I believe they are quite strict.
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this is a stupid act of our news reporter,hope the law will give him real punishment.
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Comment published by Kit on 17 September 2007:
You are not correct to say that religious argument on the internet is a waste of time. TheCicak.com and Bobjots.org and both irrelevant and also anti Christian (especially since theCicak reproduced the desecrated icon of Jesus our Lord). That is not only blasphemy for a non Christian to do so but also a heresy for a Christian to do so.
Notice that the owner of Bobjots.org website, “Robert Kee @ Bob K” claiming to be a lutheran but we can see he is a non practising one as no lay man can challenge a bishop’s authority, even Julius Paul. Its akin to a common citizen attacking a High Court judge.
It is uniamous decision of Christian leaders of repute who sent a Memorandum to Pak Lah which led to Makkal Osai suspension for 1-month, yes only 1 month. Those so-called “Christians” who oppose this are NOT clergy (Bishops) but merely lay men and thus commit a crime under Canon Law. I feel any Christian who supports desecration of Holy icons MUST be condemned as an iconoclast like Byzantine Emperor Leo II the Syrian (or Leo the Arab).
For the punishment, we can use the Internal Security Act which allows up to 2 years imprisonment for defaming Christianity. This applies to both Christians (yes, right Christians can be ANTI CHRISTIAN) and non Christians (such as Hindus, etc).
When a Hindu-owned newspaper Makkal Osai commits blasphemy and a Christian abets him (like the owner of Bobjots.org web site, Robert Kee), this makes the Christian commit the crime of ICONOCLASM (which is classically punished by death if done by a lay Christian). As such Bob K is a heretic and I.S.A. can be used against him for heal his sickness.
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I totally agree with Francis’ comment. I’m also a Christian and I support the 1-month suspension of Makkal Osai, which ended today. Those who protest are certainly Anti Christian as they cannot even accept a 1 month suspension which officially ended today.
Makkal Osai can start publishing again.
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What is done is done, a month is up and we Christians should have forgiven them already. Well, the teaching was not wrong in the picture was it? It is what we should practice. If he repents, he is forgiven. The government still did the right thing though because they have to show the others that religious issues should not be played around with.
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I think the Government has been inconsistent in the way they approach “sensitive” issues. Their conviction to suspend Makkal Osai makes me wonder as to why they did not proceed to censor or even ban The Da Vince Code, considering the storm of controversy and criticism it evoked. Personally, I am sitting on the fence on this issue because I feel that either way, it is a sure bet to say that some of us will not be satisfied with the government’s course of action. However, I do believe that the intention behind the picture was to hog attention more than anything.
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Dear Orang Kampung,
If you know rap, you won’t be offended. The key is rap!
When a rapper commented,
“this food is fucking awesome”. This is nothing to do with sex! Dude!
Word to word translation doesn’t work. It even gets worst if you don’t even know the culture of the source.
You are just making fool of yourself. Don’t worry, it’s not a crime.
Regards,
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Suspension is unlawful. If they sincerely apologised, leave them be and let no more hurt be done. As a follower of Christ, I was a little bewildered by the picture…
and I don’t see why people have to make extreme reactions over mishaps on religious pictures. (Fine, I know the caricature on Prophet Muhammad and the incident of naming the teddy bear “Muhammad” raised an uproar among the people.) Do we ALL not believe in reconciliation ? Funny how we expect to be forgiven, but we do not make the move to forgive others. Answer me !!!!
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