14 theSun | TUESDAY JUNE 30 2009

speak up!

Playing the politics

Remember how Beyonce
thumbed her nose at us when she
was imposed with a “dress code”
and instead took her show to – of
all places Jakarta?
Rod Stewart’s Merdeka Eve
concert 15 years ago was cancelled
rightful guardian of the souls of the
people?
Local authorities and state
governments have no reason to
fear over withdrawing applications
although promoters spend
hundreds of thousands of ringgit

of morality
WITH everyday life on earth almost
coming to a standstill in the wake
of the death of the King of Pop, one
feels out of place in trying to touch
on – yes, more pressing issues. But
as fate would have it, the moonwalk-
er’s demise actually reminded me
of my first encounter as a journalist
with what has since become every-
day fodder – the incompetence and
arbitrary nature of governance.
For those of you who remember,
Michael Jackson’s first and only
performance in Malaysia in October
1996 almost did not take off.
After 90% of the tickets for the
two shows of the HIStory World
Tour at Stadium Malawati Shah
Alam were sold out, the Shah
Alam Municipal Council withdrew
its approval – backed by the state
government.
Of course, the usual reasons
were given – that Jackson posed
a serious threat to the morals of
youths who would be attending his
shows; that it was disrespectful to
Muslims since Shah Alam has been
portrayed as the Islamic city of Se-
langor, with the blue domed Sultan
Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque a
stone’s throw from the stadium.
Good thing his child molestation
allegations did not emerge until
later or this would have given the
authorities and politicians another
reason to ban him.
Anyway, to cut a long story short,
the then Culture, Arts and Tourism
Ministry got involved after an SOS
from show promoters Jojo Enter-
tainment chief Tan Sri Syed Yusof
Syed Nasir. The public were urged
to “hold on to your tickets” as a
new venue was sought. Before long,
Kuala Lumpur City Hall came to
the rescue, decreeing that the show
must go on at Stadium Merdeka.
One suspects that had things
turned out differently, MJ would
have come to our shores again, as
his 50-date London shows were to
be extended to a three-year world
tour which included stops in either
Down2Earth
by Terence Fernandez
Malaysia or Singapore, or both.
(Whether his frail frame would
have survived even one show is
another story)
Whether Syed Yusof, (the Jojo
in Jojo Entertainment) would have
risked another headache in bring-
ing him here is anyone’s guess. One
is sure that MJ would have said yes
to his friend but as we continue
to bear witness, our guardians of
morality are relentless in ensuring
we don’t go down the dark path that
leads to eternal damnation.
However, what is mind boggling
is that instead of focusing their
energy and resources on fighting
corruption, alleviating poverty and
ensuring the fundamental rights of
all citizens are protected – all moral
issues in their own right – the moral
police are transfixed on banning
alcohol, preventing the use of the
national language in some places
of worship and banning concerts
of artistes they had not even heard
of till now.
after the powers-that-be said it
would be unpatriotic, prompting the
Scotsman to vow never to play here
– as the last-minute cancellation
also affected the rest of his tour.
Avril Lavigne who covers her-
self from head to toe was deemed
“too sexy” by PAS members who
asserted pressure on the authorities
to revoke the permit.
A show promoter had wanted
to bring Kylie Minogue down last
December, with the Aussie super-
star’s people confirming the dates
and fees – only problem was the
promoter got cold feet as he felt
whatever approvals he received
from the authorities would be
subject to being revoked at their
whim.
The PAS protest over Avril
Lavigne convinced him that the
authorities would be pressured to
call off the Kylie show. Ms Minogue,
after all, is known for her eye-
popping outfits although she does
cover up for more conservative
audiences. It was too risky for a
businessman and he dropped the
idea.
As in all concerts, bans are politi-
cal. Why approve only to withdraw?
Because two political parties are
falling over each other to determine
who is more religious? Who is the
– in MJ’s case almost RM2 million
– to confirm the shows.
They know that concert
promoters would not dare take a local
authority to court as this would
mean they would be blacklisted for
all future shows.
Meanwhile, the beer ban in
Selangor is still being debated and
several bumiputra communities in
East Malaysia are restricted in their
use of the national language dur-
ing worship. Journalists are being
persecuted for reporting the truth
and the politics of patronage is
widening the gap between the
haves and have nots – not to
mention making doing business
more expensive.
It would be great if our guardians
of morality would concentrate on
such issues instead of the height of
the slit on an artiste’s dress and the
gyrations of a dangdut singer. But I
doubt that will ever happen because
their intentions are not as noble as
they would have us believe.
Terence is glad that he managed
to tick “Attend a Michael Jackson
concert” on his list of “Things to
do before I die”. He is deputy editor
(special reports & investigations)
and can be reached at terence@the
sundaily.com.

letters
letters@thesundaily.com
Tribute to MJ
A talented child t’was

Treat H1N1 for what it is Above others his talent soars

IN THIS globalised world, different countries seem
to be responding differently to the H1N1 outbreak.
In the United States, ground zero where H1N1
began and with nearly a million estimated cases,
there are no thermal scanners at the airports. In
Japan, with over 900 cases, travellers only need to
fill a health declaration form. In Singapore and Ma-
laysia, airports have thermal scanners, hospitals
have special tents for suspected cases, quarantine
is mandatory and schools have been closed.
Although new, this flu does not appear to be
dangerous. The WHO update on June 26, lists
59,814 confirmed cases with only 263 deaths giving
a mortality rate of less than 0.5%. Our response to
H1N1 may have been inappropriately influenced
by the experience with SARS which had a mortal-
ity rate ranging from 15% to 19%.
The Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in the
US states that “not all patients with suspected
H1N1 need to be seen by a health-care provider,
only patients with severe illness or those at high
risk of complications” (www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
identifyingpatients.htm). The document then goes
on to give detailed advice on how to care for a
patient at home, and how to prevent spread among
members of the same household.
Here we quarantine the entire household,
forbidding them from even going out for food. The
CDC also says that “not all people with suspected
H1N1 infection need to have the diagnosis con-
firmed, especially if the illness is mild”. While our
policy is to quarantine health-care workers who
may be exposed to even suspected H1N1 patients,
the CDC states that “health-care workers who do
not have a febrile respiratory illness may continue
to work” and even “asymptomatic health-care
workers who have had an unprotected exposure
to H1N1 also may continue to work if they are
started on antiviral prophylaxis”.
Although H1N1 is a benign infection, it is highly
contagious. Over a week from June 19 to 26, the
number of H1N1 patients in Singapore jumped
from 100 to 365. Singapore has only a small area
to trace contacts and enforce quarantine using a
highly trained and efficient health-care service.
Yet being an open trading country, Singapore’s
containment measures have not been success-
ful in preventing the spread of H1N1 in the local
community. Malaysia is a similarly open country
with a much larger area as well as multiple entry
points, we are unlikely to succeed where Singa-
pore has failed. Instead of expanding the number
of people quarantined, forcing employers to give
full pay unrecorded leave and increasing the strain
on our health-care personnel, we may
be better of bypassing the Singapore
experience and get onto what the CDC
in the US is recommending.
The Health Ministry has initiated
numerous measures to contain the
H1N1 outbreak. We are using valuable
health-care resources in this contain-
ment policy against H1N1. How many
other health-care areas will now be left
underfunded and undermanned by this
diversion of resources?
Should we not be proactive, look at
the situation of those ahead of us in their
experience of H1N1, save on resources
and avoid unnecessary, hurtful and
ultimately unsuccessful endeavours?
Should we not treat H1N1 for what it
is, new and highly infectious, probably
uncomfortable, but not at all serious or
dangerous for those without underlying
illness? After all, as doctors we must not
make the treatment more unpleasant
than the disease itself.
Dr Ong Hean Teik
Penang
Starting from the Jackson Five
it was music for his life
An icon in the music industry
He has inspired thus many
From Moonwalk to anti-gravity
He is indeed a born prodigy!
The King of Pop we hail him
A performer who uses every limb
Belting scores of record-breaking hits
Enticing music lovers to every beat
MTV was his brainchild
where his dances arranged in style
The story of his songs briefly told
in choreography of multi-fold
The most successful entertainer of all time
A record holder through rain and shine
Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean
Songs fondly recalled from our TV screens
Remember Heal the World and Earth Song
issues of nature that we sing along
With intention to unite the universe
he tells the world with every verse
For the better or for the worse,
it is a choice made by all of us!
Racial discrimination is of concern
A nation gap widely discerned

Are we patriotic or nationalistic? Black or white it does not matter

I’M INTRIGUED by the question of
whether Malaysians are patriotic or
nationalistic, or both, or neither! Or are
we more inclined to be patriotic in some
contexts and nationalistic in others! Or
are we generally more patriotic than
nationalistic or vice versa!
Patriotism and nationalism are emo-
tions and convictions that people have
about their country which are inspired
by love for and pride in its socio-cultural
symbols – its myths and history; its
traditions and way of life; its language
and cultural norms. Being patriotic or
nationalistic means one has a convic-
tion as to which nation one formally
belongs and to which one wants to for-
mally belong. It implies loyalty to one’s
country. This sense of a national identity
or national self-image can also be trig-
gered by feelings of protectiveness and
defence in the face of incursions and
intrusions from outside or inside.
“Nation” and “national identity”
are political constructs built upon the
collective identity of the people through
their shared experiences. In other
words a nation is an “imagined political
community” with a collective/national
identity (Anderson 1983). And interest-
ingly, this notion of “nation” is not static
but is continually reconstructed through
processes of exclusion and inclusion
(Schlesinger 1991). Thus, patriotism and
nationalism can vary synchronically (in
time) and diachronically (in space) as
they can vary within the positive and
negative poles. If I may use a linguis-
tic term, patriotism and nationalism
are not absolutes but occur along a
continuum.
Of the two, patriotism refers to
one’s love for one’s motherland and
an attachment to the national values
– albeit laced with a critical under-
standing. Thus there can be degrees
of attachment and understanding with
in-groups and out-groups demonstrat-
ing facets of their national identity. We
can be more patriotic at one point in
a nation’s history and less patriotic at
another. Merdeka saw the high point
of patriotism and nationalism in the
run-up to the country’s freedom from
colonial rule and the establishment of
self rule; 1Malaysia may not be so lucky
in a country that’s politically divided!
However, unlike nationalism which
can manifest itself in the negative feel-
ings of superiority and dominance over
other nations or peoples (Feshbach
1994), patriotism never implies a rejec-
tion and oppression of out-groups or a
dominance over them. While patriotic
groups would espouse liberalism and
tolerance, nationalistic groups are
inclined towards intergroup differentia-
tion of “us” vs “them”. BN vs PR; Malay
rural poverty vs Indian estate poverty;
Chinese business ventures vs Malay
corporate undertakings!
If we go by what is happening in the
As long as we all get together
Come, every boy and every girl
political arena, it’s easy to see As we proudly sing We are the World!
where Malaysians are along
the continuums of patriotism What a great loss t’was,
or nationalism. The race- the world marks the date today,
based nature of our political the King of Pop we lost,
parties ensures that the vision but in our heart his legend stays!
of a national identity which is
indivisible and a nation which Christina Kim
is 1Malaysia will meet with Kuala Lumpur
stops and starts. The dream
of perpetuating our shared
experiences, myths and his-
tory, traditions and way of life, tity
language and cultural norms into an among a nation of people who are more
overwhelming sense of patriotism is in nationalistic than patriotic. It may take
danger of being aborted by the nation- the form of a war against an outside
alistic forces which play up elements force like the US war against terrorism
which are disparate. and the deep fear of terrorists. God
Perhaps each of us should ask our- forbid Malaysians need the grief of a
selves where we are along the continu- national tragedy like 9/11 to unite us and
ums; who or what we are loyal to? But evoke the love for our motherland!
can we really be honest? Otherwise, like
the US, Malaysia may have to artificially Halimah Mohd Said
create a cause to forge a national iden- Kuala Lumpur