Of Ramadhan and Chinese

8TV apology fails to quell public anger.

PETALING
JAYA: Local television station 8TV might have pulled out their allegedly racist
Public Service Announcements (PSA) and issued an official apology, but anger
over the issue has not dissipated. Instead, many are accusing the Media
Prima-owned station of high-handedness in the way it made the apology.

In a statement quoting Australian philosopher Karl Popper, 8TV apologised for any
inconvenience or uneasiness caused: “As the famous Austrian philosopher once
said, ‘It is impossible to speak in a way that you cannot be misunderstood’ –
and this is the unfortunate situation that has resulted from the 8TV Ramadan
PSA.”

It said there were misinterpretations in the PSA that were meant to
serve only as a message of respect for Ramadan.

....read more at the link.

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One thing that I can conclude out of this hoo-haas is that some people are just trying to politicised and hope to make this a larger controvercial issue with undying support of overly sensitive people.
As some said, this is a petty issue, and as a matured democratic country inhabitants, a should be able to accept this matter in a very light way -- "a society which is able to laugh and poke fun at itself is a confident, open and matured society.”
Same goes to an individual.

It won't be wrong if I say that this resentment was burnt by some political party(s) in order to have an agenda to take the racist game to the road again.
And it also won't surprised me if one of this day, CNN will aired a "Ramadhan demonstration from Kuala Lumpur" depicting mostly Malay men and women with their children chanting some colour asking the government for something in order to show respect for the holy month.

Okay.
Let's look at the fact.
Especially for those of you who aren not Malaysian, who doesn't resides here and had never been to the country.
Now, this month is the holy month of the Muslim. Ramadhan, a month where Muslims will try their best to do 'the best' as a person. Very good example is, if one Muslim person is a party animal who'd flock night clubs every weekend, in this holy month, he'll become a little better by stopping his weekend nights activities and might replace it with just 'mamak' chats, or going for the terawikh prayers.

Alright, lets get to the point.
Altogether, some people are making such a big boo hoos about this matter because the advertisement depicts a “Chinese” girl eating in public added on with her tank-top when visiting a Ramadan bazaar, which is making the Muslims around her offended.

The criticism circles that the ad is stereotyping Chinese behaviour during the fasting month.

Now, lets admit it.
Chinese or not, young people has got their own way of dressing. It's an expression. It's a fashion.
Even the younger generation Malays (also born Muslim) don all type of clothing as their heart desires.
I have come across countless encounter with Muslim girls wearing tight skimpy cloths with shorts or micro mini skirts, albeit them 'supposed' to be better during the month --walking scouting for various types of food at Ramadhan bazaars.

What more can one expect out of a a non-Muslim who aren't binded by any dress code....they can wear what they like and however they like it to be.
Couple of days ago while waiting for my nephew in front of an ice- cream shop somewhere in Subang Jaya, and I can swear to God almost 99% of the Chinese girls that goes into the shop wear tiny shorts and T-shirts or spag-strap with slippers.
It's like a trademark.

So why must feel bad when one are criticised about who they're clothed?
This is what they wear.
Why wanna make it a big deal that the advert depict them wearing such?
This is what being worn by most of them either for morning breakfast, afternoon lunch or night time dinner, to market or to mall.
Day and night...well unless they go to college. I'm sure college got some sort of a dress code.

Personal experience?
During winter in the place where I live now, in the housing compound for staff.
We have people from other countries living nearby such as from the UK, the Philippines, Indonesia and other nationals.

No one would be wearing just a short and a Tee walking around in that chilly weather,...BUT this Chinese girl from an eastern coast of Malaysia, I bumped into her many times wearing short short and a Tee.
Thus, would it be my fault or anybody else's fault if we assume and conclude that this how they are dressed casually.

My Indonesian Chinese business affiliate once commented on the matter. And I simply told him the local people don't really care about how they dress.


Hence, to say that stereotyping Chinese to wear that kind of cloths and behaving as such is not all wrong. Why can't those people just accept the fact that this is how most Chinese wear.
Why they don't depict an Indian girl instead of Chinese? Think....

Because we don't see an Indian girl doing such thing.I don't want to be lopsided by saying that most Indian girls are more respectful than Chinese or Malays, in terms of public behaviour or dressing.

Second, on eating.

Well, eating in public during Ramadhan is only forbidden for the Muslims.
I don't see why should the advert be politicised to interpreted 'it seems showing the Chinese' of course not just lady but as a whole, are rude -- to be walloping food around fasting people.

Let's be realistic. They (the non-Muslims) won't be bothered to hide their food and drinks when they're around the Muslims during this month would they? This is what they do. And don't expect them or any others will do. Any Chinese can challenge me that I made up the statement (and I quote this from my Chinese friends) Chinese live to eat, not eat to live.


Last year, another tv station run by the same group triggered the Malay/Muslims people by airing a Hari Raya commercial with alleged Christmas overtones -- a sledge going up to the sky.-- Honestly to me that was a case of stupidity of all party -- the advertising company and the tv station department who is in charge of it. Sledge had nothing to do in the celebrations of both eid. If they were to make a 'ketupat' or a bamboo sticky rice 'lemang' with kids sitting on it flying happily to the sky, the people might just accept it and laughed over it.

I strongly feel that the advertising agency is trying so hard to create 1 Malaysia thingy until they become so engrossed and can't differentiate between B and D. Perhaps they need thicker specs to look clearly into what actually is 1 Malaysia all about.

Or, perhaps, the local media industry have been flocked by cheapskate, low paying advertising companies.

This racial tension was stirred up by some people who is trying to find the smallest pettiest thing to create another road demonstration.

That's it.....nothing more.

To the Malays -- stop asking the non-Muslims to respect your holy month or teach them how to behave. If they are sensitive enough, and tolerant, they wont be doing what most of them did. They'd learn about it during primary school in Civic classes. You are living in a country with mixed race and religion. Although you believe that the country is stamped internationally as a Islamic country, and one of OIC member, Malaysia is not. All are allowed, from gambling, prostitution and alcohols.

To the Chinese -- don't be sad you are depicted as such because not all, BUT majority of your younger generations are like that. This is what we see in reality.


So get on with life, and if you're unhappy, try swallowing an anti-depressant.