Sajakkini

Lee Ban Chen

Kata yang bijaksana: Seseorang itu selalunya menghina dirinya terlebih dahulu sebelum dirinya dihinakan orang lain.

Apabila Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Nazri Aziz diminta memberi komen mengenai kontroversi yang ditimbulkan oleh sebuah artikel dalam NST tulisan Zainul Ariffin yang bertajuk “Our MPs are not ready for prime-time TV”, beliau berhujah:

“Anggota-anggota Parlimen hanya mengundang kritikan apabila membangkitkan perkara-perkara bodoh dan tidak relevan dalam persidangan Dewan. Kalau tiada isu jangan hentam sahaja. Lebih baik diam dan biar orang kata bodoh daripada kita bercakap dan orang sahkan kita bodoh.”

Hujah ini mirip dengan falsafah ‘menghina diri sebelum dihina orang’ seperti yang tersebut di atas, walaupun Nazri berkata, ia adalah ajaran ayahnya. Dan apabila didesak dalam Dewan Rakyat, beliau kemudian terpaksa mengaku bahawa semua ahli Parlimen adalah “bijak” belaka! (more…)

Salbiah Ahmad

Too much time had elapsed since my column, Let’s be civil about religion, for me to pick up where I left off there. There are also bits of arguments and analyses not covered in my last two columns and I am of two minds to pick these up as well.

But May, a friend, had recently called and that got me going again. She asked among other things, if the campaign on moral policing was also championed by the 100 or so Muslim ‘victims’ in the Jawi raid on Jan 20. We both laughed at the poser. I did not ask May why she laughed. My laughter was prompted by memories of our trial and error engagements with the public.

May’s query is part and parcel of a rule concerning agency. As activists, we share common induction courses. In several of these courses or sharing of experiences, locally and regionally, we learn to acknowledge, respect, build and support the agency of beneficiaries, the marginalised, the victims and the survivors. Beneficiaries are to be first empowered and consequently, as partners with activists, equally participate in mapping out the direction for change.

Thus our training in the field, the turun kepadang (going to the ground) experience, places much weight on consultation, public education or awareness-raising, only then mobilisation of the public including the victims/survivors in change for social transformation. (more…)