副首相兼內政部長阿末扎希是在本月21日出席於馬尼拉舉行的第11屆東南亞跨國犯罪部長級會議後指出，政府將不會批准9月30日在吉隆坡舉行的同志活動或派對，第二天移民局就發表文告，表示將貫徹副首相的指示，禁止參加同志活動的外國人入境，移民局總監慕斯達法在23日更放話，當局無需調查，可直接將他們驅逐出境。
移民局要驅逐進入大馬參加啤酒節及同志活動的外國人，可說是鬧了笑話，因為該局並沒有所謂的禁止入境名單，根本不知道誰會來參加這兩項活動，這又如何驅逐？
況且，吉隆坡市政局和警方並不批准舉辦「2017年絕佳啤酒節」，「白色曼谷同志派對」負責人也否認將在吉隆坡舉辦同志派對，當局是在和影子打架嗎？
副首相兼內政部長阿末扎希是在本月21日出席於馬尼拉舉行的第11屆東南亞跨國犯罪部長級會議後指出，政府將不會批准9月30日在吉隆坡舉行的同志活動或派對，第二天移民局就發表文告，表示將貫徹副首相的指示，禁止參加同志活動的外國人入境，移民局總監慕斯達法在23日更放話，當局無需調查，可直接將他們驅逐出境。
警方還沒有反應，移民局就舉一反三，這樣的效率，如果用來處理阿布沙耶夫恐怖分子利用保安漏洞，從沙巴潛入吉隆坡的事件，才是人民之福。
回到啤酒節被禁的事件，這不是單純的安全課題，我們可以從中看到政治及社會趨向保守，如何影響官員及民眾思維。
政治人物這麽多年來為了政權和選票，大打宗教牌，譬如，伊斯蘭黨在吉蘭丹實施了各種宗教措施，從管制穆斯林婦女的衣著丶戲院男女分開坐及開燈看戲丶海報中的女郎衣著必須端莊丶傍晚祈禱時間必須停止營業丶要求「和平之跑」男女分區，到女性不准上台表演，不只是規範了穆斯林，連非穆斯林也受影響。
伊黨過後嘗試把政教合一的理念延伸至丹州以外，比如反對吉隆坡和雪州舉辦他們認為違反大馬社會價值觀的西方藝人演唱會丶建議禁止便利店等公開場合賣酒，以及不准慶祝情人節等等。
而在中央當權的政黨害怕失去選票，也附和這類保守聲音，公開抨擊自由主義，這讓保守份子氣焰上升，進而引發各種宗教爭議。
政治人物對保守主義的放任與推波助瀾，潛移默化了公務員及民眾的想法，比方說禁止穆斯林男女共乘摩哆車丶「熱狗蝴蝶脆餅」被迫改名丶超市推出清真手推車丶大道休息站出現穆斯林專用廁所丶學校杯子分穆斯林與非穆斯林丶執法人員取締豬毛刷丶酒精飲料跟食材不能擺放於同一個冰箱。
令人擔憂的是，這類思維也滲透到民間，清真的概念從食物，擴大至用具丶器材及生意，比如麻坡一家自助洗衣店只為穆斯林服務，而州政府表明不會阻止。
如果越來越多商店採取分隔的經營方式，那麽將加劇社會的隔膜。政治人物常說，人民不團結是因為從小到大沒有交集，因此建議推行單一源流教育，但是現在一些人區分國民的做法，難道不會衝擊國民的融合？
政府應該遏止任何歧視丶隔離丶排他丶分化的行徑，包括制定法律加以禁止，否則人民之間的誤解將會加深。
宗教帶來的分化丶社會日趨保守，將摧毀互相包容丶諒解及接受差異和多元的精神，這對經濟發展將是一大阻礙。試想，如果保守思維成為主流，外國組織還敢來大馬舉辦被視為「不清真」的活動嗎？他們可承擔不起活動被禁止的風險；假如大馬被標籤為封閉國家，又如何發展旅遊業，更不用說新經濟，包括數字經濟。
政治領袖否決自由主義，就是否決人權丶平等及民主等價值觀，代價就是交由極右派主導社會輿論，保守力量坐大，讓國家轉型進一步退三步。這樣的局面已經不遠了。
文章來源：星洲日報／風起波生‧作者：林瑞源‧《星洲日報》副執行總編輯·2017.09.26
They have politics written all over them
By LIM SUE GOAN
Sin Chew Daily
The immigration department wants to kick out foreigners coming here for the beer festival or gay party.
What a joke that is! And since the authorities do not have a list and have no idea who would come into the country for these two events, how are they going to deport these people?
Moreover, DBKL and PDRM have already rejected the application for Better Beer Festival 2017, while the White Party Bangkok organizers have denied holding a gay party here. So, are the authorities fighting some non-existent shadows?
DPM cum home minister Ahmad Zahid pointed out on Sept 21 after attending the 11th Asean Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crimes in Manila that the government would not approve the gay party in KL on Sept 30. The following day, the immigration department said it would act as per the DPM’s instruction to bar foreigners arriving for the gay event.
On Sept 23, immigration DG Mustafar Ali threatened that these foreigners could be expelled without the need for further investigation.
Even before the police responded to this matter, the immigration department had already rushed into a conclusion. Malaysians should count their blessing if such exemplary efficiency is applied in the plugging of security loopholes exploited by Abu Sayyaf terrorists to infiltrate into KL.
Back to the beer festival. It is not a purely security issue, as we can see from here how a conservatizing trend in our politics and society has influenced the thinking of our bureaucrats.
Our politicians have been playing the religious card for years for the sake of ballots and power. For instance, PAS has implemented a dozen of religious measures in Kelantan to control the attire of Muslim women, segregate male and female patrons in an all lit-up cinema hall, enforce discreetness in the attire of women on ad posters, make sure businesses remain shut during evening prayers and no female performers on stage, among others.
Not only are Muslims subjected to such restrictions, even the day-to-day lives of non-Muslims are not spared.
PAS later attempted to extend its religious ideologies elsewhere in the country by opposing to concerts by foreign artistes citing non-conformity to Malaysia’s social values, and proposing to ban alcohol sale at convenience stores and open celebration of Valentine’s, among others.
The federal government, fearful of losing the votes, has been ardent to echo the calls of conservatives by openly lashing out at liberalism, lending energy to these conservatives while sparking more controversies in our divided society.
Such an attitude of connivance towards conservatism on the part of our politicians has slowly reshaped the thinking of our civil servants and members of the public. For example, a Muslim man and woman should not ride on the same motorcycle, “pretzel dog” must be renamed, supermarkets have to set aside halal trolleys, Muslims-only toilets at highway rest stops, Muslims-only cups at school canteens, raids on boar bristle brushes and separation of alcoholic drinks from other food ingredients…
Alarmingly, such mentality has managed to get its way into the heads of people in the street. The halal concept has been extended way beyond food to include also tools, equipment and businesses. A self-service launderette in Muar has made it clear it only welcomes Muslim customers, and the state government has responded by saying it will not interfere.
With more and more businesses adopting the segregational modus operandi, aggravating social division is well within anticipation.
Our politicians have proposed single-stream education as an approach to address the lack of unity among young Malaysians. Unfortunately we now have a bunch of fools eager to divide the people as the authorities choose to ignore.
The government must stop any discriminating, segregational, exclusionary and dividing acts, otherwise misunderstandings in the way of Malaysian communities will deepen further.
Religion-inspired divisions and a determined tilt towards conservatism are bound to crush the virtues of cultural accommodation, understanding and tolerance we used to cherish, and this is poised to impede the country’s continuous economic development.
Imagine if conservatism were to become the mainstay of the country, will foreign organizations still come here to host events that may be deemed “unclean”? For sure they are not going to take this risk.
How are we going to develop our tourist industry, let alone digital economy, if we are perceived by the outside world as a hermit kingdom?
By criminalizing liberalism, our politicians are denying the attributes of human rights, equality and democracy, sinking the country further into the pit of despair.