THE HALAL DOGS

There are mad dogs, and there are Englishmen. This is Malaysia, and here we have an entirely different species, native to Malaysia, and they are known as the “halal” dogs. With due apologies, if you do not know what is meant by ‘halal’, allow me the enlighten you, the Jewish equivalent is kosher!

The Muslims and Jews, though they hate each other, share similar beliefs in that things referred to as non-kosher, or locally known as ‘haram’ (an example of things ‘haram’ are dogs) are stuff one would not even touch with a 10-foot pole.

Now, I do not know if the UMNO Muslims in Malaysia were conned, or are they so dumb, that they are actually keeping ‘dogs’ without knowing that they have sinned! This sounds like a very sensitive issue, but if you hear me out, it becomes a non-issue! I am not talking about dogs as in dogs, the ‘binatang’ we know! Here, we are referring to two local species, albeit originating from China, and in local lingo, known as ‘chow kow’ or ‘chau kow’. Whatever ‘kow’, the connotation is not good! Let me explain, the former means ‘a bad dog’ while the latter means ‘a running dog’!

So, the fact remains, the UMNO Muslims have been keeping dogs...in the form of MCA and Gerakan! Both, to the Chinese community are dogs! The only problem is which kind of dogs are they? ‘Chow’ or ‘chau’? So, let me repeat, whichever the case, the connotation is not good!

A couple of days ago, both ‘kows’ talked super tough. Severing ties with UMNO Penang (I wonder why only at State level?), even threatening that their participation in BN shall be dependent on the kind of punishment to be meted out to the ‘has-been’ Datuk. The sentence passed by the UMNO Supreme Council, a 3-year suspension, sent the MCA and Gerakan into a frenzied elated stupor, as though justice has been served! Though I am one of those who concur that the ISA/Sedition Act are draconian laws, the gist of the matter is that these are existing laws in the country, but the law has not been allowed to take its course. Therefore, to experience such ecstasy as experienced by MCA and Gerakan, it is nothing more than a massive exercise to hoodwink the electorate! We, the Melayu, Cina, India, dll, in short, ‘Anak Bangsa Malaysia’ should realize that they are insulting our intelligence.

The majority of the population has dictated, as shown by the results of the last GE, that this should be a two party state, so let’s make sure that when the time comes, the MCA and Gerakan WILL NOT BE in that equation! There is a distinction between humans and animals though both are collectively known as mammals.

There is an old adage that says as long as it is a cat that catches mice, it does not matter whether it is black or white. But, in the case of dogs, as illustrated here, it is very much more complicated.