That's the only word I can use to describe the cerpen by Chamil Warya published in Utusan Malaysia recently.
Am I imagining it or is there also a sexist element to all this? That because it is a woman who is outspoken, she is subject to a more violent response than anyone else?
There is no excuse for violence or even the suggestion of a violent solution to anyone who has a different view from you. To write a fictionalised account of such a 'what-if' scenario is also no excuse. Utusan Malaysia has lost whatever shred of moral high ground it might have had.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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It was such rubbish that I didn't even bother to read past the first few paragraphs.
Dear MM, you still read Utusan Malaysia? I don't even bother to look at that newspaper even though some one pay me to read it.. unless the sum paid is large enough to justify reading the rubbish inside >.<
hi, Aunty. only through fiction can Utusan endorse/call for the sharpening of parangs, kamikaze and assassination of personalities with different ideas. while this cerpen may be offensive, it can be argued simply as literary exercise, in which the writer has absolute freedom to give whatever kind of treatment he wishes for his characters. likewise, it may be in Utusan’s interest to promote and encourage cerpen writing among [young?] Malaysians.
what makes Utusan a threat to national security is not so much this article, but the worldview of its paper as a whole, which defines its content. publishing one fiction cerpen re kamikaze-assassination is not as dangerous as publishing xenophobic ideas through serious, “objective” analysis and interviews with scholars and ulemas over long periods - which has been the case.
the question is, what now for Utusan?
JJ, I agree with you re Utusan's worldview but that is the setting that allows for fiction in extremely bad taste to be published such as this one. This would be the same people who would have called for Salman Rushdie's blood when he himself wrote fiction that was deemed offensive at one time.It would be hypocritical for them to use fiction as defense now.
exactly...it is such sort of articles that should be banned, because it's suggesting some sort of solutions to getting rid of people we don't agree with...RIDICULOUS!!! ARGHH...so disgusted....it totally promotes assasinations........dangerous...why then this person is not brought before ISA???
Islamic teaching stipulates that muslim must treat others with equality, fairness, dignity, honesty, truthfulness and kindness. They must not tell lies to inflict injury to others and propagate hatred against others. If Utusan is managed by people who claim to be good muslim, why is Utusan showing such despicable conduct and act with such malice without any admission of its wrong? If they believe highly in Islam, don't they fear GOD?
I hope more women will come to Teresa's defence. She is being demonized by a national newspaper with utter disregard for journalistic ethics, morality and decency.
But horror of horrors, Utusan has found a defence council in the form of Rocky Bru.
"As one who was a victim of violence and hate...I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the...campaign. What I am seeing today reminds me too much of another destructive period in...history...are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse.”
"...never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent...who only desired to exercise their constitutional rights."
"As public figures with the power to influence and persuade...are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all. They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy. We can do better. The...people deserve better."
- John Lewis, Civil Rights Leader on McCain/Palin attacks on Obama (which could also be directed at Chamil Wiraya, Utusan Malaysia & Alhabsee).
Dear Marina..
I totally agree that it's despicable for Utusan to even publish this kind of `cerpen' which any Tom, Dick & Harry can easily decipher who & what the `cerpen' is trying to make reference to!!
Hi MM,
People wrote what they want to write. Simple.
They wrote becoz creativity, to earn sympathy, to be a celebrity etc... BUT less think about the risk of their cerpen.
For me this cerpen show that Chamil Warya just want to earn a highlight in Malaysian politic scene. He know the risks but yet he love to take the risks. He want to know rakyat response. He want to make sure his cerpen's will make rakyat aware about him. And i DO not agree too with this cerpen.
In the sametime, i hope we not take for granted that sounds like "as a Muslim, Chamil Warya must act like a good Muslim" posted by sinewy. All religious teaches harmony, cooperate, unity etc etc. BUT in this cerpen,Chamil wrote on his own doesn't link wether he is a Muslim even he is. We must be very clear that crime happen from the person himself not as he is a Muslim. Please, even the Hindu's, Buddhist's, Cristian's etc etc do not like to be involve when their preaches make mistake. These religious never teach all these nonsense. It warn human not to make nonsenses.
So, what we can do, for whoever want to just make a police report against Chamil. Simple......remember Islam is not involve in this cerpen.
People who know Chamil Warya told me that Chamil has never written a cerpen in his life.
I agree, leave religions out of it. Chamil is doing this out of his own warped mind. Doesn't make it right though.
Hi everyone,
What Salman Rushdie did is wrong. But what Utusan condoned and actively 'promote' in its cerpen clearly showed its double standards, with some even claiming that since it's fiction, it's O.K.
The greatest setback is when the majority do not speak up and allow their religion to be 'hijacked'. I believe there is no bad religion, but only bad people. So, speak up and voice your displeasure and reclaim the 'goodness' of your religion. Don't let such unscrupulous people hijack your religion!
The impression that I got was that YBJ has really good ideas (I'd vote for her if I could) but in the end someone misunderstood her and took her out. Not anything against whoever YBJ's meant to represent, but a warning of how the country is.
I don't think he's actually endorsing the murder of real-world YBJ. To decry this story because it involves a violent end would be hypocritical towards the pursuit of free speech, and shows disrespect to many creative writers who may write about very dire and disturbing things but don't actually hold the views they tell stories about.
Just because the story involves YBJ's death doesn't mean the author seriously wants YBJ's real-world alterego to be dead. Maybe he fears for his/her safety.
Lets us all have a peaceful demo at Utusan after this Friday prayer?
I wouldn't exactly call what Chamil Wariya wrote a cerpen... but a cerpun, a new term I created...
But quite frankly, Marina, I don't see the short story as being purposefully sexist - it's quite obviously targeted at Teresa Kok, and is a continuum of Utusan's smear campaign.
What's more worrying is Chamil Wariya's implicit suggestion that violence is a reasonable means towards (what he thinks is) a noble end...
The author of the despicable article should name the real name. Are they too chicken to do so? Baling batu sembunyi tangan di rumah kaca.
My oh my,
What has happened to the country we live in? Such bigotry doesn't even deserve a mention. I felt really sick after reading it.
Walski, when molotov cocktails are aimed (wrongly) at Ambiga Sreenivasan and Teresa's gardens and police reports are made against Teresa for calling prison food fit for dogs and this cerpen is written, women like me can't help wondering. Have we seen the equivalent towards any male politician?
How the heck is this cerpen related to sexist? Hey, freedom of speech maa? What is wrong? Why didn't you write a non-sexist cerpen instead of bluffing around?
Saya gempar apabila mendengar berita bahawa YB J telah meninggalkan kita. Saya benar - benar tidak sangka bahawa sekembalinya saya dari hibernasi saya akan berdepan dengan insiden yang amat terkutuk ini. Mendiang YB J merupakan seorang yang tulus di dalam perjuang beliau dan amat tekad dalam mencapai sesuatu impian. Saya amat terkilan kerana tidak dapat melihat jenazah beliau bagi kali terakhir.
Saya telah mengenali Mendiang YB Josephine semenjak dari kecil lagi. Kami pernah belajar bersama di Sekolah Mubaligh ketika beliau tinggal sementara di Gua Hantu. Kedua ibubapa mendiang menginginkan mendiang belajar dari para mubaligh sehingga sanggup merentas beberapa daerah untuk menghantar belajar.
Beliau dilahirkan di dalam keluarga berketurunan Cha. Moyang mendiang datang dari negeri Che hampir lebih 200 tahun lagi, mereka datang untuk mencari peluang kedamaian dan kesejahteraan daripada kesusahan hidup di negeri asal mereka. Mereka pada asalnya merupakan petani, bercucuk tanam sayur-sayuran. Tetapi setelah sekian lama, keturunan Cha telah lebih fokus kepada cabangan industri agro, iaitu, industri perhotelan agro. Mereka menguasai dan hampir memonopoli industri tersebut.
Semenjak sebelum Merdeka, keluarga mendiang dan majoriti keturunan Cha menyokong POC. Walaupun secara hakikinya tidak wujud satu kaum Cina yang hegemonik, tetapi di atas kepentingan ras, keturunan Cha turut menyokong perjuangan POC. Namun begitu, kedua ibubapa mendiang tidak mempunyai fikiran yang sehaluan. Mereka enggan akur denggan kepentingan ras, pada mereka manusia semua dijadikan setaraf. Yang membezakan manusia adalah sifat kemanusian yang terikat dalam jiwa manusia. Kalau dari segi agama keturunan Cha telah menyatakan bahawa semua manusia datang dari seorang lelaki bernama Ch dan seorang wanita yang bernama Ha. Manakala secara saintifiknya genetik manusia tidak berbeza antara manusia pelbagai ras. Itulah yang dipercayai oleh kedua ibubapa mendiang.
Di atas perbezaan tersebut, ibubapa mendiang menghantar mendiang belajar ke sekolah mubaligh dan tidak ke sekolah jenis kebangsaan Cha, bagi membolehkan mendiang belajar di dalam keadaan yang lebih terbuka dan bebas dari belenggu ras.
Mendiang YB J semenjak sekolah lagi merupakan seorang yang teguh sifat keadilannya dan mempunyai empati yang tinggi kepada insan yang lain. Ada satu insiden ketika disekolah, seorang pelajar lelaki Melayu di belasah oleh sekumpulan budak Cha. Melihat kejadian tersebut, mendiang terus berlari dan mengadang badan pelajar tersebut dengan badannya daripada terus dipukul. Badan mendiang turut dipukul beberapa kali sebelum budak-budak Cha tersebut lari. Tidak pula mendiang menjerit kesakitan, malahan mendiang sempat memberi senyuman kepada pelajar lelaki Melayu tersebut sebelum rebah ke tanah.
Mendiang semasa di bangku sekolah begitu aktif dengan berpersatuan. Mendiang pernah dilantik menjadi Presiden Persatuan Pembela Rakyat Termiskin. Semasa menjadi Presiden persatuan tersebut, mendiang begitu aktif mendapatkan bantuan sumbangan dari semua pihak termasuk POC, POM jugalah parti GoPek. Selain dari itu, petisyen demi petisyen beliau telah kemuka kepada Kerajaan bagi menarik perhatian pemerintah terhadap kesusahan rakyat termiskin. Mendiang pernah duduk berbulan lamanya bersama rakyat termiskin bagi merasai kehidupan yang perit lagi susah. Mendiang menulis pemerhatian daripada pengalaman tersebut di dalam satu artikel, mendiang menulis, "Keprihatinan masyarakat adalah seperti susu, kemiskinan dan kedaifan adalah seperti nila".
Susah untuk saya menerima kehilangan mendiang J. Hanya hati dan jiwa yang kosong akan belas ehsan dan sesat akan tujuan dapat memikirkan tindakan yang keji ini. Sang Pertiwi telah dibunuh dengan kejam oleh Sang Algojo. Malangnya Sang Algojo yang dinobatkan.
marina
i salute you.
We can see now how much UMNO contributes to national unity.
And Raja Petra is in jail instead????
Is the story a parody reflecting how a certain race takes offence at those not if its own kind, outsider, khafirs, migrants who have no right or business to interfere into its own affairs. The final solution and penalty for such interference, of corruption of its identity is 'removal by assassination / death? see 'Art Imitating Life-Da Victim Condemned Code' www.jonathan66-my.blogspot.com
ya, Aunty. tho i think Utusan is very likely to use the "but, it's fiction! *blink*blink*blink* *cricket*cricket* *blink*" argument to protect itself.
and they'll find a way to reason it out further, and their loyal fans as well as new fans will buy into it [not forgetting shareholders]; fans may even start another fund to sponsor young "nationalists" interested in churning out more of such cerpens.
ITM too may suddenly decide to announce a degree course on cerpen writing, like when they announced plans to start courses on blogging not too long back when there was that noisy rift between government and some bloggers.
anyway, one thing that Utusan cannot defend itself re this cerpen is that it had acted irresponsibly as a mainstream newspaper by publishing the piece. they are certainly guitly of at least that, especially in times when the whole issue has gotten Malaysians extremely restless.
MM,
TK kerana ketengahkan cerpen YB J.
Sebelum ini tak tahu tentang cerpen tersebut.
Bila dah baca terasa menarik pula cara penulisannya.Teruskan CW.
TK sekali lagi MM.
YY
MM,
yang menariknya cerpen YB J ialah kita lihat akhirnya dalam perjuangan
bukan lagi kaum A bunuh kaum B atau sebaliknya tetapi kaum itu sendiri yang sebenarnya menghapus kaumnya sendiri dengan cara yang tersendiri:
jawi dihapuskan oleh orang melayu sendiri yang tidak mahu belajar jawi.
bahasa melayu dihapuskan oleh orang melayu sendiri yang lebih utamakan BI.
saya lihat orang cina pun ramai yang tak tahu mandarin.Cina juga buang mandarin.
orang cina di Tanah Besar Cina bunuh (bakal) anaknya kerana polisi komunis anak hanya 1 atau 2 sahaja yg dibenarkan.
anak cina di malaysia, singapura dll pun bunuh (bakal) anaknya atas polisi kapitalisme berdemokrasi kerana bimbang rezeki Allah tidak mencukupi maka anaknya 1 atau 2 sahaja secara pilihan.
UMNO dibunuh anak orang UMNO sendiri kerana memilih PKR, mahu lain dari cara bapa atau kerana mahu nampakkan dirinya liberal seperti MM?
saya percaya anak orang PKR nanti akan tolak bapanya seperti yang berlaku kepada UMNO sekarang kerana sejarahnya ialah PKR (keadilan) adalah parti anak-anak orang UMNO sebagaimana PAS adalah terbitan dari UMNO juga.
akhirnya kaum sendiri yang menghapuskan kaumnya.
TK
YY
Syed Hamid seems so convoluted in his thinking when he suggests HINDRAF to be dangerous and yet is unable to say a word on Utusan. Indeed I wonder under what authority and license Utusan operate under. Somehow, it would seem like Utusan is held to be so sacred that together with the Quran and Hadith our UMNO leaders just cannot say anything critical of Utusan. That Utusan has been inciteful does not seem to have been registered.
However, I should say something that is encouraging. As much as Utusan has gone about its business in inciting racist hatred and pushing the envelope for the kind of response that is often suggested associated with its readership, nothing has happened. Over the period of the Permatang Pauh by-election they went to town with their incitement and hate propagating message. Yet even more Malays voted for Pakatan Rakyat.
There might have been a time when a fraction in intensity of such hatred would have resulted in some amount of violent or close to violent response. Obviously Utusan is working on the assumption that such emotive responses are still possible. That they have failed so far must surely be frustrating. That their lies are in contradiction to what is on the ground that the ordinary man has discovered for himself seems to be lost to Utusan. Indeed, despite all this posturing by Utusan there has not been a moment since 8 March when anyone needed to really worry that what Utusan has been trying so hard to do will be achieved.
That Utusan has been allowed to continue with its inciteful ways, the Home Minister is criminally responsible for it. If UMNO hopes to be the beneficiaries of Utusan's writings, it surely is proof that UMNO is totally out of sync with the Malay psyche.
No, I don't think this Cerpen in Utusan is an attack on the female of the species.
No, it is a clear scurrilous attempt to get the Malays & Muslims riled up over a problem created by Utusan's own negligence, that of failure to exercise reasonable caution before printing a patently false accusation against Teresa Kok.
It is racist, it is seditious and an incitement to get Malays & Muslims to think that this is some kind of a justifiable jihad.
If Utusan thinks that this kind of puerile tactics will frighten Teresa Kok or Karpal from continuing their defamation suits, it is clearly mistaken. Utusan must stand up and face the music like real men & women, and not resort to gutter behaviour!!
http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com
Utusan is under siege and it has to come out with this kind of fictions to keep it floating. Utusan do not practice good journalism. It's agenda is very simple, to continue inciting racial tensions and fear in this country so the other races would fear the Malays. It is a backward view newspaper, with no agenda of nation building. It does not help to foster harmony in the country. Utusan can't be banned becoz it would provoke backlash freom ultra malays as it is an icon of their supremacy. Racism is it's core agenda. Now from racism it has spread the agenda to assasination of elected representative, and also to demonise women. Conclusion, if you like to read RUBBISH choose UTUSAN!
Hi All
Just being my curious self.
Most of us here, and rightly so, are very angry at Utusan and Chamil for the definitely can do without cerpen (read: STUPID).
What was he thinking? It is an insult to all women.
Some here even said that they have stop reading the no class Utusan (but surprisingly knew its content in a rather detail manner – better than me at least). ‘Jijik’ to even mention its name..wow!!
But why some of us here didn’t have the same emotional burst when somebody said; ‘having sex with a given call girl is equivalent to sedekah’?
Is it because she was a call girl, or, is it because we rather sweep that particular issue under the carpet?
Even our leaders seem to overlook that particular matter and few other BN-like incidents such as bribery cases; leaving it squarely to our unfortunate MB of Perak.
The classiest excuse was; UMNO planted the evidence. Even the sodomy boy too was planted by UMNO.
God!! For all our insults to them, UMNO people are damn great capable group. Better that CIA, KGB, Gestapo etc.
What makes us then?
Just wanted to gauge our real sentiment and thinking pattern.
Thank you.
P/S Before anybody even think of making an emotionally racist Melayu UMNO bashing, or saying that I would rather live on the basis of whatever the ruling party, their leaders and the institutions say and do; please kindly save you anger. I too hated this government.
CW tunjukkan kaum sendiri hapuskan kaum sendiri.
melayu hapuskan melayu.
melayu baru buang melayu lama.
cina hapuskan cina.
anak hapuskan bapa.
Utusan=UMNO=Dr M,
Dr M downed by MM ?
anakku Sazali dan MM bagaimana?
YY
I look forward to the day when UMNO falls and all these so called 'champions of the malays' be called upon to explain their stand. Chances are, they will prostitute themselves to the new government, and speak a different language then.
Despicable indeed!! Utusan had refused to publish my hubby's (an ex-columnist for Utusan some 20 years ago) article on suggestions to improve the state of our country's affairs a few weeks ago but chose instead to publish this?? to purposely incite violence between races, yet in the same breath talk about racial harmony and unity??
I'd say Utusan has sunk really low... to the level of the scum that are fed on by other scum in the scum food chain.
Marina,
Will you stand up for her when it matters most?
When the shocking story is covered with a very thin veil
We all can easily trace it's identity through its trail
It's sad when author picks on excuse that's totally frail
To advocate extreme violence with the evil intention to kill
(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng - 151008
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Wed. 15th Oct. 2008.
Dear Marina,
In a multiracial society like Malaysia one got to be careful in what they say and did.Lately some politician for their own political gain likes to raise issues that has long been resolved and put in placed in the malaysian constitution.By challengging the Constitution especially on race and religion they are inviting retaliation from another race and the end result will be racial riot.
Likelihood of a suicide bomber,assination,roadside bom cannot be ruled out.Learn from the middle east crisis especially Lebanon,Iraq,Syria,Afghnistan Pakistan and Palestine.
Sensitive provocation on Race and Religion must stop.
I am waiting to see if Utusan would be served with a show-cause letter from the Home Ministry soon. I am also interested to know if there will be use of ISA to arrest the writer of the fiction cerpen so as to protect his personal safety?
I believe the rakyat of Malaysia and people in other parts of the world are waiting to see whether there will be double standards of law enforcement in Malaysia in respect of this latest controversy.
Saya tahu anda adalah seorang pejuang memertabatkan wanita. Women Empowerment. tapi Cerpen karangan beliau bukan menghina atau menghentam kaum wanita yang dirahmati. Jangan kerana watak wanita digunakan sebagai watak utama, saudari terus menghentam saudara penulis. Kadang-kala penulisan sinis dapat membuka minda seseorang dan janganlah kita terus melabel seseorang itu dengan tergesa2.
Buka mata dan minda, bukankah saudari seorang yang liberal. Kadangkala, menjadi terlalu liberal.
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