Both Oars In Putting up the Stick

Aug 28, 2009

What a troubling world we live in! On our side of the globe, a politician can submerge his family in public embarrassment and not suffer even as much as an official slap on the wrist. Worse, lacking court adjudicated punishment, some of the fallen choose to inflict their own punishment, meting it out in periodic, public self-admonishments that cause us to suffer more than they. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a Muslim woman, having audaciously consumed a beer in a bar, awaits six whacks with rattan rod for her perceived indecency. Having been awfully wet once, it is a wonder that the world has not been lost again.

The best the Malaysian government can offer on behalf of our "gone mad" world to suggest at least an inkling of mercy is that the caning will be delayed until after Ramadan, the holy month of fasting observed by followers of Islam. If this does not turn out to be a tactic to delay the beating until it can be forgotten all together, then it is really not evidence of mercy, but another indictment of the human race. Hopefully, some government official will be struck by the irony of waiting for a religious holiday to end before caning a woman and commute the sentence once and for all.

My intent in juxtaposing these two scenarios is not to suggest that the wrong person is getting a beating. I am not for anyone being beaten. And, you can be absolutely sure that I am not advocating that our local penitent be given any sort of stick to beat himself. Undoubtedly, he would blind us all before he landed one lick on himself. I just want the sane to take note of the insanity in the world. It is the first step towards doing something sure about it.

Often, especially with cross-culture issues, we feel obliged to be tolerant, slow to judge. I also realize that every nation, including our own, has done dumb things, so we may feel a bit sheepish about pointing out the flaws of a country half a world away. But, brother, this is no splinter. Anyone willing to cane a woman for having a beer in a bar must have a whole lumberyard in his eye. We need to point this out without reserve.

Art, cuisine, customs, and religions differ around the world; however, rationality is based on something more universal—truth. Some may drink tea and others coffee, but we all thirst for this truth. Sometimes it is hard to agree on what is right based on this truth, but identifying what it is wrong is usually easier. Clearly, caning a woman for having a beer is wrong.

Certainly, a sovereign nation has a right to pass any reasonable law necessary to protect its citizens and promote civil order. This great nation once prohibited alcohol. Such a law could be helpful, but it is only fair if it is applied equally to all without regard to gender or religion. I believe one can objectively state that the issue in Malaysia is not a result of the availability of Heineken, but the increasing imposition of religious law, on a secular, multi-racial, multi-creed country.

Interestingly, since the last hoopla over caning in 1994 caused by Michael Fay, the teenage vandal’s case, its practice in Malaysia has doubled according to some sources. Even condemnation by Amnesty International and the U.N. has done little to dissuade Malaysian officials from continuing to strip and beat the bare bottoms of those guilty of offenses ranging from vandalism to drug trafficking. How does a country move backward as the world encourages it to move forward? For most, the culprit is the increasing pressure from the theocrats.

In our frustration with juvenile delinquency and drug use, we may envy for a moment those countries which can use caning to curb these crimes. Fortunately, however, we choose our laws in accord with lofty ideals, not cynicism. The idea of being to stop the party, not join it. Two wrongs do not make a right, especially when scarring youth for life is involved.

We know what is wrong when we see it. We do not have to tolerate philandering politicians fumbling over themselves in public or misguided legal systems that would have a woman beaten for having a beer in a public place. It is time to act. It is time for the sting to be felt by the whipper and relief brought to the whipped. It only takes two or three whacks with a rattan rod to leave a recipient bleeding. Imagine what six will do to the bottom of a petite woman. Let that mental picture be motivation enough read the box of next electronic gadget you consider buying and put it back if it says "made in Malaysia"—at least until that country puts up the stick.