A reader emailed me this article and requested that I publish it. So here it goes and you guys decide after reading it.
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While many Singaporeans are contented living in harmony in Singapore, popular Malay musician and arts activist
Art Fazil had created ruckus when he posted a photo of Muslims receiving alms from Buddhist monks in front of a Buddha statue during the holy month of Ramadan on Facebook. A photo taken from Suria channel evening Malay news was intentionally taken out of context to sow discord among the Muslims and the non-Muslims. Supporters of Art Fazil felt that the collection of alms in front of a Buddha statue was inappropriate. They even urged Muslims should not be too tolerant towards other religions at the expense of Islam, which opposes idol worship.
It is sad to see such a benevolent act from the Buddhist community was slammed with negativity from the Art Fazil and his ardent supporters. Obviously, this is not the view of majority of Malay Muslims who value the harmony in Singapore. Besides, who would reject and criticized a kind gesture of giving without receiving. Perhaps it stems from Art Fazil’s deep-seated desire to "make a difference", or maybe it is motivated purely out of arrogance, insecurity and an insatiable need for publicity. The simple truth is that when musicians dabble in politics, they generally end up trivialising the issues they espouse, in the process making themselves look foolish and their audience feel patronised.
Just last week, Art Fazil and his Malay supporters even exclaimed “ethnic cleansing” citing fears that the Chinese in Singapore will be outnumbered by other races following a photo that briefly detailed a regulation to stop naming roads in Malay. Failing to understand and harmonised with our multicultural landscape and keep on harping on the issue of Malay discrimination, Art Fazil and gang blindly discuss on topics which lacked background research. Such tactlessness can be very fatal in tiny country firstly because Singapore is a cocktail of many racial groups. Secondly, Art Fazil's professionalism in the music industry is questionable as he has failed to guard his public image by engaging in such immature jape. There are many ways to conduct discussion, and blindly discussing it on Facebook to create animosity among the Malay/Muslims is definitely an inappropriate approach.
Art Fazil who is a pro-Workers’ Party and Singapore Democratic Party supporter dabbled in seditious tendency memes to forward socio-political issues affecting the Muslims in Singapore through his alter ego ‘
Mas Riddim’. Art Fazil stirs up the Malay-Muslim discrimination in Singapore by citing Article 152 and 153 of the Singapore Constitution and blamed it on the PAP leaders for being unconstitutional. Instead of rationalizing issues and binding Singaporeans together, Art Fazil has created disaffection within the Malay Muslim community and isolating them from living in harmony with the rest of the community. So what is his motive in doing all these scrooge gimmicks?
cheers
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