Please! Not in the prophet’s name

FEB 18 — Lim Guan Eng has denied it. Perkasa — the so-called Malay rights group — has accused him of lying.

Perkasa labelled Lim "anti Malay". But the group itself is seen by many as “ultra Malay”. Yes, I’m talking about the Prophet Muhammad birthday which has become an issue albeit unnecessary . Lim, Chief Minister of Penang, as we know has said he never had any intention to cancel the procession in his state.

His detractors however say the intention was there but retracted after a big hue and cry was created. We can only “guess” as who is telling the truth, and who is not.

In Mecca, the holy city where the Prophet (sallalla hu alai wassalam) was born, processions to mark his birthday are never held. So too in Medina, the Prophet’s final resting place. In both holy cities, as also in the rest of Saudi Arabia (and for that matter many countries throughout the Muslim world), the Prophet’s birthday is commemorated with prayers, Quran recital and the “salawat “ or prayers for the Prophet and honouring him .

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him ) never asked for his day of birth be celebrated. What more processions held in his name.

So based on that, perhaps Lim should have cancelled the procession. Might as well follow the footsteps of Kelantan. The PAS-led government has announced there will be no procession this Maulidur Rasul or Prophet Muhammad’s birthday citing it has never been ordained by Islam.

But as Lim himself knows, such a procession is a Malay Muslim tradition in Malaysia. Processions with participants carrying banners have been held in this country for years. Even at Federal level with the King and other VVIPs taking part. Despite not required by religion, there’s nothing wrong to have a procession. It’s just the way Malay Muslims and their fellow Muslim brothers express their love for the Prophet. Debatable? Of course.

But sadly the “celebrations’, in particular the procession, can easily be “exploited” and turned into religious issue for political mileage. Any politician worth his salt knows how sensitive the subject is in Malaysia .Only a very foolish politician would want to “play games” with it. Sincerely, can we put Lim Guan Eng into that “foolish politician category”?

On July 21, 1964 in Singapore, some 25,000 Malays took part in a procession to mark the Prophet’s birthday. It started at the Singapore Padang and wound its way around the island. Along the way fighting broke out between groups of Malays and Chinese. It turned into a riot. A curfew was enforced. But 36 people were killed, 556 were injured and at least 3,000 arrested. What were called "Goodwill Committees" took a long time to restore harmony among the races.

Back then Singapore was part of Malaysia. According to reports, the then Deputy Prime Minister Tun Razak Hussein blamed the riots on “Indonesians and communists provocateurs”. Lee Kuan Yew, then Singapore Chief Minister, attributed the riots to the result of “agitation” by Umno strongman Syed Jaffar Albar and other “elements of the ultra nationalist faction in Umno".

Whatever was the cause and whoever were to blame, the riots happened when relations between the PAP and Umno were "severely strained". At least that was what the records say.

To this day, that tragedy is known as The Prophet Muhammad Birthday Riots. It bleeds my heart that a holy and sacred event be linked to a bloodbath.

And my heart bleeds also that even now there are people in our midst who have no qualms about abusing it time and again. JUST STOP IT, once and for all.