When the shoe is on the other foot

Rais did not say this when an Iraqi reporter in Baghdad threw his shoe at President Bush in December last year. In fact, if I remember right, he was full of glee. Rais did not say this when Iran used the American flag as doormats so that people walking into buildings could wipe their feet on the Star Spangled Banner. This shows the hypocrisy of most Muslims.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Stepping on photos an uncultured act: Rais

(Bernama) -- Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim today described as uncultured and disrespectful of individual rights and democracy the action of DAP leaders stepping on a poster bearing the facial images of three former Pakatan opposition assemblymen now friendly to the Barisan Nasional (BN).

He said their action was not at all synonymous with Malaysian society or the principles of the Rukunegara (National Ideology) or the Federal Constitution.

The action of those in the DAP who stepped on the photographs of their former colleagues was totally uncultured and demeaning, he told reporters after launching a book, "Kebudayaan Malaysia: Sebuah Pengenalan" (Malaysian Culture: An Introduction), at the Craft Complex, here.

The poster bearing the facial images of Hee Yit Fong (Jelapang), Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Mohd Osman Jailu (Changkat Jering) was placed at the entrance to the convention hall where the Perak DAP held its annual convention yesterday, and delegates had to step on the poster to get to the meeting.

"This goes to show that politics is above everything else (for the DAP leaders and delegates) and they do not have any humanitarian feelings or respect for individuals and their democratic rights," Dr Rais said.

He said that if the DAP appreciated democratic values, it should accept the fact that the three assemblymen left their parties on the principles of their struggle.

"Why step on their photographs when entering the hall? The three of them can respond, if they want to, by placing the photographs of (DAP parliamentary leader) Lim Kit Siang along with his colleagues in the Pakatan opposition and stepping on them. How would that feel?" he said.

Dr Rais said acts depicting shallow thinking and ill-mannered politics such as this were unacceptable.