Hafidz Baharom
Sep 5, 2018 · 4 min read

Shocked, or syok?

By Hafidz Baharom

Apparently last week was a week of shocks – not to be confused with the colloquial Malay term “syok”. The latter is used to convey a feeling of euphoria, celebration, excitement, or to revel in an action. So, while some were shocked, others were “syok”.

And yes, I actually looked up the spelling on the Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka website for clarity.

First off, there was shock that Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng was acquitted of his bungalow purchase. This may have “shocked” the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC), but perhaps his supporters were in a celebratory mood – reflected by the “syok” Malay term.

Secondly, two lesbians caught in a car who pleaded guilty were publicly caned in the state of Terengganu, in front of 100 people. Again, this may have “shocked” the Malaysian public who are against corporal punishment, but might have been “syok” for those who see the LGBT community as a scourge on humanity which deserve to be purged from society – yes, these people still exist in this day and age in Malaysia.

But not to worry – an actor on America’s “Brooklyn Ninety Nine” series is calling for a Malaysian boycott on Twitter due to these actions, which will probably have no effect anywhere.

In fact, the Malaysian state of Pahang is looking at similar public caning punishment for LGBT offences as well.

Third, the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs testified in front of the Dewan Negara that sharia laws will be reviewed to bring the religious court to the same level as the civil High Court – basically what was promised by the 355 Legal Bill (RUU355) mooted by PAS during the Barisan Nasional government.

Does this mean that the sharia laws will have higher punishments, as proposed in the RUU355 by PAS?

I guess the Islamic conservatives will be “syok”, while the rest of Malaysia will be “shocked”. If this review to elevate sharia courts does happen, then the LGBT community can be looking at higher fines, higher number of caning, and even longer jail time for their offences.

Fourth, the Ministry of Transport has avoided capping the price of flight tickets during national level celebrations such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Hari Gawai and Kaamatan.

Instead, their brilliant solution was to ask the three major airlines to increase their flights by 20 percent with no price cap, to cater to the increased demand with the hope that this will lower ticket prices.

I’m not sure if this shocked Malaysians, but I’m sure the airlines will have a “syok” time come the next celebration. If we are to apply the principle of induced traffic unto airlines, the problem will not be the supply of flight tickets because there will always be scarcity during festive seasons.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed in Brunei announced that the government was willing to sell off assets to service the loans the government currently has to bear, for fear of bankruptcy.

One wonders the irony of accusing his foe of “selling off the country” when he proposes to do the same, but then again, this is irrelevant to most. So, what will be sold off?

Off the top of my head, I am thinking the rails, the power plant, the telco infrastructure, the property and infrastructure development companies, our oil and gas assets, the public transport network and whatever is owned by the government linked corporations are up for grabs for the private sector.

I am sure the private sector and multinationals will have a “syok” time during this particular Great Malaysia Fire Sale.

Dr Mahathir is still insisting on a third national car while accusing the civil service of not serving the government but “just there to win elections”. I’m sure some in the civil service are shocked with that accusation, while those who produced low quality spare parts previously for Proton are “syok” by his insistence.

Meanwhile, the Sales and Services Tax (SST) is now in place, with prepaid cards going through the same repeated hiccup faced during the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was annulled. Hopefully our Finance Minister can deal with it faster than the previous government.

Malaysia also managed to get seven gold medals at the recently concluded Asian Games, which had its own controversy in the Silat ring when the fellow who withdrew from the tournament accusing the referee as biased tearfully apologised to the minister, and then went to thrash the changing room to the shock of some Malaysians.

Similarly, a Malaysian teenager who wiped out during skateboarding was mocked on social media, only to be comforted by international skateboarding superstar Tony Hawk which turned the tide of negative comments on Instagram by proverbial troll sheep who were “syok” with mocking.

The week in summary just points out that there are two sides of Malaysia. Malaysia is now divided between those shocked by whatever is happening in everyday Malaysia and those who revel in the misfortune of others, while also viewing such misfortune as an opportunity for furthering their righteous agenda.

To what end? Well, that is up to whoever is making the decisions. And the Malaysian people has made theirs during the general election, to which I will just say, good luck to everyone.

Hafidz Baharom

Written by

Co-founder of Independent Malaysians on Facebook. Columnist for The Sun. Devil’s advocate.