We are constantly told to leave the hijab issue to the Malay MPs. We are told they are working on it behind close doors.
We are told that if we raise the issue, it will force the government to dig in their heels and deny our Muslimah of their rights for even longer. We should keep quiet and appreciate their decisions.
I remember a conversation I had with a Malay MP shortly before the 2001 elections.
Yatiman Yusof was part of the Tampines GRC. By 2001, he had been in parliament for 17 years and was the Senior Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Communications And The Arts.
One night about a week before the election, I had a meeting with members of the Fateha group at Afghanistan Restaurant in Tampines. Yatiman happened to be at the same restaurant.
As I made my way to order dinner, he asked me to sit with him for a chat.
Our conversation understandably, turned to the hijab issue. According to Yatiman, he supported the ban on “tudung”.
He argued that if Singapore was to allow tudung in school, we will not integrate anymore and society will disintegrate.
When it was pointed out that other countries such as Malaysia allows tudung, he answered:
“It is a mistake by the Malaysian government to allow tudung in schools. I am 55 now. If we allow tudung in school, in 25 years, by the time I am 80, we will start to kill each other.”
A Malay MP prioritized government policies and support the oppression of our Muslimah.
And yet…
We are told to leave the hijab issue to the Malay MPs.
We are told they are working on it behind close doors.
We are told to support them and keep quiet.
And we believe them.
Source: Zulfikar Shariff
