I REFER to the statement by academic
Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi (theSun, Dec 13).
With due respect, I beg to differ on his take on “majority rule” in a democracy. I submit that his views on “parliamentary democracy” are misconceived.
The universal concept of parliamentary democracy rests on four basic notions:
1. Recognition of the fundamental worth of every person;
2. Respect for the equality of all persons;
3. Faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights;
4. Acceptance of the necessity of compromise for a “win-win” scenario.
The academic said “for the majority in the country, who are Muslims, there is nothing wrong with banning gambling and the sale of alcoholic drinks”. He noted that any Muslim, however well-educated, would never agree that gambling and alcohol consumption are trivial matters.
Non-Muslims would agree with Muslims that “gambling and alcohol consumption” are not trivial matters but the learned academic fails to realise that gambling and alcohol consumption are non-Muslim basic rights.
Just because “gambling and alcohol consumption” are taboo to Muslims, the learned academic cannot argue that the majority can ride roughshod on the rights of the minority. That would not be a democratic practice but an autocratic one. We live in a democratic setup.
Tajuddin further added: “If we choose to go head-on over an issue, the odds will always be in favour of the majority, and in this case, the majority is Muslim. It does not matter what the rationale is.”
I humbly submit that the statement is a masterpiece of autocracy inimitable to our system of democracy. Our prime minister has stated that the cornerstone of the nation’s progress is national unity, which is why he promulgated the “Keluarga Malaysia” philosophy.
Democracy is a system of government where integration of interests of communities is practised, not assimilation. What Tajuddin is proposing is assimilation, where you destroy the individual identities of communities, which is unacceptable.
How can we achieve national unity if the majority imposes their weight on the minority?
No non-Muslim would want to surrender his basic rights, living in a cosmopolitan country like ours. And fortunately for us, not all Muslims subscribe to Tajuddin’s views.
If Tajuddin rejects the concept of “give and take” and “live and let live” in this country, then we will all be going down a slippery slope to ruination.
Dr A. Soorian
Seremban
