Cover image via SAYS.com"He's a hypocrite!" cry Facebook users after seeing a photo of Taman Medan's 'ketua kampung', Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar, standing in front of a slot machine in a 'casino'
A Facebook user posted three photos of Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar, the village head of Taman Medan involved in the Sunday protest that demanded a cross be removed from the facade of a new church. In the photo post, the Facebook cautioned for Datuk Abdullah to "make sure your trips to the casino are well concealed".
Image via Jonathan Ramesh Raj
Here's a closer look at the photo:
Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar seen standing in front of slot machines in a 'casino'.
Image via Johnathan Ramesh Raj
We quickly discovered that the 'casino' was in fact, the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
Image via Aeroinside
Visitors to the Las Vegas McCarran International airport in Nevada will be greeted by the sights and sounds of slot machines upon their arrival. Terminal 3, used for international flights and a number of domestic airlines has almost 300 slot machines.
The interior of the airport is a give-away:
So is the baggage claim sign behind him:
How does sharing a photo of Datuk Abdullah beside a slot machine help the case of the Taman Medan church? Does it matter that he was/was not in a casino before?
No, it matters little. Let's leave aside the need to demonise someone over a photo based on false accusations. There are more worrying things to note about the Taman Medan incident.
Yesterday, Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar, was seen with a group of 50 protestors, demanding for a cross affixed to the wall of a church in Taman Medan to be removed. This happened during the church's Sunday service.
Image via The Star Online
They said the sight of the cross in a 95% Muslim area challenged Islam and could influence younger minds
Image via The Star Online
Hear from the protestors themselves:
Did the 50 speak for the majority of the Taman Medan community? There are mixed opinions.
On that day itself, a few hours after the protest, the church took the cross down
Datuk Abdullah continues to stress, "We are not against anyone's religious freedom but they have to be sensitive to the Muslims."
On the same day, the IGP, who happens to be the older brother of Datuk Abdullah says, "We don't see it as seditious because it did not touch on Christianity."
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar is also the brother of Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar.
But just as we were looking up the amendments to the renewed Sedition Act, **Zahid Hamidi says the protest was seditious. "Of course! Yes, yes, yes!"**
Above casino claims and placards of weakening faith lies a more pressing concern: the sanctity of our constitutional rights as citizens of a multi-ethnic country
In Article 11 (1) of the Malaysian federal constitution, "Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it
Do our constitutional rights only apply when we do not confuse other countrymen?
Eric Paulsen of Lawyers for Liberty says, "It is quite misguided to say that because an area is majority-Malay Muslim, it is misguided to say that only their rights count." Talking to The Star, Eric Paulsen, co-founder of Lawyers for Liberty said that in any society, the rights of minorities deserved as much protection as those of the majority in an area.
Image via null
Malaysian Bar president sends us a resounding reminder: this will only polarise and segregate us at the end of the day
Don't let the photo of a man in front of a slot machine get in the way. We have bigger things to worry about.
***Correction:*** *An earlier version of this article stated inaccurately that the named Facebook user "claimed that Datuk Abdullah was in a casino". The words "claimed that Datuk Abdullah was in a casino" have been removed, because they were our own words. The article has been corrected to reflect this. We regret this error.*
