In today’s article, my wife and I, two Muslims born in Malaysia, would like to ask for forgiveness from all our Malaysian brethren, whether we know them or not, whether our paths have crossed or not. We ask forgiveness for the sake of our religion, for the sake of our children and grandchildren and for the sake of our country, that Malaysians can forgive the excesses and kurang ajar behaviors as well as threats to life and property from those Malays who know not their own Prophet, their own God and their own religion that they are so bent in protecting. We ask that Malaysians show patience and act with kindness towards all Muslims. The greatest weapon against cruelty, bigotry and arrogance is simply forgiveness, patience and kindness. There exists no weapon in the arsenal and knowledge of man that can overpower those three acts of humanity. Gandhi had proven it and Reverand Martin Luther King. The real power of faith is in those three, not in threats, not in cruelty and certainly not in selfishness.

As we enter the final third month of Ramadhan, said to be the 10 holiest and most sacred, many Muslims will be spending time in mosques throughout the night hoping for the Lai-latul-Qadr or the Night of Power. It is said that Allah’s Mercy and Blessings would flow in this night till dawn and if one were to capture that night then all of our sins may be forgiven by Him. For my wife and I, we are two Muslims who will look first towards asking forgiveness from all Malaysians who have been tested grievously by the Stocking incident that has cost Malays to act beyond and against the norms, value and faith of Islam.

As I watch the video of a man who was said to be an Ustaz berating a lone Chinese woman trembling with fear, I feel suddenly a dark gloom overcasting the celebrations of Hari Raya this year. The darkest gloom for me during Hari Raya was my first heart attack in 2018 when I did not know whether another one would end my life while I waited for my bypass surgery. But the gloom I felt after watching that video created a heaviness in my heart as I confided my feeling to my wife. She too said that she is embarrassed and felt ashamed to meet her doctors who are mostly non-Muslims and face them after the insults, threats and incitement of the past few weeks thrown by Malays against our fellow citizens.

In this Hari Raya, I had planned to invite many non-Muslim friends to my house in Kajang. The thought had filled me with joy as I was healthy, and I can afford to do so in style. But when the stocking incident became worse to dangerous, I felt like dark clouds had encircled my house and I felt, for the first time, ashamed and embarrassed to come face  to face with those whom have helped me in my life but that they are going through such a rough and uncertain time of racial, political and religious unrest. We can blame Akmal or UMNO but I know for a fact that most Malays are like Akmal and it is easy to rally a populist call for a short term gain at a cost of nation destruction. Both my wife and I do not have any political backing, economic strength or even social standing but all we have is the sincerity and sadness of our hearts at the way this issue has been blown out of proportion.

I know that the asking of forgiveness from two insignificant individuals who are Malay and Muslim may not amount to much in the greater scheme of things but that is all that we have.

I had wished and prayed that there would be many Malay professors, muftis and ustaz to back our call for ceasefire on this issue but none, save one mufti from Penang, did.

We may still have a country, we may still have a parliament and we may still have our cars and houses, but without respect for each other, do we still have a nation?

Thus, to all my colleagues at UCSI University, to all my teachers and friends in St.’ Marks Primary Butterworth (1969 to 1974), St’Marks Secondary, Butterworth( 1975 to 1976), SMJK Hua Lian (1976 – 1980), to my physicians, salespersons, bankers, lawyers and police men, may the paths crossed testify to our beliefs in one another and also our forgiveness from and to one another. As Malaysia face a somber trial of faith and perseverance, let us use the power of patience, forgiveness and kindness to stem the tide of mistrust, cruelty and bigotry to still have faith in our nation, even if it means with just the small number in our hearts.

I pray that all good Malaysians tell their children that these dark days of Ramadhan, that they saw two lights of hope, faith and joy from two simple Muslims who stand out against a majority of those who dishonor the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and also the words of our forefathers, bersatu teguh bercerai roboh.

Salam Hari Raya and Lai-latul-Qadr to all Malaysians and maaf Zahir dan Batin.

(Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at a local university and his writing reflects his own personal opinion entirely.)