The Humpty Dumpty Show ...

In Malaysia-eh, they call it Sandiwara. To the Mat Salleh who need some education (butt I'm no minister of basic, advanced or higher education, OK? Kindergarden maybe, taking care of mGf's gardners and the tehtarik deficient Bloom, Flowers, Bloom...), it goes as a sort of Sandy Goes to War-ah?

Okay, back to serious.
Fronm the HORSE's MOUTH again -- I know know why, during the first week of new year of Man's Best Friend, I had highlighted a lot of Snoopy's vicecracks, sublimated in jest one howler:BLEAH!.

But after all the hoo-haa over a caricatures, and a sidewalk caricaturist, I hesitate to use the Peanuts reference again. So I now ride on Horses, those which ride with the wind. You want to reach Dat DestiNation with me, yes?

First off, the relevance of the Post's Title.
I think I must thank Lewis Caroll for it -- from his Alice in Wonderland -- proper attribution nowadays, so I have a defence in case some Editor/Minister finds IT offensive.


Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!


Now -- drum roll...! --
Da News of the day, from THE NEW STRAITS TIMES frontpage,
even as I gobble up my non-Sequitur non-CON BF:



WE APOLOGISE. UNRESERVEDLY.

Obviously, we misjudged how different people would react to Wiley Miller’s Non Sequitur syndicated cartoon published by the New Straits Times last Monday. We have written to the Internal Security Ministry in response to its letter asking us to show cause, explaining the processes involved and how the cartoon came to be published. It is a process involving the human factor, and humans err.
We told the ministry the same thing we are telling you — that we may have misjudged how different people would react to the cartoon, which, as we have pointed out to the authorities, was NOT one of the 12 produced by Danish cartoonists that outraged Muslims throughout the world. It was a totally different cartoon.

It was wry humour by an artist whose work is syndicated in more than 700 newspapers, including those in Islamic countries, and whose strip has run in the NST since 1998.

There was no caricature of the Prophet Muhammad at all in that cartoon; nor was there any derogatory comment made about the Prophet or Islam.

Perhaps, in more ordinary circumstances, such a cartoon would not have received more than a passing mention.

Yet, these are different times. The Muslim world was outraged by the blasphemy of the Danish and European newspapers.

When the Sarawak Tribune and Guang Ming Daily reproduced pictures depicting the caricature of the Prophet, the Government acted firmly and suspended both newspapers. Their editors and publishers were held accountable.

In the case of Wiley Miller’s cartoon in the NST, there was no caricature of Prophet Muhammad at all. NONE.

And that is why we believed it was inoffensive. But just as we have received letters and emails, many from Muslims, saying they could not see what the fuss was all about, there are also those who feel strongly about this.

They include some members of the Cabinet, including newly appointed Information Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin; NGOs, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his son Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, the Opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia, and others who have called the NST office to register their protest.

But again, we want to make very clear: There was no caricature of the Prophet published in the NST.

We have always been sensitive to religious feelings. In fact, the NST is the most multiracial newspaper in the country because we have a very good mix of Malaysians working with us at all levels.

No other newspaper can boast of that racial and religious make-up. Hence, that makes us more sensitive to each other’s feelings and allows us to respect each other’s beliefs to a greater extent than an organisation dominated by one racial or religious group.

When the caricature controversy began, our editors and section heads were instructed not to even think about reproducing any of the caricatures.

In the case of the Wiley Miller comic strip, the sub-editor in charge let through the cartoon because it bore no caricature nor words offensive to Islam.

Unfortunately, one blog and some media, including Zainuddin’s RTM, highlighted the cartoon and came to the verdict that the NST had mocked the Prophet and Islam. From there, the issue took a life of its own.

*The NSTP on Tuesday lodged a police report against the blog for inciting religious hatred against the NSTP.* (Desi's special highlight)

But on our own part, as we said in our editorial on Tuesday, the NSTP and its editors must be held accountable if they are deemed to have crossed the boundaries which make this multiracial and multi-religious country of ours a peaceful haven.

We cannot afford to have any media inciting racial and religious hatred, especially an institution like the New Straits Times Press.

In fact, while we apologise for hurting the feelings of those who have made statements and police reports against us, we will also abide by any action the Government decides to take against the newspaper or its executives.

**On February 3, on its Mandarin news on Channel 2, Radio Television Malaysia(RTM) screened reactions to the offending caricatures.(Desi's special highlight)**

It showed a man reading a newspaper where a caricature of the Prophet was printed. The cameras focussed and closed up on the caricature THREE times for a total of 28 seconds.

A reader, who felt that the Wiley Miller cartoon was inoffensive, emailed us and informed us that the RTM clip, shown over two-and-a-half minutes, actually showed the offending caricature of the Prophet flanked by two veiled women.

We obtained copies of that news programme and we have forwarded them to the Internal Security Ministry to depict how, through human error, such things can get onto even the Government’s own news channel, which was managed by one of the country’s most experienced journalists, Datuk Zainuddin Maidin himself, who was then Deputy Minister of Information.

It was not Zainuddin’s fault. Should he, or his then colleague Datuk Donald Lim, or the then Information Minister Datuk Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, be penalised because they were, in effect, in charge of RTM at that pertinent time?

NO. We strongly believe they should not be penalised.

People might argue that CNN, an American station that showed the same clip but "pixelled out" the caricature in respect for Muslim sensitivities, and RTM, being a television station in a Muslim country, should have been even more careful.

But the fact is, human error happens. RTM did not deliberately screen the caricature. They would be mad to do it.

Neither did the NST deliberately publish what it deemed an inoffensive cartoon. The NST never intended to hurt any feelings. At least one religious scholar has told the NST that the cartoon was not offensive but could, if different people wished, be interpreted differently.

But we stand corrected. We should have been more sensitive — human error or not. So again, we apologise.

And again, we will willingly accept any action deemed fit by the Government.



DESIDERATA: To err is human, indeed.
That's the first part of the English saw.
The second part To forgive is divine.

The third part - jest Desi's postulation, KenOrKnot? -
To forget is Imp-ossible.

Jest another digression, so my ER can expand their mind a l'il, you have time, don't we? An IMP, according to the *Heritage Dick:

2) imp.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
...1. A mischievous child. 2. A small demon. 3. Obsolete
A graft. Inflected forms: imped, imp·ing, imps1. To graft (new feathers) onto the wing of a trained falcon or...

WHICH means - according to the gr8 phoolosopher Desi in his lowest vicedom, if one can't forget, one can't forgive 100%,


Okay, enuf of a Blogger's indulgence, but nowadays, a Blogger potentially faces many dangers, as illustrated by the New Straiits Times allegation that was clearly stated as highligted *The NSTP on Tuesday lodged a police report against the blog for inciting religious hatred against the NSTP.*
...
We all know which that Blog is, don't we?

For the dimwits, please get some answer in the sext paragraph.

On the ongoing saga, Desi had often detoured to take part at JeffOoi's CONversations, so I reprise, plus edit-sum, from my cuntribution yesterdae:

~~~~~~~
"The questioning, rumblings you referred to, Jeff, clearly show this NST episode has fallout that extends beyond the bondary of Press Freedom and Religious Sensitivity -- the original CORE issues that led to secondary and even tertiary issues/problems. It's now a proxy fight mainly between two factions within UMNO -- do I need to spell out the 2?

I do not wish to become a "pawn" in this spreading MEDUSA -- as a fellow Blogger, based in lundun? termed it-- but reading about the key players involved, the country will play a high price for it -- the PPPA 1984 not only will NOT be reviewed/abolished, it would be "more diligently" used to supress the much weakened mass media, esp the print, in Malaysia.

I hope fellow Bloggers don't become victims like the poor kancil caught between the fight between the Elephant and the Lembu? (Maybe wrong animals named, but what the H... can I spell this out? Hell? You smart readers get the drift, yes?

Now there are many -players -- as BOLDED by DESI in the NST report, and this demonstatres what mGf in lundun mentioned, the spread of the MEDUSA. The Medusa has descended mainly on the PWTC stage.
Secondary or tertiary parties -- like Bloggers -- better avoid the cross-fires!

I agree with mGf based in lundun (http:howsy.blogspot.com) 100% plus one we should focus on Suspending, then Abolishing, the ISA, OSA, yes, even the MoI -- call it the Ministry of ICT-Informed Citizenry, but that would cause some ministers and GEICs their jobs eh...I heard some at that level don't even know how to use a Komputer properly ...oops wrong spelling, COMputer! Maybe I'll think about getting a secretary to prrofread my copies -- don't want to land up in hot soap!:( ...opera-lah!"~~~~~~~~

Before I close, I also heard there is a WITCH-HUNT going around.
Is Helloween so nigh at hand, mGf,
or
Are we jest expanding the Malaysian Opera into Mat Salleh Cunty?