A week in Bali

Tanah Lot temple in Bali - Photograph: Wikipedia

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Malaysia has much to learn from Indonesia and if only we could emulate this secular state, we will progress and prosper, says Tota.

Tanah Lot temple in Bali - Photograph: Wikipedia
Tanah Lot temple in Bali – Photograph: Jos Dielis/Flickr/Wikipedia

Bali is a unique island populated mostly by Hindus. I spent a week there and returned enlightened and enriched.

Judging by the drive from the airport to the hotel, it was evident that the place was peaceful. It was such a change to see women wearing jewellery and carrying handbags without any fear of snatch thieves.

I did not have any political monsters looking down at me from raodside billboards. There were glorious statues of characters from the Ramayana and Mahabharata by the roadside and in the middle of roundabouts. The theme was always the triumph of good over evil.

There are plenty of Hindu temples and the Balinese are a very pious and religious people. Dozens of Balinese women bearing fruits and flowers on their way to the temple is a common sight.

One great thing is that the temples have no resident priest. The Balinese do not need a middleman to reach God. Prayers are strictly between the worshipper and God. How wonderful.

I went to a bookshop at a mall and found all religious texts in Bahasa Indonesia – the Qur’an, the Bible, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagvad Gita.

I bought a copy of the Jakarta Post, a newspaper superior to what we get in Malaysia. The freedom of the press was evident from its critical and analytical content. An article criticised the President for his indecisiveness and lack of political will.

It also carried an article on Andy, a talk show host, who had invited the President to appear on his show. The President’s men had demanded in advance the questions he intended to ask the President. Initially, Andy had refused but later relented and provided the questions. When the President’s men cancelled some questions, Andy cancelled his invitation to the President. I wonder, if the political eunuchs managing our broadcasting services would dare cancel an invitation to Najib!

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I had the good fortune to meet an Indonesian professor of history and he impressed me a lot. The first thing he said to me when he learnt that I was from Malaysia and not a Muslim, was, “You can freely use the word Allah here!

He commented that only in Malaysia are non-Muslims barred from using the word Allah and added that it was because the Umno brand of Islam was conservative. He thought this had convinced the Malays that they are weak in their faith – that the word if used by the non-Muslims would confuse them.

He believes that Malaysians as a whole are a docile lot. According to him corrupt political leaders continue to prosper with the people’s support.

Also, he knew everything about our unfair electoral system. “You elect only your state assembly people and the MPs, unlike Indonesia where people elect their representatives from kampung to parliamentary levels.

“The governor of Bali is a Hindu. Do you think Putrajaya will allow such a thing in Malaysia?

“Every Indonesian citizen is considered indigenous,” he said. As he took leave, he wished me and Malaysia the best of luck.

When I left Bali, I felt that Indonesia was on the right track to becoming a united, corruption-free democracy. Malaysia has much to learn from Indonesia, and if only we could emulate this secular state, we will progress and prosper.

Tota is the pseudonym of an occasional contributor to our Thinking Allowed Online section.

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
  1. Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
  2. Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
  3. Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
  4. Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
  5. Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
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Ed G
Ed G
31 Jul 2014 5.21pm

Based on the given account, the Balinese have manifested the true essence of their religion (or all other major religions of this world) which are humility, magnanimity, accommodating and unpretentious amongst others. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, religion is being practiced in an egocentric manner so much so that they are easily exploited by political opportunists or bigots as vehicles to spread extremism, intolerance or self-aggrandizement. I remember reading somewhere that Lebanon and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) used to enjoy peace, tranquility and prosperity just as Bali is now until racial and religious bigots made their presence in the big way.

charleskiwi
31 Jul 2014 8.22am

All the woes Malaysia is facing was started by this egregious Mahathi…. He started to marginalise the non Malays … On the contrary this repugnant Umno made Malay is more proactive in politics since stepping down from politics. He did so because he thought he had found in AB a puppet to continue … But just like everything he did he was wrong. Another proof is immediately after he was supposed to have ‘retired’ almost the entire nation came out to rejoice his ‘resignation’. AB in his first GE, as chief of Umno/BN was not only voted in but in the records numbers. As soon as the repugnant Mahathir surfaced to show that he has not indeed ‘retired’ the people began to reject BN/Umno in the next GE. That was only a further proof of how the Malaysian voters resent this atrocious old … and the results of the GE was clear proof of that resentment. The voters not only rejected this … but also in almost every by elections he was involved or seen to be supporting the candidate standing in the by election. One… Read more »

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