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Acceptance over Tolerance : The severed head of sacred cow.

By Augustine Anthony

I must thank a local TV Channel for reminding me about the 8 values of 1 Malaysia in their talk show on the 52nd Merdeka Day with Lee Lam Thye (Tan Sri) and Dr. Chandra Muzzaffar as their guests.

Something that one of the hosts said attracted me more than all other insignificant murmurings and mutterings. The body languages of everyone present seem to suggest that one of the 8 values and that is “Acceptance” as opposed to tolerance should be the new approach that all Malaysian should embrace.

A quick check on the prime minister’s website 1Malaysia.com reveals the following:-

“ACCEPTANCE

On the importance of acceptance over tolerance

I think there’s quite a big difference between the two (tolerance and acceptance). I think when you say you tolerate, you don’t quite like it, but you accept it because you have no choice. But if you talk in terms of acceptance, it indicates a state of mind that you are embracing something positively. I think it’s important for us to migrate from this concept of mere tolerance to acceptance. Acceptance in the sense that you are ready to accept things. If you’re willing to accept things, if you embrace things willingly, then I think your capacity to look at things in a more positive manner is much better than mere tolerance.”

I am afraid the prime minister though in his heightened consciousness and sharpened conscience endeavors to rebrand and promote a new culture but the prime minister too must understand that there cannot be a universal and total substitute for tolerance by acceptance.

The complexity of a multicultural society complicates the usage, performance and spirit of words and phrases. Some areas are best tolerated as gray area rather than accepting it and we must allow time with an honest reflection to device a mechanism in which there will be mutual respect for each other.

So when the prime minister said that “I think when you say you tolerate, you don’t quite like it, but you accept it because you have no choice.” perhaps the prime minister had not considered that it is only a state of physical appearance by a deceptive mental projection that reveals a false sense of visual manifestation of “no choice” and any person who observes the physical state would appreciate and understand that there exists a revolting energy vibrating around the person who is in a state of tolerance and given time this energy would eventually translate into a combined, cumulative and potent force that may translate into mental and physical force sufficient to rebel against the elements that breaks the threshold of tolerance.

The simplistic interpretation of acceptance over tolerance opens up a plethora of colliding questions that touches on personal values on the sophisticated debate between Fate and Freewill.

I can, for now accept something as fate, that a child in birth must meet death in old age but this does not mean that I must sit and accept everything that happens to me that brings me unhappiness and this is where I would like to exercise my freewill to tolerate it for a time until it reaches a critical point of unacceptability in which I must make choices in life to confront it.

I can accept that people kill animals for food but as it is not within my powers to prohibit the killing of animals for sporting purposes like the slaying of bulls by matadors, I can only tolerate it and at the same time display my displeasure in such a way that one day we may reach a critical mass of people to implement an outright prohibition of killing of animals for sporting events.

But my value of killing of animals for a certain purpose may collide with a vegetarian who for now may tolerate killing of animals for food and may engage in the same process above to attain a critical mass for change but until then he too can only tolerate.

Now it brings me to this final analysis of acceptance over tolerance.

Am I now supposed to sit back and accept the conduct of some individuals parading a severed cow head with blood splattered all around it?

No matter how I look at it, either from a religiously sensitive issue to cruelty to animals, one thing is certain and that is, I cannot accept this despicable act. And as it is not within my power to act against the people involved in this uncouth behavior, I could only tolerate it and translate my unacceptability into writings that may eventually draw like minded people into a critical mass that can demand change for mutual respect.

A state of acceptance may give rise to a phenomenon where the strong and powerful are likely to abuse the weak and meek and the weak and meek can do nothing but accept this predicament.
However an environment where there is mutual respect may promote a society in which the strong and powerful are just and fair whilst the weak and meek are protected and secure.

45 Replies to “Acceptance over Tolerance : The severed head of sacred cow.”

  2. ///But if you talk in terms of acceptance, it indicates a state of mind that you are embracing something positively. I think it’s important for us to migrate from this concept of mere tolerance to acceptance. Acceptance in the sense that you are ready to accept things.///

    So why not lets all accept racial/religious schisms, inequitable treatment of citizens, and even corruption? There are no conditions, no matter how bad, to which a man cannot become accustomed. And after acceptance, there will be peace, tranquility, subsiding of any animosity – a state transcending all these that brings ever lasting harmony.

  4. So let’s accept Ketuanan Melayu; let’s accept that they can ran amok with their keris whenever they felt threatened; let’s accept that the NEP is for the UMNOputras only; let’s accept that justice can be selectively applied; let’s accept to whip Kartika in order to atone for the sins of high-powered Muslims who drink like a fish; let’s accept the theft of public funds by UMNO and their cronies; let’s accept that the police, courts, MACC are the properties of UMNO. And ad nausem.

    Is this what Najib is hinting at?

  6. ///A quick check on the prime minister’s website 1Malaysia.com reveals the following:-

    “ACCEPTANCE

    On the importance of acceptance over tolerance

    I think there’s quite a big difference between the two (tolerance and acceptance). I think when you say you tolerate, you don’t quite like it, but you accept it because you have no choice. But if you talk in terms of acceptance, it indicates a state of mind that you are embracing something positively. I think it’s important for us to migrate from this concept of mere tolerance to acceptance. Acceptance in the sense that you are ready to accept things. If you’re willing to accept things, if you embrace things willingly, then I think your capacity to look at things in a more positive manner is much better than mere tolerance.” ///— AA

    Najib was no doubt trying to play with words to differentiate between one should accept and one should tolerate about things of which one can show indifference.

    Malaysians of all races have the right to remain in the country is a fact and that fact has to be accepted. Whether one is happy that people who happens to be different from oneself in terms of religion, language, culture, food habit or even body odour is quite a different issue. If one chooses to be indifferent from those the issue of acceptance does not arise. But when one feels unhappy about the presence of people different from oneself, and yet he has no right to demand the disappearance of persons they do not like, they will have to choose to tolerate. Acceptance and toleration are all a state of mind, one invariable suffers if he had to tolerate.

    It is a pity that after 52 years of independence, the word acceptance and tolerance has to be applied on interracial relation. Before the British left, the economic development of the country and the standard of living are no doubt much lower that what it is today. They people of different faith and races lived in harmony. The Chinese learned to speak Malays based on Chinese character, and they certainly could not pronounce them accurately than the non-Malays would now. Yet communications was never a problem, and Chinese were closely associated with the livings of Malays. There trading services were considered ‘activities of middleman’ in the 1960s and cooperate societies among the Malays were formed to replace them. There were no racial conflicts.

    It was the inclusion of a special quota system in the constitution which put on paper differences between people based on race and religion. It was the article 160 which allowed persons who were not born Malays to masquerade as one that enlarged the fault line between races, which came to a heat when the ’Malay Dilemma’ was written. NEP proved to be worse than what was provided under article 153, and NEWMalays were laughing to the banks at the expense of the indignity of true Malays who wanted to forgo the inequality which were not allowed by Islamic teaching, and the stigma that they were weak. Unfortunately Malays are generally too polite to voice objection to their leaders, though in extreme provocation they might fly surat layang.

    It is because of the desire to provide justification that NEP-like implementation should continue forever that people in leadership position never fail to create situation that would be interpreted as though they were tolerating. UMNO believes that even fielding a dog would win them a seat, when there are people continue to feign tolerance to practice divide and rule. It is usually the newly minted Malays who behaved more Malay than Malay and they appeared to feign more suffering to the extent that they wanted Pendatangs out of the country.

    Only when 1Malaysia means one classification for all Malaysians would there be acceptance without conscious efforts.

  7. Must Article 153 be maintained just because it benefits nincompoops who would object if you say, “Displaying the severed head of a cow in public in such a disrespectful manner, and sowing the seeds of discord between the races, is a sin since he’s fasting.”

  8. I never heard anybody say “You must accept it!” until I came to live in Malaysia. In the UK, it would have be pointless to utter such a phrase, as it would be involuntarily greeted with the popular Anglo Saxon retort meaning “nonsense”.

    I’ve heard all manner of people saying “You must accept it!” in Malaysia, but nobody replying “BOLLOCKS!”. Why is that? It would cheer me up no end if someone would occasionally post the traditional one-word rejection of some of my comments.

    I wish you all a Happy Merdeka.

  9. As per my earlier posting, the damage had been done by the miniority Malays (I do believe so). We have yet to see anything being done by the police or any apology by UMNO-BN leaders. I do not expect anything to happen though, which make me sad.

    Leaving in a multi racial country like ours, tolerance is one of the most important aspects for all Malaysian to live, work and one day died here. We may not be able to accept it but in a way to tolerate it, we can choose to vote out the BN-UMNO that cause this problem.

    Please read, Nurrul Izzah Anwar writing in Din Merican blog, today and I would like to re-assure my fellow Malaysian that now days many Malays feel and think in this direction. There is a feature for everyone – provided PR won the next GE. If people in Japan can changed (although we are different in many aspects), I do believed it can happened here as well. It is already useless to change UMNO – BN.

    And as PR supporters, it is our responsibility to influence/ encourage family, friends and foes to give PR a chance and also to ensure that our leaders are not distracted or forget its foundation and root.

  11. sorry to put this here. merdeka is for the Malays(Umno). I got merdeka from british and i’m still waiting to get merdeka from the umno.
    what rubbish is the 1malaysia? when all not having equal rights! 2malaysia is proper for double standard.
    all non malays and non bumi must not accept 1Malaysia. this is like lamb in lion’s coat.
    wake up not nod as a wet cow. we want to be malaysians all have equal rights. agree?

  12. http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/26294/84/

    from the maps & explanation posted by pak khalid, there is obviously no reason for the sec.23 residents to incite hatred & religious intolerance in the spirit of nation building. for this reason, it has cast a lot doubt onto the purpose of the protest & leading to speculation that those protested were there for another agenda.

    the turtle-speed action of the pdrm against the 50 protestors & the lighting-speed (some say like an ambush) against candle-light vigils of 10-20,000 also cast a lot doubt on the explanation given by the cpo recently. it’s a joke that action was taken against peaceful gatherers while inaction against violent ones. besides the numbers. our pdrm has the force against many but none against few. are we fools?

  13. He can talk cock for all he wants.
    We have enough of all his sloganeering, reforms and what not!!
    We have tolerating all these for at least the past quarter century and I’m very glad that we have not accepted then.
    In fact, we have grown very, very skeptical of such cock talk.
    ALL WE WANT IS TO HAVE THE PR IN THE SEAT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
    Then the new government can send these blokes to the lunatic asylum and they can sloganeer till the cows come home.

  15. Desperate people apply desperate means.
    Who are desperate…UMNO or PR?
    Najib is desperate.
    So far…applying low class ways and means to win hearts and votes.
    What will be the last act…for desperate people?
    Is MIC desperate to be in the limelight?
    The cowhead is a dangerous way to get attention..and not necessary an accepted way by all Indians. That’s provocation…using religion.
    Gerakan is desperate in Penang…with KTK…calling CM Lim…a liar.
    MCA …OTK is fighting for his survival…within the party and trying to so call clean up MCA. If he succeeds…he will be the next dictator of MCA for a long long time.
    So…who are desperate….UMNO or PR?
    Since UMNO is controlling the country and is desperate..we must be alert and brave…to speak up without fear.

  16. Severed head of cow in the year of the OX
    Severed head of a tiger in the year of the TIGER
    Severed head of the rabbit in the year of the RABBIT
    Severed head of the dragon in the year of the DRAGON
    Severed head of the snake in the year of the SNAKE
    Severed head of the horse in the year of the HORSE
    Severed head of the goat in the year of the GOAT
    Severed head of the monkey in the year of the MONKEY
    Severed head of the cock in the year of the ROOSTER
    Severed head of the dog in the year of the DOG
    So can we have the severed head of the p*g in the year of the BOAR??????
    This should be the way according to the Chinese zodiac!

  21. Acceptance heppened when only things are factual and fair. Tolerance, however, happened to things that are non-factual and un-fair due to no-choice or for-a-good-cause.

    Therefore, when tolerance (of a party) was taken as acceptance (for another party), or mixing tolerance with acceptance is dangerous. When tolerance/acceptance expectation was overstreched without engangement it lead to explotion.

    How many issues we have in bolehland fall under the above scenario. After 52 years of Merdeka, we still hide our head under the sand shouting Merdeka!

    Confusious says “wu xi zhi tien ming”. Once a mon reached 50, he need not a fortune teller to tell him how is fortune doing, he just need to look around him to find the answer. BN ‘tien ming’ is finalised, they should by now know their future…. It is time for BN accept this and tolerate with it….

  22. Malaysians have been tolerating UMNO Baru/BN corrupt practices since the time of corruption king Dr. Mah Ha Tee. Malaysians have been tolerating the hypocrisy of government leaders, police and MACC brutality and double standards. Malaysians have been tolerating the kangaroo courts set up by UMNO Baru. Najib was spot-on when he said we may “not quite like it” as evidenced by 308 and the 7-0 by-elections defeat of UMNO Baru/BN by the opposition PR.

    Tolerance by Malaysians ( Najib knows it ) is not helping him and his party anymore. Now he wants rakyat to accept corruptions, and all things you dislike about them.

    ” I think there’s quite a big difference between the two (Tolerance and Acceptance)” – NAJIB

    My advice to Najib is: ACCEPTANCE means UMNO Baru will take defeat in the !3th GE graciously.
    I am giving Najib

  25. Uncle Lim,
    I am suprised why are you working closely with PKR. Everyone knows they are former UMNO members who are frustrated because their leader Anwar was sacked. Anwar when he was in UMNO was also corrupted what assuarance do we have that he wont be the same. When anwar was in UMNO he too made statements about cahmpioning the malays. Are we assured that we are going to have a real 1 Malaysia if anwar comes into power. You politicians are all the same because of power you guys can do anything. Make me sick.

  29. ///Once a man reached 50, he need not a fortune teller to tell him how is fortune doing, he just need to look around him to find the answer.///

    Well this does not apply to people like Lim Goh Tong, then a sub-contractor for part of the Cameron hydro-electric dam project in Cameron Highlands, when an evening stroll hit him upon the idea of developing a mountaintop resort in Malaysia to cater to city dwellers seeking an escape from the tropical heat. He applied for and obtained his Genting casino licence in 1969, age 51! The rest is history.

  30. Acceptance-it indicates a state of mind that you are embracing something positive. Yeah in principle it sounds good.Basing on this logic,some contractors accepted corruption as a norm to get contract,is this something positve ? MACC acceptance to only obey some top Umno leaders to investigate opposition without basis,is this also indidates a positive state of mind ? Moreover,malaysians have pretty lots of hypocritical acceptance like for instance the recently cow-head sacrilege against a construction of a Hindus temple though malaysia acceptance that all other religions are free to practise peacefully.Similarly,the muslim dawn calling for prayer through the loudspeakers seem an acceptance to all non-muslim but when you quitely ask them,most would say it’s a nuisance.In Malaysia everywhere we go it looks people are friendly,united and peaceful but I think all these are superficial yet most people accepted it not through real acceptance but through tolerance.umno has created the malay race into a kind of intolerable one and if something positive is not done pretty fast, the country would soon turn tragic.

  31. Najib is an intellectual bullshitter…

    There is no acceptance if you can’t tolerate it. You can still tolerate something even if you can’t accept it.

    We have moved away from tolearance, how do we move to acceptance? Its bullshit…

  34. This incidence clearly reflected very badly the religion they believed in. If they claim their religion is peaceful, why are they issuing threats of bloodshed in the name of their allah? When they hold the head of the cow, it remind me seeing the head of an innocent people held during the anti chinese violence in Indonesia by those savages.

  35. PERFORMANCE, Najib…..P-E-R-F-O-R-M-A-N-C-E. Be brave to act-firm but fair-like Mr. LKY from the Little Red Dot. Your 1Malaysia, People First…..Acceptance over Tolerance …..visiting Batu Caves with Rosmah are all nonsenses without PERFORMANCE.

    Govern Malaysia like Mr. LKY governed his Little Red Dot. Most importantly, Don’t follow in the footsteps of your doctor friend.

  36. Taiking, don’t you know there are many other types of “dragons” in this world besides referring to the Chinese (Long de chuan ren)? You have dragonflies, you have “di long” (dragons of the earth) aka earthworms, you have “long yu” (arowana), you also have “qian long” (money dragon – a term used by Teochews to refer to the lizard)? So it is not necessary to severe the heads of the Chinese in the year of the Dragon!!!!!!

  39. Jaswant :Must Article 153 be maintained just because it benefits nincompoops who would object if you say, “Displaying the severed head of a cow in public in such a disrespectful manner, and sowing the seeds of discord between the races, is a sin since he’s fasting.”

    Please don’t not make fun of people who are fasting. Please do not make fun of Sin and sins when you have claimed to be a church goer. You are a mega hypocrite.

    Please have some originality in you whatever you write here. I believe many are getting tired of you whining all day. What is your problem? You have no scholarship when you young? You can’t get into a local university? It was just too bad if you were not smart enough and having to endure washing dishes for so many years.

  42. That’s right Haji Ang.

    Over here I saw a former pen pushing, bal! carrying, S-licking, recently retired UMNO government servant with time on his hands devouring a plate of cheap mee goreng at the mamak stall who should be fasting oblivious to the stares of non-Muslims around him.

    Yet they would go parading a cow’s severed head and claim it is not unislamic to do so.

  44. We will not TOLERATE a Najib attempt to steal Selangor from PK and deprive the people of the right to appoint the government we want. We cannot ACCEPT a man who has not yet proven he is innocent of the allegations that he brought with him when he became PM – may Altantuya’s ghost haunt him forever. And may the Indian astrologer be 100% accurate – he will be out of office by year-end; until then he will face problems upon problems. So far so good, this star-gazer.

  45. Beware the WRATH OF THE ALMIGHTY! Did it ever strike anyone why Malaysia is TOPS in the number of fatalities due to H1N1 despite having such a relatively small population compared to the rest of the world? Isn’t this a WARNING from ABOVE!!!!!

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