What is there to voice out?

Statement by Marina Mahathir: Why go after Ambiga, come after me if you dare!

By Maria Begum.
Published on Nov 7, 2011 in The Malaysian Chronicle 

Marina Mahathir, the high-profile daughter of ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad, has warned the authorities and troublemakers alike not to make Bersih chief Ambiga Sreenevasan and other activists scapegoats for the Seksualiti Merdeka event slated for November 9 to 13.

“For the struggle, ask me. I have been defending the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community’s rights for over 20 years now. In fact, I defend the rights of all who have been discriminated against, the poor and everyone else. So if there is any discrimination or violence against anyone, I will continue to defend their rights. That’s it. Do you understand?” a seething Marina told a press conference on Monday.

--------------and there is another hard-core supporters, and she is also a Muslim and I quoted here her email posted in lawyerstalk----------statement yang lagi happening dan pening! gila!----------------------

"First,  thank to you all who lambasted my opinion and even to the extent of
personal attacks.  Funnily, it all comes from the Malay lawyers... Somehow
I am not surprise though.  The day someone from the Malay community can
speak with sense and rationality, (though I must say there are some) I will
be shocked!!

Really, I have no problems with that.  Say what you want and I will keep on
saying what I believe is true.

We started this on the issue about WHY BAR COUNCIL ISSUE A STATEMENT
DEFENDING SEKSUALITI MERDEKA AND THAT THE MALAY LAWYERS FELT THAT BC OR THE
PRESIDENT DO NOT SPEAK ON THEIR BEHALF.

I ANSWERED ON WHAT I THINK SHOULD BE OBVIOUS TO THESE LAWYERS.  SEPARATE
YOUR PERSONAL BELIEF AND WHAT THE LAW IS RIGHT NOW.  THE BAR IS JUST
DEFENDING WHAT THE LAW PROVIDES TO THIS COMMUNITY.

If you failed to see that, tak dapek den tolong ....

And pleaseee...... don't start to debate on why this and why that on what
religion says about homosexuality...

Any sensible reading on the tale of the prophet Lot or Lut and the
destruction of Sodom was debunked by scholars years ago and it is
irrelevant to homosexuality as we know it today.

If you want to take an inflexible and legalistic view of the scripture,
well go ahead.  I would rather focus on the overall spirit of a faith
rather than the letter and to reinterpret it in the light of new
understandings of human behaviour.

As one view from an extreme conservatives known as the Quakers way back in
1963:


Surely it is the nature and quality of a relationship that matters: one
must not judge it by its outward appearance but by its inner worth.
Homosexual affection can be as selfless as heterosexual affection, and
therefore we cannot see that it is in some way morally worse.

Homosexual affection may of course be an emotion which some find
aesthetically disgusting, but one cannot base Christian morality on a
capacity for disgust. Neither are we happy with the thought that all
homosexual behaviour is sinful: motive and circumstances degrade or ennoble
any act ...

... An act which expresses true affection between two individuals and gives
pleasure to them both, does not seem to us to be sinful by reason alone of
the fact that it is homosexual. The same criteria seem to us to apply
whether a relationship is heterosexual or homosexual.


It is ashamed that the progressive forces in Islam are extremely weak,
though they do exist.  Perhaps the reasons for their weakness are mainly
historical or social and have nothing to do with the nature of Islam
itself.  The result, unfortunately, is that all sorts of dogmatic rubbish
invoking the "fixed principles of Islam" is allowed to pass unchallenged.

One extraordinary and horrific example of following supposedly divine rules
without applying common sense occurred in 2002 when fire broke out at a
girls' school in Mecca.  Saudi religious police were on hand to ensure that
those trying to escape were properly attired in headscarves and black
abayas.  Eyewitness accounts told of girls being forced back into the
burning building to retrieve their head-coverings. Several who went back
died in the blaze - the price of enforcing fixed principles.

People who adopt this sort of religious outlook love nothing better than
reducing moral dilemmas to a simple choice of black versus white.  But real
life is rarely like that.  More often, it is necessary to weigh the
benefits of various courses of action and consider if any harm is likely to
result from each.  This is what the religious police failed to do in the
Mecca school fire, and it is what Islamic scholars fail to do when arguing
against homosexuality.

I remain steadfast to principles of love and compassion and do no harm to
others."

My feeling after reading the above statement- Subhanallah. Indeed we are now approaching the Resurrection. Fear Allah my learned friend!

﴿54﴾ وَلُوطاً إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِ أَتَأْتُونَ الْفَاحِشَةَ وَأَنتُمْ تبْصِرُونَ ﴿55﴾ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَأْتُونَ الرّ‌ِجَالَ شَهْوَةً مِن دُونِ النّـِسَآءِ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ.

54. “ And (We sent) Lot, when he said to his people: ‘Do you commit indecency while you see (its iniquity)?’”
55. “ What! Do you approach men lustfully instead of women? No, you are a people that are ignorant.”

I am a member of the Malaysian Bar and I felt very ashamed and disappointed on the statement released by President of the Malaysian Bar. I wish to disassociate myself from the views taken by the President of the Bar on Sexuality Merdeka 2011. Certainly, such views and press statement do not reflect the views of all members of the bar. I object 100%.

May Allah give them guidance. Amin.