Malaysia's tourism authorities sell their country to the world with the slogan: 'Malaysia, Truly Asia'. Their pitch is that nowhere else in the region is there such racial and cultural diversity meeting to make as happy a blend. If you seek a one-stop shop that brings together Asia's colours, flavours, sounds and sights, look no further, the guff states with confidence. The image is of a tolerant, easy-going and integrated society working as one.
Tourism campaigns are about spin. A great deal of twisting and turning, smoke and mirrors have gone into the 'Malaysia, Truly Asia' promotion. Malaysia is indeed a country of diversity, but even to hint that its people are pulling together is to make a lie of reality. This may have been the case 30 years ago, but politics and religion mean that it is now far from being so.
A judge's ruling that a part-time model and mother of two be caned for drinking three glasses of beer puts the matter in perspective. Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was tried under Muslim sharia law, which works in parallel to the country's common-law system.
Sharia, Malaysia-style, dictates that Muslims cannot drink alcohol; non-Muslim Chinese and Indians, of which there are sizeable minorities, are not subject to the ban. For the crime, Kartika has been ordered to pay a M$5,000 (HK$11,000) fine and receive five strokes of the cane. She will be the first woman in the nation to receive such a penalty if it goes ahead as planned after the Muslims' Ramadan fast ends next month.
The government is well aware of the implications of the case. Internationally, it damages Malaysia's image. What outward-looking, progressive nation that holds itself up as a model of Muslim tolerance would cane a woman for drinking beer? That Kartika is a Singapore resident and does not even live in Malaysia takes the matter to another level. Untold numbers of Malays openly drink alcohol each day and authorities turn a blind eye; Malaysia is divided about the ruling.
Kartika has raised the stakes. The government has quietly tried to get her off the hook, but she has spurned its efforts. She wants to be caned in public. Whether she has taken the step to prove she is a good Muslim or is aiming to highlight the absurdity of the system is unclear. Whichever, Malaysia is coming off second-best.