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Malaysian
Society: Moral Standards In a Muslim nation the moral
standard of society should be consistent with Islamic standards of right and
wrong moral behaviour. In Malaysia, which is a Muslim nation, the moral standard
of society is not the Islamic standard, but instead is determined by prevailing
non-Muslim standards. In essence the moral standard of Malaysian society is
determined by what is considered right and wrong by the large and influential
Chinese non-Muslim population; and their moral standard is largely determined by
the influences of Western, secular materialistic social values. The impact of
these un-Islamic social values and moral standards, both from within and without
Malaysian society, has had a powerfully detrimental effect on the Muslim
population of Malaysia. A multicultural society will
always drift toward the lowest common denomination of social values and moral
standards unless there are effective constraints placed upon the members of that
society specifically directed at maintaining the social values and moral
standards above the level of that lowest common denominator. An example of this drift toward
the lowest common denominator can be seen in the nature of boy/girl
relationships in Malaysian society. The Islamic standard would not allow free
mixing of the sexes, and would expect pairing off to take place only at the time
of marriage. The Chinese non-Muslim standard, influenced by Western, secular
materialistic standards, allows free mixing of the sexes and pairing off at a
relatively young age, certainly before marriage. A result of this free mixing of
the sexes and early pairing off means that increasingly we see young couples
publicly expressing their affection, and/or lust, for each other in public
places. These public displays of affection have recently became more and more
common and have resulted in some high government authorities taking a position
that this is just the way things will be in the modern world. I can guarantee that if young
people are allowed by the prevailing social values and moral standards to mix
freely, to pair off at a young age, and to participate in public displays of
affection such as holding hands, hugging, and kissing (all of which can be seen
daily on the streets of Malaysia) then in private many of these same young
people who mix freely and have paired off will be going far beyond hand holding,
hugging, and kissing when they are alone in private situations. In such a
situation it must be expected that a wide range of sexual behaviour will result. True Islamic belief and practice cannot exist in a society where such an important part of human social life as sexual behaviour does not conform to Islamic standards and moral values. If Islamic standards of right social values and right behaviour are not to be the social standards for the nation then we must accept we will no longer be a Muslim nation and right Islamic belief and right Islamic practice will disappear from Malaysian society. Social Behaviour Observer |
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