MANY a time, moral policing by the holier-than-thou types tend to end up being appalling.
This is the crux of the issue in an incident that has sparked outrage on social media.
Shared on the Rakyat Report Facebook (FB) page, a clip purportedly filmed at a Family Mart outlet in Angsana Mall, Johor Baru showed a confrontation between the Malay man and a Sarawakian student.
The former had demanded to know if the latter was Chinese and why he was not fasting.
The Sarawakian student claimed that the man demanded to see his identity card (IC) to which he refused. He was also slapped a few times by the belligerent Malay man. It was then the son of the “accuser” stepped in to diffuse the situation and apologised on his behalf of his father.
Editor’s Note: As the FB post was not accessible at the time of publication, we provide an alternative made accessible on the X platform.
Kes di Family Mart Angsana Mall, Johor Bahru:
Saya hanya makan secara biasa dan pak cik tu tanya saya orang Cina ke tak. Saya jawab ya sebab itu soalan biasa. Lepas tu dia nak saya tunjukkan IC saya walaupun kita tak boleh tunjuk IC kepada orang yang tidak dikenali.
(Bebenang) pic.twitter.com/qgnAOPLYH1— bingbingE656/Elijah 🇲🇾🍉 (@bingbinge656) March 16, 2025
While he can accept the apology, the student was unwilling to let the matter drop as he had been assaulted and publicly humiliated.
Identified as “Elijah”, the student who is an undergraduate at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has since lodged a police report with the incident getting attention from higher-ups.
In a statement on X this morning (March 17), National Unity Minister Datuk Seri Aaron Ago Dagang noted that the case is being investigated under Section 323 of the Penal Code.
“Such actions must be stopped immediately and must not be allowed to take root in a country that upholds the principles of the Rukun Negara,” he stressed.
“I strongly condemn any form of violence, discrimination and prejudice that could threaten the harmony among races.”
He added: “I urge all Malaysians to interact courteously with one another, always respect cultural differences and practise the values of understanding, respect and acceptance.”
Many Muslim netizens were quick to condemn the actions of this holier-than-thou senior citizen, clearly highlighting that it is not wrong for non-Muslims to eat in plain sight during Ramadan.
Some netizens simply pointed out that it is not the “uncle’s job” to check a person’s IC. The fact that the victim clearly had a Chinese accent should have been enough to assuage his suspicions.
One further noted that perhaps it was the “uncle’s wish to spend Raya in jail”.
One netizen argued that the pakcik crossed the line by raising his hand. However, more than one said he had no business being in an eatery during fasting month, let alone carry out moral policing.
To highlight this was not an isolated incident, a few netizens – in particular those from East Malaysia – shared similar experiences of being hounded by “the walaun tribe (slang for ultra-conservative Muslims)”.
Many simply urged the victim to lodge a police report to teach this unruly pakcik a lesson. It would appear that there is a good chance with the video going viral and catching the attention of the authorities that he will be spending Raya in the lock-up.
One netizen summed it up best when he expressed surprise that people could still be triggered by another eating during fasting month during in this day and age. – March 17, 2025
