The Launderette Scandal

Wow so many updates on so many devices! First world problem. Apple has released major updates on all products. And there's a thing called Apple Pencil now being sold somewhere. Funny how they avoided the name "Apple Pen" and settled for pencil to avoid memes and puns.

Anyways today I'm gonna blog about the current issue. Ever since the fire genocide crime was solved (?) people have been looking into the next viral issue. And the next viral issue goes to...

A launderette! Waheyyy! Congratulations Malaysia, you did it again!

Amazing how a tiny little thing like this made it big

When the article first came up in some local newspaper I was just annoyed at the purpose of the sign. But it was nothing new. So Malays will be Malays, so what? I was so ready to move on until it kept appearing on my Facebook timeline every 2 minutes, with no sign of stopping. It became viral news of the week. A launderette in Muar, opening specially for Muslims for cleanliness purpose. So i guess Non-Muslims are gross people, right? That's what those people believe, at least.

Then came the reason. They wanted to make sure all clothes are free from "Najis" such as Dog hair, alcohol (maybe) and all that. So i was like ooohhh I get it. So it's fine. They have the right to do that. So why not? If you feel uncomfortable about it and like to take everything negatively, then the solution is simple. Don't go. Wash your own clothes, duh!

What amazes me is how the non-Muslims don't seem to care much about it. The offended people are the Muslims themselves. (Whaaaat?) Reading comments on all posts related to that, most Chinese and Indians are like "Oh okay, it's cool, we get it..." but the Muslims seem to be jumping around having panic attack. Geez, chill, bros. It's a freaking Launderette. It's not the end of the world.

The issue reached its peak when the Sultan of Johor threatened to close down the business if the owner didn't take off the sign. Wow extreme. And everyone thought he would be on the owner's side.

"We are not Taliban.." was one of the statement used by the Sultan in his speech. I agree. I deeply despise extremism. However, in this case, I don't think the business's intention (of limiting customers to Muslims only) is any big deal. I am not good in Business policies, hell I'm still struggling to pass my CBM course, but I personally think and feel like every business owner has a right to select their target customers. So if they want a 100% Muslim market, let them be. Just like other business, where Non-Muslims aren't allowed in. Nobody made a big deal about that.

But of course, everyday is a new viral and this is purely entertainment for me. Although, the response, the comments, the religious and political speeches regarding this issue worry me a little as it shows the mentality of most Malaysians. Somehow, we are still close-minded. We got a looooong way to go to reach modern development in terms of acceptance. What a bummer.