A GLASS OF ALCOHOL AND A FRAGILE MORALITY

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Hello everyone again. Welcome back to my channel and as usual uh please don't forget to subscribe and like. Okay. And to those who have bought me uh buy me coffee uh in the form of tare, thank you so much again. Thank you. Thank you. I will never be able to say how much I appreciate it. Okay. Thank you so much.

[00:00:29]Okay, let's uh what am I going to talk about today? Okay, so uh so the recent hoo-ha you know about the Salango bar dinner. Okay. So, I read on social media uh or medias that uh some Muslim lawyers have apparently add their grieviances uh over the serving of alcoholic beverages at the recent Salango members night uh recently. I think it's in when is it? I can't remember. Is it March or April or anyway? Yeah. But the huh just came on recently. Yeah.

[00:01:13]So I read I so I'll read you this uh uh news that you know Okay.

[00:01:48]Profession videos.

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[00:02:35]subscription subscription fee.

[00:02:45]Okay.

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[00:03:01]Now let's uh understand first who this guy uh this guy is. Yeah, this guy Muhammad Nazul Hake Nazer is a lawyer and he also stood in the last general election under pass. Okay.

[00:03:22]So, so now you know the connection.

[00:03:24]Okay.

[00:03:25]And this topic yeah on alcohol keeps uh resurfacing in the Malaysian bar many times and they have uh uh you know been shot down many times too through proper democratic uh way. Okay. And the bar had also clarified many times too that none of members money being used for alcohol.

[00:03:50]Okay.

[00:03:51]This guy must be sleeping I think. Okay.

[00:03:54]Anyway, otherwise h just a simple thing why would all attendeesh any bar event people will have to pay h they need to pay coming to these events okay so so here the uh here in the topic I'm going to talk about okay every few months yeah like clockwork uh we are dragged into the same tired debate. It's not about justice. It's not about corruption. It's not about whether the legal system is serving the people. No, we are here again because of alcohol.

[00:04:41]Yes, alcohol. And suddenly we are told this is what destroys the dignity of the legal profession.

[00:04:53]Really? Now let me say this clearly.

[00:04:55]Yeah.

[00:04:57]If the dignity of the legal profession can be shaken by a drink at a social event, then the problem is not the drink. Okay. The problem is how shallow your understanding of dignity is. Okay.

[00:05:17]I know we are part of the Malaysian bar.

[00:05:20]Okay. is not a mosque. It's not a church. It's not a temple. You know, it is a professional body in a plural society.

[00:05:33]Muslims, non-Muslims, different beliefs, different values. And yet somehow some people believe their personal religious rules must apply to everyone else in that shed space.

[00:05:52]Now let me ask you since when did professionalism become a religious compliance exercise? Yeah. And let's not pretend this outrage exists in the vacuum. when voices aligned with party Islam s Malaysia or in short peace or they call themselves pass you know start shouting about morality you have to ask people is this about ethics or is this about politics dressed up as piety because it's very convenient isn't it you don't have to talk about judicial independence You don't have to talk about corruption.

[00:06:39]You don't have to talk about failing institutions. No. Uh just about haram.

[00:06:46]Uh and shout haram. And suddenly you are the moral guardian of society.

[00:06:54]You know cheap outrage, instant applause, zero substance. Yeah. And then comes my favorite argument. Yeah. My subscription fees are being used for alcohol.

[00:07:11]Oh, please. You know, by that logic, yeah, vegetarian can object to meat.

[00:07:18]Conservative can object to music.

[00:07:21]Someone else can object to men and women standing in the same room. And where does it end? You know a professional body cannot function if every member walks in saying everything must comply with my beliefs.

[00:07:40]That is not professionalism.

[00:07:42]That is entitlement.

[00:07:45]Okay. Now let's talk about selective outrage. You know where is this the same fire when la when lawyers lie when ethics are breached when lawyers steal clients money uh when power is abused silence but put a glass of alcohol on the table suddenly the guardians of morality rise from the ashes.

[00:08:17]So let's be honest here. Yeah, this is not about dignity. Yeah, this is about visibility.

[00:08:24]Uh, and it's easy to attack what you can see. It's harder, yeah, to confront what actually matters. And here's the irony, people. Islam itself says there is no compulsion in religion.

[00:08:42]No compulsion.

[00:08:45]Not compulsion when convenient.

[00:08:48]Not compulsion when you have a microphone.

[00:08:52]No compulsion.

[00:08:54]So if your faith is strong, why are you so afraid of other people's choices?

[00:09:02]And let me let me make this simple.

[00:09:04]Yeah. You know, you don't drink. Good.

[00:09:08]Don't drink. You don't like events that serve alcohol. Fine. Don't attend. But what do you not get to do is walk into a sh professional institution and declare everyone must live by my rules.

[00:09:29]Because the moment you do that, you are not defending morality. You are imposing control. And that is the real issue here. It's not alcohol. It's not dignity. but the constant attempt to shrink a diverse society into a single mold and then calling it virtue. So the next the next time this debate comes up and it will you know let's stop pretending this was never about a dream you know it was always about power over other people's choices and that is something we should all be more concerned about.

[00:10:20]So now let's talk about freedom not control even Islam says so you know let me start with something very simple okay no one absolutely no one you know was forced to drink at any bar event. No one had a glass shoved into their hand. No one was dragged into a competition. No one's faith was violated by force. And here and yet here we are as if a grave moral crime has taken place, a dinner, a social event amongst consenting adults, enjoying themselves and somehow this has become a crisis. So let's be honest here. This is not about alcohol. This is about control. Okay? Because if it were truly about faith, the answer is very simple.

[00:11:26]As I've said, if you don't drink, you don't attend. That's it. And that is what freedom looks like. But the moment you say I don't drink, therefore no one should drink. You are no longer practicing your religion. You are imposing it. Now let me say something clearly especially to my fellow Muslims.

[00:11:50]Yeah. If you want to argue from Islam then you know let's be honest about what Islam actually says. The Quran is very clear. There is no compulsion in religion. No compulsion.

[00:12:07]Not a little bit of compulsion. Not only when you feel uncomfortable.

[00:12:14]No comp no compulsion means you cannot force religious behavior on others.

[00:12:22]The Quran also says for you is your religion and for me is mine that is coexistence that is boundary. What is that is Islam itself telling you live your values but do not impose them on others.

[00:12:46]And it goes further people. The Quran says do not spy, do not pry into the affairs of others.

[00:12:55]So let me ask if you have to monitor react and outrage yourself over other people's happiness and enjoyment who is actually crossing the line and yes people like to quote the hadith and join good forbid evil but they forget the conditions. You must have authority. You must not create greater harm. You must act with wisdom.

[00:13:28]So in a professional body, in a plural society, among consenting adults, what authority do you have over others?

[00:13:41]And look at what has happened. Division, anger, public hostility, that is greater harm. So even by that standard you have failed your own argument. You know look at the example of our prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Did he go around policing every individual act?

[00:14:08]No. He he advised he guided but he did not intrude, humiliate or control people's private choices. In fact, when people committed wrongs, he often turned away. He chose dignity over exposure.

[00:14:30]So I ask again, if the prophet himself did not behave this way, why are you huh?

[00:14:40]And uh here is another principle which Muslims seem to forget.

[00:14:47]No soul bears the burden of another. You are responsible for yourself. Not for who drink at the dinner, not for who someone else uh you know not for what someone else chose to do. Uh you will answer for your own actions, not theirs.

[00:15:11]So let's stop pretending this is about defending Islam, okay? Because Islam does not need to be defended through control. If anything, using religion to control others is what damages it. Okay.

[00:15:28]Now, let's return to the bigger picture.

[00:15:31]The Malaysian bar is not a religious institution.

[00:15:36]It is not a mosque. It is not a moral enforcement agency. It is a professional body. It it represents all of us, Muslims, non-Muslims, everyone.

[00:15:53]So the rules must be based on professionalism, not religious experience.

[00:16:02]And let's not pretend this is about protecting the dignity of the legal prof profession.

[00:16:10]It isn't. It is about importing a narrow partisan moral lens into a space a space uh that at uh you know that is deliberately plural.

[00:16:25]Now Malaysian bar is not a religious body. It represents lawyers of every background Muslim and non-Muslim conservative and liberal. So when you try to defend the profess the profession's dignity based on your personal objection to alcohol, you are not upholding standards. You are attempting to impose one more worldview on everyone else.

[00:17:01]And let's be honest, yeah, the outrage feels even more political when it comes from someone aligned with party Islam s Malaysia peace. Okay, this is exactly the kind of moral policing that people are tired of, you know, uh taking a private religious conviction and weaponizing it in public professional spaces to score ideological points. You know what's truly what's truly absurd is the fixation.

[00:17:38]You know, the public doesn't judge lawyers based on whether a bar event serves alcohol. They judge the profession on integrity, competence, independence, and courage. But instead of addressing any of that, we are told that a glass of alcohol is what punishes the profession.

[00:18:06]That's not principle. Yeah. That's misplaced outrage dressed up as pet. As for the subscription fee argument, you know, it's intellectually very flimsy. You know, membership fund uh fees fund the functioning of a professional body in a diverse society.

[00:18:27]They are not a personalized moral account where every member gets to veto anything that they dislike. If that logic applied, you know, nothing would ever get done.

[00:18:42]And the line about not radar, I am uh and not colorizing the money, you know, keep that where it belongs in your personal relationship with your faith.

[00:18:57]Okay? Once you step into a shared professional institution, you don't get to unilaterally dictate what is morally acceptable for everyone else. If the dignity of the legal profession can be shaken by the presence of alcohol at a s social event, then the problem isn't the alcohol, man. It is how shallow that understanding of dignity is. And let let's talk about priorities here. Okay?

[00:19:31]Because I find this very fascinating actually.

[00:19:36]A glass of beer at a private dinner. Uh this becomes the outrage. But corruption, abuse of power, erosion of institutions, they are silenced. So let me ask, is alcohol the real problem problem or is it just the easiest thing to attack? Because if lawyers of all people cannot stand up for personal liberty that then we are we have a very serious problem people. We are supposed to defend rights, not shrink them, not moralize them, not selectively apply them. And let's be clear here. Yeah.

[00:20:23]Respect goes both ways. No one is forcing Muslims to drink. No one is compelling participation.

[00:20:33]Why must everyone else conform? Why must everyone else restrict their choices?

[00:20:40]That is not respect. That is imposition.

[00:20:46]And once you start down this road, yeah, where does it end? Today it's alcohol. Tomorrow, dress codes, segregation, speech. We all know it never stops at one issue.

[00:21:06]So let me end with this. Yeah, the the answer the answer is very simple. If your subscription is used to fund alcohol, which I'm sure it's not because it's been clarified many times before during bar, AGM and all that, you know, uh food, etc. are at these events then you know would would be no need to collect payment as I said at all from all those attending the dinner. Yeah. It's pure common sense. It's simple. Okay. Yeah.

[00:21:46]So if you truly believe in Islam, then live it, practice it, uphold it in your own life, but do not turn it into a tool to control others because the Quran already told you no compulsion, no intrusion, no overstepping.

[00:22:10]We are lawyers. We are defenders of liberty. And liberty means this. You have the right to choose and so do we.

[00:22:22]Yeah. So I will end this with this.

[00:22:27]Cheers people.

[00:22:31]Isn't it cute? Yeah. I I got this somewhere uh you know one of the events I attend you know and I say oh so cute.

[00:22:40]So I thought you know this is real drink and uh so I put it in the fridge because you know as you as some people know I don't drink so I want to keep this for friends who drink. So uh well I think it's been in the fridge for a while then uh then I remember oh I took out and then gave to uh my friend and then they say hey city this is not a drink city this is a lighter it's a lighter oh my god this is such a funny story look I so I gave my friend one and I keep this one just people. Let's fight for our right and not being drowned by these people who try to impose their values on us.

[00:23:32]All right, have a good day. Thank you very much. Okay, bye-bye.