It's not cool that everything is on fire

MAY 24 — May has been a pretty explosive month, what with the fires at MidValley City and the old EPF building.

The current heatwave has been rough and it does not seem it will be going away anytime soon.

I have resorted to sleeping in the mornings and staying up at night because it is just too hard to be productive when your house is just a very large sauna.

While I have the good fortune to be working evenings and not having to worry about daytime commutes, it begs the question: have we started thinking about how this is pretty much our future?

I saw someone online posting pictures of his grandmother’s living room that had not one but six air conditioners.

The air conditioner arms race was not what I envisioned for us.

Nor did I imagine that Swatch stores would be raided, for all things, rainbow Pride collections.

The month of June is traditionally to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots, protests in the name of gay rights.

It didn’t take long for it to become fairly commercialised with many brands producing special Pride-themed merchandise.

Will rainbows now be the new Malaysian contraband? — Reuters file pic

What I don’t see is why the government thinks the Home Ministry needs to get involved nor can I understand how selling rainbow designs on fashion watches is somehow a threat.

Rainbows are a symbol of hope — biblically (Genesis chapter 9 to be exact) they are a reminder of God’s covenant with humanity.

Genesis 9:13: “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

They are also popular symbols in children's popular media as well as merchandise. Will this mean retailers will now have to start hiding anything with a rainbow in the backroom?

Will rainbows now be the new Malaysian contraband?

I am glad I had my existential breakdown months back because the recent state of affairs has proven to be a test of my sanity.

Deep down I know this is all just performative theatre and part of the setup for the upcoming state elections, where all the politicians (except for poor, constantly scapegoated DAP) will be competing to win the Piety For the Sake of Votes Awards.

If rainbows scare you but the growing income divide and climate change doesn't, I must sadly congratulate you on your sterling efforts to continue to make living on earth hell for other people, though I don't know if that will make heaven even more of a draw.

When we start persecuting people for selling things with rainbows on them, it won't be long before we start going after those who dare wear My Little Pony t-shirts featuring that fan favourite pony, Rainbow Dash.

If that day comes I am sorry but you can only take my pony T-shirt from me after paying for it. Just ask for the link to my Carousell account.

Maybe it is time we all embrace the rainbow symbol for what it embodies — hope.

That used to be a political rallying cry in Malaysia but it seems that until we find, and seize that hope for ourselves, it will die beneath a pile of unsold imported watches.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.