What Caused the Malaysian Earthquake?

Picture from BBC Website with thanks
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33090576

An earthquake occurred, on June 5, in Malaysia.  That is an undisputed fact.

It occurred because of ‘naked’ tourists.

This, however, is a debatable inference.

An inference which, I think, one must make, or take, with a pinch of salt.

Ten trekkers who stripped and posed nude on Mount Kinabalu - Malaysia’s highest peak - on May 30, are now being accused of angering sacred spirits up there.

Because, in less than a week after their stripping incident, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck the region where the mountain stands.

The police identified five of the accused - and arrested at least two of them - to prevent them from leaving the country, after pictures spread on social media.

The arrests are made on grounds of obscenity and public nudity and, presumably, also to protect the tourists from some furious Malaysians.

The epicentre of this earthquake, which took 18 lives, is just 54 kilometres from Mt. Kinabalu. So, the anger of the tribal people who live around there, I believe, is somewhat justified.

Even though, I might agree, the logic and rationale for deducing the cause of the earthquake is somewhat out-of-place.

When one considers the fact that the tribes around there believe that their ancestors’ spirits inhabit Mount Kinabalu, one cannot easily rubbish their indignation.

When one considers the fact that this tourist group  - of six men and four women who took clothes off, for photos - was told by a tour-guide to stop stripping, and that the group's response was “Go to hell”, one cannot simply ridicule the Malaysian resentment.

Going starkers  on mountain top - stripping off from even their bare necessities - may seem unusually liberating and powerfully exhilarating to certain passionate mountain climbers.

But it reeks of completely irreverence, and utter insolence. Especially to those who’ve grown accustomed to honouring that mountain-place.

Connecting the stripping of clothes to the occurrence of the earthquake may seem completely weird and absolutely unscientific.

But so does the bizarre obsession of some -- to take off their clothes, click a few nude-pictures and share them online!

Serves them right, is what some people are saying. They should know how to respect the Malaysian culture, some others are saying.

Angering ancient spirits evokes dangerous phenomena, like these earthquakes, say some spiritists who still thrive among us.

It took my thoughts to an old 1969 western ‘MacKenna’s Gold’, which I had recently watched again.

In that movie, the Apache believe that hidden in "Canyon del Oro" is a fortune in gold, guarded by Apache spirits which should not be angered.

The greed of the white men, and of the younger generation of Apache, eventually makes the Apache spirits to cause an earthquake. Or that is what we are led to assume.

But let us come back to the topic in the news. Of those Malaysian courts deliberating now on the fate of the arrested ‘nudists’.

And while we are at it, it may be a good time for us to revisit the old wisdom -- of respecting others’ cultures and belief systems. Even if they are not in line with ours.

Today, we have begun to embrace freedom and welcome individuality to such extremes that, sometimes, accommodating to conservative sentiments has become intolerable.

We have grown to mock traditionalism to such extremes that we are overlooking the dangers of irresponsible liberalism.

Despite globalization, and widespread knowledge and wisdom, it must be understood that cultures are significantly different.

And what is good for the geese need not always be good for the gander.

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