From Martin Vengadesan
I could be wrong but I am inclined to believe that the natural evolution of civilisations and societies is from feudal monarchies to republics. From theocratic administrations to secular ones.
In that context, I might stand at odds with some of the basic tenets of our own Rukun Negara.
I strongly believe you can love your country and aspire to serve it, and yet have independent views on government, religion, royalty, sexuality, race and other such delightful focal points of diversity.
Surely the point is to advocate rationally on behalf of your belief system? Not to dictate and impose. Not to suppress and marginalise. And most certainly not to whip up a frenzy of hatred against the “other” to such an extent that it spills over into segregation and violence.
As such, clamping down on freedom of speech, dissent and reasoned discussion is not the way forward. Indeed, I am reminded of the adage that “when books are burnt, men will follow’”, if Heinrich Heine will forgive me for the clumsy paraphrasing.
Nothing works better for control of the masses than blind faith in institutionalised religious worship.
And indeed, many advances in scientific understanding were condemned and forbidden by religious authorities, including the supposed heretical heliocentric hypotheses of Copernicus and Galileo.
How on earth can we progress if every good idea is subject to being sidelined and quashed by the status quo?
Please don’t take that to mean that every idea or narrative that challenges the establishment is necessarily valid – because I do know some people who fall into that trap.
It is clear that there needs to be some system in place to quell deliberate misinformation and hate speech. Therein lies the dilemma.
In today’s Malaysia, we labour under the legacy of a repressive past. From television censorship to the shutting down of free press when the political climate got heated in the early 1960s and its Ops Lalang counterpoint.
As someone who largely grew up overseas, I was surprised to find that the political books that I first bought, by DAP’s Fan Yew Teng and PSRM’s Syed Husin Ali, had been banned and censored, and yet carelessly left on the shelves at mainstream bookstores.
That is why I was triggered when I came across a minor attempt to downplay Tash Aw’s new book “The South”.
It had already been nominated for a Booker Prize, and yet someone saw fit to sideline the book from a display.
I’m tired of raids on bookshops, seizure of literature, and even investigations into subversiveness of cover art. As for satire, even the prime minister himself has endorsed our right to express critiques in such fashions, and yet there are arms of government and law enforcement that don’t budge.
If you whisper “deep state”, I won’t quibble.
We can be among the best in the world. From writing to science to food to sports – Malaysians can do it. What we need is a healthy ecosystem and the right support that rewards innovation.
Not more suppression of one of our basic rights.
Martin Vengadesan is a former editor who currently serves as a strategic communications consultant to the communications ministry.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
