FEAR FACTOR

I am beginning to believe that the FEAR FACTOR is getting into the head of our leaders. Why do I say this? Now, just look at how the Home Ministry acted against anything being written, that they think is adverse and can discredit the government. Bersih is already a dirty word regardless of the colour it is being written and writing such a word can land one in trouble with the law. What if someone decides to write the word the other way round i.e. hisreB and have it looked in front of a mirror. Will that word be dirty as well?

I heard someone say that we practice a true form of democracy (whatever that means), and the ability to express and to pen ones thought, I think is a right that is enshrined in our constitution. But if there is an imposition in exercising such rights, then I can say that we are not truly democratic; rather we are behaving like some communist regimes that even fear its own shadow. And by the way, communism is no longer in vogue these days. Even Russia and China has abandoned that ideology. So what kind of communism is Nazri Aziz referring to………the Chin Peng model or the Karl Marx model?

Now look at what the Home Ministry had done to an article titled ‘Taken to the Cleaners’ that was a report about the Bersih rally in The Economist magazine. They stupidly ordered the distributors to censor portions that they (Home Ministry) think are adverse to the government, and do they not know that the uncensored copies can be obtained elsewhere. Just imagine the thousands of copies that had to be censored and isn’t there better things to do for the ministry’s officials? What a waste of effort and time. Now what one needs to do is surf the internet and one can read the entire portion that was censored. And don’t they know that with the advancement in internet technology, an entire book can be found and read in the internet.

I remembered early last year a book titled the ‘Malaysian Maverick’ written about Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed by Barry Wain was banned for distribution in this country. When I heard the book was banned, that at once arouse my interest to know why the book was banned. I only need to make a call to Singapore and within a few days; a copy was at my doorstep. Having read it, there is nothing controversial written, and it took Tun Dr. Mahathir himself to say that there is nothing wrong about the book. So you see how silly can the authorities be when the book was finally released for sale. Was there a rioting? Was there the burning of shops that were selling the book? Was the author banned from coming into this country? Nothing really happened and surprisingly, the book became so popular that more copies had to be printed, and this made Tun Dr. Mahathir an instant super star. I suppose Tun Dr. Mahathir must have enjoyed what was written about him.

And this takes me to how the authorities had questioned the national laureate Pak Samad Said over a poem he recited about Bersih. Even reciting a poem can be censored, and yet we claim to be practicing a true form of democracy. And look, what has the government made of this man? From someone so mild and passive to someone who is angry. He say that he will no longer be accepting any invitation from the government. I think in the minds of the authorities, a poem can incite violence and my question is, has there been an instant in our national history that a poem had caused the people to riot?

My advice to the authorities is to wake up to the realities of this modern world, and the more you inhibit the FEAR FACTOR, the more stupid you will be looked at by all like-minded people.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION