culture of fear

today i am going to CnP a post from joe-blogs. read the post below to find out who was joe. this post of his was dated 20 sept. 2003. it was written in response to one of his commenter who apparently wasn’t too happy that he spoke out against the govt. esp. on controversial issue. i can relate to this post because i know there are some bloggers or simply readers who did comment in such a way of how i blog. e.g. one said something like this “what is the point of speaking up in your blog when you can’t change anything?” er… methink s/he used ‘ranting’ instead of ‘speaking’. and one caution me not to write so much stuffs against the govt. as s/he was being oh so nice to watch out for me, don’t want me to land in trouble.

also, in the light of this bumi’s equity issue which is the current hot topic, this post of joe, culture of fear is kind of relevant. to quote from him:

We cannot continue to be a society gagged by the thought that what we have to say might upset someone in power.[..]

From another perspective, we are also told to be silent by the people who shout the loudest. I believe that Malaysians in general are a tolerant people, not easily offended by “deviations” and eccentricities of our fellow citizens. But we generally remain silent in the face of outrageous statements by outraged people who claim to be our moral guardians. Anything that is remotely religious, is taboo. Question not, or you will be condemned to the very depths of Hell.

how very true it applies to the bumi’s equity hoo-haa! ok, i’m going to shut up now and let you read his post in full (which can be found here too) and you judge for yourself what a brillant post it was.

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Culture of Fear

Posted by Joe @ 4:59 AM Saturday, September 20, 2003

There was an interesting comment made on my posting titled Supandi’s Scheme Scrutinised. Ezzad Farqhan wrote, “preferably some of your more controversial opinions on the Govt should not be expressed. After all they’re just 1 person’s opinion.”

Ezzad is of course entitled to his opinion and I’m not going to go into that. What’s more interesting is the culture of fear that pervades Malaysian society and its effects on public debate. Coincidentally, last week, Marina Mahathir wrote about exactly this in her Musings column in The Star. Stunned by the public support for her earlier piece titled “Not always boleh”, Marina wrote “Speak freely”. I liked how Marina ended her column where she articulated what I have felt for a very long time. All I am trying to say is we must speak up when we feel something is not right.

I believe that there is a silent majority out there that does not even know it is a majority. By keeping silent, we allow a minority to rule.

One day, we may find that our lives might truly become miserable and we are so devoted to not speaking that we cannot change things.

Then, who would we have to blame?

We cannot continue to be a society gagged by the thought that what we have to say might upset someone in power. As Marina said, by keeping silent we allow a minority to rule. Those who abuse the public trust, depend on our silence. They nurture the notion that we should not rock the boat. Maintain the status quo, they say, as if any change will destroy our very way of life.

From another perspective, we are also told to be silent by the people who shout the loudest. I believe that Malaysians in general are a tolerant people, not easily offended by “deviations” and eccentricities of our fellow citizens. But we generally remain silent in the face of outrageous statements by outraged people who claim to be our moral guardians. Anything that is remotely religious, is taboo. Question not, or you will be condemned to the very depths of Hell.

When the people fear the government, that is tyranny. When the government fears the people, that is democracy. I remember reading that many years ago and I think more than anything, this statement has shaped my own thoughts and ideas about the kind of country that I want to live in. I believe that politicians have created this fear in our society. Fear, of what might happen to you if you voice dissent. Fear, of what they will do to you if you point out the corruption that blights our society. Fear, of racial violence and chaos if you do not return them to power.

Well, this “1 person” thinks that I shall not fear today. If a change must be made, it must begin with yourself. If you are ready to make changes in yourself then you should not demand it of others. A simple blog does not amount to much. But it is a start. Speak freely, because if you don’t, no one else will.

I remember standing before the Robert Kennedy memorial in Arlington Cemetery and reading the words on his simple monument. It came from a speech that he gave in South Africa in 1966, the year that I was born. He stood before the perpetrators of Apartheid and told them that their days were numbered. It took two decades before his prophetic words came to past, but the day of freedom eventually dawned and the darkness ended. “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest wall of oppression and resistance.”

That is why I blog.