I was sent this poster for Merdeka day…Today…31 August 2024
It is not a criticism of the poster and its good intentions, but the message does somewhat jar a bit.
Do we really have freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion? Think about it.
The poster says:-
i) Independence from colonialism
Really? Successive governments be it Umno-Baru BN or this Unity Madani administration are in truth, the new colonial powers.
Women are banned from certain sports and in football stadiums are designated special seating areas.
In some east coast states, cinemas are banned
We bully the East Malaysians and yet we take their oil money to build semenanjung infrastructure, schools and hospitals, and allow the Sarawak and Sabah interior to flounder.
The sedition law is still in operation and yet, the ones in power will say that the colonial Brits started it. Well hello, the Brits have been gone for over 6 decades and yet we still retain our sedition laws, but the Brits have got rid of theirs.
In other parts of the country, women have to keep a low profile, can’t dress how they want to, can’t hold hands with their boy friend etc. Most Malaysian women do not dress provocatively but the ulama classm are made up of misogynists. Few Malay women, because it is mostly Malay women who are affected and whom the ulama misogynists and closet misogynists who are also women, want to “control” them.
The three Rs hang over us like the Sword of Damocles. More on this another day…..
Then we have the rakyat who are non-Muslims who really must be very careful. They have to think twice before they do some things lest their ultra sensitive Muslim/Malay brothers get very upset.
Article 153 and the special position of the Malays. Really? isn’t this just another excuse to bully other races etc how long is this special position to last for? An eternity? I don’t see the other bumiputra people eg the Orang Asli and Orang Asal of east Malaysia, being helped much. Do you?
Then we have Article 11 which says that we have freedom of religion. Tell that to the people whose temples have been desecrated or single mothers like Indira Gandhi or Loh Swee Hong, whose children were kidnapped by their convert husbands and their children are not given the freedom to have their own religion but have what their fathers have decided to decide for them. Again, the mother is denied a say.
Then those quotas which limit smart hardworking non-Malay students from scholarships in public universities or even to overseas universities because of those quotas. Independence in 21st Malaysia does not take into account meritocracy.
Then there’s affirmative action or the institutionalised racism or apartheid system of Malaysia. We moan about the unfair racist policies of other nations but close one eye to ours.
ii) Independence from authoritarianism
Really? Our freedom of speech is curtailed. Most of those who speak their mind on some matters may find the police knocking on their doors. If politicians or MPs or certain individuals or NGOs take offence at what you say, they want to sue you etc.
So, tell me, 67 years after Merdeka, aren’t we becoming more of a police state?
It is not the nation we hoped that 67 years of independence would have achieved. We are regressing, with Ministers who get easily upset at what we, the rakyat say, about their performance, where allegedly the old Umno-Baru style of silencing the authorities’ critics is by paying cybertroopers to badmouth legitimate citizens voicing out their concerns, where lawsuits are dished out so easily, where intelligent discourse is discouraged.
If we demand accountability, and voice our concerns on social media, we may get a visit from the police or MACC or MCMC.
If we demand transparency, we get an explanation which is as jumbled up as mee goreng.
If we criticise the majority race or the Muslims who misterpret the true Islam, we get a barrage of abuse with threats to our physical self. And in some cases, molotoe cocktails, bomb threats, r0g0l threats are made and our IC and other personal details are leaked online. This latter cannot happen without the collusion of a governmental body or authority.
Or as one friend who lives overseas, said, “My parents get a visit from an islamic body and I am told to stop writing.”
He implied that his father’s business and reputation in the community, would be severely affected.
And if those in authority or in some NGOs get upset, they will call for a boycott? Really? Is this the best that they can think to resolve a particular impasse? Who does the boycott hurt most? Did they think of the consequences? No. They just want to be fast tracked to heaven. That’s the sorry state of some Malay Muslim thinking.
And have I told you that students too are affected when they study overseas. If they criticise the government, they are allegedly subject to threats that their scholarships may be revoked, and they will have to repay the government the money that has already been spent on them, that they will not secure jobs etc etc. So it appears that what happened during previos Umno-Baru BN administrations is still thriving today. Shame on the authorities.
Malaysia has become a nation where ampu bodek is the order of the day. Where the bootlickers and ampu-bodekers are selfish because they will listen to their paymasters rrequests, and hope for a gong (Datukship), or GLC position or head of some government affiliated body or a senatorship….Some of these ‘attack dogs’ hide behind the mask of so called respectability and pseudo academia….
The possibilities are endless.
Then again, the poster could well be a brilliant work of sarcasm.
What do you think?
Selamat Hari Merdeka.
NB: With apologies to the individuals behind the above poster but the words did seem to have a double meaning.
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