“Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.”

- Napoleon Bonaparte

COMMENT Once again, the same script is recycled.

It is a storyline that has surfaced on an intermittent basis for more than a decade. Each remake comes with a new director and producer.

The cast again consists of extras and those on the fringes of fame or power, hoping that their performance would capture the attention of certain people who would reward them with a more prominent role in future.

The opening scene starts with a certain newspaper (read: Utusan Malaysia ) publishing a series of attacks, with its focus being on the source of funding of Malaysiakini .

A slew of forgettable characters then rehash the same accusations of spin and the peddling of falsehoods, which first made their rounds during the era of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Ironically, the same newspaper has been accused of similar misdeeds. But of course, that is of no consequence for this is, after all, a B-grade production with the sole motive of vilification.

In between the drama, a comedian is introduced to provide comic relief.

Flanked by his sidekicks, he marches with a memorandum in hand to a certain government department, demanding that action be taken.

The comedian is one of those who remain clueless about the concept of patriotism, taking all criticisms against ruling politicians as acts of treason.

Unfortunately, some of these self-appointed vanguards of parliamentary democracy under Section 124B of the Penal Code do not possess the faintest clue of what it means or represents.

It appears that Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had also scaled the political hierarchy without this essential basic knowledge, since he has asked the police to probe an ambitious old man purportedly engineering a no-confidence vote against the prime minister.

For their reference, Encyclopedia Britannica defines parliamentary democracy as thus:

“A democratic form of government in which the party (or a coalition of parties) with the greatest representation in the parliament (legislature) forms the government, its leader becoming prime minister or chancellor.

“Executive functions are exercised by members of the parliament appointed by the prime minister to the cabinet. The parties in the minority serve in opposition to the majority and have the duty to challenge it regularly.

“The prime minister may be removed from power whenever he loses the confidence of a majority of the ruling party or of the parliament.”

The brick wall

Later, expect the Jews, Christians, CIA and perhaps even Colonel Sanders to be roped into this grand cloak-and-dagger plot, along with a slew of police reports lodged.

Packs of cybertroopers would be unleashed, leaving behind a devastating trail of appalling grammar and obtuse propaganda.

Though the issue of Malaysiakini funding has been explained numerous times, it is rehashed time and again to serve a particular agenda.

Never mind that the news portal is forced to rely on a subscription-based model in the absence of well-heeled financiers, and like the prime minister, has to seek ‘donations’ to purchase a new building.

But unlike the PM, those who ‘donated’ are mostly Malaysians, not foreigners, and their names are displayed on a brick wall at Malaysiakini’s new headquarters.

Yet, the same people who defended the prime minister against calls to reveal the source of his ‘foreign donation’, would demand that the portal to come clean on its finances.

The battle of perception is won with intelligent arguments, facts and figures. It cannot be secured by vile threats, suspension orders and by blocking access to websites.

On the contrary, stringent measures will serve to cement the negative perception towards the powers-that-be and lend credence to the belief that it is desperate to conceal certain truths.

The suppression of views has no room in a government that espouses transformation, for such tactics are employed by oppressive regimes that believe silencing dissent, muzzling the press and curtailing freedom are the only means for political survival.

Times have changed. The people have evolved. Unfortunately, our politicians have not.

RK ANAND is a member of the Malaysiakini Team.