COMMENT No one should say things that hurt others just because they are in a position to do so or think they have the impunity to offend.
We are told that about two million Malaysians, mostly Chinese, have left Malaysia in the past four decades and it is not hard to understand why.
They have to bear not only with the hardships of life that everyone has to undergo but the unnecessary burden of those who have no consideration for them and treat them like punching bags.
They are the target of silly and unfair attacks by racist individuals and groups and are constantly reminded of the bloody riots of May 13, 1969 in films and political diatribe against them and are expected to face the barrage of offensive words lying down.
The political parties built on their ethnic base are supposed to stand up for them, and they do in extreme cases of insult, but often they make strange bedfellows with those whose political party harbours the offenders and lends credibility to what every Malaysian knows is a discriminatory government and from the mouths of some of their own leaders, rather “corrupt”.
Such is the state of the nation which markets itself as 'Truly Asia', meaning it promotes the diverse cultures in the country as in its enthusiastic tourism advertisements.
But advertorial copy is often far from the reality. The truth is the Malaysia we all love as a place for all is being destroyed by the careless words and unkind acts of those whose only means of political survival is to foment disorder and disunity.
Malaysians even see the auditor-general content to make his annual appearance with horror stories of public waste and indulgent corruption in the public sector and do nothing else more, but in recent times intrude into the political arena beyond his terms of reference to make unholy comments on the serving of pork in tourism events.
And what makes anyone think someone's meat won't be another's poison and that the serving of beef may offend many of our Hindu and some Buddhist friends? Why is it that only one group of people can be offended but not another?
Then there is this run-of-the-mill maverick who has the chutzpah to insist the Chinese ought to be grateful to the ' neo-tuan ', the Malay species of his ilk, because not every Malay thinks like he, who allow them to do business in the country.
And if anyone believes an iota of what these absurd, subversive and slanderous people say, what would become of plural and pleasant Malaysia? When was Malaysia, or Malaya before then, built on the backs of any singular race? Malaysia is a mosaic of many races and their contributions make the nation and no one has more rights than another to lay claim to any special position.
Still a nation of rational people
I am glad Malaysia is still a nation of rational people and not overrun by those who talk nonsense or belong in mental asylums.
The hope of the nation lies not in those who like to pull others down but appear silly as the social media and comments in blogs and online newspapers and letters to editors reveal.
Those who dig pits for others often fall in themselves. Malaysia was not built by ‘pullers’ but decent and hard-working people from everywhere who make use of the opportunities presented and make the most of their time here.
The suggestion that illegal migrants have caused landslides at Cameron Highlands has been rightly and judiciously criticised by Tenaganita, a human rights group that defends the defenceless refugees and workers.
In recent months I have worked with many from overseas in tedious jobs and found them a joy to work with. It saddens and also angers me when I see them being bullied. How ungrateful we are to bully and abuse those who have left loved ones to labour in a strange land.
I hope the contemptible exploitation of foreign workers will some day cease in not only Malaysia but other Asian countries. We should not allow our foreign workers to be cheated and abused by the vultures that masquerade as 'agents' and often con the desperate foreign workers of their hard-earned cash.
As the Nazis did in Hitler's Germany before the pogrom against the Jews, the Gestapo propaganda mill churned out lies that the Jews are to blame for Germany's economic hardships. What resulted is cruel history that stigmatised the German people for a long time even after the war.
Lies and more lies seem the order of the day in Malaysia these days and Malaysians are indebted to the online newspapers, foremost among them Malaysiakini, which still retains all the features of what a newspaper ought to be - factual and an avenue for dissenting ideas.
It is true, times have changed but why should they change us? Why should we be corrupt because corruption is endemic? We should instead turn the tables on the corrupt because God enables us to be overcomers.
I am disappointed I will not be able to attend Malaysiakini's 15th anniversary this Saturday as I still recall a memorable time at its 10th anniversary. I was honoured to sit beside author Kim Quek and ex- Malaysiakini news editor S Vicknesan at the dinner table.
Malaysiakini has achieved many milestones and the most amazing being the fact it is still publishing the news that matters today. In upholding the truth, Malaysiakini will never be overcome.
It is my hope that someday it will be a newspaper owned not by individuals or tycoons or a political party or even an NGO but one that belongs to every Malaysian. And I hope co-founders Steven Gan and Premesh Chandran and the loyal staff will be well-rewarded for their sacrifices and in not capitulating to the forces of greed and evil.
Not losing its verve for truth
A newspaper is only as good as its editors and journalists. What is a good paper today may be a bad paper tomorrow and that is why some newspapers have outlived their usefulness and succumb to commercial failure.
When Malaysiakini was young, it had youthful vibrancy and appeared a champion of change. Now older, it has not lost its verve for truth and the dissenting opinion never feels lost among its pages.
People dissent because they have reason to expose corruption and deplore those in power who can't seem to get things right because they and their policies are fundamentally wrong. Indeed, how can any good citizen condone corruption and lies?
Malaysiakini is helmed by two founding men Gan and Chandran who are good at what they do and do what is good. They know that Malaysia's future lies with upholding truth and justice and that is why Malaysiakini found a hardcore group of supporters from subscribers to writers who contribute to its ongoing success.
If it needs money, it only needs to ask its readers to respond. Crowd-funding has made it possible for Malaysiakini to survive and with adept financial management Malaysiakini's future looks bright.
I had a glimpse of what Gan ( right ) is like many years ago when I was in my car somewhere in Perth and perchance to listen to ABC Radio doing an interview with him.
At the time, Malaysiakini was ostracised by the government, in particular then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who himself when he was shunned by the mainstream media during Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s tenure as country leader had to find expression in the online media he had criticised.
Gan was most magnanimous in his answers to the interviewer and not once did I hear him paint Malaysia in a bad light. It was then I felt he and Malaysiakini had been unfairly victimised and over time more have rallied to Malaysiakini which remains a decent and fair newspaper that gives much press to even its once arch-critic Mahathir himself.
Many would rather Malaysiakini sound like an opposition newspaper but I think as any newspaper matures and tries to survive in the real world, it has to be commercially savvy without compromising its ethos and own mission for justice and will have to be more balanced.
That Malaysiakini now carries a relatively high dosage of government news and opinions may be bitter medicine for diehard anti-government types to swallow and that is understandable but salt does not have to be abundant to be salty and efficacious.
"Faithful are the wounds of a friend and deceitful the kisses of an enemy," is a sound proverb from the wisdom of King Solomon, and the noble citizen will always act and say things that itching ears don't want to hear but nevertheless will be good for the sake of the nation.
Malaysiakini is the noble media citizen in being a publication of truth and being a leader, and the government is to be commended for its tolerance of an online newspaper that does it no favours.
If the government can take the bold step of abolishing the Sedition Act, dropping the charges against all those charged, and standing up to criticisms without trying to clamp down its critics and the opposition, there might still be hope yet for PM Najib Razak to redeem his besieged role as a leader.
A leader leads justly and decisively but a coward capitulates to expediency and a tyrant resorts to repressiveness.
Malaysia needs leadership and Malaysiakini has indeed led the way among Malaysian media in the past 15 years.
STEVE OH is author and composer of the novel and musical ‘Tiger King of the Golden Jungle’.
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