YOURSAY | ‘It is used to brainwash the majority who swallow it hook, line, and sinker.’

COMMENT | What is hate speech in Malaysia?

Apa pun boleh: Malaysian politics thrives on hate speech against minorities. It is used to brainwash the majority who seems to swallow it hook, line, and sinker.

It worked to keep Umno/BN in power for six decades and it is the main strategy of the Perikatan Nasional 2R (race and religion) extremists to keep its green wave states intact and to make inroads into Pakatan Harapan/BN territories.

The irony is the ruling Harapan/BN coalition will not clamp down on hate speech because it fears spooking the majority that has been indoctrinated with 2R supremacist ideology.

While the BN/Harapan holds power on the strength of its non-Malay support, it is subservient to the majority and keeps appeasing them by not clamping down on hate speech merely to hold on and prevent further defection of its Malay base.

This is the underlying concoction of the so-called ‘social contract’ that is designed to oppress/silence the non-Malays from voicing their legitimate rights or raising any issues that are seen as spooking the Malays.

This is the standing testimony of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s reproach to the Indian student’s concern about the unfairness and injustice of the quota system in the education sector, where the meritorious performance of a non-Malay must give way to mediocrity in the name of race and religious supremacy.

Proarte: We just need to use common sense if we want to avoid hate speech. The social contract that Anwar referred to in his ‘hate’ speech to the Indian student does not exist.

The mythical social contract is the ruling Malay elite’s convenient and self-serving notion that non-Malays have bought into accepting a second-class status and subservient role in society, in exchange for receiving citizenship at the time of Merdeka.

Any reasonable and decent human being would reject the idea of discrimination, apartheid, and privilege based on one’s race and religion, but this is what the social contract wants to propagate.

The social contract is the antithesis of reformasi. There was a palpable sense of betrayal felt by civil society when Anwar talked about the social contract because it was essentially an endorsement of Mahathirism (former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s political ideology).

Our political system is not premised on good governance and universal human values but on self-serving power. The notion of reformasi, Madani, critical thinking, and statements like Semua Anak Kita (They are all our children) are merely the paraphernalia of political deception.

A153: “The problem here in Malaysia is that hate speech is difficult to define”. I disagree. The problem is not the difficulty in defining hate speech.

The problem is selective persecution and the legitimisation of certain hate speech depending on the target of that speech.

It is clear as day to any rational person what constitutes hate speech. But in Malaysia, hate speech is accepted, even condoned, depending on the target of the hate speech.

Chinese, Indians, Jews, Christianity, Hindus, Judaism, LGBT, and liberals, among others. There are too many and these are all fair game.

So, it is not the definition of hate speech that is the problem. It is the double standard. It is the accepted bigotry and mainstreamed prejudice by the majority that legitimises hate speech against certain groups.

Milshah: Sometimes I wonder if there was any difference when you changed from an Umno-led government to a PKR-led government.

I’ve seen so many of these types of writings post-GE15. Complaints about NEP (New Economic Policy), quotas in education and government positions, the social contract, government bailouts, and the use of sedition laws continued despite a change of government.

These are all old issues and PKR, DAP, and Amanah have pledged to resolve these issues if they rule. And yet the complaints continue.

Let me illustrate. Suppose your car has a flat tyre. So, you complain and complain. The driver at the time was BN. Your complaints did not have any impact. You complain if you don’t change the driver, this car is going to break down. So, you go through an election to change the driver.

You managed to change the driver to PKR. Now PKR and gang have pledged to fix the flat tyre, which they did not. So, is the problem the flat tyre or the driver? The problem is the driver. You already talked about flat tyres for 66 years, everyone knows it’s a problem.

But nobody wants to complain about the driver. Why is that? And yet you still complain about the tyre. How to resolve if you only know how to complain when you are unable to identify why the problem is still not resolved even after a change of government?

BlueBisson5210: Just do not tell me I am a pendatang (foreigner) and ask me, “Bila nak balik China?” (When do you want to return to China?). It is as basic as that.

Malaysia is my tanah air (homeland) and I have the same rights to be here, and to work hard for the progress of the country, as anyone else who is a Malaysian.

A Better Malaysia: For some first generation of ‘migrants’ with IC (identity cards), this is tanah air but they question those who have been here for generations who built the country with sweat and blood.

Divisiveness was the creation of our political masters which was advantageous to them to amass wealth while the less economically inclined political opportunists found a religious angle.

The narratives are now outdated with the change in population composition, but they still have traction with the masses.

FairPlay: Generally, hate speech has two parts. One, it touches on matters relating to race, language, and religion with the intent to divide the rakyat.

Two, by and large, hate speech (or implied hate speech) is generally made by politicians for political mileage and purposes.

Finally, the rakyat knows which groups often use hate speech to divide the rakyat.

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