Why Don’t We Speak Up More on Political Articles?

Ammu brought this matter to attention in one of her recent posts, and frankly, she is right. In general, she asks why do we generally not comment on “sensitive” issues that deal with all the poli-tikus shit. The hits shoot up whenever such posts are made, but the comments generally stay well below a decent level. Thus, I would also like to ask, as in her words, “Why no one is speaking up? Afraid? Oh come on! Bloggers are not timid creatures!! Bloggers advocate free speech, and that’s what I expect of everyone here”.

Ammu had just highlighted one of the many “silent” issues affecting us Malaysians. Let us concentrate on the tech savvy, like you and me who scour the blogosphere and MalaysiaKini and Malaysia-Today for our dose of Malaysian realism. Forget the ones who aren’t computer literate or the ones who simply do not care. The fact that you have come over to this part of cyberspace to read about my 2 cents is enough to say that you care, to say the least. I am myself not perfect, as I do not always comment on all posts. This is what that made me think.

I also do understand that it it not your obligation to comment. Yes. Commenting is purely on based on your opinion of the matter. All that I am wondering is that, WHY?! Are we afraid that we would be slammed behind bars? Are we just plain ignorant? Or is it that this blog isn’t too much of a popular one for you to scribble some of your thoughts? Forgive me, but don’t you agree that this is something to talk about? I know this is not a pressing matter to be attended to ASAP, but isn’t it an issue nevertheless?

Onto the political ramblings. I have a friend (let us call her V-Girl), who is extremely displeased that I write such stuff. She groans everytime I post such ramblings of sensitive issues. V-Girl doesn’t understand why I would wanna berate the government or the national policies. When I tell V-Girl that I just want to voice up, she rolls her eyes.

Let me be honest. I am not satisfied with the current state of affairs among the Indian community. I want a reform in standards. I write about asking for an equal chance to shine. I write about my wish for a fair policy system where every citizen can contribute his/her part to make sure we develop as a country, not as a single race. V-Girl doesn’t like the idea of voicing up. In her words: “Who do you want to rule the country? PAS? DAP? keADILan? Can you imagine what would happen? Let us be quiet with what little that we have. We can’t change it. We have to submit to them. It is our fate.”

Do you see the problem here? It is called ignorance. Ignorant to the fact that we should realise that everyone should be given a chance for fair play. She is afraid that speaking up will destroy her life. I admit that I am not Gandhi or Mandela. I am not prepared to spend my life in jail while leaving my family in tatters. But I do want to join hands and HOPE for the best for all of us. When hope crumbles, what else do we humans have left?

V-Girl thinks that I am anti-government. Many people actually still do. To be clear, I am not. I believe in the democratical structure and the power of the government to safeguard it’s people. But I have lost my belief in the current government. I do not say that I want this party or that party to come into power. All I want is for the right person to come up to lead the people, not crush them. The reason I condemn and not support the current establishment is that they have betrayed the trust the people had given them.

Thus, going back to the subject at hand, I ask again: Why do we comment or discuss less? Perhaps my site is not as good as Malaysia-Today and I am not like RPK (no offence to you, sir), therefore commenting on my site and other lesser known sites would not do much to help increase your traffic and subsequently your PR status. If that is the case, then perhaps we bloggers should keep shut in the 1st place. But there maybe other reasons that have escaped my eyes, and maybe you could help enlighten me and other readers.

When I see that we Malaysians had marched hand-in-hand in Putrajaya and Dataran Merdeka, I am proud to say that there is still MUCH hope for unity and freedom of speech. When we can show it by marching, why can’t we show it by writing more and discussing more?

Evil prevails when good men fail to act. They was said a long time ago. Yuri Orlov begs to differ. He thinks that all we should say is “Evil Prevails”. I agree. Period.