Politics of Fear

The Malaysian government runs on fuel propelled by politics of fear. They plant fear into the hearts of every Malaysian citizen so as to keep us voting for them. For if the country does fall into opposition's hands, as they say, all hell would break lose. Malaysia would be in total chaos. And heck, we don't want that.

But is it actually true? Is it really true that hell would break lose if Anwar were to make it into Putrajaya? Is he really planning to sell our beloved country to the US?


Be afraid, be very afraid!! That's always been the motto for our government for the good part of 51 years of independence. Why go for another government if this government is still ok? It's not like we're living in a backwards nation of some sorts. Hey, we used to have the tallest building in the world, you know! And in KLIA (even though rather empty), we own one of the biggest and most beautiful airports you could find. The Sepang circuit, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, man into space, bla...bla.. The list of our achievements just goes on. We have had our moments in history. So why root for a change when it is obvious we are living in a moderate, developing and comfortable country as it is today?

But than again, all this is just too familiar. I've heard commotions similar to these before. Ahh, now I remember. I read these almost same exact lines from my secondary school history books. Yes, true indeed. Have they forgotten that some half a decade ago, these were the same exact lines that came out of people who didn't want independence from the British? People who would rather stay safe and sound in the hands of the British rather than run a government of their own. People who were too afraid to change, to move on, too selfish, and were all too comfortable living in their own comfort zones. Luckily we had people who cared back then, people like Tun Abd Rahman, Dato' Onn Jaafar, and Dr. Burhanuddin Al-Helmy. Later UMNO was formed, and with that, the Alliance Party, and together they 'fought' hand in hand to gain independence from British. UMNO back then was brave, intelligent, and sincere. But, ironically and sadly, it is the same party that is now sitting back too comfortably, selfish, and plain ignorant.How things change..


I remember attending a dinner by Yayasan Terengganu a month ago intended for overseas students who were back home for the summer and basically, it was an 'ada udang disebalik batu' kinda thing. After the dinner (luckily I left the room) all they did was campaign against Anwar's proposed revolution. This Exco Pendidikan guy gave the speach, and one of his many ridiculous points I heard was (and I quote), "Anwar is doing nothing more than selling the country to the US. And the US, as they are, will never want to see any other country develope. So, if Anwar does succeed in his mission to become they next PM, Malaysia will be in total chaos. And you guys studying overseas, I heavily doubt will be able to come back to Malaysia. The government (amid the destruction) will have no money to take you guys back. Now I hardly believe that anyone out that is gonna buy that, but what irritates me, besides the lousy food they served in the hotel, is the hypocritical stance the government is taking. They tell students not to get involved in politics, to stay away from it, and to those who fail to oblige will be dealt with seriously,i.e. sponsorship stripped etc. Then again, they're the ones giving out those 'free dinners'.

And this whole ISA thing? Yup, just another tactic to struck fear in people's hearts.


The recent arrest of Raja Petra, Teresa Kok, and the Chinese reporter, Tan Hoon Cheng demonstrates just that. All of the above were detained under ISA for spreading/reporting racial comments to the media. Home Minister, Dato' Hamid Albar later claimed that Tan Hoon's arrest (under ISA) was more of a safety measurement taken because she had recieved death treats. You can however read the 18 hour ISA detainee's experience here. Dato' Ahmad Ismail, former Bukut Bendera UMNO division chief wasn't arrested after claiming that the Chinese were merely 'penumpang' in Malaysia, as he had already been punished by UMNO. Don't get me wrong, but arresting somebody under ISA to 'protect' the them seems absurd (read here) and not arresting another for the same violations seems pilih kasih.

Surely people would think twice before ever daring to go against the government. Or is it? After these recent arrest, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim resigned from his post as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department as a sign of protest against the ISA. Now that's really brave and well worth noting. He stood by his stance and belief even though the it would've been so much easier to just keep quite. He was, by all means, already a minister! So what's next for Zaid? We'll see.

So that's that. Malaysian's fear factor is the government itself. So let's rid of it, shall we? And if it does turn out that this newly proposed government is worse than the one we currently have, we can always repent come 4 years. Come on, there's nothing to lose!