Of dissenting opinions and views
Sometimes, voicing dissent on issues is a healthy way to express one’s thoughts and opinions.
This is what we call exercising the right to freedom of speech in a democratic country like Malaysia. But dissent needs to be expressed at the right place and time.
It must be done with some respect, taking into consideration the different races and ethnic groups in this blessed country.
What is dissent, really? It is an unwillingness to cooperate with an established source of authority, which can be social, cultural or governmental.
A nation is like a pool with crystal-clear water. When someone throws a huge boulder into it, the water overflows and turns murky. At the same time, it creates a huge splash and, subsequently, a ripple. The splash and ripple can affect everyone, whether they like it or not.
Using this simple analogy — the splash here is the story, creating a ripple which can alter and affect people’s emotions.
At the Malay Dignity Congress held in Shah Alam recently, a member of parliament urged the government to appoint only Muslims for top administrative positions. It is totally inappropriate because we live in a plural society with diverse cultural and religious beliefs.
It does not make sense to stick to such a resolution when the majority believes otherwise. What do we do with the human capital of brilliant non-Muslims in the country who can help the prime minister steer the country into becoming a highincome economy? Shared prosperity, I believe, encompasses shared responsibility and shared emotional intelligence.
The MP’s proposal will take us backwards in time and make the country a laughing stock in the international community.
And then there is the stunt by a Universiti Malaya graduate who held up a manila paper placard after receiving his scroll at the university’s dignified graduation ceremony recently, demanding the resignation of the vice-chancellor. He called the vice-chancellor a racist for allowing the university to be the joint organiser of the Malay Dignity Congress. It was a brazen stunt, but I would say he picked the wrong avenue to vent his anger and frustration.
It is indeed a rude awakening to witness the insolence shown by the young man exhibiting his indifference at an official ceremony.
From time to time, we encounter news or viral postings with dissenting views.
Everyone seems to want to say something, not realising their words can hurt another person and community.
In Parliament, there are always dissenting views. A case in point was a senator proposing an antiseduction law to charge women who wear seductive clothes in an effort to protect men from being “seduced” into committing sexual crimes. It is a silly episode of democracy in practice, but it is sad to see that there are men who still see women as second class citizens.
In this digitised age, a road rage incident can be grossly exaggerated and turned into a sensational racial issue when it is about the drivers’ mistakes and human foibles. Even the learning of khat in schools has been deliriously debated. It appears everyone wants to comment on so-called injustices in the country.
Dissenting opinions can create a chain reaction within the community and threaten the delicate balance of harmony in the country.
One chain reaction is the waning of trust between the communities. Distrust and suspicion seems to be eating up even rational-minded citizens. We appear to have lost decency, civility and rationality when it comes to race relations in a plural society.
The catchphrase “unity in diversity” is fast becoming just a slogan. Whether we like it or not, our society is a polarised one. Due to continued distrust and suspicions that have somewhat lingered in our hearts and minds, we are now seeing people of different communities treating each other with indifference. It is sad to see this happening to us. Today, Muslims are arguing among themselves about righteousness in Islam that takes them nowhere but into bottomless pits of animosity.
We need to climb out from the dark labyrinth of distrust quickly before hatred consumes us. We cannot allow negative dissenting views to influence us. We need to ignore rabble-rousers who appear in the form of “dream merchants” within our community with their dissenting opinions and views about how the country should be run and administered.
We need to tell these dream merchants and detractors that if they don’t like it, they always have the opportunity to exercise their rights in the next general election.
C’est la vie.