Knowledge is power

But Malaysians disconnect to connect

MALAYSIANS are romancing their gadgets, which is a good thing because we are embracing technology in the best possible way. But how much knowledge is derived from that?

For instance, how many Malaysians, the young in particular, can cite the names of nine menteris besar of Johor, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak, Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang, Kedah and Perlis? Rarely do we see Malaysians today huddle around a television at coffee shops or mamak eateries (except during football matches or the Premier League) waiting for some announcement of policy from our leaders — the scene is unlike the days of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s or even the early to mid-1990s.

A senior journalist recounted when he was in Standard Six, he participated in a quiz in which he was asked for the old name of Kota Kinabalu, and he had answered, Jesselton. How many of our young know that now? Or that Indonesian president Sukarno died in 1970? The same journalist had sketched Sukarno on his deathbed with the text “Presiden Indonesia meninggal dunia” (Indonesian president dies), a routine exercise during Peristiwa (history) class.

Technology-wise, Malaysians are more knowledgeable now, but their “knowledge” is confined to specifics and particular areas of interest. Content like government policies and decisions, speeches and statements is alien, and to an extent, boring. They can communicate, for sure, but their platform is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or the blogsphere, where “pure” knowledge is mentioned in passing or as references.

That a deputy minister who recently died of a heart attack was attending to his constituents two hours earlier suggests that there are functioning wakil rakyat and members of the administration rushing to events and getting things done, but Malaysians are blissfully unaware. There is no audience, the nation speaks only to near-empty classrooms. Only a handful are tuning in to the goings-on of the nation. It’s bizarre, surreal even, especially when one compares the baby boomers and Generation X (1946-1980) with millennials and post-millennials (1981-to present). The sense of disconnect is real, and the shrunken media is a reason for this. How do we address it? Knowledge is a wonderful thing and the beauty of it is no one can take it away from us once we’ve acquired it. Knowledge is power and information is liberating, the late Kofi Annan (former United Nations secretary-general) once said.

We need a marketing guru, or a key opinion leader the likes of the late Datuk Mahadzir Lokman, a former television icon and personality. Mahadzir, who died last year, was conversant in close to 10 languages, knowledgeable in many spheres of interest, including a guru in broadcast journalism. He was able to reach out to the masses, and was a much sought-after emcee at functions, both locally and internationally, as well as at social, corporate and government events. Or former New Straits Times journalist Fabian Dawson, who recently became the first Asian to win Canada’s top journalism award.

The salvation is, most decidedly, a stronger Press.

Technologywise, Malaysians are more knowledgeable now, but their ‘knowledge’ is confined to specifics and particular areas of interest.