Truth and Illusion

0

I’ve been urged recently by, I’m sure, a well-meaning reader to write about what he considers to be pressing issues, such as graduate unemployment and ‘the presence of so many illegals in this country.’

Unfortunately, just as I was about to consider such issues, our great (not-so-white) hope, the PM, went and distracted me by announcing on the eve of Malaysia Day that the much-condemned Internal Security Act (ISA) would be repealed and that the equally-odious Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) would be, shall we say, modified.

Of course declarations such as these don’t come everyday. Indeed, one fawning blogger went so far as to dub it ‘Najib Razak’s Moment’.

Well, it very well might turn out to be. In Bolehland virtually anything can – and does – happen.

But before we start popping the champagne – and risk getting arrested by JAIS if you are a Muslim in Selangor – I think we need to soberly decipher the declaration.

First, a declaration often is nothing more than a statement of intent. And this declaration, even if coming from the PM, is really no different. The law still needs to be repealed and that is not going to happen overnight. And, of course, the PM alone cannot repeal a law.

But needless to say, promises made need to honourably fulfilled and, surely, as quickly as possible? Especially if made by our PM. And, I wonder, will those ISA detainees who lost their liberty – without being tried in court – be compensated?

Second, there is a need for us to remember that the PM also declared that two new laws would be introduced to replace the ISA.

Two for one? I’m not sure how that translates into something ‘transformative’ or indicating ‘reform’, but I’m probably just being a Doubting Thomas at best and, at worst, an eternal killjoy.

Be that as it may, events since 2008, promises made and promises broken, numerous u-turns and flip-flops, all have made Malaysians, especially the middle-class who appear more concerned now about human rights issues, rather cautious about grand proclamations.

Indeed, many of the more-intelligent blogs and bloggers appear to be adopting this sceptical approach to such declarations. Some present and former journalists also, in response to the PM’s declaration, have even indicated, quite rightly, that the proposed amendments to the PPPA are neither revolutionary nor transformative.

Instead, for them, it is nothing more than going back to the 1980s. To a time before the amendments of 1987 to the PPPA, when publishing and printing licences were renewable yearly (as is being proposed now) instead of the need for outfits like newspapers to apply for a new licence every year (as is the case now).

And, of course, we need to remember that, even if the proposed amendments to the PPPA becomes a reality, the ministry issuing the licences can still remove them if it wants to.

Sure, what’s being proposed is better than what’s currently on paper, but you must admit that it’s all hardly revolutionary and doesn’t diminish the power of the state or that it legally expands press freedom.

Much ado? I hope not.

In the meantime, let me get back to the request of the kind, admonishing reader I mentioned at the beginning of this piece.

Just as we were celebrating Malaysia Day, basking in the glow of newly declared freedoms the likes of which we had not experienced since our British protectors confusingly enabled us to declare Independence in 1957, one popular and quite credible news portal broke this story of immigrant workers from a South Asian country.

Stories of immigrants workers in Malaysia, of course, are a dime a dozen, often, sadly, racist in nature. But this one, allegedly coming from a website linked to the (un) said country’s PM’s office, claims that thousands of the country’s workers in Malaysia are being offered citizenship and the right to vote.

This revelation comes, of course, at a time when similar allegations, often backed by hard evidence, are being made of non-nationals and even phantoms being on the electoral rolls. We don’t see many of these stories in our newspapers, of course, especially given that the promised press reforms, such as they are, are still to be implemented. I’m sure once this happens brave journalists will rocket out of the woodwork, courageously investigating these and other ‘hot’ stories.

Nonetheless, while we are waiting for Godot, perhaps it wouldn’t be impertinent for some of us, possibly in the media, to ask the relevant authorities to check this out?  I remember a former PM – who still lurks in the shadows – once declaring a 70 million population policy for Malaysia .

We are not quite half-way there, but I’m not sure if granting instant citizenship to any Tom, Dick or Ali is quite the right thing to do.

Whatever the short term gains for certain parties.