We are in an era where information can be easily accessed by a click of a button, thanks to the rapid advancement of information and communications technology.
And yet, our current government appears to still think that confiscating books, particularly communist-related ones, from bookshops is an effective way of dealing with communist ideology, apparently with the aim of stopping its perceived spread.
Ministry of Home Affairs officials recently confiscated eight books from independent bookstore Gerakbudaya. The books were written in Chinese and were related to the communist insurgency in Malaya.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail reportedly said the seizure was conducted based on supposed public complaints about the books’ contents violating the law.
Not too long ago, the ministry also made a similar move.
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In mid-August, the ministry seized two books from the Toko Buku Rakyat bookshop owned by local author Benz Ali in Kuala Lumpur.
The books, which are not even on the banned list, are Marx the Revolutionary Educator (Marx Sang Pendidik Revolusioner) written by Robin Smalls and Masturbation Poetry Collection (Koleksi Puisi Masturbasi) written by Benz himself.
Incidentally, communist-related books that are written in English seem to have escaped the government’s attention for reasons only best known to the ministry. One wonders whether the poor grasp of the English language among the people of Malaysia could be one of the reasons.
For a wider perspective, the ministry had last August banned Swatch watches with an LGBT theme and their related materials, including boxes, wrappers and accessories, under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
In 2015 the home minister at the time prohibited Bersih 4 yellow T-shirts.
Be that as it may, we would expect the “Madani” (caring and compassionate) administration and the ministry to not react in a knee-jerk manner to certain quarters making complaints about such printed materials.
In this particular case, a government supposedly informed by reformist ideals should be bold enough to break with past practices that were essentially sparked by Cold War fears.
A reformist agenda would see to it that the sitting government is willing to swim against the tide by not seizing or banning such reading materials.
Apart from the fact that such materials can be accessed on the internet, the threat of communism as an ideology fizzled out decades ago. Communism does not appeal to most people in Malaysia and rightly so.
To be clear, this is not an attempt to advocate or condone communism.
What we are saying is that a reformist government must be open to a discussion of certain issues or ideas considered by some as controversial in the public domain so that it would be instructive for the layperson.
This approach would provide the much-needed opportunity for people to make an informed judgment on why certain ideas are considered good or bad.
Unlike censorship, civil conversations in public go a long way in preventing the dumbing down of ordinary Malaysians. That would be intellectual progress.
We should also be aware that extremist ideas can be spawned out of sheer ignorance.
A government committed to social change would be confident and courageous enough to make changes in the face of initial resistance from certain quarters. There are times when you need to blaze a trail in order to make a difference in society.
Certain reforms, as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim argued recently, may take a longer time to take shape. But there are at least certain types of reform that are low-hanging fruit.
For starters, the government should consider repealing the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 and reviewing the Official Secrets Act 1972, the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Sedition Act 1948. These are related to freedom of information and expression.
This is in addition to making significant reforms such as introducing a 10-year term limit for prime ministers and chief ministers or menteris besar.
There is also a dire need to provide equal funding to all elected representatives without them having to change political stripes in order to get sufficient funds.
People who voted for change in the last general election are hopeful that at the very least the low-hanging fruit would be picked as soon as possible. – The Malaysian Insight
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
