WHEN there are attempts to stop ordinary citizens from entering some government agencies based on their attire, most people can accept that this could be due to a few over-zealous civil servants trying to impose their dress codes.
The episodes died down after a few incidents. But in just a short span right after the incidents, a new trend has been detected.
Well-crafted messages are starting to appear on social media again trying to play up racial sentiments to pit one race against another. Netizens have to be discerning instead of just getting emotionally stressed up with these incendiary messages.
For example, one piece of propaganda that we detected talks about the Chinese being discriminated against in Malaysia. It begins with “If I were the Prime Minister of Malaysia, I’d feel ashamed.”
The fact is Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has only been in office since November last year. Within a short period of six months, he and his team are only beginning to tackle some of the major issues in the country.
Everything mentioned in the piece is built up over the past 42 years. To blame everything on Anwar’s barely six months into his premiership is just not being fair to him.
The short article written by an anonymous person, whether in the past or present, is obviously trying to stir up ill-feelings between the races.
This is to create disunity and to de-stabilise the unity government so that the moment there is a spark, this could lead to social unrest in the country.
Netizens have to learn to think critically instead of becoming easily upset with what they read. We have to read in between the lines and understand what propagandists – hired by people with deep pockets – are attempting to do.
We urge the Communications and Digital Minister to take this seriously and monitor the messages being disseminated on the social media very closely. Several other agencies and watchdogs including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should also make efforts to quell any attempts to play up another episode of May 13 to achieve the agenda of certain politicians.
It is wise to remain cool regardless of what one reads and stay rationale. For example, is it possible for the unity government to fulfil every dream and wish of every community within such a short span?
The neglected B40 community is now receiving the special attention of the Prime Minister and his team. The salaries of civil servants will be raised gradually. We are beginning to see the wheel is starting to turn even though the reluctance of some in the civil service can still be detected in some quarters.
We can expect sabotage to happen in any company takeover. What’s more to a country where political sabotage is at every level!
A fellow journalist friend of ours, once a senior editor of an English daily, for example, wrote about the difference that the present unity government is making in Malaysia within such a short time.
Since Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (referred to in this post) took over the Home Ministry, the journalist friend of ours has noticed that Saifuddin has “done more in two months since he started than the JPN (National Registration Department) has done in 10 years.”
The credit should also go to the NRD, Give the unity government time to rectify all the things that had gone wrong in the country.
It will not be easy as we have reached a level that even some ordinary citizens have begun to politicize race and religion.
In an earlier story carried last Friday (May 5), TikToker HarneeshKaur expressed her shock that the staff at Tealive told her that “Tealive only hire Malays”. She later contacted Tealive Customer Service Department and was told that there was no such policy.
The incident which happened on May 4 is unfortunate but in this current political state, you can expect more to come.
We must not forget who were the ones playing up the racial politics that led to what Dr Kua Kia Song in his book, “May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969” called a coup d’etat which forced the Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Petra Al-Haj to step down.
A similar game is being played before our eyes. While the authorities take care of all these ‘bad hats,’ Anwar and his team have lots of work to do. Meanwhile, we have to focus on our bread and butter after the pandemic. – May 9, 2023
Read prior articles in this series:
The collapse, collapse, collapse mantra that PN is capitalising on
Unity gov’t solid and strong despite chants of impending collapse
Man of the hour: Is Anwar’s anti-graft drive just a fad or a necessity in Madani Malaysia?
Never idolise any leader, Anwar included
Remembering May 13 and what it was not
Main pic credit: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Facebook
