Response: "Najib: Absolute freedom can lead to chaos" (The Sun, 11 May 2014)

I was reading the newspaper yesterday and came across an article that caught my attention. The headline read "Najib: Absolute freedom can lead to chaos" (click here for the said article). The issue of freedom of speech or freedom of expression has been on the tongues of Malaysians for some time now, spurred on by the recent sedition charges brought against prominent Malaysians like Theresa Kok and the late Karpal Singh. One does not need to look far back to find the invocation of this Sedition Act 1948 on the likes, for example, Marina Yusoff, Chua Tian Chang, and Mohd Tamrin Abdul Ghafar, among the many. Even the then Deputy Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in 2003, threatened to charge those who opposed the change in educational policy emphasising the teaching of science and maths in English with sedition. This brings to question, where then lies our freedom to express our opinions and thoughts? Where is our rights to freedom of speech?

Our rights to freedom of expression is protected by the Federal Constitution, as stated in Clause (1) paragraph (a) of Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, which states that "every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression". I think before we go to my response to our PM's statement in the newspaper, we first need to establish what does freedom of speech or expression mean?
I think we need to clear a common misconception. Many a time, the first thing that pops inside people's head when this is mentioned is that people have the freedom to say anything or express anything they want. To them, this is a fundamental human right. This is prevalent in Malaysia, though I would have to agree that with the Internet and the development of technology, and people getting more and more exposed and educated, we are seeing a growing group of people who think much more maturely than before.

What then is the freedom of expression? I love how French philosopher Voltaire puts it: "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". The simple definition to this is the freedom to say whatever we want to. The freedom to just express our opinions and thoughts and feelings. But we have to remember one thing. We are not the only person living in this whole wide world. We live in a cluster of people that we call "communities" or "societies". If we were living alone and no one else was alive in the entire world, then yes, we can adopt this simple definition of the freedom of expression. But add one additional person in the world, the dynamics change... dynamically! Human relationships are never simple. It is to me one of the most complicated things in the entire universe. Imagine a world with only two persons. Both persons do not know each other. Person A writes on a rock expressing his opinions. He then walks on. Years later, person B comes to that rock and reads the opinion left there and gets angered by that opinion. Anger and hatred then rises within him. Two people who do not know each other, yet such strong feelings can connect the two. Sounds ridiculous? Well, you cannot deny that with the internet, this is not something strange today. Now this is just between two persons. Multiply that by millions, and imagine how much more complicated things are today.

What I'm saying is, in today's world, we have to think for others. We live in a world where one tiny droplet that falls into the lake creates a ripple. Our actions, our words, everything we do, it affects another person in one way or another. This is even more dangerous in today's world where information is global and free. What is said in Malaysia can easily be obtained in the US or even England in a minute.

Back to the subject of freedom of speech in Malaysia. There has been an increase in the outcry for more freedom. We get angered when the Sedition Act is invoked, or when the Printing Presses and Publications Act was implemented by the then Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. We demand for more freedom. But let us look at the situations that are happening recently. We had the issue of racism when an assistant school principal allegedly told some students to "balik India, China" last year as well as the recent statements released by Isma stating that Chinese migration into Tanah Melayu 'a mistake' and labels Chinese as 'extremists' for opposing hudud are examples of the mentality and maturity of our people. The question that should be asked is this. With such a mentality, are Malaysians truly ready for absolute freedom? From a neutral point of view, in light of recent responses from various peoples and organizations, I am more inclined to agree with Najib's statement that "absolute freedom can lead to chaos". Though I have my own opposing views on the recent invocation of the Sedition Act amidst other recent happenings, but solely on this statement, I think that Malaysians do not yet have the maturity and mentality to handle more freedom of expression. Limitations are there so that freedom of speech and expression is not abused, of which such happening will eventually lead to chaos.

Well, just my two cents.