Sunday, June 17, 2018

Mahathir's Praetorian Guards against Free Speech



From FMT:

Don’t shut out ‘good conscience’

By Clement Stanley

If the people believe in freedom of expression and thought, critics should be given the space and time to exercise that very freedom without condemnation.


If we believe in freedom of expression and thought, we should be able to exercise that freedom regardless of who our PM is. 

I followed the articles by former diplomat Dennis Ignatius prior to GE14. He was a very strong critic of former prime minister Najib Razak and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.


Denis Ignatius 

He wrote with distinction and that I believed carried a lot of weight with those who saw his writing as being objective. Netizens describe him as being brave and forthright because he dared to speak up against Najib’s kleptocratic government.

Within a span of 60 days, in the eyes of some netizens, Dennis has fallen from hero to zero all because he questioned Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s move in agreeing to the normalisation of ties with North Korea and the reopening of its embassy in Kuala Lumpur.



vicious mindless moronic Hell-Hounds attacking both foes and friends if they see their Tokong No 1 being questioned

Dennis said the move was premature as Pyongyang was implicated in the murder of Kim Jong Nam at klia2, which put Malaysia in the spotlight. However, nasty comments were directed at Dennis with some accusing him of being a dedak eater and a person out of sync with the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.


Tokong No 1 Indra 

Why? Just because he spoke with a clear conscience and felt compelled to point out what he believed was the truth?

Are we witnessing the beginning of the curtailing of freedom of expression from the public who do not wish and want to hear anything negative about the PM and his policies?

We criticised Najib for attempting to curtail our right to free speech. With one voice we condemned him for the use of the instruments at his disposal to try and silence his critics like Zunar, Tony Pua, Fahmi Reza, Maria Chin Abdullah and a host of others.

Are we not sinking into the same pit now just because someone else has a different view from Mahathir?


stupid, idiotic, moronic, imbecilic, mindless Hell-Hounds 

On June 9, incoming Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah said that the public at large should not wait for 100 days before criticising the new government. She said that if we felt things were not right, we should say it now. Isn’t that exactly what Dennis is doing?

The argument is that if Dennis does not know what Mahathir’s reason for reopening the North Korean embassy is, he ought to keep his mouth shut.

Unfortunately, whether you like it or not, none of us common folk are privy to the thoughts of our PM. In due course, the reasons may be disclosed. In due course we may understand why. We don’t know as yet.

But to remain silent otherwise, would mean we are choosing to look the other way. This should not be the case.

If we believe in freedom of expression and thought, we should be given the space and time to exercise that freedom. Condemnation of such a voice will give way to fear and a couldn’t-care-less attitude by those who believe their views will be subject to insults.


ONLY our Tokong No 1 has freedom of expression - others must just follow his directions 

Rather than being ridiculed with taunts of being a dedak eater and the like, such voices will eventually fade into the distance.



sebenarnya kami ayam makan dedak tetapi dipolitik kami dikenal sebagai Hell-Hounds yang bodoh sangat 

Change is something the people voted for in GE14. Enough was enough. If change involves encapsulating the right to express one’s thoughts, accept it. Let your conscience speak for you.

As Edmund Burke once said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

Been there. Done that.


Clement Stanley is an FMT reader.


Related:

(1) Hell-Hounds help Zero become Hero.

(2) BEST political statement 2018 (17).

22 comments:

  1. We need Select Committee for Foreign Affairs. Let them study and make recommendation for debate in Parliament. Dennis can make his view known to them. PM alone cannot make this decision.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember Ktemoc published fake news attacks on Denis Ignatious during the runUP to GE14

    ReplyDelete
  3. There is some overboard deflecting criticism against Mahathir.

    Make no mistake, this is a far cry from the 3 am knock on the door by Special Branch during the Najib/UMNO era.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How much crying for Operasi Lalang?

      Delete
    2. What Najib did was child's play compared to Ops Lalang and Ops Tangkap Anwar.

      Delete

  4. As Edmund Burke once said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

    That is why I vehemently attacked Ktemoc's complete silence on Najib's corruption and abuse of power.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. why are you so stupid to attack me instead of Najib - wrong target lah

      Delete
  5. if we wan mahathir to retire asap, perhaps the only way is to kiss his ass to make him feel happy, so lets the ass kisser do what they wan is one good idea i guess.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ruling by Decree is over. Parliament is Supreme. But Parliament cannot be bogged down debating every single decision. That is where Select Committees come in. They are made up of an odd number of MPs who have some knowledge and expertise in the area. They meet to discuss the topic at hand, call on outside experts to give testimonies or advice if necessary, then report back to Parliament for further debate and decision. Defence for example. We would not have ended up with two over-priced and under-utilized tin-can Scorpenes, a dead Mongolian and a few very rich people if the screening and selection was done by a Defence Select Committee. Similarly whether to re-establish relations with North Korea should not be made by one man, even if he is PM. It should be considered by a Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which Dennis (the Menace to some) can be an advisor to, then the recommendation presented to Parliament for debate and approval.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But it is the Extra-Parliamentary Non-Constitutional Council of Excremental Persons that can summon sitting Judges of our Highest courts and get them to resign.

      Delete
    2. Ask the judges why they complied to go for the meeting? Are they not judges and know their rights?Then come back with the answers again.

      They were just having nice cups of tea among old friends, I was informed.

      Wakakakakaka

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    3. I was also informed that under Mahathir's 2nd time ruling, sacking is the least of punishments for disobedience from those higher ups.

      Delete
  7. such irony...those hell hounds that are getting on your tits aren't they entitled to free speech...not everyone are as refine as you while expressing themselves but it's still a form of free speech and why are they inevitably associated with maddy by you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Criticism of other people's speech is also free speech.

      So is the criticism of the criticism of the criticism and so on.

      You are ignorant of what free speech means - that's me exercising my right to free speech.

      Delete
    2. even Hell-Hounds are entitled to free speech, that is, assuming they know how to make a free speech. What have been spewing out of their vile mouths have been reckless accusations (without evidence), obscene abuses, disgusting diatribes - those are NOT free speeches but abuses which the law doesn't condone

      Delete
    3. My mission is to gut kaytee with my words. I will not rest till kaytee finally buay tahan and commit seppuku

      Delete
  8. It is written elsewhere in this blog:

    "Lim Kit Siang (should) be made Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. He may require a few tenge. Alternatively, make him Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Mogadishu, capital of Somalia.That should give Malaysians some peace from his pompous bullshit almost-daily speeches like telling BN, UMNO and UMNO members what to do post-GE14."

    Whatever pompous bullshit spews forth from LKS's mouth, inside or outside Parliament, it is the voice of 80,726 voters of Iskandar Puteri who voted from him in GE14. So if we accord the right of Free Speech to Dennis Ignatius (who is not an elected representative) we should also accord the same to LKS. He deserves his seat in Parliament, whether we like it or not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's kt's definition of free speech lah!

      HIS words r a ok under free speech.

      Others r classified under reckless accusations (without evidence), obscene abuses, disgusting diatribes! Take yr pick.

      Bravo, wordsmith!

      Delete
    2. Welll......maklum la....his lanpa only 3 inches long....so need to talk cock sing song ma

      Delete
  9. Don't anyone wonder why TDM is so quick to normalise ties with North Korea and allow the reopening of it's embassy in KL?

    The only guesses one can make at this point is him trying to impress the Muslim world and non-aligned nations he is an antagonist against USA and allies in Asia.

    He just needs cheering squads to boost his ego now and then to keep him going even at age 93.

    That's call typical recalcitrant behaviour.

    Wakakakakakaka

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How come i didnt get any char siew made of nostro piggy hah

      Delete