Ramasamy: “M’sians don’t read much, that’s why they tend to believe in lies, half-truths”

Ramasamy: “M’sians don’t read much, that’s why they tend to believe in lies, half-truths”





PENANG deputy chief minister Prof Dr P. Ramasamy has concurred with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when the prime minister recently lamented that Malaysians in general are low on the score when it comes to the passion for reading.

The Penang DAP deputy chairman noted that because Malaysians generally do not read much, they tend to believe in half-truths and downright lies.

Citing Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Noor as an example, Ramasamy said the former’s “ludicrous” claims that Penang rightfully belongs to Kedah would have been dismissed if people had knowledge about history and the formation of the country.

“People who are well-read and have a basic knowledge in history might not pay attention to what Sanusi said, and his comments would have been dismissed as a political ploy to hoodwink the naïve and those who are not well-read about the country’s political history,” he pointed out.

“Unfortunately, given the political polarisation in the country between the opposition and the government, Sanusi’s stand might find faithful adherents in the ranks of the opposition.”

Ramasamy also said while reading is important, it is also equally important to make sure that what people read are equally as important.

“The reading materials [should be] of good quality, written by good authors and most importantly the materials should be based on facts,” he stated.

“Reading is important in allowing us to make reasoned opinions of our environment, but it does not automatically beget the outcome that we aspire.

“The critical thing is our state of consciousness about the nature of the society, its problems and what needs to done to move beyond.”

Ramasamy said being glued to mobile phones is hardly the method to improve reading as passion for knowledge and understanding about the environment should be the main motivating factor.

“Thanks to the developments in the realm of information technology, books and other reading materials can be purchased cheaply and read using electronic devices or gadgets,” he asserted.

“While physical books could be purchased and ordered, digital versions of books cannot be purchased for a fraction of the costs of physical books.

“It is indeed ironic that while technological and digital developments have allowed for the relative ease in reading, it is just unfortunate that most Malaysians have not taken advantage of these new developments.”

However, Ramasamy acknowledged that it would be unfair to expect the poor and the underprivileged classes to have the same access to reading materials or the luxury of time and space to engage in reading.

“As such, it is understandable that the lower socio-economic classes might not have the advantage of fully grasping Sanusi’s views on the Penang-Kedah issue,” he said.

“It is not that the ordinary folks in Kedah are totally devoid of understanding of alternative views on Penang and whether it really belongs to Kedah.

“While I accept that there can be no compromise on the need to be passionate about reading, the ability to read and be well-informed is very often mediated by variables such as class divisions, the kinds of materials that are read, the quality of reading materials, access to reading materials and others.” – June 13, 2023