Stand up and Speak.....

Brian Yap asks the question ( NST, Opinion page, August 15): Who stands up and speaks for Malaysia nowadays - The Asli's Centre for Policy Studies, the Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs, the Muslim Youth Movement, the Muftis, Newspaper columnists, the Bloggers, Dato' Siti Nurhalizah or Chef Wan?

A quaint way of saying that there is a lot of dissenting voice in Malaysia today and every citizen has a right to air his or her views including "Namewee" and Reverend Ouyong Wen Feng. " There's no one person or organization ( who/which) can truly speak for all Malaysians..."( What about the Parliament, the various Government Committees with members representing all racial groups, the Unions and Workers' Organizations, multiracial clubs etc?)

The question asked and its implications, suggest that the right to speak up must be respected. " Malaysians are increasingly speaking up for themselves. Expectedly what we're saying is as disparate as can be, and will cause headaches for those who want us to have only sanctioned opinions and thoughts.

"Unfortunately, we're not going to celebrate the 50th Meredeka ( anniversary) in only one way. We're not going to let other people tell us what is acceptable and what isn't. And we're certainly not going to let anyone tell us what Malaysia is or isn't."

Beautifully put, wholesome, and non-offensive as is expected of a media scribe. But the same massage might have sounded differently if said by us bloggers. It might sound like: "Don't tell us what's right or wrong, what we can or cannot do. We say what we want in Bloggerland, for no one else can say it for us!"

Sometimes it's not what is said that is wrong but how we say it. And of course, most important of all is: who says it! Such an inquiry would lead us to question what is "truth" nowadays since there're so many views and opinions on anything at all. I remember a professor saying that truth is only "a transcient concensus of opinion" which can change by the day....

I think we need to get back at the ethical definition of "right" or "wrong", "truth" or "falsehood", and "fair" or "unfair", if people are not to be wrongly punished for what they say in a multiracial society like Malaysia. A social system can collapse if
"truth" is sacrificed for whatever reason.