When fear creeps in like a disease

Of late, the police force seems to have decided that Malaysians, like rebellious children pushing their boundaries, need a little disciplining.

If ever there was a point to be made, the recent spate of unwarranted detentions of newsmen, politicians and activists by our men in blue have sent a very familiar message to the public – fear us.

Growing up in Malaysia post-1969, it has been ingrained in me to refrain from openly discussing certain issues that have always piqued my interest; topics like Malaysia as an Islamic state (it is not, by definition of the Constitution) and the race-based policies that I have grown up accepting as the way of life, were all things that we spoke off only with those we trusted, and sometimes in hushed tones.

The reasons for this self-imposed censorship was the atmosphere of fear created by the threat and occasional use of preventive laws such as the Sedition Act and Internal Security Acted in the years that followed the May 13 racial riots.

Suddenly, everything that questioned status quo, no matter how wrong, was deemed “sensitive” and could land a person in jail.

Fifty years ago, we were told we needed those laws to safeguard peace. Today, I question why there is still a need for them. If 50 years of archaic laws were not enough to build a nation that is safe from the boogeyman of racial riots, then it is quite obvious that these restrictive legislation are not the answer to long-term peaceful co-existence.

In fact, the opposite is true. The umbrella of fear that Malaysians in my generation grew up under has done so much damage to our multicultural society, that today ethnic and religious ties are, at best strained, and at worst, veering off the edge.

Almost 10 years ago, a dear Muslim friend expressed interest in joining me on a weekend activity to clean up a small orphanage in Kuala Lumpur. At the 11th hour, she asked me, rather apologetically, if the home was run by a church.

Slightly taken aback, I said it was n0t, although the gentleman running it was a Christian. I assured her that there was no religious programme or motive, and that we had people of other faiths in the group as well.

But she decided not to join us in the end. In her own words, “I’m afraid of courting controversy. I’m sorry.”

The issue here is not whether or not a Muslim woman being in a Christian orphanage would have resulted in trouble; the bitter pill is that she actually feared that it could. Till today, I think back at that incident and am greatly saddened that our society has become so separated and so afraid, that a humanitarian act can be seen as a threat to social order.

And this is where restrictive laws are dangerous to everyone – not just the social activist, politician or journalist.

We may not find ourselves being handcuffed and remanded, but we have been cowed into being afraid of talking about, and doing, things which define us as a multiracial nation.

We have become overly-cautious of each other, and just beneath the veneer of a united society, we are fragmented and suspicious.

We need to fight the Sedition Act and the newly-unveiled Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) because our nation cannot go through another 50 years of further division and thinly-veiled ethnic strain.

If we continue to let the next generation live under the threat of state-sanctioned fear, the social fabric that holds up this nation will ultimately crumble. And because fear is a huge deterrent to innovation, the dream of being a developed nation will also likely remain a dream for many more years to come.

The people of my generation and the one before us had little choice but to accept preventive laws as a part of our lives.

It is my hope that after 50 years, we will now have the will and power to ensure that our children will not have to live under the same fears that have defined who we are as Malaysians. – April 5, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.