What we don't realize is the fact that these changes are actually changes for the worse. The sudden surge in anti-opposition sentiments on the newspapers and TV along with the censorship of the Internet can only mean one thing. Malaysia is slowly, but surely turning into another form of the People's Republic of China. If you think this is a lie, think again.
The mainstream media(TV, radio, newspapers, magazines) is being controlled by the government, hands down. That's a common fact. However, what we don't realize is the fact that it is being scrutinized and manipulated by the BN regime. Yes, the BN regime is the government simply because of the fact that Barisan Nasional is the dominating political party in Malaysia. How is it being manipulated, you might ask. The newspapers are always running headlines on how 'great' the BN regime is. In fact, The Star and New Straits Times are filled with nothing but pro-BN articles. TV stations will always broadcast pro-government campaigns and news that are cleared for release by the corrupt BN regime. They will always give you the half-truth and lies but never the big picture or the real story. Let us have a look the BERSIH and anti-ISA rallies.
Everytime these events occur, the newspapers will not hesitate to run headlines that are clearly meant to deface key opposition leaders while the TV channels are filled with biased commercials about these rallies. And everytime one of these rallies are organized and carried out, the so-called Polis Diraja Malaysia(PDRM, Royal Malaysian Police in English) will never hesitate to play with their tear gas grenades and water cannons which are filled with chemical-laced water, not to mention the fact that they will also arrest the protestants with excessive violence. But everytime this happens, the mainstream media will ALWAYS fail to report the fact that the police force used excessive force, especially in the more recent BERSIH 2.0 rally. Have a look at these headlines.
Bernama headlines include: “Illegal Rally: Don’t Be Fooled By It!” and “Ilegal Rally Was To Serve Opposition’s Agenda.”
The Star headlines include: “Najib: Cops acted professionally during rallies” and “Street demonstrations not part of Malaysian culture, says PM.”
The Sun headlines include: “Najib: Anwar is mastermind behind rally” and “Rally organizers have no respect for King’s advice: Home Minister.”
New Strait Times headlines include: “Anwar, the mastermind behind illegal assembly, desperate to be PM” and “Good job, PM tells Police.”
Note that none of the headlines say anything about the excessive force used by our 'policemen' who acted like gangsters in the course of their duties. Instead, they blab about how these rallies are 'meant to fulfill the opposition's agenda' and 'threaten the nation's security'. We're not even allowed to express our opinion. This is NOT democracy at all so please, Mr. Prime Minister. Do not blab about democracy existing in UMNO when it clearly doesn't. Freedom of expression and assembly is guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. Even the government breaks it's own laws!
I remember back when I was still in Sibu, Sarawak. The BN's sub-party, Sarawak United People's Party deliberately moved their campaigning to Rejang Park where the DAP was already campaigning to cause chaos. Back then, Sibu was a fierce political battleground. All the major figures from both sides came to Sibu to win the support of the town. Even Lim Guan Eng, Anwar Ibrahim and the Prime Minister showed up. On the night before the town elections, Najib tried to buy Sibu over with MYR5 million. However, the mainstream media failed to report this bribe on the newspapers and the 8PM News, along with the fact that the BN regime manipulated the polls on the next day under the excuse of postal voting and the fact that Najib had a very 'lansi' attitude after the bribe was offered. The only ones who gave coverage on the bribe were online news outlets like The Malaysian Insider and MalaysiaKini.
'I don't have to come here. Why come to Rajang Park? Why? This is not a place for the Prime Minister to come!'
Speaking of online news outlets, Malaysia is facing early signs of Internet censorship. All of a sudden, the MCMC decided to block 10 legitimate file-sharing websites which triggered Operation Malaysia. Now that PRU13/GE13(Pilihanraya Umum 13/General Elections 13th) is just around the corner, the Internet is being censored for the second time in the year. According to the government, political activity on the Internet is to be banned. Opposition speeches are already banned from being broadcast on TV and radio. How the BN regime can still call this democracy is beyond my comprehension. Najib even dared to claim that political websites will not be banned. How are we supposed to believe that when you claimed that there will be no form of Internet censorship in April and even dared to violate the MSC Bill of Rights? How do we know that this is not an early step to a Great Firewall of Malaysia? To add icing to the cake, Najib has recently launched a campaign against the opposition on the Internet. Wow. Just wow. So they can campaign all they want on the Internet while the opposition is banned from doing the same shit?
In schools, textbooks and schoolteachers are being used to channel the BN's propaganda to the next generation. Schoolteachers blab about how dedicated the government is to their goal of turning Malaysia into a developed nation while P. Moral and Civics textbooks blab about how 'great' the BN regime is. Fact is, schools in Malaysia do not innovate. Schools in Malaysia are basically teaching us 'Its okay to remove, copy and paste'. There is absolutely no emphasis on 'Don't just follow the left, find the right way' at all. In fact, the format of the folios you have to complete in a Malaysian high school restricts your creativity to the point where your final product will be similar to everyone else's. Schoolteachers are also forced to attend the BN's seminars and listen to their bullshit while being forced to vote for them.
Speaking of the BN's seminars, I have two words to sum them all up. THEY'RE RIDICULOUS. Seriously, you have to sit your ass in a chair just to listen to them bullshit about stuff they don't care about. Once you're done and leave the room, they'll give you a few hundred ringgit and if you're lucky, some freebies and a free meal. No, seriously. Last year, I got MYR300 from them and a free dinner just by sitting down in the coffee shop where Najib was giving out his bribe. In fact, all civil servants are forced to attend these boring seminars whether they like it or not. But then, why should they give a fuck? They're getting high paychecks from these assholes after all.
Anyone who criticizes the government openly runs the risk of being arrested or scandalized. Anyone who organizes an event which can go against the interests of the BN runs the risk of even more scandalization and the possibility of getting owned by the ISA. Anyone who gets too close to overthrowing the BN regime is assassinated. That happened a few decades ago when Sabah and Sarawak tried to bail out of the colonization of the BN regime which is why if there is going to be a revolution, it will not be a peaceful, unarmed one. Problem is, most people still do not see the need to get involved in this. No, they won't even bother voting. Why? Because according to them, what the political parties do have nothing to do with them. Fact is, the actions taken by the government has EVERYTHING to do with the people. The more recent economic recession in 1997 is living proof of that.
I hate to say this but at the rate we are going, Malaysia is slowly but surely turning into another form of the People's Republic of China. The calm has arrived. We must prepare for the storm now.
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