When we, as citizens of a nation, are continuously subjected to violations of civil liberties even after a change of regime, how can we blame the distrust felt by Malaysians who fought hand in hand with us to see the much needed socio-political reforms materialise?
In the aftermath of May 9, Malaysians, especially our young, have become collateral damage. They have become the most recent victims of those who are hell-bent on returning to some ounce of political relevancy and to see our nation remain in a state of permanent conflict – be it based on differing political views, values, orientation or ethnicity. This is continuously done by denouncing their opinions as unpatriotic and eroding certain rights and privileges.
Sadly, Malaysia’s colourful history shows that fear-mongering and violence has always been the customary tactic used to rally public support and acquiescence for interventions that are both unnecessary and irresponsible. We have seen it before and we will continue to see it again unless we can collectively learn to identify, fight back and counter these false appeals from these peddlers of fear, violence and hate.
If we fail to do this, we will only be leaving an unfavourable legacy: one where we continuously wrestle with our own shadows with no end in sight.The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.