Hate speech in danger of boiling over amid calls to boycott Indian election candidates, ‘kuil haram’ defenders

 

SOCIAL media is becoming an increasingly toxic place of late, especially with the issue of unauthorised temple structures dominating online chatter.

It is unhelpful that firebrand personalities such as Firdaus Wong Wai Hung, Zamri Vinoth, Tamin Dahri Abdyul Razak and Cikgu Chandra (whose real name is S. Chandrasegaran) are allowed to continuously stir racial tensions with the authorities seemingly slow (or unwilling) to act.

Any delayed reaction will only embolden the quartet into making increasingly inflammatory and deliberately provocative statements. 

Platforms such as Facebook, once a hub for friendly and sociable communications, has now become a cesspool filled with hate speech.

Instead of festive greetings, netizens are faced with blatant messages of bald-faced bigotry. 

A prime example is a post by Facebooker Mohammed Ramzie that had the look of a typical Raya greeting card but the content was anything but.

Urging Malay voters to reject all Indian candidates (whether from the government or opposition) at the next general elections, the poster declared that “politicians who defend illegal temples, too, do not deserve to be wakil rakyat (elected representatives).”

This brazen call brought out the racists who openly declared their contempt for the Indian community.

“Uncivilised” was among the more polite terms used to describe Indians in Malaysia highlighting the sort of narrative that is being promoted in such threads.

The derogatory language also brought about tit-for-tat responses. 

Why is the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) allowing such messages of hate to be so openly propagated? 

This post was by no means an isolated incident as social media is flooded with such content.

When authority figures merely request citizens not to behave irresponsibly and to stop propagating hate speech but do not back it up with meaningful action, it only emboldens the racists and further erodes confidence in public institutions such as the police and MCMC. 

They are seen as paying mere lip service in acting against those who threaten social harmony with their unvarnished and unfiltered messages of hate.

In a country known for having strict interpretations of ‘freedom of speech’, this descent into such widespread racist rhetoric is alarming.

This demeaning narrative must be stopped before it leads towards something untoward.

Already we have seen destruction of property belonging to some instigators such as social media “activist” Cikgu Chandra who had continuously poured fuel on the fire with his unashamed use of racist language such as ‘bottle kicap’ (soy sauce bottle).

Yes, some of these online activists have been called in for questioning but no meaningful action has been taken that would really silence them. 

This is not free speech or democracy in action but a society in the throes of a meltdown. As the rhetoric has reached fever pitch, the authorities need to act now before it boils over. 

For the sake of this nation, please stop this poisonous and toxic content from spreading any further. 

A Concerned Citizen, Penang

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.