Censorship is why there won't be real Bangsa Malaysia

 

“All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.”

- George Bernard Shaw

The censorship of “Perempuan Itu” is just another example of hypocrisy in Malaysia.

However, more than that it demonstrates the petty nature of the religious bureaucracy in this country, which is the point of any kind of religious or moral repression.

Actor Zul Ariffin who is under some sort of investigation for posting that clip that started this mess said something that gets to the heart of the issue. He said: “I apologise to everyone who was affected by the upload of that video.”

Two points need to be made. First, nobody has the right to ban or censor something which “affects” them. If you read or watch something that affects you, you are a complete moron if you want to ban or censor that which affects you.

The second point (and this relates to Malaysia specifically), the state does not care if non-Malays/Muslims are affected by words, actions or images from the dominant polity. Even more so when it comes to political and religious operatives from the Malay community.

Two years ago, a PAS political operative made statements that the bible was distorted and refused to apologise but was willing to have a dialogue.

There is no possible way to have a good-faith religious dialogue in this country because non-Muslims will always be at a disadvantage as they cannot make factual arguments about how Islam is practised.

The reality does not fit with the fair rhetoric that its adherents claim is what the religion is based on.

This is the unfairness when it comes to fighting with one hand tied behind your back.

This handicap when it comes to defending secular positions and the reality that if you do this, you would not only have to contend with mainstream Malay/Muslim retaliation but also partisans who have no interest in rocking the boat.

On the face of it, we as citizens of this country are dealing with state censorship and moral policing but as ethnic communities, what we are dealing with is unequal applications of laws and norms that regulate political and social interactions.

Freedom Film Network director Anna Har in discussing how censorship should only be there to protect minors - anyone who reads my columns understands that I have very little sympathy for “think of the children” type reactions – said something interesting about censorship classifications.

She said: “(It) must take into account that there are different types of Malaysians and it's important to respect and protect everyone's needs and interests and not just the dominant or loudest, and (the) best way to do it is by classification.”

Actor Zul Ariffin

Censorship and sedition laws

Here is the problem. The state does not recognise the reality that there are different types of Malaysians.

In fact, what the state actively advocates is a monolithic majority and minorities who are here only because of the benefice of the majority community.

We are dealing with a political and religious bureaucracy that seeks to define the racial, sexual and religious identities of the majority of Malaysians and attempts to impose that definition on minority communities.

Every book, film, and photograph that attempts to subvert this idea has been met with some form of censorship or outright banning.

The state especially when it comes to the majority polity actively curtail any attempts in the words of George Bernard Shaw “… challenging current conceptions and executed by supplanting existing institutions”.

This is the problem here in Malaysia. If people start talking about curtailing censorship by the state, what they run into are political and religious operatives, claiming that people are trying to “provoke” the majority.

Elements within the majority who attempt to curtail the excesses of the state are met with similar or even worse sanctions.

Have you noticed that whenever political and religious operatives say they have received numerous complaints on certain issues, they never give examples as to what constitutes censure-worthy speech? It is always in the abstract.

There is censorship and then to keep people afraid, there are sedition laws which are part of the censorship apparatus in this country.

Keep in mind the numerous artists, activists and ordinary rakyat who have been charged with sedition while the political and religious elites have the freedom to define narratives in this country.

These laws are enacted to muzzle the public but, more importantly, are vital tools in the “fear box” to remind the public that whatever they say or do against the state is always under scrutiny.

You can never tell what you say or do is seditious or illegal because these laws are there for the convenience of the ruling elite, rather than any kind of traditional normative values or reasoning of a functional democracy.

The main reason why there has never been and will never be an authentic Bangsa Malaysia is that the censorship by the state has made it impossible to even discuss what it means to be Malaysian beyond political bromides and propaganda.

When the state controls how people talk to each other, they define the people. - Mkini

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.