Fatihah Jamhari

Reading the news these days it would seem that we are not short of controversy. As if existing controversies were not bad enough, certain irresponsible quarters have taken to reviving settled issues, such as the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) with its sudden expression of indignation over the stamping of Bahasa Melayu Bibles that had been given back by Mais to the Association of Churches of Sarawak (ACS) and claiming ignorance of this fact, in spite of the same having been widely reported in the media when the Bibles were handed over to ACS in the first place. A week ago we were presented with a new controversy and it is over the move by Malacca to make the use of Jawi signage compulsory on all schools in Malacca. An online report by The Star on 11 December has quoted Malacca Chinese Education Progressive Association chairman Yang Ying Chong stating that the Malacca Education Department directly was “unreasonable” and “unacceptable” as the Jawi script did not represent the ident...

“Restrictions are a necessary part of the ‘right’ and in many countries of the world freedom of speech and expression is, in spite of formal, safeguards, seriously restricted in practice.” – Raja Azlan Shah J, PP v. Ooi Kee Saik In a populist country, it does not matter whether a government’s decision is right or wrong; what matters is that the decision is a popular one, accepted and supported by majority. This is the highlight and the bane of democracy. When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the retention of the Malaysian Sedition Act 1948, the uproar against the act got deafeningly louder and more aggressive. Sections within Malaysia that wish for a more liberal and freer country flippantly took to the keyboards to churn out miles-long commentaries condemning the decision. In support of their own fear, they brought in “foreign” names sympathetic to their cause berating the move. Many may argue as such but the question in retaining the Sedition Act is not wh...