“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorises it and a moral code that glorifies it.”

– Frédéric Bastiat

COMMENT The Malaysiakini Team (whoever they are) did a quaint job of explaining the Fourth Estate (‘Journalism is not an act against parliamentary democracy’).

It was a pleasant stroll down memory lane about the whys and hows of Malaysiakini and rejoinders that journalism is something more than just reporting the news and regurgitating what the political buffoon class spew on a daily basis.

Me, all I can say is – are we really doing this bull crap again? Four years ago, it was about another organisation – NED (National Endowment for Democracy) – that was funding amongst others, Malaysiakini and attempting to destabilise the government. The mainstream media’s fingerprints were all over that one, too.

Previously on ‘Law & Order: 1Malaysia’: “Under the vomit-inducing headline of  ‘Plot to destabilise the gov’t‘, the New Straits Times (who I believe are propagators of a plot to destabilise rational thinking) outlined a chilling scenario of a motley group of new media types (which includes  Malaysiakini) and social activist organisations who are apparently being funded by a nebulous American entity to destabilise the government and the implication being, to create chaos … CHAOS, I tell you, in Malaysia.”

I was just surprised that the Umno propaganda organs did not slip in something about homosexuality in this latest assault on the rebel press. And make no mistake, whatever you may think of the alternative press, social media, the lawless terrain of Malaysian online punditry and political agitation, we are rebelling against the narratives imposed on us by Umno.

The issue of funding in my opinion is irrelevant to the charges of “activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy”. As I said when I acknowledged that we were traitors to the principles of democracy – “But even if NED is one of those, what the government needs to do, is prove that an organisation like Malaysiakini is attempting through propaganda to destabilise the government. They could do this by pointing out where Malaysiakini has lied or invented stories that would create mischief and chaos in this country.”

However, this whole idea that Malaysiakini is a threat to parliamentary democracy is the kind of Goebbelsian manoeuvre that is prime evidence that this country is becoming a failed state propped up by regional powers only interested in our utility as a proxy.

Let us say for one moment you could actually justify the use of this most noxious of law. Let us say that an organisation that lies, spins and fabricates was a threat to parliamentary democracy. Let us say that you did not believe in free speech or expression and supported such a law because its utility outweighed any fancy idea one has about free speech and independent journalism.

By these criteria, the news organisations that were a threat to parliamentary democracy would be news organs like the New Straits Times and Utusan Malaysia. The latter has even admitted to spinning the facts for a political party and publicly bemoaned that the lack of funds were affecting its efficacy.

In fact, I would argue that any news organisations that are owned by political parties are a threat to parliamentary democracy. I would argue that any organisation that threatens the independence of democratic institutions are a threat to parliamentary democracy.

A pimple on the Umno face

Do you understand why laws like this are so pernicious and ridiculous? Not to mention if they were applied objectively, the whole Umno house of cards would come crashing down. The red shirts, the deal with China, the pro-Islam rhetoric, all this is part of a greater Najib stratagem.

This is what I wrote about the National Security Council (NSC) Act a couple of months ago (and bear in mind that the legal machinations of the Umno state on issues like these flows directly from the poisoned well, which is the NSC Act):

“However the reality is, that besides a fancy title, this Act redefines the powers of the executive and it is not hyperbolic to claim, that with this Act, we are no longer just a Third World country or developing country or whatever other nonsensical nomenclature that economists like to use, but rather a dictatorship, which the New York Times reports Donald Greenlees, an authority on South-East Asia with Australian National University, as saying: ‘[Najib] is a throwback to the era of Marcos’ Philippines and Suharto’s Indonesia with ruling families hungry for power and great wealth. Imelda had her shoes and Rosmah has her Birkin bags. But the bags are vastly more valuable than the shoes.’”

So now, we have this Open Society Foundation (OSF) conundrum, where apparently because US billionaire George Soros has a “personal interest” in the elections of Malaysia, any organisation receiving funds from the society he founded must be out to destroy and to destabilise Umno.

China has an interest in elections in Malaysia. US has an interest in elections in Malaysia. Saudi Arabia has an interest in elections in Malaysia, and even ‘donated’ vast sums of money to ensure that Umno remains in power. So really, is it any wonder that numerous power brokers for whatever reasons have an interest in a Muslim country which is in trouble because of the corruption scandals that is destroying the country’s fragile democracy?

Ever since Malaysiakini erupted like a pimple on the Umno face, the minions of Putrajaya have done their utmost to silence one of the few news organisations that offer an alternative to the standard narrative.

And let me be very clear, as someone who writes for Malaysiakini, I have also been critical of Malaysiakini and how it presents the news. Indeed, if you look around, there is much criticism of Malaysiakini and these come from not only establishment hacks but also folks who have worked for Malaysiakini and other independent journalists.

So, there is no question of blind loyalty on my part. The day Malaysiakini tells me what to write or even implies that certain topics are verboten is the day I stop writing. However, this is not about Malaysiakini. This never was about Malaysiakini.

All this is about silencing Malaysiakini in an attempt to silence the thousands of anonymous voices that inhabit the comment sections and spread articles though social media that agitates the population.

All this is about silencing voices that disagree with the official narratives and the actions of plutocrats and corrupt officials that are ruining this country. All this is about silencing conflict that has remained hidden beneath a veneer of civility. All this is about silencing freedom of speech and expression of the average angry Malaysian.

This is not just about journalism. This is about silencing us.

S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.