When a rotten egg cracks
By Stanley Koh, Free Malaysia Today
Zunar has been trying to crack the Malaysian egg for some time now, releasing smells that the authorities cannot tolerate.
Everything looks like a nail.
To the corrupt and corruptible, the truth is so precious that it must be hidden at all costs, usually with a pack of lies and half-truths.
Astrologers avow that the Age of Aquarius is an era of spiritual awakening. But has mankind really entered or arrived anywhere near an era of spirituality, enlightenment, wisdom, harmony and truth?
Sceptics do not think so.
Even cartoonists are learning that their work can invite arrest, prosecution and death threats.
A few of them, no doubt, lack sensibility and wisdom. Instead of appealing to the very human sense of humour, their cartoons invite violent protests and provoke murderous instincts.
Such, for instance, was the case of Lars Vilks, the Swedish artist who offended Muslims across the globe with his perceived insult in 2007. The following year, Amsterdam police arrested Gregorius Nekschot on allegations that his work discriminated against Muslims.
In another incident, 20-year-old Bangladeshi cartoonist Ariful Rahman broke his country’s law when he stirred up religious sentiments with his play of words for a caricature published in the newspaper Aalpin.
The case of Malaysian cartoonist Zunar, however, is somewhat different. He has joined the ranks of persecuted cartoonists—not for his insensitivity to the feelings of fellow human beings, but for his tendency to reveal what the authorities believe ought to be kept hidden.
To paraphrase a Russian proverb, politics is a rotten egg; if broken, it stinks.
Zunar has been trying to crack the Malaysian egg for some time now, releasing smells that the authorities cannot tolerate.
Everything looks like a nail
To the corrupt and corruptible, the truth is so precious that it must be hidden at all costs, usually with a pack of lies and half-truths.
“To the man who has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail,” said American psychologist Abraham Maslow. As a depiction of the psychology of Malaysia’s political leadership, this is not far off the mark. Critics, it seems, should be hammered into compliance or obedience like a nail, and this can be done through repressive laws.
According to Aristotle, the mark of an educated mind is that it is able to entertain a thought—or criticism—without accepting it.
Can an individual, through written or spoken criticism, really cause nationwide rioting or trigger a violent revolution? Does a drop of water constitute an ocean? Remember that riots are usually caused by groups orchestrated by politicians and wars are conducted by military commanders, not by any one individual citizen.
The real problem with our leadership is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubts and fears. They make grave political mistakes as a result.
As George Bernard Shaw once quipped, “Political necessities sometimes turn out to be political mistakes.” That applies to all the draconian laws in the country; they are political mistakes perpetuating an out-of-date political culture.
