Sedition is hitting a political raw nerve
Written by Steve Oh, CPI
In the book The March to Putrajaya, author Kim Quek asks some hard questions and got the reply he may not have wanted – a government ban on his book. But it is a decision as baffling as the controversies Quek broaches.
As hard as I read, I could not find the ‘not suitable for general reading’ evidence that the authorities claimed warranted the ban. Or any hint the object of the book undermined the Constitution.
Why is the book banned?
I met Quek once at the Malaysiakini 10th Anniversary Dinner and felt a kindred spirit not because we are both former accountants but we share a common concern for the country. As non-politicians we also like to write to newspapers in the public interest.
We belong to the generation that saw the hope of nationhood and the Merdeka vision dissipate before our eyes and corruption ruin the country. Armchair critics that writers often are may still prove the pen is mightier than the sword when their literary efforts awaken a people to act justly, not incite to hatred.
If readers expect saucy stuff in Quek’s book they may be disappointed. It is all stern stuff told in the serious but easy-to-read style of a writer who shows a command of the English language gained from the old British education system, as much as prowess at articulating his ideas.
He asks tough questions not only of the incumbent government but the opposition and their ability to occupy the seat of power at Putrajaya and provides convincing arguments. He relies on the facts verifiable from public records.
The accountant in him deftly uses the figures to tell the shocking truth about the disproportionate funds the federal government extracts and returns to Pakatan-government controlled states. For example, in 2009, Penang, a leading industrial state, only got RM477 million from a Federal Budget of RM216 billion; Selangor got RM1.4 billion (2008) and the states experience obstacles from a centrist government intent on undermining instead of cooperating with their state counterparts.
There is no bombshell or leaks provided by a ‘Deep Throat.’ In fact I found the book relatively pedestrian in pace yet highly informative; I read it in less than two hours. It was gripping in some parts and mostly related to events bygone albeit providing distasteful morsels of scandal and Quek’s interpretation of certain events filled the missing gaps in the political jigsaw.
The government’s claim that the book contains “baseless” accusations against national leaders and inciting public hatred and anger against the federal constitution looks like a misguided missile that has backfired. Overnight, after the ban and the book went online, it must have circulated the world many times instead of lying on store shelves to be purchased one by one.
I found my unsolicited copy waiting for me in my e-mail inbox this morning and like an excited child opening a present, I quickly delved into its contents and was not disappointed. Unlike others who sometimes run amok in their writing against the government, Quek is professional, even-tempered, and convincing. He not only opines but appeals to our intelligence after a consideration of the facts, which makes his writings compelling.
Road to political perdition
Quek’s The March to Putrajaya reads like the ruling power’s road to political perdition as he takes the reader from one shameful scandal to another, from Sodomy 1 and 2 to the death of Teoh Beng Hock and the notorious Altantuya murder trial. While some individuals are mentioned, it is the collective responsibility of the government that is on centre stage under scrutiny.
You may ban a book but not its message.
I found the first section ‘Making the Right Political Decision’ encapsulated the theme of the book and its title. The rest of the articles may have been published elsewhere before but still useful in a compilation. Everything dovetails toward the reader, the voter being adequately and accurately informed to make the right and wise choice.
That is the citizen’s fundamental duty and Quek was spot on in reminding his readers. It is something that politicians also tell the people – ‘to vote wisely’ but without giving them the full story. Quek is about giving the other side of the story.
A country suffers when history is allowed to repeat itself and the wrong politicians dictate our lives. Do Malaysians want to spend another 22 years of their lives and waste another RM100 billion to have another maverick politician ruin their country and their happiness?
The misguided and the beneficiaries may but not those who believe in a better way. Writers can try to prevent disasters from recurring even if their books are banned.
The march to Putrajaya is perilous as is the road to just and accountable governance. A country is still more important than its elected politicians and needs just governance, something still elusive today, and patriotic writers may be a thorn in the side of the politicians but they can help curb the insanity by being catalysts for change, if they write responsibly and professionally, without fear or favour, and above all – truthfully.
Writers are not infallible. Their ideas may be challenged, even be fallacious. But an outright ban of a book like Quek’s looks likes a tacit admission of defeat or guilt by its detractors. Those criticised could have produced a reply even one as ridiculous as The Blocked March to Putrajaya. They have the money. They could have employed the best ghost writers. So once again there are more questions than answers and we can’t help asking, ‘why is the book banned?’
Quek however is unequivocal about his mission: “I have written this book with the purpose of offering commentaries and insights that are otherwise hidden by the notoriously and sycophantic local press and television channels, but may be important for the making of balanced judgment.”
Most readers will agree. The ‘bastardization of the NEP’ has destroyed the credibility of all the politically controlled media which have seen drastic drops in their circulation. That is the price for purveying propaganda as news.
As an outsider, I benefited from the author’s insights into the many controversial incidents that the newspapers omit. Because Quek is first a patriot and a trained professional used to sifting through the wheat and chaff, his writing achieves credibility, though The March to Putrajaya is patently partisan and intentionally so. If there is a deficiency, it is the absence of a bibliography, if only to cite the reliable sources where possible.
The author did not pretend to play the devil’s advocate and provide arguments against his ideas. That is for the devil’s journalists to do and there already is an abundance of their writings in the mainstream media. His mission was to provide the countervailing arguments in defence of his thesis that an alternative government is in waiting on the road to Putrajaya and his book is a collection of articles that provides the reasons why Pakatan Rakyat deserves to be in government.
It is his opinion. It is one popularly shared today.
Altantuya: What’s their motive?
The book covers already publicized scandals and may as well have been titled ‘Sins of Politics’ if ‘Sins of the Politicians’ is too personal. They provide exceptional documentary value and a historic record of ‘things anathema to good governance’ since none of the allegations have been disproved in a court of law by those accused.
In a nutshell the articles also provide a compelling body of evidence to back allegations of the abuse of power since the Maverick years, though not as comprehensively as Barry Wain’s Malaysian Maverick, as Quek only had a few articles on the subject.
In fact Quek’s book is not about undermining anyone or the constitution. That’s how I see it. Politicians are always undermining one another and doing a great job themselves. The rakyat do not need to read a book to hate politicians. They may have their own stronger reasons than any Quek could give them. After all 53 years is not a short time for anyone to have a grouse against any political party no matter how good.
Change whether from within or without is still as elusive as ever and the country is still weighed under by corruption and the heavy jackboots of the ‘interfered with’ police, as racism raises its ugly head. The real subversives are before our eyes testing the waters and the government inordinately tolerant of them. The need for change is more urgent.
In the Altantuya murder trial the conduct of the prosecution was so sickening as to remove from the reader’s mind any doubt that justice was not done and that those who stood at the docks in court and understandably found guilty of pulling the trigger that killed the Mongolian woman were only as guilty as those who followed Hitler’s orders to murder the Jews.
‘Who killed Altantuya?’ is still the disturbing question.
That there was no appeal in the Altantuya trial verdict after Baginda Razak’s acquitta (left)l when even the most minor crimes charged to against opposition politicians are appealed as routine does leave even the most understanding citizen wondering if some people are above the law and there are double standards. The question is rhetorical.
The killers have been charged and found guilty. Yet why do so many Malaysians persist in believing the real murderer is still at large?
Only a royal commission may provide more answers but in a country where the politicians dictate everything the truth is usually held to ransom and a prisoner of political hegemony. That is why people like Kim Quek write books and many pen letters to online editors. It is a normal legitimate activity in all democracies but in Bolehland if you write and hit a political raw nerve it is called sedition.
The ‘missing motive’ hypothesis in the Altantuya murder case is still an unwritten book. The truth of Teoh Beng Hock’s death is still a mystery. The queue of Malaysians from all races that have died unfairly and unjustly at the hands of officialdom is a long one and their voices are still crying out for justice.
