Let’s face facts (part 4)

ARCHIVES 2012

By MT Webmaster On Mar 9, 2012

So, before you get on to your high horse and with self-righteousness ask me what my price is, ask yourself first whether your price is even cheaper and a pittance compared to the price I have on my head. Honestly, you really can’t afford to pay my price. No one can. Not even Najib Tun Razak or Anwar Ibrahim. My price is independence. I do what I want and not what others want me to do. If you can give me that then you meet my price.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Pete, friends told me, “Every man has his price”. Do you? I am your die-hard fan. The saying hurts greatly. – Vic

That was the comment one reader named ‘Vic’ posted in Malaysia Today. As you may have noticed, since two days ago, only those who are registered can comment in Malaysia Today. This means you need a legitimate e-mail address to be able to comment in Malaysia Today — although you can of course use IDs and pseudonyms. And this also means we will not know who you are although we know your e-mail address. And nine out of ten times your e-mail address can at least reveal your ethnicity.

The above comment by ‘Vic’ is just one of many similar comments, hundreds in fact. Further to that, I receive e-mails and phone calls, not to mention the face-to-face meetings I have had with friends and strangers who walk up to me to just shake my hand and talk. You will be surprised how many strangers I get to meet in London, Manchester, Liverpool, etc., even as far away as Edinburgh, who recognise me and walk up to say hello and to exchange a few words. Some are Malaysians merely visiting the UK for a holiday, some are students (post-graduates doing their PhD), while many are Malaysians residing and working here in the UK. Some have been here 20 years or more.

I have always said from way back: every man has his price — you just need to know what that price is and whether you can afford it. Yes, that has been my saying and I have been saying this from as long as I can remember. So certainly I too have my price. But the question is: can you afford that price? So let’s not beat around the bush and try to pretend that you and I, all of us, cannot be bought. Of course we all can be bought. And we all certainly have already been bought. Only that some of you have not realised it yet.

Let us look at the comments in Malaysia Today over the last two days or so. Have you noticed that once we closed the comments to only those who are registered the comments drop from over a hundred to less than ten? What does that tell you? Not many want to pay the RM20.00 to register to comment in Malaysia Today.

Just to digress a bit. One registered reader, a Chinese chap, was so angry that I disallowed his comment that he demanded I refund RM40.00 for the RM20.00 he had paid. I asked him for his bank account details and he sent it to me (that’s why I know he is Chinese) and I sent him his RM40.00 refund. He thought that once he paid RM20.00 that gave him a right to comment. He did not understand that this only gave him a privilege to comment, not a right. I mean, even if you pay membership fees to a golf club that does not mean you have a right to play golf stark naked. They do have dress codes and they can escort you out of the club or even terminate your membership if you breach the rules.

Anyway, back to the issue of posting comments in Malaysia Today. We have seen a drastic drop in comments since we closed Malaysia Today to only those who are registered. That means readers are only prepared to post comments if they do not need to register and pay the RM20.00. Actually, RM20.00 is not a big deal. I am even prepared to allow free registration if RM20.00 is too much for many of you (even though RM20.00 is a one-time, non-recurring payment). But the point is: are you reluctant to pay the RM20.00 or are you reluctant to register because then I will know your e-mail address?

So you see, 90% or more of you (based on the 90% plus drop in comments) also have your price. Your price is just RM20.00. You are not prepared to sacrifice RM20.00 for the privilege of commenting in Malaysia Today. Running Malaysia Today costs me tens of thousands a month. Hosting the site, the very high bandwidth, the 24-7 technical support, the back-up sites and servers, etc., are not cheap. Those in this business can tell you that it costs a bomb. And the fact that we have almost zero downtime — even when we are hit by DDOS attacks (which is very frequent) — and that the site is fast even during peak periods, shows you how much we have to invest in Malaysia Today. RM200,000 a year will not even cover the cost of Malaysia Today.

So what is your RM20.00 one-time, non-recurring payment? Pittance! I actually do not need your RM20.00. Even if 1,000 of you register and pay RM20.00 that still does not come close to paying what it costs to maintain Malaysia Today for the last eight years. Over the last eight years more than RM1 million has gone into Malaysia Today and we have still not stopped paying. Do you think your RM20.00 is going to cover the amount of money we have already spent and have to continue spending?

Your RM20.00 is about testing your commitment. It is to see how many of you will put your money where your mouth is. Are you really serious about what you are saying or is it just empty rhetoric? Are you prepared to sacrifice a mere RM20.00 for the sake of the cause? Apparently, more than 90% of you are not. More than 90% of you have your price. And your price is just RM20.00.

So, yes, everyone has his or her price. And for many of you your price is a mere RM20.00. Even a prostitute will not give you a blowjob for RM20.00. So even a prostitute has a higher price than many of you.

Okay, now many are going to argue that it is not about the RM20.00. You will say that the RM20.00 is not the issue. It is the difficulty of having to open a Paypal account to transfer the money and the risks involved in having to reveal your e-mail address. You need to indulge in a little bit of extra work if you want to open a Paypal account to transfer the money. And you do not welcome this additional work. You would rather you not have to do any extra work. Also, what happens if the Special Branch gets to know your e-mail address? How would you know that your e-mail address would not fall into the hands of the Special Branch?

So we have two issues here. One is the trouble of having to do an extra bit of work in transferring the money. Next is the remote possibility that others might know your e-mail address — maybe even the Special Branch. That is a risk you are not going to take. After all, many of you post anti-Malay-anti-Islam comments so this may subject you to retaliation from the authorities. You might be hauled in under sedition charges if the authorities get to find out whom you are.

How much work is involved here? A little bit of extra work? You want others to do all the work, take the risks, suffer, sacrifice, pay the costs, and whatnot, to make Malaysia a better place for you and your family just as long as you yourself need not do any work, take any risks, suffer, sacrifice, pay the costs, etc. You just want to be the beneficiary of other people’s work, risks, sufferings, sacrifices, and costs.

So, what is your price here? While you have the gall to ask others as to what their price is, what is your price? Your price is to get everything free with no cost, no work and no risk to you. That is your price. Others must do everything. Others must do the work, pay the price and suffer the cost. Others must face the risk and make the sacrifice. You just want to be the beneficiary of what others have to pay and face.

So, don’t you also have your price? Your price is safety and freedom. Maybe you can afford the RM20.00. But paying the RM20.00 would mean you have to take a risk. And with this risk comes the remote possibility you would lose your freedom if the long arm of the law catches up on you. Your price is to remain risk-free. If you have to pay the price of risking all this you will not pay it.

As I said, everyone has his or her price. And for more than 90% of those who comment in Malaysia Today I know what your price is. So, before you have the cheek to ask others what their price is, first of all wake up to the fact that you too have your price. And your price is far cheaper and a pittance compared to the price that people like me have to pay.

If I were to say to you Chinese, for the sake of ABU, for the sake of Malaysian unity, for the sake of not offending the Malay voters whom we need to win the next election, for the sake of change, for the sake of ensuring that Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the next federal government, are you prepared to sacrifice and set aside your Chinese taboos and superstition and not make a big deal out of issues such as, say, white ang paus?

More than 90% of you will say, ‘No!’ You will feel insulted if someone gives out ang paus in white envelopes during Chinese New Year and you will speak out against it even if it hurts the feelings of the Malays. So you too have your price, is it not? Your price is you will not set aside Chinese taboos and superstition even if it is for the greater good of the cause.

If I were to say to you Malays, for the sake of ABU, for the sake of Malaysian unity, for the sake of not offending the non-Malay voters whom we need to win the next election, for the sake of change, for the sake of ensuring that Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the next federal government, are you prepared to agree that Malaysia is a Secular State and hence Islam should be removed as the official religion since that would make Malaysia a Theocratic State instead?

More than 90% of you will say, ‘No!’ You will say I am a Muslim first, Malay second, and Malaysian third. Very few of you Malays would say I am a Malaysian first, Muslim second and Malay third and that you are prepared to defend the ideals and spirit of a Secular State. So you too have your price. And your price is to uphold Islam, which must come first.

So we all have our price, every one of us. And what makes you think that your price is nobler than my price? Your price could be money, your religion, your language, your culture, your traditions, your ethnicity, your education, your race, your job, your home, your family, your community, your country, your life, your freedom, your safety, your health, or whatever. If I give you what is your price you will support me or vote for me. If I try to take away what is your price you will oppose me.

Would you walk into your office wearing an ABU T-shirt and risk getting sacked from your job? Certainly not, especially if you are working for the government or a government agency and risk not only getting sacked but also ending up in Bukit Aman. So that is your price, your job and your freedom. Your can be bribed with your job and your freedom to ensure that you do not openly show support for ABU.

How many Malaysians refuse to vote, refuse to register to vote, or refuse to vote opposition because they believe the government knows whom you vote for? Out of 15 million eligible Malaysian voters, only 4 million voted Pakatan Rakyat. Many say they are scared of voting Pakatan although they may support the opposition. So that is their price, fear. They will sell themselves to avoid fear.

So, in short, all of you can be bought. The only thing is what can I buy you with? Is it money, your religion, your language, your culture, your traditions, your ethnicity, your education, your race, your job, your home, your family, your community, your country, your life, your freedom, your safety, your health, etc.? Ultimately, you all have your price. It is just to know what that price is. But for 90% of you, your price is very cheap. Fear is enough and you will pay to avoid this fear. That is how cheap most of you are.