Are we not a tolerant society?

The support of an internationally-acclaimed actress for Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as Prime Minister has caused cyber bullies to pour scorn on her. But these people fail to appreciate the fact that opinions don’t always coincide.

The simple truth is that this kind of bashing indicates that we are still a young democracy and social media is enabling everyone to comment on anything and everything. While social media allows for free expression, it is also exposing our fears and vulnerabilities.

Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star

HER support for and endorsement of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was clear, generous and unequivocal.

International actress and celebrity Datuk Seri Michelle Yeoh (pic) wanted Najib to continue as Prime Minister and Malaysians to give him the large mandate he is seeking in the May 5 vote.

At a dinner in Klang on April 21, Michelle openly told the huge audience: “We have a leader here who has done so many good things and will do more.

“I hope from the bottom of my heart that he will remain as Prime Minister and I ask all of you to give him a strong mandate.”

Najib, who was also on stage, along with MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and a number of Chinese businessmen, was pleasantly surprised by her clear endorsement of him.

In her speech, Michelle did not mention Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who will be prime minister if the coalition he leads captures Putrajaya.

She did not criticise Anwar or compare him with Najib either, but only had praise for the Prime Minister and wanted him to win and continue to lead the country.

For saying that, she has been denounced by cyber troopers aligned with or who are supporters of Pakatan.

These bullies took to social networking sites to lambast Michelle after an unofficial Facebook page in Chinese themed “We Fully Support PKR” highlighted a local Chinese daily report about the dinner.

The page posted a message on April 12 addressed to Michelle, which read: “You were once Malaysian people’s pride but now no longer.”

The anonymous author of the post then went on to ask Michelle if she had “any idea how her fellow countrymen live” before urging the 49-year-old actress to reconsider her decision and “not become a traitor”.

As of this week, the page had received over 8,000 “likes” and some 1,500 comments, many of which are hostile to Michelle.

In any mature democracy, it is common practice for celebrities to endorse candidates as they do in the United States, Europe, Latin America and even India.

Be it an actor, actress, a retired general, rock singer or even celebrity chef, they all try to use their star power to endorse their favourite candidate in the hope that he or she succeeds.

In the recent US presidential election, for example, actor Ben Affleck and actress Drew Barrymore, just to name two, endorsed Barack Obama.

On the other hand, actor Clint Eastwood and Chuck Norris, again two among scores of others, endorsed Obama’s challenger Mitt Romney.

They even donated huge sums of money for the campaigns of their preferred candidates.

Everybody gets into the endorsement game from celebrity chefs to actors and actresses, academics and even major newspapers but they are all civil about it.

They don’t call one another traitor or accuse each other of betraying their country, race, religion or party.

Their followers or fans, who have their own political preferences, take the celebrity endorsement at face value.

And the game is played over again, at the national level, four years later.

But here, the political divide is particularly severe and has turned people into mean and nasty cyber bullies lashing out to draw blood, hurt or even to kill with their keyboards.

The writer of the April 12 message is clearly biased based on his/her comments.

Cyber bullies jumped on the bandwagon, taking it out on Michelle.

Some accused her of being selfish and caring only for “fame, power, and money” while others urged all to boycott her movies.

One even blamed her for environmental damage since she is from Ipoh!

“Please don’t side with the enemy” was the usual refrain of the commentators.

Among the rants and brickbats were a few who supported her, saying it was her right as a citizen to support who she wants.

One writer said: “Supporting BN doesn’t mean one is a traitor. Can everyone be more sensible? We are a democratic country.”

The simple truth is that this kind of bashing indicates that we are still a young democracy and social media is enabling everyone to comment on anything and everything.

While social media allows for free expression, it is also exposing our fears and vulnerabilities.

Everything comes packaged together and they are here to stay, part of the new political landscape the world over.

Michelle also defended her endorsement of Najib in an interview with Channel News Asia, saying like everyone, she is free to give her views.

“This is a democratic country and we are free to voice our opinions,” she said.

We should leave matters at that everybody has a right to his or her opinion on anything and who they endorse is their business.

The belief that “one may not agree with your opinion but will defend your right to express it” is a cornerstone of a tolerant democracy.