Let's Talk

Of late, an Indian girl bad mouthed our Agong on her Facebook account and it quickly escalated to a racial "war" between the Malays and Indians where all kinds of keyboard warriors put their armors up.

While what she said was not right and the way she put it was even worse, we still do not know why she did what she did. Some assume its to seek attention, others claim its to pour out her agony and the rest of us are clueless, me included. 

No matter the reason and objective, she clearly was not aware of the consequences which could amount to years of prison, a defamation lawsuit and she might be even kicked out of the country since she spat venom towards our Agong itself. 

I'm not saying she is a bad person or uneducated or anything like that, all I'm saying is she did something without paying heeds to the aftermath of the whole business. She deactivated her Facebook account due to all the negativity which surrounded her like a thick smoke of black cloud and is probably crying over spilled milk now.

Why she might be prosecuted? For two concrete reasons; first, she disrespected our Agong which is against the law and second, she defamed our Agong by accusing Yang di-Pertuan Agong based on some rumors which breaches article 10 under the Federal Constitution for misusing freedom of speech. 

Nevertheless, it is not that light of a deed to be forgiven just like that since she disrespected our Agong itself in a country where respect is of the utmost importance. As a fellow Malaysian I do not vouch for what she did neither am I proud, to be honest I am ashamed for her. 

Everyone deserves a second chance though, we should not take it lightly but a heartfelt public apology is definitely mandatory. Let the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and higher authorities decide on how she has to pay for the damage done for they know best.

This does not mean that we shouldn't or not allowed to voice out our opinions but everything has a way of saying with due respect. We shouldn't just throw words and regret it later, freedom of speech is not suppressed, it has a way of being said, in fact it will also be heard if its said correctly and has a valid point. 

Granting all these, the right way to express oneself would be by being general or vague in one's opinion if there's no solid proof to show, say things with respect, refrain from using words like "sila meninggal dunia" or "stupid", justify your point with reasonable explanations and most of all, do not accuse someone and especially not the Yang di-Pertuan Agong based on some unheard rumors which has no real evidence. 

As for the rest of us, let's not make this a racial issue, we will combat this together and view the person as an individual and not as a representative of the whole race. The rest of us should take this as a lesson and learn to respect not only our Agong, government, higher authorities but everyone else just the same as well as use our freedom of speech wisely without misusing it. 

Like how we were saying during the PRU 14, there are no Malays, Indians, Chinese, there are only Malaysians. We are merely Malaysians, we shall stand united as one in the face of crises and adversities that threaten to divide us and emerge out of it as stronger and better Malaysians. 

Hold strong to the old adage; "bersatu kita teguh, bercerai kita roboh!"