Silent Malays, Where Art Thou?

Whilst many Malay Muslims in this Era are reviving the “Sunnah” by taking up the art of Shooting the Arrow using a Bow (Archery), as a competitive sport and recreational activity, at the same time, many “Pendekars” have upped their ante several notches, in Modern Martial Arts to combat the New World Order.

These “Pendekars” with their “Tanjaks” are rallying behind the Boss with a common goal, and that is to undermine all efforts made by the current government. Belittle. Undermine. Repeat.

It is not called Star Wars, but Cyberwar, where the Bows and Arrows are inexistent, only keyboards and fake Facebook accounts are used as their everyday ammunition. And it seems to be working well to those who do not reflect.

During the weekend, there was an interesting article, spot on in many areas and should be commented upon. In this piece :

https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/its-just-politics/2019/09/21/the-voice-of-progressive-malays

1.     The editors said, the current top three hot topics among their community are Zakir Naik, the Umno-PAS unity pact and the economy (the boycott movement).

2.     Some of the comments on the OrangKata.my Facebook page are hostile to the point where there are “threats, or that they bring up fiery racial sentiments, or that we are merely agents of a political party or a religious group”.

3.     Malaysians were different on social media and real life. “On social media or in the media, I get the sense that there is a religious and racial ticking time bomb in the country. But in reality, the Grab pakcik (uncle) and the nasi lemak makcik (auntie) have no time or inclination for these issues. They want to make a living in a harmonious Malaysia,” I said.

Of course, in the real corridors, there are plenty of Silent Moderate Malays or Progressive Malays whose gabs are zip-locked. Whichever adjective you wish to deploy, it all boils down to the same thing. They are unwilling to talk, or if they are willing to voice their opinion, they do not want it to be recorded in any manner. They choose to be anonymous. They are scared of losing their job. They are scared to be seen as vocal. They do not want to be associated with Opinionated Postings on Facebook. They only want to show you what they eat and some weddings they attended instead. These are considered “SAFE”.

And then let the others fight Goliath.

But these are the Thinkers who did not #BMF, who quietly giggled at the ridiculous PASUMNO union, and who, in real life, have absolutely no issues with other races as the Social Media claims.

The open-minded, educated Urban Malays have chosen to stay safe and remain silent. They just want to eat nasi lemak and go to work quietly.

What you see in the Social Media scene, are those at the bottom of the pyramid (that’s if they really exist). The hound dogs of political parties, who can barely speak nor write in English. The loyalists who refuse to think further than their nose. Those who believe everything they see and then click share without checking accuracy.

All they do is bash and belittle all day long. Worse off, the comments they make are downright rude, uncouth and ill-mannered – which mirrors their background, level of education and political inclination.

Due to their lack of credible facts and content, they tend to recycle lame comebacks in all the pages that are in support of the government – in hope to break the spirit of good fellow Malaysians and escalate unrest amongst the netizens.

Fortunately, in every foolishness, there is always goodness. For example, when they came in droves to drive the #BMF campaign and later heralded in their so-called success in reducing prices – not so many of them realised that the prices of goods could be brought down, because prices are actually determined by retailers, not so much the taxes. Only a few of them noticed that the prices have been in fact, manipulated by greedy retailers who took advantage of the taxation structure to raise prices. And yet, they continue to cheerlead #BMF and claimed their fame.

Tun said in his controversial Malay Dilemma book, and I quote.

“I'm brash and abrasive but that's because I've noticed when people are nice and polite, they never get anywhere.”

Being brash is alright if you are bright. But if you are abrasive and dumb, it goes to show that the Cyber War is loaded with Empty Vessels, which make the most noise.

I have concluded, a long time ago, that it’s all empty chatter, fuss, and no intellect whatsoever out there.

But that’s how the cookie crumbles, for as long as we keep seeing only Wedding Photos and food platters from the Silent Malays who choose to Stay Safe and Stay Quiet.