THOUGHT PROVOKING
We very often hear all sorts of comments by our leadership team on the abuse of the social media within our society. I’m sure there is truth in this; perhaps even a lot of it.
Having said that, I must add that there is also much to gain through this means; very likely far more than for us to lose. The wide-ranging discussions and the sharing of thoughts and ideas; from the purely social all the way right up to the more sensitive and controversial issues relating to the affairs of the nation; are being covered on an ongoing basis, and exhaustively too, by the ordinary citizens through this means.
The open and wide-ranging dialogue among us, the Rakyat, is an important and key element in the making of an empowered society; the shaping and moulding of a thinking and responsible electorate; an absolute imperative for the realisation of the real and full potential of any nation.
And, of course, if we can learn to separate the chaff from the wheat; the facts from the fantasies, the truth from the falsehood; and pursue our dialogue with a lot of thoughts, restraints, and decorum, the benefit would certainly be far more.
Yet even as it is, some of the things that come over the social media can still be very useful, enlightening, thought provoking and, often, such fun too!
A brief conversation between a few facebook friends a while back, I thought, was quite illuminating of this point - from the lighthearted banter to the very serious thoughts.
The brief discussion went as follows.
"A" made a brief comment about how a perceived wrongdoing many years ago that was so strongly criticised at that time now seems such a small matter when viewed in the context of the ongoing turmoil in the country.
And he then tongue-in-cheek added , “…tapi aku tak mau masuk campur, hihi!”
"B" immediately responded with, “Tak mau campur (presumably as in 'add') tapi tolak (as in 'minus' but more likely 'reject') tentu boleh kan…hihihi”.
This lighthearted but meaningful jesting between "A" and "B" was then immediately joined by "C", who had sounded somewhat more serious. He wrote, “When everything is reasonably white, grey becomes very noticeable …..but when compared to the blackest of black, the earlier grey would even appear near-perfect white”!
....and the conversation suddenly seemed to take on a more focused message but still retaining its jesting tenor!
"A" replied, “Ya — we all want white, because it is clean - we can develop the best design on white. Too bad, our leader/leaders are blind…..so black, white or grey, they are not able to differentiate…”
"C" responded, "Blind is probably not too bad because they really cannot see; and whatever failings can be forgiven......"
......and obviously abandonning the jesting, added......
......"but for those fully celik, greedy, unprincipled, to fight tooth and nail, very often backstabbing one another, just to climb up to those positions of power - and then to deliberately and blatantly abuse that power for personal reasons or gains to the detriment of the nation, surely must be the ultimate in possible wrongdoings!"
.....and still not enough with that, added "Depending on the degree of the wrongdoings and the damage done to the country, might this not constitute a violation of allegiance to the sovereign and state, even?"
The last bit was just a simple add-on question; but one that did sound nine-month pregnant with suppressed meaning; not to mention real anger.
"A" quickly responded "You are right on the mark, bro - we are all very angry like you"; while "B" simply said "We are 100% with you brother!"
Suddenly not wanting to seem I was not part of the conversation and feeling as if I was merely evesdropping, I quickly typed, "Ameen" and quickly moved on to other chats.
By the way, as many might already know, a “Violation of Allegiance to the Sovereign and State” is the definition of “High Treason” in the old days - the most heinous of treachery to the nation, before treason became just one.
Like I said at the beginning, some of the comments in the social media can be very thought provoking, lively and interesting - and such fun.
by Maj Dato Kamaruddin Mohd. Jamal
Pingat Gagah Berani
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