Creating the katak di bawah tempurung syndrome

or how the Umno leaders view the role of dissent

'Many reports have surfaced in the establishment-controlled local press about Umno ministers warning students not to get involved in politics especially following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim from the government and party. While one may hold any view over the Anwar issue nevertheless there is nothing wrong in students discussing the politics of the nation in institutions of higher learning. 

It was reported that the Selangor chief minister had called upon students not to involve themselves in the 'political struggle of the former deputy prime minister'. He was reported to have said, 'they should by right continue studying and not raise any problem that would destroy their future, families and society'. 

Meanwhile, the Umno Information head, Datuk Dr Yusof Nor was reported to have made a request to the administrations in the institutions of higher learning to 'ensure that student organizations are not left to decide their own course of action but must be brought to the "right path" '. He was also reported to have said that if the situation went out of control, these students would become 'victims of certain parties as had occurred in other countries and in the end cause a loss to the nation'. He also seemed to have said that the Education ministry should help prevent students from being used as tools to serve the personal interests of individuals. 

The Education minister joined the crowd and had asked the police to oversee any development amongst students whether within or outside the campus. According to him, students were not to do anything that would jeopardize political stability. He was further reported to have said 'Malaysia cannot be equaled to Indonesia or other countries because "this country is very stable and has a government that is committed to development" '. 

Besides targetting students, Umno leaders also made 'reminders' to their own crowd not to be swayed by the Anwar issue. The Selangor mentri besar it seemed had called upon Umno members not to possess tapes on Anwar. According to him such tapes did not have the approval of the relevant authorities and may land the possessor in trouble. 

This is the Umno leaders' mentality whenever crises surface. If anyone has the time and energy he/she should record the mind-insulting statements made by Umno leaders from time to time. It would also be good material for research. Never mind how preposterous their statements may be. Malaysians true to "Malaysia Boleh" form will not protest, what more those in the rank and file of Umno who depend so much on handouts from their bosses. Can any right minded person accept such idiotic arguments as have been raised by these bunch of people whose only concern now is to portray themselves as stout supporters of the president in the hope that they would be noticed and therefore rise up the political ladder? Let us analyze some of these ridiculous outbursts. 

For starters the argument that students should confine themselves to their studies as espounded by the Selangor chief minister is a total irony. Abu Hassan Omar should first ask himself, why he is in politics in the first place. Should he not just have concentrated on his studies, got his masters, and become a civil servant and serve the government as a government officer? - remember civil servants too have been told not to become involved. What about his boss, Mahathir? Had he only concentrated on obtaining his degree in medicine - a tough discipline at that which demands total concentration - and not dabbled with politics in his student days, would there be a good possibility of him becoming a top Umno politician and leader of the country? No. He would have just become another doctor. And the same can be repeated for Dr Yusof Nor and Datuk Najib. All of them had been active in politics - one way or another. So why hassle students of this generation? And these people lead this country. What a shame! 

The Selangor chief minister must really be aging. Can one imagine him asking Umno members not to possess Anwar's tapes because 'it is against the law'? What if one of them turned around and said that Anwar's speeches could also be downloaded from the internet? Would he ask them to throw away their computers ( as in the infamous 70s incident of a certain group of people alleged to have thrown away their TV sets into rivers because TVs showed filth)? Or has he forgotten that episode and may well call upon his members to do so. What a regressive step for the development of IT in this age of IT! Why is there one rule for you but another for others? Of course no one disputes the fact that possession of tapes deemed unlawful makes it unlawful. But in this age one can get such information elsewhere, not just from tapes. 

And then the argument that the BN government is committed to development is another slap in the face for intelligent people. Is Datuk Najib saying that those countries witnessing student activism are all suffering from the woes of under development, countries like South Korea, Indonesia, for example? What an insult to fellow Asian states. And what 'development' is he talking about? Lest one forgets - take note of the rising cases of HIV cases in the country. 'Committed to development'? Of course there is physical development - though in pockets of the country - but these are also glaring enough in other countries. Student activism in Korea has not caused physical development to cease. So what is the big deal? 

The suggestion that students will be misled is also reflective of the bigotry that has got into the heads of these Umno stalwarts. They should not try to read the students' minds but instead review their line of thinking instead - because they have probably lost the ability to think independently and critically. They probably are aware of their roles as 'yes-men' to the party leadership. 

What we are then witnessing is hypocrisy of the highest level. The question here is not whether Anwar is right or wrong, or whether students should back Anwar or otherwise, because the people would in time know the truth. But it is a question of allowing freedom of expression even if it involves students. This is because it is obvious that students would be able to broaden their horizons and become competent leaders of the future only through active participation in the issues affecting the nation. Their passiveness would be a bane for the nation, and should not be encouraged. Their involvement in the rights and wrongs of this country is necessary as guardians of the people since they are the ones who are really free of vested interests. They should involve themselves in healthy discussion of the nation's politics and stand up for the ideals that they supposedly are fighting for.