There is no real freedom of expression, and especially in Malaysia, where sometimes, there is no freedom after expression.
We all know there are limits to freedom of expression. To non-Malays or non-Muslims, the best guide is to mind our own business where race and religion are concerned, until new rules or new interpretation by enforcers encroach on our lives even when we MOOB.
Actually, most Chinese are pretty good at minding their own business, even to the extent that they live their lives within their own communities, oblivious to what is happening outside. Often, they do not know who is the current PM, or unable to name him! You might have to word your question in such an objective way that there is no doubt, like having a picture of Ah Jib Kor pointing to himself (like what Blake Sheldon used to do in The Voice)!
Less people are into commenting in online news portals or blogsites. Maybe it was just a passing fad. Sometimes, I felt I was intruding when commenting on so-called FB friends' posts. Other times, I felt I was talking to myself.
Anyway, a few things happened during the past few days which made me keep to myself. I was down with flu and for the first time, experienced something similar to vertigo which I heard so much from my wife and her sisters. Earlier, I reminded Cheng not to renew her gift of Mkini subscription because I was getting tired of commenting. Then, there is Maxis Home Wifi which allows me less than two weeks of decent broadband use before it gets throttled down. This had the effect of upsetting my settings with Maybank online trading which I have yet to sort out. As a comparison, even my old TM basic cabled broadband service seemed like a good deal, especially the unlimited quota or what seems like unlimited until service affected. It was upgraded to Wifi at Rm90 pm until the technician told me he could not touch my notebook nor modem as it was beyond his call of duty! I should think using fibre optic wifi connection should solve all my problems but at Rm149 pm minimum, it will be underused. I have to live up to a typical cost-conscious mindset of seniors. A friend who is normally generous with paying for our cofee shop drinks would normally ask the price of 'liu' which go with the noodles. Sometimes, he would boycott a stall even if it costs 10 sen extra a piece! Getting old can make a person ultra sensitive to certain things.
I don't know about others, but recent events and some nonsensical public statements made in relation to them were overwhelming, to the extent that if I were to comment like before, I would be too busy trying to make sense of them and making my opinions known when probably nobody appreciates them anyway. Again, there will be a lot of self-censorship just to ensure no one is insulted, so there is no real expressions of true feelings. There are some people who appears to have an inherent right to insult others but not the other way round. There comes a time when one feels, 'why bother?'
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We all know there are limits to freedom of expression. To non-Malays or non-Muslims, the best guide is to mind our own business where race and religion are concerned, until new rules or new interpretation by enforcers encroach on our lives even when we MOOB.
Actually, most Chinese are pretty good at minding their own business, even to the extent that they live their lives within their own communities, oblivious to what is happening outside. Often, they do not know who is the current PM, or unable to name him! You might have to word your question in such an objective way that there is no doubt, like having a picture of Ah Jib Kor pointing to himself (like what Blake Sheldon used to do in The Voice)!
Less people are into commenting in online news portals or blogsites. Maybe it was just a passing fad. Sometimes, I felt I was intruding when commenting on so-called FB friends' posts. Other times, I felt I was talking to myself.
Anyway, a few things happened during the past few days which made me keep to myself. I was down with flu and for the first time, experienced something similar to vertigo which I heard so much from my wife and her sisters. Earlier, I reminded Cheng not to renew her gift of Mkini subscription because I was getting tired of commenting. Then, there is Maxis Home Wifi which allows me less than two weeks of decent broadband use before it gets throttled down. This had the effect of upsetting my settings with Maybank online trading which I have yet to sort out. As a comparison, even my old TM basic cabled broadband service seemed like a good deal, especially the unlimited quota or what seems like unlimited until service affected. It was upgraded to Wifi at Rm90 pm until the technician told me he could not touch my notebook nor modem as it was beyond his call of duty! I should think using fibre optic wifi connection should solve all my problems but at Rm149 pm minimum, it will be underused. I have to live up to a typical cost-conscious mindset of seniors. A friend who is normally generous with paying for our cofee shop drinks would normally ask the price of 'liu' which go with the noodles. Sometimes, he would boycott a stall even if it costs 10 sen extra a piece! Getting old can make a person ultra sensitive to certain things.
I don't know about others, but recent events and some nonsensical public statements made in relation to them were overwhelming, to the extent that if I were to comment like before, I would be too busy trying to make sense of them and making my opinions known when probably nobody appreciates them anyway. Again, there will be a lot of self-censorship just to ensure no one is insulted, so there is no real expressions of true feelings. There are some people who appears to have an inherent right to insult others but not the other way round. There comes a time when one feels, 'why bother?'
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