“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
– Martin Luther King Jr (MLK), American civil rights leader
MLK took an assassin’s bullet for what he believed, cherished and trusted. Was it worth it? The Civil Rights Act of 1965 became law after his untimely death that redneck Americans refused to obey. Freedom gone awry in the “land of the free and the home of the brave”.
The Indian mystic and intellectual warrior, Sri Aurobindo Ghose, set in motion the Vande Mataram movement as a radical, rational and revolutionary movement to free (Mother) India from the blood-sucking British.
The British quickly reacted. He was imprisoned on unproven charges of rebellion, sabotage and insurrection. After one year in solitary confinement in Alipur Prison, the British-controlled court found him not guilty as charged.
Sri Aurobindo’s rational and radical statement that must reverberate in every political conscience: “If fighting for my nation’s freedom is a crime, then I am proud to be a criminal.”
Johor, Kedah and Perak stood up for freedom when their adat system of governance took on revolutionary fervour in 1875 with the assassination of the British Resident, JWW Birch, in Perak.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, as Malaya’s first Prime Minister, raised his voice in joy and proclaimed “Merdeka” – derived from the Sanskrit word ‘maharddhika’ which means “rich, powerful and prosperous”.
As ‘Father of the Nation’, it’s doubtful if any scholar advised him about the etymological meaning of “Merdeka”. Everyone believed the word meant freedom and independence.
The Tunku was right about one thing – we were “rich” then, and now. We are yet to attain “powerful and prosperous” nation status. Liberty, freedom, wealth and power comes from sterner stuff and true grit of the voters.
What does “freedom” really mean for Malaysians, especially for those born in the 1980s and the 1990s? Must truth always be the first casualty when power is never tethered to responsibility?
Are we free from aging and aged politicians who refuse to fade away?
But civil servants and public officers reaching the age of 65 years are told to ride off into the sunset. Unfortunately, freedom of choice is not a constitutional guarantee.
We are yet to be free from corruption, nepotism, cronyism, bigotry, racism and discrimination. The culprit is Article 8(2) Federal Constitution that permits, acknowledges and condones discrimination!
Are Sabah and Sarawak really free from the aggravating violations of MA63? Are they free from the misleading status as “States” cavalierly suggested in various articles of the Federal Constitution?
Providentially, Sarawak found favour with Article 95c which reportedly was instrumental in granting PETROS the role of sole gas aggregator for Sarawak, read together with Sarawak’s Distribution of Gas Ordinance.
This new PETROS standing suggests that Sarawak is free from being a “State” because its co-equal partner status with Malaya under MA63 is slowly but surely gaining traction. Freedom from Putrajaya’s misreading, misleading, misrepresenting and misinterpreting MA63 is refreshingly welcome.
Are we free from constitutional convulsions because of the Executive’s interpretation of the law that usurps the Judiciary’s role to defend and protect the Federal Constitutional? Judges did not take an Oath to defend the Executive!
“The secret of happiness is freedom; the secret of freedom is courage,” expounded Sri Aurobindo.
Aspiring young Malaysian politicians must study and apply the thoughts of such towering intellects.
Robert Frist reminded us that “freedom lies in being bold”. Malaysians who speak up and write political articles must be bold enough to take shelter in section 3(2)(1)(a)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948 (revised 1969):
“An act, speech, words, publication or other thing shall not be deemed to be seditious by reason only that it has a tendency to show that any Ruler has been misled or mistaken . . . ;
“To point out errors or defects in any Government or constitution as by law established (except in respect of any matter, right, status, position, privilege . . . or in legislation or in the administration of justice with a view to the remedying of the errors or defects”
This bold statutory shelter became law during the Communist Emergency and was thereafter revised after 13 May 1969. Awakened, alert and agile Malaysians must seriously invoke this shelter in pointing out government errors and defects in an effort to remedying them.
This statutory shelter spells freedom from persecution and prosecution in matters relating to wrong advice tendered to any Ruler. It must apply to the Prime Minister, too, when he “gives advice” to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong per Article 40 Federal Constitution.
“The only real prison is fear, the only real freedom is freedom from fear,” remarked the courageous Aung San Suu Kyi who remains under house arrest for awakening her people to prepare for freedom.
The “will-power”, postulated by Friedrich Nietzsche, must not be fueled and fed by a “school of suspicion”. Freedom through “the will to power” is a sustained striving for citizens and denizens to lead a good life.
A genuine burst of freedom came on 7 September 1981 when the Dawn Raid in London resulted in the complete buyout of Guthrie orchestrated by corporate strategist, Khalid Ibrahim, PMIV Dr Mahathir and Bank Negara Governor, Ismail Ali.
Government is best explained by the parable of the monkey that was asked why it was catching lots of fish.
Answer: “I have to save them from drowning.”
