Malaysian Self-Loathing and Self-Surveilling

I see this fear not only in the lives of the so-called "ordinary people", but activists as well. I see it in friends and colleagues worn down by the endless fight against regressive laws, as well as in trying to change a society made twisted and apathetic by fear. I hear it in the words of well-meaning people who advocate inaction under the guise of strategy, or disclaim responsibility by presenting themselves as insignificant and powerless.

In my more cynical moments, I see Malaysia as the single most successful example of a behavioural experiment -- citizens function as both prisoners and prison guards within a Panopticon. The euphoria of 8 March 2008 has given way to a more familiar atmosphere of self-policing and self-censorship.

Book-thumping political leaders and religious groups are ever ready to scream invectives and accusations at those deemed to be threats simply for standing up for their rights. That "ordinary people" are blaming the victims and taking up the witch hunts themselves is perhaps not surprising, but no less heart-breaking. Suu Kyi's essay was first published in 1991, but her words on the nature of fear ring as clearly as ever 17 years later.

The warning for us all is to find a society that provides love and learning and not fear and loathing -- but that task is growing tougher by the day as terrorism ripens across the world and we allow our small freedoms to be taken over by the greater good of the society surrounding us.