COMMENT | As reported in the press, a group of current and former MPs of Asean countries warned of the dangerous rise of hate speech in this country. The
problem here in Malaysia is that hate speech is difficult to define and
indeed people who advocate egalitarian and secular positions would be
accused of hate speech or hurting the sensitivities of others.
For instance, the speech and policies against the LGBTQ community are
hateful but because it comes under the umbrella of religious and Asian
values, it is condoned. Indeed, LGBTQ activists are often targeted
by the state and people find themselves in a position where their
rights to speech and assembly are sanctioned because of the
sensitivities of the majority.
Religion and race are, of course,
the battle cry for race-based hegemons. Indeed, when non-Malays speak on
racial and religious matters, they have to be extremely mindful as what
they say could invite intervention by the state. However, what
far-right and extremist political operatives say about non-Malay
communities is merely part of the “social contract”.
Vulgar expression of the state
The
reality is that hate speech has always been the vulgar political and
religious expression of the state. Whether doctrinal or legislative,
such speech was merely the expression of state actions.
Look, we
have a mainstream political dogma that claims that the Malay community
will become slaves in their lands. We have the political establishment
that warns that the Malays are divided and susceptible to manipulation
by non-Malay political factions which are detrimental to the wellbeing
of the Malay community.
Any rational person would consider such
speech “incitement”. Any rational person would be offended by such
speech since it is ahistorical and grounded in fabrications that are
unfortunately part of the mainstream racial narratives of this country. At
this point, “incitement” is merely a politically correct expression for
not having to deal with the fundamental issues facing this country.
When
it comes to racial or religious issues, the state has always, either
through legislation or political norms, endorsed hate speech as a means
to reflect the racial and religious superiority of the majority. But
more importantly, it has been accepted by mainstream political
operatives as the realpolitik of this country instead of something to be
raged against.
Turning a blind eye
