I used to be part of the silent majority...

I have stopped reading newspaper and watching news on tv about 1 year now. One of the reasons is that I am a cheapskate as I know that I can get free news from the Internet at any time I want but most of all, I am disappointed and discouraged by what is reported nowadays.

The printed newspaper is so obviously biased but some people would say that we cannot blame them as they need to renew their printing licence every year. Some of the ‘juicy’ and important issues were brushed aside. I recall some time ago that certain arrogant politicians asked some of us to go back to China or India. I am a Malaysian and I have never set foot on China so I find that ridiculous as I pledge my loyalty to Malaysia. Yet it is so sad to see how our so-called leaders set such a bad example to the next generation of Malaysian. At times, the live telecast from the Parliament seem to be a lesson in how to yell and scold someone else..I wonder if we should put an 18-PL tag on our parliamentary telecast the next time round? I hope that the educated ladies and gentleman in our august hall will be good, courteous examples to the 'rakyat' the next time round..

Not only that, some states are so clearly blessed with beauty, charm and natural resources and yet some of their people remain to be among the poorest in our country. Certain sources blame the federal government and the long-entrenched ‘kings’ who siphoned away all the finances of these states. It will be very interesting to see how the political drama will unfold in the parliament in the coming few months as more stories emerge about ‘frogs’, ‘mansions’, ‘jumping ships’, 'video recordings', 'murder trials' etc.

What matters most to us ordinary Malaysians not affiliated to any political party is this. We wish that we can live our lives in peace, harmony and with respect to one another. We wish that we are free to choose and practice our own religion and customs. We wish that some of the archaic and obsolete laws created during the Emergency era in the 1960s be abolished or modified so that we need not fear the backlash from the ‘corridors of power’ each time we voice our opinions about the government.

As a person who listens to both side of each story, I tend to think and evaluate about most things in life and usually I choose to be optimistic about life. Yet, it is so sad that we need to create a defense fund for bloggers in this country as we see some of the more prominent and outspoken people being detained for saying things that upset others who are in power. Of course it is very encouraging that we are supporting each other morally and financially and it is a practical move but on a whole, it is still demoralizing for someone to be threatened with incarceration just because they voice out their opinions.

There seem to be some political drama enfolding before our eyes as the major characters continue to dominate the headlines and surprises seem to crop up daily. We do not know what to expect from any of the politicians, especially the senior ones, but the one thing that I am certain of is that no one can hide the truth as truth will always prevail…

By the way, the road to perdition is littered with good intentions so I wonder if I will be investigated for coming out with this almost-neutral article? Hhhmm..only time will tell. Lets just say that I don't quote anyone nor do I imply any names here...