Irascibility is on the rise.
Fake and anonymous accounts fanned by online portals are turning into factories of vile harassment campaigns.
The less-read succumb so easily to the alarm bells spewed forth by such online seduction. Because, to borrow the words of the British author and philosopher Alain de Botton, such online invaders may be fifty-five on the outside but four and a half when it comes to communicating.
It is the mission of the New Straits Times — the print in particular — to make Malaysia a nation of readers. The NST Leader has often times extolled the virtues of reading.
Here it is again, this time in the words of philosopher Sir Francis Bacon: “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” If we want a cure-all for the decimation and suppression of content by the many heinous platforms out there, then reading is it.
As we push for reading in print, we can’t help being disturbed by the news of the possible closure of Utusan Malaysia.
What’s more, it is the oldest Malay daily in the country. We hope the closure doesn’t happen.
But our recommendation comes with the ancient warning of Bacon’s: “Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.” This the reading mind does. And there is plenty to explore and examine.
Not just khat, Zakir Naik, Dong Zong and the fall of the government as some toxic texts in poisonous portals make its subscribers think.
The nation is beset with weightier issues than these. Poor language skills, not only in English, but Bahasa Malaysia too. Ask those who walk the corridors of the C-suite. Their laments are old and voluminous. Job creation, especially quality ones, is a grave one.
Every year, some 200,000 graduates walk out of the gates of the ivory towers with scrolls in hand, but there are jobs only for two-thirds of them. But ideas for jobs — especially quality ones — are few and far between.
Another issue of consequence is the poor state of our rivers. Nature has blessed us with plenty of rain — about 3,000mm annually. But little of it reaches us in its pristine state. Here again, ideas are as dead as the rivers.
These and many others are issues of consequence to Malaysians and the nation. Sadly, commentators — anonymous at that — and their online hosts would rather spout their vitriolic rancour on race, religion and any other “r” that comes to their small minds. One thing needs to be made clear.
The NST is not against online portals. They must, however, be “civilised”. Let their content be substantive, and the discussions deep.
The Malaysian mind must be moulded by profound stuff. Frivolity is a sign of inessential minds. Seeking the fall of a government isn’t a call for the media to make. The rise and fall of governments is a manifestation of democracy.
Let us leave this to the electorates. Regime change by the media isn’t the culture of the well-read.
The NST has long believed this: journalism is a serious professional pursuit. We who practise it must help answer some deep and difficult questions that are of great public concern.
Yes, journalism records history as it happens. But it is more. It is arguably an arbiter of truth, too.