I have been staring at my computer screen for some time now and still quite perplexed about where to start.
I am referring to the burst of emotions and red-faced anger following the release of former Attorney-General Tommy Thomas‘ book.
How does one respond to childish taunts and knee jerk reactions such as stripping off the Tan Sri tittle and calls to ban his book?
And now we have the police saying Tommy would be investigated under the Penal Code and Official Secrets Act.
This was brought about by 134 police reports lodged against the former Attorney-General.
If people are so riled up by the content of the book, which has a beaming Tommy on the front cover, why not respond with facts, figures, observations or one’s own narrative?
I haven’t read the book, yet but I have a copy. And given the long queue outside Gerak Budaya bookshop plus frustrations over sold out copies I consider myself lucky to actually own one.
And this is primarily because of the concern that the book may actually be banned.
Banning books is a form of censorship. It limits the creative thinking process and prohibits a person from thinking laterally.
Tommy has put his observations into a book and while everyone may not agree with what he’s written, no one has the right to create a bubble and prevent others from reading his thoughts and ideas.
Screaming until someone is blue in the face without a proper narrative gets you no where.
Why not use this opportunity to create a society that can think critically?
Why not allow everyone to read the book and have a debate with Tommy as opposed to threats of police reports and hauling the publisher for police questioning?