MALAYSIANS lack the culture of respecting differences of opinions and this "comes from the top", said a political scientist, after lodging a police report against those who posted threatening comments against a radio presenter who appeared in a video on hudud.
Dr Wong Chin Huat, a fellow at think tank Penang Institute, blamed the "political elites" for this lack of respect, warning that this could potentially turn into something more serious, if a social media user one day decides that posting nasty remarks or threats, was not enough.
"With peer group dynamics, a person may want to be cooler by saying something harsher than others. It is possible that one person will go further, taking action rather than using words," he said today.
Wong was commenting on the death and rape threats made against Aisyah Tajuddin of BFM 89.9 on social media after a video of her questioning the PAS-led Kelantan government's attempt to implement hudud when many in the state were still badly affected by the recent floods went viral.
In the video, Aisyah said religion was being used to divert the people’s attention from more important issues, such as the economy and administration. She also questioned the condition of flood victims in Kelantan, as well as the rising number of divorce cases, drug use, and consumption of pornography in the state.
“When the time comes, I do not know if hudud can fill our rice bowls,” she said in Malay.
The BFM Projek Dialog BFMKupas video, which has since been taken down, drew at least 6,000 views and hundreds of comments on Aisyah's remarks.
Some of the commentators said Aisyah, a Muslim, had gone against the faith and should be killed or raped.
Wong said the threats made against her were very specific and malicious, and such violent threats should not be allowed in the political environment or used to further any agenda.
He said there had also been cases of politicians humiliating others who disagreed with them.
Economist Dr Toh Kin Woon said even in universities, diversity in views, which should be encouraged and nurtured, was not something respected, allowed or tolerated.
"If you do not even have that in universities, how do we expect the larger society to respect differences in opinion?" he said.
Toh also said the situation could be harder for women, as they could face threats of sexual violence and the use of force.
Wong and Toh, and another economist Dr Lim Chee Han were speaking to reporters outside the Jalan Patani police station in George Town after they each lodged police reports against social media users who had threatened to rape and kill Aisyah.
The trio urged police, with the help of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), to investigate three Facebook and Youtube users, who posted threats against the radio host.
Facebook user HairulAzzua commented: "Burn her alive" while another by the name of Inche Oleh posted: "Wait till I rape you, woman."
A Youtube user Khairul Azri said: "If I see you in front of me, I'll shoot you in the head."
Lim said nobody should be making threats to deter others from discussing issues of national interest.
"Aisyah did not break the law. She did not deserve to be treated that way... those threats against her had elements of violence, which makes it a crime," he said.
Wong said their police reports did not touch on the hudud issue, and that it was only about the threats made against Aisyah.
"And since this is a matter related to social media, and the IGP (Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar) is interested in social media, it should not be a problem for him to tweet about investigating the three social media users who threatened Aisyah," he added.
Toh said disagreements should be settled through discussions and debates, not through threats of violence, which cannot be tolerated.
"We hope the police will investigate and take the appropriate action," he said.
Earlier today, Business radio station BFM said in a statement that Aisyah had not written the script, and the views in the video were not her own. – March 20, 2015.