"Shhh, don't talk to strangers, they could be Special Branch." Many say that's wise. You never know who you're talking to. Or, is it irrational fear that tells us, "Don't get involved"?

We did live in muted fear of 'getting involved' after May 1969. Until today, my 78-year-old mother is fearful of 'the government', 'the Malays' and 'the police'. She's also a product of WW2 when she saw Japanese soldiers hauled off my grandpa for questioning. He didn't return for weeks. Like most of her generation, her internalized fear is understandable.

Anecdotes I hear and observations of Malaysian civic life tells me the fear of 'getting involved' is as real today among baby boomers as it was with my mother's generation. There's hope though. Ever since we strolled the multimedia corridor, an empowered younger generation of socially-conscious netizens are learning more about our race-tainted history. And, they're not happy. Lately, vigilant bloggers have been trawling the contents of Malaysiakini and other alternative media sites.