After reading the article Umno Youth lodges report against malaysiakini

the first thing that came to my mind was George Orwell's classic novel 1984 , describing a totalitarian state in which anything a person said, even in their sleep, could be used against them, and always would be, in an effort to remain in control.

While I am not a Malaysian citizen, I feel that this is perhaps a bit ridiculous. This is the modern age, where freedom of thought is a basic human right as stated by the United Nations.

While the Malaysian government may well be fully within its self-defined rights, perhaps it is time for them to consider rethinking them. Try as one might, you cannot fully repress the thoughts and feelings of a people. This has been proven over and over again in history, with various revolutions, and the continuing democracy movement in China, and the anti-war movement in my native United States.

If the government truly wants to maintain the loyalties of its people, it should do well to consider catching up to the modern world in terms of equal rights and basic freedoms, most especially freedom of thought. After all, it is the ability to think that distinguishes humans from the more basic animals, and if the Malaysian government wants to retain human citizens as opposed to animals, it is undoubtedly in its best interest if it allows basic dissent.

After all, the ability to dissent on a basic level can lead to problems being worked out peacefully, but if you try and stifle dissent, then a revolution is bound to occur. So if the Malaysian government truly wants to avoid spreading dissent, it should perhaps start thinking about what it is doing to spread dissent.