Disgusted, appalled, perplexed. Even those words cannot really explain what is going on in my mind. I am so confused to see those whom for years or even decades strongly claimed to be the advocates of freedom of speech, who said the Sedition Act should be abolished together with other outdated laws such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and Emergency Ordinance, are now making police reports against a voice that they deemed seditious.

These same people who went around the world crying foul when some of their leaders are convicted and punished using the Sedition Act, saying that this Act has been abused as one of the political tools to silence their voices and stripped them from their seats are now trying to use the same act to silence the voice that is just quoting a historical fact from an academic publication. Is this not against their own belief of free speech?

Perhaps we should remind them that they are the ones that have been consistently bringing up, twisting, stirring and spinning any matters related to Islam’s status as the federal religion, the Malay and bumiputera special rights in the constitution, the status of the Malay language as our national language, which Quranic versus should be quoted during Friday sermons and even Jawi writing is not being spared.

The harmony that has been built all these years and the very foundation of the nation is being hacked in every possible way.

These are the people whom are not shy to portray and highlight all the negative things about Islam and the Malay race and culture. These same people are so outspoken in their publications in print and in the electronic media downgraded and criticized everything that is controlled by Malays, from the national car Proton, to the national airlines MAS, to the national oil company Petronas, from the tiniest thing to the largest. Malays were always associated with negativity.

These are the same people that go all the way to claim, “Malays are pendatang, too”. Suddenly they went all berserk when it was simply brought up that actually “the British allowed a constant influx of Chinese seeking their fortunes in the tin mines and in trade” as described by Professor Emerson of Harvard University from his book Malaysia, A Study in Direct and Indirect Rule . Have they suddenly forgotten this historical fact in their so-called pursuit of a ‘free’ Malaysia?

It is indeed a good thing that somebody finally has the courage to put the facts straight, calling a spade a spade, calling those whom have mass-migrated as migrants, and calling those who come from far to disrupt harmony as ‘intruders’.

We have been by far too accommodating, too apologetic, too naive to let others play their dirty games, times and again, and taking advantage of the lack of political will among our leaders. At the same time, we welcomed and will continue to welcome those who came to share this land, respecting the law of the land, the existing religion and culture, and furthermore ready to assimilate and be one united nation.

May we have more people like Ustaz Abdullah Zaik and more NGOs like Isma.

ZAIZUL AZIZI ZAMAN is an activist of Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma).