I am not surprised at Pak Lah's decision on the Article 11 forums. Yet I also believe Pak Lah is not against the issues raised at these forums. As home minister he definitely has access to the contents of these proceedings.

The point raised by the PM is that these forums have caused tensions to rise within certain communities. As the overall person in charge of peace and harmony in Malaysia, it is his duty to do whatever is necessary to keep peace.

As much as he is more open to allow free debate even on 'sensitive issues', he also needs to maintain order. Persons involved in many of these forums (civil society-driven) sometimes forget that the majority of Malaysians of all races, religions and cultures have not attained the kind of maturity for the publicity generated through the media.

Those with higher educations and exposure to Western-style approach to human rights, sometimes forget this point. The masses are mostly like sheep and there are many shepherds in wolves clothing who manipulate or distort or exaggerate the issues that are discussed at such forums.

Many times the actual content and deliberation have been distorted, because reporters and others wanting to highlight their agenda filter the real contents through their own distorted mind-sets.

As there have been two instances where disturbances occurred at Article 11 forums, the PM is duty-bound to act. The first priority must be to stop the disturbances and since the cause for these disturbances have been these forums, the only logical thing is to call for a halt to these forums.

I am not condoning the disturbances, I am only stating 'first things first'. Let the situation cool down for a while. If we claim we are peace-loving and caring, we need to exercise our discretion and think of the masses that can be manipulated to create chaos.

If I remember correctly, the call was to stop the forums in a public place (or physical space). In the age of the Internet, there's nothing to stop discussions of these nature from continuing. Live video conferences, chat-forums, e-mails, blogs and even television time can be bought to give the real picture of what's going on at these forums (in fact, these modes used correctly will definitely leave no room for distortion of the content and deliberations at these forums).

As it is, only a limited number of people were present to witness the discussion and presentations. So use the technology of this era to promote the cause of Article 11 forums; all Malaysians need to know what is going on.

The traditional road-shows cannot have the reach and impact that these new technologies can deliver. There are 219 parliamentary constituencies, and if Article 11 is really sincere about their concern for all Malaysians; they should really look into alternative delivery modes.

If you just have one forum every two months (and with limited audiences) you will need 408 months to reach all Malaysians. Think again. What kind of positive effect can the current modus operandi have on the people of Malaysia.

Depending on the media to carry your message would be daydreaming as some of the media also have their own agendas. Properly done, all Malaysians can have the opportunity to know and discern the value of Article 11's forums.