IT was eerie déjà vu. The authorities threatened to stifle views not in line with theirs. It was so BN-ish.

In her initial response to a children’s play on the environment at an international school recently, Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok was quick to resort to what appeared to be from the pages of Barisan Nasional’s playbook – threatening to take action against the school.

At the time of writing, the Education Ministry director-general still appears to be in a combative mood, promising a probe into the school under the Education Act 1996 (Act 550) for allegedly spreading “propaganda” about palm oil.*

Thankfully, Kok has since adopted a conciliatory stand on this issue. 

Acknowledging the importance of freedom of expression in our society, she expressed her desire to have dialogue with international schools to give “a better picture” about our palm oil industry.

Opening up channels of communication is the way to go. If they are ill-informed, then conversations must occur so as to reduce misunderstanding, as well as provide avenue for legitimate criticism and concerns from various quarters about the palm oil industry.  

After all, the issue can be quite complex. It is much more than just about certain concerted attempts at the international level to sabotage our palm oil exports, which is indeed serious, given that the commodity brings in billions of dollars in foreign exchange and provides so many jobs for locals.

For, over the years, much land in the country has been cleared for oil palm plantation, often driving away animals – including orang utan – from their natural habitat. It’s the sustainability of oil palm planting that has become a cause for concern.  

To be fair, there are also other factors, such as industrialisation and urbanisation, that have brought about the clearing of forests and loss of natural habitat for animals.

This explains why the kids’ performance at the international school concerned revolved around such issues as the environment, deforestation and climate change, reminding themselves and the audience that the orang utan in the forest may disappear in a decade if oil palm is not grown sustainably.

These are legitimate environmental concerns, expressed in simple terms by the 7- and 8-year-olds at the school.

In this regard, the kids are to be commended for having made a presentation that is environmentally and socially significant, especially at a point in history where many young people worldwide have become conscious of their physical environment, or what’s left of it, for them.

Just as the kids’ freedom of expression must not be curbed, their sense of creativity must also not be halted from flourishing. Any attempt at stopping this creative process would be seen in their eyes as the authorities employing a sledgehammer to smash their pristine ideas, which would be destructive to their psyche.

We hope that common sense would prevail eventually in the Education Ministry so that creative and progressive energies among young people are embraced and celebrated by the authorities as well as other Malaysians for the betterment of our society as a whole.

In this context, what was said recently by former prime minister Najib Razak should serve as a grim reminder to the present administration and us all.

Najib reportedly said: “It doesn’t matter if Umno still holds a stake in Media Prima Bhd since its main publication, the New Straits Times, is no longer friendly to the party.”

Simply put, he brooks no criticism and media that are critical of him.

Surely, going back to that (BN) era is not an option for us, especially those who crave change and reform in society. – July 6, 2019.

* At press time, the school has since apologised for spreading the anti-palm oil message among its students.