MALAYSIAN must wake up from their slumber and create more awareness on national and current issues, including the travel ban imposed by the government on influential people, a forum was told today.

Writer Mariam Mokhtar said issues like the Shell cardboard cutout were distractions from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal or the latest suit by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

“We have slept for 60 years, are we ever going to wake up? We should not be having another 40 years of sleeping, we should wake up now.

“It’s a Malaysian problem. We are still sleeping, like a sleeping beauty we don’t know when we will wake up, waiting for the prince charming to wake us up,” the panelist of the forum on Travel Ban said via Skype. The forum was held at MalaysiaKini’s office.

She said the travel ban imposed on people like cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, known as Zunar, and activist Hishamuddin Rais was also to keep them from telling the world the injustice that happened in Malaysia.

“Our awareness is so poor. Like the orang kampung, do they know about what’s happening when you tell them about 1MDB, it’s so complex, someone has to make it simpler for them,” she said urging everyone to do their part in raising awareness on current issues.

She said the mindset of Malays also needed to be addressed and changed, as some Malays still believed in political rhetorics like DAP was for the Chinese and Malaysia would be led by a non-muslim prime minister if the party was to win.

“Suddenly all the Malays who want to go and vote for the opposition will change their minds and make a u-turn. Until and unless you can address this mental block in Malays, nothing will happen,” she said.

She also added that religion was also used to control the Malays and their perception of certain issues.

“The crucial element is that the Ulama (scholars) are with Umno baru. They know they can’t do it on their own, so they introduce god and the Malays will never go against god whatever it is,” she said.

Other panelists at the forum held at MalaysiaKini’s office were Hishamuddin, Zunar, who have been banned from travelling abroad, and lawyer Surendra Ananth. – July 15, 2017.