HOPEFULLY, the demand for action to be taken against Hot FM alongside a call for its boycott, for apparently mocking Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, does not reflect the psyche of the ruling coalition and its apparatchiks.

If it was, it is something worrisome as it comes at a time when there are concerns about impending censorship, licensing and regulating of social media platforms.

The concern is not misplaced either. After all, the mocking of the PM was not targeted at the institution but rather specifically at the sitting PM.

For the uninitiated, there was some controversy when former Umno stalwart and now a free agent, Khairy Jamaluddin, simply known as KJ, during a recent episode on Hot FM, decided to mock Anwar by using some key phrases which are widely known to be associated with the latter.

The Malay phrases “Hari ini kita menang, esok…. (We win today, tomorrow….)” and “Saya ulang… (I repeat…)” have been copyrighted to Anwar.

The story behind the phrases is about Anwar’s many election campaigns when he had famously promised that if his party won (and took over the Government) today, the price of fuel would go down tomorrow.

The “I repeat” came immediately after the promise.

So, when KJ used these phrases, a video clip of it showed him chuckling loudly while several others were present at the station, laughing heartily or rather more of a guffaw.

Anwar’s supporters didn’t take it kindly immediately demanding that the popular radio station be shut down, banned, censored and or boycotted.

But the reaction did not go down well with other social media users who rallied around KJ and Hot FM and took the opportunity to point out how overly sensitive those in the Government and Anwar’s supporters had become since they became part of the administration.

It was pointed out how authorities had been demanding that content critical of the Government be brought down from social media platforms, so much so that it earned Malaysia the number one global spot as the nation making the highest number of such demands and takedowns.

If these supporters and apparatchiks had some time for reflection, they should by now realise that the Government is teetering on the edge in terms of dipping public approval.

The Government is intact and only because it has manoeuvred its way into power by collaborating even with those it had once declared as enemies of the nation, kleptocrats and corruptors.

The fact that the Opposition is clueless and headless contributes further to its longevity.

But that does not mean public approval has increased. The Government is aware; hence, it has been coming up with illegal concoctions such as the ban on 3R (Race, Religion and Royalty).

Apart from that, reneging on its electoral promise of repealing laws it had previously declared as draconian. Specifically, the Sedition Act 1948 and instead wielding and using it on those perceived to be its political enemies further reflected its awareness of its popularity going down south.

It stands to reason. If it is enjoying high public approval, the Sedition Act and proposed licensing of social media platforms would have been unnecessary as the criticisms and those it deemed as unsavoury content would have been drowned by those supporting the Government.

Instead, their supporters reacted aggressively to jokes and mocking, obviously knee-jerk if not outright fear when losing grip of the narrative.

But the jokes and mocking may reflect the stage of popularity or public approval enjoyed, or not, by the Government today.

True or not, it can be said that when the public is angry with the Government and leader, there is still hope as they can still remedy their mistakes and weaknesses and that, in turn, will regain public affection or, at the very least, mitigate the anger.

However, when the Government and leader are mocked, laughed at and ridiculed, they are doomed, as no matter what they say or explain, it would be brushed aside and never taken seriously anymore.

And whether the Government, its leaders and apparatchiks are aware or otherwise, they have become the butt of public jokes, intense and heightened as the day passes.

Their serious pronouncements of combatting corruption and efforts to improve public standard of living had not been taken seriously and instead mocked unrelentingly.

In many ways than not, they brought it upon themselves. Apart from reneging on their promises, they seemed to attempt to style themselves as public saviours by being solvers of problems they created.

A good example would be the few decreases in diesel prices, with supporters declaring it as an achievement of the Government.

Except for them, the rest of the nation didn’t, but in the first place, it was this Government that increased the price by withdrawing the subsidy, which inevitably impacted the prices of goods.

And much as the prices of diesel had dropped, the prices of goods which went up previously had not dropped to commensurate with the drop in the fuel price.

This prompted a veteran journalist to take a leaf from his experience when covering Indonesia in the heady days of the late 90s when an Indonesian friend said it was an ancient strategy in the republic when a leader hoped to win public affection by solving problems which he had caused them in the first place.

He said it was a trick used by Joko Tingkir, which saw him assume the leadership of the Pajang Sultanate, which existed in the Demak empire in the 16th century.

But such tricks are not missed in these days of social media prowess and liberation.

KJ is vying for a DJ popularity award run by a local publication. If the public is concerned about the rising censorship and freakish control, vote for KJ to send the message. However, if KJ is not savoury, don’t vote for him.

The message has already been sent.

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