To win Nobels, remove the shackles

COMMENT Wishes of birthday boy Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi aside, it is probably difficult for a Malaysian author to win the Noble Prize in Literature if the BN government's stranglehold over the rakyat's hearts and mind continue.

Instead of asking Malaysian writers to do more as he did, it is his government that should take the first step and liberate the writers and the rakyat from their shackles before asking of them to win any Nobel Prizes.

This is as new security laws continue to be enacted as archaic ones dating back to our colonial days are wielded, as both Zahid and his boss Prime Minister Najib Razak continue to promise to do all they can to fight what they claim are 'security threats'.

Though critics have noted that government actions are usually against dissenting voices and seem more to secure their hold on power than address any real threats to the public, as the government continue to crack down on writers, shackle journalists and ban books, as well as persecute critics and dissidents.

Clearly the atmosphere is less than ideal for writers who want to write real and meaningful works that would be even considered for the prestigious international award.

Unless of course what Zahid was talking of is for government-friendly writers to step up.

Which is kind of how Indonesian poet Goenawan Mohamad, who gave a talk during a recent visit to Malaysia, described Soviet revolutionary leader Joseph Stalin's view of writers - as "engineers of the soul" and architects of government control...