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By Mansor Puteh
There are still some people who are so pressed with the idea that they are the only persons in this country who know what 'Freedom of the Press' is and should be. The irony is that 'Politik Baru YB J' is not about this freedom but of the freedom of expression considering that it is not a feature article or political commentary, but a short story. Therefore, it is literature and it falls under the category of the Freedom of Expression and of Free Speech.
I hope those who want to talk about any of these freedoms know which they are referring to and not be confused by what they are so pressed about.
I wonder if any of those who are into such a debate has actually seen the film 'The Assassination of George W Bush' made by a studio in Hollywood. Or for that matter, the film, 'Independence Day' and even 'Day of the Jackal'.
Or, 'X' a film by Spike Lee.
Spike shows the American flag being burnt. Under normal circumstances it is secreligious in America for which he could be charged in court.
However, since he did that in a film, it falls under freedom of expression and therefore the film was allowed to be shown in America and he was safe from prosecution.
'Day of the Jackal' is about a man whom the police describes as The Jackal who tries to assassinate the president of France, Charles De Gaulle. It is a work of fiction which was shown worldwide.
'Independence Day' is another Hollywood feature film which shows how the White House was bombed and was completely destroyed.
And there is another film which shows the former Twin Towers being attacked and destroyed.
The then president of America, Bill Clinton, after watching 'Independence Day', jokingly said he hoped the White House would be there when he returned home.
Unfortunately, for the 3,000 or so persons who died in the attack and collapse of the Twin Towers, none of them managed to return home on September 11, 2001.
Still, the producers of the film which suggested that the Twin Towers could collapse in such a manner were not persecuted for suggesting that they could be so. And this is America, the so-called land of the free.
Yet, in Malaysia, even when a person who had written a short story whose literary merit is still not determined, can be so chastised and worse, be subject to a legal suit by parties whose names are not even mentioned.
In the Hollywood film, 'The Assassination of George W Bush', the name of the present president of America is mentioned. Yet, the film was not banned and its producers not charged for any crime.
In fact, the White House didn't even bother to comment on it, since it is just an artistic work.
Malaysians who want to talk about these freedoms seem to have got everything wrong. They seem to think that they are the ones who have the right to define what they are, and no one else.
Their thoughts and actions have made many wonder if they subscribe to the spirit of democracy, and if they are willing to listen and learn from the others, too, especially those who have different views on the same matter.
It is not them alone who are interested in this matter. And many other people, too, have other views on it. Yet, they are not being heard. And if there are public forums to discuss the issue, only those of the same stripes are invited. So in the end, they get views which are stale and repeated.
And from what I can see, most of those who talk about such freedoms have not studied and lived abroad for an extended period of time. And I suspect, their views on these freedoms are so convoluted that it makes many want to puke. The worst habit that they all have is that they think too highly of themselves in the matter, and they do not care what others say on it. Yet, they want to describe themselves as liberals when their minds are not open and their vision blinkered.
I feel sorry for them because they do not know what they are talking about most of the time. They have not studied what Hollywood and the literati in America and the West have done.
Where were these people when Prophet Muhammad was blasphemed? None of them rose to the occasion to criticize the Danish cartoonist and the newspaper for publishing the offending caricatures of the prophet.
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The Blogs 
Everybody should just take a chill pill and stop making a mountain out of a molehill.
While we're in this jolly mood of freedom of expression, someone should pen a short story (i.e., fiction) about a group of bounty hunters who are on a mission to bring in, dead or alive, a particularly nasty politician-cum-murderer called Najis the Rosak and his lovely wife, Mrs. Cruella the Haggis.