Merdeka and misinformation: Did we skip a step? — Syafa Mustaffa
Here are extracts from a Malay Mail article dated 31.8.2025 and my thoughts.
Every Merdeka, we celebrate political freedom and national identity — flags, parades, and heartfelt pledges. Yet in 2025, another independence is at stake: independence of the mind. …true freedom means the ability to think critically and discern facts from fiction.
Have we strengthened our ability to question ideas, or are we letting herd mentality quietly colonise our thinking?
My thoughts:
Only a few people think critically. In a WhatsApp group I belong there are more than 50 members over 70 years of age. The members post good morning messages but only 3 members comments on thought provoking posts.
We lack coordinated training on how to source, understand, research, and evaluate information before believing it, whether from an individual or a digital platform.
Singapore’s National Library runs the S.U.R.E. campaign (Source, Understand, Research, Evaluate) as a framework to teach citizens how to check facts.
My thoughts:
Singapore has a population of about 18% of Malaysia's. Interestingly, my blog posts attract more readers from Singapore than Malaysia, despite the population difference.
新加坡的人口大约是马来西亚的18%。有趣的是，尽管人口差异，我的博客文章吸引了更多来自新加坡的读者，而不是马来西亚。
The article above says: By early 2025, there were 43.3 million mobile connections — 121 per cent of the population. Yet, much of this digital engagement is on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, often prioritizing entertainment over critical content.
This Merdeka, freedom is more than flags and parades. Real independence is the ability to read critically, question confidently, and choose wisely. Without that, merdeka minda — independence of the mind — remains out of reach.
Merdeka without merdeka minda is hollow. The urgency is now: either we learn to defend our independence in our heads, or risk losing it everywhere else.
My thoughts:
I had more than 4,000 views/impressions of my posts on Face Book, LinkedIn and Twitter but the viewers who clicked on my blog post to read the article in full were only slightly more than 400 which is only about 10%. This is apathy. How is it possible for the masses to be so indifferent to serious issues like certification of a non-existent retaining wall?
Comments