Oct 31 2015, 11:12 AM, updated 10y ago
http://www.thestar.com.my/Opinion/Columnis...h-Lim-Sian-See/
The Star
One Man's Meat
October 31, 2015
A conversation with Lim Sian See
by philip golingai
The anonymous Facebook political commentator says his aim is to make the public sift the truth from the propaganda.
I MET for the first time an object of curiosity among political aficionados on Facebook. An anonymous Facebooker named Lim Sian See has been attracting a following with his wry comments on Opposition politicians.
On Wednesday, I had a lunch meeting with the Facebooker in a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.
Later, I had a question-and-answer session with him/her on WhatsApp.
Q: Is your name really Lim Sian See?
A: No, it is not. It’s a pseudonym - much like Chedet, Mark Twain or Lewis Carrol.
Q: Why do you remain anonymous?
A: I am not a politician or in any political party or NGO, and I do not harbour any future ambition to do so. I see no need for me to publicly claim any recognition.
Q: Does the public know who you are? Do those you target know who you are?
A: Dozens of people know but not the public in general.
In fact, the majority of my Facebook friends and followers are aware that this is not my real name. One person even commented that he doesn’t even care if I am actually a living table as long as what I write is true and backed by evidence and facts.
The authorities know who I am for sure. In fact, Special Branch officers have visited me twice to ascertain my identity. Therefore, I am very careful to make sure whatever I post is not defamatory or untrue.
I do believe that those I “target” know who I am but for reasons known only to them, do not want to “expose’ me – perhaps to avoid giving me free publicity.
Q: Why did you start posting political commentaries on Facebook?
A: Right after the 2013 general election, I was inspired by the lies about the 40,000 Bangladeshi phantom voters and (tallying centre) blackouts. Many of my professional friends and successful businessmen – people I consider smart and educated – were totally sucked in by these lies.
I have also posted a RM50,000 reward for information on where these so-called blackouts happened. To this day, the reward remains unclaimed.
Much of the information received by many supposedly smart Malaysians has been controlled and manipulated by social media and so-called “independent news portals”.
To give you an example of how “independent” they are, exactly one year ago, Api Api assemblyman and PKR deputy Sabah state chairman Christina Liew was found by the High Court to have acted unlawfully by inducing 819 poor landowners in that state to breach a land deal with a state-owned firm. The court ordered her to pay RM557mil in damages.
This was easily the single biggest instance of court-awarded damages ever in Malaysia but none of the “independent” press mentioned a word of it. Neither did any of the Pakatan leaders. The way I see it, Barisan Nasional has been doing a poor job in social media while there are many pro-Pakatan/anti-BN social media users – you can call it my little contribution to strike the balance.
Q: You told me that you didn’t know who Lim Guan Eng was before GE13. How is that possible?
A: In 2012, I had no interest in politics at all and was just focusing on my career. I had heard of Lim Kit Siang but did not know who Lim Guan Eng was, even though he was the Penang Chief Minister. I even thought Gerakan was the northern branch of MCA.
I do not find this unusual. In fact, if you ask many people who the Mentri Besar of Negri Sembilan or Kelantan is, they wouldn’t be able to tell you.
Q: How did you turn from someone who did not know who Guan Eng was to a political animal?
A: I wouldn’t call myself a “political animal” – probably a political enthusiast. I just spend lots of time reading the news, Googling and talking to people to catch up. It’s not that hard, really.
Q: You like to use the word “zombie” in your postings. Define Zombie.
A: Zombies are those inspired by the lies about the 40,000 phantom voters and the blackouts. They are like the zombies that you see in Hong Kong movies.
They are unthinking, and when the Tao master rings the bell, the zombies would hop and follow. These zombies are devoid of independent thought and just swallow everything their political masters and “independent” news portals say.
Q: How does one become a zombie?
A: By not reading both sides of the story before making a judgement.
The worst zombies are those who read the headlines from the independent press without bothering to read the article and immediately come away with a conclusion. These zombies are the easiest ones to fool.
Q: Can Barisan supporters also be zombies?
A: They can if they do not think logically and just lap up propaganda.
Q: Do you think your postings will translate to votes for Barisan?
A: That is not my primary objective. My primary objective is to help sift the propaganda and lies from the truth.
Q: Why are Lim Guan Eng, Tony Pua and Rafizi Ramli your favourite targets?
A: I do post more about these three. But mainly because they make the most public statements.
Q: How come you can’t spell Rafizi’s name?
A: You have to be careful with the PKR types, as they are quite touchy. Their party leader (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim is famous for his “You ulang, I saman” (If you repeat, I will sue).
Q: How do you see the political atmosphere in Malaysia?
A: I am deeply concerned. I share the view of Singapore’s senior ambassador Bilahari Kausikan who said this to Tony Pua recently.
“I am not against idealism but even idealism, if it is to take a political form, must be grounded in reality. If an individual dies for his or her ideals, we can call the person a martyr or a fool and in any case, since only one individual is involved, it may not matter too much. But if an erstwhile political leader deceives himself and his followers into chasing an impossible dream and so leads them into disaster that can only be called irresponsible.”
That gives you an idea why he and I believe Malaysia is treading on dangerous ground – based on a hope that is not realistic – while our opposition politicians reap the benefits of position, power and fame.
The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.
A conversation with Lim Sian See News
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