Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Congratulations on celebrating the 67th anniversary of Malaya's independence from British rule. It's a bit of a cliché but every year when this glorious day arrives, every publication in Malaysia will publish content on the theme of freedom and also the sacrifices of the ancestors now kicking the colonialists out of this fortunate land. We are no exception to this group because topical articles are evergreen and easy to produce. Here are the Independence and Colonization technologies that we feel people are forgetting.
1. Freedom to Access Information
I am 45 years old this year and this year marks 30 years since I used the internet for the first time (thanks to the cyber cafe near the Sultan Ismail Library in Larkin). It is quite difficult to tell the younger generation of the pre-internet world. Everything has to be done manually and if you want to learn a topic you need to have a related book or encyclopedia. At school I was given the nickname "World Book" because I often read the World Book encyclopedia in the library.
Access to knowledge was limited in the pre-internet era. When doing local PMR research for the Sultan Ibrahim Building I went to the Sultan Ismail Library. Newspaper clippings and slides are read to produce reports which then have to be written by hand. Yes, the young people of uncle's era used to type on the computer was forbidden to ensure equality between students who did not have a personal computer.
Now you can find all the knowledge in the world by just doing a Google search or browsing Reddit. There is no limit to what you want to learn. Even after 30 years of using the internet, I'm still amazed at how easy it is to learn new knowledge through a small rectangular electronic box in the palm of your hand.
2. The Colonization of Advertisements That Are Increasingly Extreme
Not everything brought by the internet is good. Now we are colonized by advertising almost every minute. Want to read news from a website? Be prepared to be bombarded with 6 ads with an ultra-small close button until you accidentally click on an ad. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube are all filled with extreme ads compared to ten years ago. There are ads in front of the video and the same in the middle of the video if the Premium account is not subscribed.
You can't escape ads. Found a viral thread on Twitter? Below, there must be an affiliate link to Shopee or Anubis' servant shamelessly selling fake AirPods at unreasonable prices. You subscribe to satellite TV? On the EPG menu of the channel, a large advertisement is displayed. Even if the subscription is paid for, ads are still served every 15 minutes.
Believe that this ad colonization will become more critical in the near future because Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ have launched plans with ads in other countries. We are just waiting for time for commercials to land in our country like Francis Light arrived in Penang.
3. Independence From Monopoly One Payment System Only
Last year we were freed from having to use physical Touch n' Go cards at all major toll plazas in Malaysia. We have been given the option to pay using debit and credit cards. Like the fall of the Berlin Wall, one by one the systems that only supported Touch n' Go began to provide more diverse payment options.
Starting with parking then night markets and convenience stores all started accepting other payment systems. The result is that if one system has a problem, there is another system that can be used. Why this independence was not achieved earlier is a mystery.
4. Colonization of Monthly Subscription
How can we as a knowledgeable society agree to normalize monthly payment services? Two decades ago you could buy Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop which you could then use as long as you kept the software activation serial number. Now both these software require a monthly subscription.
Still remind you that Google Photos used to be free without limits if the photos were saved at low quality? Now within a year the 15GB cloud storage quota can be used up and an additional storage subscription has to be paid.
Why do we agree to subscribe to digital music and video services that leave physical storage buried and the majority of artists unable to generate income? I don't have an answer to this question because I'm stuck too. Terlajak boat can be withdrawn, Terlajak subscribing knowingly 10 services must be paid at the end of the month.
5. Freedom To Complain
We are free to complain on social media and if it goes viral, immediate action will be taken before it gets hit worse by netizens. There are hundreds of cases where action is taken only after we complain without using the "correct channels". Unpopular policies by the government such as the proposal to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games were successfully buried within a week after being mobbed by netizens on social media.
Criminal cases involving celebrities, misbehavior in school dormitories, ordered food not arriving, dirty restaurants, careless government counter service and more can all be transmitted. Three decades ago all this was impossible due to the colonization of protocols and the right channel.
6. Algorithmic Colonization
Above I praised the use of social media to obtain "social justice". But social media causes us to be colonized by algorithms that care about the number of views, clicks and buying products. You accidentally watched baseless conspiracy content on YouTube? Algorithms will then suggest more and more conspiracy content until many now believe the earth is The Matrix, the plane sprayed mind control gas and MH370 is now in Satan's Space. We still don't have any legislation governing malicious algorithms.
Only TikTok as far as I know allows the FYP algorithm to be reset and YouTube turns off Watch History tracking. The recommendations given later will be a mess but this is necessary to protect yourself from the algorithm which in the majority offers less healthy content.
7. Independence From Paper Money
I am very grateful that the use of digital wallets and DuitNow is becoming more widespread even though at the beginning of its introduction it was used as a political joke. There is no longer any need to carry "ringek" paper money anywhere because aunties selling coconut water on the side of the road now accept DuitNow scans. In fact the same QR code scanning system can be used when visiting regional neighboring countries.
This is the independence I value the most because before I often had problems forgetting to withdraw money. Since living in a cashless world, I no longer have to worry when the merchant asks "don't you have any money?" which caused some purchases to be canceled. It also makes me feel less guilty when my coconut water sister says "it's okay sister halal 20 cents" when I'm short of money.
8. Ongoing Online Scam Colonization
The Internet promises the future of a more knowledgeable society because it is the freedom to access information. But this utopia is still not achieved because many people do not use the internet to increase knowledge in the hippocampus. This week losses reaching RM 1.6 billion were recorded in Malaysia due to online fraud over the past 19 months involving 40,385 cases. A double increase compared to 12 years ago. Either society is becoming more easily deceived or fraudsters are becoming smarter because they use the internet to deceive victims.
9. Independence From Price Factors
For the past three years I can tell you that the price of a phone is no longer a measuring stick of whether it is good or not. Dumping devices from China entering the local market started a price war. A decade ago if a device was sold at a price below RM 1000 it could automatically be labeled junk because it was slow, underpowered, potato camera and problematic. Now at the same price tag you can have a device that is decent, responsive and comes with fast charging. Good devices now exist at all price points and don't let your mind be colonized by the "more expensive is better" dogma.
10. Colonization of Technology
Finally, we must touch on the colonialism of technology that has already been touched on in the Merdeka article two years ago. Within 24 months, the United States increased restrictions on Russia and China for political and national security reasons. Chips cannot be bought, dedicated machines cannot be sold and applications not submitted will be banned. If America can do these things to China and Russia, what will happen if Malaysia receives the same treatment?
Malaysia is reaping the benefits of the Sino-American technology war with investments worth hundreds of billions of ringgit in the semiconductor and data center sectors announced. But this puts Malaysia in a sensitive position. The decision to use Chinese telecommunications equipment by DNB2 received warnings from the United States and the EU. Malaysia's desire to join BRICS is also seen as risking the cancellation of announced investments.
As a small country, Malaysia is stuck in the middle of a war between Giant Pandas, Siberian Bears and Bald Eagles. The Malayan Tigers became independent from the Three Lions 67 years ago and now need to be smarter in the technological wilderness to mock the events of 1874