PM cautions against witch-hunt

PM cautions against witch-hunt






I personally think, while Mas Selamat himself may pose as a threat, the Government's response & reaction potentially poses as an even greater threat. Witch-hunt? Yes - and consequently the hysteria, as presented in The Crucible:


Context (before the video):
Tituba, the black woman, was caught dancing and chanting with a group of young girls around a fire in the woods. It was truly just a childish game, but Tituba was accused for associating with the Devil/ involvement in witchcraft.

In the video:
We see Tituba denying the accusations, but to no effect. Being tortured and under pressure, she gives a false confession, and then accuses 2 other women to show that she is sincere. The accusations, as observed, were simply accepted - there is no need for evidence at all (after all, you can't disprove witchcraft). Upon seeing how easy it is to accuse others, the group of girls (the crowd at the stairs) followed Tituba and deliberately and falsely confessed.

After:
What then followed (not in the video above), was the uncontrollable accusations, whereby the accused had no choice but to confess too, and they, in turn, accused more people as a form of vengeance. This spiraled out of control, thus, the hysteria.

Finger-pointing is a terrible and destructive sport. As PM Lee mentioned, DPM Wong Kan Seng didn't explicitly choose to disregard safety measures, neither did he "suggest that we didn't need so much fencing". It is not fair to impose on him the responsibility to account for every variable and the infinite possibilities of what may happen. Therefore, if there should be anything to be feared, it would be mindless and baseless accusations. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) perfects it: "The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic."


I am convinced that this is, A timely caution. An affirmation of our wise leaders.