'For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.' - Paul in Corinthians II
Farish Noor announced that he would take a temporary hiatus from writing in Malaysiakini. The reason is unclear, but he alludes that it is due to the negative responses from some of his critics. This is rather surprising as Farish Noor's comments on the failures of the Reformasi movement are equally as critical. Neither do I find this critic's reply to be entirely unjustifiable. He was afflicted by a letter, which to my eyes, was nothing but a fair reply. Humans truly have different sensitivities.
Our sensitivities tend to be sturdy, hard to remove, hard to numb. They are however, built on fragile emotions and desires like love and hope. And as we love and hope for different things, so too do our sensitivities differ. We become sensitive about the paintings which we paint with the greatest passion, not the most expensive. We take the greatest affront at a slight disapproval from a love one, not a foe. Perhaps, he despaired because he holds the Reformasi movement close to his heart, that he contributed his efforts into it, and that he is now being criticised by the members of a movement he bravely believes in. Would he have reacted the same if the criticisms were meted out by PUM? Sometimes, the messenger is as important as the message.
Although my exposure to Farish Noor's writings have been restricted to the free excerpts provided by Malaysiakini, I have found the few paragraphs to be insightful and I will certainly miss his column. I too should be taking a hiatus as my exams approach.
Posted by Mettars at May 13, 2003 10:32 AM