Everyone you go you see a bunch of people looking down at their phones crossing the streets or sitting on the benches as if the eyes were meant to be glued to the screens. The biological nature of human is slowly altered with an increasing dominance of technology in our social life, and whether that contributes to worthy variations or is a worrying disturbance to human evolution is subjected to controversies and arguments that scientists will take decades to delve into, and even then it’s highly unlikely they can reach a consensus. Technology has evolved in an alarming rate and has changed the way people live, it has substituted a lot of once considered important materials, and have created a virtual world that people are continuously sucked into and unable to break free from.
Yes, technology creates a virtual reality that a lot of people enjoy living in. Why would you hate it? Virtual reality is where you create the world you have dreamed off. You get to be the person you want. You get to be the character you know you couldn’t possibly become - a prince or a princess in a medieval kingdom with an infinite supply of gold and enjoy admirable reverence, say. You get to modify where you live and create the space you want - however big it is, however beautiful the surrounding can be. You get to imaginatively splash your virtual money that you gain by doing what you like on stuffs that you could reach without physical boundaries or financial limitations. Short of cash? Play more! It’s fun! This is where you earn infinite money with very little physical effort.
But is virtual reality a safe reality?
Instead of using the mundane approach people tend to use, let’s see what the alternatives are.
The real world. What has it got to offer? In 2016 alone we have witnessed a lot of disturbing events that have plunged the world into a series of convoluted mess that is close to impossible to clean up. North Korea’s persistence to push for its nuclear test and launched a number of missiles in a year alone is destabilising Asia and is wrecking havoc on transnational politics, with China, South Korea and Japan getting much more tense and threatening the world’s economy with every actions they take. China, North Korea’s closest ally have shown dismay towards North Korea, and has continuously supported UN’s decision to slap hard sanctions on North Korea - something considered a solid proof China’s patience with North Korea is slowly wearing off - and yet China refuses to cross the boundary to have a confrontation with North Korea because, as it is rumoured, China is more concerned about US’s influence in Asia than the stabilisation of its region.
Taiwan and China have got much tense since Tsai Ing-wen won the presidency and became the President of Taiwan. Cross-straits relations could never have been more tense after China closes its Taiwan’s relation office in Beijing and Taiwan’s refusal to recognise One China policy drawn in 1992. China’s alleged interference in Hong Kong’s government raises alarms and causes burning flame of protest after China allegedly kidnapped five Hong Kong authors who have heavily criticised China’s interference in local affairs. Hong Kongers then pushed for an actual independence from China, calling China to leave the British colonial states alone and respect the ‘One China, Two Policy’ system drafted up by China.
China is already facing a lot of internal conflicts, and yet it attempts to stake claim to territory that could not possibly be theirs. China claims almost the whole of South China Sea, and has itself drawn a national boundary up to 5km outside Sarawak and Sabah’s shore. ASEAN countries, particularly The Philippine, staunchly opposed China’s claim. The Philippines, being the worst victim, lodged a lawsuit to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which at the end ruled in favour of the Philippines. Yet, the court is founded by the United Nations. It is not binding and could not be enforced because it has no enforcers under it. The UN could comment but that’s what they could only do. It’s a common policy that international organisations and world bodies do not interfere in a nation’s internal affairs. China has refused to recognise the ruling. And the rest, you could work with your imagination.
ISIS continues to be a worrying factor but in recent times it has dwindled. Its territory has ceased to expand, but it ceases to expand because it is pounded. US and Russia bring their war game into Syria, and the ultimate casualties are the innocent locals who die at the merciless airstrikes that have reduced a once colourful city to mere rubble. Few decades of history is wiped out by the irresponsible actions of immature countries that undermine human lives to gain victory. ISIS may be slowly being defeated, but as expected, they change tactics and begin to urge sympathisers to carry out lone-wolf attacks, and that is much more worrying because lone-wolf attacks are much more difficult to thwart.
El Nino has plunged the whole planet into a ball of turmoil. Certain areas experience drought so bad people die of thirst and hunger because there literally isn’t a single drop of water available and crops have died under scorching heat unfit for living. Certain areas experience unstable weather that normally bring torrential rain which cause eventual horrific flooding and in some areas tornadoes and hurricanes occurred and flattened a once densely built city.
The Philippines elected a President who endorsed extrajudicial killings, and urged its people to kill everyone they suspect is a drug addict. Judicial reviews and criminal proceedings are not required. Police caught killing drug addicts will be pardoned by the President. As a result, The Philippines’ economy shrank to a new low in decades, and the society becomes much more turbulent because, drug addict may be less, but the increasing poverty spawn other crimes like robbery. Substituting a crime with another is never the solution.
The US observes the most heated presidential election in a century. Donald Trump, the nominated Republican candidate is vying for the post with Hillary Clinton, a nominated Democratic Party candidate. Donald Trump, seen as unfit to be even a candidate, is widely condemned by the international organisations and people across the world. He is a racist, a misogynist, knows nothing about the Constitution of America, calls Mexicans “rapists” and threatens to build a wall between the US and Mexico and demands Mexico to pay for it. He calls for the ban of Muslims on US ground, threatens to expel millions of immigrants currently residing in US, without considering that a lot of immigrants have rooted in US and created a family, and expelling them separate them from their children who are naturalised US citizens. He does not respect the rule of law, calls the media a farce and threatens to amend the laws to enable legal proceedings to begin on media organisations. He refuses to declare his tax, the first nominated candidate to refuse a declaration. He threatens the freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the non-discrimination policy that have strengthened America to be the respected country of the world. No major newspapers have publicly endorsed Trump. In fact, loyal Republican newspapers who have consistently endorsed the Republican are switching side to support Hillary Clinton.
Yet Hillary Clinton herself is a problem for America. She recklessly used her personal emails in treating delicate issues. She undermines the security of millions of Americans, and, worse still, the United States of America itself, as she dealt with national security. She has received funds but some of the funds were unaccounted for - a sign of corruption that appears to be invasive and pervasive and infectious in the political system. She has brought the US into the war against ISIS, and she has caused international standoff that Americans do not favour. She is a mother of trouble. As a result, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are close in the presidential race. Hillary Clinton leads but not in the safe margin. Yet America doesn’t seem to have any options. It’s either this lady, or the guy with disturbing behaviours. Whoever America pick, the world will observe a changing political sphere. And the President will be hated by approximately half of the citizens in the country he/she rules.
Issues plaguing other countries probably do not need to be mentioned because the issues above seem enough.
What about Malaysia? How’s Malaysia? Inflation has gone up. The Malaysian Ringgit has shrunk to a new low and the Malaysian government seems reluctant to act. Freedom of speech is increasingly being suppressed. The closure of The Malaysian Insider marked a black day in Malaysia’s history, and the threat made against Malaysiakini and the continual political influence in major newspapers cast doubt over Malaysia’s freedom of press. Malaysian government attempts to amend the law to place two government officers in the Bar Council, a lawyer body that is supposed to be independent from the executive’s interference. Malaysia continues to take conservative approaches in legal cases that concern interfaith and inter religion matters. The line separating civil and syariah courts have narrowed and is diminishing. The increasing cost of living is pushing the poor poorer and yet the rich gets richer because of economic dominance. The inability of the government to differentiate criticism and insult continues to show signs that Malaysia is slowly plunging into a dictatorship or totalitarian era, where the elected body must be respected because, in their opinion, democracy appears to happen only once every five years. Those who are elected must remain elected until the next election. The ruling government is incapable of running the country, but the Opposition does not provide a viable option. Can Malaysia progress? Is the future bright or bleak? Is there even a future?
With all the worrying events in a single year, could you argue that virtual reality does not offer a better reality? Yes. Virtual reality is virtual, untouchable, a product of our figment of imagination. But they provide a space where we could be protected against and sheltered from the turbidity of the world. It is not the best reality, but it provides a temporary safe haven. It might be an illusion that virtual reality can be a reality, but it is no illusion that virtual reality is here to stay.
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