Wither Boleh-man?

Yesterday's post was ended with a rhetoric; where is Malaysia's Boleh-man?

Today, the editor of Malaysia Today, Raja Petra Kamarudin, was released from ISA detention by the High Court after successfully submitting a habeas corpus application for wrongful detention.

Now, I don't know about the rest of the country, but I think today is a momentous day for Malaysia. Just as it was a day that change arrived in America two days ago, today we saw an unprecedented moral victory for those who are fighting to have the draconian ISA laws thrown out the window. Change has come to Malaysia too.

And yet, while I logged on to what must be one of the biggest social evolutions in web history, called Facebook, I felt like I was a part of a minority who thought RPK's release was a major occasion.

Two days ago, the world watched with bated breath as Obama racked up the electoral votes towards the magical 270 mark. And when it was reached, every single buddy who updated their Facebook status had a reference to Obama for a full six hours after; majority of those buddies are not American, nor were they in America at that time.

Today, upon receiving the news of RPK's release, there were less than a handful (only three references to be exact) in the last two hours to RPK. Ok, maybe the news hasn't gotten around yet and many still don't know. The Star released the news on its front page but I guess it didn't make it on to CNN or Al-Jazeera as yet. The fact remains that people were more aware of what was happening halfway around the world than they are in their own home. Obama wins a victory and people are moved enough to say it on Facebook. RPK is released from wrongful detention and life seemingly goes on as normal.

So, where is Boleh-man? If I had to pick a candidate right now, I would nominate RPK as Malaysia's Boleh-man. But does he even matter?