Alvin Tan, America and social media

OK my friend Alvin Tan has been stirring up a lot of shit on social media and his Facebook posts have been making the headlines in Malaysia. I have chatted with him off and on about it (we usually talk about other things) and I would like to offer a personal response to this episode, given how I have experienced a big spike in traffic to my blog, mostly from Malaysians searching for the two interviews I have done with him on my blog. Certainly, Alvin does have an axe to grind with the Malaysian government after his incarceration in Sungai Buloh prison, however, I do wonder why he is so keen to get this much attention from his former country. If he wants attention, he is certainly getting it. However, I really don't see the point of this social media campaign of his. About 20-30% of the people do support his actions whilst the remaining 70-80% are haters who don't even have a cogent argument. Look by all means, disagree with Alvin - I am his friend and even I don't approve of many of the things he has done. But good grief, so many of his haters don't even have their facts right! What can you possibly gain by engaging with people like that on Facebook?

What is Alvin Tan getting up to on Facebook?!

Let's take the revoking of Alvin's Malaysian passport for example: it does not guarantee his return to Malaysia. It is a fairly meaningless gesture as it doesn't strip him of his Malaysian citizenship - it just means that his current passport is no longer valid. Technically speaking, he could still obtain emergency travel documents from the Malaysian embassy in America to travel back to Malaysia if that is what he wished to do - but that is unlikely to be on his agenda given how he is making big plans for his life in America. Many Malaysians are clamouring for the authorities to go one step further and strip Alvin of his Malaysian citizenship: well,that would only strengthen Alvin's claim for asylum in America given that he can no longer return to Malaysia (since he is no longer a citizen of the country).

In any case, as a stateless person, he would be eligible for a UN Travel document issued by US Immigration. It makes no sense for the Malaysian state to revoke Alvin's citizenship in any case - after all, if the Malaysian government wanted to extradite him back to KL to face charges, they have a far stronger case when they say, "I have a Malaysian citizen who is a fugitive in your country." Now all they can say is they have a much weaker case since they're chasing a stateless person whom they have severed all links with. They are then relying on America's goodwill to agree to the request of extradition and so far, America has not bothered to even pay Malaysia the courtesy of considering their case. Many Malaysians don't realize just how little influence they have in the outcome of Alvin's pending asylum claim in America. This is a mater for the American authorities to deal with and nothing they do can affect the outcome.

Some of the comments left on Alvin's Facebook wall have been no more than a tirade of vulgarities - but even that is fine by me, because at least that is a very honest expression of their feelings towards Alvin Tan who is a controversial figure. What makes me shake my head in despair are the stupid Malaysians who do not get their facts right and post factually inaccurate/incorrect statements and then other misinformed Malaysians agree with these incorrect statements - like duh, what is the point of liking someone's comment when it is untrue and incorrect in the first place? What do you think Google is for? Can you not spend 2 minutes verifying your facts before posting on social media? Clearly not - this reflects very poorly on the Malaysian education system and I wouldn't want to be a teacher in Malaysia if students have this little regard for verifying their facts. Like seriously, the majority of Alvin's haters are so hideously stupid and blatantly unaware of their own stupidity.

This begs the question: why would you want to indulge in social media when about 80% of the people coming to your Facebook page are haters who are just out for blood? That doesn't sound like a particularly pleasant experience at all - this is in fact a far cry from the days when he had his sex blog Alvivi and they were at least having fun doing what they were doing (and receiving compliments from many of their fans before the whole thing blew wide open). Now it seems that Alvin is just going out of his way to provoke the establishment in Malaysia and I am wondering what he has to gain in doing so. Is this some kind of ploy to establish his credentials for political asylum (as opposed to someone who got into trouble for that stupid Bak Kut Teh gaffe)? Or is he so hungry for attention that he is willing to do anything just to get into the headlines? Is there a point to his social media posts or is he just venting his pent up anger?

Bak Kut Teh!

I don't know - but the fact that he has burnt all bridges with Malaysia means that he has really little to gain by poking the beehive and stirring up trouble in Malaysia through the internet. He can't return to Malaysia ever, so it is not like he can reap the benefits of any kind of change he may be able to effect this way. In any case, he is in no position to try to take on any political issues - such is the rule of law in democracy. You need to have popular support, you need to have supporters who agree with you and back your cause and right now, Alvin has mostly haters, not supporters. So at best, all he can do is vent his anger at the Malaysian establishment from afar, knowing that they cannot touch him when he is in America. At worst, he is simply making more enemies in the process and I really don't see the point of making more enemies in life. We need friends, not enemies. Time is precious and we should focus our energies on being pragmatic activities, not making enemies.

What I do find surprising is the way Malaysians seem to follow him and watch his every move as if he was someone very important and influential - he isn't, really. Thousands of people criticize the establishment in Malaysia everyday on social media, so why single out Alvin as the one person who must be brought to justice for doing what thousands of others are doing? It is a strange self-fulfilling prophesy: the more people respond to Alvin Tan, the more he provokes the Malaysian establishment (knowing he has an audience) and the more influential he becomes when Malaysian politicians react to him. Some have even suggested that Malaysian politicians are deliberately baiting Alvin Tan to create a boogeyman, a monster for the Malaysians to hate - for he makes a good distraction from some of the other unsolved problems and messy issues that the government in KL would rather sweep under the carpet for now. 

At the end of the day, Alvin is my friend and sometimes, there's a method to his madness - sometimes there isn't. He is unpredictable but intelligent and I just hope he knows what he is doing this time. Do let me know what you think about Alvin's outrageous social media antics - that's what the comment section below is for. Many thanks for reading.