Words can heal, words can hurt

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
My View - The Sun Daily
April 5, 2016

THE news of a pupil having his tongue snipped took the nation by surprise. Although it was later reported that it was self-inflicted it does not take away the "pain". The tongue is a delicate sensory organ dedicated to discerning the subtleties of taste. It has many nerve endings with the tip being well-endowed. To understand how painful the injury would have been one would need to reflect on the pain and unease experienced when there is a tiny ulcer at the tip of the tongue. Imagine if the ulcer was many times bigger. Ouch!

The tongue is very supple to effectively play an important role in manoeuvring food for proper mastication before assisting in the process of swallowing. When any part of the tongue is injured such functions get disrupted or impaired. The tongue is also vital in speaking and pronunciation. Again with injuries, these too will be defective since the tongue is inhibited in its movement. We see this in the slurred speech of a paralysed person.

On the other hand, an "overworked" tongue is also a problem. The "oral diarrhoea" it produces can result in stinking outcomes as it is bound to involve others as well. A tongue-lashing for example can cause embarrassment, or just plain hurt emotionally speaking leading to several other unpleasant consequences like a fist fight or even more ugly exchanges of swear words or a shouting match. Likewise people said to be "motor-mouth" – they talk a lot, especially in a loud or aggressive way – tend to have this obnoxious behavioural habit.

According to a well-known Indonesian song this is because tongues are "boneless" – memang lidah tak bertulang. The lyrics continue: tak terbatas kata-kata, giving the impression that there is no limit to what is being said – understood by many listeners as unbridled freedom of speech!

It goes on to exert that what is promised and what is delivered may not even match. The former is easier said than done. In such cases, snipping the tongue metaphorically speaking is welcome before more damage is caused by rumours. However the reason for doing so must be justified and transparently executed. Even in Parliament, a virtual tongue snipping took place when ministers were warned not to "usurp" the powers of the Dewan Rakyat speaker for any reason.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said a minister had made a "mistake" by deciding that it was "sub judice" to answer questions on the RM2.6 billion issue which he regarded as pre-empting the issue, "usurping the powers of the speaker".

"So never ever any minister repeat that again because that is the power of the speaker," he warned reiterating that this had never happened before in his eight years as the speaker. Hence the gift of the gab is not necessarily good if improperly used.

That is why in many belief systems restraint of speech is essential for harmonious living. Islam is forthright in reminding adherents that a loose tongue is a sure way of getting into hellfire.

Slander and back-biting are serious transgressions. So be warned especially social media junkies, spin doctors and those entrusted with the control and use of media and communication.

In short, much can be gained if speech is judiciously used to spread goodwill and harmony among humanity by creating long-lasting trust, rather than manipulating and spinning information for the benefit of a few.

So let us learn from the unintentional, albeit silly, mistake of an innocent schoolboy. Mature adults must lead the way.