Saturday, September 13, 2008

ANOTHER CRITICAL LOOK AT MALAYSIA

Wow. Even the US government is paying attention! Apparently the camel-corps over at State has realized that Malaysia's assaults on freedom of speech and freedom of the press should not stand. The Malaysian Charge d'Affairs, Mr. Ilango Karuppanan, was given a talking-to over the recent arrests of an oppositionists, a blogger, and a journalist.


Quotes:
"Peaceful expression of political opinions is a fundamental right and critical to a democracy,"

"The United States believes that the Malaysian government should provide due process and treatment consistent with Malaysian law and international standards,"

"We expect that democratic countries that purport to advocate free expression of political views will not curtail such freedom,"


[Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jaqcOFqlsYHyxjXfkbxuJcNRQ5_A ]


It should be stressed that the ruling powers in Malaysia do NOT believe in a fundamental right to express ANY political opinions - they tolerate such expression when it more or less agrees with their own ideas - nor does the Malaysian government adhere to international standards, save when convenient.

As for the expectation so eloquently expressed, such does not accord with Malay adat at all.

[Adat means traditional law and custom. The word is derived from Arabic. But the Malay interpretation means everything from enforced obedience to societal pressure and government dictat, to draconian legal measures against any form of dissent and non-Malay ethnic assertion.]



MALAY SOCIETY

The honourable Ilango Karuppanan has a less than enviable position; representing a society and a ruling class which fears dissent, independent thought, and outside influences. For such is the dominant ethos in Malaysia - an undereducated and superstitious agrarian hinterland occupied by Malay migrants from the coasts and the Indonesian islands, fiercely fearful of the influence and success of the urban Chinese and Indians who have made the peninsula prosperous, and the country viable as an independent nation.

[Malays originate in Sumatra and Riau predominantly, though there are Malaysian villages inhabited by the descendants of Javanese settlers, as well as Minang in Negri Sembilan. The dominant class in Malaysian Borneo are mostly carpetbaggers and the Malayized pirate classes of the coast, along with corrupt officials who have seized control of the natural resources in the upriver areas. The Buginese form distinct strata both in the peninsula and Borneo, but are nevertheless considered Bumiputra]


Twenty years of noteworthy service in Malaysia's foreign service also can not quite prepare even so intelligent an individual as Ilango Karuppanan for the promotion of what is essentially a system of apartheid; the legalized advancement and preference given to mal-educated Malays and Arabs-gone-native over qualified Indians and Chinese, the quotas and projects that benefit aforementioned Malays and Arabs-gone-native, and the legal privileges that being a Malay (or an Arab-gone-native) have.

[For background on Malay Apartheid and the term Bumiputra, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumiputra
and note especially the favoured position of Muslims. ]



Mr. Ilango Karuppanan himself may have some private objections to such a system - not being, strictly speaking, a beneficiary thereof.

[Bio of the honourable Mr. Ilango Karuppanan:
http://www.akronworldaffairs.org/programs/speaker_bios/karuppannan.html ]




HUMAN RIGHTS

Perhaps it is time for the rest of the world to stop passively accepting the Malaysian government's utterances at face-value, and actually start investigating the human rights abuses in that stalwart Muslim country?

I am sure that the activists of SUARAM could assist them in that regard, as well as all the people who have over the years been arrested and held indefinitely under Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA) - including but not limited to human rights activists, activists of the ethnic and political minorities, plus lawyers, scholars, and people who have cast aside a former Islamic identity in favour of other religions.

Converts to Buddhism, Hinduism, or Christianity in Malaysia can certainly speak, from bitter personal experience, of the treatment they have received from their Muslim ex-coreligionists.
The experiences of reporters and politicians who at some point ran afoul of UMNO (United Malays National Organization - the major Malay political party) and were arrested under the Internal Security Act might also be instructive - ISA has in the past been used as a catch-all statute to squash dissent, punish recalcitrant politicians, and enforce the Mafia-like rule of local machers.

[For just one example of a reporter arrested arbitrarily, see here:
http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/12656/84/
and also read this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7613754.stm]


If the world were to support the sincere and honest individuals in Malaysia in their attempts to improve their society, they would discover that Malaysians of all ethnicities have the capability to make Malaysia flourish. This is not a country that is starting from zero, these are not people without valid reasons for national and ethnic pride.
It is a great pity that the integration of Malaysia in the world economy has been at the expense of certain inalienable freedoms, and it is a tragedy that the international community has so profitably turned a blind eye to the rape of its own ideals.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the world were to support the sincere and honest individuals in Malaysia in their attempts to improve their society, they would discover that Malaysians of all ethnicities have the capability to make Malaysia flourish.

Forgive - or forgive not my cynical comment...

"the World" - please be more specific...

"Mayaysia flourish" as what? cheap labour for Euro/American conglomerates?

Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan... countries whose "sincere and honest individuals" got / get support - and achieve(d) little.

Why....

coz

we are supporting the aspirations of their menfolk...

when we should be better supporting the women...and coming down mighty mean & strong on any of their tribal elders who squeaks.

Graham

Anonymous said...

From The Nation newspaper, Thailand:

http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/09/16/opinion/opinion_30083515.php

Manufactured crisis turns ugly for Malays
By The Nation
Published on September 16, 2008


Ruling party is accused of manipulating racial tensions to maintain its long grip on power

When the Malaysian government evoked the draconian Internal Security Act last week and arrested three civilians - journalist Tan Hoon Cheng, opposition politician Teresa Kok and Internet news portal editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin - on charges of racial instigation, one immediately sensed that a man-made political tsunami is in the offing. For a country that has enjoyed economic progress and which positions itself as one of the world's leading economies, Malaysia cannot afford a manufactured crisis - especially on the issue of race relations. The international community immediately condemned the crackdown and the use of the ISA, which allows detention without trial. Apparently, the government is willing to play a dangerous game, banking on public fears of racial riots like those that occurred in 1969. Indeed, the ruling National Front has used race as a template to instil a culture of fear that, without it running the show, the country will descend into chaos. This has worked for the past five decades. The question is: will it work now?

Racial tensions are not new in a country with various ethnic and religious groups. From time to time, senior government officials spark the tensions with comments that insult the Chinese and Indian minorities by claiming they are not patriotic. They are blamed for any and all ills in Malay society. But Malaysians have shown to the world that they are resilient people and appreciate racial harmony. The trouble is, politicians continue to stoke the fires of nationalism and "Malayness", leaving this quality under scrutiny.


In the March 8 election, voters from the minorities shattered the National Front's grip on power, which it has enjoyed continuously for the past five decades since independence. But political discourse in Malaysian society has changed radically towards more openness and now touches on sensitive issues as never before. The current most popular topic is the changing of the country's guard. It will be sooner than later.


All Malaysian media reported the government's action with much surprise, although they did not criticise too much, except for the online media. But they know deep in their hearts that the use of the ISA is aimed at highlighting the danger of racial discord and the Pakatan Rakjat opposition's plan to unseat the government, which is supposed to occur today. Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim reiterated over the weekend that his coalition has the number of cross-over votes to form a new government, but at this time he would rather tackle the issues related to political stability and security first and foremost. It was clear yesterday that Anwar's ambition will not be realised by the stated deadline.


Whatever the government has tried to do, it has backfired and greatly damaged the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Already, discord among the leaders of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) has reached the breaking point. Several leaders have already come forward to urge Badawi to resign so that a new leader can be elected.


The current appointed successor, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the son of the country's second prime minister, who was supposed to succeed Badawi in 2010, is no longer in a waiting mode either.


Other contenders, including Tenku Razaleigh Hamzah and International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, are also challenging Badawi. Worst of all, there is a growing chorus within UMNO that the only way to salvage the party is to invite ex-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad to return as leader.


The National Front, the ruling coalition party with UMNO, has become complacent and has consistently ignored the concerns of Malaysians. Corruption and cronyism are rampant in this country with many mega-projects. With the ongoing infighting within UMNO and the use of the ISA, Anwar's chance of becoming the next leader has increased many-fold. Of course, there are still many hurdles for the opposition to cross.


Malaysians in general want assurances and tangible evidence that their country under a new leader will be more equal, while still as vibrant and dynamic as before.

Anonymous said...

Too many words all round. Write more silently.


---Grant Patel

Anonymous said...

Four legs good, two legs bad.

Anonymous said...

Four legs?

Two panties!


Gooood!!!!


---Grant Patel

Anonymous said...

Say what you will... Rebecca is a very nice name
Britney or Madonna are less nice

Graham

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