The Frailty of Politics

Ever watched alien themed movies? They came and reign terror to the planet with their apocalyptic weapons and defeated by single human hero.

Aliens. They are beings that Hollywood ‘characterized’ to gain billions of dollars. In their movies, they came travelled light-years to planet earth inside their huge monolithic spacecraft. Once here, they unleashed several smaller craft and wreck havoc.Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day showed how ordinary human pilot found alien spacecraft vulnerabilities. In Spielberg’s’ War-Of-The-Worlds, the alien was struck with an unknown disease and went killed-in-action on their way to conquer earth. Tim Burton’s Mars Attack, a class-B movie that depicted brainy aliens getting irritated by a tune accidentally played by a blurry kid. Peter Jackson produced District9 took a different approach; he described the alien as refugee-seeking beings. They came here and seek refuge before humans find them too close for comfort. Then, the aliens were destined for one thing: Deportation to their home planet.

Luckily, Hollywood was never given the power of God. In which we shall never see those apocalyptic human-alien battle anywhere beyond silver screen. Fate seems a lovely couple with irony. Malaysia, a nation which majority consisted of Malay ethnic were amongst the poorest and least developed ethnic. This ethnic claimed that they are the indigenous, but their claims were many times disputed. Defenseless their claim are merely toyed around like a turkey in the wild drawing more shots each and every step it takes, alas without an effective deterrent actions. Favor never tip for Malays in a country where it ‘allegedly’ originates.

If they really grasp the pinnacle of economic dominance, they perhaps had highly resorted to District9 plot: Deportation. Yet, the nation balances with the existence of highly affluent and hard working Chinese. Small in quantity they thrived the economy, stir the growth and thrive the nation with progress. It was said that if buildings in Kuala Lumpur were to be plucked one by one, with the Chinese building singled out, Kuala Lumpur would be more or less bland as it was in circa 1880s.

Datuk Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn revealed that it would take another 150years for the Malays to reach income parity with the Chinese. Today, each ringgit a Malays earn, equals to RM1.20 earned by Chinese. Proponents of colour-blind Malaysia seek to rebuke this debacle, after all, the money never lost to anyone else except our Bangsa Malaysia/Rakyat itself. Its not that hard to see they might replace incumbent government and abolishes jabatan perangkaan graft which categorizes its data according to races. Now, that’s a lighter work for jabatan perangkaan staffers without racial profiling.

As they will probably never be any data available regarding income number according to ethnic due to the holier-than-thou colour-blind ideal under the future coalition. Data can still be categorized according to states. Its never hard to see the obvious which cannot be forever swept under the rug, Malay-belt states ( Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu) shall have lower income per-capita. As usual, these states under the future coalition shall be held under the religion-centric PAS, the party which alleges itself as vanguard of Islam teaching in Malaysia. They embrace Islam wholeheartedly and vowed to transform Malaysia into an Islamic country. Imagine young girls walking in Pavilion being handcuffed by so-called ‘moral police’ with a warning ticket: Hey! Baju awak nipis sampai nampak coli.

Yet, the above mentioned scenario will not likely occur. PAS can keep that as wishful thinking as Wilayah Persekutuan itself would never wholly fell into their rule. The ever-changing and potent Klang Valley itself is teaming with Chinese. Businessmen, Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, Architects, Accountants, DVD-sellers. Their presence cannot be underestimated as they held the incredible spending power that incite economic activity. They pay better taxes. A region so volatile that each month you’ll see a new stretch of road branches out of somewhere. A region where citizen who don’t mind about their daughters or wife wearing an outfit too thin as what matters is they remain competitive in real-world agenda of surviving the concrete jungle. Areas which the incumbent National Front fielded MCA candidate instead of the domineering UMNO.

These big cities had long eyed assemblymen from ‘The Rockets’. A more independent and hard-hitting representative which is never to become a Yes Men. Above all, these area shall record higher income per-capita. Without much natural resources, they are driven by the fire of industries and services. Out shadowing the Malay belt states. City folks had long realized that did not get the value for what they paid for. They knew their money flowed into a pool which is never properly maintained, leaks everywhere.Here and there.

In the end of the day, Malaysia will get regional. The north and east-coast shall fell into the hands of PAS, thus enforcing strict moral policing and hand-chopping penalties. While, big thriving cities will be held by The Rockets/Malaysia Malaysian party. The demise of National Front will make clear the fog of confusion that these two parties will look for new enemy: like chickens in crowded barn, they started scratching among themselves.

The catalyst

Like a rebirth, Anwar has to be the luckiest man in Malaysian politics. Emphasizing in unjust treatment of him getting bared naked, kicked and punched selectively forgotten his pro-bumiputras, pro-affirmative action stance during his UMNO hey days, Anwar has been accepted into the opposition with open hearts. Meteoric rise from both polarity of politics, he had been the deputy prime minister for the government and now he sits on the other polar as the head of opposition. Although the rooms of parliament had been renovated several times, people would notice nothing more than Anwar bench switchover from one side to another.

A political scientist, Anwar formulated a catalytic cocktail that resulted Tok Gurus and Rocket taikos seated under one roof, delivering talks on the same stage. Now DAP-man can deliver speeches in places they can never imagined, the depths of kampongs near madrasah whereThanks to Anwar Ibrahim andhis inception of KeADILan (later known as Parti Keadilan Rakyat), he had started a party which serves more than just a flag to vote. They are the catalyst that made DAP and PAS possible to mix. Like oil and water, they refuse to mix no matter how hard you stir, but in chemistry, two element which hardly mixes can be softened through the presence of a third element: catalyst.

local folks used to play takraw in the late afternoon. PAS with their PAS-for-all scheme can never be successful without DAP-man inviting them over to big towns such as Ipoh, Kuching and Georgetown. When this happens, PAS-khalifahs were never seen as hand-choppers/shariah-enforcer with the glimpse of Rocket emblem on the stage.Anwar must have been an asset to the coalition he formulated. His hands-on experience and coming close with the government he is trying to tumble, made him an instant darling and valuable strategist. His ambitious ploy to take on Putrajaya on 16^th September 2008 had almost everyone grasping their breath in anticipation ofharapan baru. When all that comes is only statements put up on SuaraKeadilan.com.

Rising from the ashes of UMNO fracas, former politicians(some prominent, some not) came to join him. Zaid Ibrahim of UMNO and former Health Minister Chua Jui Meng of MCA. They all had been welcomed with garlands of flowers, certificate of rebirth into truth and justice. Intellectuals had stood by him, names like Chandra Mudzaffar. Now he is not regarded as intellectuals anymore; at least by PKR members.

The next torchbearers

Anyone who had been in-line with UMNO ideals of ethnic supremacy and nationalistic movement now had an option to follow the path of Anwar. Set for rebirth into a more liberal and free-thinking atmosphere, they too can own certificate of rebirth into truth and justice. Anwar had subscribed to political-portability (through cross-overs) when some UMNO members with inclination towards change and liberty were wooed into PKR. Names like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Anifah Aman, Tun Musa Hitam(perhaps) and a few others.

PAS ideals never actually appeal to most UMNO leavers. Their fight of vanguarding the religion is sacred and putting God as the foremost sight can be frighteningly patronizing, yet, as proven by Mahathir-era during the UMNO-PAS 98’ duel mirrored PAS as party of no-substance. Quality of their supporters can reflect the party itself; they talked about Siti Hasmah not wearing hijab,Rafidah not wearing hijab, and Ministers going to America but not performing Haj (indeed they went to America for diplomatic reason). On serious note, the issue of Hudud they brought up never wooed any interest by the Chinese.

Instead Mahathir pulled the right string. Rather telling Marina and Siti Hasmah to wear Hijab which can be done in minutes (failure to do this had some folks from the depth of PAS hardliner supporters infuriated) He dedicated most of his time to shaping up economy which was in turmoil. Thinking outside the box, Tun knew a weak Malay means a weaker Islam. Chinese never mind about Hudud or no-Hudud, they look for benefits of whoever had the best offering.

The Chinese saved UMNO in 1998 election, when Malay vote was split between PAS and UMNO. From that moment on, the term pengundi atas pagar (on-the-fence voters) was coined. In moments of critical, small number really counts.

Old Guards, New Mentality

With the creation of PKR, the argument is much solid, richer and mind-engaging. There is no more whose not wearing hijab issue, instead, they talked about widespread corruption and Malaysian university drop in ranking. They talked about displaced corporate governance and its eventualities of lowered FDI. They brought up issues of brain drain of Malaysian professionals and influx of low-skilled foreign workers into our workers pool. They invited people to think, categorizing each problem into different faculty instead of ‘kuatlah agama, kuatlah akhlak, kuatlah negara’ one-fits-all solution

Anwar kept telling the unsuspecting Malaysian about courage. Courage to uproot the incumbent government. Courage to change 50years of same rule. Courage to rise against inequality, oppression, discrimination plus a whole load of words that brought music to the ears. All packed into a single manifestation: harapan baru (new hope)

New is the new cool. Back to Hollywood, New and unheard studios that produces Slumdog Millionaire can rake more moolahs than big-name long-established studios. New actors brought vibe to movies. New American president is Barack Obama. He is black and its something new. Young people like me are exposed to a whole game-changing ‘news’.

UMNO can be saved if they take Anwar word-of-advice seriously: courage. Courage to quaver off its additional baggage of cronies. Courage to make professionals for its top ranks. Courage to admit its blunder and mistakes. Courage to dispose corrupt leaders. Because the consequences can be bad in short term, that is why Anwar used the word courage. It may take time to adapt. Like a boy who had been circumcised, it takes time to get used of the lighter load and the next thing, they’re a man.

Courage is the word used since things are better said than done. An UMNO leader maybe cursed for life, lost its constituents or come to political career full stop. Yet, they should expect ‘mentality-of-war’ where whoever loses in war shall be charged like criminals. They will be charged and secrets revealed. MACC would come to its sense of purpose when revealing fraud, graft, CBT and corruption worth hundreds of millions each, At the moment, MACC success in tackling RM5000 blacksheep cases seems to be a waste of taxpayer money. It takes tens of millions annually to run that commission.

In the wake of equality and same-field competition, UMNO leaders could heed calls for new mentality. Tun Musa Hitam once recalled the party should have drop off its alarmist strategy of telling Malays how awfully slow they are thus inciting inferior insecurity. UMNO should be bold and taken its first steps to unleash minds/talents that it had nurtured through NEP/Affirmative actions for the last few decades. Tun Musa Hitam wants UMNO to instill the mentality that speak: Malays are ready for the real world.

The question is; are we really ready? Experience rich but not yet battle hardened, it will be akin to releasing rookie private into the frontline of Omaha beach. An onslaught.

It really takes courage after all. For me, my naïve vision for the ideal UMNO would be a pool of Malay intelligentsia. From philosopher, economist, scientists, academicians and even dieticians (Dr.Mahathir once pointed out the Malay eating habit as one of the cause of the ethnic widespread malnutrition). Gathered under a single powerhouse, aiding the Malays in broader sense rather than helping only the cronies and target group with kepentingans (interests).

Government contract may still be able allocated towards bumiputra contractors. But, contractors has somewhat to be united under a single politic-free chamber of commerce. The chamber shall proceed to award the appropriate projects towards any contractor which had met its merit. Creating an atmosphere of competitiveness no-matter you’re son-in-laws or brother-in-laws of any kings or queens. Through this, UMNO shall break free from the cronyism image it had projected for quite some time. UMNO will be a mighty think tank which its lawmakers shall paint the underlying background; the rest, its up to the Malays to alleviate their standards within the land they claim theirs.

UMNO and its friends in the alliance can shift towards a new mentality. In these hard times, National Front occasionally calls for people to remember their good deed done for over half century. Yet, retelling old stories is never enough for most Malaysian which grew fond towards progress and development. Malaysian today is well exposed towards good governance and welfare. They travelled all over the world.

UMNO must allow young professionals to play active role within the party. Pemuda itself should become suara membangkang ( dissent voices ), so that senior leaders obliged to think twice of whatever they decide to do. Pemuda can replicate the ‘storm-from-all-sides’ situation, a situation which opposition would like government to be in. The hey days of UMNO and its undisputable sense-of-purpose were the time when the party had dissent voices so-called the ‘young turks’ in the form of Tun Mahathir Mohammad, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Tun Musa Hitam.

Lacking of these dissent voices made UMNO a mundane party. Instead, party members can be punished for pointing out blatant mistake and naked truth.

Even if I were to rally my support to any political ideology in the event of National Front yet unforeseeable demise, PKR shall be the one. The party is the most viable torchbearers of Malays plight. In their forceful calls for equality and economic justice, the UMNO genes shall subliminally exist to continue supporting the ethnic left behind. PKR they are indeed the true faceless and colour-blind politics which fulfill Onn Jaafars dream. The free-for-all membershipallowed for a solid collective vocal reaching throughout the various social fabric of Malaysia. Unlike PAS with its Islamic-nation ambitions and deep-rooted ‘The Rockets’ character of over-my-dead-body/ultrakiasu.

Be kind, press rewind

Professor Ridhuan Tee once reminded Malays through the obviously bias daily publication, Utusan Melayu, that Malays should never be too complacent and happy with recent Malaysian Malaysia party top figures mentioning about governance in accordance to the khalifahs (caliphs). He warned that the party can go as far as fielding Malay candidates and putting Malays to helm some of its higher posts.

It is truly understandable in my short analysis of politics, Malaysian Malaysia party who seek to become colour blind and enforce economic justice are merely dominated by a single ethnic. Their act of putting other ethnic on higher ranks would just be periphery and decoration-purpose, probably part of a well coordinated effort in their long aim towards their ultimate goal. A party with a single-ethnic majority who does not have an upper hand in quantity, they play it safe by being kind.

They are kind to other ethnic majority of Malaysia. They showed compassion, care, respect and determination to protect the rights of this ethnic. Minority survival method had been mirrored by Dr. Bashar al-Assad the Syrian Premier. He belongs to Alawi sect of Shiites Muslim which counted less than 13% of Syrian population. Indeed, he maintained his authority and power though making friends with other ethnic/sects in Syria (Christian, Kurds, Druze, Ismaili, Yezidi etc. ), leaving 75% of Sunni Muslims of Syria off the power zone.

Its apparently clear, without being kind, a small number cannot amount any force to push themselves into helm of power. They’ll play nice for some time. Added with Anwar cooperation and seal of trust, a chunk of support had just been gained. Worst still, PAS utilized the unifying power of religion for the benefit of a coalition that half-heartedly listens to their aspiration. Together, with Anwar continuously mentioning ‘courage’, led this party to become menacingly brave to question other provisions made under the constitution for the Malays.

Its not shocking if they won the upper hand, they will redraft the constitution and rename it something that they’re obsessively into; like Perlembagaan Rakyat. They’ll make the day historic as if the current constitution were drafted by evil and tyrants. To show things were in the place where it should belong. Everything will be renamed with the word rakyat as suffix or prefix as a sign of transparency. Mahkamah Rayuan Rakyat, Gagasan Satu Rakyat, Suruhanjaya Rakyat Membasmi Rasuah, So on and so forth.

Thank You for reading The Frailty of Politics, this would probably be the last entry related to politics. Politics has always been the fuel that propelled Tudya! in the last few years, yet it’s a sensitive topic to discuss with most people try to avoid it. As a replacement, next Tudya entries will feature things that are more rational to my course of study: architecture. A dedicated segment called ‘Atelier’ will feature subject related to architecture currency local and abroad. Thank You for your support and keep visiting Tudya! Happy New Year 2010.