The sins of our fathers

 

Hence liberalism changed Europe. But that only happened when the liberals outnumbered the conservatives. In Malaysia, we shall have to wait until such a time when the liberals outnumber the conservatives. But that time has not come yet. Today, most Malaysians are still conservative. So, until that time comes, we will need to educate the conservatives -- in particular but not confined to the Malays -- and try to turn them into liberals.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

A few days ago, when I spoke about conservatism versus liberalism, some readers did not quite understand what I meant. So let me explain it.

I was equating ‘conservatism versus liberalism’ to Europe of the mid-1800s, the era after the Napoleonic War when it went through a period of turmoil that culminated in the collapse of the Holy Roman and Hapsburg Empires and saw the creation of the Republics of Italy and Germany respectively.

Those who held on to ‘traditional values’ (for example, maintaining the monarchies) were said to be upholding conservatism while those who were pushing for reforms (for example, the abolishment of the monarchies) were said to be fighting for liberalism.

Basically, those who resist change are conservatives while those who embrace change are liberals.

Of course, depending on how you apply these words, the meaning can differ. Those wearing ‘revealing’ clothes can also said to be more liberal than those who do not. Those who indulge in ‘swinger’ activities can also said to be more liberal than those who do not. And so on.

By today’s meaning, liberals are those who live a more ‘open’ lifestyle, which some, in particular the religionists, might even interpret as an immoral lifestyle. Hence, in short, the liberals will try something new or go for change while the conservatives want to maintain status quo.

And that would be what I mean by the fight between Malaysia’s liberals and Malaysia’s conservatives -- nothing to do with atheism, agnosticism, free sex, wife swapping, or a LGBT lifestyle.

Okay, now that we are clear on what I mean by liberalism versus conservatism, let us explore in what way this applies to Malaysia. And for purposes of this discussion I have titled today’s piece ‘The sins of our fathers’.

Undoubtedly, Malaysia’s politics is race and religion driven and we tend to view these types of people as racists, chauvinists, parochial, religious fanatics, etc. Actually, this is not quite accurate. If it were, then every single Malaysian without exception would be a racist, chauvinist, and/or religious fanatic.

Those who uphold or give preference to their race, tribe, language, culture, religion, etc., are conservatives, while those who want to discard these ‘old values’ in favour of a ‘new identity’ are liberals. They want to abandon their ‘old ways’ or ‘old world order’ and migrate to a ‘new world’ and adopt a ‘new world order’.

We think we are liberals. We claim to be liberals. But are we? How many would discard ‘religious unions’, also known as marriages, and choose a civil partnership, meaning ‘living in sin’ as husband and wife without going through the religious rituals of getting married?

In the first place, does Malaysia have any laws that will recognise (and protect) a man and woman who have lived together for, say, at least six months, as being a legally married couple even though they did not have a ‘proper’ marriage?

How many Malaysians would marry (whether officially/legally or unofficially by just living together for at least six months) someone not of his/her same race and religion? Even if they do, one partner would have to convert to the religion of the other partner. For example, seldom will you find one partner remaining a Hindu if married to a Muslim, etc., although there are some rare cases.

The fact that most Malaysians would marry someone of their own race/religion and will go through a ‘proper’ or legal (plus religious) marriage shows that most Malaysians are conservatives and not liberals. Yet they claim to be liberals.

Hence, when most Malaysians are conservative by nature (and, of course, by upbringing), it would be very difficult to propagate liberalism when it comes to politics. Hence, also, I would not classify Malaysians as racists, chauvinists, religious fanatics, etc. I would classify them as conservatives.

I trust that point is clear and I trust, also, that you will regard this as my interpretation of what Malaysians are.

Now, let us try to analyse all that in the context of the current political sentiments in Malaysia.

Malays, by nature and upbringing (and also by conditioning and ‘brainwashing’), are conservative. They uphold feudalism (a major complaint by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who tried to eradicate this in the 1980s but failed) and they refer to the Rulers as Raja-raja Melayu.

Malays also hold dear their traditions and customs (adat istiadat Melayu). And their proverb is biar mati anak, jangan mati adat (let the child die but not let traditions and customs die).

Malays (at least most Malays) regard themselves as Muslims first (and Malays second and Malaysian third). Hence Islam is paramount and supersedes everything else -- even democracy, civil liberties, fundamental human rights, etc.

Malays, compared to the Chinese, Indians and ‘others’, are probably the most conservative group in Malaysia. You will find more liberalism amongst the non-Malays -- although this does not mean that many of the non-Malays are not conservative as well.

Hence, to understand Malaysian politics, in particular in relation to ‘Malay values’, this concept has to be clearly understood. If not, you will fail to capture the heart and mind of the Malays. And anyone who wants to ‘play politics’ without knowing what makes the Malays tick and without knowing how to capture the heart and mind of the Malay is doomed to fail.

You may feel that many of my articles over the last year or so are racist in nature. In 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, Malaysia Today focused on revealing the wrongdoings and transgressions of those who walk in the corridors of power. Then, since 2011, Malaysia Today appeared to have shifted its focus.

Well, the answer to that is simple. In the beginning (meaning 2004 when Malaysia Today was first launched soon after the 12th General Election), my focus was to address the problems of two elections ago (meaning March 2004). And the ‘problem’ in 2004 was that the non-Malays did not vote opposition.

By 2010, that problem no longer existed. We can safely say that the majority of the non-Malays (at least the Chinese) were already with the opposition. But the situation of the Malays, who since 1990 were divided roughly half-and-half between the ruling party and the opposition, remained more or less the same.

The task in hand, therefore, was to swing more Malays to the opposition. But the non-Malays just do not understand the Malay mind. And this was the major obstacle in getting more Malays to vote opposition.

In other words, the problem is not Umno. The problem is the non-Malays in Pakatan Rakyat. They are the hindrance to getting more Malays to support the opposition. And the more the non-Malays ‘whack’ the Malays, the worse it becomes. The non-Malays are actually helping Umno garner Malay support.

This is the ironical part of this whole thing. The ‘solution’ was actually the problem but they could not see this.

As I explained, Malays by nature and upbringing are conservative. Hence you need to interact with the Malays as you would interact with any conservative (even if they are Americans or Europeans). And conservatives are traditionalists, religionists, and resistance to change.

This was the great difficulty faced by the liberals in Europe in the mid-1800s. This is the same problem being faced by the Malaysian liberals today.

Let us take one issue as an example. And this issue is the pre-Merdeka ‘Social Contract’. This, of course, is a bone of contention amongst the non-Malays and those from East Malaysia. And this is also why I titled this piece ‘The sins of our fathers’.

The pre-Merdeka Social Contract was a ‘sin’ left by our fathers (or grandfathers). Back in the 1940s-1950s, they had agreed on what post-Merdeka Malaya was going to look like. And we, five generations later, have to live with this sin.

The conservatives would like to maintain status quo and leave things as they are. The liberals would like this pre-Merdeka Social Contract reviewed and possibly amended or abolished. But then there are more conservatives than liberals. Hence the conservatives are going to win while the liberals are going to lose.

And that is the trouble with democracy. In a democracy, the majority will have its say and the minority has to abide by what the majority wants. This may not necessarily mean that the majority are right while the minority are wrong. It just means that when more people want it that way then, right or wrong, things will be done that way.

Now can you see what’s wrong with democracy?

So, when will the liberals outnumber the conservatives, like what eventually happened in Europe towards the end of the 1800s? Meaning, also, when will we then be able to see the pre-Merdeka Social Contract reviewed and possibly amended or abolished?

Well, in Europe, that happened when the Europeans ‘threw away’ religion. You see, the church and the monarchy (God’s appointee) shared power and all the land was divided between the church and the nobles. The people were merely serfs who worked the land, which means they were basically slaves. When life became so bad and millions starved to death and lived in extreme poverty, they rose and grabbed power from the church and the nobles.

Hence liberalism changed Europe. But that only happened when the liberals outnumbered the conservatives. In Malaysia, we shall have to wait until such a time when the liberals outnumber the conservatives. But that time has not come yet. Today, most Malaysians are still conservative. So, until that time comes, we will need to educate the conservatives -- in particular but not confined to the Malays -- and try to turn them into liberals.

But make sure you understand that we are going to meet with a lot of resistance. The conservatives are not going to step aside and allow us a walk in the park. They are going to fight back fiercely. They are already fighting back fiercely in case you have not already noticed.

And this is why we are seeing all this race, religion, anti-LGBT, etc., rhetoric going on over the last couple of years or so. This is a sign that the conservatives fear the liberals and are fighting back just they did in Europe more than 150 years ago.

It took more than 30 years but eventually the conservatives lost and the liberals won in Europe. It may take as long for that to happen in Malaysia as well.

But do not attack the Malay or those non-Malay conservatives. Doing so will just make them resist us even more. They might even become violent if they think they are going to lose.

We need time and we need education. In time and with the right education the conservatives will come around to our line of thinking. And when that happens all that we aspire will come true.

Well, if it does happen and if it takes 30 years to happen, I will no longer be around. So it will be my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren who will benefit. Therefore I am not doing this for myself but for them. After all, I have maybe 10 or 15 years more to go at the most before I take my last bow.

In conclusion, let me repeat what I said. This is not about racism, chauvinism, religious fanaticism, etc. This is about conservatism versus liberalism. So, before you fight, understand what you are fighting against. If not you are never going to win this fight. And then, once we win the fight, we can correct the sins of our fathers.