"In the real world, equal respect for all cultures doesn't translate into a rich mosaic of colourful and proud peoples interacting peacefully while maintaining a delightful diversity of food and craftwork. It translates into closed pockets of oppression, ignorance, and abuse."
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali, (‘Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey through the Clash of Civilizations')
There seems to be some confusion here. PAS is under no delusion that non-Malay/Muslim support for it is based on the genuine belief that it is an Islamic party committed to the principles of secularism.
PAS knows very well that it has to play nice or risk losing support from a certain diverse section of the electorate that has demonstrated that it will vote across racial but more importantly (in the case of PAS) religious lines to oust the despised (to a certain section) Umno-BN.
The confusion is with the DAP and its supposed multiracial identity. The DAP has always engaged in the hard sell when it comes to multiracialism. Even I in a recent (well sometime last year) online spat pushed the whole "multiracial" spiel in my defence of the DAP.
These heady post-tsunami 2008 days, the DAP which for so long labeled as "chauvinistic" tolerates no dissent when it comes to its "multiracial" credentials, with its online apparatchiks attempting to shout down any who question it.
Pakatan Rakyat kool-aid drinkers see no contradiction between the DAP (which is supposed to be multiracial) engaging with its arch nemesis the MCA in public debates for the votes of the Chinese community and the DAP's antagonism to those who persist in expressing their expectations through a racial filter. Part of this is historical baggage but most of it is the reality that the Malay and Chinese communities in Malaysia have always defined communal relations.
This is why a Chinese leader like Lim Guan Eng has to proclaim that he is "not qualified" to assume stewardship of this country but by any objective criteria, he is one amongst a select few qualified to lead this country.
PAS knows very well that it has to play nice or risk losing support from a certain diverse section of the electorate that has demonstrated that it will vote across racial but more importantly (in the case of PAS) religious lines to oust the despised (to a certain section) Umno-BN.
The confusion is with the DAP and its supposed multiracial identity. The DAP has always engaged in the hard sell when it comes to multiracialism. Even I in a recent (well sometime last year) online spat pushed the whole "multiracial" spiel in my defence of the DAP.
These heady post-tsunami 2008 days, the DAP which for so long labeled as "chauvinistic" tolerates no dissent when it comes to its "multiracial" credentials, with its online apparatchiks attempting to shout down any who question it.
Pakatan Rakyat kool-aid drinkers see no contradiction between the DAP (which is supposed to be multiracial) engaging with its arch nemesis the MCA in public debates for the votes of the Chinese community and the DAP's antagonism to those who persist in expressing their expectations through a racial filter. Part of this is historical baggage but most of it is the reality that the Malay and Chinese communities in Malaysia have always defined communal relations.This is why a Chinese leader like Lim Guan Eng has to proclaim that he is "not qualified" to assume stewardship of this country but by any objective criteria, he is one amongst a select few qualified to lead this country.
This is also why the Umno propaganda machines have a field day whacking at the Achilles' heel of the so-called middle ground that is in reality the same old race games played in a more circumspect manner.
Comedy of errors
The recently concluded DAP congress unfortunately raises the specter of racial relationships, or more accurately Malay-Chinese clash of expectations. The subsequent justifications, excuses and placating has been a comedy of politically naive errors that either demonstrates the folly of the pursuit of the ideal of "true multiculturalism" or the hypocrisy of a Chinese-based political party intent on maintaining its multiracial facade.
Is the DAP as racially diverse as PKR? How does one calculate diversity to any satisfactory generally acceptable standard?
Indian participation in the DAP has a rich history but obviously the present disfranchisement of a certain section of the Indian community does nothing to bolster the argument that said history was sufficient mainstream dissent when it comes to Indian communal interests.
However, to highlight Indian participation in the DAP would be disingenuous considering that ethnic relations in this country has always pivoted on the Malay-Chinese axis. All this talk of multiculturalism is in reality the state of racial relation between the Chinese and Malay community.
All this safeguarding of ‘Malay' interest as expressed by the Malay participants in the DAP congress points to the vacuousness of the Bangsa Malaysia concept or at least to the futility of cultivating such a concept in the fetid racial swamp that is the present day Malaysian social and political landscape.
It was amusing to read DAP branch leader Shari Othman (left) wax eloquent of how Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua gave two cows as opposed to the one from BN for his communities' Hari Raya Korban. Less so was the RM20,000 that his surau received under the Pakatan government, which translates to being pro-Islam. I guess if Umno ups the stakes when it comes to money and religion, this too would translate to being pro-Islam.
Less amusing was the tortured reasoning by Guan Eng as to the appointment of two Malays into the central executive committee (CEC) after none of the Malay candidates managed to get voted in. It is perhaps the most cynical allusion to meritocracy I have ever come across and a pathetic attempt at maintaining the illusion of multiracialism that at the end of the day should offend most right-thinking Malaysians.
"We appoint people based on their ability, and we do not deny that it is a symbolic representation of the Malays into the party..." so in other words for Guan Eng and the DAP tokenism is an adequate substitute for any real measures for introducing diversity into the party.
Soul searching
Guan Eng has never been the most articulate or persuasive of speakers. His father, Lim Kit Siang is far more the charismatic firebrand but Guan Eng's abilities lay elsewhere. However, does he realise how ridiculous he sounds when he claims that the DAP appoints people based on their abilities but the sole "ability" in this instance is the race of the appointees?
So if the Malays in the CEC are there because of their "ability" to attract other Malays, what are the "abilities" of the Chinese or Indian members of the CEC? On the other hand, is race the sole "ability" of the Malays?
I am not even going to go into the aspect of quota system in the DAP's CEC with the inclusion of these "appointed" Malay - appointed it would seem based solely on their race. So much for the much hyped colour blind, "nobody gets a free ride because of race" ethos of the DAP.
Add to this the charade of fielding ‘qualified' Malaysians after you have announced appointments based on race is pure hypocrisy, especially since your online cadres' whine of the race politics played by Umno and BN. Of course the DAP needs to attract more Malay, but does the DAP think that tokenism is the best way to go? After all, this is what most right-thinking Malaysians despise of the race politics played by Umno-BN.
Perhaps the DAP should question why after the reality of the mostly urban (and maybe a certain section of heartland) voters voting across racial and religious lines, the DAP is still finding it difficult to attract Malay voters.
Comedy of errors
The recently concluded DAP congress unfortunately raises the specter of racial relationships, or more accurately Malay-Chinese clash of expectations. The subsequent justifications, excuses and placating has been a comedy of politically naive errors that either demonstrates the folly of the pursuit of the ideal of "true multiculturalism" or the hypocrisy of a Chinese-based political party intent on maintaining its multiracial facade.
Is the DAP as racially diverse as PKR? How does one calculate diversity to any satisfactory generally acceptable standard?
Indian participation in the DAP has a rich history but obviously the present disfranchisement of a certain section of the Indian community does nothing to bolster the argument that said history was sufficient mainstream dissent when it comes to Indian communal interests.
However, to highlight Indian participation in the DAP would be disingenuous considering that ethnic relations in this country has always pivoted on the Malay-Chinese axis. All this talk of multiculturalism is in reality the state of racial relation between the Chinese and Malay community.
All this safeguarding of ‘Malay' interest as expressed by the Malay participants in the DAP congress points to the vacuousness of the Bangsa Malaysia concept or at least to the futility of cultivating such a concept in the fetid racial swamp that is the present day Malaysian social and political landscape.
It was amusing to read DAP branch leader Shari Othman (left) wax eloquent of how Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua gave two cows as opposed to the one from BN for his communities' Hari Raya Korban. Less so was the RM20,000 that his surau received under the Pakatan government, which translates to being pro-Islam. I guess if Umno ups the stakes when it comes to money and religion, this too would translate to being pro-Islam.Less amusing was the tortured reasoning by Guan Eng as to the appointment of two Malays into the central executive committee (CEC) after none of the Malay candidates managed to get voted in. It is perhaps the most cynical allusion to meritocracy I have ever come across and a pathetic attempt at maintaining the illusion of multiracialism that at the end of the day should offend most right-thinking Malaysians.
"We appoint people based on their ability, and we do not deny that it is a symbolic representation of the Malays into the party..." so in other words for Guan Eng and the DAP tokenism is an adequate substitute for any real measures for introducing diversity into the party.
Soul searching
Guan Eng has never been the most articulate or persuasive of speakers. His father, Lim Kit Siang is far more the charismatic firebrand but Guan Eng's abilities lay elsewhere. However, does he realise how ridiculous he sounds when he claims that the DAP appoints people based on their abilities but the sole "ability" in this instance is the race of the appointees?
So if the Malays in the CEC are there because of their "ability" to attract other Malays, what are the "abilities" of the Chinese or Indian members of the CEC? On the other hand, is race the sole "ability" of the Malays?
I am not even going to go into the aspect of quota system in the DAP's CEC with the inclusion of these "appointed" Malay - appointed it would seem based solely on their race. So much for the much hyped colour blind, "nobody gets a free ride because of race" ethos of the DAP.
Add to this the charade of fielding ‘qualified' Malaysians after you have announced appointments based on race is pure hypocrisy, especially since your online cadres' whine of the race politics played by Umno and BN. Of course the DAP needs to attract more Malay, but does the DAP think that tokenism is the best way to go? After all, this is what most right-thinking Malaysians despise of the race politics played by Umno-BN.
Perhaps the DAP should question why after the reality of the mostly urban (and maybe a certain section of heartland) voters voting across racial and religious lines, the DAP is still finding it difficult to attract Malay voters.
Maybe it is because Malay voters who the DAP assumes are ignorant of their "inclusiveness" (which this CEC debacle unfortunately does not prove) don't buy into the whole multiracial spin and would prefer the safety that the Malay-dominated PKR offers?
I wonder if there is any soul searching within the DAP as to why none of the Malay candidates made it on their own into the CEC. Could it possibly be because of specific culture within the DAP? Surely, there were at least some qualified candidates on the ticket? In addition, this is party politics, so those who are influential in the party could endorse certain Malay candidates that would translate to a sure win.
This is perhaps the most poorly played game of party and racial politics ever and should (but will not, because the next Umno financial scandal is never far away) viewed as a lesson in the perils of political spin or worse post-racial delusion.
Apparently pragmatism when it came to Malay inclusion in the CEC took a back seat, to political one-upmanship amongst the DAP crowd. "No surprises" was the post-congress theme of the day. This should have been the congress where surprises were a plenty. As is all this has managed to do is reaffirm the perception that the DAP is a Chinese-run political party.
Morever, no amount of spin claiming the DAP hopes to attract "principled" Malays (principled like those Malays who view the coddling of their religions through lucre given to their suraus as 'safe guarding" Malay interests?) is going to change the reality, that Malay presence in the DAP will always be predicated on the benifice of Chinese power players.
And it is frankly patronising to use the word "principled" when it comes to political parties. Very few parties have recourse to that word. What of the Malays who join PKR or PAS? Are the ethical standards for Malays different between the various parties in Pakatan?
To argue that "race" does not matter is naive considering the decades of systemic racism and the reaction to such a reality. To argue that race should not matter is disingenuous considering that political parties court specific racial demographics. To assume that oppositional politics is post-racial is blatant propaganda considering that it is pragmatism and not any sustainable philosophy that binds Pakatan's diverse religious, racial and ideological groups.
"Taking small baby steps" towards a mulitracial/cultural goal or 'wait till we get federal power" is "the dog ate my homework" of excuses. When you engage in political spin, demonise your opponents (the MCA) for playing the same game that you are playing (albeit with lip service to multiracialism) and playing hardball with other race-based political/social entities, you do not get to inhabit the moral high ground.
Don't delude ourselves
My support of Pakatan is because the alliance could be facilitators to a more democratic Malaysia. It is in solidarity with those indigenous peoples, Chinese, Malay and Indian (some of them from the opposition parties) who over the Umno watch have been detained under the ISA (some of whom were very close friends).
We (Pakatan supporters) should not delude ourselves and others by making appropriate noises to multiculturalism/racialism when radical forward thinking ideas if purposely sought would wreck any chance of claiming the Putrajaya prize.
Pragmatism? Pragmatism is what feulled Umno-BN all these decades and god is laughing because it could be what will bring it (Umno-BN) down. We do what we have to do to win and we are up against a regime which would do the same and has at its disposal the powers of the state. This is the reality. Let us not tart ourselves in the garments of altruism and nobility.
Understand now that I believe that multiculturalism is a noble goal, one that is impossible to achieve or rather a goal that would be forever within reach. Across the world the most important lesson learned when it comes to the multicultural experiment (stripped of agenda driven politics) is that the best one can hope for is a kind of equilibrium between various communities and adherence to specific principles. It other words, it will always be about the journey and not the destination.
It should not and cannot be forced less reactionary forces exploit, misinterpret or subvert the goals of multiculturalism in the hopes of sustaining hegemonic practices. What this means for a party like the DAP mired in the racial politics of the 2008 tsunami is to redefine the nature of racial politics not by attempting to attract more Malays (which is a secondary goal) but rather moderating the racial impulses within its own mostly Chinese supporters.
The belief that we are in a post-racial era because of the gains made by the opposition is a misrepresentation (perhaps deliberately) of the political status quo in this country. This does not mean that the DAP is not multiracial compared to other opposition political parties but rather at this moment the whole idea of multiculturalism lacks substance.
Perhaps in time and only when Malaysians realise that a change in government is the most natural of democratic principles could we put down our race cards. Until then the best we could do, is use them honestly and empathise with those who have been dealt a bad hand or played their cards unwisely.
Until then the words of the late Hélder Pessoa Câmara, one the few Roman Catholic bishops I admire should be of some comfort to those of us who genuinely subscribe to idea of multiculturalism. "Keep your language. Love its sounds, its modulation, its rhythm. But try to march together with men of different languages, remote from your own, who wish like you for a more just and human world." (‘Spiral of Violence')
I wonder if there is any soul searching within the DAP as to why none of the Malay candidates made it on their own into the CEC. Could it possibly be because of specific culture within the DAP? Surely, there were at least some qualified candidates on the ticket? In addition, this is party politics, so those who are influential in the party could endorse certain Malay candidates that would translate to a sure win.This is perhaps the most poorly played game of party and racial politics ever and should (but will not, because the next Umno financial scandal is never far away) viewed as a lesson in the perils of political spin or worse post-racial delusion.
Apparently pragmatism when it came to Malay inclusion in the CEC took a back seat, to political one-upmanship amongst the DAP crowd. "No surprises" was the post-congress theme of the day. This should have been the congress where surprises were a plenty. As is all this has managed to do is reaffirm the perception that the DAP is a Chinese-run political party.
Morever, no amount of spin claiming the DAP hopes to attract "principled" Malays (principled like those Malays who view the coddling of their religions through lucre given to their suraus as 'safe guarding" Malay interests?) is going to change the reality, that Malay presence in the DAP will always be predicated on the benifice of Chinese power players.
And it is frankly patronising to use the word "principled" when it comes to political parties. Very few parties have recourse to that word. What of the Malays who join PKR or PAS? Are the ethical standards for Malays different between the various parties in Pakatan?
To argue that "race" does not matter is naive considering the decades of systemic racism and the reaction to such a reality. To argue that race should not matter is disingenuous considering that political parties court specific racial demographics. To assume that oppositional politics is post-racial is blatant propaganda considering that it is pragmatism and not any sustainable philosophy that binds Pakatan's diverse religious, racial and ideological groups.
"Taking small baby steps" towards a mulitracial/cultural goal or 'wait till we get federal power" is "the dog ate my homework" of excuses. When you engage in political spin, demonise your opponents (the MCA) for playing the same game that you are playing (albeit with lip service to multiracialism) and playing hardball with other race-based political/social entities, you do not get to inhabit the moral high ground.
Don't delude ourselves
My support of Pakatan is because the alliance could be facilitators to a more democratic Malaysia. It is in solidarity with those indigenous peoples, Chinese, Malay and Indian (some of them from the opposition parties) who over the Umno watch have been detained under the ISA (some of whom were very close friends).
We (Pakatan supporters) should not delude ourselves and others by making appropriate noises to multiculturalism/racialism when radical forward thinking ideas if purposely sought would wreck any chance of claiming the Putrajaya prize.
Pragmatism? Pragmatism is what feulled Umno-BN all these decades and god is laughing because it could be what will bring it (Umno-BN) down. We do what we have to do to win and we are up against a regime which would do the same and has at its disposal the powers of the state. This is the reality. Let us not tart ourselves in the garments of altruism and nobility.
Understand now that I believe that multiculturalism is a noble goal, one that is impossible to achieve or rather a goal that would be forever within reach. Across the world the most important lesson learned when it comes to the multicultural experiment (stripped of agenda driven politics) is that the best one can hope for is a kind of equilibrium between various communities and adherence to specific principles. It other words, it will always be about the journey and not the destination.
It should not and cannot be forced less reactionary forces exploit, misinterpret or subvert the goals of multiculturalism in the hopes of sustaining hegemonic practices. What this means for a party like the DAP mired in the racial politics of the 2008 tsunami is to redefine the nature of racial politics not by attempting to attract more Malays (which is a secondary goal) but rather moderating the racial impulses within its own mostly Chinese supporters.The belief that we are in a post-racial era because of the gains made by the opposition is a misrepresentation (perhaps deliberately) of the political status quo in this country. This does not mean that the DAP is not multiracial compared to other opposition political parties but rather at this moment the whole idea of multiculturalism lacks substance.
Perhaps in time and only when Malaysians realise that a change in government is the most natural of democratic principles could we put down our race cards. Until then the best we could do, is use them honestly and empathise with those who have been dealt a bad hand or played their cards unwisely.
Until then the words of the late Hélder Pessoa Câmara, one the few Roman Catholic bishops I admire should be of some comfort to those of us who genuinely subscribe to idea of multiculturalism. "Keep your language. Love its sounds, its modulation, its rhythm. But try to march together with men of different languages, remote from your own, who wish like you for a more just and human world." (‘Spiral of Violence')
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.
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