Rustam Sani and his dream of a Bangsa Malaysia

Prolific writer Rustam Sani played a prominent role in Anwar Ibrahim’s Reformasi movement. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: It’s been nearly 30 years since Dr Mahathir Mohamad spoke of Bangsa Malaysia as an integral part of his Vision 2020, but to many of those who are devoted to the idea of different cultures co-existing harmoniously as a unified nation, it remains a far-off dream.

Mahathir’s articulation of the notion came in a speech he delivered in 1991, 10 years into his first stint as prime minister.

That speech was crafted by Rustam Sani, who was by then a prominent public intellectual.

Azrani.

Rustam, who died in 2008, had for a long time wished that Malaysians would think of themselves as one people instead of separate races, according to his son Azrani, who spoke to FMT at Gerakbudaya, the venue of a commemorative event on Rustam the man, the poet, the scholar and the social and political activist.

Azrani believes the Bangsa Malaysia vision has been subverted, knowingly or unknowingly, by the kind of political discourse that raises fears of Malay rights being trampled upon.

The son shares the father’s vision. “It’s relevant even now, after the May 9 polls,” he said. “For the last 20 years or so, the persistent question has been about where Malaysia is heading.

“We need to talk about what needs to be done and what it means to move forward as one nation. We need to encourage discourse on issues of race and religion, the urban and rural divide, the national language and what form our education system should take.”

He said some of the questions about nation building would not still be nagging Malaysians 61 years after their country’s independence if the relevant discussions had been promoted.

Emeritus professor Abdul Rahman Embong of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, who said he had a close friendship with Rustam, lamented the “inaccurate, narrow and negative” view of Bangsa Malaysia held in some quarters.

He said he, like Rustam, believed in a concept that would be different from the concept of Bangsa Indonesia.

“With Bangsa Malaysia, we don’t mean the erasure of ethnic identities,” he said. “We think of celebrating our differences and treasuring the things we have in common. We take pride in the national language while embracing the use of other languages.”

He said shifting away from race-based politics would be crucial in finding a way forward.

Rustam, born in Tanjung Malim, was the son of celebrated nationalist Ahmad Boestamam, whose real name was Abdullah Sani.

Rustam was a prolific writer who won the National Literature Award in 1988/89. He served as associate professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Malaya and, later in his life, as a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies.

He was prominent in the Reformasi movement of Anwar Ibrahim. As deputy president of Parti Rakyat Malaysia, he was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the formation of PKR, a merger between his party and Parti Keadilan Nasional. He served as PKR’s information chief.

Among his most famous works are an anthology of poems titled Riak-Riak Kecil and the books Failed Nation? Concerns of a Malaysian Nationalist and Social Roots of the Malay Left. -FMT