The 'misfits, loony tunes and squalid criminals' in Malaysia

Is Malaysia becoming a “rogue” or “pariah” state? 

Since the revelation of the 1MDB scandal, news reports worldwide have often labelled Malaysia as rogue. This is so unfortunate.

The term is not an internationally recognised criterion in political science, although it is popularly used in the media and by leaders worldwide. 

The concept emerged in the 1980s when US President Ronald Reagan mentioned “outlaw states” in a remark at the Annual Convention of the American Bar Association.

He stated, “we are not going to tolerate… attacks from outlaw states by the strangest collection of misfits, loony tunes, and squalid criminals since the advent of the Third Reich".

International political theorists define a rogue state as any state that threatens world peace. US administrations since Reagan have labelled countries as rogue if they proliferate weapons of mass destruction, engage in state-sponsored terrorism, and severely restrict human rights. 

Currently, four countries are considered rogue states: Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria.

A close relative of the rogue state is the “pariah state”. These are predominantly autocratic states labelled by the US. They are different from rogue states, in that their leaders direct their “rogueness” against their own citizens.

'Malu apa bossku?'

In Malaysia’s case, we do not sponsor terrorism and neither do we harbour weapons of mass destruction. However, we clearly have collections of misfits, “loony tunes”, and squalid criminals in our society, both among politicians and ordinary citizens.

For example, the “Malu apa bossku?” (“What is there to be ashamed of, boss?”) hashtag is the most embarrassing representation of loony tunes burdening all Malaysians. In so many ways, this trend exposes both “rogue” and “pariah” thinking.

Millions still believe that the US Department of Justice, Singapore, and Switzerland are wrong in their positions about the 1MDB saga. 

Swathes of Malaysians have also racialised the crime, preferring to believe that one race has been wrongly victimised by another. The key crimes of corruption, fraud, and theft of public funds have taken a back seat.

Identity politics transcends these crimes, while it should be the other way around.

For Malaysia to escape being labelled a “pariah” state, convicted state criminals must be treated as such. The people must be protected from abuse of power so they can conceive of a safe and secure future. Let us look at the metaphor of the family.

Our 'existential' security 

A husband works hard, diligently saves money for his children’s education, buys the dream house for his family, has enough left over for occasional holidays, and maintains financial health so that the family will not be burdened with mounting debt in the future.

But is this all that matters in any family? There is more to security than the trappings of financial health. Both husband and wife must provide for “existential” security for their entire family. What this means is their source of economic means must be through honest channels so that all members within the family unit can trust one another.

Trust lasts a lifetime, but the bricks and paint of a house do not. Without trust, unhealthy suspicion dominates all relationships.

Likewise, a leader who claims he has promoted the national interest of a country by creating a lot of wealth skirts the fundamental issue of how that wealth was created in the first place. It also distracts from other forms of wealth creation that were fraudulent. 

The conflict between trust and suspicion are left to fester in society. This waxing and waning generate spiritual unease and existential confusion across all segments of society.

The “loony tunes” in Malaysia are not concerned about this existential insecurity. Many relish the material aspects of their lives which, in Malaysia, are also dictated by political and ethnic considerations. They prefer to ignore the finer conditions that sustain humanity, the ethical and moral foundations of the “good life”.

Ultimate embarrassment 

The latest uproar is over the appellate court’s statement that Malaysia has become a "national embarrassment” over the SRC International case. 

While we as a country have not yet been declared a rogue or pariah state, the “Malu apa Bossku?” hashtag exposes the mindless disregard of ethics, by a huge segment of the population.

Former premier Najib Abdul Razak

It is indeed embarrassing when we are exposed globally as a nation that cannot distinguish between right and wrong. It is embarrassing when the rule of law is upheld by the courts but is then immediately short-circuited by politics.

In any country, a “convicted criminal” is labelled as such after the various acts have been proven to be “criminal in intent” in a court of law. It follows that he or she will be punished. The method of punishment varies in different nations, depending on the type of legal system.

It seems in Malaysia we know how to convict because our legal system seems to be working. However, we seem not to know “how” to punish. Our political, cultural and moral systems do not seem to be working.

For these reasons alone, it is possible Malaysia may soon give new meaning to the term “pariah state”. This would be the ultimate national, regional and global embarrassment. - Mkini

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SHARIFAH MUNIRAH ALATAS is an academician with zero tolerance for corrupt, arrogant and frivolous leadership.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.