Haris Ibrahim a Malaysian original needs our help

 

"Like ABU (Anything But Umno), I too am not pro-opposition. I am pro-rakyat, particularly pro the 40 percent poor and marginalised."

– Haris Ibrahim

In 2019 during the Semenyih by-election, Haris Ibrahim, one of 52 activists who endorsed the PSM candidate Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul said this: “To me, this politics of deceiving the people is insolent and does not understand who is 'king'. The king is the people.”

This is who Haris is. These days the term “activist” is a loaded term.

Activists these days seem divorced from the issues they claim to advocate and it has become a circle jerk of mutual admiration and fundraising.

Haris though harkens back to an earlier form of political and social activism, a complicated endeavour populated by flawed people scrambling to make a difference.

Haris is always for the people and when he stumbles and makes wrong choices, he is never shy to admit it, publically.

Grassroots level activists from nearly every political party have something positive to say about Haris even though they may come from political parties and organisations he was unequivocally opposed to.

A PAS grassroots level organiser texted me and shared his deep concern for “Saudara Haris”.

Texting in Malay, he said that even though he and Haris would never be on the same side, he knew that Haris understood and cared for “poor people” even though, unlike Haris, this PAS grassroots organiser believed that more religion was the solution and Haris is on record as saying:

“Leave faith, in any belief system, for that matter, to be one between man and his Maker to the exclusion of all others, and this world - not just our nation - will be a more peaceful place.”

I think the reason why grassroots operators who oppose Haris’ ideas respect him, is because they understood that he genuinely stood for the “poor people '' even if it meant going against the opposition.

This of course is something these operators would not do, they would not bite the hand that feeds them, but what they see in Haris is someone who would stick to his guns even if it meant training them on the opposition.

Struggle for a better M’sia

The late blogger and another Malaysian original Bernard Khoo, who encouraged me to speak up all those years ago, was adamant I do an interview with Haris because in his words “Haris represents what Malaysia yearns to be or at least I hope a significant section of the country”.

You can read my two-part interview from 2012 here and here. In it, you will discover that Haris never shied away from tough questions.

He was direct oftentimes with an edge of sarcasm in his replies and wanted to articulate the themes of ABU, which was much more than just an anti-establishment talking point.

That Haris may have only “more than three months, less than a year” to live is a depressing thought for many of us who have seen him struggle for a better Malaysia for decades.

Here is a man who never shies away from confrontation, going into a fight he cannot win.

The fact that he has “asked members of the public to send in pictures of him and others attending various protests and rallies over the years“ is pure Haris.

Hoping to create something meaningful out of his struggle with this disease and remind the rakyat what the fight is about. Not him but this country.

A retiring Umno political operative called me and said that Malaysia is going to lose a true Bangsa Malaysia.

Anyone who reads my column understands that I have nothing but disdain for the Bangsa Malaysia kool-aid.

However, what Haris was advocating was not propaganda but rather a yearning for comradeship in a country divided by race and religion.

A belief that Bangsa Malaysia or however Haris attempted to articulate such a concept was the struggle by the rakyat to break from the definitional shackles of the political establishment.

If you read anything Haris wrote, it was that every Malaysian regardless of political affiliation or religious belief or race was part of a larger community that was struggling to redefine the country.

It goes without saying that my ideas and Haris’ were sometimes at odds, but here is the thing, Haris believes that being Malaysian is big enough for everyone.

Haris is a better writer than me, so he would do a much better job of articulating the situation. All I can say is that Haris needs our help – CIMB account 8001365724. - Mkini

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

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