A house divided against itself

 

Mould and rising dampness caused by prolonged rain had infiltrated the structure of many houses where I live in regional New South Wales.

Some, beyond repair, were demolished. My backyard neighbour had his rebuilt.

Herein lies the analogy - the state of our racialised politics - mouldy, damp and rotting from within.

Post-1969 marked the start of our national reconstruction. We needed a new team. However, what we got eventually was the same old gang of corrupt builders for more than 50 years – until November 2022.

Ushering in a government just three months ago felt like visiting a new home with new fittings and an assortment of cabinets. However, mould and rising dampness are showing.

Members from the old team, now in opposition, are still going about their old ways, sporing revenge politics and spewing religio-racial threats.

How will a unity government work out an effective anti-mould to sustain its structure and, in time, evict cronyism, nepotism, corruption and bigotry? A house divided against itself cannot stand for long.

For now, the direct beneficiaries of racial privileges hold the power to change and rebuild. They are the critical agents. Non-Malays are still the guests. That is my reality as a baby boomer.

There was a period when racial politics were contained when our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, recognised the imperative to look beyond race and religion.

Former prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman

Recollecting his tribulations in his fight for independence, he wrote in his column As I See It in 1984: “The Malays realise that without the support of the non-Malays, we could never have overcome the barriers of divide-and-rule (by the British colonialists) and won independence. For this reason, they have accepted each other as fellow citizens and are living at peace with one another.”

And this: “All talk on Islamic state is just an empty dream. No man in his right sense would accept a nation which bases its political administration on religion, and in a country like Malaysia with its multiracial and multireligious people, there is no room for an Islamic State.”

Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim, a baby boomer himself, could well be one of the plausible change agents returning to their comfort zone in Umno. In a recent article, he said what we knew all along.

Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim

Zaid wrote: “When dealing with non-Malays, we must not approach the issue as if they were taking away our rights … I hope a younger set of leaders will emerge. Don't talk of change and reforms unless you are willing to try the approaches not employed before.

“Don't talk of racial harmony and a united country unless you are willing to bring down the walls of discrimination and distrust.

“Finally, the only way the Malays can be self-sustaining and strong is by giving them the best education we could muster, and removing the fear that others are pulling them down. They must have faith in themselves.”

Notwithstanding the cynical reactions to Zaid’s political motives, his stand is not in dispute. Malays must overcome their siege mentality. That has been the repeated call from the progressive Malay commentariat.

(I met Zaid Ibrahim in December 2013 when I organised and moderated a panel discussion on ‘ethical reporting in Malaysia’ at a Global Peace Foundation convention in Kuala Lumpur. Zaid was one of four panellists. I approached Zaid for his relatively liberal views on Malaysian journalism.)

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also noted in “Asian Renaissance” (1996) that the cultural and intellectual reawakening of Asians (and Malaysians for that matter) will begin to evolve only when the mind and intellect are free of internal security and independent of external constraints.

We will hold them to their words.

The progressives very well know that we cannot continue to operate along racial lines if we were to move forward. But the political liabilities of calling publicly for a review of the New Economic Policy (NEP) are likewise real – and their electability, risky.

The government may be working on alternative ways to keep its election promises.

At times it feels like living in a home where there is a forever battle between doing what is right and doing whatever is pragmatic to survive the four-year tenancy.

Fundamental changes needed

There have been countless columns written on the need to re-examine our racialised mindset, and how we conceive and practise our politics.

I too have written about the need to usher in a new generation of cosmopolitan and learned Malay leaders, whose political values may differ from their parents and grandparents.

It bears repeating here: fundamental change to the system will happen only when the dominant population – and the ruling class - are willing to compromise and able to wean off their reliance on racial privileges to get ahead.

Failing which, the mould and rising dampness will infiltrate the structure, rotting the house from within, and leaving us all homeless, Malays and non-Malays alike. - Mkini

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ERIC LOO is a former journalist and educator in Australia, and a journalism trainer in parts of Asia.

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