When will politics in Malaysia mature?

 

My friend Eli, while having drinks at the mamak after our weekly Friday night basketball session, said Malaysia is a country that needs an authoritarian rule to function.

“Is it because you think that our society isn’t mature enough and hence needs someone at the top just constantly telling us what to do?” I asked.

“Yes!” he replied, and we all laughed.

How many of you out there believe that Malaysia can practise democracy, but it has to be one that fits how our society is? This was a popular idea that started sometime in the 1980s by political leaders at that time, most probably as a reaction to not wanting to be dictated by Western political ideals.

I don’t totally disagree with this idea. Different societies have different cultures, hence that would mean that governance and administration would need to follow the mould of how society is. However, fitting the mould doesn’t mean having practices that are just ethically, or even legally, wrong.

For example, as much as we want to defend human rights, what Matt Healy, the lead singer of The 1975, did last night at the Good Vibes Festival was just disrespectful.

During his band’s performance on stage, he went on a political rant about how the Malaysian government was anti-LGBT and then proceeded to kiss his bandmate who is a man.

The 1975

Malaysia is a conservative society. Whether you are for or against the LGBT community, public displays of affection like that are considered disrespectful.

Even people who are straight and heterosexual don’t kiss and make out with their partners on stage and in front of a public audience. That’s just being sensitive to the local culture. There are other ways to show protest.

Different brand of democracy

So, what does it really mean when we talk about having a different brand of democracy or governance in Malaysia? Does it mean the core principles of it, such as voting, accountability and transparency, are different? That can’t be right, right? Or did the politicians back then really mean having an authoritarian government?

“See how the political talk constantly goes back to race and religion whenever election season comes?” I asked Eli.

“Yeah. We really shouldn’t have to come up with a law to avoid hate speech and protect social harmony. The politicians and everyone else should just be responsible and respectful,” he said.

We pause for a while, then we looked at each other and laughed our heads off. It seems almost like a joke expecting politicians to stay away from playing the race and religion card.

It’s been the same all these years, decades even. And of course, many of these statements made are bordering on hate speech, hence the proposal of the State and Nation Act.

“But how is it possible not to talk about race or religion when it comes to politics? These are issues that need to be represented too,” said Aris, our other friend who was keeping silent all this while.

That is true. How do you separate the politics of politics from the politics of society? Issues like these need to be discussed and if everything is going to be considered too sensitive then we can’t discuss anything properly. That’s why the people who are discussing it need to be responsible for how they speak.

“But then, back to the issue that we feel Malaysians are not mature enough,” added Eli.

That’s why the law if it is to be drafted, needs to be very detailed and well-defined. Otherwise, it can easily be manipulated and abused by whoever is in power, just like some of the archaic laws that we had (and still have!). But as Eli has said in the beginning, why the need for such a law if everyone is decent, right?

This also brings me to the fact that these politicians still resort to dirty politics of accusing one another of all kinds of wrongdoings. At the end of the day during an election (like the coming state elections), we don’t hear anything of significance when it comes to the actual manifestos on policies and governance of the different parties.

When everyone goes to vote on election day, how do they decide to vote? Is it voting for the lesser evil since it seems that accusations are thrown left, right and centre by everyone?

That is hardly how a mature society decides its government, right? Is this the brand of democracy that best suits our country?

All this is just so tiring and frustrating because it just doesn’t seem like we’re progressing sometimes.

Judging from the mamak shop talk that we had last night, what if we extrapolate it to represent Malaysian society? Then we could assume that Malaysians are tired of ‘our brand of democracy’ and ence the politicians need to buck up.

Or maybe we just need new politicians. - Mkini

---

ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary film-maker, journalist and academic. The Sheraton move really frustrated him but maybe after November 2022, he can start feeling better again. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.

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