The ‘western’ influence on Malaysian politics

Here’s an argument we often hear in Malaysia’s political debate: that some of us are lackeys and toadies unthinkingly clinging to western legacies we learnt at the feet of our colonial masters back in those days.

These often come from the more nationalistic and religious elements of our political and social classes. Hence it’s no coincidence we’re hearing them a lot in the noises surrounding the Federal Court’s ruling against Kelantan’s state shariah laws.

Here’s the irony – the people who accuse others of that are the very people who borrow heavily on ideas that also came from the west, even if their “west” is what we call the Middle-East, which in spite of its name, is still westerly to us!

A case of the pot calling the kettle black? Perhaps. But it’s certainly undeniable the greatest influence on how our country is run came from the westerly direction – the westerly British Isles as well as the westerly Saudi peninsula.

This isn’t to belittle the contributions to our rich multicultural mix that came from elsewhere. But the reality remains that – socio-cultural considerations aside – there isn’t much in our political system that comes from the more easterly and neighbourly parts of the world.

Malaysians are, by and large, happy we’re a nation built on western ideas and ideals. Even when Mahathir pivoted away from the west and told Malaysians to “Look East”, he meant emulate the Japanese work ethic, business and social systems, and not their political systems.

Truth be told though, Mahathir’s fascination with Japan had more to do with their unquestioning subservience to their leaders, something that seemed to have survived in their society in spite of massive social and technological changes, and something that he seemed envious of.

That being the case, perhaps it worked out well he never got his wishes. Anyway, it took millennia for the combined impacts of social, cultural, environmental and political factors on the Japanese to get them where they are now, whether for good or bad. They didn’t get there just because a prime minister wished it so.

Given Japan and the UK are now in the early throes of an economic recession, many in them are also advocating more radical changes to how the countries should be run, even if it means implementing (increasingly bad) ideas from elsewhere.

So, our political system is a mixture that comes from the west – whether from the Brits or the Arabs – mixed with something more home-grown – the feudalism that was the foundation of Malay society even before the Portuguese, Dutch, British and Arab influences took root.

Incidentally, that feudalism is also a leftover from the periods when the Malays – the non-constitutional Malays of back then – were Hindus, as can be seen from their emphasis on classes and hierarchies. Yet another influence from the west!

Much of the world generally agrees democracy – which Winston Churchill called “the worst form of government …except for the other forms that have been tried…” is workable. But I’d also agree democracy itself is getting rather tired and worn-out. It seriously needs a major rethink and overhaul – and I’ve no idea how it can be rethought and overhauled. So, I’d rather just stay with the devil I know than ones I don’t.

The problem is the alternative west – the “near” west which is the Middle East – hasn’t been a shining beacon for humanity either. It is full of, at best, authoritarian – often hereditary – leaders or at worst tyrannical despots more interested in looking out for themselves and their own tribes.

And in spite of being glowingly described as the only “true democracy” there – Israel – that didn’t stop it from being a murderous, genocidal country running around trying to exterminate whole races. Hardly a poster child for democracy, or even humanity.

Meanwhile, back home, our own fellow citizens who denigrate these “western ideas” are happy to follow them when it’s convenient – such as when winning elections or partaking in parliamentary shenanigans and subterfuges to grab power or riches.

Yet even when such people disdain what the “far west” called for, they don’t deliver what the “near west” calls for either. You don’t see much fairness, justice, love or wisdom from them. If anything, they’ve pushed many non-believers further away from them, something that they’d have a lot to answer for.

So, whilst I believe we’ve a lot to learn from the two modern and eastern global superpowers – China and India – in terms of economy and industry, and business and technology, there isn’t much we can learn from them on politics.

China is a huge, monolithic one-party state that keeps its political machinations purposely opaque from its population. Its system asks its people to surrender much of their rights in return for prosperity. The country has indeed delivered prosperity, though it remains to be seen how things will be when prosperity becomes harder to deliver.

India, the world’s largest democracy, is lurching further away towards its own religious extremism. It keeps whatever vestiges of western values or systems only as they’re convenient, and also as a cover for other values its leaders actually hold, which are often their own version of race or religious supremacy.

Both countries are prospering, at least for now. Each justifies what it does as important given their own realities – their size, national challenges and tortured history. And their prosperity makes it convenient to justify the road they take as right and beneficial.

But neither is a compelling argument for us to change our own political system. Our own challenges are also unique and varied, and whatever system we do have is good enough for us. We just need to adhere to it and deliver to our fellow citizens what is their due.

Neither badmouthing the west for what we inherited, nor comparing us against countries that aren’t as great as they make themselves out to be even if we have kinship with them, will help us succeed as a nation.

We’ve what we need to move on. We just have to stop making simplistic comparisons for or against our favourite good guys or bad guys out there. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.