A just Malaysia at last?
Farish A NoorPublished: Sep 4, 2004 12:05 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
For a country where nothing much happens most of the time and the national pastime seems to be shopping and watching pirated VCDs, Malaysia is still capable of surprising some of us once in a while. This week - within a space of 48 hours - two startling things happened.
On Aug 31, the country's Independence Day, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi delivered his Merdeka message, which focused on a singular issue: The equality of all Malaysians and the fact that despite their apparent differences in terms of race, language, culture and religion, 'no Malaysian was more Malaysian than others'.
He called on all Malaysians, from all walks to life, to work together to realise the goal of nation building, to forge a nation out of this disparate array of different and often competing ethnic and religious constituencies, for the sake of the future.
In any other context and on any other occasion this would have been a pretty mundane and commonsensical thing to say.
For a country where nothing much happens most of the time and the national pastime seems to be shopping and watching pirated VCDs, Malaysia is still capable of surprising some of us once in a while. This week - within a space of 48 hours - two startling things happened.
On Aug 31, the country's Independence Day, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi delivered his Merdeka message, which focused on a singular issue: The equality of all Malaysians and the fact that despite their apparent differences in terms of race, language, culture and religion, 'no Malaysian was more Malaysian than others'.
He called on all Malaysians, from all walks to life, to work together to realise the goal of nation building, to forge a nation out of this disparate array of different and often competing ethnic and religious constituencies, for the sake of the future.
In any other context and on any other occasion this would have been a pretty mundane and commonsensical thing to say.
However, one has to remember that the statement was made in Malaysia, a country whose multi-culturalism is really a backdrop to a sectarian form of divisive communitarian politics, where differences of race, language and religion do count.
Come Aug 31, every year, the country is made to witness the national day parade, where every conceivable ethnic group (no matter how small) is seen marching in tandem and to the beat of the national anthem. (Though a few years ago the organisers made the mistake of playing Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA during the national day march).
All the more significant, was the fact that these were the words of the man, who happens to be the leader of the ruling Umno party, whose ideology is based on ethno-nationalism, and a party, which has been associated time and again with the right-wing ideology of 'ketuanan Melayu' (Malay dominance).
That Prime Minister Badawi's reminded his fellow citizens that 'no Malaysian is more Malaysian than others' is both timely and important, and care should be given to ensure that the message seeps down and deep.
This is particularly important among the members of his own party, some of whom have even gone as far as threatening to attack the Malaysian Chinese Assembly Hall or the offices of Harakah, the newspaper of the Islamic opposition party PAS.
Arrested at gunpoint
Apart from the prime minister's message, another startling thing happened. On Sept 2, exactly six years after he was sacked from his post as deputy prime minister and finance minister, Anwar Ibrahim - the man who was widely believed destined to become the successor to Dr Mahathir Mohamad - was set free from jail after the country's highest court overturned his sodomy conviction.
The sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 was the catalyst that sparked off the reformasi movement in Malaysia, but it was his spectacular arrest three weeks after his dismissal from office that really brought the masses to the streets.
Apprehended at gunpoint in the middle of a press conference by the Special Forces Unit (UTK), Anwar was then bundled into a vehicle, driven off to an unknown location. He was subsequently beaten up by none other than the former inspector general of police, Rahim Noor.
The fiasco that followed led to the loss of credibility of practically every institution of the state, from the judiciary to the police force and security services.
The loss of Anwar Ibrahim also meant that Umno lost its Islamist credentials, as it was Anwar who gave the modernist, developmentalist ideology of Mahathir its much-needed Islamic edge.
It was also Anwar who shielded Umno from the accusations of the Islamist opposition, who claimed that it was a secular party guided by un-Islamic principles. The rest, as they say, is now history.
Anwar Ibrahim's release - belated though it may be - would indicate that the institutions of the state in Malaysia are able and willing, if not yearning, to recover the credibility and self-respect they have lost over the past few years.
The market has already responded to this move to clean up the governmental apparatus with a sudden boost to the Malaysian stock exchange.
Moreover, Anwar's release and Badawi's call for Malaysians to unite, come at a time when the country is desperately trying to maintain a wafer-thin lead over its competitors, while the new economies of Asia are on the rise.
On top of that Badawi is keen to impress on the international investor community that Malaysia is a 'model Muslim state' where 'moderate' and 'progressive' Islam prevails.
Empty rituals
That being the case, surely the decision of the Federal Court should not stop there. Though no overtly Islamic slant was attached to it, Anwar's release from jail - motivated as it was by concerns over justice, transparency and the rule of law - is precisely what a 'moderate, progressive' Islam should be concerned about.
For 'progressive Islam' is not just about rejecting religious intolerance and violence that is unlawful in Islam, but more importantly, it is about opening the doors of ijtihad (rational enquiry), so that the universal concerns of Islam for justice, equity and freedom, can be applied to all, regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity.
The issue is not that the ex-deputy prime minister of Malaysia was abused by those who were meant to uphold the law: The crime would have been just as bad if Anwar was a humble bus driver or an illegal immigrant.
Badawi has won for himself and the ruling coalition an overwhelming mandate thanks to the trust that the people have put in him and his peers.
His declared intention of promoting a school of 'Islam Hadhari' (societal or civilisational Islam) that does not stop at the level of empty rituals or religious formalities alone, is laudable enough.
The release of Anwar Ibrahim shows that the institutions of the state can indeed reform and correct themselves if and when they are allowed to do so without the interference of the executive.
So now the question remains: After the release of Anwar, will this government pursue the logic of its Islam Hadhari project to its logical conclusion?
If what this leadership wants is to create a modern, progressive school of normative Islam that is cognisant of the needs and realities of the present; sensitive to the issues of justice, transparency and equality, then will its proponents do what is both morally and logically correct?
Will this be the government that has the will and courage to do away with the Internal Security Act and other pieces of colonial era legislation that have kept Malaysians in their mental prisons for so long?
Anwar is now free, and his freedom could not have come soon enough. But when will Malaysia and Malaysians be free, and when can we think of ourselves as truly Malaysians, no more or less in worth than any other?
On Aug 31, the country's Independence Day, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi delivered his Merdeka message, which focused on a singular issue: The equality of all Malaysians and the fact that despite their apparent differences in terms of race, language, culture and religion, 'no Malaysian was more Malaysian than others'.
He called on all Malaysians, from all walks to life, to work together to realise the goal of nation building, to forge a nation out of this disparate array of different and often competing ethnic and religious constituencies, for the sake of the future.
In any other context and on any other occasion this would have been a pretty mundane and commonsensical thing to say.
However, one has to remember that the statement was made in Malaysia, a country whose multi-culturalism is really a backdrop to a sectarian form of divisive communitarian politics, where differences of race, language and religion do count.
Come Aug 31, every year, the country is made to witness the national day parade, where every conceivable ethnic group (no matter how small) is seen marching in tandem and to the beat of the national anthem. (Though a few years ago the organisers made the mistake of playing Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA during the national day march).
All the more significant, was the fact that these were the words of the man, who happens to be the leader of the ruling Umno party, whose ideology is based on ethno-nationalism, and a party, which has been associated time and again with the right-wing ideology of 'ketuanan Melayu' (Malay dominance). That Prime Minister Badawi's reminded his fellow citizens that 'no Malaysian is more Malaysian than others' is both timely and important, and care should be given to ensure that the message seeps down and deep.
This is particularly important among the members of his own party, some of whom have even gone as far as threatening to attack the Malaysian Chinese Assembly Hall or the offices of Harakah, the newspaper of the Islamic opposition party PAS.
Arrested at gunpoint
Apart from the prime minister's message, another startling thing happened. On Sept 2, exactly six years after he was sacked from his post as deputy prime minister and finance minister, Anwar Ibrahim - the man who was widely believed destined to become the successor to Dr Mahathir Mohamad - was set free from jail after the country's highest court overturned his sodomy conviction.
The sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 was the catalyst that sparked off the reformasi movement in Malaysia, but it was his spectacular arrest three weeks after his dismissal from office that really brought the masses to the streets.
Apprehended at gunpoint in the middle of a press conference by the Special Forces Unit (UTK), Anwar was then bundled into a vehicle, driven off to an unknown location. He was subsequently beaten up by none other than the former inspector general of police, Rahim Noor.
The fiasco that followed led to the loss of credibility of practically every institution of the state, from the judiciary to the police force and security services. The loss of Anwar Ibrahim also meant that Umno lost its Islamist credentials, as it was Anwar who gave the modernist, developmentalist ideology of Mahathir its much-needed Islamic edge.
It was also Anwar who shielded Umno from the accusations of the Islamist opposition, who claimed that it was a secular party guided by un-Islamic principles. The rest, as they say, is now history.
Anwar Ibrahim's release - belated though it may be - would indicate that the institutions of the state in Malaysia are able and willing, if not yearning, to recover the credibility and self-respect they have lost over the past few years.
The market has already responded to this move to clean up the governmental apparatus with a sudden boost to the Malaysian stock exchange.
Moreover, Anwar's release and Badawi's call for Malaysians to unite, come at a time when the country is desperately trying to maintain a wafer-thin lead over its competitors, while the new economies of Asia are on the rise.
On top of that Badawi is keen to impress on the international investor community that Malaysia is a 'model Muslim state' where 'moderate' and 'progressive' Islam prevails.
Empty rituals
That being the case, surely the decision of the Federal Court should not stop there. Though no overtly Islamic slant was attached to it, Anwar's release from jail - motivated as it was by concerns over justice, transparency and the rule of law - is precisely what a 'moderate, progressive' Islam should be concerned about.
For 'progressive Islam' is not just about rejecting religious intolerance and violence that is unlawful in Islam, but more importantly, it is about opening the doors of ijtihad (rational enquiry), so that the universal concerns of Islam for justice, equity and freedom, can be applied to all, regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity.
The issue is not that the ex-deputy prime minister of Malaysia was abused by those who were meant to uphold the law: The crime would have been just as bad if Anwar was a humble bus driver or an illegal immigrant.
Badawi has won for himself and the ruling coalition an overwhelming mandate thanks to the trust that the people have put in him and his peers.
His declared intention of promoting a school of 'Islam Hadhari' (societal or civilisational Islam) that does not stop at the level of empty rituals or religious formalities alone, is laudable enough.
The release of Anwar Ibrahim shows that the institutions of the state can indeed reform and correct themselves if and when they are allowed to do so without the interference of the executive.
So now the question remains: After the release of Anwar, will this government pursue the logic of its Islam Hadhari project to its logical conclusion?
If what this leadership wants is to create a modern, progressive school of normative Islam that is cognisant of the needs and realities of the present; sensitive to the issues of justice, transparency and equality, then will its proponents do what is both morally and logically correct?
Will this be the government that has the will and courage to do away with the Internal Security Act and other pieces of colonial era legislation that have kept Malaysians in their mental prisons for so long?
Anwar is now free, and his freedom could not have come soon enough. But when will Malaysia and Malaysians be free, and when can we think of ourselves as truly Malaysians, no more or less in worth than any other?
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