The brouhaha (yes, I'm calling it that) that has been reported and updated in Malaysiakini here and there, over the unfortunate comments by the Bukit Bendera UMNO Chief and, the responses by the rest of the Malaysian polity and community, is really a case of desperate marketng ploys by politicians whose political "product" has passed its "sell-by" date.
I mean, of course, politicians from communal parties that habitually frame Malaysian issues along ethnic lines. Even the supposedly multiracial parties that are components within coalitions led by communal parties are not immune from this. If you are on a boat owned and, steered by someone else, there is little that you can do about the direction the boat takes. Your only option is to hop off and hope that you can stay afloat (which is the dilemma of Gerakan, by the way).
Communal parties were favoured by the British colonial masters. Whether these masters had a deliberate "divide-and-rule" policy or, whether they merely respected the clear differences in custom, habit and values of the different communities (and, therefore, took the most effective administrative route of dealing with community leaders) is a subject for serious historical research. But, I pose this point only to raise the real point that, the Malaysian politicians who sustain and perpetuate communal parties are the true mischief-makers. The British masters had a colonial agenda. Shouldn't Malaysian politicians be having a national agenda instead?
Think about it. How can a politician from a communal party ever lead his party members towards multiracialism? A multiracial communal politician is an oxymoron. There is no such person.
And, thus, we witness, time and again, when they are unable to ride the rising tide of national issues (such as people's aspirations or economic needs) these communal leaders withdraw into the dark and fetid cave of racial politics; it's us and them. And then, they peddle their communal "products" and initiate communal "marketing campaigns" again and again.
I am being deliberately naive when I say this; that communal politicians need to appeal to their own "market segment". UMNO politicians will deal with the "Malay rights" product, MCA politicians with the "Chinese rights" product and so on. Communal political marketing strategies by their very nature, are inherently divisive and exclusive.
Communal politics in Malaysia should have died some time ago during Dr M's era as Prime Minister. He had all he attributes to foster true multiracialism. He had the power. He had control. But, in the final analysis, as he has recently shown, he cannot rise above political opportunism and power plays. It is just too seductive and, Dr M is obviously a political adrenaline junkie.
Be that as it may, this is the biggest failure of the BN coalition. And this probably explains why UMNO and BN has consistently needed to resort to communal "marketing campaign" dramatics to whip up waning support. This is no different from the behaviour of primitive tribes... and, no different from a TV soap opera season-ending finale. It is to keep the respective communal markets loyal to the communal "product" and, to keep consuming it.
When can we rise above "marketing" tribal prejudices? Malaysians have to stop consuming these communal "products".
I mean, of course, politicians from communal parties that habitually frame Malaysian issues along ethnic lines. Even the supposedly multiracial parties that are components within coalitions led by communal parties are not immune from this. If you are on a boat owned and, steered by someone else, there is little that you can do about the direction the boat takes. Your only option is to hop off and hope that you can stay afloat (which is the dilemma of Gerakan, by the way).
Communal parties were favoured by the British colonial masters. Whether these masters had a deliberate "divide-and-rule" policy or, whether they merely respected the clear differences in custom, habit and values of the different communities (and, therefore, took the most effective administrative route of dealing with community leaders) is a subject for serious historical research. But, I pose this point only to raise the real point that, the Malaysian politicians who sustain and perpetuate communal parties are the true mischief-makers. The British masters had a colonial agenda. Shouldn't Malaysian politicians be having a national agenda instead?
Think about it. How can a politician from a communal party ever lead his party members towards multiracialism? A multiracial communal politician is an oxymoron. There is no such person.
And, thus, we witness, time and again, when they are unable to ride the rising tide of national issues (such as people's aspirations or economic needs) these communal leaders withdraw into the dark and fetid cave of racial politics; it's us and them. And then, they peddle their communal "products" and initiate communal "marketing campaigns" again and again.
I am being deliberately naive when I say this; that communal politicians need to appeal to their own "market segment". UMNO politicians will deal with the "Malay rights" product, MCA politicians with the "Chinese rights" product and so on. Communal political marketing strategies by their very nature, are inherently divisive and exclusive.
Communal politics in Malaysia should have died some time ago during Dr M's era as Prime Minister. He had all he attributes to foster true multiracialism. He had the power. He had control. But, in the final analysis, as he has recently shown, he cannot rise above political opportunism and power plays. It is just too seductive and, Dr M is obviously a political adrenaline junkie.
Be that as it may, this is the biggest failure of the BN coalition. And this probably explains why UMNO and BN has consistently needed to resort to communal "marketing campaign" dramatics to whip up waning support. This is no different from the behaviour of primitive tribes... and, no different from a TV soap opera season-ending finale. It is to keep the respective communal markets loyal to the communal "product" and, to keep consuming it.
When can we rise above "marketing" tribal prejudices? Malaysians have to stop consuming these communal "products".
3 comments:
Wow, you've looked at this from a totally different perspective, and made it work! Cool!
But yes, the main political parties in the BN (unmo, mca, mic) cannot speak of multiculturalism because the very reason for their being is race. Gerakan and the others? If you have eyes, you can see where they come from lah.
So the solution, deceivingly simple, would be to dump them, and forge new ones with new visions.
Easier said than done. For even in the Pakatan, I hear of the need to see X number of Malay-Muslim faces, X number of Chinese faces, X number of Indian faces ... you get the drift.
Even RPK, in one of his posts, admits that that's what it'll take to satisfy the masses.
It looks like we haven't leant nof'ing, eh?
Yes, indeed. Time is certainly one of the variables in our nation-building formula. Altho' it must be said that 51 years is one-half of a century already. Time enough-lah.
I totally agree. I've often thought that communal-based parties are terribly outdated. Look at the mess Gerakan, MCA and UMNO are in now. On the other hand, DAP and PKR have members from across the communal spectrum. This is the only way forward; those who still hug to communal politics are dinosaurs!
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