Islam and Pluralism: Lessons from Malaysia.(13/04/2007)
There was a talk arranged for Prof Khoo by Malaysian Think Tank and
City Circle(Muslim Professional Group).
The discussion which was more to an interview style session chaired by Yahya Birth.
Prof Khoo spoke more on the adaptation of Islam into multi-ethnicity community in Malaysia.
Many people commented that he was in an optimistic way of expressing the topic. I hope to see our Malaysian students learn from the Projek Amant Negara esp talks given by Prof Khoo, Prof Shamsul A.B. and others too..
In time to come, i would like to gather and publish some of the works carried out by our great academicians in order to awaken and create an intellectual awareness among Malaysians not only in the field of their study but also in general terms..
--Terima Kasih--
Friday 13 April 2007
Thursday 12 April 2007
The Amazing "Race" - Revisiting the 2006 UMNO General Assembly
It was in mid-2006 when Mahathir fired his first salvo against Abdullah Badawi and his government, gaining front-page prominence in the widely circulating Malaysian daily, the New Straits Times. Since the paper is UMNO-controlled, Abdullah Badawi must have been aware of these criticisms and perhaps even gave the green-light for them to be published, in line with his "open-government" philosophy.
What shocked many within and without UMNO were not Mahathir's criticisms per se, but the vitriol and vehemence that accompanied them. Many ministers and the Barisan Nasional leaders responded by rallying around Abdullah.
Mahathir's unhappiness stemmed from the abandonment of the crooked bridge project, the future fate of the national car company that he inspired, Proton, of corruption in high places among UMNO members, but especially within Abdullah's family and over the general nature of affairs in Malaysia, which he described as a "police state".
With the UMNO General Assembly approaching and no indication that the Mahathir-Abdullah crisis would be resolved, Malaysia was bracing itself for open confrontation during the Assembly after Mahathir announced that he was attending too. Only a mild heart attack prevented him from doing so. Pleas from close friends and family to consider his national legacy against a concerted anti-Abdullah campaign also seem to have borne fruit, despite the ex-premier making it clear that his struggle would go on.
Abdullah dominated the stage at the UMNO General Assembly with his opening and closing speeches. For once, everyone present felt that he sounded authoritative and convincing. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange also shared this new confidence, breaching the 1,000 mark for the first time since Abdullah became Prime Minister.
However, the overall mood and tenor of the debate during the General Assembly was decidedly negative, prompting a largely pessimistic reaction from the non-Malays, who opined the assembly was marked by too much chauvinistic drama epitomised by the image of the Malay dagger, or kris, and threats from some UMNO members to "run amok", if the social contract that has held Malaysia together since 1969 was fundamentally altered.
For the first time in Malaysia's history, the General Assembly was telecast live on ASTRO, the Malaysian cable channel, and UMNO TV on the web. Selected speeches were also telecast live on TV3, RTM1, NTV7, and TV9. It was estimated that around six million viewers watched this UMNO "reality show", including a large number of non-Malays.
Most UMNO representatives did not realise they were being watched by millions. The assembly proceeded as usual, complete with philosophical speeches, pantuns and dirty jokes. Hishammudin, the UMNO Youth leader, yet again, did not forget to bring his kris along and kissed it in public - prompting some commentators to ask when he planned to use it. The assembly was also peppered with chauvinistic comments and gender slurs, while some raised totally petty and irrelevant personal matters, such as the "unIslamic dress" of one minister's wife.
The overall impact of the assembly was not really understood until the final day of the meeting, when Abdullah Badawi, in his summing-up speech, told the UMNO delegates that their speeches and behaviour during the meeting were closely watched and scrutinised by the Malaysian public - both Malay and non-Malay.
It was quite clear when Abdullah spoke that he had received reports that there were negative reactions to some chauvinistic speeches and Hishamuddin's kris-waving histrionics. The Prime Minister then spent about 30 minutes trying to pacify the Malaysian non-Malay public, stressing that UMNO leaders were both leaders of the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional and all Malaysians. This effort was only partially successful it seems.
The first reaction emanated from the leaders of the Barisan Nasional constituent parties. They were clearly unhappy with what was said about them during the assembly and responded by publicly charging UMNO leaders of creating unnecessary ethnic tension in the country.
Then came an avalanche of public responses from different community leaders as well from the NGOs. Again, UMNO leaders were brunt of their attacks.
Suddenly, UMNO was under siege. Rather than raise a spirited defence of the party, to the surprise of many within the party, senior UMNO politicians warned some of the delegates who spoke during the general assembly that they could be charged in court under the Sedition Act of 1970 for making chauvinistic and ethnically-sensitive "public" speeches. "Public" simply because the General Assembly was telecast live. Needless to say, the 2006 General Assembly will probably be the first and last as far as live broadcast is concerned.
UMNO General Assemblies in the coming years are likely to take on a similar form if the assemblies of 2005 and 2006 are anything to go by. Abdullah, UMNO and their Barisan Nasional colleagues continue to be boxed in by the New Economic Policy (NEP) discourse, a debate that so far has not addressed a more basic issue that pertains to the Federal Constitution, in particular to Article 8 "on Equality" which "allows for 'special privileges' to the 'minority' (disabled, etc.), principally, as an exception" and Article 153 "on Special Privileges of the Natives".
Article 153 allows for "special privileges" for the majority, based on the historical agreement that it is a pre-condition to equality. This is supposed to help bumiputeras achieve economic parity with non-Malays. However, unlike in the NEP of 1970, no quantitative targets and no timetables were set in the 1957 Constitution.
Unless the Malaysian social contract, and by extension the constitution is "renegotiated" and Article 153 is made much clearer in terms of its objectives, quantitative targets and fixed time schedules, the New Economic Policy will be repackaged again and again, eventually living up to its more popular abbreviation, the Never Ending Policy. Only UMNO has the real power required to effect this renegotiation - until such a time, politics in Malaysia will simply be a rehash of issues previously raised.
Ultimately, UMNO has to rise above it all and consider what is good for Malaysia and UMNO, rather than just UMNO alone.
A B Shamsul is Director of the Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation (ATMA) and Professor at University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in Bangi, Malaysia.
Copyright: OpinionAsia, 2006 - 2007.www.opinionasia.org
Reprinting material from this website without written consent from OpinionAsia is a violation of international copyright law. To secure permission, please contact membership@opinionasia.org
What shocked many within and without UMNO were not Mahathir's criticisms per se, but the vitriol and vehemence that accompanied them. Many ministers and the Barisan Nasional leaders responded by rallying around Abdullah.
Mahathir's unhappiness stemmed from the abandonment of the crooked bridge project, the future fate of the national car company that he inspired, Proton, of corruption in high places among UMNO members, but especially within Abdullah's family and over the general nature of affairs in Malaysia, which he described as a "police state".
With the UMNO General Assembly approaching and no indication that the Mahathir-Abdullah crisis would be resolved, Malaysia was bracing itself for open confrontation during the Assembly after Mahathir announced that he was attending too. Only a mild heart attack prevented him from doing so. Pleas from close friends and family to consider his national legacy against a concerted anti-Abdullah campaign also seem to have borne fruit, despite the ex-premier making it clear that his struggle would go on.
Abdullah dominated the stage at the UMNO General Assembly with his opening and closing speeches. For once, everyone present felt that he sounded authoritative and convincing. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange also shared this new confidence, breaching the 1,000 mark for the first time since Abdullah became Prime Minister.
However, the overall mood and tenor of the debate during the General Assembly was decidedly negative, prompting a largely pessimistic reaction from the non-Malays, who opined the assembly was marked by too much chauvinistic drama epitomised by the image of the Malay dagger, or kris, and threats from some UMNO members to "run amok", if the social contract that has held Malaysia together since 1969 was fundamentally altered.
For the first time in Malaysia's history, the General Assembly was telecast live on ASTRO, the Malaysian cable channel, and UMNO TV on the web. Selected speeches were also telecast live on TV3, RTM1, NTV7, and TV9. It was estimated that around six million viewers watched this UMNO "reality show", including a large number of non-Malays.
Most UMNO representatives did not realise they were being watched by millions. The assembly proceeded as usual, complete with philosophical speeches, pantuns and dirty jokes. Hishammudin, the UMNO Youth leader, yet again, did not forget to bring his kris along and kissed it in public - prompting some commentators to ask when he planned to use it. The assembly was also peppered with chauvinistic comments and gender slurs, while some raised totally petty and irrelevant personal matters, such as the "unIslamic dress" of one minister's wife.
The overall impact of the assembly was not really understood until the final day of the meeting, when Abdullah Badawi, in his summing-up speech, told the UMNO delegates that their speeches and behaviour during the meeting were closely watched and scrutinised by the Malaysian public - both Malay and non-Malay.
It was quite clear when Abdullah spoke that he had received reports that there were negative reactions to some chauvinistic speeches and Hishamuddin's kris-waving histrionics. The Prime Minister then spent about 30 minutes trying to pacify the Malaysian non-Malay public, stressing that UMNO leaders were both leaders of the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional and all Malaysians. This effort was only partially successful it seems.
The first reaction emanated from the leaders of the Barisan Nasional constituent parties. They were clearly unhappy with what was said about them during the assembly and responded by publicly charging UMNO leaders of creating unnecessary ethnic tension in the country.
Then came an avalanche of public responses from different community leaders as well from the NGOs. Again, UMNO leaders were brunt of their attacks.
Suddenly, UMNO was under siege. Rather than raise a spirited defence of the party, to the surprise of many within the party, senior UMNO politicians warned some of the delegates who spoke during the general assembly that they could be charged in court under the Sedition Act of 1970 for making chauvinistic and ethnically-sensitive "public" speeches. "Public" simply because the General Assembly was telecast live. Needless to say, the 2006 General Assembly will probably be the first and last as far as live broadcast is concerned.
UMNO General Assemblies in the coming years are likely to take on a similar form if the assemblies of 2005 and 2006 are anything to go by. Abdullah, UMNO and their Barisan Nasional colleagues continue to be boxed in by the New Economic Policy (NEP) discourse, a debate that so far has not addressed a more basic issue that pertains to the Federal Constitution, in particular to Article 8 "on Equality" which "allows for 'special privileges' to the 'minority' (disabled, etc.), principally, as an exception" and Article 153 "on Special Privileges of the Natives".
Article 153 allows for "special privileges" for the majority, based on the historical agreement that it is a pre-condition to equality. This is supposed to help bumiputeras achieve economic parity with non-Malays. However, unlike in the NEP of 1970, no quantitative targets and no timetables were set in the 1957 Constitution.
Unless the Malaysian social contract, and by extension the constitution is "renegotiated" and Article 153 is made much clearer in terms of its objectives, quantitative targets and fixed time schedules, the New Economic Policy will be repackaged again and again, eventually living up to its more popular abbreviation, the Never Ending Policy. Only UMNO has the real power required to effect this renegotiation - until such a time, politics in Malaysia will simply be a rehash of issues previously raised.
Ultimately, UMNO has to rise above it all and consider what is good for Malaysia and UMNO, rather than just UMNO alone.
A B Shamsul is Director of the Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation (ATMA) and Professor at University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in Bangi, Malaysia.
Copyright: OpinionAsia, 2006 - 2007.www.opinionasia.org
Reprinting material from this website without written consent from OpinionAsia is a violation of international copyright law. To secure permission, please contact membership@opinionasia.org
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