In American history there is this case of 187 Americans including the famous Davy Crockett who withdrew to a fortress called the Alamo to resist the advance of 4000 Mexican forces. The Mexicans laid siege to the fortress and then executed an intensive assault lasting 12 long days. Needless say, all but six of the outnumbered American defenders were killed in the fighting. The six survivors were ordered killed by the Mexican commander Santa Anna.
This brief event in history can be used to analogize the modern day experience of the Ketuanan Melayu mentality. Ever since Independence in 1957 the Malay mindset has been developing a siege mentality. It perceives that the Malay race is about to be wiped out; that the Islamic religion it practices is surrounded by ‘musuh-musuh Islam’, or enemies of Islam; that the purity of the Malay language is being eroded by foreign influences; that its culture, morality and etiquette similarly are being polluted by corrupt western values.
It was only a perception created by an insecure mind for Malays like everyone else are as capable as the next man. But it has been repeated over and over again in the days, weeks, months, and years on end so much so that it has become a concrete truth to some segments of the Malay community. It is true that when a lie is repeated often enough it becomes a truth.
This mentality then has withdrawn into its fortress Alamo, and began to protect this ‘truth’. It used the emotive ‘untuk agama bangsa dan negara’ (for religion, race and country) to legitimize as well as to provide the necessary energy for it.
It appears that there are two segments or categories of this Ketuanan Melayu mentality. The first is the secular segment, i.e. one that runs the country, namely the political leaders, the civil servants, the incumbents in the public services like the police, military, customs, and immigration. They look into the secular and physical aspects of this mental framework. They ensure employment in the government sector is the preserve of the Malays, and being so non-Malays are restricted.
Non-Malays who somehow got into the government services are quickly categorised either as pro- or anti-Malay. Either way, promotion and career prospects for them are in any case dim and limited. Ask any former non-Malay military, police, customs and immigration officials, and they’d eagerly confirm the truth to this matter. The pro-Malay government then goes all out to ensure a generous Malay bias towards the issuance of licenses, the formation and application of public policies, economic policies, even education policies. The secular leaders create the first level Malaysian apartheid.
Tough decree to follow
Then there is the second segment, namely the ulamas, i.e. those religious leaders who make it their duty to assume the role of religion and morality policemen. They are the architects of second category Malaysian apartheid.
They nurture the elitist image that Islam is an exclusive religion thus separating the Malays from the non-Malays. They enunciate the principle that all Malays are Muslim by birth, and must remain Muslim all their lives. Malays are in other words never allowed to apostate, or to denounce their Muslim faith. Nor are new converted non-Malays allowed to revert to their original religion. On both counts, they claim that Islam is not a religion to denounce at the whims and fancies of individuals.
They insist for Malays and non-Malay Muslims as well as all Malaysian citizens to subscribe to Islamic values. This is a tough decree to follow, because religion is a personal matter and relates to the relationship between an individual and his God: Yahweh the Jewish God, Jesus the Christian God, and of course Allah the God of all Muslims. There are of course other gods like Brahma of the Hindu, and Brahma’s many thousands of manifestations, as well as the other god or gods of other religions and cultures around the world. The ulamas somehow have the view that there is only one God, and He is Allah. All other gods are to them false.
All these restrictions and prohibitions are made despite the Quran’s overt declaration that there is no compulsion in religion. Surah 2.256 of the Quran, the primary source of authority in Islam, expressly states that there is no compulsion in religion.
Together the two segments of Malay mentality work in concert, in perfect teamwork, much like the left hand working with the right. To the Malays these two segments work to help ensure the survival of the Malay religion, or Islam as perceived and understood by the Malay, Malay culture and the progress and prosperity of the Malay motherland of Malaysia.
Perhaps it is more accurate to state that the ulamas have been playing the secular leaders with the simple minded Malay individuals. The ulamas would team up with the individuals (who got the voting numbers) to contain the leaders. In Malaysian democracy number is all important, so leaders ‘kowtow’ or listen to the ulamas as they have the power to influence Malay voters.
Likewise, the ulamas would team up with the leaders to contain the individuals. This can be done by way of controlling the mindset of the Malays. How they do this is explained below. Either way, the ulamas are securing their positions.
The fact still remains that this mental environment leading to this siege mentality, is only an assumption, a perception, even a cultural trait. It is never the truth. It does not help to think that it is akin to the now dead era of apartheid of South Africa. Where is the truth that government servants must be Malays, that all government policies must be geared and applied to suit Malay interests? Similarly where is the truth that all Malays are born Muslim? There are some Malays in this country who are closet non-Muslims. There are ‘Malays’ in Thailand and the Southern Philippines and Indonesia who are Buddhists or Christians.
Where too is the truth that a Malay person cannot apostate?
Another overdrive
Obviously the Malay mindset is working in an environment of contradiction and emotion. The painful truth is that the Malay mind works on the basis of an assumption, even on a lie. It is perfectly understandable therefore that they have retreated into the stressful siege mentality and environment.
They also work in an atmosphere of absolute power, having cast aside the check and balance system of governance in a healthy of democracy, curtailment of basic human rights, setting aside the rule of law, and fusing together the elements of state and religion.
With these in place, the Ketuanan Melayu leadership incumbents went on another overdrive, this time not so much to protect race and religion, but more to take advantage of the awesome power that lies for grabs when these basic principles of democracy are demolished. Herewith is a list of the some of the abuses perpetrated by the Ketuanan Melayu which by now every knowledgeable Malaysian are very familiar with: massive corruption, rampant abuse of power, cronyism and nepotism, arrogant leaders, blatant disregard for human rights, suppression of the rights of the individual
The theological segment of this mentality, the ulamas, in the meantime has been intimidating the Malay, new non-Malay converts, and non-Muslims with their brand of intimidation and coercion. In this the ulamas operate in many ways.
One, stealthily they work in the background to ‘advise’ the secular leaders on matters of religion. In this way they help ensure that the secular but Muslim Malay leaders are not too far adrift from the leaders’ heritage and commitments to Islam. The leaders are constantly counseled that Islam and democracy are identical; that being so Islam and the state are not contradictory; and that Islam is to be made as the ‘official’ religion. The ulamas have done so with remarkable success.
Two, the ulamas again by way of constant repetition and use of the fear factor (fear of death, fear of committing sins and having to answer for them in Hell) have been brainwashing the Malay mindset reminding the individual Malays of their elitist Malay heritage and commitment to Islam. In this way the Malays are to adhere to the postulates of the Islamic state above.
Three, the ulamas create for themselves the role as bureaucratic intermediary between a Malay individual and God. They do so despite the basic principle and tenet of Islam being Al-Deen (pronounced as ‘Addeen’) stating there is nothing between God and man, and God and other man.
For example, they do so by way of insisting Malays who’d wish to marry to first of all get a certificate (of readiness, fitness, health); by insisting on the ‘halal’ certification to all meats to be eaten by Muslims; and by banning of books, periodicals, magazines, films, deemed to be detrimental to the nation’s well being and to public order.
They do so by insisting that all Malays who wish to denounce Islam must get their permission first of all. But when these individuals do come forward, they are advised to repent, and not given the permission and authority to apostate.
They also do so by way of the horrendous body snatching – the claiming for Muslim burial of non-Muslims suspected to having converted to Islam at some point before their death.
Poor self confidence
The ulamas have been able to shape the psychology, philosophy and world view of both the Malay leaders and individuals by their clever manipulation of several factors. Up front they make the claim that as ulamas they are the inheritors and benefactors of some special religious principles directly from the Prophet Mohammad. In reality they are just myth creators, and of similar league with the priestly class of religious adherents found in other religions. In this country, they are in fact the civil servants and government functionaries running the religion departments and the specialized Islamic agencies like IKIM and JAKIM.
Secondly, the ulamas capitalize on the poor sense of self-confidence of the Malays in seeing the world. As it is the world is changing at a frenetic speed. So do the Malays, from their agrarian and rural background, to the modern technical and urban background; from their feudal past to the democratic present.
The Malays have no historical and cultural continuity to begin understanding what is going on. They are not even aware that they are undergoing change in the first place.
Neither do the ulamas have any such inkling. But being smart, they create the pretension and myth that they are in the know. They have to be smart, for the alternative is for them to lose out in the modern technical era of knowledge and competition. In other words, they’d lose their jobs. And as they do not have any technical knowledge besides Islamic theology, they’d find the real world very cruel and unforgiving. Their economic productivity would be zero.
So they play on the sense of uncertainty and fear of the Malays, telling them that should the Malays renege from their religious commitments, they would surely go to the deepest levels of Hell. The Malays grab this wonderful lesson and wisdom for at least this gives them a sense of solace and security they sorely need.
Santa Anna came to assault and virtually demolished the Ketuanan Melayu Alamo in the form of the 12th general elections held last March 8. There is no strength in lies, and in any case truth no matter how long suppressed has a way of coming out. The elections have amply demonstrated this wisdom. By all accounts it was a complete and comprehensive rout, not seen in this country since 1969.
Blame for the rout has been apportioned all around, starting from the former Prime Minister for creating the atmosphere of totalitarianism and authoritarianism during his 22 long years in office. The present Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is receiving the greatest heat for sleeping during his 4 short years in office, for unfulfilling on his election promises, and for allowing his lieutenants and relatives having a merry time raiding the nation’s treasury.
Other lesser top tier individuals are not spared; for example Najib, for his arrogant assumption that the premiership is his birthright, and for his perceived corrupt act of securing hefty commissions in the country’s defense purchases; Hishamuddin for his keris threatening antics.
Even Umno as an institution is also not spared, for being arrogant and completely out of depth with the changing times.
The good news is that plans are already mooted to address all of the pre-Alamo shortcomings, at least if Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is to be believed. Will he lead the country to seal the demise of Malaysian apartheid (for this is what the post-election latest developments in this country amounts to), or will he continue as though nothing has happened? For this only time will tell although he has not got much of it.
The bad news is that almost in all of the analyses the concern and criticism has almost all the time been focused onto the secular segment of the Ketuanan Melayu mentality. This being so, perhaps only its secular weaknesses might get to be addressed in the weeks and months ahead. In the event there is a glaring omission.
The important omission is this: that the ulamas have so far at least been left fairly untouched and unscathed while they have been instrumental in nurturing and maintaining the conservative, orthodox and conforming Malay status quo all along and as mentioned above.
Should this be so, then the Malay mind might have to experience another Alamo at some point in the future, this time expressly to be rid of the theological apartheid the ulamas have been championing all these while. So much better if this urgent point is addressed now, so the country can proceed with catching up on lost time immediately.
So, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has two main jobs to do in the coming period: he has to radically alter the secular segment and particularly the theological segment, of the Ketuanan Melayu mindset. Should he succeed he would go into history as the person who effective killed apartheid, Malaysian style.
AB Sulaiman - Malaysiakini
No comments:
Post a Comment