“Malaysia’s democratic moment,” in the Washington Times.
Today’s must-read on Malaysia is in the Washington Times, which has a column from Stuart Eizenstat on what’s at stake in that country now — and why it matters to Americans. I’ll excerpt some bits here, in the hopes that you’ll go read it all:
There is a titanic conflict within the Muslim world pitting modernity against reactionary radicalism….
That’s why it is so important for the United States to pay attention to the transformation now occurring in the key Southeast Asian nation of Malaysia, a Muslim nation of some 27 million people whose prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, has responded to electoral calls for change by introducing sweeping reforms designed to maintain a democratic open society for the long term….
Malaysia is an important producer for the United States of components for high-tech business and consumer goods, like computers and cell phones. It has also provided a steady example of a Muslim government serious about combating terrorism at home, and [Prime Minister Badawi has] proved himself a leader of Islamic moderates in a concerted effort to challenge the life support systems that sustain the dark forces of al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and the terror network that stretches from the Magrheb across the Middle East into South East Asia …. Mr. Badawi is also now demonstrating the power of democracy in the fight against Islamic extremism.
Eizenstat’s contextualization of Malaysia’s importance goes a long way toward explaining why I find that nation so deeply meaningful — and why I run this site. My own experience in this decade has mirrored that of America and the West: I was present in New York City on 9/11/01, with ash raining down on my porch, waiting anxiously for my wife to return home (she did, having witnessed that day’s horrors firsthand); I was, by a fluke, in London when the suicide bombers slaughtered dozens on 7/7/05; I’ve lost former US Army comrades in Iraq; and friends have fought in Afghanistan. When Eizenstat writes, “[t]here is a titanic conflict within the Muslim world pitting modernity against reactionary radicalism,” I know full well that stakes in that conflict.
My experience is, sadly, hardly unique. But it is vivid, and I am moved to do something about it. At the Atlas Liberty Forum in Atlanta last month, the final event was an open-ended conversation on the future of liberty around the world. Inevitably, a question was asked about liberty in the Muslim world: is Islam per se a foe, and do Muslim nations have a shot at fostering the freedoms recognized by the American Founders as man’s birthright? One of the panelists — sadly, I forget his name — answered with an emphatic injunction to get out and help freedom’s friends in the Muslim world now, rather than wait to see how things there turn out. It’s sound advice — especially knowing what happens in our own streets and cities when liberty’s Muslim friends lose.
When I look to Malaysia, I see history’s cockpit. Is there a lot to criticize about that nation? Sure — and you’ll find Malaysians offering the first critiques. But there are also, increasingly, things to praise. This site, in the spirit of Stuart Eizenstat’s essay, intends to point out both — and to help Americans grasp just why this nation of 27 million Malays, Chinese, Indians, and more matters so very much.
