Malaysia Matters Podcast

The fight for Malay hearts and minds is in earnest in Permatang Pasir and Penanti state constituencies, were Malay voters make up 68% of the total 58,459 voters.

As reported by the Star Online, PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim kicked off his daily campaign with a visit to Kampong Sama Gagah market where party workers gave away curry powder to market-goers. 

Later in the evening, he attended a dinner with the Chinese community in Seberang Jaya before making an appearance at his nightly ceramah perdana in Mengkuang Titi.

Leading the Barisan camp was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who made a brief stopover at Kampong Permatang Ara, Permatang Pasir, just before midnight on Thursday to give moral support to party workers and meet villagers who came out in droves after hearing that the national leaders were in the vicinity.

He spent almost one hour mingling with the villagers and even enjoyedpulut (glutinous rice) with salted fish, showing he is still very much akampung boy at heart.

Coming into the final stretch of the by-election campaigning, both the NB and PKR election workers have increased their door knocking campaign as well as attendance at evening ceramah in an effort to touch as many voters as possible.

It is widely believed that Anwar will win a seat in parliament. The question will be whether the margin is significant enough to be declared a mandate for change in the government.

…said Malaysian foreign minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim in response to criticism made by former US Vice President, Al Gore. 

“We hope he [Gore] will stop goring as it is about time he re-examines the goring process within himself and his country,” Rais said after a flag-hoisting ceremony in Putrajaya in conjunction with Asean’s 41st anniversary.

Rais was reacting to a recent statement whereby Gore accused the Malaysian government of using “character assassination” twice in an effort to politically destroy Anwar Ibrahim. -That is, once this summer, and then again back in 1998.

Almost ten years ago Gore similarly offended Malaysians during Anwar’s first difficulty with sodomy charges. At that time, Gore actually utilized some of the opposition slogans as part of his public criticism of the Malaysian government. 

Mr Gore also used the word ‘reformasi’ - the rallying cry of anti-government protestors who support the sacked Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim.

It was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s responsibility as the then-Foriegn Minister to chastize Gore for his “irresponsible incitement.”

But fast forward to 2008. Gore is yet again backing Anwar.

What is behind this? 

Has Gore been paying attention? Does he understand that Anwar’s coalition partners include the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party - the same guys that have recruited folks to go to Pakistan and fight with the Taliban?

And, of course, the irony here is that, given PAS’s ideal to move the government towards instituting an ever-more universal Sharia law, it is the very sort of statute that Anwar is charged with that PAS would stand behind.

So if Gore is hoping to back the crew that seeks to further westernize Malaysia’s democracy, he’s sitting in the wrong camp.

The AP is reporting that Anwar Ibrahim’s wife is stepping down to make way for his return to Parliament in Malaysia. She resigned from a seat in the Permatang Pauh constituency in the northern part of the country, and a by-election will be held within 60 days of her resignation. His wife, Wan Azizah, had won in a landslide election in the March general election.

When I was over there in June, and met with the PM, he mentioned that he’d heard of cases where Anwar was trying to bribe lawmakers to defect from the ruling party to the opposition party. So it’s not surprising to hear him tell the same thing to the AP yesterday, that he has heard many stories about Anwar allegedly making “monetary offers” for defections. Anwar would need about 30 defections to take power in the 222 member Parliament.

Anwar’s stated multiple times that he will be able to do so by the end of September. The IHT sets the date at September 16th. In the meantime, Anwar has to shake off the charges against him of sodomy, and win the by-elections.  The election shouldn’t be a problem, and we’ll know in a few days about the charges:

Police completed their investigation into the case Thursday, and Anwar’s aides say he could be arrested as early as Monday. Sodomy, even between consenting adults, is punishable by up to 20 years in jail in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

The Deputy PM, Najib Razk, who is slated to become the PM next year, dismissed Anwar’s threat of takeover, saying, “No, the government is not threatened. We have enough majority.” That’s going to be tested soon.

UPDATE: Al Gore put out the following statement (this is in regards to the sodomy charges against Anwar):

Statement of Former Vice President Gore

(Nashville, TN). The real tragedy is that the government of Malaysia engages in character  assassination to silence an effective leader of the political opposition. Twice, now, the government  has used the same tactic in an effort to politically destroy Anwar Ibrahim. In the process, however,  it is damaging its own credibility at home and abroad. The means exist for the government to allow this situation to be quickly resolved,  simultaneously restoring dignity to Anwar Ibrahim and to itself.  I hope greater wisdom will prevail.

This is a good background article on what is happening in Malaysia, with the continued political battle, In Malaysian Politics, Fighting Dirty Is the Norm. It basically shows that in Malaysia, “politics is about individuals rather than parties” and as a result, the frontal character attacks are the norm. So its little wonder then that the internet & blogs played a central role in their latest election.

Big enough that PM Badawi credits it with the “biggest mistake” of their campaign:

“It was a serious misjudgement. We made the biggest mistake in thinking that it was not important. We thought that the newspapers, the print media, the television was supposed to be important, but the young people were looking at SMS and blogs”

He said the “Internet readiness” of the Malay, English and Mandarin languages also allowed the opposition to reach out to their audience and get more votes.

He said that while Singapore has several laws on proper Internet use, Malaysia does not have a similar law. “Of course, anything that is done in the Internet is not above the existing laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Official Secrets Act and Sedition Act,” he said.

He said what is interesting in Malaysia is that mainstream media are almost entirely controlled by the majority while the alternative and new media are being used widely by the opposition.

As for an update, post that March election, the attacks and counter-attacks using the internet have increased, with sex-charges and murder-charges being bandied about by the candidates and their supporters. The Anwar case has Secretary Rice involved, saying “The United States has long spoken and will continue to speak up about cases that we think need to be thought about in terms of the political circumstances,” while in Malaysia today for a conference. The HRC has also chimed in about Anwar, who states he is ready to contest a by-election. The Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim said that he “explained to Rice that investigations against Anwar over sodomy allegations were not politically motivated whatsoever.”  This seems like a pretty big rift between Rice and the Malaysian Gov’t, probably at least due to the fact that Anwar Ibrahim has friends “including former U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and ex-World Bank President James Wolfensohn.”

Malaysian Islamic influence charted a new international course today with Government approval of three fund management licenses as part of a drive to develop sharia-compliant capital investment. 

“The approval of these three companies will play a catalytic role in the internationalisation of our Islamic capital market,” SC Chairman Zarinah Anwar said in a statement.

Islamic assets are growing at an annual pace of around 20 percent and are set to hit $2 trillion in 2010 from $900 billion now, Ernst & Young forecast in February. 

One of the new licensees, CIMB-Principle Asset Management has clout as it is a segment of Malaysia’s second largest lender Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings and states that it will invest globally “in infrastructure, commodities, and technology firms.”

“Strong global demand for petrol has benefited oil-producing economies such as Brazil, Russia and Mexico,” CIMB-Principal Chief Executive Noripah Kamso said in a statement.

“With the slowdown in the U.S. and European economies, emerging markets are set to rank among the world’s largest economies in the coming decades.”

Sound familiar? - But we aren’t talking about the US border. 

A high demand for factory and agricultural work has lead Malaysia to become one of the leading importers of labor in Asia, accounting for about 25% of Malaysia’s total workforce, but recent arrests of key government officials have brought into question security issues, according to an Agence France-Presse report. 

A top immigration official was arrested along with seven others over the weekend and accused of issuing visas for cash. The AFP story quoted Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)  director general Ahmad Said Hamdan as saying that the visa-for-ring “goes right up to the top. It involves the public, foreigners, government officers and also syndicates.”

“This actually involves national security … and the problem is throughout the country. We have arrested a number of people and we expect to pick up more soon,” Ahmad told reporters in the northern state of Penang.

Prime Minister Badawi stated last week that intends to seek re-election as the leader of UMNO,  the governing party, in December. Then reports came that one of the smaller parties in the ruling coalition planned to call for a motion of no confidence, mostly due to frustration over rising gasoline prices.  However, they failed to submit the motion in advance as required.

There’s an interesting post by Rachel, who is back in Malaysia, after she attended a “a book launch by three academic specialists on Malaysia” who wrote the book, Sharing the Nation: The book tries to understand how the various racial and religious communities that comprise Malaysia can ’share the nation’. In particular, it seeks to address the conceptual foundations of the Malaysian constitution, particularly the exact nature of the so-called ’social contract’ between the major races. Amir Muhammad, in the The Malay Mail, wrote a review of the book, and the underlying tensions that exist in Malaysia

To say that Melaka is amazing is to understate its impact. After nearly a week in Kuala Lumpur, with occasional excursions to Putrajaya, we were ready for an escape into an entirely different Malaysia. Not that Malaysia’s capital, or its ersatz capital, were unsatisfactory. Putrajaya is a marvel of a major planned city — a sort of Asian Brasilia, without Brasilia’s awful architecture and shoddy construction. Its glass and stone facades gleam in the tropical brilliance, and its clean, broad boulevards would be the pride of a latter-day Haussmann. Kuala Lumpur, for its part, is obviously older, but not old — its monumental architecture is a sort of mishmash of Brutalism with Islamic motifs, and the lovely Petronas Towers (far more lovely than the lamented World Trade Centers in New York City) are the magnificent exception to the aesthetic rule. Both cities are post-facto creations: meant for the seat of governance of a Malaysia, and before that a Malaya, already in being.

To see the Malaysia that came before, we traveled to Melaka.

The verdant landscape of southeast Asia in the rainy season rolled past us as we rode, passengers of a driver named Mior, for two hours from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka. Immediately outside the capital, the vegetation had the look of a plantation: thick trees in rows upon the hlls, ready for harvest — or perhaps, as this was Malaysia, tapping. Suburbs planted in the once-empty stretches between KL, Putrajaya, and the improbably named Cyberjaya dotted the roadside. But for the Malaysian flags and the odd architectural touches, they could have been faceless, nameless developments outside Miami. The middle classes, it seems, demand much the same of their living spaces the world over.

The changes as we approached the coast, and Melaka, were subtle. The vegetation changed from ordered to anarchic, till we were driving down a four-lane highway through what looked like deepest jungle. The infrastructure changed, too: the adequate drainage outside the government towns yielded to overflowing culverts, and as the rain hammered the landscape, we joined a line of vehicles careening through deep rushing torrents surging across the asphalt. Civilization began to reassert itself. The odd roadside shop appeared; a gas station; then a mall, seemingly stuck in the middle of nowhere, and advertising Islamic fashions. At once we were in a city — Melaka! — but there were the same concrete facades, and the same featureless shop fronts. From the window I watched in dismay, until –

– Mior swerved about a bend, and there we were at the foot of the hill that overlooked old Melaka. To our left, the 300-year old Christ Church. Upon the hill, the ruins of a 400-year old Dutch fort. To our right, across the river, the old city with its Chinese spires and temples. Before us, a full-scale replica of a Portuguese ship, just like the ones that cruised in to this harbor nearly 500 years ago. This was Melaka — or, should I say, Malacca — and this was what I came for.

Empire is an impolite word now, suggesting the subjugation of peoples and the crushing of liberties. Cities like Melaka and their historical memories are testament to empire’s beneficence, and indeed its glories. This old Malay sultanate was colonized by Chinese from Zheng He’s great fleet in the 15th century, who probably also brought Islam to the peninsula. Following the Chinese were the Portuguese, who lost the port to the Dutch in the following century — but not before planting there a community of Roman Catholics that survive today. They number in the thousands now, still call themselves Portuguese, look like Malays, and speak Kristang — Christian — a patois with Malay grammar and old Portuguese vocabulary. The Dutch presence was impermanent, and gave way to British rule as other Dutch outposts, among them Cape Town, were also falling under London’s protection from French revolutionary designs.

The result is Melaka now: a thriving, colorful, vivid city of many faiths. Within one square mile, one finds a Tamil Methodist parish, a Roman Catholic parish, an Anglican parish, multiple mosques, Hindu shrines, and more Buddhist temples than one can count. Quite nearly all races are there, and it’s a rare adult who is not trilingual. This is a fruit of empire — and it is to Malaysia’s credit that, in stark contrast to most other post-colonial states, it has seen fit to leave it undisturbed.

We parted ways with Mior and his cab, and vanished into the warren of streets, alleys, and byways of the old port….

To be continued in part two.

I’m back from Malaysia. It wasn’t my first time to Kuala Lumpur, but I felt like it was the first time I began to understand the country’s uniqueness in today’s world. A slideshow I blogged contains some photos of the trip, especially to Malacca, which is about 2 hours south of Kuala Lumpur. Walking along one of the streets, we passed a Chinese temple, then a Hindu temple, a Mosque and then a Buddhist temple. Posted on MyDD (you can view the slide show there), through the photos, you really get a sense of the diversity in Malaysia, through this old city.

Also on MyDD, I posted some thoughts on Malaysia politics, the blogging scene in Malaysia, and blogged on the interview we held with Zaid Ibrahim, the prominent reformer that is heading up the judicial reform in Malaysia.

While I was in Malaysia, a story broke about a Judge that told of threats and intimidation attempts, which highlighted the need for reform. Also happening while I was there in Malaysia, was the rise of gasoline prices, with the government allowing the price to rise by 40 per cent, which will add to the instability inside the country.

I was also able to attend parts of the conference on the divide between the Muslim and Western worlds. I found that the Malaysian PM Badawi’s held a very inclusive and pluralistic viewpoint on religion, but there are points of tension. The Imam Feisal Rauf, chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, had an article up on the “Clash of Civilizations”. You should check out the comments in that thread too, to see the clash in action. I’ll post more on this when they release the “Kuala Lumpur Accord.”

The striking thing about Malaysia, when you first walk about its streets and byways, is the multiethnic cast of the country. This is something of a trope amongst its observers, so let me elaborate a bit: it’s multi-ethnic and multi-faith, and it generally works, and its workings are a testament to the beneficial failure — yes, failure — of the country’s foundational principles.

There’s no point in recapitulating the whole drama of Malaysian history here, but a synopsis would have to take into account its settlement by Malays, the Islamization of the land by Arab and Sindhi traders, the first Chinese colonies in the 15th century, the Portuguese colonies in the 16th century, the Dutch shortly thereafter, the British in the 18th century, and the flood of Indians and yet more Chinese that the British brought in. Colonization in western Malaysia especially, whether by Malay, Muslim, or European, was never a mere act of administration that left the composition and character of the local population unchanged. Travelers know well that the rule of British colonization in particular was not to settle, but to govern. (That the handful of exceptions are almost all among the major powers of the world is a coincidence that deserves examination another day.)

The Malay lands, having been settled time and again — to the detriment solely of the lonely aboriginal bands who survive in the forested interior even now — were governed, to be sure, but also settled in a fashion. This settlement was not accomplished by Britons themselves, but by people willing to do the work that Britons wanted done. Indians to trade, Chinese to mine, and Malays to farm: all played their part in the grand tapestry that made the former Malaya the jewel of the United Kingdom’s east Asian empire.

Malaysia’s road to independence was, as roads to independence are, rocky and at points bloody. Mostly Chinese Communists ravaged the country for twelve years from 1948, and as the nation moved inexorably toward sovereignty, the question long suppressed by London’s rule had to be answered: who owned Malaysia? Right of first occupancy meant yielding it to the hill tribes — an absurdity and impossibility. Ethnic minority leaders insisted upon a Malaysia for Malaysians, with the state being for all who lived within it, of any origin. Ethnic Malay leaders, and especially the ethnic Malay leaders of the UMNO party — which rules to this day — insisted that Malaysia was for Malays. Singapore, dominated by Chinese, was expelled from the young Malaysia for this reason. Through the 1960s, periodic race riots wracked the young country, and as that decade ended, the bumiputra system of Malay ethnic preference was formulated, and in time became national policy.

Malaysia, in the face of its rich multi-ethnic, multi-faith history, defined itself as a state of one ethnicity, itself defined by one faith — Islam. Then it instituted a system of economic preferences to enforce that vision.

Here is where Malaysia should have failed. Here is where so many of the post-colonial states of the 20th century went terribly amiss. Malaysia was not the sole polity of its kind. We easily forget that in 1950, Alexandria, Egypt, was barely half Muslim, and barely half Arab. We dimly recall that Istanbul, Turkey, was, until 1923, a city of mostly Greeks, Armenians, and other Christians. We barely remember that Kampala, Uganda, used to be a thriving center of Indian culture in verdant east Africa. We do not trouble ourselves at the disappearance of the 500-year old Portuguese communities of Goa and Mozambique. Those nations, in the throes of independence, defined themselves as Malaysia did — not as existing for all their peoples, but as preferential regimes for the majority, however slim that majority was. The minorities were assimilated, or expelled, or slaughtered.

Here, too, is where Malaysia did not fail. Malaysia implemented all the policies and preconditions necessary for failure, and then resolutely failed to fail. Its minorities did not leave, were not expelled — and after the strife of the 1960s, were not attacked. The bumiputra preferences did not impoverish the Chinese or the Indians against whom they discriminated. There were no pogroms, no ethnic cleansing, and no internal jihads. If it is too much to say that Malaysia was wholly just and peaceful by the standards of Middle America, it is not to much to say that it was both these things by the standard of its fellow post-colonial regimes.

The striking thing about Malaysia, when you first walk about its streets and byways, is the multiethnic cast of the country. The second time you walk about, you notice the same thing. The third time too, and every time thereafter. Malaysia’s faces are the faces of empire — not solely British, but empires of trade, faith, and vassalage across the centuries. Unlike so many vestiges of empire in so many places, they are not cruel reminders of subjugation — but tentative, hopeful, vivid visages of hope. Malaysia’s success is rooted in its failure to be what it threatened to be. As I walk about Kuala Lumpur in the thick heat of day, and the slick darkness of night, it seems to me that nobody wants it any other way.