Sunday, January 31, 2016

Feudalism in Malaysia

I have to say I disagree with RPK's assertion in his post 'Liberating the Malay mind', that the Chinese can be as 'feudalistic' as the Malays, though I do agree with him that some Chinese are very 'clannish'.

Being 'feudalistic' is not the same as being 'clannish'. The former involves devoted allegiance to a 'liege lord' while the latter does not but is more about 'tribalism', where a striking example of clannish Chinese may be found in Sibu wakakaka. The Malay equivalent is Kelantan wakakaka.


The greatest example of feudalism in Malay history can be found in the tragedy of Hang Tuah.

Tuah was a bloke so devotedly or, if you like, blindly imbued with feudalistic allegiance to his liege lord, a tyrannical despot who had unjustly ordered Tuah's execution but unashamedly made use of him to kill Jebat when the last rebelled against the cruel and unjust ruler.

Ironically Jebat had rebelled because of the sultan's injustice to his best matey Tuah. And on being ordered by the tyrant, Tuah without any hesitation fought and killed his best friend, the very man who alone stood up for Tuah against the tyrannical injustice of the Malacca ruler.



Jebat to Tuah: "But I laugh at your professed loyalty. Isn't it strange that though you upheld so blindly the orders of one who wanted you dead, here you are again upholding his command to kill the very person avenging you?"   

Now wouldn't you see Tuah as an idiot of the 9th Order, one without an iota of sense, balanced perspective, gratitude, brotherhood or kaamcheng, in killing the very man who militated against the sultan's unjust order to execute him (Tuah himself)? And to round up on Tuah's apparent imbecilic mentality he did the killing on the say-so of his oppressor.

But you'd be surprised because in general the Malays for hundreds of years didn't and don't think so. Rather, they adulated Tuah (many still do) for his unquestioning loyalty to his ruler. Kassim Ahmad, Azly Rahman and Mahathir are probably exceptions.

But far more importantly than feudalism per se, in the example of Hang Tuah must be the underlying near-absolute power that could be wielded by a ruler in a feudalistic society.

That's why in Malaysia (and the Malay world like the 'sultanate' of Jogjakarta) the Malay rulers have disproportionate influence in politics despite the legislated limits of their constitutional role.

When RPK talked about the four branches of Malaysian government, namely, executive, legislative, judiciary and the rulers, many believed he was talking cock in inserting the fourth.

But no doubt he was referring to the undeniable and near invincible feudalistic mentality of the Malays, rendering through their mindset a distorted version of the Westminster model to exist in real though not legal terms in Malaysia.

This is something DAP has to consider seriously. The last MB brouhaha in Selangor demonstrated the powers of HRH beyond his constitutional role and indeed beyond the mere issue of selecting a MB because the Heartland was watching, listening, probably applauding, and eventually will be voting.

Like it or not, the DAP must learn to suck on it. Ampun Tuanku.

Wakakaka (no don't do this with HRH, wakakaka).

39 comments:

  1. Why is it considered derogatory to call someone a Half-Angmoh (actually factually accurate in the RPK case) and acceptable to call another a Dökkálfar Dwarf ( the blog owner partakes in it) ?


    I remember in the UK Parliament , the Speaker ordered an MP to retract his calling another MP a Dwarf, as it was considered insulting those who, by accident of nature, are severely undersized.

    Ah Beng still finds the twists and turns of the English language utterly confounding.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. half angmoh is not the same as half BREED. the word 'half BREED' has a vile history of degration, oppression, neo Naziism and intended humiliation.

      half angmoh is only saying he or she is (for example) of anglo-indian or chinese-thai heritage

      Delete
    2. ok my bad. i apologise. i first thot bastard is derogatory, i didnt realise half breed oso have the same effect. so whats the better word to describe one with racial mixture? hybrid? a person of mixed race?

      Delete
    3. a human being, a man, a person

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    4. a person of mixed african and european ancestry in Namibia is called coloured.

      Delete
    5. coloured, half-breed, nigger, untermenschen (sub-human), etc are all derogatory descriptions coined by supremacist fascists (and wannabes)

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    6. ok, what about the Dökkálfar Dwarf label, a swarthy (dark) elf living in a subterranean world ...?

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    7. dwarf, shorty (or lanky, panjang), ay yar tok, or fatty, tuapooi, etc are not so much derogatory or abusive insults as robust teasing which we participated in during our schooldays.

      you cannot compare 'dwarf' with the vile 'half breed'

      Delete
  2. you can't liberate the mind of the malays from iconoclasm and feudalism. the first two tenets of rukun negara are: belief in god and loyal to the king... in addition the rulers nationalization of the islamic religion had been embedded under the constitution.. therefore, the first branch of this government should be the rulers and followed by executive, legislative and the judiciary. hang jebat is a classic example of someone who is trying to be the judiciary, the legislative, the executive, and the ruler. thus he deserved to be remembered that way. you can't blame the malays if they all have tendencies towards iconoclasm-ism and feudalism. even if marx is still alive he can't change the malays mindset. for me i balance it a bit by allowing and accepting some form secularism where possible and necessary.

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    1. after may 13 rukunnegara was conceived by tun ghazali shafie who borrowed from the indon's pancasila. it's man-made and not sacredly set in concrete.

      anyway the thrust of my post is not an urging for malays to change their mindset (dr bakri musa's book should have more info on feudalism) but rather an urging for the dap to recognize malay attitude towards their ruler

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  3. Up to 1948 (except the Japanese Occupation, of course), the Malay Rulers still formally ruled the Malay States. Only Penang and Malacca were outright British territory.

    The British were "Residents" or "Advisers", though the fine print was the Advice of the Resident or Adviser had to be complied with, except on matters of Islam and Malay customs.

    The rule of the Raja-Raja was a fiction, but very important piece of fiction.

    So, it is not surprising, Malaysia remains a country where the Rulers have considerable influence, so-called Westminster democracy, but more like the Westminster of 1616, not 2016,

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    Replies
    1. why must we make a comparison with a british standard? can't we have our very own malaysian standard? their westminster democracy is based on their thinking about their own social and political problems and relationship between religion and civil rights. thus they have gone through revolution, renaissance and reformation where millions had died. do you think we too should crawl, walk and run through that conditions?

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    2. whats a msian std? that umno will rule forever, similar to pap spore n ccp china? if i am not wrong, btitish only went through a reformation n not a revolution, unlike french n russia. that is y many chinese scholars has been arguing that perhaps china shd emulate britain, but ccp believe revolution was the best option. until today, i am still puzzle y bn still reign. is it bec of the paranoid toward pas, or dap? we need a renaissance.

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    3. msian std? primarily a mix of malay with some orthodox chinese and indian best practices/legislatures perhaps? the revolution of 1688 established parliament as the main ruling power in england.

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    4. What is Malaysian Standard ?

      Education - lower passing mark to ensure 80% of 1Kulit can pass

      Election practices - alter electoral boundaries to ensure 1 rural vote is equivalent to 2 urban votes.

      Police law enforcement - arrest a cartoonist for picture making fun of the G'men, but the one who threatened to burn a church down "committed no crime".

      Corporate Governance - all Senior management must be of one Kulit.

      Legal standards -
      Secret RM 2.6 Billion donations into a politicians private bank accounts are OK !
      Going on a Credit Card spending spree and declaring innocence claiming the you didn't know the actual source of the funds is OK !

      That is why South Korea, which in 1960 was much poorer than Malaysia, is now the world's 13th largest economy, while Malaysia is only a Jaguh Kampung.

      Delete
  4. 'Like it or not, the DAP must learn to suck on it'

    reminder or warning?

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  5. I'm wondering what the Malaysian Royals think about foreign Royals donating gigantuan amounts of cash personally to local politicians to ensure the outcome of Malaysian elections is to their taste.

    This is no more idle speculation, but facts as stated by the Malaysian Attorney General.

    How ? Are they very relaxed about it ?
    Are just an Arab colony now ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we've been "colonized" completely by the arabs in our everyday lives, even in our dressing, culture, bahasa, and where hubbies could demand to f**k their wives, like for example, on the backs of camels rather than malaysian kerbau

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  6. Just when Naj thought he could look forward to many peaceful nights sleep in Nonya Mansor's ample arms , after Pandi did his washing machine act....

    https://www.news.admin.ch/message/index.html?lang=en&msg-id=60510

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/swiss-attorney-general-expresses-concern-over-halt-of-malaysian-1mdb-probe-1454083061

    Switzerland runs a very lucrative business as a very safe and very discreet banker for the world's kleptocrats and oligarchs.
    It is not in their national interest to "interfere in the internal affairs of other countries".
    So the Swiss Attorney General going public on a criminal investigation into possible 1MDB criminal activity is equivalent to a nuclear bomb.

    Now we can see the extent of Khairuddin's "treachery".
    The Swiss could simply pretend to ignore media reports on 1MDB stating "we don't act on mere newspaper articles".

    However, a police report made on Swiss soil, with concrete evidence packaged in, is impossible to ignore.

    Swiss police and legal authorities were bound by law to investigate Khairuddin's report.

    Expect many more fireworks in the next few months.
    I also expect Pandi to continue to do his Washing-Machine act, if necessary by stonewalling the Swiss with minimum cooperation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not of the connection of your comments to this post on the Malay feudalistic mindset.

      however i do wonder why tbe swiss ag chose to announce its demand to malaysia via the media instead of using official channels? what has been the real motive of the swiss ag?

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    2. whoa.. the swiss ag preoccupation with 1mdb has certainly authenticated rocketman's suspucion on naj.. ha ha

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    3. Nowadays, Ktemoc sounds just like Dear Brother Zahid Hamidi....

      Great minds think alike ?
      Or more like Id*ts think alike....

      Delete
    4. Rocketman.. the post is about feudalism lah! Don't keep your mind too preoccupied with thoughts on how to suck your own tits... wakakaka

      Delete
    5. The most powerful - and most dangerous - feudal warlord in Malaysia today is Datuk Seri Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sanrobone.

      So, my post is very relevant.

      Delete
  7. whats the definition of feudalistic? petra often demand definition, for example, what we mean by progressive? according to guo moruo, china pass the feudalistic society after zhou/qin. chinese translate using the term fengjian, but the meaning could be vastly diff. one can wiki this, but a better source is to read guo writes, his interpretation is quite interesting, he also claim shang dynasty is a slavery society, which many disagree, bec many scholar love to argue that chinese never have slavery n racism, unlike the west. i think feudalistic in th chinese context is the 4 olds, remember what mao did? break rhe 4 olds. however if we read petra, what he meant by feudal is islam. read again his write, he never talk abt king n sultan, his main point is islam.

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    1. islam? you mean the simplicity of the life of prophet muhammad and the primitive mosque? a life of common property and simple faith? i don't think so. perhaps it is more towards imperialism, and colonial supremacy passed down to the wealthy aristocratic class and intellectuals who were indoctrinated at colonial schools where they learned the art of colonial administration and capitalism and the colonial cultures and prejudices?

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  8. RPK and sweetie Joceline Tan are in the same boat.And both have the same masters.So we cannot blamed them for what they are writing.Afterall,RPK had already been discarded by the PR.And Joceline been branded a Chulia Street bitch.

    PKR and DAP are both digging deeper into the same ditch.Hypocrites do not last long in politics.Especially when their supporters woke up from their trance.

    When Najib's men were putting pressure on the MACC,the sworn enemies of the PR,their leaders went over to cozy up.There the PR leaders embraced,hugged and shed a few drops of crocodile tears for their sworn enemies.

    Another is their favorite sworn enemy,the notorious ex AG,Gani Patail,who fucked the PR leaders left,right,center and belakang.When he was fired and chased out of office,the PR leaders cried,actually wailing crocodile tears for several weeks.

    Anwar,the man who ordered Malay headmasters into Chinese schools,and who bastardized the education system,was embraced with open arms.They even bend over and offered their asses to him. He was even hailed as their saviour.The messiah who has finally emerged to save Malaysians from their corrupted tyrants,the Umno/BN.

    Will Najib and Umno/BN stoop this low?Go figure.

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    1. bruno, you have to more exact in your allegations. Stating that "Anwar,the man who ordered Malay headmasters into Chinese schools ..." is NOT the same as saying Anwar's policy allowed non-Mandarin qualified headmasters to head Chinese vernacular schools (though you could argue the end result could well be what you have said, but nonetheless I'm certain he didn't exactly say Chinese schools must accept Malay headmasters).

      Incidentally his ministerial policy was the cause leading to Ops Lalang.

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    2. Ktemoc , it is important to be accurate with the facts, especially on such an explosive issue.

      I am very clear about the events at the time because I personally know now-retired people who were caught up in the middle of the issue.

      No Malays were ever sent to be headmasters in Chinese Vernacular schools.

      The proposal at the time involved sending non-Mandarin qualified, but still ethnic Chinese headmasters. Supposedly there was an urgent shortage of qualified candidates replace a bunch of Chinese School HMs who were reaching retirement age.

      That may have been Bullshit, I don't know.

      Many saw it as the thin edge of the wedge to ultimately send Malays to administer Chinese schools, but that never happened, so its a matter of opinion.

      Come on, I know you guys dislike Anwar with extreme intensity, but don't create something that did not occur...

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    3. Ah Beng, hasn't that been precisely what I have just said!

      that Malay headmasters were never sent to Chinese vernacular schools was because of thr events leading to and causing Ops Lalang - the issue was so explosive that Anwar's policy of approving non-Mandarin qualified headmasters to head Chinese vernacular schools were wisely abandoned

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    4. *grammar - should be "was wisely abandoned."

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    5. That's your problem la Bruno. All talk n no thinking. And the reason why your English s so bad is because of Mahadey. Don't blame Anwar OK. He's a god-sent. Hehehe.

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    6. Anwar Ibrahim has apologised for decision making mistakes that he made that were linked to Ops Lallang.

      Ktemoc's beloved warlord Najis has never apologised for his promise to bathe his Keris in Chinese blood, made at the TPCA stadium in front of thousands.

      Funny thing is Ktemoc continues to cover up that side of the story. I smell a very dishonest blogger here.

      Delete
  9. There is an interesting article in RPK's Malaysia Today.

    Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim,an advocate of the English Language,saying that children at a very young age have to get started on the language to be better prepared.To get readied and be at least proficient when in high school and in college.

    At the end of the article,by a research group,it said that recently about a thousand local doctors dropped out,after their housemanship training,due to a poor command of English.

    Now,which of our ministers are to be blame.Mahathir or Anwar?I guessed,I have to pick the latter.

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    Replies
    1. You should not read RPK. He doesn't like your idol, Anwar.

      Delete
  10. With the opposition reps being summoned before the regency council tomorrow,it is the possibile of the Ahmad Bashah faction not having the numbers.Would the opposition dare betray Dr Mahathir after what the doctor did for then in going after Najib and 1MDB?Maybe Mukhriz's goose is only half cooked?

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  11. Aiyoooo can't believe people are still quoting RPK. Every day there are some Facebook postings which are highly sponsored and suggested. I don't visit Malaysia Today anymore, but can't avoid such sponsored Facebook insertions glaring at me daily. The need to have someone sponsoring his articles on Facebook goes to show that readers are deserting RPK. Wonder who is sponsoring RPK on Facebook.??? Or is he do doting it himself??? Getting very low class indeed. Hope KT have no need to put up sponsored opinion on Facebook. At least we know that KT is not sponsored... yet.

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  12. Perlu satu lagi peristiwa Mei 13 sebagai pengajaran kepada Cina.

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  13. Talking about Feudalism....

    The Mukhriz Kedah MB saga is developing twists and turns almost daily.

    http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/palace-asks-kedah-opposition-reps-to-state-support-for-mukhriz

    Now the Kedah palace has taken to interviewing Opposition ADUNs, which I feel is a very strange move.
    Even though I am a DAP member, and do not support Mukhriz's removal.

    BN , as the party having the majority in the State Legislature, should have the full say in the decision appointing the Menteri Besar.

    The Palace should not be involved in "interviewing" the Opposition for any such decision.

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