The slow decay of the Malay political establishment – James Chin
Ketuanan Melayu Islam ideology can no longer unite leaders at the top
The new Perikatan Nasional comprises three most important political parties – Umno, Bersatu and PAS – that unashamedly adhere to the ideology of Ketuanan Melayu Islam. – Bernama pic, August 11, 2021
As you read this, Malaysia is undergoing a political crisis that few would have predicted just a year ago. To recap, in February last year, a “backdoor government” was established under Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
In this power grab, there are several key political party actors. The new Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is a coalition that comprises three most important political parties promoting Malay-Muslim nationalism – the Umno, which has dominated politics for decades, the nativist Bersatu and PAS – which favours a strict adherence to Islamic law.
Indeed, all three parties unashamedly adhere to the ideology of Ketuanan Melayu Islam or Malay Islamic Supremacy.
The previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition government of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad suffered from a widespread perception that it was too heavily influenced by DAP, the largest Chinese party in Malaysia. This led directly to the tensions that eventually prompted the fall of the PH administration.
The PN government, on the other hand, is unique in that it did not initially have any representatives from the minority Chinese and Indians. This is the first time in Malaysia’s political history that the minorities are not given a seat at the top table. Hence, most of the Malay establishment is looking forward to a long period of Malay hegemony and political stability.
As you read this, Malaysia is undergoing a political crisis that few would have predicted just a year ago. To recap, in February last year, a “backdoor government” was established under Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
In this power grab, there are several key political party actors. The new Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is a coalition that comprises three most important political parties promoting Malay-Muslim nationalism – the Umno, which has dominated politics for decades, the nativist Bersatu and PAS – which favours a strict adherence to Islamic law.
Indeed, all three parties unashamedly adhere to the ideology of Ketuanan Melayu Islam or Malay Islamic Supremacy.
The previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition government of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad suffered from a widespread perception that it was too heavily influenced by DAP, the largest Chinese party in Malaysia. This led directly to the tensions that eventually prompted the fall of the PH administration.
The PN government, on the other hand, is unique in that it did not initially have any representatives from the minority Chinese and Indians. This is the first time in Malaysia’s political history that the minorities are not given a seat at the top table. Hence, most of the Malay establishment is looking forward to a long period of Malay hegemony and political stability.
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Umno signalled that it is no longer supporting Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and wanted him to resign. – The Vibes file pic, August 11, 2021
But as we now know, this did not happen. Last month, Umno formally signalled that it is no longer supporting Muhyiddin and wanted him to resign. This is in anticipation of the August 1 lifting of emergency law orders, imposed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the most part, Muhyiddin ignored Umno and promoted a split within Umno by supporting a faction to go against Umno’s president. For a while, Muhyiddin looked strong but an intervention by the king turned everything upside down.
On July 29, the king, a constitutional monarch, issued an unprecedented statement accusing the law minister of misleading parliament and the Attorney-General Idrus Harun of failing to honour a promise to allow parliament to debate the annulment of the emergency ordinances. There were immediate calls on Muhyiddin to resign for being disloyal to the palace.
Two Umno members of the cabinet, the higher education minister and the energy and natural resources minister, resigned after Umno announced that it is immediately withdrawing support for Muhyiddin in light of the king’s statement.
Muhyiddin refused to resign, went to see the king on August 4, and told him that a confidence vote would be called in early September to prove that the government still commands a majority. Despite Muhyiddin’s defiant tone, it is almost certain that he has lost his two-seat majority in Parliament.
All this is happening amidst a background of Covid-19 spreading unhindered throughout the country. In the past week, Malaysia has suffered its highest recorded number of new infections and deaths.
As of August 8, Malaysia has recorded more than 1.24 million cases and 10,400 deaths. There is a mad rush to vaccinate the country’s 32 million people, including allowing all GPs to charge for vaccination.
The multiple rounds of movement control orders (MCO), as shutdowns are called in Malaysia, has led to many households, including those in the middle class, asking for food aid. People, especially the young, are calling for black flags to be flown as a signal for the government to resign.
But as we now know, this did not happen. Last month, Umno formally signalled that it is no longer supporting Muhyiddin and wanted him to resign. This is in anticipation of the August 1 lifting of emergency law orders, imposed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the most part, Muhyiddin ignored Umno and promoted a split within Umno by supporting a faction to go against Umno’s president. For a while, Muhyiddin looked strong but an intervention by the king turned everything upside down.
On July 29, the king, a constitutional monarch, issued an unprecedented statement accusing the law minister of misleading parliament and the Attorney-General Idrus Harun of failing to honour a promise to allow parliament to debate the annulment of the emergency ordinances. There were immediate calls on Muhyiddin to resign for being disloyal to the palace.
Two Umno members of the cabinet, the higher education minister and the energy and natural resources minister, resigned after Umno announced that it is immediately withdrawing support for Muhyiddin in light of the king’s statement.
Muhyiddin refused to resign, went to see the king on August 4, and told him that a confidence vote would be called in early September to prove that the government still commands a majority. Despite Muhyiddin’s defiant tone, it is almost certain that he has lost his two-seat majority in Parliament.
All this is happening amidst a background of Covid-19 spreading unhindered throughout the country. In the past week, Malaysia has suffered its highest recorded number of new infections and deaths.
As of August 8, Malaysia has recorded more than 1.24 million cases and 10,400 deaths. There is a mad rush to vaccinate the country’s 32 million people, including allowing all GPs to charge for vaccination.
The multiple rounds of movement control orders (MCO), as shutdowns are called in Malaysia, has led to many households, including those in the middle class, asking for food aid. People, especially the young, are calling for black flags to be flown as a signal for the government to resign.
The march by MPs at Merdeka Square to Parliament to call on the prime minister to resign. – The Vibes file pic, August 11, 2021
A planned march to Parliament was also stopped by the police. But all this means nothing to the Malay political class, which is concentrated on one thing only – horse-trading to see who can get the numbers to form the government.
Government supporters are allegedly offering up to RM30 million (US$9.7 million) for opposition MPs to defect.
On the opposition side, despite a clear chance to dislodge Muhyiddin from office, MPs can’t seem to get their act together. Dr Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim, the two most well-known PMs-in-waiting, are subtlety challenged by two newcomers: Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri.
Both are relatively unknown outside of Malaysia. Shafie is the president of Warisan, a regional party based in Sabah, while Ismail Sabri is the incumbent deputy prime minister. Even Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the oldest MP in the house is putting himself forward as an “interim prime minister”.
In other words, if the opposition cannot unite under one candidate, there is every likelihood that Muhyiddin will survive the confidence vote or may even get to run a minority government, as he is doing now.
Dr Mahathir is hoping that if MPs cannot agree on who should succeed Muhyiddin, he will be the compromise candidate who can serve as PM until the next election. There is only a slight chance this will happen as many blame him for the mess Malaysia is now facing. If Dr Mahathir had not resigned suddenly in February 2020, then the Muhyiddin administration would have never existed.
Anwar, who has been claiming since last year to have the numbers, is in an even more precarious position. The Malay establishment does not trust him. They think he is “too liberal” and “too close” to the Chinese-DAP. Many young Malay activists think he has lost his zeal for reforms in pursuit of the prime ministership.
Truth be told, many young Malaysians think both Dr Mahathir and Anwar should leave the political scene as their time has passed. Most of them think it’s time to skip to a new generation of political leaders because the present generation of leaders has failed.
But reporting on Malaysia’s current crisis neglects two important points. First, one of the abiding myths of Malaysian politics is the belief that as long as the Malays hold power, the country will be stable. PN is as Malay-centric as you can get.
The problem is that there are two strong Malay parties in government – Umno and Bersatu – that are each trying to politically kill off the other to become the only dominant Malay party in Malaysia. The Malaysian system can only afford one dominant Malay party in government at any one time. Until this is resolved, there will be political instability.
Second, nobody wants to talk about Malaysia’s largest party in terms of MPs. The title belongs to the DAP with 42 MPs in the 222-seat parliament. Yet it is neither consulted nor its views taken into account in the current political showdown. Why? Because it is a Chinese-based party promoting secularism and multiculturalism.
The Malay establishment is so profoundly committed to the racist ideology of Ketuanan Melayu Islam that it cannot concede the creation of the PN government in 2020 was a mistake.
The establishment’s greatest fear is a facture at the highest levels of the Malay elite which would give DAP a chance to form a government with a major Malay faction. This is a real possibility if the conflict between Umno and Bersatu spins out of control.
What’s next?
The truth is, right now, nobody knows. The Malay establishment knew a crisis was coming but was hoping desperately for a deal to maintain the status quo until the next general election, due in 2023.
The king’s unexpected intervention suggests that a faction within Malaysia’s nine royal families – one of the most important behind-the-scenes political players and pillars of the Malay establishment – wants Muhyiddin and PN replaced. Who they might support is still not clear, but they are definitely not in favour of Dr Mahathir.
Another elusive pillar of the Malay establishment, the Malay tycoons and businessmen, are not too happy with Muhyiddin either. The Malaysian economy is not doing well and they are unsure if Muhyiddin’s finance minister can restart the economy.
The most important pillar of the Malay establishment, the senior civil servants, senior police and military officers, and senior Malays helming government-linked companies and statutory bodies, appear to be completely split.
A planned march to Parliament was also stopped by the police. But all this means nothing to the Malay political class, which is concentrated on one thing only – horse-trading to see who can get the numbers to form the government.
Government supporters are allegedly offering up to RM30 million (US$9.7 million) for opposition MPs to defect.
On the opposition side, despite a clear chance to dislodge Muhyiddin from office, MPs can’t seem to get their act together. Dr Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim, the two most well-known PMs-in-waiting, are subtlety challenged by two newcomers: Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri.
Both are relatively unknown outside of Malaysia. Shafie is the president of Warisan, a regional party based in Sabah, while Ismail Sabri is the incumbent deputy prime minister. Even Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the oldest MP in the house is putting himself forward as an “interim prime minister”.
In other words, if the opposition cannot unite under one candidate, there is every likelihood that Muhyiddin will survive the confidence vote or may even get to run a minority government, as he is doing now.
Dr Mahathir is hoping that if MPs cannot agree on who should succeed Muhyiddin, he will be the compromise candidate who can serve as PM until the next election. There is only a slight chance this will happen as many blame him for the mess Malaysia is now facing. If Dr Mahathir had not resigned suddenly in February 2020, then the Muhyiddin administration would have never existed.
Anwar, who has been claiming since last year to have the numbers, is in an even more precarious position. The Malay establishment does not trust him. They think he is “too liberal” and “too close” to the Chinese-DAP. Many young Malay activists think he has lost his zeal for reforms in pursuit of the prime ministership.
Truth be told, many young Malaysians think both Dr Mahathir and Anwar should leave the political scene as their time has passed. Most of them think it’s time to skip to a new generation of political leaders because the present generation of leaders has failed.
But reporting on Malaysia’s current crisis neglects two important points. First, one of the abiding myths of Malaysian politics is the belief that as long as the Malays hold power, the country will be stable. PN is as Malay-centric as you can get.
The problem is that there are two strong Malay parties in government – Umno and Bersatu – that are each trying to politically kill off the other to become the only dominant Malay party in Malaysia. The Malaysian system can only afford one dominant Malay party in government at any one time. Until this is resolved, there will be political instability.
Second, nobody wants to talk about Malaysia’s largest party in terms of MPs. The title belongs to the DAP with 42 MPs in the 222-seat parliament. Yet it is neither consulted nor its views taken into account in the current political showdown. Why? Because it is a Chinese-based party promoting secularism and multiculturalism.
The Malay establishment is so profoundly committed to the racist ideology of Ketuanan Melayu Islam that it cannot concede the creation of the PN government in 2020 was a mistake.
The establishment’s greatest fear is a facture at the highest levels of the Malay elite which would give DAP a chance to form a government with a major Malay faction. This is a real possibility if the conflict between Umno and Bersatu spins out of control.
What’s next?
The truth is, right now, nobody knows. The Malay establishment knew a crisis was coming but was hoping desperately for a deal to maintain the status quo until the next general election, due in 2023.
The king’s unexpected intervention suggests that a faction within Malaysia’s nine royal families – one of the most important behind-the-scenes political players and pillars of the Malay establishment – wants Muhyiddin and PN replaced. Who they might support is still not clear, but they are definitely not in favour of Dr Mahathir.
Another elusive pillar of the Malay establishment, the Malay tycoons and businessmen, are not too happy with Muhyiddin either. The Malaysian economy is not doing well and they are unsure if Muhyiddin’s finance minister can restart the economy.
The most important pillar of the Malay establishment, the senior civil servants, senior police and military officers, and senior Malays helming government-linked companies and statutory bodies, appear to be completely split.
The Malay establishment wants Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin out, while many want a return to Umno rule using the model of the old Barisan Nasional coalition. – Bernama, August 11, 2021
Some of them want Muhyiddin out, while many want a return to Umno rule using the model of the old Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that had Umno as its core. The BN ruled Malaysia uninterrupted from independence day for six decades before it was defeated in 2018.
The secret to the BN model is simple: all ethnic and minority groups are encouraged to join, but there could only be one Malay party – Umno. Although everybody was given a seat at the top table, Umno was the first among equals.
In summary, the Malay political establishment is in a state of decay. The ideology of Ketuanan Melayu Islam cannot unite the Malays at the top anymore. Controlling all the levers of power in Malaysia looks good on paper, but it is hard to implement.
The reality is that Malaysia, no matter how much you try to hide it, is a multiracial, multi-religious society. Creating a one-race, one-religion government is never a good idea. Until the Malay establishment accepts this reality, Malaysian politics will continue to decay until it reaches a point of no return. – The Vibes, August 11, 2021
James Chin is professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania. He recently gave the inaugural Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore Studies Group (MSB) Lecture Series on the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s New Economic Policy, the world’s longest social engineering programme
Some of them want Muhyiddin out, while many want a return to Umno rule using the model of the old Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that had Umno as its core. The BN ruled Malaysia uninterrupted from independence day for six decades before it was defeated in 2018.
The secret to the BN model is simple: all ethnic and minority groups are encouraged to join, but there could only be one Malay party – Umno. Although everybody was given a seat at the top table, Umno was the first among equals.
In summary, the Malay political establishment is in a state of decay. The ideology of Ketuanan Melayu Islam cannot unite the Malays at the top anymore. Controlling all the levers of power in Malaysia looks good on paper, but it is hard to implement.
The reality is that Malaysia, no matter how much you try to hide it, is a multiracial, multi-religious society. Creating a one-race, one-religion government is never a good idea. Until the Malay establishment accepts this reality, Malaysian politics will continue to decay until it reaches a point of no return. – The Vibes, August 11, 2021
James Chin is professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania. He recently gave the inaugural Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore Studies Group (MSB) Lecture Series on the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s New Economic Policy, the world’s longest social engineering programme
UMNO was never the First Among Equals. They were The One and Only First. The rest: MCA, MIC, Gerakan were Pengikuts.
ReplyDeleteIni Kali Lah.
ReplyDeleteRestore the Will of The Rakyat in GE14. Except the Toonsie part...ha ha ha....
James Chin is dreaming if he thinks the Malay establishment will concede on Ketuanan Melayu Islam.
ReplyDeleteThey will not admit that the racist Ketuanan Melayu Islam is a failure and will lead to ultimate ruin. It wiuld not surprise me that these racists would love to see the nons leave Malaysia so that there is only 1 race and 1 religion in the country.