Lessons of Afghanistan for Malaysia

Lessons of Afghanistan for Malaysia

Andrew Sia

COMMENT | Blowback. The unintended bad results of political actions. That’s something being discussed a lot for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Is it relevant for Malaysia too?

When America launched its "War on Terror" against Afghanistan in 2001, could it have imagined how it would all end in a chaotic and humiliating withdrawal? Maybe it should have studied its own 9/11 history.

After all, the CIA had supported brutal Muslim warriors called the mujahideen in Afghanistan during the 1980s. A senior official boasted that the plan was to get the Soviet Union bogged down in its own “Vietnam”.

One of the mujahideen was - Osama bin Laden himself, who later turned against the United States in a spectacular example of blowback.

Did the United States go to war to liberate Afghan women? Old photos of 1960s Kabul show that women were already wearing skirts and going to university then. Then came the communist government, who was bad at making money but usually much better at empowering women - just ask the loud, outspoken ladies of China.

But the conservative, rural mujahideen that the US supported didn’t like these liberal urban women. (See old photos here.)



Sadly, the US repeated its old mistake of teaming up with ruthless folks. In 2001, it chose violent Afghan warlords from the Northern Alliance as allies to oust the Taliban.

Human Rights Watch pointed out that persistent abuses by these warlords fuelled widespread resentment and helped the Taliban get new support/recruits.

Here’s another unexpected consequence from the war on terror - the fear mongering against Muslims (and other migrants) of the “war on terror” would serve as fuel for white supremacists and the rise of Donald Trump.

There is a fascinating New York Times (NYT) article entitled 'How Sept 11 gave us Jan 6', with the latter date referring to the storming of the US Congress by mobs who believed that Trump had been “robbed” of the election.

Cracks in Malaysia

Muslims in Malaysia have long been saddened to hear about such bias against their faith from right-wing Americans. But what do they feel when certain leaders spew toxic words against non-Muslims here?

In 2016, the Pahang mufti Abdul Rahman Osman called DAP “kafir harbi” - infidels which Muslims are “allowed” to kill. He was never punished for it. In fact, he’s still the mufti today. How do his words affect the long-term unity and strength of our country?

The Sultan of Pahang, who is the head of Islam in the state, was asked to say something about this, but there is no news report that he did so.

After the fall of BN in 2018, Umno and PAS went on a sustained hate campaign that Pakatan Harapan was a “threat” to Malays/Muslims as it was supposedly “controlled” by the “Chinese/Christian DAP” (haha, can anyone control Dr Mahathir Mohamad?).

Meanwhile, when Sabahans and Sarawakians come to the Klang Valley, they can see all the glorious highways and MRT trains while many in the interior of their states still struggle to get basic roads. Can we blame them if they feel like the step-children of the country?.

All these racial, religious, and regional cracks in our nation are what the Malay proverb calls retak menanti belah. Will they split apart during the next great crisis? For example, if there is a big economic meltdown, will the little embers for East Malaysian independence suddenly start burning brighter? That’s the risk of blowback.

Politicians in many democracies tend to focus mainly on short-term gains. After all, they may be out of office at the next elections. So rather than thinking of their country’s strategic vision over the next 30 years, all too often they prefer to boost their own power and pockets over the next 30 months.

It’s worth recalling that every member of the US Congress (Parliament), both in the House and Senate, voted YES to the war in Afghanistan. Except for one black lady, Barbara Lee of Oakland, California.



Osama bin Laden

But after 20 years, it was Osama bin Laden who actually won the war - after his death - because America hurt itself with the wrong 9/11 responses. This is the verdict of multiple American commentators, be it filmmaker Michael Moore and NYT columnists or even the Brookings Institution, which laments that the US has become “weaker, more divided, and less respected”.

Playing with fire

Do we think that we are stronger than America? What will happen when our small nation of modest means becomes “weaker, more divided, and less respected”? We already have such deep-seated suspicions that a simple disagreement over three pages of Jawi lessons in 2019 could be inflamed into a national crisis.

It’s often said that those who sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind. Short-sighted politicians who manipulate fears and hatreds - both in America or Malaysia - may think that they are “smart”. But they are playing with fire. Even the world’s greatest superpower will weaken when their blue and red camps detest each other.

Hopefully, the latest cooperation between the ruling government and Pakatan Harapan over political reforms will lead us towards some national reconciliation. As the Yang di-Pertuan Agong advised, politicians should not gamble with the country’s future to achieve their own agenda.

But there is another big lesson from Afghanistan - corruption. It’s been said that the real motive for the never-ending war on terror was never about “democracy” and “women’s rights” but about enriching weapons makers.



One big reason for the US defeat was that it condoned high-level corruption. John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said that no one could expect the Afghan forces to fight if their salaries weren’t paid, they didn't have food, and their ammunition and vehicle fuel were stolen by corrupt officials.

The Economist magazine writes that troops were often commanded by politicians’ incompetent relatives. Customs officials, police and clerks routinely demand baksheesh (“tips”).

Afghans soon grew furious at government corruption and more welcoming towards the Taliban. This was the same reason that South Vietnam fell.



It could cost US$100,000 to become a district police chief in Afghanistan. And officials were not interested in curbing crime, but to extort revenue. During the Taliban’s final offensive, the state had grown so corrupt that most of its governors cut deals to switch sides.

We are told that our armed forces are far more competent than that. Yes, I agree. For now. But will cases of dubious submarines, missing jet engines, and controversial helicopters become worse in the future? How will this affect morale?

Actually, we don’t have to wait so long because former inspector-general of police Hamid Bador revealed in March that our police have a “culture of taking money from the bottom to the top”.

So be careful of blowback. Malaysian leaders should learn from Afghanistan when they choose to play with racial politics or allow corruption to fester. These are like termites slowly, silently eating away at our home. If the rot continues, don’t be surprised if something collapses suddenly.