S Thayaparan
“Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.”
COMMENT | Every year since I started writing for Malaysiakini all those years ago, I have put forward my top five newsmakers and news stories list.
With the ascension of Anwar Ibrahim to the throne of Putrajaya, it would seem that Malaysia’s next year is as perilous as years went by.
A virulent strain of fascism personified by Perikatan Nasional and led by PAS threatens to destroy the failing democratic structures of this country.
Whether PN succeeds depends on how committed and how agile this unity government is when it comes to policy and messaging but more importantly how much an already disillusioned Pakatan Harapan base can stand when it comes to the compromises needed to navigate the treacherous terrain of ketuanism.
Furthermore, this unity government has to deal with the machinations of not only the deep Islamic state but political operatives from within, who will attempt to leverage their support for personal gain or destroy Harapan in the hopes of finding favour in a theocratic regime.
My top five newsmakers reflect the politics of race and religion and how this will dominate the next year.
The next year is going to be dominated by worldwide post-pandemic economic vagaries and a war in Europe which threatens not only Western hegemonic interests but closer to home a flailing China which will provide ample opportunity for the anti-democratic forces in this country to make their plays.
A storm is coming and this old sailor’s advice to Harapan is not to try to circumvent the storm but to sail through it. Here are the top five in no particular order.
Abdul Hadi Awang
The politically incorrect face of Islam in this country, Hadi has made it very clear with electoral legerdemain, the political landscape in this country could be changed forever which would advantage this Islamic party. That was the goal of hooking up with Umno and Bersatu.
“Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.”
- José Ortega y Gasset
COMMENT | Every year since I started writing for Malaysiakini all those years ago, I have put forward my top five newsmakers and news stories list.
With the ascension of Anwar Ibrahim to the throne of Putrajaya, it would seem that Malaysia’s next year is as perilous as years went by.
A virulent strain of fascism personified by Perikatan Nasional and led by PAS threatens to destroy the failing democratic structures of this country.
Whether PN succeeds depends on how committed and how agile this unity government is when it comes to policy and messaging but more importantly how much an already disillusioned Pakatan Harapan base can stand when it comes to the compromises needed to navigate the treacherous terrain of ketuanism.
Furthermore, this unity government has to deal with the machinations of not only the deep Islamic state but political operatives from within, who will attempt to leverage their support for personal gain or destroy Harapan in the hopes of finding favour in a theocratic regime.
My top five newsmakers reflect the politics of race and religion and how this will dominate the next year.
The next year is going to be dominated by worldwide post-pandemic economic vagaries and a war in Europe which threatens not only Western hegemonic interests but closer to home a flailing China which will provide ample opportunity for the anti-democratic forces in this country to make their plays.
A storm is coming and this old sailor’s advice to Harapan is not to try to circumvent the storm but to sail through it. Here are the top five in no particular order.
Abdul Hadi Awang
The politically incorrect face of Islam in this country, Hadi has made it very clear with electoral legerdemain, the political landscape in this country could be changed forever which would advantage this Islamic party. That was the goal of hooking up with Umno and Bersatu.
I always warned that the youth vote would favour PAS and to a lesser extent the newly formed Malay uber alles splinter groups.
PAS propagandists had told me they welcomed the youth vote believing the decades of religious indoctrination by the religious bureaucracy would bear fruit. And so it came to be.
If you look at the history of Islam in Malaysia, all it has been about is political operatives in cahoots with religious zealots to subvert religion, to further agendas which are anathema to democratic principles.
Anwar Ibrahim
Finally, after decades of being out in the cold and treachery from within, Anwar is the prime minister of Malaysia. He helms the good ship Malaysia in perilous times.
Anwar runs a government that is bereft of Malay support in terms of voting share.
Say what you like about Anwar’s so-called lust for power, but there have always been political operatives who have stood in his way using legitimate – but most often illegitimate – means to hamper his democratic right to assume the highest office in the land.
If Anwar and Harapan remain disciplined and provide a policy in which the Malay benefit after decades of Malay uber alles rule, he could be the Malay leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad always envisioned himself as.
This is not about not spooking the Malays. This is about spooking the Malay elites.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
How long will Zahid forestall an Islamic takeover of this country and what will it take to keep him happy?
Keep in mind that using Zakir Naik’s religious interpretations, Muslims can be led by corrupt Muslim leaders, and even though PN and PAS are going on about how corrupt Harapan is for taking in such leaders, who knows what deals can be made?
Zahid made the biggest gamble of his career when he rolled the dice on a general election and it blew up spectacularly in his face. But he also forestalled the theocratic takeover of this country when he dashed the hopes of Hadi.
The current DPM may think it is God's will that this unity government exists but even as you read this there are moves being made to destabilise not only Zahid but the Harapan government.
The big question next year will be how much pressure can the cabal led by Zahid stand before it folds from the machinations of Umno elites who want to make deals with theocrats.
Siti Kasim
Siti didn’t lose in this election. The people who lost are those of us who believe that Malaysia is a secular democracy and extremist ideologies have to be battled by Muslims and their allies.
Siti remains one of the most strident if not the most strident voices against the theocratic takeover in this country.
Understand this, the reason why the mainstream political establishment – which includes Harapan – fears people like Siti, is because they are afraid more Muslims would think like her and demand more from their government and less from their religion.
In an interview I did with Siti, she said: “You have no hope of engaging with them. These are people who are indoctrinated with radical Islamism. The teachings, the mentality of which is no different from that of Talibanism and ISIS terrorists.
“Only Taliban and ISIS terrorists will sanction others for being different from them. The only difference between them and the Taliban and ISIS is that they have no power or weapons to carry out their threats. When they have those, the country will be torn asunder.”
Charles Santiago
I have no idea why the DAP would choose to drop Charles but at this moment, if you are a Harapan supporter, you would feel better if Charles was in play as an MP instead of whoever they chose to replace him. If you do not feel this way, this says a lot about the average DAP supporter.
Charles is a reminder that there will probably be more collateral damage on the road to building this neo-BN Malaysia or at least keeping this Malaysia going for Anwar’s full term.
It remains to be seen if the DAP can continue losing people like Charles while the “stars” of the party carry on peddling their bromides that distract from the war on the ground, which people like Charles were familiar with.
At a time when the ruling government is, shall we say, compromised in more than one, what is needed are people like Charles and Ronnie Liu, to speak truth to power even though it may cause distress to the ruling elite.
As I wrote here - Maybe it is a good thing that Charles and some of the others are out of the picture because what we have learnt if we are paying attention is that partymen eventually become Yesmen.
Merry Christmas, Malaysia.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
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