S Thayaparan
Published: Apr 25, 2024 7:36 AM
“Small differences in a system of great power can have enormous consequences.” - Noam Chomsky [Source: Al Jazeera “Upfront” interview]
COMMENT | PSM and Muda are in talks to see if they will field a candidate in the upcoming Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election. If they do field a candidate, it would be an uphill task for an electoral victory.
Partisan interests are entrenched and no doubt even if Muda or PSM wins, they will find their candidate in a hostile environment with establishment parties undermining their every move, even if it means going against the will of the people.
The existential crisis facing the non-Malay/Muslim polity is not that they have no choices but the reality that this polity is not committed to a secular and egalitarian agenda.
This is not only demonstrated in the polity’s allegiance to a political party that arrogantly assumes that it is the gatekeeper to the definition of what it means to be Malaysian but also the so-called adherence to realpolitik when it suits the purposes of this party and its hardcore base.
Published: Apr 25, 2024 7:36 AM
“Small differences in a system of great power can have enormous consequences.” - Noam Chomsky [Source: Al Jazeera “Upfront” interview]
COMMENT | PSM and Muda are in talks to see if they will field a candidate in the upcoming Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election. If they do field a candidate, it would be an uphill task for an electoral victory.
Partisan interests are entrenched and no doubt even if Muda or PSM wins, they will find their candidate in a hostile environment with establishment parties undermining their every move, even if it means going against the will of the people.
The existential crisis facing the non-Malay/Muslim polity is not that they have no choices but the reality that this polity is not committed to a secular and egalitarian agenda.
This is not only demonstrated in the polity’s allegiance to a political party that arrogantly assumes that it is the gatekeeper to the definition of what it means to be Malaysian but also the so-called adherence to realpolitik when it suits the purposes of this party and its hardcore base.
Partisan echo chambers are not reverberating with calls for equality and justice for all but rather crypto-racism and a disdain for anything that would jeopardise the status quo of establishment coalitions. It has gotten worse with the ascension of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to the hot seat in Putrajaya.
Moderate Malays are left to their own devises. If they speak up against religious extremism, there is a good chance they would be sanctioned with Pakatan Harapan in power or disavowed if Harapan was in the opposition.
Maybe if DAP had remained strictly secular instead of attempting to use religion - donning the headscarf, wandering around mosques, remaining silent when moderate Malays were speaking out against the injustice they experienced and enabling religious policies - things would be different. They would have been a foundation to build an alternative. But that time has passed.
All of this does not mean that the base is willing to give up on DAP and Harapan. Keep in mind that the fear of the Green Wave is an extremely potent distraction meant to lull non-Muslims into believing that our secular fundamentals are still strong. It is not.
Why PSM?
I have seen opposition politicians attack PSM while making excuses for other opposition political parties and their own parties who have engaged in behaviour that is corrupt, mendacious, and betrays the principles that the opposition insists they have.
Muda ex-president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan
While the mainstream political coalitions are busy finding easily identifiable “enemies”, what PSM identifies are deficiencies in the system and misguided policies that essentially encourage the working-class Malay base to vote against their long-term interests.
Having said that, PSM would benefit from having an urban-based party like Muda bridging the gap between outlier and mainstream politics.
Muda has demonstrated that, for a young party, it has garnered a percentage of votes that PSM never managed to do. Their messaging, especially using social media, does seem to resonate.
PSM could benefit from the kind of exposure that Muda offers, using social media to highlight issues that PSM has been attempting to garner support for.
Beyond establishment parties
I detest not voting since in a democracy it is the least a citizen can do. But in this instance, boycotting is an option because voting for the establishment coalitions means more or less voting for the enabling of a theocratic state.
PSM and Muda must contest in the Kuala Kubu Baharu polls, even if it means their candidates lose their deposit. Why? Because there is a certain section of the polity that needs options beyond establishment parties and their failed policies and broken promises.
While the mainstream political coalitions are busy finding easily identifiable “enemies”, what PSM identifies are deficiencies in the system and misguided policies that essentially encourage the working-class Malay base to vote against their long-term interests.
Having said that, PSM would benefit from having an urban-based party like Muda bridging the gap between outlier and mainstream politics.
Muda has demonstrated that, for a young party, it has garnered a percentage of votes that PSM never managed to do. Their messaging, especially using social media, does seem to resonate.
PSM could benefit from the kind of exposure that Muda offers, using social media to highlight issues that PSM has been attempting to garner support for.
Beyond establishment parties
I detest not voting since in a democracy it is the least a citizen can do. But in this instance, boycotting is an option because voting for the establishment coalitions means more or less voting for the enabling of a theocratic state.
PSM and Muda must contest in the Kuala Kubu Baharu polls, even if it means their candidates lose their deposit. Why? Because there is a certain section of the polity that needs options beyond establishment parties and their failed policies and broken promises.
While PSM and Muda may get protest votes and I sincerely hope they do, what fielding a candidate does is to specifically wean the non-Malay polity off the addiction to voting for a political party and coalition that is slowly but surely dismantling the secular and constitutional framework of this country.
An example of this would be the recent comments by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar on the progress of Act 355, which would have serious consequences for the fading secular nature of this country.
If you really support change, then you must come to the realisation that alternatives to mainstream political parties are a vital part of that change.
However, if you think that they are just a distraction, then go on supporting political groups that have no incentive to genuinely carry out the reforms that Malaysia desperately needs. They assume they have your vote against a far-right coalition that unfortunately shapes how the coalition government thinks and ultimately the direction of this country.
People have to remember this. If PSM and Muda field a candidate, they would have done their part in the democratic process. If they lose, it would mean that a significant section of the voting polity is still not ready to do its part in safeguarding the secular and constitutional framework of this country.
Win or lose, this is the beautiful struggle.
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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