Muhyiddin mirrors Umno’s dilemma — Ooi Kee Beng
APRIL 2 — The shocking and defiant statement made recently by Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that he identified himself more with his race than his nationality reveals the difficulties that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) faces.He was responding to opposition stalwart Lim Kit Siang’s challenge to him to state whether he was Malay first or Malaysian first.
First, Muhyiddin was making a public statement with both eyes on his own effective audience, which was not the imaginary Malaysian, but the imaginary Malay. This is clear from his fearful caveat that if he said he was Malaysian first and Malay second, “All the Malays will shun me … and it’s not proper”. He was hinting that his statement was not an honest one; just a politically expedient one.
Here lies the crux of the matter. Many leaders of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) have for decades been appealing to their own low opinion of what the Malay ground feels.
This perception is kept alive partly by Umno’s need to convince the Malay community that it is basically a helpless lot that needs eternal party protection, and partly by the gap that has opened up between the Umno leadership and the changing Malay community.
The notion that the Malays are in danger of disappearing is the bogeyman that Umno’s leadership seems to have trouble discarding. Despite — perhaps because of — the fact that young Malay voters are showing increasing support for opposition Malay-led parties that avoid mention of racial exclusivism, some leaders in Umno are moving to fill the vacuum opening up at the other end.
Ever since Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad put into words his understanding of the historical, political, social and even genetic weaknesses that faced the Malay community at large in his 1970 book, “The Malay Dilemma”, and followed throughout his period in power by regular criticism of Malay shortcomings as he saw them, a convention of orientalising “the Malay community” has been sustained as a basic part of Umno rhetoric.
So in that sense, Muhyiddin, having lived his whole life within that tradition, was merely responding as an archaic Umno leader imagines he has to, given the orientalised Malay his party has entertained as its perceived and eternal audience.
The deputy prime minister had understandably also forgotten that Umno controls only a third of the Parliament. It holds power because it has non-Malay allies from the peninsula and northern Borneo. The BN’s raison d’être — often forgotten by its own members — is after all the creation of a Malaysian identity through participation of all races represented through its own members.
That is what Vision 2020 is.
Why the BN suffered bad losses two years ago was of course exactly the growing impunity with which Umno ignored its non-Malay allies and the sentiments of the non-Malay Malaysians.
And the reason why the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) is having such trouble trying to regain relevance is because it had for too long publicly avoided challenging Umno’s public show of Malay ethnocentrism.
By stating that he is Malay first, Muhyiddin has basically disqualified himself from the agenda that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has adopted to revive himself, his party and his coalition. This is the notion of 1 Malaysia.
His recently-announced aspirations for Malaysia, couched in admirable words in the first part of his New Economic Model (NEM), are aimed exactly away from the conceptual world that his deputy still inhabits.
Indeed, the choice of words was so well done that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is accusing Mr Najib of stealing ideas from Pakatan Rakyat. The national discourse is obviously moving away from parochialism and racialism.
In the case of the NEM, all eyes are now on how the prime minister intends to translate those beautiful words into effective action that must meet strong resistance within Umno and BN.
If nation building in Malaysia is to succeed, it does not matter where progressive ideas originate from, as long as the goal is to create a harmonious Malaysia that places nationality before race.
I would aim higher. Malaysia can best realise its pluralistic potential if its people can think of themselves, first as sapient humans, then as nationalists, and only after that as narrow parochial beings. — TODAY
* The writer is a Fellow at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.
Comments
written by Mangoop, April 02, 2010
I think most BN ministers, EXCEPT UMNO's, will openly identify themselves as Malaysians first. But unfortunately MCA, MIC, Gerakan and other non-Malay parties will stay silent to avoid forcing UMNO members' stance
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written by aries, April 02, 2010
written by aries, April 02, 2010
The "Katak di bawah tempurung" existence sums it up perfectly well for Muh and all those who are equally katak, whether they are living a cocoon life within the dinosauric UMNO or within the confines of their parochial ethnicity.
The world and times have advanced so far ahead it is unimaginable that people who are supposedly sophisticated and well travelled and exposed could utter and afford archaic and time-arrested views.
Being a leader who has every opportunity to travel far and wide to see the world at close range and meeting peoples of every possible background and identity, he should have no trouble embracing universalism and adopt a stance which reflects common brotherhood among all men.
Alas, Malaysia could only offer a DPM who would play to the narrow racial gallery and sentiment. There is nothing wrong in identifying oneself as a Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan, Orang Asli, or whatever, per se. But to project oneself as such and such for political expediency and to gain popularity and brownie points at the expense of a more inclusive and important national agenda is indeed not only unwarranted and irresponsible but reflects poorly on the leadership qualities which are expected of him.
It appears that Muh is only good at paying lip service.
A leader must be sincere and answerable to the entire nation and not only to a segment which hopefully would gain him votes in elections, and make him look and feel good as their champion.
We need national leaders who are not only "jaguh kampung", but those who could rise above parochiality and communal and religious posturing and positioning.
The world and times have advanced so far ahead it is unimaginable that people who are supposedly sophisticated and well travelled and exposed could utter and afford archaic and time-arrested views.
Being a leader who has every opportunity to travel far and wide to see the world at close range and meeting peoples of every possible background and identity, he should have no trouble embracing universalism and adopt a stance which reflects common brotherhood among all men.
Alas, Malaysia could only offer a DPM who would play to the narrow racial gallery and sentiment. There is nothing wrong in identifying oneself as a Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan, Orang Asli, or whatever, per se. But to project oneself as such and such for political expediency and to gain popularity and brownie points at the expense of a more inclusive and important national agenda is indeed not only unwarranted and irresponsible but reflects poorly on the leadership qualities which are expected of him.
It appears that Muh is only good at paying lip service.
A leader must be sincere and answerable to the entire nation and not only to a segment which hopefully would gain him votes in elections, and make him look and feel good as their champion.
We need national leaders who are not only "jaguh kampung", but those who could rise above parochiality and communal and religious posturing and positioning.
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written by born and bred Malaysian, April 02, 2010
written by born and bred Malaysian, April 02, 2010
I pity any Malaysian who cannot see himself as Malaysian first. I am a Chinese by race but have never considered myself as anything other than Malaysian. Being Chinese is just a matter of genetics but it is not who I am. I am and will always be just Malaysian. That is how I see myself. Is it too much to ask for the leaders of our country to see themselves as Malaysians first and put the country before all else?
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written by swipenter, April 02, 2010
written by swipenter, April 02, 2010
At the end of the day Umno is the enemy of the Malays perpetuating the myth of the malay dilemma. That they are not strong enough to stand on their own two feet without Umno and cannot achieve anything without Umno's protection and patronage; all their successes and achievements are not their own effort and they cannot be somebody without Umno.
written by atsaari, April 02, 2010
Najib is now stuck between 'the rock and a hard place'...except this time they are squeezing towards him!
So, poor Najib, your rhetorical 1Malaysia is finally swinging back at you like a high-speed boomerang with blades. Muhyiddin seems to hold the upperhand here, his quick enough to cash in from Mahathir's moronic venture with the rascist Perkasa and the sentiments of the moronic rascist Malays on the ground. Any attempt from you to go against Muhyiddin will destabilised UMNO and hasten the process of your removal by Muhyiddin as what happened to PakLah. Even your attempt to ignore the issue will definitely potrays a weakling and another lame-duck PM in you. Like the Malay saying "ditelan mati emak, diluah mati bapak"...
I pity you, but I hate it more when you come out with tasteless but nauseating rhetorics.
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written by Reader, April 02, 2010
written by Reader, April 02, 2010
How tribal an you get?!
If you want to be "tribal", never mind. But get off living off other races, ok?
If you want to be "tribal", never mind. But get off living off other races, ok?
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written by lalaman, April 02, 2010
...written by lalaman, April 02, 2010
We will show to Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who will vote for the in the next GE....a Malay Malaysian or a Malaysian (full stop).
written by kopite, April 02, 2010
The gomen is just like a train pulled by 2 locomotive going at the opposite direction. It's sad when gomen spend so much in terms of money and time to promote 1Malaysia and yet..... This coming from the No2 is certainly very worrying. Every time Najib's rating improves, he seems to be sabo..... Susah nak kerja lah ini macam kawan!
No2 is just not fit to be a Malaysian if he doesn't see himself to be one 1st.
