Something from Malaysia

It seems that Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Malaysia's new PM, begins his office aiming for a big change.

Let me put into points; 

1) He will tackle the country's most controversial law, the Internal Security Act (ISA). This law allows detention without trial. He said the law needs to be reviewed. 

2) According to the law revision, 13 detainees will be released. These detainees are activists, members of political movements, or they were accused of something. Some of the detainees are leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), which raises vioce for the Indian minority in Malaysia.

 

3) He has lifted 3-month ban on the two opposition newspaper. 

Sure, this can be seen as nothing but a propaganda building up government's credibility. But if we are to be optimistic enough, we can see that what seems to be an important issue for this new PM is freedom of expression. 

According to the news, he said "It must be a government with new approaches for new times - a government that places a priority on performance because the people must come first" 

This might relect something to Malaysia's neihbour. 

"THE PEOPLE MUST COME FIRST" - A slogan of the Democrat Party, Thailand's political party. But how has this slogan been practiced? 

Let me put into points;

1) Not only one of the most controversial law of the country, the Lese Majeste, has been untouched, there is a potential to increase penalty on such law. Recently, Suwicha Thakor is going to jail for 10 years on Lese Majeste. Also, an Australian journalist has a lot to tell when he was in prison due to the same accusation. (New Mandala host a campaign on LM's reform in which you could find a lot of details) 

2) Prachatai.com, an alternative online newspaper, was raided and the editor, Khun Chiranuch, was arrested and charged with computer crime act (the news is here and a reflection is here). 

3) The Rohingya incident was still in public scrutiny, but not much has been done, only lip service from Thailand's PM. 

In terms of freedom of expression and human rights problems, I see Malaysia is hoping to get back on track. 

Parallel politics

I think Thai and Malay politics today have something in common. 

Situations show the struggle of power between two groups; those who tried to secure interests (because they feel threatened) and those who ask for a share, if not a replacement, of power. 

The problem is a classic: Resources are limited, so everybody must fight for it. 

Events in Thailand illustrate that the fundamental power is still strong (some scholars call it "bureaucratic polity", which I think quite problematic in the current context). The former PM - who now bases in London - is a good example. The consevative force support those who align themselves closely with it. However, it seems that the conservative force changed its appearance in many ways. (bluntly, it knows how to spend the money and spend it well!) 

This situation is reflected from Thai history when power could not be easily decentralized.

In Malaysia, the UMNO seem to have quite a problem because it does not hold as strong power as it used to. The development of parliamentary system is working in Malay politics this time.  UMNO does not have too many methods to secure popularity like the fundamental power in Thailand does. It is interesting to see how Anwar's parliamentary means will work this time. 

 Malaysia will experience a change in politics way sooner than Thailand.

Ps. Those who are interested in Southeast Asian literature and living in Thailand, go to see the introduction of Southeast Asian writers at the Thai National Library, Fri 26 Sept, 2pm 

  

Malaysia Election Result

Here is the election result in Malaysia, 8 March 2008 :

The Barisan Nasional (BN) has lost 2/3 majority in parliament. It recieved less votes; 137 out of 222 seats, less than 62 per cent.

Despite that, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says that he will not resign. Instaed, he will try to strengthen UMNO again. Today he has sworn as PM.

It is interesting that, this is the worst election result for UMNO since Malaysia's independence in 1957. It shows that Malaysians want something new for the country.

The result shows that the people from periphery are feeling upset with UMNO, which I think its priority is on central area of the peninsular.

Maybe this is a turn of Malaysia politics. And the decline of UMNO as the dominate party.

What about the minorities?

Protest in Kuala Lumpur

Of course, unrest in Kuala Lumpur at the moment is not surprising. If Furnivall's 'Plural Society' is something applicable for this situation, I would say that we can expect a lot more protest like this across the region.

'People at the interstices' became a hot topic in many Southeast Asian countries, regardless whether they were colonized or not. As far as democarcy concerns, voices from the margin has to be put into focus for every "elected" governments in the region.

For example, the growing strength of civil societies in Thailand indicates that 'small- people' have gained more attention from policy makers and they can form a strong front to negotiate with the state. I argue that analyses from some scholars that Thai democracy went backward to the pre-1932 era are not fully correct. This is because the fruit from the development of democracy is the formation of strong civil societies as we can see today.

Malaysian politics is more or less shaped by the British rule since the 19th century. The division of races is a result of how the colonial administration managed its colony. This perception was inherited to many Malay politicians. The most apparent can be seen in Mahatir's The Malay Dilemma.

My purpose is not to find someone to blame. Instead, if we try to understand the cause of certain social phenomena in history, we might find a chance not to step on our own footprint again,

even though it happens all the time.