[ad_1]
Four competing ideologies that took shape after Dr Mahathir Mohamad first came to power are determining the course of Malaysian history.
Tajuddin Rasdi, FMT
This is my first attempt to describe the four competing ideologies that I believe will determine the future of Malaysia. It can be said that these ideologies were formed after Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister.
His 22 years in power have witnessed the rise of Mahathir’s Malay supremacy ideology, Anwar’s Islamic reform ideology, PAS’ theocratic state ideology and DAP’s pragmatic development ideology.
Mahathir fostered a Malay-first development ideology. I think, in fact, he doesn’t care about racial supremacy politics or Malay supremacy ideology at all.
His actions showed that he had no hesitation in destroying UMNO. He never mentioned any past Malay heroes, not even UMNO founder Ong Jaafar.
Mahathir Moment
For Mahathir, Malaysia’s development must be based on strong education, strong technology, a strong work ethic and a strong pragmatism.
His Malay identity is only to achieve his political goal of gaining power: without the Malays, he has no power.
Mahathir believes that democracy must be led by the Malay elite to ensure stability and not be distracted by racial politics.
He was not concerned with culture, heritage or art, but rather with purchasing power, knowledge of the world and maintaining the status of his people through control of religion.
Many non-Malays support this ideology, just as they voted for Mahathir and the Barisan Nasional in both general elections after Anwar was humiliated and imprisoned.
Non-Malays prefer economic stability over showing sympathy for a person’s humanity and fate.
Meanwhile, the Malays support Mahathir because he has strong leadership (even though he has bred corruption), has consolidated power better than anyone else, and has been able to block the advancement of non-Malays that could make Malaysia become like Singapore.
DAP Model
The DAP philosophy simply advocates for a strong institution that is not divided by color or creed, replicating the pure western model of development. In this way, all religions including Islam will be pacified and there will be no extremism that exploits these concepts.
Singapore’s model of control over the press and free speech may also be part of this, as it has been shown to contribute to the republic’s economic and educational success.
PAS Model
The Islamist party, on the other hand, believes in a theocracy with a constitution based on their interpretation of the Quran and Islamic law. A council of clerics or ulema would oversee any laws made by elected representatives; it would probably not operate like the Westminster system.
In the PAS model, non-Malays will be treated as second class citizens, similar to the concept of dhimmi. All cultures must respect Islamic law and there will be no forgiveness.
Anwar Model
At the same time, Anwar proposed a half-Western democratic, half-Islamic model. I think he believed that the West had created a superior culture of education, learning, development and fair management.
What the West lacks is the fear of God and the beautiful values of humanity that transcend cultures and beliefs.
Anwar proposed a vision of Islamic civilizational development in which the best of the West was expressed as a spiritual construct that transcended mere economic or power-driven ambitions.
Anwar wants a Parliament filled with good-hearted Malays who understand the best values of the Prophet and serve the people with the philosophy of worship as service, with God as the ultimate key performance indicator (KPI) measurer.
The DAP model never had a chance to be tested and will never become a reality. For 40 years under Mahathir, the power play of racial politics buried that chance, while religious politics sealed the fate of our political progress.
Mahathir’s “kill switch”
Mahathir’s legacy continues, but with an Islamic twist.
When he defeated Anwar by throwing his former deputy into jail, he stifled the steady progress of the Islamic revival movement led by the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) and the Malaysian Islamic Organization (Ikram), and to a lesser extent the Tablighi and Aqam movements.
There are no more nasyids and “Hal Ehwal Islam” shows on television, and personalities like Baru Hisham and Hassan Ali no longer exist.
Anwar’s progressive vision is to inculcate in the Malays the values of Islam, not just religious rituals: values of justice, kindness and compassion towards all, and a love of critical thinking and acquiring knowledge in universities.
Mahathir’s “stifling” measures have prevented Islamic reforms from advancing in society, hindering the development of critical thinking and interfaith spirit. Universities have become silent and use useless research papers as the new key performance indicator. Critical thinking about Islam and modern life has been stifled.
The rise of Islam
PAS then rose to prominence, and in Anwar’s absence, Abim and Ikram had to work with PAS, as the two non-governmental organizations did not agree with PAS’s theological politics.
The Islamic reform movement was led by professionals, while their enemies were the Ustaz and the religious establishment, who had traditional power but lacked original thinking and adaptation to modern life.
Thus, with the entry of Abim and Ikram professionals, PAS gained new political energy and was given a second political life through Najib Razak before the 2018 general election.
The third generation of reformers
The children of Abim and Ikram leaders grew up to become the third generation of reformists who knew nothing about the original ideas of politics. All they were exposed to was the material form of Islam fostered by these two NGOs.
They also started supporting PAS, which they would not have done before because their parents supported Anwar’s UMNO.
PAS is now playing the religious card, mixed with the Malay card, knocking on the door of power while working with Bersatu and is ready to meet any demands from Sarawak and Sabah politicians so that it can remain in power.
PAS knows that Sabah and Sarawak do not care about the fate of West Malaysia as long as they can rule their own two states, even if it means cooperating with “the devil they are familiar with”.
The rise of the NEP graduates
Another unexpected situation arose when the first and second generation of NEP graduates returned from overseas and took up jobs in government agencies and the private sector.
They constitute the large Malay middle and upper middle class. These people have not supported any form of Islamic reform movement and they are beginning to retire with money in their bank accounts.
When Malays have money, they turn their attention to religion, unlike the Japanese, Chinese, Koreans and Westerners who are keen on traveling around the world. Religion is their salvation, so these retired elderly people have begun to hire more and more Ustaz, often go to mosques to preach, and even listen to religious teachers on YouTube.
Towards PAS rule
Today, conservatively trained ustaz are in great demand and have developed a view that divides Malaysia into haram and halal.
The “halal” people are those who hate alcohol, pray regularly and do the minor pilgrimage regularly. They have no thought of sharing this country with these pagans and unbelievers.
The tone is set through internal teaching and mosque lectures. Institutionalized Friday sermons reject any progressive, reformist ideas about Islam and nation-building, instead promoting a conservative religious ideology that is radically different from the principles of the nation or any spiritual conception that Anwar envisions.
All this will usher in a new era of Islamic Party rule as early as the next general election.
Well, that’s the gist of what I think happened. I have a lot more to say of course, but that’s enough for now. My next post will try to answer these questions: What now? Malaysia, where to go?
[ad_2]
Source link
