Malaysia
is a divided nation.The grim reality of elusive unity, plagued by
ethnocentric and ethno-religious divisions, is underlined by the
continual existence of fault lines that social anthropologist Shamsul A. B. calls ‘axes of contradictions’.
The stubborn presence of such social cleavages, after half a century of
nationhood, raises the issue of the efficacy of integrative policies
pursued by successive Barisan Nasional (BN: National Front) governments.
Momentarily eclipsed by the modernisation ethos of Mahathir’s Vision 2020 and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s Islam Hadhari (civilisational
Islam), the ‘national unity’ agenda has made a comeback during Najib
Razak’s era since 2009 in the form of his ‘One Malaysia’ (1Malaysia)
scheme.
It
has not been smooth sailing for Najib. It is understandably difficult
for him to admit that the multiple polarisation of Malaysian society was
effected at the hands of none other than his colleagues and former
bosses in the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), let
alone for him to exorcise completely UMNO-linked ghosts of social
fragmentation.
Rising
politically via UMNO and its entrenched system of vested interests,
Najib’s political survival depends on UMNO, whose apparent improvement
in the 13th General Elections (GE13) of May 2013 has lulled its leaders
and members alike into believing that continual UMNO hegemony could be
best brought about by appealing to Malay ethnocentric sentiments.
Najib
in all probability realises that it was UMNO internal politics rather
than opposition attacks that had led to the undoing of his predecessor
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose administration was brutally cut short
following BN’s post-GE12 imbroglio in 2008. Abdullah’s ouster meant that
his pluralist vision of a unified nation driven by enlightened interpretations of religion (as encapsulated in his conception of Islam Hadhari) never tasted success.
While some figures within the UMNO ruling establishment lament with other concerned parties at the growing divide
within the Malaysian populace, Najib’s inability to stem the tide of
UMNO grassroots’ embrace of ethnic exclusivism was made all too clear
during the recent UMNO General Assembly (5–8 December 2013). The
Assembly was preceded by Najib’s launching in September 2013 of a slew
of Bumiputera economic empowerment programmes, which some have opined as the outcome of sustained pressure from the UMNO rank and file, besides being a commensurate reward for the Malays’ support for BN-UMNO in GE13.
The Assembly proper was laced with vociferous statements that make a mockery of 
Najib’s One Malaysia vision. Delegates openly called for, among other things, the replacement of One Malaysia with ‘One Malay’, the denial of Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia
(BR1M: 1Malaysia People’s Assistance Funds) cash entitlements to
opposition party supporters, and the re-orientation of national economic
policies such as those pertaining to government-linked companies to the
advantage of the Malay community.
Najib’s One Malaysia vision. Delegates openly called for, among other things, the replacement of One Malaysia with ‘One Malay’, the denial of Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia
(BR1M: 1Malaysia People’s Assistance Funds) cash entitlements to
opposition party supporters, and the re-orientation of national economic
policies such as those pertaining to government-linked companies to the
advantage of the Malay community.
Reacting to allegations that UMNO’s voices on the ground were dangerously treading on ethnocentrism, Najib meekly denied that UMNO had degenerated
into an overtly racist party. The need for such a denial itself is
indicative of the insular trajectory that the UMNO grassroots are
taking, even while Najib ostensibly calls for Malaysians to become more
globalised. Clearly, after four years at the helm of UMNO, BN and the
nation, all of Najib’s expletives on One Malaysia have failed to strike
chords even among UMNO’s own members, some of whom are unfazed at being labeled ‘racists’ so long as what they perceive as Malay rights are legally protected.
If
Najib cannot put even his own UMNO house in order, what hope does he
have of repairing the country? Not surprisingly, the UMNO-led BN’s
capacity and willingness in healing Malaysia’s societal fragmentation
has been earnestly questioned by informed observers.
Ironically,
the utopia that UMNO has in mind is not even Malay-centric, such that
Najib’s protestations against UMNO’s alleged racist strand is, taken at
face value, tenable. Exclusion from the UMNO-approved body politic is
not based on racial affiliation per se but rather on a skewed
(mis)understanding of what constitutes being Muslim and Malay. A
Malay-Muslim who chooses not to be part of this entity lays himself
vulnerable, in UMNO’s eyes, to accusations of disloyalty and even to
stripping of citizenship — a call often heard in the past few years.
Although
Najib has been strongly urging Malay-Muslims to embrace moderation in
their understanding and practice of Islam, it is UMNO’s grassroots who
have been enthusiastically imbibing Islamist conservatism to the detriment of harmonious ethno-religious relations.
In
the President’s closing speech, exhorting UMNO members to reclaim
popular Islamic ground, Najib unabashedly claimed that it was UMNO who
forked out funds to build mosques and suraus (prayer houses),
only to see them later taken over by anti-UMNO elements. From the top to
bottom of UMNO’s hierarchy, there seems to prevail a widespread sense
of exclusive entitlement to the nation’s coffers and assets.
As
greed multiplies, corruption and ill-gotten gains continue to mar
Malaysia’s economy. Massive sums of money are unlawfully siphoned out of
the country year in and year out, contributing to the downward rating
of Malaysia’s creditworthiness. If all groups are treated as national
stakeholders who deserve to be rewarded for hard work irrespective of
political and ethno-religious affiliations, and readily accept precepts
of One Malaysia out of sincere patriotism, one wonders whether the need
exists at all to transfer wealth to safe havens abroad. Surely something
is wrong somewhere with Najib’s whole national set-up, of which One
Malaysia purportedly serves as an important pillar but looks more like a
spent force today.
Ahmad
Fauzi Abdul Hamid is Associate Professor and Chairman of Political
Science at the School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
This article is a part of an EAF special feature series on 2013 in review and the year ahead.
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