obama and malaysia

my two favourite online news portal, malaysiakini and the malaysian insider, carried an article on the parallel between the US elections/obama and malaysia. i like both articles. they are more or less what i wanted to voice out too but since i’m not so articulate and profilic, i’ll just CnP the articles here. (cartoon you see here is zunar’s cartoon, which can be found in malaysiakini).

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Malaysiakini
Obama: What he means to us
by Ong Kian Ming

Barack Obama is now the president-elect of the United States after running a long and gruel race, firstly by defeating Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries and then defeating John McCain in the presidential elections.

That this presidential race was historically monumental cannot be questioned. The United States would have either voted for its first black president or its first woman vice-president. This presidential race has received unprecedented public attention not just among the American public but also from the rest of the world.

That most Malaysians were supporting Obama is not surprising. But given Obama’s diverse and colourful background, it is also not surprising that different Malaysians were supporting Obama for different reasons.

It is also very probable that many Malaysians select aspects of Obama’s story which they can relate with and ‘tune out’ those aspects which they might not necessarily agree with. This prompts the question, on my part at least, of what lessons from Obama’s candidacy and campaign Malaysians have selectively learnt from and what this may mean for politics in our country moving forward.

It is likely that most Malaysians supported Obama at least partly because they were sick and tired of the ‘bullying’ and seemingly arrogant way in which George W Bush conducted his foreign policy. But it is also likely that many Malay Malaysians were especially angered by Bush’s wars on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq which were linked, psychologically at least, to a larger war against Islam.

Barack, with his middle name of Hussein, his Muslim Kenyan father, his Indonesian step-father and part of his childhood spent in Jakarta, would surely offer a foreign policy that would be friendlier to Muslims countries around the world, certainly compared to Bush, and probably compared to John McCain.

For non-Malay Malaysians, their support for Obama was largely influenced by the thought that a minority can rise to the position of the highest office in the land in the most powerful country in the world, perhaps hoping for a parallel in our own country. For some, more well-informed Chinese Malaysians, they might have been encouraged by the fact that Obama’s sister-in-law is married to a Chinese Canadian, whose parents were originally from Malaysia.

We see what we want to see

But both sides miss important aspects of Obama’s candidacy and campaign which may clash with their particular worldviews.

It is probable that many Malays who celebrate Obama’s victory over his white opponent and who are hopeful for a more accommodating foreign policy towards Muslims countries would not even entertain the possibility of a non-Malay becoming the prime minister of Malaysia (or perhaps the chancellor of a public university or the head of a state-owned or government-linked company).

It is also probable that many Malays conveniently ignore the fact that Obama has made a firm commitment to the defense of Israel and its policies including supporting the indivisibility of Jerusalem, a position which even the Israelis themselves are willing to put on the negotiating table. (Also conveniently forgotten is the fact that under certain theological interpretations, Obama is effectively an apostate).

At the same time, non-Malays who are hoping that Malaysia can move towards a similar path of having a minority prime minister conveniently ignore the fact that Obama has much more in common with the ‘majority’ in the United States that the minorities in Malaysia.

It is very doubtful that Obama would have gotten as far as he has gotten if he were a Muslim instead of a Christian or if he came across as speaking from the perspective of his race instead of his more inclusive language or if he did not have the experience of growing up in with his white grandparents and his white mother.

The Malaysian equivalent of Obama would be a Chinese Muslim who is fluent in BM, grew up with adopted Malay parents in Kelantan, got his undergraduate degree from a Malaysian public university and then went on to get his Masters from Oxford or Cambridge.

Those who have tracked Obama’s campaign from the beginning could not help but notice that Obama stayed purposefully away from issues of race. Again, the equivalent of this in Malaysia is for a non-Malay leader of a major party in Malaysia not to bring up the issue of the NEP if his or her party has aspirations to be the leading party of the governing coalition.

By projecting their own aspirations onto Obama, Malaysians of different races may be in danger of conflating their expectations of the impact of an Obama presidency and what it means for Malaysia.

Lessons for Malaysia

This is not to say that the Obama campaign does not hold valuable lessons for Malaysians and for Malaysian politics. There are ideals espoused in this campaign which Malaysia can realistically aspire to.

Firstly, while Obama’s racial identity was of historical importance, it was not featured in the rhetoric and arguments put forth by both sides. Political norms in the United States have matured to a level where explicit race-baiting is no longer an acceptable means of campaigning.

Trent Lott, a former Mississippi senator, had to resign from his position as the Senate majority leader after making remarks which seemed to praise the racially exclusivist position of Strom Thurmand, a former senator noted for his segregationist and racist views.

It is likely that McCain would not have survived his political campaign if he had made explicitly racist sentiments against Obama or ethnic minorities in the US. It is noteworthy that McCain purposefully stayed away from bringing up the issue of Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s former pastor who gained controversy by making many ‘anti-American’ statements from the pulpit.

But this kind of racial rhetoric can be found in healthy doses in Malaysian politics. It is still politically acceptable for certain groups in Malaysia to question the citizenship of minorities or to publicly use phrases and words which are deemed offensive on the part of minorities in the country.

It would do the country much good if political parties could move away from the racist rhetoric and to debate the policy differences based on more substantive grounds. Of course, one can argue that one man’s supposedly racist rhetoric can often be interpreted as legitimate on the grounds of free speech or political rhetoric. But there needs to be differentiation in the content of these speeches.

For example, it should be politically unacceptable to say that ‘All Malays or Chinese or Indians are XXX’ (insert preferred derogatory term) in a public setting but one should be able to legitimately question whether the NEP is enshrined within the constitution or to what extent does Islam being the religion of the country imply that Malaysia is an Islamic state or if Chinese or Tamil schools are detrimental for national unity.

The second aspect of the Obama campaign which may realistically come to fruition in Malaysia is how he managed to build a broad-based coalition of seemingly different groups based on an ideal of how a nation (or part of a nation) can come together to effect genuine change in that country. Obama mobilised and inspired young voters like few US politicians could ever hope to achieve. He drew in ethnic minorities and more educated white, middle-class voters into his ‘big tent’.

One may argue that Malaysian politics already had this kind of broad-based coalition in the form of BN. And indeed, for many years, the BN has managed to deliver stability and economic growth for all Malaysians. But for many of these years, the BN has managed the country partly by playing on the fears of Malaysians, that there would be ethnic strife and economic instability if the BN was not in charge. Obama, on the other hand, built his broad-based coalition on the ideals of hope and change for a better future.

A local equivalent to Obama?

While the equivalent of an Obama has yet to make an appearance on the public stage in Malaysia, there are a few politicians out there who are genuinely trying to appeal to possible higher aspirations in the country where our racial identities can be somewhat transcended and a better and more hopeful country can be built on principles of equality, justice and mutual respect.

For all his shortcomings, Anwar Ibrahim is probably the politician who has pushed the barriers furthest in terms of giving Malaysians a glimpse of future possibilities rather than being mired in the current model of racial ‘tolerance’ and grudging respect which currently exists in the polity.

Anwar, since 1999, has been refashioning a new coalition of sorts under PKR as well as under the larger umbrella of Pakatan Rakyat, by appealing to all Malaysians who are sick of the manner in which power has been abused, corruption tolerated and human rights trampled under the governing party.

His coalition of non-Malays, urban Malays, many of them middle-class and yearning for a post racial vision for the country, was partly responsible for PKR’s astounding electoral performance in the March elections.

Another Malay politician who has been making similar strides in the direction of redefining political rhetoric is Zaid Ibrahim who, despite being an Umno leader in a state which is more than 90 percent Malay, has been much more vocal in his writings and his public remarks, compared to his other Umno colleagues from more ethnically heterogeneous states, in expressing the need for a new kind of politics in Malaysia.

That he would step down from his position as a minister in the cabinet partly because of his principled stance against the Internal Security Act, prompted by the decision to arrest a senior Chinese DAP leader, Teresa Kok, under the ISA, is certainly laudable and perhaps gives us a glimpse of what Malaysia can look like in the future.

Ironically, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi could have been the PM that had the genuine support and affection of Malaysians across the board if he had only implemented some of the many promises he made just before his historic electoral victory in 2004.

Malaysia is not the United States, in so many ways. But this doesn’t mean that Malaysians cannot or should not aspire to have the same kinds of ideals expressed in the Obama campaign that was partly rooted in the aspirations of the foundation fathers of America. The vision of America as a place where every child, regardless of race or religion, can aspire to the highest office in the land is surely one which we can all support.

Perhaps after many years of the ‘same old politics’, it is time for Malaysia to work towards a ‘change we can believe in’. If this were to happen, it would affect Malaysians of all races and religions in many more ways that Obama’s candidacy and campaign.

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ONG KIAN MING is a PhD candidate in political science at Duke University.

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The Malaysian Insider
In US elections, some parallels in Malaysia
by Brian Yap

NOV 6 – Four years after the world ridiculed the United States for re-electing George W Bush, the most powerful nation on earth more than redeemed itself by decisively putting an articulate, intellectually curious and inspiring president in the White House.

After decades of steering America dangerously to the right, the Republican party suffered a rejection that will leave it in the wilderness for the foreseeable future.

Finally, the dominance of conservatism has come to a screeching halt, leaving the Republican party, the party of the Christian right, trickle-down economics and hawkish foreign policy in disarray.

It was, in a sense, the American version of our 8 March political tsunami.

So of course, there are parallels that can be drawn, and lessons we can learn.

Like Umno and the Barisan Nasional, the Republican party of today has become a party that thrives on fear and division. It was red state versus blue state, small town versus big cities.

Barack Obama is not a patriotic American, they argued. He has Hussein for a middle name, and is a closet Muslim.

He’s an elitist.

Or a socialist.

If Obama was Malaysian, he’d probably be accused by Umno of being a traitor to his race, an agent of the Jews and an American puppet.

And it would probably still work.

But the Illinois senator’s triumph shows that when people become more educated and informed, they become less susceptible to fear, and more secure about their economic and political situation, as well as their cultural and religious beliefs.

That is why I believe politicians whose platform consists of racial supremacy depend on keeping Malaysians ignorant. Maybe that also explains the state of our education system.

But Umno needs to realise that if it continues to pander to the extreme elements of society, it too will one day become like the Republicans today, a party on the fringe. It’s a lesson it should have learnt after 8 March, but clearly didn’t.

The resounding Democratic victory also offers lessons for Pakatan Rakyat parties: Don’t accept conventional wisdom as gospel. The American electoral map has largely been static for the past few decades-some states are solidly Republican, others Democrat.

The ones that can go either way, swing states, then become the focus of both candidates.

But something interesting happened with the Obama campaign. He decided to challenge the status quo, spending time and money on solid Republican states, matching his rhetoric that there is no blue or red America.

It paid off, and the US electoral map, which has its roots in the Civil War, has finally been redrawn. Obama even managed to win Virginia, the former capital of the pro-slavery Confederacy, which has never voted for a Democratic president since 1964.

Imagine DAP winning in Terengganu, and you get an idea of how implausible that victory was.

Part of Obama’s success, I believe, comes from the courage of his convictions. For too long, the Republicans have portrayed the US as a centre-right nation, leaving the left-leaning Democrats always on the defensive about its beliefs.

Unsurprisingly, the party was viewed by many of its own supporters as spineless. Plus, backtracking doesn’t inspire confidence in those you’re trying to win over either.

But Obama dared to voice his opposition to the Iraq war when it was considered anti-American to do so. When the war became unpopular, his dissent became proof of his good judgement instead.

Pakatan should bear this in mind when facing its political enemies. If Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim feels that appointing Low Siew Moi is the right thing to do, he should unapologetically make the case to the Malay community.

The softening of his position simply gives credence to his opponents’ call for racism to triumph common sense.

At the same time, it weakens the support from those who want an end to the cancer that is racial politics.

If Pakatan truly wants to make Malaysia a more inclusive, progressive nation, it needs to courageously convince the Malay community that it only stands to benefit.

Zaid Ibrahim’s recent speech on ketuanan Melayu was so powerful because he refused to mince words on what he believes is true.

Of course, not all Malaysians will accept transformation. But the world is changing, and Malaysia is no exception.

The US elections marked a generational shift, as a new generation of voters joined the electorate, many of them inspired by Obama’s candidacy. His campaign made registering new voters a priority, and appealed to the young by talking about relevant issues like jobs, technology and global warming.

The campaign also used 21st century tools like the Internet and mobile phones to not only disseminate information, but also to mobilise, organise and raise funds.

These are all ideas that Pakatan parties can emulate. Older Malaysians are stuck in their ways, but the younger generation is less weighed down by the baggage of history.

And young Malaysians, if there’s anything to learn from the Obama victory, it is that you can make history, that the future isn’t destined to be a repeat of the past.

Unsurprisingly, the Obama victory has made minorities in Malaysia wonder if a non-Malay can ever become Prime Minister.

This, I believe, is a silly question to ask.

Instead, we should be wondering if we have produced a leader who can connect with the majority Malay Muslim population and win enough support from the community.

Someone who inspires all young Malaysians to get involved. Someone who appeals to our hopes and dreams not our fears.

Someone who breaks the racial barrier while making race a non-issue.

Because that’s what Barack Obama did. Until we produce a leader like that, I think the question is moot.