Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
GE13 SPECIAL
Less than one week before Malaysians cast their vote in what is
arguably the most competitive election in history, the campaign has
taken a worrying turn. In what has been part of a no-holds-barred
strategy, the use of fear and division has come to the fore, especially
on the part of the BN. It is thus important to highlight some of
the underlying forces that are being mobilised in this fierce contest
and shed light on the political and economic interests that support
them.Indeed, this election is bringing to the surface many of
the challenges of transforming a political system that has fed on
insecurity. Stoking emotions over religion
With
regular reports of the hudud and ‘kalimah' (Allah) issues supposedly
dividing the opposition featuring prominently in the mainstream press,
and older stalwarts in the opposition being provoked to react often by a
swarm of mainstream media journalists peppering questions to misquote
and take out of context, the aim is to show that the opposition cannot
govern while simultaneously stoking fears of religious marginalisation
across communities. PAS
is continually painted as the harbinger of the dark ages, cutting off
hands and wiping out non-Muslim freedoms. While the DAP is characterised
as an enemy of Islam, which will undercut the position of the religion.
These are very strong negative caricatures that do a disservice to the
complexity of the issues and are just plain wrong.
Everyone
appreciates that there are differences between the Islamist PAS and DAP,
and these differences are part-and-parcel of the reality of the
diversity in the country. Malaysians themselves are divided over
religion, with many Malays supporting the introduction of hudud laws and
others opposing them. Views also differ on the contentious ‘kalimah'
issue. One has to distinguish between the right to have different
beliefs and the introduction of these in government. Pakatan Rakyat's
manifesto is clear that the opposition agrees to support the religious
freedom of all communities and decisions would be made on consensus.
Many devout Muslims also appreciate that the country's moral foundation
needs priority.
Legally, any hudud measure has multiple
obstacles, from the passage from the Royal Council to a two-thirds vote
in parliament. This is not going to happen in today's political context.
As such, the fear provocation is just a political ploy harping back to
early decades of misunderstanding and distrust.
In search of healing
For five years, the opposition parties have worked together to
strengthen their common ground. The Pakatan manifesto is not calling for
the imposition of religious law or taking the rights away from
communities. Rather it is calling for greater introduction of shared
religious principles. The most prominent of these is the
reduction of corruption in the system. It is also calling for honesty
and more transparency. It is searching for healing, with a focus on
justice. We see also the underlying clarion call for common respect and
dialogue across faiths, a practice that only enhances bonds and mutual
understanding.
The overall record of the opposition governments
in office has been to protect faiths and enhance shared principles. One
thing that unites the opposition is the shared interest in forging a
moral compass in governance, where greed, impunity from the law and
religion used to promote division are not the norm. This
is not to say the process will be easy. Anything in life worth fighting
for is never easy. Globally, Malaysia's opposition stands out for
bringing difference together. Arguably, no where in the world has the
bond between secular and Islamists groups been stronger. Nevertheless,
the hudud and ‘kalimah' issues are not going away, and discussions will
continue.
It will take mature leadership to bring the dialogue
away from the polarised simplisitic mantra of the past towards a more
nuanced discourse. This will rest heavily on the skills of younger
leaders from both sides of the political fence. Najib Razak's
government projects itself as a model for multi-ethnic religious
cooperation. Yet, BN has been at the helm of promoting difference, and
its record on religious understanding is mixed at best. Many of the
sensitive issues of religion have been put in cold storage in the wake
of the emotive church bombings in early 2010. Its tactic to woo
the non-Muslim religious institutions has been largely financial, with
money given to repair and construct houses of worship, rather than to
deal with the underlying concerns.
Whoever wins this election,
the fact is that these issues are not going away anytime soon and will
require a more inclusive dialogue for a more robust long-lasting
respectful engagement over religion. Differences over issues is normal,
what is important is how those differences are handled. Mahathirism and racial insecurity
Besides the issue of religion, there has been the open use of racial
insecurity as a means to mobilise voters. The formula is one of old
politics - that of the bygone Mahathir era. Malays have been told their
position is going to be usurped by the Chinese, while the Chinese have
been sent threatening letters suggesting another May 13 riot. DAP
leader Lim Kit Siang continues to be accused of provoking the 1969
riots, even though he was not in Peninsular Malaysia when they happened.
Racial
propaganda based on factual inaccuracies, such as the ‘Tanda Putera'
movie - reportedly standing in the wings of mass public showings and
currently screened in private - has now become so common place that
everything spouted raises questions of credibility.
However,
Malaysia has moved beyond this zero-sum racial paradigm. In numbers, the
Malays supporting the opposition actually outnumber the Chinese,
although a larger share of Chinese support the opposition. Pakatan's
support is multiracial and the ethnic composition of its candidates
highlights that politics is moving beyond race. Mahathir and
Mahathirites such as Ibrahim Ali and Zulkilfli Nordin want to hold it
back, to move Malaysia back in time. The purpose is simple - to hold
onto power. The tactics aim to scare, but where the BN is miscalculating
is that their efforts are being interpreted very differently than in
the past - as a case of sheer desperation rather than genuinely
transformative. Najib's record on 1Malaysia is being seriously
questioned. How much these tactics are seen for what they are, or struck
a cord of doubt will be known in the days ahead. Political economy underbelly
Clearly, Mahathir and his politics aim to protect and extend his
legacy, with little attention to the potential harm they will bring. While the racial and religious cards are blatant, there are other
economic interests at play that are part of this legacy protection.
There are vested business interests seeking to keep the current
government in power. These groups comprised cronies with
government-linked monopolies, those benefiting from special licences,
and the illegal economy that is tied closely to those that might turn a
blind eye for a payoff. These actors are heavily vested in the status
quo and their financial interests and special relationships are tied to
the existing government.
It
is not a coincidence that wealthy tycoons have paid for dinners of
multiple thousands, hosted entertainers at unknown costs, and in some
cases are actually contributing to campaign funds for vote buying as
well as guaranteeing the votes of their employees and distribution
network.
While business interests are always involved in campaign
financing, the scope and form of open involvement in this election is
greater and more direct. The amount of money is also record-breaking,
with lucky draws and prizes galore. Thus, this is not just an
election about the BN, but their economic allies, with many of these
actors conditioned on special access and treatment. Many of these
relationships were forged during the Mahathir era, as his legacy
continues to shape this election. The protection of special interests and issues of race and religion ironically have become drivers of change.
They
are also raising the level of contestation and emotions, which is
spilling over into violence. So far, this election has had the largest
number of reports of intimidation and violence in decades, now over
1,400 incidents and three small bombings. People are nervous as
fear is being sowed openly and threats made. The burden now, more than
ever, rests on the police to investigate and do their job, for leaders
across the divide to look out for the common interest, not
self-interest, and for wisdom and restraint to prevail.
It is essential not to let the past cast a shadow on the country's future. DR
BRIDGET WELSH is associate professor of political science at Singapore
Management University. She is travelling around Malaysia to provide
her GE13 analyses exclusively to Malaysiakini. Bridget can be reached at bwelsh@smu.edu.sg.