25-5-2007_ pg3_2
THE OTHER MALAYSIA: The gilded cage - Farish A Noor
Friday, May 25, 2007
Malaysia may boast of having superior economic and financial
infrastructure
compared to Indonesia and its other ASEAN neighbours, but her wealth has
come at a terrible political cost
It is astounding to see how different and far apart Malaysia and Indonesia
have grown over the past few decades. Historically the two countries were
always part of the same archipelago, sharing a common lingua franca,
common
modes of dress, idioms, customs, social norms, aesthetics, architecture
and
of course a common history. Prior to the advent of Western colonialism
that
tore apart Southeast Asia and gave birth to British Malaya and the Dutch
East Indies, people from both parts of the archipelago would move and
communicate with ease. Since the arrival of Hinduism and Buddhism from
Greater India, the entire Indo-Malay archipelago was seen as an extension
of
the great Hindu kingdoms of the past.
Colonialism introduced the concept of the political frontier and with the
Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1871 the boundary between the two entities was
formalised. But even then there was nothing that could keep the peoples of
Malaya and the East Indies apart: the volume of trade between the Malay
Peninsula and Java and Sumatra was so great that it amounted to a
sub-regional economy of its own.
Since the 20th century, however, the two countries have grown apart thanks
to historical variables of their own. Indonesia's independence came
earlier
in 1945 thanks to the labours of the Indonesian nationalists led by
Sukarno
and Hatta. Malaysia's own independence came more than a decade later, but
thanks to the negotiations between the Malay aristocrats rather than the
sacrifice of the Malayan nationalist militias who fought a guerrilla war
in
the countryside.
Since then, both countries have been grappling with the problematic of
writing postcolonial histories of their own. In Indonesia the rupture of
the
democratic process occasioned by the failed coup of 1965 led to the rise
of
the Indonesian military and the rule of General-turned- President Suharto,
who ruled the country with an iron fist for more than three decades. Yet
following his downfall in 1998, Indonesia has witnessed an unprecedented
revival of democracy in no uncertain terms: the flowering of more than 50
new political parties; the launching of dozens of new newspapers all over
the land; the growing demands from local student movements, political
parties, NGOs, and the media. Everyone is asking for more transparency and
accountability.
At present Indonesia hosts several truth and reconciliation commissions.
Former politicians and generals from the armed forces like General Wiranto
have been called to testify to their role during the invasion and
annexation
of East Timor in 1974 and to account for the actions of Indonesian troops
there till 1999. Furthermore enquiries have already begun into the killing
of Indonesian students from Trisakti University in Jakarta in 1998, which
led to the revolt against Suharto. Another enquiry is still going on about
the alleged role of security services in the murder of prominent human
rights activist Munir, who was poisoned while on a flight to Amsterdam.
Nothing, it seems, can protect the powerful in Indonesia any longer; and
though the enquiries and trials have been slow, they have at least been
public in nature.
Compare the situation in Indonesia to neighbouring Malaysia, where the
very
notion of a Truth Commission may taste like poison to some. Over the past
few years the anti-corruption campaign of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi has gotten nowhere. Despite the fanfare and promises before he took
office, none of the major cases of corruption, nepotism or abuse of power
has made the headlines or reached the courts.
The latest example of this Ostrich-like reaction to bury the government's
head in the sand came with the publication of a book on the race riots of
1969 by Malaysian academic and activist Dr Kua Kia Soong. Based on
research
done on declassified documents released in London, Dr Kua's book suggests
that the infamous race riots that took place in 1969 were not - as
official
history books tell us - spontaneous and random events, but rather
orchestrated.
The declassified documents in London merely confirmed what many Malaysians
had suspected for decades, that the May 1969 riots involved leading
personalities of the ruling UMNO party, the same party that Prime Minister
Badawi leads today. Now the state has acted: copies of the book have been
taken from stores, awaiting further investigation. Once again, Malaysia
has
turned its back on a problematic but important episode of its history.
The difference between Indonesia and Malaysia today is perhaps greater
than
ever. Who would have thought, that the country that had endured three
decades of military rule under Suharto would now be hosting truth
commissions and bringing generals and politicians to court?
Malaysia, on the other hand, may boast of having superior economic and
financial infrastructure compared to Indonesia and its other ASEAN
neighbours, but her wealth has come at a terrible political cost. Glitzy
and
glamorous Malaysia may seem to the outsider, yet the bedazzling cityscape
of
this country in denial feels more and more like the proverbial gilded
cage.
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Prof Farish A Noor is currently visiting professor at UIN Sunan Kalijaga,
Jogjakarta and is one of the founders of the www.othermalaysia. org
website
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