Farish A. Noor
Sectarianism, be it on the grounds of race, culture, language or
religion, can only be divisive in the long run. The sad litany of
human history shows that religion can and has been used as a dividing
factor that has torn many a society apart, and this is true of all
religions and belief systems worldwide. One only needs to look at the
process of Balkanisation that took place in Eastern Europe to see how
Religion has been instrumentalised and manipulated by sectarian
politicians to amplify the centrifugal forces of a plural society
like Bosnia's, and how that eventually led to all-out civil conflict
along religion and cultural lines.
Politicians of course are fully aware of the divisive potential of
sectarian politics, so why do they constantly fall back on such
parochial and primordial sentiments such as racial, cultural and
religious loyalty to serve their own limited ends? Weighing the costs
of such moves may point us to the simple conclusion that sectarian
politicians seldom care about the unity and well-being of the nation
as a whole, particularly when that nation happens to be a complex and
plural one in the first place. More often than not, the demagogues
and chauvinists among us would be more inclined to keep to their own
narrow corners and seek solace and support from their own respective
communities.
These observations should hardly come as news to Malaysia-watchers in
particular, for we all know by now that Malaysia's convoluted 50-year
history has been one dominated and almost entirely determined by the
logic of racial compartmentalism and communitarianism. Every single
leader who has climbed up the greasy pole of power in the country has
done so by playing the race - and now increasingly, religion - card
close to his chest. It should therefore come as even less of a
surprise that there is now talk of forming a Malaysian Muslim
Workers' Union (PPIM) in the country, as if Malaysian society was not
divided enough already.
Over the past two years the country has witnessed the emergence of
around a dozen now religion-based NGOs and civil society
organisations, most of them appealing to Malaysian Muslims in
particular. While there used to be universalist, inclusive
organisations that brought together Malaysians of various racial and
professional background like factory workers, labourers, lawyers,
businesspeople, professionals etc. we now see the emergence of
organisations that cater to the interests of Muslims primarily and
exclusively. The PPIM is just the latest nail in the coffin of
Malaysia's failed attempts towards pluralism and multiculturalism,
and should it come to pass then it would mean that yet another
neutral public space in the public domain has been lost. Why was
there ever a need for the PPIM in the first place, when surely the
Malaysian Trade Unions organisation (MTUC) was there to unite all the
workers of Malaysia under a common universal basis of shared
collective class interests?
Two factors need to be taken into consideration here:
The first is the fact that since the late 1960s Malaysian society has
witnessed the instrumentalisation of religion - and in particular
Islam - by right-wing communitarian politicians and activists who
sought to mobilise Muslims as a bloc vote and political constituency.
It began with sectarian organisations like ABIM and other Muslim
students groups on campus that sought to introduce their brand of
'Islamisation from below', and whatever radical impact they could
have had - by rejecting Western economic-political-military hegemony
across the world, for instance - was compromised by their own limited
sectarian and exclusive worldview that was equally hegemonic in its
ambitions. In time the potential of such groups was compromised as
their leaders and members were co-opted by the ruling elite; the co-
optation of ABIM's leader Anwar Ibrahim by the then Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad being a case in point.
Secondly it should be stated frankly that all this talk of
'protecting' the seemingly unique interests of the Malay-Muslims in
Malaysia is little more than fluff and nonsense, for the real agenda
all along has been the furthering of the right-wing agenda of Malay-
Muslim supremacy above all else. Malaysia's Islamisation process
pushed by Mahathir and Anwar in the 1980s and 1990s led to the
further entrenchment of Malay-Muslim political and class interests;
and benefited the ruling BN-led government and its clients most of
all, further adding to the dominance of Malay-Muslims in the civil
service, army and police; and further embedded Islam at the centre of
Malaysian politics. It was not the universal values of Islam that
were served here, but rather the agenda of Malay-Muslim supremacy
otherwise known as 'Ketuanan Melayu'.
The net result of the current moves to create a parallel Muslim
workers movement in Malaysia can therefore only split Malaysian
society even further along religious communitarian lines and
therefore help to ensure the dominance of the communitarian parties
and elites currently running the country. How are the workers of
Malaysia - who ought to be united along the basis of class solidarity
and common class action - to be served by the creation of such a body
that will split their numbers by half at least? Are we to believe
that the poverty and exploitation of Muslim workers in Malaysia is
qualitatively different to that of his or her non-Muslim comrade? The
mind boggles... What will be next? A Malaysian Muslim stamp
collectors' organisation?
Consequently the Muslim workers of Malaysia must realise that these
attempts to create parallel movements that cater to their own limited
exclusive interests will do a disservice to them in the long run. For
their own sake, and for the sake of the workers struggle in Malaysia,
they need to remember that their loyalty and camaraderie has to lie
with their fellow workers and comrades in the workers movement of
Malaysia as a whole, regardless of racial, cultural or religious
differences.
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