Aliran turns 30: A heart-warming celebration of justice
It was all so different from the official Merdeka celebrations, monopolised and dominated by members of the ruling coalition, recalls Anil Netto, of a night to remember. Full article
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Err, pardon me… but what is the difference between the two?
Two huge protest gatherings – or attempted gatherings – in the space of 15 days in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Amazing! But what does this tell us? A few things, actually:
More and more Malaysians are casting off their fear of the repressive powers of the state. That was abundantly clear in the Bersih gathering calling for electoral reforms on 10 Nov, when 50,000 Malaysians converged in the heart of KL despite the warnings, the intimidation, the riot police and their water cannons…. and now 20,000-30,000 at the Hindraf demonstration.
In both gatherings, it appears that the majority of those who were determined to show up were the disempowered and the disenfranchised and the marginalised. In other words, those left out from the development process.
Positive GDP growth every year has not resulted in equitable development for all – rather, the wealth generated from economic growth has been concentrated in the hands of the upper class. To make matters worse, the system is now mired in corruption while affirmative action policies have not reached many of those who most need them.
Many appear to be retreating to a fundamentalist worldview of religion out of disillusionment with the oppressive state, a sense of loss of identity due to the pervasive, homogenising effect of global corporate culture, and dissatisfaction that the fruit of economic growth has not been equitably distributed. Real participatory democracy has not been tried and found to be wanting. It has not been tried at all!
Sadly, many Malaysians are still shackled by a communal world-view – largely due to years of being indoctrinated by a system of racial politics. They are still unable to extend their hands in solidarity with all those who are suffering, irrespective of ethnicity and religion. This was less evident in the Bersih gathering, which probably had a greater multi-ethnic representation (though the majority were Muslim-Malays). But in the Hindraf gathering, it appears that nearly all of those turning up were ethnic Indians/Hindus.
The marginalised Indians, Malays, the Penan, the Orang Asli, and the exploited migrant workers still find it difficult to find common cause with one another. We need to break free from the barriers that divide the oppressed in our country.
It is largely the poorer Indians who were likely to have been at the Hindraf gathering, just as it was largely Malays from the lower-income group that took part in the Bersih demonstration. Those at the Hindraf gathering may be unable to trace the roots of their own disillusionment and could be putting on the cloak of Hindu rights, finding solace in the security of their religion. In the same way, many poorer Malays, rebelling against a corrupt and exploitative system, are probably finding comfort in the embrace of conservative Islam.
Maybe a common ethnicity and a sense of being discriminated against – and now a shared experience of a perceived sense of persecution (the result of temple demolitions and controversial sharia-related cases) – has been more successful in rallying the Indians together. In a sense, this is a pity because it suggests we are still trapped in a world-view that perceives suffering and marginalisation through ethnic or religious lenses.
There are shortcomings in such a world-view. It ignores the exploitative nature of our economic system, in which a few (of all ethnic groups) with access to capital and connections lord it over the masses. For instance, why have richer Malays, Chinese, and Indians not showed up at these rallies? It is really because they have benefited from the system and they do not want to revamp something that has served them with wealth and position, titles and status, and the comforts of life.
The exploitative dimension of corporate-led globalisation, which has concentrated wealth in the hands of this small group, has driven many ordinary Malaysians to despair. The introduction of neo-liberal policies, the slashing of taxes for the rich along with the removal of subsidies for basic goods and services – education, health care, fuel, higher education – have all made life more stressful, not only for the lower-income group but increasingly the middle-class.
The suppression of local wages through a policy of importing migrant workers, the lack of a minimum wage, a weak trade union movement (only now coming to life), and racial and religious divisions have all meant that workers (of all ethnic groups) have been unable to achieve the critical mass needed to cast off the chains of exploitation that tie them down.
I believe what we are witnessing now is the awakening of the economically marginalised and disempowered who are rebelling against the system, which has seen Big Business profiting at the expense of the people. I doubt there were many wealthy Hindus/ethnic Indians from the posh neighbourhoods of, for instance, Damansara and Bangsar at the Hindraf protest today… just as you didn’t see the wealthy bumiputera elite at the Bersih gathering on 10 Nov.
Although it is heartening that the marginalised are stirring, it is important that we realise that their suffering cuts across ethnic barriers and has some common roots. Many have simply been pushed to the periphery by our model of development, which is relentlessly driven by Big Business tied closely to the vested interests of the political elite.
More Malaysians must wake up from their slumber – and join hands with one another!
So the Asean leaders have signed a Charter in the wonderfully democratic nation of Singapore in the company of leaders from Burma’s rogue regime. (Check out this excellent documentary “Burma’s Secret War”.) Each member nation now has to take the Charter back to their home countries so that it can be ratified by their respective parliaments – which shouldn’t be much of a problem, considering how democratic Asean member nations are and how much their governments have the interests of the people at heart. Which leads to the question: why not a referendum as this is a hugely important document that affects the peoples of 10 nations? That will be the day…
Civil society groups that lament that the charter is too state-centred rather than people-centred are missing the point. It was never meant to be people-centred – even though that is what most ordinary people would have wanted, had they been consulted. That is why most of the work of drafting the charter was carried out behind closed doors – even though an Eminent Persons Group did briefly consult a sample of civil society groups. The EPG leader, Musa Hitam, had told civil society representatives that he considered the inclusion of a reference to a human rights mechanism or body as a great achievement. But such a body would predictably be toothless – if and when it is formalised – for some time to come.
So let’s not get side-tracked by the lip-service paid to human rights or the sweet -sounding, but ultimately unenforceable, pledges about democracy.
The Charter is not about protecting the rights of ordinary people including migrant workers, refugees and asylum seekers. If it was, do you really think those undemocratic or authoritarian governments among the Asean member nations would have signed it?
Instead, it’s all about facilitating the interests of Big Business as well as providing an institutionalised framework that would, among other things, pave the way for the EU-Asean FTA and further the “free trade” and neo-liberal agenda.
How terribly, terribly sad for the people of Asean!
Here is the Al Jazeera panel discussion (in two parts) on the 10 Nov rally to demand electoral reforms. The panelists were Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy, de facto Law Minister Nazri (Umno as well) and human rights lawyer Imtiaz.
Here’s an excerpt. Nazri tries to keep up with the fast-paced discussion by repeating his mantra about democracy ala Umno/BN, putting words in the mouth of the moderator – and then forgetting what the question was. Amazing feat!
What’s even more astonishing is his claim that there is no need for any institutional reform whatsoever.
In a parting shot, Thierry Rommel, the European ambassador who left his post on Tuesday, castigated the Malaysian government for its deplorable human rights record and the “discriminatory” New Economic Policy (NEP).
News reports quoted Rommel as saying the executive in Malaysia is “all-powerful and not accountable” while the judiciary remains beholden to the executive because the prime minister directly makes the appointments. He said Umno runs the country like its own backyard and that the Malaysia was “a one-party state”.
“The parliament (is) useless. No fair elections, no freedoms. Police is unaccountable. Internal checks and balances? Forget it. So where do you find characteristics that (represent) democracy?”
Malaysians struggling for greater democracy, who marched in the tens of thousands on 10 November, might be forgiven for thinking that they had found an influential ally in Rommel and the European Union.
Big mistake. Although most of Rommel’s remarks ring true, they must be seen in the context of the forthcoming negotiations for the EU-Asean FTA which begins next year. With this FTA, the EU hopes to prise open the Asean market for unfettered access by European multinational corporations. This will no doubt also accelerate the neo-liberal agenda across the region.
If our experience with “iconic towers” in Penang is any indication, then look out for what could happen with other towers in the pipeline.
Thanks to a reader for bringing these to my attention:
So if we have more “iconic towers”, do you really think our habits will improve?
While on the subject of high-rise towers, a reader wrote this from England:
England’s problems are in the areas where there is high unemployment due to collapsed industries, steel shipbuilding, coal – where entire towns were employed in one industry. Also areas where many immigrant communities have settled – and worked hard to look after their families… It’s also in the areas were decent housing (albeit ramshackle) have been replaced with emotionless high-rise towers, set in dry hard landscapes – enough to send anyone around the bend.
All sounds rather too familiar? Give Malaysia 20 years and you’ll see the same – unless there is some very sound social management.
I was once talking to (someone in Malaysia) and described the social problems created by high-rise buildings.
“Oh, not in Asia,” he said.
Want to bet? The (consequences could be) worse in Asia where family and social connections are so very important and high-rise buildings will destroy them.
Those words uttered by Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi could well apply to Malaysia.
Was it a stalemate on 10 Nov? After all, the demonstrators had been thwarted from gathering at Dataran Merdeka in the city centre. They were unable to accompany their chosen representatives to the gates of the palace to hand over their memorandum. And would the memorandum make any difference? What had they really achieved?
Would Suu Kyi consider the situation in Burma a stalemate – especially in the aftermath of the brutal crackdown of peaceful demonstrations there?
Here’s what she had to say:
“I am really not fond of that expression,” she replied rather sternly. “People have been on the streets. That’s not a stalemate. Ethnic people, like the Karen, are fighting back. That’s not a stalemate. The defiance is there in people’s lives, day after day. You know, even when things seem still on the surface, there’s always movement underneath. It’s like a frozen lake; and beneath our lake, we are progressing, bit by bit.”
Similarly, 10 November in Malaysia was not a stalemate. Malaysians have conquered their fear. There is a sense of defiance – witnessed when tens of thousands of good-natured, peaceful, justice-loving Malaysians waved defiantly at helicopters hovering overhead and at sullen-faced riot police seated in red trucks passing menacingly by. When they were confronted by a phalanx of riot police, they stood their ground and refused to blink.
Instead, it is the oligarchic political elites who now fear the people on the move, who tremble in anticipation of their next move.
Yes, we are progressing, bit by bit.
Read John Pilger’s full piece here.
So the chief of police puts the turnout at 4,000 in a report tucked away on page 8 of The Star. Interesting! But then he was probably referring to the crowd at Masjid Jamek alone, where police fired water cannons, dousing the protesters with chemically laced liquid. The way The Star reported it made it sound as if 4,000 was the total turnout, although it did add later that “thousands” had turned up at various spots.
If it was really 4,000, why did they need two (or was it three) helicopters to monitor the crowd?
My estimate of the total turnout – and that was the rough consensus among those at the scene at various points – was 50,000.
Still, the actual turnout is beside the point. The real story was the fact that tens of thousands of Malaysians had come out – despite repeated warnings and threats of arrest – to defy a ban and put across their demand for electoral reforms, loudly and clearly.
I was proud to be a Malaysian among the good natured and peaceful crowd that afternoon.
As for the mainstream media coverage, it was pathetic. I woke up this morning expecting it to be front page news. After all, news of the protest gathering had flashed across the globe yesterday. But when I saw the front page of The Sunday Star today… zilch, nada, nothing…. Was this for real? It seemed as if I must have been on a different planet. It was only reported half-heartedly on page 8. Tens of thousands of people had brought Kuala Lumpur to a virtual standstill the day before and… Page 8! Disgusting coverage. But then again, what else can we expect from our castrated mainstream media?
Meanwhile, check out Aliran president P Ramakrishnan’s statement here.
RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Rally Defies Police Ban to Demand Poll Reforms
By Anil Netto
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (IPS) – Tens of thousands of people defied riot police, water cannon and pouring rain to march through the capital city, on Saturday, to demand electoral and other reforms and deliver a strong rebuff to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.
On Friday Badawi had issued a stern warning that he would brook no challenge to his rule and officials said anybody around Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square), the planned venue of the protest gathering, would be arrested.
That made the turnout of over 50,000 people, sloshing through muddy grass verges by the highway, all the more impressive as they engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with police armed with water cannons and batons.
Activists have stepped up the campaign as the stakes rise. The developer has taken its PR blitz to the shopping malls, but activists have been meeting residents neighbouring the PGCC project site who are worried about the impact of the project.
Here we see heritage conservationist Loh-Lim Lin Lee, architect Laurence Loh and heritage activist Dr Choong Sim Poey briefing Scotland Park residents and exposing the deception inherent in the development plan. Make sure you catch all four parts of the video and see them passionately and eloquently arguing against the project.
