Stop quoting superfluous work and move beyond postmodern academic BS. Make no mistake, no one who has lived among Malay people from Johor to Kelantan and in Sabah and Sarawak, can’t but have a sense of the Malay identity crisis, whether eons ago, or today, and I will grit my teeth before I even have to refer to Mahathir to make my case, as he (for all the wrong reasons) spoke of this correctly, if hardly eloquently. Portes, shmortes. The Mayans are gone, except some ethnic enclaves in Central America. The Malays are not gone, which should give them sufficient succor, but it does not. The reasons are to be found in delusions of grandeur, fear of assimilation, and low self-esteem. Yes, there are other peoples who exhibit them, but not many with a government official who says that he stated “kill non-Malays” to boost Malay confidence. Please….even Pinochet, Marcos, Franco, Peron, Duvalier, Suharto, Reza Pahlavi, never said anything quite so absurd and chilling and then had to backtrack. No other nation has an analogue to “DR” Abdullah Tee, except Germany, circa 1938. No more whining about how all people feel threatened. Most of those people, unless they commit genocide, do not go around threatening to lop other people’s (i.e., Chinese-Malaysian) heads off. That is the kind of morale booster we saw in 1915 and 1938-1945, so this scenario is quite unique in the vituperativeness of Malay responses to their own fears, and this road has been traveled in Malaysia for years, with racist badgering, argument over an Aramaic word and who can use it and such ridiculous and infantile arguing, that one does NOT see in other nations. Kooties from foreigners, dirty dogs, chocolate pig DNA, illegal Fatwas, and the mass larceny of billions of dollars, while a moron poses with Leonardo di Caprio, and you think Thailand has problems ?
So much has been said here, but briefly this is a clear case of excessive social capital, a condition written at length by Portes (1998). It actually has been attributed to many civilizations’ downfall especially when there is a strong intrinsic sociological force driving it. In this case, its religion. But make no mistake, any other can substitute for it. So the scenario described is not unique.
The Rendi Witular reference to Enggartiasto’s having ‘no slight experience …in international commerce’ contradicts that journalist’s point about the new Trade Minister’s having no international business network. So what Witular probably means is that Enggartiasto has little experience in international commerce.
Lembong’s removal from the Trade portfolio is another example of Jokowi’s treating his cabinet something like a chessboard, but he often plays against himself. Some pawns, such as Anies Baswedan, are taken off the board in no time at all, while bishops or castles like Sojyan Djalil are moved constantly around without having any impact on the game’s outcome.
Vanida – I think PRAYUT is REALLY the MOST REPUBLICAN THAI – his hidden agenda is to become a second Phibul Songkhram, rather than a Sarit. Prayut’s agenda to grab the Royal fortune is not so hidden now.
Adil is not a scholar and thank you for validating Clive’s point: The Malay fear of any criticism leads to charges of “Orientalism”. This is both reflective of Malay’s own ignorance of their culture and their inability to interact with the “other”. There is nothing Orientalist here, except perhaps Joseph Conrad’s more than keen observation of the tendency of Malays to retreat when faced with truth. Zawawai’s comments are those of a fairly typical young Malay with insufficient self-esteem and self-knowledge to do anything other than imitate Edward Said and shout “Orientalism” at anything that makes him uncomfortable, the truth being the primary loser here.
Don’t tell that to the Thais that their country is a US vassal state! The ultra-royalist Thai are seeing their king as king of kings. The US to them is just simply a golden or silver pond for them to reach down to get the treasure. It has been like this since the 50’s or beyond at the expenses of the American’s tax payers.
I am most disturbed by the orientalising views ( and bringing Foster back into the fold?) expreseed by Prof Clive Kessler; its such a red herring argument, so pointless ,unproductive and so homogenising and does not shed any light into the issue of the current discourse of Malayness and governance in Malaysia. I welcome the more measured perspective by our young scholar Adil Johan!
Ironically, Kessler’s reductionist and patronising line of thought found in this article is exactly what perpetuates the unequal and unjust power relationships in Malaysia.
The so-called “kampung psychology” proposed here is one that is perpetuated by the rigid structures of power in Malaysia. Such discourse from an esteemed anthropologist, no less, that subsumes ALL Malays to be embedded with this form of “psychosis” is extremely troubling and problematic.
Perhaps he has been subsumed so much by Malaysian racial politics that he has also subconsciously become as racially-minded as the Malaysian status quo!
Would it be possible to start thinking about Malays beyond the constructed boundaries of ethnicity? As a Malaysian-Malay, I must say thay I am deeply offended by this fallacious argument.
Kessler, your discourse here is effectively disempowering Malays from the possibility of breaking out of these colonially-constructed stereotypes. Where can we consider agency in the Malay world?
Were there not creative people from the region who went against the collectivist grain? Musicians, Theatre artists and filmmakers since the 1940s were actively creating spaces and works for individual expression that also critiqued colonialism.
The Malay left of the 1940s was instrumental in sparking the Malayan independence movement.
Fast forward to the late 1990s and note the reformasi movement that actively challenged Mahathir’s regime…. facing water cannons and all. From what I recall, I did not see them huddle in the face of such authoritarianism.
In recent times, young Malays such as Fahmi Reza boldly critique the Prime Minister in the form of creative arts (he was arrested for printing a T-shirt of Najib’s face painted like a clown).
My point is, your duty as a Malaysian academic is to critique but paramountly you should be enabling people with your ideas to change the dire political situation that is Malaysia.
Hi Chris, thanks for your comment and I like your point about cultural cringe, very fair point. But first on your point on digital utopianism, I understand where you are coming from but I don’t believe the Hong Kong’s Umbrella protests were a non-development – just look at where the various student leaders who led that moment are now and the fact that the city had its first ever pro-independence rally this month. On Thailand, I didn’t raise the topic of cyber-dissents, instead briefly mentioned how the Thai Government was allegedly planning to manipulate and control the country’s Internet access.
Back to your cultural cringe point – I am confident with my argument that Australia’s foreign policy community (government and non-government) doesn’t invest enough resources in 1. understanding how digital technologies are shaking up international relations (in order to) 2. better manage and take advantage of these disruptions. Australia does not have an international cyber/digital strategy in place, it has never independently reviewed its global online activities (so the government’s digital outreach is good in some areas, terrible in others). Australian research institutes produce very little research on global cyber developments (via the ARC for example) and few universities/think-tanks have recruited experts in this space. When cyber is talked about in the community, discussions are almost always confined to cyber-security and the domestic cyber policies of states. As I said above – both of these are very important issues – but these are only a small slice of the (cyber) pie.
True. But then as you said, quote “Malays are not a recently invented group…” unquote. Look up the history of the Malaca Sultanate. As the PM of Malaysia said it himself, he is of Bugis decent.
It’s all about POWER. Islam is Malay, Malay is Islam, converts need not apply.
As for the 30 or more others that are now on Malaysia’s quasi-papal index of religious terms (istilah) that are for exclusive Muslim use only…errr I thought that those are ARABIC? Is Arabic not another language? After all, the language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia, No? How are non-muslim suppose to ask questions, to learn about Islam if they cannot say those words? Go out of the country I suppose. Thus it’s all about POWER, nothing to do with the religion.
Look up the history of Malaya and Singapore, during the British time, the time leading to Independence, the promises made by Dr.M, and what happen after. It’s all about POWER.
Look up what happened or not happened after oil was found off the coast of Sabah.
So American Anti- communists were working with Chinese capitalists? What about the japanese imperialists( not communists) who were the sole reason for the US being involved there in the first place? In what Thailand look like today had Japan taken over. But British colonialists would have benefited Thailand? Good rant but failure
The king is not American. He was born in a US hospital.
He certainly didn’t do anything to hurt Thailand. Ignorance and a ” never mind” attitude, that existed ling before him is what has destroyed Thailand.
Truly, doesn’t Malaysia have enough trouble than to start whining about different Chinese language dialects ? When someone says, like I have, that Hakka women have had a history of social and economic independence overseas, that surely is not equivalent to saying Cantonese women haven’t also shown obvious independence and economic success, anywhere they reside. Superior cuisine ? My, aren’t we a bit haughty today. To non-meat fish eaters like me, Shanghaiese cuisine is superior to Cantonese. I would hardly make that as a Chinese Rule of Law. Is there enough variety in Chinese food, that one can find anything they like. Are you planning on wiping out the entire Caucasian race because most of us probably don’t like Pi Dan all that much.
Hinduism and Buddhism are not pagan belief systems. You are very free with your generalizations as much as you criticize others for the same. No one likes a hypocrite. You must distinguish between spirit belief in older Malay culture, existential Hindu-based beliefs, and beliefs that derive from Islam. To infer that everything that is not Islam, is “other” would draw howls of protest if I listed all the pagan Chinese beliefs that co-exist with Taoism and Buddhism. Your somewhat crude grand pronouncements indicate an incomplete education about Malays and Chinese-Malaysians. Your latent cynical tone may well be justified, but adds nothing to the discussion of why Malays have historically felt entrapped, even when they were (and are) dominant demographically and politically. The aphorism about “safety in numbers” really applies to groups subjected to direct persecution. If anything, that would describe the Chinese-Malaysian position more than the generic Malay position. The answer is not to be found solely in population numbers, per-capita incomes and cuisine. The feeling of beleagurement is complex and includes self-esteem issues, jealousy, bigotry, latent anti-colonial feelings, and something that is taboo in the Malay community for the more religious: Most Malays naturally accept that Islam is their natural order of things and that obeying God’s principles through the teaching of the Qur’an and Hadith are all natural. Few Malays ask, “Well, what has Islam done for me lately” ? Since you are not supposed to question what is a given, this is never asked. This is why, for most Malays, either “Islam” is to be defended, locally or abroad, and if something goes wrong, invariably it is the fault of non-Muslims, or possibly the Muslim in question is not devoted to Islam enough, has sinned and has to make Islamic resitutions. The ultimate reason for the beleagurement that Malays feel is that they are not allowed to ask the question: “Is there something wrong with Islam” ? As St. Frances struggled with Catholicism, great Rabbis with Judaism, the Guatama himself, with the notion of goodness and transcendence, almost common to Hinduism, Islam is unique in that metaphysical examination and discourse is not allowed (with some exceptions, like in Sufism and a few other ‘heretical’ branches of Islam). If you cannot question who YOU are, out of some unsubstantiated fear of loss on personal control, then anything perceived as foreign, by definition, becomes frightening and threatening. While the pagan and pre-Islamic tradition in Malay culture did indeed inculcate fear of the unknown as well, the strictures on such fear were far looser. As Islam became less Malay over time, and more imitative of foreign Arab (mostly) traditions, again it was assumed that this was the gold standard for Islam, simply because Muhammad didn’t happen to come out of the jungles in Madagascar. This belief in an Islamic gold standard is phony, as every other group of Muslims around the world, believe they also have a gold standard. This has been unhealthy for the Malay community, and by counterexample, explains why the Indonesian national concept of “unity in diversity” is a wise and prescient concept for a very heterogeneous nation. It long past time, that all Malays in the nation, come to believe the same thing….that, unity in diversity is healthy and necessary for Malaysia to prosper. Mocking Malays by pointing out their mutlireligious past is not helpful. They know their history and what it entails. Malays themselves, in a fractured society, must come to their own realizations, but must they come, for Malaysia to remain a stable and hopeful nation.
Thanks for commenting. I agree faith should have no place in politics – unfortunately in Indonesia it’s a major factor. I was trying to illustrate the absurdity of the Oz jargon that’s flooding this area, certainly not condescending, so sorry it was read that way. FTA= Future Talks Assured.
We we we…us them us them. Agreed with much of the content of the piece, but not all of your readers are Aussies. Also not sure how Lembong’s faith has any bearing on his policy (I imagine it does not), and the rhetorical device of there is no Javanese word for X struck me as condescending. Sorry to critique on a message board — not the most polite thing to do, but those are my thoughts.
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Bombs, facts, and myths in southern Thailand
This excellent article exposes the lying scoundrels of the military/monarchist régime.
‘Deep’ Malay cultural psychology
Stop quoting superfluous work and move beyond postmodern academic BS. Make no mistake, no one who has lived among Malay people from Johor to Kelantan and in Sabah and Sarawak, can’t but have a sense of the Malay identity crisis, whether eons ago, or today, and I will grit my teeth before I even have to refer to Mahathir to make my case, as he (for all the wrong reasons) spoke of this correctly, if hardly eloquently. Portes, shmortes. The Mayans are gone, except some ethnic enclaves in Central America. The Malays are not gone, which should give them sufficient succor, but it does not. The reasons are to be found in delusions of grandeur, fear of assimilation, and low self-esteem. Yes, there are other peoples who exhibit them, but not many with a government official who says that he stated “kill non-Malays” to boost Malay confidence. Please….even Pinochet, Marcos, Franco, Peron, Duvalier, Suharto, Reza Pahlavi, never said anything quite so absurd and chilling and then had to backtrack. No other nation has an analogue to “DR” Abdullah Tee, except Germany, circa 1938. No more whining about how all people feel threatened. Most of those people, unless they commit genocide, do not go around threatening to lop other people’s (i.e., Chinese-Malaysian) heads off. That is the kind of morale booster we saw in 1915 and 1938-1945, so this scenario is quite unique in the vituperativeness of Malay responses to their own fears, and this road has been traveled in Malaysia for years, with racist badgering, argument over an Aramaic word and who can use it and such ridiculous and infantile arguing, that one does NOT see in other nations. Kooties from foreigners, dirty dogs, chocolate pig DNA, illegal Fatwas, and the mass larceny of billions of dollars, while a moron poses with Leonardo di Caprio, and you think Thailand has problems ?
‘Deep’ Malay cultural psychology
So much has been said here, but briefly this is a clear case of excessive social capital, a condition written at length by Portes (1998). It actually has been attributed to many civilizations’ downfall especially when there is a strong intrinsic sociological force driving it. In this case, its religion. But make no mistake, any other can substitute for it. So the scenario described is not unique.
When trade worlds collide
The Rendi Witular reference to Enggartiasto’s having ‘no slight experience …in international commerce’ contradicts that journalist’s point about the new Trade Minister’s having no international business network. So what Witular probably means is that Enggartiasto has little experience in international commerce.
Lembong’s removal from the Trade portfolio is another example of Jokowi’s treating his cabinet something like a chessboard, but he often plays against himself. Some pawns, such as Anies Baswedan, are taken off the board in no time at all, while bishops or castles like Sojyan Djalil are moved constantly around without having any impact on the game’s outcome.
Poor Filipinos’ lives don’t seem to matter
Somehow pitting the “Poor” against Duterte or labeling ‘communist’ looks amateurish.
Poor Filipinos’ lives don’t seem to matter
There are villains and there are MY villains.
Decades of dominance and a junta’s demise
Vanida – I think PRAYUT is REALLY the MOST REPUBLICAN THAI – his hidden agenda is to become a second Phibul Songkhram, rather than a Sarit. Prayut’s agenda to grab the Royal fortune is not so hidden now.
‘Deep’ Malay cultural psychology
Adil is not a scholar and thank you for validating Clive’s point: The Malay fear of any criticism leads to charges of “Orientalism”. This is both reflective of Malay’s own ignorance of their culture and their inability to interact with the “other”. There is nothing Orientalist here, except perhaps Joseph Conrad’s more than keen observation of the tendency of Malays to retreat when faced with truth. Zawawai’s comments are those of a fairly typical young Malay with insufficient self-esteem and self-knowledge to do anything other than imitate Edward Said and shout “Orientalism” at anything that makes him uncomfortable, the truth being the primary loser here.
Poor Filipinos’ lives don’t seem to matter
Yeap, the life of the poor means nothing. You know, you or me could be one of those people. I request the Pope to speak for the poor Filipinos.
Decades of dominance and a junta’s demise
Don’t tell that to the Thais that their country is a US vassal state! The ultra-royalist Thai are seeing their king as king of kings. The US to them is just simply a golden or silver pond for them to reach down to get the treasure. It has been like this since the 50’s or beyond at the expenses of the American’s tax payers.
‘Deep’ Malay cultural psychology
I am most disturbed by the orientalising views ( and bringing Foster back into the fold?) expreseed by Prof Clive Kessler; its such a red herring argument, so pointless ,unproductive and so homogenising and does not shed any light into the issue of the current discourse of Malayness and governance in Malaysia. I welcome the more measured perspective by our young scholar Adil Johan!
Poor Filipinos’ lives don’t seem to matter
“US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Duterte in late July, pledging $32 million to support Philippine law enforcement”
Amazing, and this parallels the situation in Thailand where it was not an issue that Thaksin allowed almost 3,000 extra judicial killings
‘Deep’ Malay cultural psychology
Ironically, Kessler’s reductionist and patronising line of thought found in this article is exactly what perpetuates the unequal and unjust power relationships in Malaysia.
The so-called “kampung psychology” proposed here is one that is perpetuated by the rigid structures of power in Malaysia. Such discourse from an esteemed anthropologist, no less, that subsumes ALL Malays to be embedded with this form of “psychosis” is extremely troubling and problematic.
Perhaps he has been subsumed so much by Malaysian racial politics that he has also subconsciously become as racially-minded as the Malaysian status quo!
Would it be possible to start thinking about Malays beyond the constructed boundaries of ethnicity? As a Malaysian-Malay, I must say thay I am deeply offended by this fallacious argument.
Kessler, your discourse here is effectively disempowering Malays from the possibility of breaking out of these colonially-constructed stereotypes. Where can we consider agency in the Malay world?
Were there not creative people from the region who went against the collectivist grain? Musicians, Theatre artists and filmmakers since the 1940s were actively creating spaces and works for individual expression that also critiqued colonialism.
The Malay left of the 1940s was instrumental in sparking the Malayan independence movement.
Fast forward to the late 1990s and note the reformasi movement that actively challenged Mahathir’s regime…. facing water cannons and all. From what I recall, I did not see them huddle in the face of such authoritarianism.
In recent times, young Malays such as Fahmi Reza boldly critique the Prime Minister in the form of creative arts (he was arrested for printing a T-shirt of Najib’s face painted like a clown).
My point is, your duty as a Malaysian academic is to critique but paramountly you should be enabling people with your ideas to change the dire political situation that is Malaysia.
Ikhlas (Sincerely)
Australia offline in an online world
Hi Chris, thanks for your comment and I like your point about cultural cringe, very fair point. But first on your point on digital utopianism, I understand where you are coming from but I don’t believe the Hong Kong’s Umbrella protests were a non-development – just look at where the various student leaders who led that moment are now and the fact that the city had its first ever pro-independence rally this month. On Thailand, I didn’t raise the topic of cyber-dissents, instead briefly mentioned how the Thai Government was allegedly planning to manipulate and control the country’s Internet access.
Back to your cultural cringe point – I am confident with my argument that Australia’s foreign policy community (government and non-government) doesn’t invest enough resources in 1. understanding how digital technologies are shaking up international relations (in order to) 2. better manage and take advantage of these disruptions. Australia does not have an international cyber/digital strategy in place, it has never independently reviewed its global online activities (so the government’s digital outreach is good in some areas, terrible in others). Australian research institutes produce very little research on global cyber developments (via the ARC for example) and few universities/think-tanks have recruited experts in this space. When cyber is talked about in the community, discussions are almost always confined to cyber-security and the domestic cyber policies of states. As I said above – both of these are very important issues – but these are only a small slice of the (cyber) pie.
‘Deep’ Malay cultural psychology
True. But then as you said, quote “Malays are not a recently invented group…” unquote. Look up the history of the Malaca Sultanate. As the PM of Malaysia said it himself, he is of Bugis decent.
It’s all about power. Here are a few example:-
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=618830:even-before-hudud-posters-of-woman-without-tudung-deemed-sexy-by-hadis-pas&Itemid=2#axzz4H5NveEyP
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=618554:using-islam-to-defend-najibs-corruption?-umno-academic-tells-muslims-to-be-wary-of-us-kleptocracy-lawsuits&Itemid=2#axzz4H5NveEyP
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=618605:admit-it-malays-are-scared-to-compete-with-non-malays-best-cinematography-nominee-withdraws-from-racist-ffm&Itemid=2#axzz4H5NveEyP
It’s all about POWER. Islam is Malay, Malay is Islam, converts need not apply.
As for the 30 or more others that are now on Malaysia’s quasi-papal index of religious terms (istilah) that are for exclusive Muslim use only…errr I thought that those are ARABIC? Is Arabic not another language? After all, the language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia, No? How are non-muslim suppose to ask questions, to learn about Islam if they cannot say those words? Go out of the country I suppose. Thus it’s all about POWER, nothing to do with the religion.
Look up the history of Malaya and Singapore, during the British time, the time leading to Independence, the promises made by Dr.M, and what happen after. It’s all about POWER.
Look up what happened or not happened after oil was found off the coast of Sabah.
It’s all about POWER. The rest are hubris.
From the view of a layman.
Private: ‘Excuse me, Emperor …’
So American Anti- communists were working with Chinese capitalists? What about the japanese imperialists( not communists) who were the sole reason for the US being involved there in the first place? In what Thailand look like today had Japan taken over. But British colonialists would have benefited Thailand? Good rant but failure
The king is not American. He was born in a US hospital.
He certainly didn’t do anything to hurt Thailand. Ignorance and a ” never mind” attitude, that existed ling before him is what has destroyed Thailand.
Decades of dominance and a junta’s demise
Am sure all of you Thai-speaking farang can understand this clip below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KUSzM3DEOI
‘Deep’ Malay cultural psychology
June,
Truly, doesn’t Malaysia have enough trouble than to start whining about different Chinese language dialects ? When someone says, like I have, that Hakka women have had a history of social and economic independence overseas, that surely is not equivalent to saying Cantonese women haven’t also shown obvious independence and economic success, anywhere they reside. Superior cuisine ? My, aren’t we a bit haughty today. To non-meat fish eaters like me, Shanghaiese cuisine is superior to Cantonese. I would hardly make that as a Chinese Rule of Law. Is there enough variety in Chinese food, that one can find anything they like. Are you planning on wiping out the entire Caucasian race because most of us probably don’t like Pi Dan all that much.
Hinduism and Buddhism are not pagan belief systems. You are very free with your generalizations as much as you criticize others for the same. No one likes a hypocrite. You must distinguish between spirit belief in older Malay culture, existential Hindu-based beliefs, and beliefs that derive from Islam. To infer that everything that is not Islam, is “other” would draw howls of protest if I listed all the pagan Chinese beliefs that co-exist with Taoism and Buddhism. Your somewhat crude grand pronouncements indicate an incomplete education about Malays and Chinese-Malaysians. Your latent cynical tone may well be justified, but adds nothing to the discussion of why Malays have historically felt entrapped, even when they were (and are) dominant demographically and politically. The aphorism about “safety in numbers” really applies to groups subjected to direct persecution. If anything, that would describe the Chinese-Malaysian position more than the generic Malay position. The answer is not to be found solely in population numbers, per-capita incomes and cuisine. The feeling of beleagurement is complex and includes self-esteem issues, jealousy, bigotry, latent anti-colonial feelings, and something that is taboo in the Malay community for the more religious: Most Malays naturally accept that Islam is their natural order of things and that obeying God’s principles through the teaching of the Qur’an and Hadith are all natural. Few Malays ask, “Well, what has Islam done for me lately” ? Since you are not supposed to question what is a given, this is never asked. This is why, for most Malays, either “Islam” is to be defended, locally or abroad, and if something goes wrong, invariably it is the fault of non-Muslims, or possibly the Muslim in question is not devoted to Islam enough, has sinned and has to make Islamic resitutions. The ultimate reason for the beleagurement that Malays feel is that they are not allowed to ask the question: “Is there something wrong with Islam” ? As St. Frances struggled with Catholicism, great Rabbis with Judaism, the Guatama himself, with the notion of goodness and transcendence, almost common to Hinduism, Islam is unique in that metaphysical examination and discourse is not allowed (with some exceptions, like in Sufism and a few other ‘heretical’ branches of Islam). If you cannot question who YOU are, out of some unsubstantiated fear of loss on personal control, then anything perceived as foreign, by definition, becomes frightening and threatening. While the pagan and pre-Islamic tradition in Malay culture did indeed inculcate fear of the unknown as well, the strictures on such fear were far looser. As Islam became less Malay over time, and more imitative of foreign Arab (mostly) traditions, again it was assumed that this was the gold standard for Islam, simply because Muhammad didn’t happen to come out of the jungles in Madagascar. This belief in an Islamic gold standard is phony, as every other group of Muslims around the world, believe they also have a gold standard. This has been unhealthy for the Malay community, and by counterexample, explains why the Indonesian national concept of “unity in diversity” is a wise and prescient concept for a very heterogeneous nation. It long past time, that all Malays in the nation, come to believe the same thing….that, unity in diversity is healthy and necessary for Malaysia to prosper. Mocking Malays by pointing out their mutlireligious past is not helpful. They know their history and what it entails. Malays themselves, in a fractured society, must come to their own realizations, but must they come, for Malaysia to remain a stable and hopeful nation.
When trade worlds collide
Thanks for commenting. I agree faith should have no place in politics – unfortunately in Indonesia it’s a major factor. I was trying to illustrate the absurdity of the Oz jargon that’s flooding this area, certainly not condescending, so sorry it was read that way. FTA= Future Talks Assured.
When trade worlds collide
We we we…us them us them. Agreed with much of the content of the piece, but not all of your readers are Aussies. Also not sure how Lembong’s faith has any bearing on his policy (I imagine it does not), and the rhetorical device of there is no Javanese word for X struck me as condescending. Sorry to critique on a message board — not the most polite thing to do, but those are my thoughts.