Book Review
Remembering the Past
Farish
A Noor's "The Other Malaysia"
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Book Review
Remembering the Past
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| IT IS FRIGHTENING to contemplate that in this ISA-run police state there is an influential section of the public that is as intolerant of ideas and thought as those who hold the state power. So murderous was the intent that even an establishment columnist as Farish A Noor - he was after all a regular writer for the New Straits Times - had to run for the safer harbour of Germany. The collection "The Other Malaysia," published by Silverfish books, does not expose the whys of the affair, although the articles were written and published by Malaysiakini from 1999 to 2002. All one learns is that he still receives hate mail accusing him of "lack of respect for the ulama." But we can guess what the fuss is all about for Farish Noor has boldly stated his position in the following words: "I happen to object to the
intrusion of any religion into politics, be
it Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism or whatever.
It has always been my belief that the entry of religion into civic
space will be detrimental to the democratic process and the secular
principles upon which modern democracy is based."
It is clear from this collection that Farish is a thinker who scans the local scene with the coldness and thoroughness of a high powered computer, bringing to light " ... the unstated elements of the past that have been relegated to the margins or footnotes of political history." It is "only by remembering the past in its totality... that we can remind ourselves of the potential for change that remains with us still." And, "One of the biggest drawbacks as far as contemporary academic scholarship on Malaysian politics is concerned, is the tendency to accept unquestioningly the essentialist categories of race, culture, ethnicity and religion as fixed and totalising" Among the forgotten are Dr Burhanuddin AL-Helmy the great anti-colonialists who those conservatives who once loyally subscribed to the colonial power's Spitfire fund leave out of their histories Another is Ibrahim Yaakob, the leader of KMM Today, the "Islamisation war" between PAS and UMNO dominates everything. It started in 1982 when Mahathir recruited Anwar Ibrahim for the battle. Since then, "Malaysia has experienced the steady but relentless encroachment of religion into |
| both the privateand public
spheres. In contemporary Malaysia today religion in general and Islam
in particular has become the dominant framework within which all forms
of social interaction including politics, economics, government and the
media takes place.." He worries about the growing political-religious
authoritarianism; all this happening in a country which began with a
secular constitution in 1957. The writers are a disappointment. Shanon Ahmad, popular for his stories blaming the non-Malays for the betrayal of the Malays, with "Shit" and "Muntah" only offered a pathetic fare of paranoid and narcissistic ranting. Farish Noor says there is a need for a new voice of Islam that is committed to universalist and humanitarian principles that would critique the abuse of power both at home and abroad.. It would mean a school of Islamic thought that is prepared to take up issues and concerns like democracy, civil society , gender politics and economic justice under its wing. In short, " if Malaysia really wants to present itself as a moderate and progressive Muslim State then the first thing it has to do is to turn itself into a real democracy, to show that Islam is indeed compatible with the values of a progressive, liberal and pluralist age It can start by repealing the ISA and releasing prisoners held under detention without trial... " On the "lazy Malay" Farish's comments recalls Sued Hussein Alatas great pioneering work, "Myth of the Lazy Malay". He remiinds us that Swettenham - hero of the colonial historians here - dismisses the Malay: "... lazy to a degree, is without method or order of any kind, knows no regularity even in his meals and considered time as of no importance" For those who did not conform it was the dose of opium , the threat of deportation, detention, imprisonment or exile. As did Syed Hussein Alatas, Farsih A Noor notices the colonial mentality of UMNO. "UMNO", he says, must learn to discard its own hollow propaganda about the "worthlessness" of the Malays" Today, Malays are "floating up the creek without a paddle," a cruel dilemma noted by Megat Junid in his "Getek" One thing puzzles me. Among those whom he thanks for their help is Alijah Gordon. This surprises me considerably. Consider the story that Shirle Gordon tells of herself when she first appeared in Singapore in 1959, in student circles. An active communist, so she claimed, she had to flee for her life first from Egypt, then to Lebanon, then Burma, then Thailand and finally finding refuge in British- PAP Singapore. She then moved to Kaula Lumpur, another safe haven. But there was more to come. In the 60's she claims she had to seek refuge in Thailand because she was expelled from Malaysia. Mysteriously, she resurfaced again in Kuala Lumpur where she converted to Islam, emerging as Alijah Gordon, an activist for the Palestinian cause. # Lim Kean Chye Book Reviewed The Other Malaysia - Writings on Malaysia' subaltern history by Farish Noor Silverfish Books |
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Book review Food guide Hang Li Po myth Malay words from Chinese
Preparing the bride Letter from Pulau Tikus
Raffles College
Tourism
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| _____________________ The Penang File Issue 38 |