Page 11
Penang button Eating with Chopsticks

The thoughts of Musa Hitam

Poles and red earth

IN THE OLD DAYS  -  in my day  -  whenever we faced an election, I can confess that it was very simple. When there would be an election we would put up some poles in the village and claimed that electricity was coming, and we got voted in.  Also, we just carried loads and loads of red earth as though we were repairing the road.  By doing this, we got voted in. Now the people take all these developments for granted. If the government does not follow through, it will face serious trouble. But now there are no issues of development that can be raised. Yet, in the process, a new generation of Malays has emerged and they have become more aware, more conscious and more demanding, which is no different from any society anywhere in the world. What we called PAS started out by being an Islamic Party that just straightforwardly said, "vote for us because we are Muslims".  Then it changed itself, trying to debate and raise issues on development; but it did not succeed.

Then came the third phase when PAS began to realize that there are issues of common interest for everybody and so they started advocating Islam as the most suitable religion for Malays experiencing the cultural shock of development.  Imagine the Malays moving from the kampong (village) to the urban areas within a very short space of time -  cultural shocks are inevitable. Fortunately for me, I came from Johor Bahru, which has been exposed to Singapore's development, so I did not experience that much of a cultural shock. However, most village folk, the young folk from, say, Ulu Tembiling, Kelantan, have not been able to cope with the pace of development. In terms of religion many turned to deviationist teachings as a form of escapism, or expressed themselves politically by joining PAS or giving support to the Islamic Party.

To me, if you wanted to try to analyse the status of Islam in the country, I would put the religion, or those practitioners of that religion, into four categories. First, those normal, ordinary, moderate Muslim Malays who still constitute the bulk of the population among the local Malay population. I still have absolute faith in the fact that the majority are what I call "normal", moderate Muslims.

Category Two is made up of what the world calls fundamentalist orientated Muslims or otherwise, and as I would prefer to call them, extremist Muslims, who use religion as a form of retreat or escapism to run away from the reality of the developed modern world.

Third, there are those who practice what I call deviationist Islam, or misguided Islam, and these are individuals found in groups such as the "Black Metal" and lots of other groups listed that can be considered as unorthodox. Many of these groups exist in Malaysia.

And the fourth group is what I call the political Muslims. It is these political Muslims who contribute to the interesting political scene that we now have in the country. How do these political parties behave? How do they go about being political parties winning hearts and minds and trying to get votes?
The disillusioned

In the first place, UMNO is a political party that has been in power since independence in 1959. The nature of man is such that if a party has been around for too long, it gets insulated from the realities of life. Furthermore its tolerance level becomes lower and lower, and then you refuse to accept reality or to adapt yourself to the changes that have taken place.

On the other hand, you have the Islamic Party, which is treated with suspicion in the Malaysian context but which managed  to draw away those UMNO-orientated supporters not because they are a real alternative but because UMNO under-performed. UMNO is not meeting the changing expectations of the people. I have been telling my colleagues in government that every Malay who joins the Islamic Party can be attributed to disillusionment with UMNO; that is why they run off to the Islamic Party. In the meantime, the Islamic Party has also managed to draw talent from among the Malays because UMNO, by virtue of the fact that it has been around for so long, has not been giving space to a new generation of members.  This means they do not have a sense of participation, a sense of belonging. UMNO has two million members but even those inside the party accept the fact that there is less space for them to express themselves.  So the educated ones have started drifting away and there is the impression among members that there is hostility even towards those who are able to contribute. The "joke" amongst us is that the cleverer you are, the less acceptable you become in UMNO. Whereas the cleverer you are, the more acceptable you are in PAS and one can see this in the rising number of PAS candidates and activists.

To provide one example from Johor is illustrative.  Johor is a bastion of UMNO. In my own constituency, every single time there was an election, there would only be one candidate against me, almost always  from the Islamic Party.  Come nomination day, seven or eight of them would come sheepishly; whereas UMNO would have thousands of flag-carrying members supporting me.  The Islamic Party would only have about 20 posters in the entire constituency.  And the opposition candidate would usually be a FELDA settler or a petition writer and at the end of the day, they would not gain even enough votes to retain their election deposit.

After my retirement, every time there was an election, I would go to give moral support. Thousands would welcome me as their ex-Member of Parliament. During the 1999 election I asked my UMNO party members who was standing against us in the election. They pointed to the other side of the road where there were hundreds of flag- waving people, with PAS flags, Nik Aziz's photograph, and KeADILan flags.

I went over to the other side of the road to take a look. To my surprise, they were all my friends, they were all my old supporters -  former UMNO members. I went there, sat with them, joked with them. After about ten minutes or so, a young man came rushing to me, he kissed my hands, hugged me and said, "Minister, you have been to my house, you had meals in my house, I was an UMNO youth leader in one little branch, in one village."   "Who are you?" I asked.   "I am the PAS candidate." Who was this young man? A good-looking chap, well-dressed, and of course, with the inevitable goatee.  But unlike previous PAS candidates, this young man who was a petroleum engineer with Petronas but is now a consultant, speaks excellent English. He told me, "You know, Tan Sri, I tried to change UMNO, but it didn't work.  So I decided to join PAS." So this is the situation, this is what it is all about.
The fork and music

Islam and religion, in the old traditional way, should be separated from politics -  this is what we learned from the Westminster and Western-type of democracy. But that is no longer the case.  Islam and religion  is part and parcel of politics and which we have to live with. It is something we have to accept and adapt ourselves to and we must interpret its developments within the context of the political process that is ongoing in Malaysia.

I feel personally that the developments have been good.  By saying this, I am expressing a view that is really not mainstream in Malaysia. It is a good development because it will aid the democratic process. As the saying goes, "in Malaysian politics, we never have a dull moment". Whenever I get into a taxi in Singapore, local taxi drivers love to talk about Malaysian politics. With due respect, as they say (in Malay) in Singapore, "Kita tak boleh cakap politik Singapore,  tapi boleh cakap politik Malaysia" (We cannot talk about Singapore politics here, so we talk about Malaysian politics instead.)  The point about Malaysia is that it is still a vibrant and open society despite the restrictions that are in place, in which religion is a very important factor. What needs to be done in Malaysia is simply that the government should not be reactive, as that is not the way to face the Islamic party, or an Islamic resurgence.

Unfortunately, this is what is happening now, even though, perhaps too slowly, those in power are beginning to realise this. PAS has nothing to lose. The funny thing about these developments is that UMNO seems to be adopting PAS's method and PAS seems to be going UMNO's way.  In the old days, if one attended the General Assembly of the Islamic Party, you would see goateed young men with their turban and juba (robes) carrying cheap red plastic bags.  Today, if you go to their General Assembly, you will find a lot of them wearing their traditional Malay dress and carrying high quality bags provided by sponsors. And they also have hand phones and cars. These days, PAS has a lot of members who are university-educated lecturers and professors.  UMNO members, though still wearing their Malay dress, seem overly obsessed with what PAS does. They often claim that they could not take this or that action as a reaction to PAS.

I know of a very young, dynamic and impressive lawyer, the youngest member of the State Assembly in the state of Pahang, where there are a few PAS members. This young man had been attending dinners before the Assembly sessions and these dinners are always accompanied by cultural shows, including the customary Malay traditional dances.  He made the observation that such practices are un-Islamic.  Since then all state dinners in Pahang with the State Assembly and the Sultan are very quiet -  it is as if the guests are  attending a funeral.   And the joke among them is that the only music they can make is to knock the fork and spoon together in order to entertain themselves.

In Johor, I have insisted, and I am very happy, that all functions are accompanied by traditional Malay cultural shows and this is true in every district in the state.  The way is not to react but to be proactive.  We need to meet the challenge that the present leadership is facing.  Whether they will succeed or not will determine the future of the country. But as far as I am concerned, I would not worry too much about this resurgence of Islam.  I suggest you look at it as nothing but part of the normal political process, part of the progress in government and politics in Malaysia - your closest and most important neighbour, whether you like it or not.
(Some of the answers by Tan Sri Musa Hitam at question time)

On being Proactive

When I talk about being proactive, I am not only talking about religion, I am also referring to the overall strategy of the present UMNO government.  When I was in government, I was one of the few who felt strongly that the more PAS supporters there are in a particular area, the more development efforts should be poured into that area.

When I was Minister for Education, for instance, I experienced extreme difficulties in convincing my fellow UMNO members that I must provide more schools for those PAS areas.  My theory is simple, the more educated you are, the more facilities you have, the more exposure you have to "modernization", the more liberal you tend to be in your views.  Of course, such changes will take a long time. Unfortunately, my views are still not shared by many UNMO members. So, one of the most important factors, or aspects of what I mean by being proactive, is to deliver in those areas, particularly, the Malay "heartland" which forms the poorest sector of our society. The Malays there seem to care less about development, because PAS focuses on the akhira (the afterworld). Again, this perspective has been implanted in the minds of the conservative Malays. But, as proven by the experiences in the other parts of the country, they will gradually change as they become more receptive to the idea of modernisation.

Being proactive also extends to the overall treatment of religion.  What is happening now is indicative of the reactive approach. For example, in Malaysia, the  Apostasy Act is a very serious matter that is of great concern to Malays and non- Malays alike, as well as to legal experts and to those concerned with human rights. In discussions with the Bar Council recently on the Apostasy Act, I observed that several states had implemented the Act, and that by implementing that Act it shows that we (i.e.  UMNO)  are  more  Muslim  than  PAS.    On this  issue,  other  states  might  be following suit. However, UMNO is still the best hope to keep it under control.

In religious education what has happened now is that whatever proposals formulated by the present government are no longer acceptable simply because the government is losing its credibility, as it preaches what it does not practice.  This question of credibility is, again, the result of being in power for so long, and not being aware of what would be acceptable or not.  What is acceptable in Malaysia is, of course, to be loyal to the leader and the partner, whatever that loyalty means, and putting all other practices aside.

Islam, as we all understand, does not condone corruption, cronyism and nepotism, these are dirty words now in Malaysia, but they do exist. What has happened in PAS controlled areas is different from the other  states in Malaysia.  These days, people say that if they wanted to renew their licences in Kelantan, all they need to do is to just queue up at the designated government office and when the time comes, they get their licences.  Whereas in the rest of the country, if you want to renew your license, you must have your kaki (friends or contacts) inside the government offices, then you will get it approved very quickly.  This is the image that PAS is projecting about their administration in Kelantan. According to them, that is Islam in practice.
An Islamic state

A few days ago, the Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, challenged the Islamic Party to put in writing what they meant by an Islamic state. Their response is that what constitutes an Islamic state is reflected in their party manifesto and their policies in the states of Kelantan and Trengganu.  Even the Chinese are beginning to give favourable feedback about PAS.  They have said that the PAS administration is much more business friendly and they have had less difficulty doing business in these two states.

For example a Chinese businessman who had investments in Trengganu told me that after PAS's  victory, he wanted to wind up his businesses there immediately but before doing that he went to the Trengganu State Administration office to bid farewell to the government officials. He met three smartly attired officials, including a PAS executive committee member who spoke excellent English and who said to him:, "Thank you very much for coming to our state, you have been investing in our state, we hope that you will tell us whenever you have any problems.  Give us some advice how we could do better." The Chinese businessman just could not believe his ears and as a result, he remained in Trengannu. This story has been circulated widely. This is what is claimed by PAS to be the positive aspect of Islam as they are practicing it in relation to governance. The problem is when the young and the general public regard this as a form of Islamic State and see it as superior to other states.  Of course, there are also other aspects of Islamic governance that may prove more controversial.

In terms of activities, PAS is enjoying a high profile. Lim Kit Siang, the leader  of the DAP (Democratic Alliance Party), told me recently that he had just organized a meeting for the Chinese community to which he invited PAS leaders. He said that senior party officials came, gave their speeches, and freely answered questions.   There were a lot of differences but for the  first time they met and exchanged views. This is the meaning of being proactive.  The Barisan Nasional has never done that.  UMNO would not conduct such a meeting as they would regard it as strictly an MCA affair. On 15 May 2000, as I was told by the Islamic Party Chief Information Officer, the Islamic Party held a dialogue session with the Council of Churches. Once again, this is unprecedented.  They politely disagreed with each other, but at least they took the trouble to meet. What would UMNO lose if they were to do likewise? It would benefit UMNO tremendously.

I will relate to you my experience as the Chairman of Suhakam, the Human Rights Commission. Suhakam has road shows in which we meet political parties, both from the government and the opposition. When we met the opposition, things went smoothly. But when we met with UNMO party members, they complained about the present government, which is theirs. I told them, "This is your government, why are you telling me this? You sort this out yourself." "Tak boleh lah, tak pernah cakap. " (We can't, we have not discussed this before). So, the other day, they had a meeting for the first time, the Panel on National Unity (which I was asked to Chair), and where
various party representatives, such as Najib (UMNO), Lim Keng Yaik (Gerakan) and Ling Liong Sik (MCA), attended. Of course, a few leaders somehow did not turn up. Interestingly for the first time, three party leaders made speeches at the same forum, although they just stood up and reiterated their party manifestos while the others simply expressed support.  Similarly, the Barisan Nasional recently held its convention. However, to me (in my usual non-mainstream view), that was not a convention, it was a rally. It was an occasion where party members pledged support for the leadership, to say how strong they were, and how much they love the leadership.  I assumed they would be able to air their differences, but they have been suppressed. PAS has been trying to come up with a Barisan Alternatif although there is still an on-going debate about the nature of the Islamic state. Nonetheless, the opposition parties are in touch and they communicate regularly each other. When I raised such issues, it sounded to some as though I was pro-opposition, but I am just making an analysis here. I tell the leadership of the Barisan Nasional that they should be as proactive, if not more so, than the opposition. That is the only way to get feedback and that is the only way to ensure that there is coordination.  Such a comprehensive approach is much better than an ad hoc reactive approach.

I have been critical often enough, publicly and privately, that the present government is simply reactive. Whenever we feel that the Chinese are not happy, we give them this; Malays are not happy, give them that.  If something is wrong with education, they will make an announcement the next day; for example, now we have started Science classes.  But why not launch  a more comprehensive study to get feedback? There will not be any loss to anybody if they formulate policy in a more proactive fashion.

"Black Metal"

The "Black Metal" phenomena is one of these phenomena that exist in our society that is indicative of the process of modernization, which involves a cultural shock, and a lack of sense of direction experienced by its populace. But this is not just a Malaysian phenomenon. You ask the Thais, you ask the Americans, you ask the British, you ask the Singaporeans.  These groupings will always exist in any society, especially the more modernized nations. Japan is also experiencing such social problems. To me, Malaysia is part of that process. Of course, this has been widely reported by the press. However, we need to understand why. Some people argue that the parents are busy criticizing the government so they are neglecting their children, and that is why the children have joined the "Black Metal" group. But it is deeper than that. It is a societal problem, no different from the problem of drug abuse - it is a form of diversion, a means of expression for groups of people. To repeat, it is a phenomenon that is not a unique to Malaysia. It is a social phenomenon faced by developing countries.

What sort of role do I play as Chairman of Suhakam against my earlier role as the Home Minister? It is very simple. This question is very popular in Malaysia. The formation of this Human Rights Commission is without precedent in Malaysia. Interestingly, it is an institution that was initiated and established by the Malaysian government.  I was appointed as leader of the Malaysian delegation to the UN Commission of Human Rights and I persuaded the government that we needed a national commission at home.   Then I was appointed as the Chairman of the Commission, and to be honest with you, I did not want the role. I told the leadership, the form of the National Human Rights Commission does not matter, they could find any old man who is quite harmless, who is loyal to head it. But my point was simply that: we needed to have such an institution.  It took some time for me to persuade the government.  In the end, the government agreed, formulated the necessary law and tabled it in Parliament.  The law was passed by Parliament and members of the Commission have been appointed. I was literally forced to accept this chairmanship role.  It is worrying to quite a lot of people who thought I had a political agenda here, but I have undertaken to make the best of this task. The Commission deals with human rights, so necessarily we talk about freedom and democracy.

One of the problems about this Commission of Human Rights is deciding its scope.  Whereas human rights encompasses economic, social, cultural and political rights, the most difficult issue is political rights because of the situation I have outlined to you.  The Commission has to deal with issues like the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Police Act, the Printing Presses Act, and all these laws are related to, and formulated by, the Ministry of Home Affairs.  Indeed, I was the Minister of Home Affairs, and people often ask me these question:  "Why is it that you are now against the ISA whereas you were the Minister of Home Affairs?" "Why are you asking for amendments to the Police Act whereas you were the Minister of Home Affairs?" "How is it that you, again, are now asking for amendments to the Printing Presses Act whereas you were the Minister of Home Affairs?" I was the Minister of Home Affairs, but I claimed that I presided over the termination and the conclusion of the communist menace in Malaysia. I was also involved in negotiations with the communists. In the end the government signed an agreement with the Communist Party -  although I had left government by that stage.
Chopsticks

My point is this: facing a communist threat is different from facing a threat that is imbued in the normal political democratic process.  I claimed that in those days, I knew of widespread communist infiltration. From being a student in Singapore until I was Minister, I knew all about the threat.  They, the communists, were the most efficient and subversive threat to Malaysia, and they had a declared objective of toppling the government by violent means.  So I knew that wherever there were gatherings of people, there would be communist agents around.  I am very proud of Baling (Kedah), in that I faced thousands of people there while I was Minister of Home Affairs, knowing full well that the groups there were infiltrated with so many communist agents, instigators who were prepared just to create trouble. So my approach then was different, it was "them versus us", or "shoot or be shot". It is as simple as that. So, I think that these laws were justifiable and necessary then. I never apologized for that.  But I think differently now.  I keep telling the leaders that whenever there are demonstrations now, those involved are not communist agents. They are expressing their political views, and they are your sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, cousins and uncles.   They are the opposition who identify themselves openly, they are not subversive in that sense. This is my view, which is different from the government's.   I feel that within a year, the Human Rights Commission managed to accomplish a lot by mediating and preventing political situations from getting out of hand.   When we first started off, there were some problems, but now the police and the government officials will say be careful of Suhakam as it has been an effective watch-dog. And now, we have credibility and acceptability even among the opposition.  For example,  ten opposition leaders were arrested when they wanted to stage an anti-government demonstration to hand over a memorandum. After which, the leaders decided to hand over the memorandum to Sukaham instead. I agreed. But before that, I told them, "Look, you [the opposition] behave yourself, you must disperse." Then we informed the police. True enough, we received the memorandum and the gathering of a few thousand soon dispersed peacefully.

Suhakam has also played the role of mediator or intermediary. After handing us the memorandum. Wan Azizah, wife of former deputy Prime Minister Anwar lbrahim, and her father, faced the crowd of protestors. I asked two of my Commissioners to follow them to ensure that they would disperse. Wan Azizah, as we advised, told the gathering to disperse.  Justice Anuar, a former Chief Justice of Malaya, who is a member of the Commission, spoke at the request of the protestors. He confirmed that the memorandum was handed over to Sukaham and he went on to urge the crowd to disperse.  But before that, as a peace making gesture, he invited everyone to pray. Soon, everybody raised their hands and said, "Oh God!, Please release Anwar lbrahim, please abolish the ISA, please stop the government from being cruel to us." Interestingly, the police were very friendly this time round.  I believe this is the result of our persuasion. They even joined in the mass prayers! I thought this anecdote is very symptomatic of political tactics of the opposition parties, of the way that they carry themselves. I told the Prime Minister about that and mentioned: "Look, I must compliment them, the opposition, I am sorry, they outwitted you".

Talking about more examples, recently we had a few hundred people who wanted to stage a protest walk, to pressure the government to release the ISA detainees. In the old days, they would be refused and the police would arrest them on the spot. This time the protestors, with their placards, walked from the Bar Council, at the Legal Aid Bureau, towards the University of Malaya. As they walked, a police entourage was right behind them.  When they were going to cross the road, and this is the amusing part, the traffic police stopped the traffic so that the protestors could walk across! Seriously, I think these are little things, which to me, represent the achievements of Sukaham. We are going to face a lot of political problems in the future. There is the danger that both the government and the opposition might take the hardline approach. Thank God and "touch wood", I think the situation will never escalate into something violent as evident in other countries. I really have strong faith in the fact that Malaysia is a multi-racial society.  Even if an Islamic party comes to power, it cannot afford but be Malaysian first, and Islamic second. Even for Malay leaders who rise up the ranks of UMNO multiculturalism is crucial. Take for example, Anwar lbrahim, when he first came in, I told him quite point blank, "You are a Malay leader, you are an Islamic leader, but if you want to be national leader, you have to start eating with chopsticks to show people that you relate to the other races. Any leader, any party that wants to be in power in Malaysia must be acceptable overall." Even in the Malay heartland, PAS itself is beginning to realize that it would have to moderate itself in order to become acceptable nationwide.   As an UMNO member, and I must declare my party membership, I am not in favour of PAS as I cannot accept PAS ideologically. However all parties must accent the realities of the composition of Malavsian society. #

Extracts from a paper "Islam and State in Malaysia" read by Tan Sri Musa Hitam, former deputy prime minister and chairman of Suhakam,  at a Forum organized by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in 2001.


ISEAS' EDITOR'S NOTES


1.        The Malay heartland is a term used to refer to states such as Trengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis.

2.        Nik Aziz is the leader of PAS.  PAS have formed an electoral alliance with KeADILAN which is the party of Wan Azizah (wife of the imprisoned former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar lbrahim).

3.        Under a system inherited from colonial times, matters of Islamic law are decided at state, not federal, level.   Some states have enacted apostasy laws which prohibit Muslims from conversion to another faith.


Persatuan Peranakan Cina Melaka
Founded 1900
The Asscoiation maintains a  Clubhouse and Baba Museum
Website:  www.peranakanmelaka.com
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The Penang File Issue 27

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