A new vision for Malaysia (Part 1)

Murray Hunter 2 October 2015, 4:30pm 1

InternationalPolitics

Murray Hunter and Dr Azly Rahman explore the theme of the "Malaysian Dream" in the
first of their two-part analysis of what is ailing Malaysian politics with a proposed
manifesto to remedy the rotting of this neo-colonialist construct.
I am indeed proud that on this, the greatest day in Malaya's history it falls to my lot
to proclaim the formal independence of this country. Today as new page is turned, and
Malaya steps forward to take her rightful place as a free and independent partner in the
great community of Nations-a new nation is born and though we fully realise that
difficulties and problems lie ahead, we are confident that, with the blessing of God,
these difficulties will be overcome and that today's events, down the avenues of history,
will be our inspiration and our guide.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, first prime minister of Malaysia, Proclamation of
Independence, 31 August, 1957
TODAY'S DEBATE in Malaysia has gone down to the lowest ebb. Discourse on
democracy is dead; bludgeoned by the caretakers of the cult of secrecy of the ruling
regime. The dream of a progressive Malaysia conceived by her freedom fighters and
founding fathers and mothers such as Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, Ibrahim Yaakob, Onn
Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Chen Lock, V. T. Sambanthan and even the much
contested heroic figures such as Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin, Mokhtaruddin Lasso and
Shamsiah Fakeh has turned into a nightmare in broad daylight.
If there is a period of decay in destruction of the democratic institutions yearning to grow
well this is the time of chaos and anarchy: of Malaysia in the Age of Corrupt Systems.
The challenges of a nation-state today, seem insurmountable not because the idea of a
nation of many, hybridizing with the singularity, sovereignty, and sensibility of the
modern state is an impossibility, but because there is no political will to make Malaysia
that nation-state be realized in its entirety. In other words, Malaysia has been made to
become a neo-colonialist divide-and-rule hyper-modern polity.
The apartheidization of society is deliberate and necessary a design in order for the
political-economic elite to rule. Herein lies our intention to explore the theme of the
Malaysian Dream, and propose explanations to the reasons for the rotting of this neo-
colonialist construct and offer ideas towards a remedy. In doing so, we are guided by
these questions: What are the ills of this country? What remedies does she need? How
do we Malaysians chart a new world of possibilities? What are our visions? - these
are the questions we are exploring in this brief essay on the future of Malaysia.
Malaysias predicament
Malaysia's current situation and social condition is one characterized by violence; from a
spectrum of hidden and subtle to blatant and outright display of it. Talks of a possible
racially-motivated riot in Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur and a U.S. terror alert warning

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for that area, a massive rally calling for the end of corruption and a call for free and fair
elections, the immense complexity of the ENRON-like case of the Malaysian investment
project, the 1MDB and its story which read like a Watergate and a pulp fiction of global
money-laundering combined, the resurfacing of the call to investigate the gruesome
murder of a Mongolian model-cum-Russian interpreter of a governmental French-
submarine deal, the ugly spillovers of the current war of political survival and relevancy
between the camps of Najib Tun Razak and former prime minster of 22-years, Dr.
Mahathir Mohamad all these happenings within the last few months are symptoms of
this Malaysian socio-political cancer, or a noli me tangere as the Filipino nationalist of
the 50s Jose Rizal would call it.
How do we get to this seemingly point of no-return? Malaysians may now be reflecting
on the spiritual aspect of the predicament. As Jesus/Isa said in The Sermon on the
Mount, on "The Beatitudes," one cannot serve god and money at the same time; as
Thich Nach Han preached of the path of peace and moderation; as Muhammad spoke
of Humanity as one and transcends race and tribalism, and that an Arab is no superior
than any other race.
The remedy of these predicaments is what we ought to work on, gradually but surely
through a long deliberate process of inner and outer change, one simply called
"Education" - that gentle profession that will ensure personal and social progress.
Today there is a talk of crafting a peace-making and peace-building plan by parties
interested in reconciliation. Our view is that any "common framework of nation-building
must incorporate the voices of those marginalized, and the aspirations of the diverse
peoples, and the intelligent design of social change that puts people first and at the
center. This is what ought to be done rather than erect materials and vainglorious
infrastructure architectured to oppress and alienate human beings those pentagons
of power build with the blood, sweat, tears, and fears of the poor the rich enslaved
through crude as well as sophisticated means.
In Malaysia, it might be a futile effort for political parties craft elegant common
frameworks of a new-Malaysian when not enough social-philosophical dialogue is done
through mass and frequent meaningful intellectual engagements that include the hopes
and aspirations of the people rather that exclude them; dialogue that sought their
opinion and suggestions on what matters rather than teach them to chants slogans of
change to be shouted in unison at rallies. In short, we need to bring big ideas down to
the level of language and meaningfulness of the class of people we wish to develop.
Each party attempting to work together must command the language of participatory
social change, of social justice, of culturally-tailored socialism, or capitalism with a moral
conscience. Party members must learn to view religion as separate from the state and
be the champions of that man-made laws that are collectively crafted by living,
breathing and thinking human souls. That document called 'The Constitution', that
embody the spirit of a nation with common dream and aspirations and future must be
the made to be the bedrock of nationhood.
Oftentimes development and the institutionalization of national policies are stylized as
top-down, commanding, and of late draconian and punishing practices. For one familiar

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with the process of creating shared vision in an organization, this kind of transmittance
of developmental philosophy is not only unacceptable but in due course will be a reason
for a revolt of the masses.
We must examine and scrutinize our "commanding heights," as the Russian leader
Vladimir Lenin would say about our economic model and our ideology and our base and
superstructure. We must align these with the question of human nature: as human
beings what do we want and what do we need, and how do we differentiate between
what we want and what we need, so that we will not be confused and our society will
not be evolving catastrophically.
Malaysia is at a historical juncture of suicide; a bipolar nation breaking down into pieces.
We had a dream. That dream is destroyed by the Pied Piper who is projecting himself to
serve god and fellow men but in reality, is now having money serve him; that pied piper
leading us to Armageddon of our own nation-state.
Where did we go wrong? Why are we living this nightmare? How do we craft a new
Malaysian dream?
Hard times for the nation-state
In spite of exposure to the world via internet, news, social media, and travel, the vision
of what could be in Malaysia has become a dark and gloomy one. Visions are hopeful
and positive aspirations that can be shared as a national narrative, an encapsulated
version of what could be called The Malaysian Dream.
However any dream has been suppressed with healthy political debate muzzled,
academic freedom muzzled, criticism muzzled, where those who dare to dream or
criticize the neo-feudal establishment are caste away through various means and
neutralized.
The ideological apparatuses are now unashamedly used by the power elite to control,
cajole, and coerce the rakyat not only into cultural subservience and political submission
but also to instil fear of governmental wrath should citizens speak up truth to power to
raise consciousness of injustices. The power elite, those that are ruling the country and
whose power is derived not only from elections, arguably dubious in its recent outcome,
are those whose hegemony is derived from a massive control of wealth through this
convenient system of the Constitutional Monarch; a system that works in symbiosis in
the overall framework of Malay Hegemonic and Trumpeted Superiority, as leit motif.
This is not just a one sided affair. The opposition forces in Malaysia have also become
intellectually bankrupt, have lost any passion for Malaysia, and are locked into their own
introspection. Of late, especially after the 13th General Elections and after the
incarceration of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and since the beginning
of the Mahathir-Najib mahabharatta and vendetta in one, the Opposition itself has gone
through as series of implosions breaking it into pieces leading not only to the inability for
the coalition to come to terms with issues to be championed for the next elections, but
also the implosion in its member party itself, PAS. The birth of Parti Amanah Negara
(PAN), formed by those who no longer have the faith of the progressiveness of the
Islam in PAS, signify the new forms of implosion leading to new politics in the coalition.
Still, the Opposition has successfully been broken up rendering it difficult to play the role
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of contender of Barisan Nasional. The rakyat has lost faith in the Opposition, especially
with the loss of DS Anwar as its mover and shaker as well as a Malaysian prime-
minister-in-waiting.
This has come to the point where people may not even turn out to vote for the
opposition just to protest against the government because of the hopelessness they
are displaying in terms of providing any alternative national narratives, dreams, and
aspirations for a modern Malaysian society. Political analysts and social commentators
these days are having difficult time writing about the possible triumph of the Opposition
coalition in the coming elections. Internal politics in PKR especially since the much-
criticized Kajang Move, and the plan hatched as a dawn raid for the Selangor Chief
Ministers position, the ongoing and perhaps no-exit-to-an agreement over the
implementation of the hudud and the open secret of the hardliners in Pas wishing to
make Talibanistic Islam as a model of Malaysias Islamic state these two major
factors add to the internal political combustion of the Opposition, rendering it now too
weak for the disillusioned rakyat to have faith in a much-needed change. Even the
crumbling ruling party, especially the one plaguing UMNO as a consequence of Najib
Razaks escapades, fiascos, and the metastasizing effect of the 1MDB, is benefitting
from the implosion of the Opposition.
Global exposure, technology, and education have been wasted on Malaysians who are
locked within a Malay-centric psychic dome that is completely opaque to what could be.
Whilst globalization as a phenomena of movement of peoples, ideas, technology, and
goods demand citizens of the world to adapt and prepare for the challenges of a
multipolar, multi-cultural, and multi-perspectived world the Malay mind is still caged by
its educational leaders to remain monocultural and to defend the rights to be exclusive
and sheltered from the prospects and challenges of the world. This is designed and
manufactured so that the incomprehensibility of the war cry and white noise of
Ketuanan Melayu, or Self-Ascribed and Trumped Notion of Malay Superiority, can be
maintained as a reason to live, work, and play.
No one today dare talk about what could be the best way to realize a society based on
the simple principle of unity in diversity. Those calling for the need to remove the veil of
racism, cast aside the garment of prejudice and suspicion, and embrace the idea of
multiculturalism are made public enemies. These speaking up for the idea that all those
born and breed in the country Malays Chinese, Indians, etc. - are now Bumipteras
or sons and daughters of the soil, are shunned against almost to the point of being
charged as seditious people that do not know anything about the history of Tanah
Melayu and ought to be charged for sedition. This is the dilemma of speaking up against
the self-imprisonment of Malaysians caught in a historical time-warp and not able to see
the prospects and possibilities of an emerging Malaysian and cosmopolitan society.
That is the discourse on a true Malaysian identity and a good society that has become a
new haram, or a taboo, and displeasing to the power elite.
For this trade, the right to think and express, the Rakyat get in return a vision of
introspection that makes the dark Middle Ages look like the Renaissance period in
Europe.

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More sadly while the rest of the region is moving forward, the Malaysian elite are
content with holding Malaysia back to the risk where what we know today could and will
implode and bring a brave new world of misery and disappear.
Imploding questions
The big questions of nation building and bangsa are imploding.
Malaysia has no structured and streamlined operational government any more. It is run
by kleptomaniac leaders who are purely concerned with getting what they can for
themselves and demanding that they be condoned for it.
The states are failing, many not financially viable anymore, run by more morally
bankrupt leaders who take their ques from their feudal lords who they pay alms to for
the right to rob the country morally.
There is no such thing as proper federal state relations operating in Malaysia; UMNO
tore up the constitution long ago and just ad lib as they go along.
Ex-Sabah Umno MP to Malaysians: Find a way to make things right: PETALING JAYA:
Former Umno Libaran MP Datuk J... http://t.co/TL4lW04sOx
MMalaysia News Links (@dlMalaysianews) October 1, 2015
The young of the country are bypassed for the old guard whose use by dates have
long gone.
Sabah and Sarawak have been raped and put into subservient position vis the federal
government which is run by a crony elite.
Islam is now a political tool of persuasion and control. Its a tool of the government, of
which PAS hand delivered to the government with their insistence on HUDUD without
Tawhid. Education is another handy political tool of subservience. It seems to produce
new graduates who cannot t think for themselves in fear of offending. People are being
programmed to obey in Malaysias higher education institutions, after being taught how
to go through life without questioning the status quo in the secondary system.
Today in Malaysia, the rakyat have not experienced good governance with any big
picture vision. Rather they have been subjected to a government that is ad hoc and acts
on whims. Nobody talks policy in Putrajaya. Policy makers only talk greed. Mega
projects are mega bucks, and everyone wants a slice.
Government is a winner takes all mechanism, where those outside can eat the crumbs
that the elite dont want (or more rightly cannot handle).
So let us ponder about what could be past the introspection of UMNO, the leadership of
today's neo-fuel elite, corporate cronies, and opposition forces.
See Part 2 tomorrow: A vision for a new Malaysia.
Murray Hunter is now semi-retired and is an associate professor at the University
Malaysia Perlis, spending a lot of time consulting to Asian governments on community
development and village biotechnology, both at the strategic level and on the ground.
He is also a visiting professor at a number of universities and regular speaker at
conferences and workshops in the region. You can follow Murray on Twitter
@DalastKimbasabi.
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Dr. Azly Rahman is a long-time columnist for Malaysiakini, an author of seven books on
Malaysia and the complexities of hypermodernity and globalization, and teaches course
in Global Politics, Culture, American Studies, Education, and Philosophy. He currently
resides in the United States. You can follow Azly on Twitter @azlyrahman.

Murray Hunter and Dr Azly Rahman conclude their two-part analysis of what is ailing
Malaysian politics with their manifesto for radical political change.
See Part 1 here.
A vision for a new Malaysia
AMIDST THE chaos engulfing the country circa the 58th Malaysia Day, what is left is
hope, although hopelessness lie in the inability to remove those corrupted sectors
individuals, institutions, and ideology.
Malaysia needs a vision, a new national narrative that all can debate and get behind to
rebuild the country to the potential it really has. That vision was there before Mahathir
took power and transformed it into total power over the course of his 22-years in power.
The challenge indeed is to liquidate Mahathirism and start this nation-state at Ground
Zero with the following changes to be made:
1.A debate on Malaysia: A national debate on what Malaysia could and should become
a national priority. There is an imperative urgency to this. This dialogue must be done
openly through the media, schools, universities and all possible forums. It must begin
with a true retrospective local of our history, so that it is appreciated, with a no holds
barred situational audit undertaken publicly on the nations political, social, and
economic on the present situation today. One when the past and present is honestly
reflected up can a future direction be chartered for all and sundry of what we should all
call the great nation of Malaysia Given the dire state Malaysia is in, with the institutions
crumbling and critical consciousness needed for progress disappearing, it is imperative
that systematic effort be engineered and architectured to make the citizens be able to
think critically and morally. The hang-up on the current narratives of Ketuanan
Melayu and Hudud, and the acceptance of corruption of the highest order, is keeping
Malaysia locking into the past, without hope of ever seeing a bright future where we can
be proud of the nation we should be calling great.

2.A clear separation of powers: A return to a national unity government with checks
balances and power sharing until the country is out of crisis is mandatory if the country
is going to be free of the past. This requires political parties to set aside their differences
temporarily, come together and work on an agreement to save the nation from further
descending into chaos. Each party owes its voters the willingness to see through a
country that stops bleeding from years of conflict, corruption, and cultural degeneration.

3.A transcultural-philosophical Islam: A return of the path of a progressive interpretation

of Islam that would be an asset to the country. Focus should be given on the big Islamic
issues in economy, business, corruption, and work towards the creation of universal set
of morals that society will be proud to live within. Malaysia has travelled the mistaken
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path of Arabization since the days of Islamization Project at the onset of the Mahathir
Era. Decades of success of the institutionalization of a spectrum of Islamic concept s
and applications have yield what is today a process of inching towards Talibanism. This
is particularly evident in this administration of Najib Abdul Razak in which there seems
to be a loss of control of the political will to monitor the spread of intolerant-Salafist
version of Islam. Absent is the flourishing of Islam that promotes critical inquiry and
philosophical discourse reminiscent of the rigour and splendour of Islam in Cordoba,
Spain at the height of the Age of Transcultural-Philosophical Islam if there is a
designation to that period.

4.A responsive educational system: Innovative education models like the Switzerland
system where students are able to master multiple languages should be considered as
models to be adopted in multilingual Malaysia. In many places of Europe students are
able to attend universities and undertake their work in one of possibly two or three
languages. In addition students need encouragement to question what is, and this must
start in the classrooms of the nation. No longer should asking questions be considered
disrespectful, but rather praised as the ability to think critically. In addition, if Malaysian
universities are to excel, they must be de-politicized. VCs must be selected on their
ability as professional educators rather than loyalty to the BN Government. No more
should BTN connections ever be the qualification needed for a person to hold the
highest offices within universities. Reform of Malaysia's universities must start at the top
and be allowed to filter down through autonomy and true meritocracy. Without any
changes at the top, Malaysia's higher institutions of education are doomed to continue
their spectacular fall in international rankings.

5.A new federalism: This is required in Malaysia where there is a genuine respect and
acceptance for the division of powers between states and the federal government. This
is all laid out within the Constitution of Malaysia but has been abused and ignored by
successive BN Governments who have acted to centralize power spurred on by the
motivation of greed. State Governments need to be nurtured where good leaders need
to be found and developed to look after state interests, independently of any Federal
Government. This would be a completely new political paradigm for Malaysia and help
bring Malaysia's leaders closer to the rakyat. National development and management
needs to be a cooperative area, free of party politics. Governments must respect the will
of the people and work within those wills, whether a State Government be BN, DAP,
PAS, or PKR. In addition, BN state Governments must learn to operate independently
from the will of the Federal Government leadership, and act on what they have been
elected for, the protection of state rights, and development.

6.A new deal for Sabah and Sarawak: This urgent development is needed; one that
follows on in the spirit of federal-state relations, where the 18 and 20 point agreements
must be honoured by all, as part of the history and heritage of the formation of Malaysia.
New talks about autonomy within the federation must be undertaken within the wide

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framework of federal-state relations to get the countries bureaucracy working in
coexistence and cooperation.

7.An all-our war on corruption: Malaysians must attack corruption fearlessly and take a
lesson from China. Corruption is an Achilles heel of Malaysian Government and is
drawing the nation down to a failed state syndrome. A country where corruption prevails
has no morals whatsoever. The news of corruption and the nation's leaders being able
to get away with it is not the examples the young generation of Malaysia should be
taking their leads from. Radical shock treatment is needed here and it may have to be a
death penalty, even though this is an abhorrent punishment. What must be made clearly
understood to all is that corruption is not acceptable anymore in the nation of Malaysia.

8.A civics-minded populace: Malaysians must also play a role in everyday government
and this is why local government should be democratized. Local people should stand for
local elections for local government and learn the role of authority and responsibility.
Local government is the third tier of government which has had little transparency. Local
government is actually more relevant to the everyday lives of the rakyat and it's time for
the rakyat to take this responsibility. People with political party affiliations should not be
allowed to run public office, so that city councils can remain independent.

9.A new breed of leaders: It's time to bring forward the young leaders of this nation into
the political arena. No more should politicians whose 'use by' dates have long gone take
up all the positions of power. It's time for the younger generation to take over. Within
this, the gender balance of national leadership needs a drastic tilt towards more female
representation.

10.A major political paradigm shift: Malaysian politics needs a massive paradigm
change away from personality, race, and nepotism and move towards policy. The same
stories and narratives about race and privilege are getting Malaysia nowhere. In fact it's
going backwards relative to the rest of the region and becoming deeply introspective. All
political discussions should be in terms of policy within the framework of Malaysia's
institutions. That is true constitutional Government at work.

11.A powerful senate: This means revamping the National Senate to become a true
house of review instead of a house of reward and convenience it has become. The
Senate should be a true state house where the interests of each state and territory is
looked after by members directly elected by proportional representation, rather than the
appointment system currently in place. In, addition the Senate should have the power to
call inquiries into issues of national interest, and the power to block budget Bills, as a
check and balance on the Government of the day.

12.A passage to decentralization: As Malaysia is a complex country, its time through

federal-state relations and local government to decentralise government operations

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within the country. Malaysia is not a communist country, but insists on operating as one
through centralized planning and centralized decision making. The Prime Minister's
Office (PMO) has become enormously powerful and this power and authority, as well as
responsibility should be channelled back to local areas where decisions affect the
people living there.

13.A people-first economic philosophy: It's time for massive market and economic
reforms to take place to modernize the Malaysian economy to one that is influenced
through market forces rather than regulation protecting the power elite and their cronies.
Import permits (APs) must be done away with to allow a level playing field develop in
the Malaysian business world today. The current heavy regulation and artificial
monopolies that exist in Malaysia just go to keep a small section of society wealthy in
the name of the New Economic Policy (NEP). There must be transparency, along with
the emphasis on sustainability when land is handed out to corporations. The national
land bank is held in trust for all Malaysians and should not be a mechanism to make a
favored few ultra-rich. Rather than build luxury resorts where the local economies see
little benefit, true community projects should be planned and developed. The gap
between those who have and those who have not is widening. Market reforms are
urgently needed.

14.A shared decision-making: Consultants must be stopped from being the instrument
that is making so much policy within the Malaysian Government today. Pemandu and
the corridor authorities are on a gravy train racking up massive consultancies to develop
policy for implementation. The policy making process must bring in public processes
that involve the public into the process of determining their own destinies and develop
more consultative government.

15.A broader choice of political parties: On the political front, parties should be broken
up and reorganized into strong grassroots state organizations that pick their own state
leaders. State members should select their own parliamentary candidates and political
leaders, so that states can operate government independently. National party offices
should operate only as peak bodies and facilitators. Such a move will distribute political
power back to the grassroots within the parties and prevent any one group dominating
the political organization. This means that there may be a much larger number of
political parties representing Malaysians much better than the narrow choices available
today.

16.A thinking-feeling-doing civil service: Malaysia once had one of the best civil services
within the region. However, Mahathirism whittled away at the independence of the civil
service until today it is a zest pit of political cronies there to serve those in power. The
civil service needs to become independent again and made more efficient where the
spending wastages are eliminated. Meritocracy must be brought into the civil service as
a major uncompromising principle if the service is going to become independent and
professional.
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17.A new paradigm in economic planning: There is a need for Malaysia to find new
industries to invest in. The current portfolio of Malaysias earners is very narrow. The
country is now suffering from low petroleum and commodity prices, and needs to be
urgently diversified so the country can be brought to new levels of prosperity for the next
generation of Malaysians.

18.A return to cottage-based industries: However it is not just large industries that must
be sought as winners. The country must focus on developing community based
industries across the country. These small scale rural industries must not only be
compatible with but act as a means to enhance the nation's various indigenous cultures.
This should include food production and be centred around local trade so that local
communities can be self sufficient. Self sufficiency in food production may assist
Malaysia withstand the coming 'Euro' type economic calamities that are occurring today
in countries like Greece.

19.A new peg for the national currency: With the reputation of the Ringgit partly
destroyed by the Kleptocractic elite and massive capital flight from the country, the
Dinar and Dirham should be encouraged as an alternative local currency arrangement.
Not only would the Dinar hold value (being based on the value of gold), but it would
serve as alternative medium of exchange, that is not subject to the forces that have
caused the Ringgit to sink in value. This could be supplemented by encouraging local
savings cooperatives that are run by the local people, for the local people and are
owned by the local people, as alternatives to the large Malaysian Banking Corporations
owned by the elite. This will help curb speculation within the Malaysian economy.

20.A newer vision of a foreign policy: Malaysia's future relies upon being a contributor
and hard worker within the region the nation is domiciled within. Current foreign and
economic policy towards the region is ad hoc and requires an intellectual revamp to
place the nation within the region as a cultural and economic power once again. A new
thought out foreign policy is needed so Malaysia can play a leading role within ASEAN
and its entry into the AEC at the end of this year.

21.A new Malaysian citizenship spirit: The nation must be made to be Malaysian once
and for all. Malaysia is one country and cannot be considered in part. There can be no
such thing as first and second class citizens anymore. This Malaysian brand of
apartheid is morally reprehensible and must be abolished once and for all.
malaysiakini: YOURSAY | No Vision 2020 so long as theres racial politics:
http://t.co/xsPnaEGU2N [FREE] pic.twitter.com/G36UslDyOB
Malaysia News (@Malaysia_Latest) June 2, 2015

Essentially, below is a grand plan or the big picture of change that need to respectively

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be created and painted in order for Malaysia to offer a pathway to the realization of the
Malaysian Dream, preceded by key premises.
We cannot escape from the idea that there ought to be winners and losers, whether it is
in the way we give grades to students, design economic policies, organise the political
system or, ironically, even in the way we understand religion and God and how these
relate to what Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi would call the harijan (children of God).
The continuing issues of succession plaguing the leadership of the major components
of all the ruling parties, for example, reflects a virtue-less leadership. It even reflects the
system of dictatorship and authoritarianism that we have allowed to take root in all
parties. We are seeing the development of another dangerous excess of
authoritarianism the development of political dynasties. We continue to see this
culture in the Malay and Chinese political parties as well.
If all that energy is used to design a better system of participatory democracy and
philanthropy, and to reach out to other ethnic groups to collaborate in solving the issue
of poverty, we, as Malaysians, will become a miracle nation. Poverty is not the problem
of Indians or Malays or Chinese it is the problem of Humanity.
How can the rich be saved if the poor are multiplying in large numbers? We will have a
society that will need more sophisticated surveillance system in order to reduce robbery,
kidnapping, etc.
The poor look at rich and ask themselves:
Am I poor because I am lazy? Or is he rich because he works a hundred times better?
Or is it the system we build that will continue to make the rich richer and the poor
poorer?
What resources do the rich have vis--vis the poor to compete in a world that is
increasingly technological and technicist and informational? We have created a system
of ethically-based structural violence. It is a complex problem but one can certainly
make sense of it all.

We need to bring back virtue to the forefront of our political philosophies and into our
economic paradigm, and next use it to design a virtuous foundation of our economic
system. From a virtuous foundation we will then see a healthier characterisation of how
we design and reorganise our lives as economic beings.
Education, and education alone, though slow and tedious as a process of
transformation, will be the most powerful tool of cognitive restructuring and the teaching
of virtue. Education for peace, social justice, co-operation, tolerance and spiritual
advancement will be the best foundation of this mode of operation.
How do we even begin creating a republic of virtue if we do not yet have the tools of
analysing what a corrupt society is and how corrupt leaders are a product of the
economic system created to reproduce more sophisticated forms of corruption?
We must engineer a revolution of our very own consciousness. From the revolution in
our minds, we move on to the revolution of our consciousness, and next to our

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collective consciousness. Gradually, as we realise that a better collective
consciousness can be created, we will be aware of the oppositional forces that are
making real human progress disabling.
We must now become makers of our own history and help others do the same. We
must first learn to deconstruct ourselves and draw out the virtue within ourselves, even
if the process can be terrifying. We must then each create a manifesto of our own self
and de-evolve from then, until we tear down the structures within and outside of
ourselves and reconstruct the foundations of a new republic.
MALAYSIAN VISION need crafting anew; we have lost it, destroyed by the ruling party;
we had a good one in the 70s and 80s; be MALAYSIA again
azly rahman (@azlyrahman) September 26, 2015
Our first move
In conclusion, here is the essential question: Where do we go from here from the
premises of change and considerations we outline above, to a course of action framed
thematically? What ideas do we need to move in order for our nation to progress the
way our common dream pictured? Here are our concluding thoughts on a new Malaysia
one which needs the following:
... a brand new political will, radical political change, an overhaul of the system, a fresh
new and different mandate, a prison complex big enough to incarcerate the long-time
corrupt ones, a plan to redistribute wealth, to dismantle educational apartheid, a
rewriting of Malay and Malaysian history, a re-threading of the moral fibre of the armed
personnel, a massive arrest of political tyrants of past doings, a restructuring of the
casino capitalist economy, a stronger local government established, a clampdown of
racist and hate-groups, a return to the rule of law, a return to agricultural society, an
experimentation with a radically new form of communal-styled living, a dismantling of
systems that allow global corporate giants to continue to prey upon the natives, a return
to the cooperative system, strengthening of labour, a re-education of political official on
management, ethics, and political philosophy, the separation of religion and state, the
dismantling of useless cultural and religious rituals, a restructuring of society based on
the principles of radical multiculturalism and the celebration of transcultural
philosophies, the reduction of TV time and TV channels, the introduction of the reading
of the great works of arts, humanities, and literature from the cradle to the grave, the
curbing of rhetoric on Islamic or any religious state, the compulsory teaching of
philosophy from the cradle to the grave all these and more to overturn the system on
its ugly head."
As Malaysias most revered founding father said in 1957, proclaim in the countrys
independence:
But while we think of the past, we look forward in faith and hope to the future; from
henceforth we are masters of our destiny, and the welfare of this beloved land is our
own responsibility: Let no one think we have reached the end of the road:
Independence is indeed a milestone, but it is only the threshold to high endeavour-the
creation of a new and sovereign State. At this solemn moment therefore I call upon you
all to dedicate yourselves to the service of the new Malaya: to work and strive with hand

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and brain to create a new nation, inspired by the ideals of justice and liberty-a beacon of
light in a disturbed and distracted world.
Indeed, when people believe in the future of their nation, it will be strong. That belief in
Malaysia must be rekindled and recreated.
Murray Hunter is now semi-retired and is an associate professor at the University
Malaysia Perlis, spending a lot of time consulting to Asian governments on community
development and village biotechnology, both at the strategic level and on the ground.
He is also a visiting professor at a number of universities and regular speaker at
conferences and workshops in the region. You can follow Murray on Twitter
@DalastKimbasabi.
Dr. Azly Rahman is a long-time columnist for Malaysiakini, an author of seven books on
Malaysia and the complexities of hypermodernity and globalization, and teaches course
in Global Politics, Culture, American Studies, Education, and Philosophy. He currently
resides in the United States. You can follow Azly on Twitter @azlyrahman.
Creative Commons Licence
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3.0 Australia License
ANYONE making terroristic threat and inciting racial riots must be arrested without fear
or favour; Terrorism breeds when politicians allow.
azly rahman (@azlyrahman) September 26, 2015
MALAYSIAN situation is bad, outside power & institutions telling her what to do;
humiliating! but time to reflect, rethink, revise, reload.
azly rahman (@azlyrahman) September 26, 2015

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