‘Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!’ … from what?
By Ab Sulaiman, CPI
Ketuanan Melayu has brought the country to the brink of disaster, and so when its leaders asked Malaysians to show their patriotism over the Merdeka weekend, some citizens declined to wave the flag.
In the last two weeks or so, the government has been exhorting us citizens to hoist the Jalur Gemilang to mark the nation’s independence anniversary. Show your patriotism, they said, show your appreciation to the freedom fighters for having successfully fought the hated colonial masters. Show that you love this country!
Now that this auspicious day has passed, I have a confession to make. I did not put a flag on the top of my car, nor in front of my house, or at the office building where I work. Patriotism (or the lack of it), appreciation of past leaders and love for the country have nothing to do with it. It’s the lethargy and despondence of the spirit that has been responsible.
The truth of the matter is that I have plenty of patriotism: I pay income tax, contribute positively to the economy, respect my fellow Malaysians irrespective or race, religion or creed, obey the laws of the land, visit Malaysian holiday destinations, and ‘buy Malaysian’ whenever possible. I voted in the last general elections.
I have a lot of appreciation for our past leaders like Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tan Siew Sin and V. Sambanthan.
I was born in this country and like a salmon loyal to its stream of birth I have a natural love and affinity for it. So far I have not done anything that might compromise its dignity, welfare and prestige. In short, I am quite patriotic, proudly so, and don’t anyone ever doubt it.
The lethargy and despondence come from the not-so-sudden realization that, yes, we have been independent from the yoke of British imperialism since 1957. In theory we secured our freedom since that date. We should then be free to taste and practice the basic human freedoms as contained in the universally accepted UN Declaration of Human Rights like for example, freedom of expression, of worship, of seeking my own happiness. I am free to do ‘my own thing’ so long as I do not inconvenience others or break the laws of the land.
But of late this has not happened. Something else has for the last 52 years. I have been denied my basic freedoms by the very institution that had the responsibility of securing them from the British colonialists. I have come to realize that my own national leaders have slowly tried to stifle my individuality, my freedom, my private space, and my well-being; in favour of their selfish interests. They’d want me to subscribe to their perception and understanding of what I should be, and how I should behave. They want me to subscribe to their perception of truth. Once they succeed then they’d do anything and everything to realise their selfish personal targets, like for instance milking the treasury dry.
Islamic state
All these also on account that our Ketuanan Melayu political leaders have elected to convert Malaysia into an Islamic state. Unfortunately under Islamic philosophy ‘freedom’ has a subtle twist in its meaning from the universally accepted one.
In Islam, freedom is the ability to do things that God has allowed me to do, but not to do what He has forbidden. This falls under the ambit of the religious mantra amri bil ma’aruf nahi an almunkar (do good, but if you can’t do good, do not do bad). In this-worldly terms, it falls under the ambit of the ‘Islamic Declaration of Human Rights’ (which I shall abbreviate as IDHR), the Islamic version of the more universal UNDHR.
Among the ‘good’ things I am allowed to do under the IDHR are of course the five daily prayers, fasting and the other three of five pillars of Islam. Among the ‘bad’ things I am not to do are like eating non-halal meat, drinking liquor, and having sex outside marriage.
Freedom in Islam therefore of a limited kind: I am free to do what I am told to do, and not free to do what I am told not to do. That’s freedom? I wonder.
And then this ‘freedom’ is tied with the elements of reward and punishment: if I do what I am supposed to do, then I get rewarded by getting ‘pahala’ or merit points. If I still do what I am not to do, then I incur a ‘dosa’ or demerit points. In the Hereafter I go to heaven should my pahala merit points total more than my dosa points.
The possibility of going to hell has its own feature, it strikes fear in my mind and underlines the coercive and compulsive nature of Islam.
And alas, the political leaders of today have learned a lesson from the coercive nature of religion and the fear element that it entails. By skillfully utilizing them, they mould my mind in the manner they want. I am to think in the manner they want me to think. I am to behave in the manner the government wants me to behave. I am encouraged and indeed molded to be conservative, conformist, and to pay a lot of attention to the Hereafter. I am not allowed to think creatively, originally, analytically and confidently!
We have all sorts of rules and regulations that are designed to infuse fear into the minds of the people — like the ISA, OSA, and a string of others. These laws have one common message: “Watch your words, or else!”
The ‘or else’ is the coercive part and the part that instills fear. I might be put under detention for lengthy periods (like a few years) without the benefit of any charge, due process and hearing at all!
Put all these together and it’s mind-boggling and most disturbing.
In other words, the otherwise secular government has gotten into the act of inserting and emulating elements of coercion and fear in its day-to-day management and governance. Today we are not to mention the name ‘Altantuya’; of making comments pertaining to religion (read it as Islam); of worship (as recently built temples and churches are ‘hidden’ in factory sites, shop houses, and terrace houses). We are not to wear black or yellow shirts in places designated entirely at the discretion of the police. We are not to read many books, periodicals, magazines, even watch certain films and videos banned by the authorities.
We are not to do many things the authorities deem dangerous to the security of the country, like holding demonstrations. Muslims can’t buy or sell beer from the neighbourhood convenience store like 7-Eleven. Nizar Jamaludin, the displaced chief minister of Perak was chastised for carrying a candle at a funeral.
The number of ‘can’t do’ things increase by the day so much so that there can come a time when there are more ‘can’t do’ than ‘can do’ things in this country.
There is another reason why I had this despondency and lethargy over the Merdeka weekend. It relates furthermore with the continued Islamisation of the country. It pertains to the Islamic way of defining morality and law.
Morality and law
To me morality is the empathy felt by one individual towards another individual like one healthy and wealthy man noticing a beggar sitting and waiting for alms on the road side. The man ‘feels’ for the beggar, takes out his wallet, draws one ringgit, and deposits the money into a bowl or cup the beggar has put in front of him. That’s morality.
