Looking for the Good in RPK
It is unlikely that Malaysians in this country will be swayed by RPK’s latest tirade against Anwar in the UMNO press. We should not lose our focus on the political agenda at hand which is to sweep the BN into the dustbin of history and to build a just, equal, democratic society.
By Kua Kia Soong, Director of SUARAM
My feelings of disappointment and rage upon seeing the latest RPK collusion with the UMNO press to denigrate Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat were quickly tempered by my wife’s daily email supplement to me:
Today’s Contemplation:
“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” (Audrey Hepburn)
I will therefore do well by honouring my wife’s wise counsel and the immortal wisdom of one of my favourite actors…
RPK’s Expose of the BN Government
On 5 Jan 2010, I wrote an article for the online press entitled: “RPK’s Expose of the Malaysian State”. RPK had been the victim of the same UMNO press he has just colluded with after his expose of the Altantuya murder and all the other shenanigans of the BN administration, including those of the previous Badawi government. I lauded his efforts to expose the illegitimate institutions of the Malaysian state:
“RPK has gone beyond the sociological theses about the shared interests of the ruling elite – he has literally stripped bare the integuments of the Malaysian state; exposed the machinations of the police and the shameful harassment of whistleblowers. He has posed questions surrounding the unsolved murder of Altantuya that all justice-loving Malaysians want answered.”
That is the good I found in RPK and all his contributions to the Malaysian peoples’ cause in Malaysia Today. I have no interest in his feud with Anwar Ibrahim but exile, ego and eagerness for attention can affect a person’s psyche and perspective on things.
RPK’s Advocacy of the Third Force
Then there was his advocacy of the “Third Force” in the Malaysian political arena. While the ideological colour of this MCLM was less clear, at least it was seen as part of the broad front against the Barisan Nasional. This was a concept I subscribed to up to a point.
I was one of the proponents of the “Two Front System” in the Eighties and I joined the Opposition Front in the Nineties. Since the political tsunami of 2008, I believe we have a 2-front system in the country although we have not yet ended the 54-year dominance of the BN at the federal level. Political events have since pointed to the need for a Third Force represented by PSM and others who are focused on the political agenda beyond the neo-liberal system in which BN and PR operate and beyond the careerism that characterises mainstream Malaysian politics.
Keeping our eyes on the ball
Haris Ibrahim’s stand against RPK’s collusion with the UMNO press at least restores our faith in this Third Force position vis-à-vis the BN. It is unlikely that Malaysians in this country will be swayed by RPK’s latest tirade against Anwar in the UMNO press. We should not lose our focus on the political agenda at hand which is to sweep the BN into the dustbin of history and to build a just, equal, democratic society including,
– protecting our public services such as oil and gas, utilities such as water, energy, health, education and social services from privatization and to nationalize the already privatized essential services;
– defending the social right to employment, health, welfare provision, education;
– initiating popular participation and control, especially unionization;
– initiating forms of democratic self-management in Malaysian work places to be run for the common good;
– implementing a progressive tax system.
This resistance to unrestrained neo-liberalism must try to empower our oppressed people in the process of participatory democracy. Popular democratic participation is not just in economic but also political institutions. Unfettered capital transfers by speculators and finance capitalists must also be checked. Real democracy will never be attained merely through periodic general elections and relying on parliament alone but through direct action and true grassroots democracy.
So even as I yearn for beautiful eyes, beautiful lips and poise RPK, the struggle goes on …
“I have dreamed on this mountain
Since first I was my mother’s baby
And you just can’t take my dreams away
Not with me watching
No you just can’t take my dreams away
Without me fighting
No you just can’t take my dreams away.” (Mountain Song by Holly Near)
