Little sign of the new politics

The promise of new politics after the 2008 polls has not materialised. It is now more toxic with shades of race and religion made worse by politicians who play to the gallery.

Joceline Tan, The Star

PENANG politician Lee Khai Loon learnt the hard way that there is, sometimes, only a thin line separating what is fun and what is insulting.

The Machang Bubuk assemblyman thought it would be “fun and creative” to have a flash mob on the kangkung phenomenon sparked off by the Prime Minister’s comments about the price of the vegetable. The Prime Minister’s somewhat ill-timed and off-the-mark remark about the humble vegetable has been parodied all over social media and a great deal of it has indeed been quite creative and witty.

Lee had led a group to stuff bunches of kangkung into the face of an effigy of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the busy market in his constituency. It was the first-term politician’s way of getting some publicity and attention and also to gain some brownie points with his party by rubbishing the leader of the other side. He posed cheerfully, holding a fistful of kangkung by the effigy.

Little did this novice politician and his group realise that their antics would strike a raw nerve.

Somewhere along the way, a line had been crossed. Lee’s action had been interpreted, rightly or wrongly, to be a disrespectful act with a racial slant.

Three days later, one of the biggest demonstrations of Malays that Seberang Prai had ever seen marched through the main street of Seberang Jaya to protest against what they regarded as an insult to the Prime Minister and the community.

The Malay procession included Umno leaders and those looking on were alarmed not only by their numbers but also the fierce and intense mood as they chanted “Allahu Akbar” and “Hidup Melayu”.

One banner summed up their ire – “Melayu Penang hidup macam kangkung”. It was their way of saying that the Malays in Penang feel marginalised and treated like kangkung.

What was more alarming was the sense of Malay belligerence, almost like one of those long, hot summers that can lead to trouble.

Kepala Batas MP Datuk Reezal Merican, who spoke that day, challenged Lee to do it again and “you will see how we react within one hour”.

Although Lee is from PKR, the protesters blamed the father-and-son DAP leadership as the “guru” behind his action.

It was a potentially explosive situation, a reminder that race relations are still fragile, and that it does not take much to inflame racial feelings.

The Penang incidents – both the provocation and the fierce reaction – were also a reflection of how the new political landscape has become more contentious than ever before.

Malaysians thought the new political landscape would usher in a new politics. Instead, what they have seen in the years since the 2008 general election has been anything but what they had thought the new politics would be.

“I don’t think the politicians who talk about new politics are even ready for democracy. Most of them are still stuck in the old politics,” said Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily’s deputy editor-in-chief and a leading columnist.

His remark is meant for both sides of the political divide.

The post-2008 political culture has deteriorated rather than evolved into something that Malaysians can be proud of.

There is no standard definition for what new politics is. For instance, new politics to Tay means a two-party system that can generate check-and-balance to reduce abuse of power and corruption.

The intellectual lawyer and former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim defines it as a more egalitarian form of politics where there is greater openness and leaders are in touch with what the people want.

“People talk about it but it is very difficult for those in power to put it into practice. We are still fixated about partisan politics and personalities, too conscious about race and religion,” said Zaid.

Dr Azmi Omar, who is with a Terengganu-based think-tank, is for politics which is based on values and issues and with less emotion involved.

It varies from person to person but one thing is clear – everybody knows what is NOT new politics when they see it.

“What the Machang Bubuk chap did – is that new politics? Yet, he is a YB, a member of the ruling coalition in Penang. When Lim Kit Siang advised him to apologise, people (in the Internet) attacked him (Lim) for being an old man gone soft and talking nonsense. That’s not new politics,” said a former MP.

Racial and religious sentiments also seem so much a part of the new political landscape.

An often-heard question among journalists covering politics is: Why have Malaysians become so racial about everything?

Another question that often crops up: Why has religion become so political?

“Every race has its own interests and needs to protect (them) but the moment it is articulated on racial lines, it becomes sensitive and there is very little middle ground,” said Dr Azmi.

Each community has always had its share of prejudices, stereotypes, mindsets and jingoism.

“These sentiments have always been there. Previously people kept these opinions in check; they talked about such issues within the four walls. But it has gone from within four walls to the World Wide Web,” said former Sedar think-tank chief Khaw Veon Szu.

Nothing is off limits in the Internet and it is why the World Wide Web sometimes seems like the wild, wild web. Everybody has an opinion and is not shy to put it out there for all to read, hear and watch. Some of it is good, most of it is bad and there is also stuff that is plain ugly.

“Freedom is good but freedom must come with responsibility and duty, otherwise it becomes offensive and damaging,” said Khaw who is now a practising lawyer.

For instance, he views the Lee Khai Loon incident as freedom gone overboard. Khaw said groups like Perkasa have the right to demonstrate but not the right to inflame racial feelings. The incident where some Chinese Malaysians studying in Taiwan protested with the Malaysian flag tipped upside-down was a case of freedom without a sense of responsibility.

“Facebook and some of the political discussions on the Internet are part of the new politics and there is so much nonsense out there. I tell my children the Internet is not the place to learn about politics,” said the former MP.

Cense co-founder Rita Sim said Malaysians have not become more racial but they have become bolder about expressing their views including on sensitive matters. The trouble starts when the opinions do not observe boundaries.

The Chinese, she said, used to be notoriously reserved about their political views but all that has changed after 2008 when they realised that other Chinese felt the same way. It has something to do with courage in numbers as well as a certain herd mentality.

“The rise of DAP on the back of Chinese support has also emboldened the Chinese to come out and say what they think,” Sim said.

The Malays, on the other hand, feel under siege over what they see as encroachments into their religion and rights. The right-wing Malays especially are outraged about the way some groups question the role of the Royalty.

“We are in the new world, people talk about anything they want. It’s something we have to live with, we have to learn to bring the conversation to a more rational and intelligent level,” said Zaid.

Shortly after the 2008 election, Singapore statesman Lee Kuan Yew travelled to Malaysia to have a first-hand look at the new political landscape. He was intrigued as well as worried because he knew the trend would be infectious and he had, with his usual foresight, noted that the big question was how to manage the change.

“That is the key thing. New politics is also about how we react and manage the new political trend. Five years down the road, we are still looking for the answer. When people complain that there is no leadership, they are basically saying that the leaders have not been able to manage or control the trend,” said Khaw.

Najib’s political transformation programme would have been part of the new politics but it has hit a road bump after a less than stellar general election.

Had he done well, he would have been able to tell his party that this is what the people want. Instead, his party is now telling him that he has to listen to them instead of pandering to those who do not support him.

The term new politics actually began with the PKR politicians back in the years when they were campaigning to free Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar is always good at coining high-brow lexicon. His problem is, he cannot take it beyond the rhetoric and it has fallen to others to claim, define and distort.

Things will get worse before it gets better. The new politics is still a work in progress, a baby trying to crawl.

“But we’ll get there. This country is not a basket case, we have so much potential. I have not given up hope,” said Zaid.