The politics of chavinism; the roles of Mahathir, Anwar, LKS and Najib (Part 4 of 4)
Umar Mukhtar
Prime Minster Najib Razak can never be a chauvinist anything. His intelligence may make him understand what chauvinism entails but he will never have the true ‘feel’ for chauvinism. Born to a state aristocratic family, this son of a prime minister started his political career in his early twenties after being presented on a silver platter the post of Menteri Besar of Pahang upon the sudden early death of his father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. His school of soft knocks did not include him being challenged because of the colour of his skin and vice versa.
Like his being a stranger to poverty, his familiarity to it stops at a theoretical knowledge of that condition. It does not beat being poor once to feel the pain of poverty and an appreciation of depravity and magnanimity. Of course, it does not disqualify him or anybody from being a leader, but an affinity to both subjects is an added advantage in the public office of a non-homogenous developing country.
But why would a non-chauvinist have a role in chauvinistic politics? The answer is: if by default you allow chauvinism to grow to an unprecedented level at the time you are holding the reins of power, then you are just as bad or even worse than the perpetrators of chauvinism. Don’t say you inherited it. It is no excuse.
That default factor, as in many other challenges he faces, is an incompetent government, laced with nincompoops of his choice, in his corner, and adding that to his unawareness of their shortcomings especially in situations that require a ‘feel’ to recognise it all.
Najib did not introduce any new chauvinistic initiatives. On the contrary, his ‘1Malaysia’ public relations exercise was his lame attempt at rousing a sense of unity among Malaysians. But then he just let his people run rampant unchecked and little Napoleons interpreting situations to their whims and fancies, especially those that involve opportunities of chauvinistic one-up-manship which are the favourites of small minds. There are times when there are inconsistencies and the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.
And religious zealousness plays a role to add an emotional dimension to things. Admittedly, some of these apparent new rules are actually already in the books, not really practised or not known to a batch of people excited over a new casual weapon in their hands called the social media. It doesn’t take much to provoke latent anger. His incompetent government was slow to react, and Najib rarely interfered, as if these events were beneath him. The truth is that he doesn’t have a ‘feel’ for the exigencies of the situations.
The other thing that is endemic under Najib’s rule is corruption, by government officials or in the private sector. Deny it all you want with gobbledygook about lacking evidence and what not, but the people know and this perception rules, normally not without cause. Now add corruption to chauvinism and you have a tedious situation on your hands. Malay officialdom can be quite corruptible and the Chinese businessmen are masters of the art. Put them together and they will cart the country away.
Though the assumption that the Malay receives and the Chinese gives is not always true, but the Malays are the masters of government procurement and enforcement. The Chinese are good businessmen and they will do whatever it takes without having to be personal about it. When I was working, a 5% kickback was outrageous. Today a 100% to 150% kickback is not unheard of. This abuse of power resulted in collapsed roofs, uncompleted hospitals and uneven roads that kill, having been built not to specifications. Dig up LPT2 to find out how approvals were given.
This is because the contract of works may have been awarded to an unqualified person who sub-contracted and was subcontracted further or a combination thereof, until the project will no longer be profitable unless corners are cut. And who are these people who win contracts that way, and who approves the under-specification works? Your guess is as good as mine. Malaysia Boleh!
It is when you hear apologists remark, “Melayu juga yang kaya, jangan dengki.” or “Cina dulu jual candu, kaya raya, tarak apa-apa pun”, that’s when the hairs in your ears bristle, for now you see the chauvinistic dimension in these despicable acts. It is dangerous. It will destroy us. It is uncalled for. It is a shame. No need to say anything else. But don’t despair, my countrymen, God operates in mysterious ways.
And why can’t Najib do anything about it? Like grab the bull by the horns? After all, a few percentage point improvements in economic data will not be celebrated by the ordinary people as much as the joy of positive acts of anti-chauvinism and anti-corruption. Maybe the warlords who indulge unchecked in these activities are some of the party elites who are propping him up in power in these challenging times? Who knows! But he certainly has a ‘feel’ for, “Lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu”.
The politics of chavinism; the roles of Mahathir, Anwar, LKS and Najib (Part 1 of 4)
The politics of chavinism; the roles of Mahathir, Anwar, LKS and Najib (Part 2 of 4)
The politics of chavinism; the roles of Mahathir, Anwar, LKS and Najib (Part 3 of 4)
