Dec

8

Fascism & fiction

December 8, 2007 |

nazi.jpgI found a definition of fascism at PublicEye.org, which says, amongst other things, “fascism is a form of extreme right-wing ideology that celebrates the nation or the race as an organic community transcending all other loyalties… It seeks to forcibly subordinate all spheres of society to its ideological vision of organic community, usually through a totalitarian state. Both as a movement and a regime, fascism uses mass organizations as a system of integration and control, and uses organized violence to suppress opposition…”

And according to Wikipedia, “fascism is also typified by totalitarian attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic, by way of a strong, single-party government for enacting laws and a strong, sometimes brutal militia or police force for enforcing them. Fascism exalts the nation, state, or group of people as superior to the individuals composing it. Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past greatness; and demands loyalty to a single leader, leading to a cult of personality and unquestioned obedience to orders.”

The above descriptions sound eerily like what’s happening in Malaysia. And, mind you, the Abdullah regime is not the first in Malaysia to be compared to the fascists. An ex-colleague of mine created a clever photoshop image of a Hitler-like Mahathir about ten years ago.

Frankly, I’ve become quite used to the blatant corruption and arrogant tyranny of the illegitimate Umno government. However, the reference to Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) every now and again by an Umno politician really sickens me to the core, and ignites a fire at the same time.

paedophile.jpgThe most recent outrageous statement is made by the Umno politician of dubious character, Rahim Thamby Chik. In a recent speech, he said “the Malays have never taken to the streets so do not force us to do so as we will draw our parang (machete) to defend the Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) in this country.” (See the Malaysiakini report on this.)

I don’t know what these Umno politicians have in those kepala-otak (head-brain) of theirs, but I think it’s quite well established by now that all human persons are born equal in dignity and rights. Indeed, Apartheid in Africa ended more than ten years ago. For someone to still claim the supremacy of any particular race is not only stupid but outright delusional. Indeed, in a country like ours, it serves no purpose except to divide and pit one Malaysian against another.

I do not support the claims of Hindraf, but I can certainly understand where their sentiments come from. People like Rahim Thamby Chik, Mohd Ali Rustam and Hishamuddin Hussein are the ones responsible for the racial division in the country. And it is very clear that these demagogues are simply spouting these fictions just to gain political points amongst their supporters.

It may have been a historical fact that Malays were the majority race in Malaysia prior to the arrival of the Chinese and the Indians. Of course, I am no historian. However, I do know that it is already proven that all of us can trace our ancestry back to African hunter-gatherers (read the National Geographic article on this).

Thus, I don’t get what form of supremacy these people are talking about. All I know is that it reminds me of some evil idiot in Europe who rallied people with cries of “White Supremacy!” and the Ku Klux Klan in the redneck woods of America.

If I am not mistaken, even Islam teaches that all human beings are equal. Isn’t that why when Moslems perform the Haj, they are all dressed in the same white robes? Even the Prophet Mohammad was treated as a human being, just as Gautama Buddha was. So, why in Malaysia, a country that many Umno politicians claim to be an Islamic state, are some people superior to others?

All of us need to wake up to the fact that the so-called Malay Supremacy is both a political and legal fiction foisted on us by those in power even before this country gained independence. In any case, it doesn’t matter who inhabited this land first and which community is largest. If we are truly concerned about national unity, then it’s high time that we get rid of the burdens that weigh us down on our journey towards real nationhood.


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1 Comment so far

  1. Implosion on December 8, 2007 8:36 pm

    Your words are very true.
    Hope it inspires action or leads to action.
    By yourself or by others.

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