| Of 'badangs' and 'blogoticians' |  |  |  |
| Posted by admin | |
| Thursday, 28 February 2008 10:35 | |
| The Internet is challenging the very root of informational hegemony; one that is built upon totalitarianism as a consequence of the 22 year-rule of the previous regime. The current regime is trying to create the same formula, not realising that our Berlin Wall is crumbling. A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE Dr Azly Rahman http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/ The mythical Malay Frankenstein, Badang, has now morphed into "Agent Smiths" of movie The Matrix, fame in circa Malaysian 12th general election. If one is to believe in the Last Supper, the next one will see a banquet of a new regime. It might take the 13th general election henceforth to install a good check and balance system, in tune with "the scales" - the symbolism of the current ruling regime. Badang is a green-slime-vomit-eating monster created by human imagination—Badang the technocratic fantasy of Man. It is a surrealistic being; meaning that Badang was created by a mad Majapahit scientist in antiquity, to help human beings extend their capability of roaming rudely but justifiably into cyberspace. The Malays are not poor in Nostradamic ideas of change – the Puteri Buluh Betong was the first test-tube baby and a product of BioTech Malaysia's stem cell research, Hang Tuah was a prototype of a Robocop and disguised as an over-glamourised fool, Hang Nadim was actually a clever investment banker who fooled the King of Temasik into importing banana trees to be planted along the shores of Singapura during a pre-meditated todak/swordfish attack, Si Tenggang was a warning to Malays not to venture into frontierland and not to challenge autocratic regimes. Raja Bersiong was a warning to modern Malaysians to be aware of blood-sucking leaders who control the oil-rich country's wealth and leave the poor of all races to protest on the streets and get arrested and pepper-sprayed. As one who grew up in Johor Bahru, perhaps Si Bongkok Tanjung Puteri reminds me of the Malay's Beauty and the Beast—trapped in a dungeon waiting for the right time to come out and runamuck protesting against the rape of Johor through the newly-built corridors with a hegemonizing name "Iskandar Development Region". When I begin my doctoral studies analysing the impact of digital communication technologies on "cybernating nations" such as Malaysia, I had statements I made in my weekly seminar on dissertation writing at Columbia University hypothesing the possibility of the Internet as a major player in the changing landscape of Malaysian politics. I was studying the web "Laman Reformasi" and Free Anwar Campaign, (the latter run by Raja Petra Kamarudin,) way back in 1999 and sympathized with the plight of Malaysiakini when their servers were confiscated by the current regime. Little did I know that, through Fate decreed many years later I would be a columnist for both online portals. I decide to become a columnist after watching the story "A Beautiful Mind" about John Nash, the Princeton professor and Nobel Laureate in Mathematics. I have since enjoyed sharing my views on many aspects of Malaysian politics, true to my calling as an academician. This is my contribution to society, from far. Major force Back in the year 1999, I made the prediction that the Internet will be a major force in "cybernating nations" such as Malaysia and that democratic spaces will be widened. In politics, the government, I hypothesised will be challenged by this protean technology and will be made aware of the death of distance and the birth of 'digital proletariatism". There will be creative anarchy in the nature of Malaysian democracy evolving. I do not consider myself as a blogger in the real sense of the word, merely an archiver of some of my own writings. But I do see a role I can play in raising the level of political, cultural, and philosophical dialogue to a challenging level. As campaigning begins, I see the impact of digital communications technologies increasing. I see bloggers you have never met, running for political office. One that will be the prototype is perhaps Mr. Jeff Ooi, an interesting case study of Malaysia' first "blogo-tician". Broadcast media might be supreme as long as the rakyat is not yet fully digitally-literate. Government-owned and controlled television stations will be useful when the rakyat can be made to be stone-glued to their television sets. Hegemony of the ruling regime can continue to be maintained as long as the rakyat is given bread and circus (or roti canai and fun-fairs). This is the feature of the success of the previous 22-year old regime; one that began to crumble after the fall of the Thai Baht of 1997, after the Tom Yum Effect of 1997. Why are governments afraid of the power of citizen journalism - and of the Internet in general? What will be the conclusion of this great war between government bloggers and Guevara-inspired guerrilla-like grassroots-based cyber-freedom fighters? Especially the one that is raging in Malaysiakini and Malaysia-Today; war that is bringing criminals from the battlefields of cyberspace into the real world of the interrogation rooms of the Anti-Corruption Agency. Ones that help expose wrongdoings of elected representatives and bring his downfall. Battles that rage between ideas of totalitarianism in universities and prospects for a freedom of inquiry and anti-fascism in college classrooms. Spaces of knowledge that bring us up to date information on what magnitude of corruption the New Economic Policy has brought us after 37 years. "Information wants to be free" as some Internet guru and philosopher of this cybernetic age might say. And as information leaves the author and transmits and transmutes itself, it assumes a life of its own. As the great historian Ibnu Khaldun would say, to the effect "as the hands writes nothing is erased…" Or, as the physicist Stephen Hawkings would say, even data that transmutes is a life-form in itself. But why is the Malaysian government afraid of the power of the Frankenstein it has allowed to roam the streets of Cyberjaya. Why is Malaysia's "ministry of cybernetics" afraid of this creature the magnitude of the mythical "Badang" that becomes like "Agent Smiths" roaming the streets exposing brutishly the corrupt practices of men and women, screaming of these people to be brought to justice? Who can stop our Agents Smiths – even if counter-agents called Malaysian cyber-troopers as those cybernetic soldiers of fortune are cloned and droned and then released into blogs to engage in battles of the cyber-frontier – in this Mahabaratha of Malaysian cyber-rama as the 12th general elections arrives? Informational hegemony The Internet is challenging the very root of informational hegemony; one that is built upon totalitarianism as a consequence of the 22 year-rule of the previous regime. The current regime is trying to create the same formula, not realising that our Berlin Wall is crumbling. The younger politicians in the ruling regime are not reading the signs on the wall. They are still lulled by the ideology. The middle class has evolved. To demand for respect is wrong, the politicians need to earn them - not force the rakyat to accept them via threats. This is still happening even in our public universities, let alone in schools and the rural areas. The Internet is going to be the biggest winner in the GE-12. "I blog, therefore I am" as I once said in a gathering of Malaysian students in Washington recently. The rush to become powerful by the younger politicians is not going to be a smooth journey. Alternative media will play its role in checking them and also check-mating them. But what changes do we see are going to happen to policies, after the general election? Already we are seeing that the current regime is like a Santa Claus, bringing goodies to the people. I hope the universities are asking the current regime to release them from the shackles of the UUCA and the Akujanji and to teach our students how important it is to be politically conscious and to have the ultimate freedom in choosing their political future. In America, any student group can be formed based on political affiliation - so that college students can decide the next government free of threats. We are doing the wrong thing in Malaysia. Terribly wrong for the students and lecturers to be threatened if they are involved in raising political consciousness. What will be the student/faculty respond to this threat? Whatever the outcome of the GE-12 will be, demands for more freedom will continue to be made. Since four years ago, we have seen how the current regime has been "deconstructed" and made accountable to what they have done. Of course things have worked quiet well but many are still terribly wrong. Criticisms on our democratic practices is an evolving act. Ultimately, I think, race-based politics and political arrangements is going to lose its relevance, making way for a truly multicultural two party system that is going to be evaluated based on the merit of their honesty and commitment to humanistic and humanitarian ideals. In all these, the Internet has played an important role in deconstructionism. Essentially, through education for political consciousness in cyberspace, Malaysians are beginning to educate each other that race, ethnicity, and color are merely "constructs" and works well with the ideology of "social dominance" such as "ketuanan Melayu" or the "ketuanan of any race". The real basis of human nature is the DNA. It is with this premise that we can look a the children of all races as "gifts of the Creator" to be fully developed, nurtured, and educated out of the prejudices of their parents. Through the lens of the DNA, we will not need the NEP, nor any form or mutation of race-based politics. Even the "myth of the lazy native" will remain a myth. The real winner in Malaysia's general elections is again, technology of the body - the Internet and cyberspace. Badangs and blogoticians are the forces that will be with us. Comments (9)  ... written by asguard, February 28, 2008 12:11:49 Well.. lets see how much is internet influence to reach to the voters in this coming election... report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by cruzeiro, February 28, 2008 12:18:18 "I blog, therefore I am" as I once said .... ===================== Just a thought, Doc - I think you put Des- carte before the horse. Don't you think it should be "I am, therefore I blog"? Anyway ... it fine either way. =========================== Yes - as you say, the walls are coming down. The virtual walls created by politicians from the colonial era and are perpetuated by the current crop of racist, mindless and greedy bureaucrats, that are meant to divide and rule the nation. Malaysia is actually at the teething stage of integration .... The Price of Votes & Convictions. http://cruzinthots.blogspot.co...tions.html http://cruzinthots.blogspot.co...tions.html report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by hakuna, February 28, 2008 13:11:41 Dr.Azly - a real fine article. The internet is a powerful tool but Man's selfishness goes beyond any tool. Decisions who to vote for should have been decided by ALL Malaysians a long time ago - why wait for the last minute - guess most Malaysians just harp on the present government but when the time comes to do something about it,they repeat history by voting for the BN government. I love to dream that the BN is kicked out but when I find that BN has won seats on the outcome of nomiation day - I am totally disheartened . At the moment HOPE is the only thing for me. report abuse disagree 0 agree 6 ... written by jingoza, February 28, 2008 15:27:15 I love your articles Doc ! Let the spirit of the 60's 70's lives ! Love & Peace to all ! Down with the corrupted regimes of barisan najis ! report abuse disagree 0 agree 4 ... written by seek justice, February 28, 2008 21:54:39 The Internet is, in the context of this upcoming elections, heaven-sent albeit (sadly enough) only for a portion of those who have access to it. There is a flanking tool i.e. the SMS and literally every household has at least one mobile phone. The SMS should be used as an awareness trigger to everything that's going so wrong in this country, then invite people to get on-line and visit MT or Harakah or Malaysiakini, blogs for details. report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by harrbm, February 28, 2008 23:48:31 What is the matter ? It depends on what race you are ? Malaysia was won based on racial issues. The issues must stand unresolved and life goes on. its beyond repair. do u understand? Do i need to elaborate? report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by Loh, March 01, 2008 05:09:31 ///Spaces of knowledge that bring us up to date information on what magnitude of corruption the New Economic Policy has brought us after 37 years. …… Essentially, through education for political consciousness in cyberspace, Malaysians are beginning to educate each other that race, ethnicity, and color are merely "constructs" and works well with the ideology of "social dominance" such as "ketuanan Melayu" or the "ketuanan of any race"…….. Through the lens of the DNA, we will not need the NEP, nor any form or mutation of race-based politics. Even the "myth of the lazy native" will remain a myth./// I am rather pessimistic to believe that education would change the greed and laziness of mankind. The division of the population by race was the creation of the founding leaders of the country, who were people of knowledge and learning. It would be safe to say that the ordinary people, Malays and non-Malays, would not have been concerned about who formed the government, so long as they could continue to lead their life in peace, doing their normal economic activities, and enjoyed both the spiritual and material life, as available to them during the British rule. At the time of Independence in 1957, as the right of abode could not be questioned, and the people had no place to be turned away to citizenship then was needed more for the right to obtain travel documents for those who intended to travel, than to vote in the general election which was something they had never practised before. There should not have been any hassle on the qualification for gaining citizenship; all those who remained in the country should have been qualified as citizen of Malays. However UMNO leaders demanded additional conditions to be met by non-Malays for citizenship when Malays and non-Malays were equal subject of the Colonial government. What the Chinese and Indian communities caved in to UMNO on the right to citizenship was considered by Malays in later years as their price they paid to obtaining Article 153 of the Constitution. But from the notes left by the late Tun Dr. Ismail, he indicated surprise that Chinese community acceded easily to the request by UMNO, and he believed that Malays would have willingly given up Article 153 when they no longer require that provision. So Article 153 was perceived as a need by the Malay communities, and the MCA leaders had full confidence in the sincerity of UMNO leaders, to keep the promise of limiting Article to 15 Years. Unfortunately, that provision had been taken as the right of Malays to pursue Ketuanan Melayu. UMNO leaders not only pursued vigorously Article 153, in terms of civil service recruitments and scholarship awards, but overstepped its boundary in awarding FELDA settlement schemes exclusively to Malay settlers. That was the beginning of Ketuanan Melayu programme before May 13 incident. That incident was seized upon to formalise the Ketuanan Melayu programme in the name of NEP. report abuse disagree 0 agree 2 ... written by Loh, March 01, 2008 05:10:19 NEP served initially to whitewash the responsibility of those involved in the May 13 riots and allowed the government to extend the scope beyond Article 153. That gave UMNO the assurance that it would fare better in the general election through captive votes of Malay beneficiaries. Two Prime Ministers later, the more business-minded PM, TDM declared that NEP could be considered a success if he could create even one millionaire out of the Malays. That was the beginning of NEP being utilised to award government contracts without public tender. When TDM declared that Malay contractors should be awarded contracts at multiple times the anticipated value, government funds were used to directly create Malay millionaires. That was the creation of the mothers of all corruptions. Since then, NEP is the lifeline for UMNO in keeping the party together. All ills in the country are rooted in NEP. It is the reason why our per capita GDP is only one-fifth that of Singapore. The bloated government service, and the low salary level made it necessary for government servants to supplement their income by retailing their power, such as the police force being concentrated in ‘traffic control’ the high incidence of illegal immigrants through Sabah, the sale of Mykad, and consequently the high crime rate. NEP caused one to two million non-Malays who could have helped to form knowledge-based economy leave the country. That was considered ‘good riddance’ by the late Razak. The non-violent form of ethnic cleansing have reduced the number of non-Malays in direct competition with the ordinary Malays. But unlike competing against non-Malays through hard work, the monopolistic power of UMNOputras are too formidable for ordinary Malays. Hence UMNO politics would remain the most lucrative business for Malays. But the household names in UMNO politics have been building political dynasties for decades. They colonise the country. Not being a Muslim, I assume that Muslims take the religion as a personal matter between themselves and God. Being exposed to democratic rules and modern civilisation, Muslims in Malaysia would value freedom in their practise of the Islamic religion. The past three Prime Ministers declared or considered that Malaysia was a secular state, and Muslims in the country living through them could not be considered less Muslims, in the eye of God. UMNO pursued Ketuanan Melayu or NEP to ensure Malays support in the election. They were prepared to be racist in that regard. In trying to capture votes from PAS supporters, they were willing to declared Malaysia an Islamic state. They were willing to politicise religion, and to prove it they set the religious department to conduct body snatching for Muslim burial, and destruction of temples. Hundreds of thousands of Malays had been sent for overseas education since 1957, and they should have realised that ‘race, ethnicity and colour’ were construct for facilitating divide and rule, so that the unfair policy such as NEP could be taken advantage of for those falling with the entitled category. Half the UMNO cabinet members were trained overseas, and they would know, if they were religious, that UMNO is practising unjust policies so that they can enrich themselves. Greed knows no bound. UMNO would not abolish NEP, and Malaysia would become truly Islamic country likes Saudi Arabia. The rich can do all their non Islamic pursuits overseas. report abuse disagree 0 agree 2 ... written by sonofmalaysia, March 02, 2008 11:08:54 Superb article by Loh! The non-Malay were screwed by the political unuchs and dimwits in MCA while gaining Independence. For the following 50 years, as a result, the non-Malays were extremely dicriminated and a large segment of population marginalised, the Malay become sick, weak and intoxicated with their power and 'ketuanan'. The Malay, as a race will become weaker and weaker. FRom depending on crutches, the Malay will deteoreriate to become wheel-chaired bound, NEP, ketuanan, Islamisation and more on the way. MAlaysia will (or has already) become a weak and sick nation. The non-Malay can never benefit from being citizens of a sick and weak nation, with weak leaders, lacking in wisdom, courage and ability to correct the course of cancer and self-imflicted destruction. Looking at UMNO now, there is not a iota of possibility that leaders of this quality will emerge. Instead, what we witness is a bunch pigmies, a corrupt bunch, having no honour, no honesty, no integrity, no ideal to do good for people and nation, only insatiable greed and thieving mentality and habits. Instead, what we witness is a bunch of crooks, got into power, intoxicated with it, dependent on it, has threatened (and may very well) to burn down homeland if their power to continue to steal and plunder from the land and people is taken away. Over the years, these MAlay leaders through abuse and corrption have become rich and powerful, they have all the means to do all the harm they have threatend to do. MAlaysia was so fortunate to be blessed with rich land, rich and diversified culture. We could have capitilised on it fully and make a heaven out of Malysia. Look at our junior brother Singapore. They have done everything correct. There is no race and religion problem, there is truely racial and religious harmony, no ketuanan of any one race, achieve one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, highest foreign reserve per capita in the world, world class education system, world respected judiciary, effectice and professional police and many other achievemnt. In the years since British left, the Singapore Government has built world class institutions, e.g., their HDB (Housing Development Board), PSA (Port of Singapore Authority, SIA, JTC (Jurong Town Corporation), Singtel, DBS (Development Bank of Singapore) and many others. All these institution or organisations are making their presence felt in middle ease, India , China, Vietnam, Brazil etc. And looking back at Malaysia, we can't even build proper buildings that does not leak or collapse ( see list here: http://bahankempen.com/negarab...RAN_BN.pdf ) If the corrupt UMNO politicians have their way, they will want to perpectually blind the eye,cripple the mind of their people, and hookwink them en-mass into a dark future. report abuse disagree 0 agree 5 Write comment This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comment. You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet. |
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