Republic of virtue, 7/09

An independence day monologue PDF Print
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Sunday, 12 July 2009 15:29

Malaysians must learn to rewrite their history. Our Merdeka is not for the poor Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups drowned in the making of Malaysia. Our Merdeka is for the aristocrats who have plundered the land since time immemorial.

A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE

Azly Rahman
Another Independence day in America. Another year of reflection – for America and myself.

Yes, America is an interesting experiment in democracy. General George Washington had almost 80,000 acres of land to himself when the war ended. Other generals had their own thousands of acres of acquisition.

Independence is about robbing the native Indians of their land (10,000 Arawak Indians were killed in Columbus' time). Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence had more than 300 slaves. These are the ironies of American history.

But I still enjoyed the Fourth of July fireworks show by the Hudson River in New York city. Beautiful sight. Across from where I was standing I could see the city and the spot where 9/11 became a symbol of yet another war in which America has been involved.

America has had a long history of war - from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 to the French-Indian War. Then came World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars. In psychological terms, there have been the Cold War, and war on terror.

Conflict sells. How else can warmongers profit if not through the creation of global areas of conflict? The wheels of capital must continue to turn bringing prosperity through wartime industries.

But on the bright side is the America of Walt Whitman, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Henry David Thoreau. In the America of the Sixties, its youth stormed and took over Ivy League campuses to protest the Vietnam War.

What can Malaysians learn from American historicising; in the way alternative history or the history of the people is produced?

Malaysians must learn to rewrite their history. Our Merdeka is not for the poor Malays, Chinese, Indians and other ethnic groups drowned in the making of Malaysia. Our Merdeka is for the aristocrats who have plundered the land since time immemorial.

The Malacca Sultanate was a story of robbery in ancient times. Tun Sri Lanang was a well-paid court historian, just like owners of our modern mainstream media.

Our history teachers did not tell us the whole truth about Sejarah Melayu. Some even lied to us about the real winners of history. Our children need a new version of history. They are being deprived of other interpretations.

Under-class silenced

Malaysian history, too, is about the history of war - of the classes. From the time of the founding of Malacca to the country's plunge into the war of the two coalition parties (Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat), it has been about gang wars over territories, labour and capital.

Whether it was among the warring ancient kingdoms from the time of Majapahit to the current battle for control of Putrajaya, Malaysia's Independence Day fireworks are merely mark a day of ceasefire in a century-long war between the classes.

Because official historians are good at masking truth and burying the stories of those who fought for the poor and the oppressed, history is presented as a shallow narrative of the detailed process of glorifying people, places, crafted events and villains-turned heroes. The poor and the powerless are made to remain silent.

We see the same structures of power maintained, rhetoric of peace and stability overplayed, and an increasingly violent ideological warfare fought in the political and cybernetic spheres – a warfare that is seeing gross violations of human and constitutional rights.

Especially with the rise of Pakatan Rakyat, Malaysians are witnessing a fierce struggle for a balance of power being slowly transformed into a balance of terror, both in physical space and cyberspace.

Whether in the end, Malaysian politics will become a glorious fireworks or a gruesome display of firepower remains to be seen.

OUR USUAL REMINDER, FOLKS:
While the opinion in the article is mine,
the comments are yours;
present them rationally and ethically.
AND -- SET ALL I.S.A. DETAINEES FREE]

Comments (6)Add Comment
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written by lynn, July 12, 2009 15:35:29
With current unemployment rate of more than 20%, Americans are headed for the deepest hole of *&^%, also simply known as The Deepest Depression. At the rate this country of ours is going, down, in no time, we will be able to keep the US company in the same hole.
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written by Hakim Joe, July 12, 2009 16:00:12
Malaysia can learn a lot of things from American history.
The pertinent question remains whether the political masters here wants to learn or not.

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written by batsman, July 12, 2009 16:04:47
Because official historians are good at masking truth and burying the stories of those who fought for the poor and the oppressed,

It is not limited only to the above. Even le Carre and Pinter (famous novelist and Nobel laureate respectively) suffered worse. Read about it http://www.medialens.org/alert..._fools.php and form your own opinions.
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written by densemy, July 12, 2009 18:32:35
Hakim Joe.... and Malaysians can learn a lot from ignoring American and Malaysian history

We are entering a new world and a new era where history carries no counterparts.. What is needed is integrity, commonsense and the ability to plan into the unknown. A knowledge of history could well be a major disadvantage because it ties thinkers and planners to past philosophies and attitudes
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written by educationist, July 12, 2009 19:12:54
"The poor and the powerless are made to remain silent." - I suppose this state of affairs has been the norm from time immemorial.
Yes 308 has given those who yearn for a more fair, just , civil and democractic society a boost.
Yet none of us are under any illusion it shall be a walk in the park for us to reach the stage of political maturity like in the US today.
The Perak state assembly immoral and unscrupulous power grab is a good case in point.
Obama's election slogans "yes, we can" and "change, we will" are good optimism pills for the present!
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written by Jeevan, July 12, 2009 19:34:05
Au contraire mon frere densemy, it is precisely in history where we can find the answer to the identity that we crave, and it's our ignorance of history that allow the powers that be to politicise our differences to an extent that it dwarves our common heritage as Asians.

It is a recurring theme in history that Man thinks that he is entering the unknown, that he is entering a new world that has no parallels in history, which by itself should show the importance that a true knowledge of History has in keeping our feet on the ground and our he*** under the clouds.

Native Americans have an act called the NAGPRA that allows them to keep their status as the original inhabitants of North America, by burying or destroying any artifacts that predate their own appearance in those lands, without any researcher being allowed to get their hands on the artifacts to deduce if it belongs to Native Americans or some older tribe of humanity that called the US of A home way before any Native Americans crossed the Bering Straits. A case of being overly politically correct.

In Malaysia of course, we have the reverse, there are champions for the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians, and even champions for a unified Bangsa Malaysia. But no one champions the true natives, who have called Malaysia home since at least 50,000 years ago. We only care about what comes to those that look like us, and sound like us when they speak.

But an umbrella called Malaysia that will give the same shade and relief to all that call it home, is an idea that is beyond our ken, for all we hope to achieve is a claim that will stake out a slice of the pie for us and others like us, while making sure that no one else gets a slice that is disproportionately larger than ours.

History, real history, gives a perspective that no other field of study can give, a perspective that we sorely need today as much as ever.

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