http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2009/07/02/relativism-and-the-politics-of-absolutes/

Relativism and the Politics of Absolutes
posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

By Farish A. Noor

Studying Malaysian politics is a chore in itself, but rewarding for the
simple reason that it is one of the most plural, complex and complicated
countries in the world. Among all the countries that I have worked on, it is
Malaysia that continues to challenge my capacity to think (and relax) for
the simple reason that its communitarian mode of sectarian politics is an
odd blend of modernity and primordialism that is seldom equalled anywhere
else.

At present the opposition coalition known as the Peoples Alliance (Pakatan
Rakyat) is once again in a state a crisis - or rather manifold crises - as
the component parties bicker over the mode of governance in the states that
they won after the elections of March 2008. Bringing together the
predominantly Chinese-Malaysian Left-leaning DAP, the multiracial PKR and
the overwhelmingly Malay-Muslim Islamists of PAS was never an easy task; and
it was said from the outset that the coalition was an instrumental one.

Today however the coalition is once again at breaking point after the DAP
threatened to leave the coalition over a dispute over the destruction of a
pig abattoir in the state of Kedah, disputes over contracts awarded to
development projects in Penang and Selangor, and the lingering fear that the
Islamists of PAS will push their Islamisation agenda in the states that have
come under their control. Seemingly trivial matters such as the sale of pork
and alcohol have forced all three parties to the defensive, with each party
holding steadfast to its stand.

Now for political scientists such as myself, situations such as these -
which are by no means unique to Malaysia - are worthy of further study as
they raise the question of how a mode of representative politics can be
developed and institutionalised in the context of plural societies with
ethnic, religious and linguistic differences enshrined in the constitution
as well as the institutions of state. For this reason what happens in
Malaysia is of interest to others in countries like India, Pakistan,
Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa et al.

The root of the problem seems to be this: Despite the introduction and
imposition of modern tools of statecraft such as the Parliament, the
Constitution, the Judiciary etc. the operative mode of politics in
Malaysia - like in many other post-colonial societies - is anything but
modern. Feudal, essentialist and primordial loyalties to race, religion and
culture predominate and determine the norms of political praxis, and are
still being used by all political parties to maintain the support of their
respective sectarian constituencies. Hence the Islamist party's
preponderance to defend and foreground causes deemed relevant to Muslims;
while other ethnic-based parties continue to foreground the interests of
their respective ethnic communities.

Despite decades of rhetoric about building a united plural Malaysia, none of
the political parties and political elite of Malaysia have done much in
terms of bridging the cultural, religious and ethno-linguistic gulfs between
them. Hence the predominance of a mode of absolutist politics where no
single party or leader can even begin to accept the idea of genuine
difference and alterity in their midst.

It is for this reason that trivial matters like the sale of pork and alcohol
have become so contentious in states like Selangor, and why even the
simplest of things like linguistic differences can make or break the fragile
coalitions we see in the country.

The question that has to be raised is this: how long will it take for the
leaders of Malaysia's political parties to realise that difference and
alterity are living realities in a complex world, and that successful
politics arises when parties can accept these differences and transcend
them? At present, it is clear that some of the parties in the country have
yet to learn the lesson. The Islamists of Selangor, for instance, are still
bent on pursuing their mode of religiously-inspired politics with all its
attendant dangers of moral policing. While all the parties of the country
talk on and on about the much-lauded image of Malaysia being a diverse and
plural nation, we see little respect for pluralism on the ground level.
Religious minorities such as the Shias and Ahmadis are routinely described
as deviants and deprived of their status as Muslims, moral policing is still
the norm; and now even the sale of pork for non-Muslims has become an issue.

What holds true for the conservatives among the Islamists also holds true
for the representatives and leaders of other parties as well, and as long as
this situation pertains then there can be little hope for a genuinely plural
and democratic politics in Malaysia.

Plural societies on the other hand are not the best place to play out a
politics of absolutism, with its maximalist ambitions. In so many developing
countries today, the hope of creating a singular national vision with a
singular narrative has been eclipsed by the very real fact that these
societies are too complex to be simplified and essentialised. There can be
no singular image or identity to Malaysian society today any more than there
can be a singular Indian, Pakistani, Indonesian or even American nation, for
the simple reason that the processes of social differentiation have grown so
far advanced that the appeal of a singular unifying narrative is lost.

So perhaps a healthy dose of relativism - tempered by the awareness that
relativism per se cannot be a licence for all sorts of cultural
particularism of the Taliban variety - is required to get us out of the
present impasse that stands before most plural societies. In the Malaysian
context this may be more difficult for those political parties that use
religion as the basis of their ideology, and who think of themselves as God'
s politicians on earth who are here to gain control over the Parliament of
Heaven. But sooner than later all politicians who claim to be
representative - rather than authoritarian - will have to accept the fact
that not all communities live and believe as their own, and that dealing
with difference is part and parcel of modern constitutional politics today.
____

http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/is-hadis-islam-and-parti-pas
-different-from-nik-azizs/

Is Hadi's Islam and Parti PAS different from Nik Aziz's?
Posted by Haris Ibrahim July 2, 2009

On 20th November, last year, I had written to JAKIM requesting for a fatwa
on the question of whether concepts of 'Ketuanan Melayu' and the
Bumiputra-non Bumi distinction that seems to be constantly pursued by UMNO
is unIslamic.

I had blogged about this last year and the post and the letter to JAKIM can
be viewed HERE.
http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/my-letter-to-jakim-requesting-a-fa\
twa/

Both in that post and the letter to JAKIM, I had quoted Nik Aziz as reported
in BERNAMA. I reproduce that quote below.

"Di dalam Islam tidak mengira bangsa, apa yang penting adalah takwa kepada
Allah s.w.t. Tidak kiralah bangsa apa, Cina, Melayu, India dan Arab. Tuhan
hanya melihat ketakwaan seseorang itu. kerana bila kita bertakwa kita takut
kepada Allah dan menjalankan tanggungjawab kita".

Needless to say, I've not got a response from JAKIM.

Malaysiakini yesterday reported PAS president Hadi Awang as being against
the "dropping the 30 percent bumiputera equity in businesses, describing
the proposed measures by Prime Minister Najib Razak as detrimental to the
race".
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/107610

For those of you who are not subscribed to Malaysiakini, Malaysianinsider
has a similar report .

Malaysiakini reports Hadi as saying that "The bumiputeras are still lagging
behind in terms of experience and their position.We want to be fair to all
races but at the same time the bumiputera position should be
strengthened.They lag behind in education amenities (for example). They
cannot compete with the urbanites of other races who have such privileges".

Could the leadership of the Kelab Penyokong PAS (KPP) please ask Hadi to
explain what position, unique only to the bumiputras, needs to be
strengthened?

Could the leadership of the KPP ask Hadi if he is aware that, like the
bumiputras, a great many people of the other races also lag behind in
education amenities and cannot compete with urbanites of any race, bumi or
otherwise?

Could the leadership of KPP ask Hadi if his stand on this bumi - non bumi
divide is at odds with the final sermon of the Holy Prophet, as reproduced
below?
http://www.accin-badailies.org/The%20Last%20Sermon%20of%20the%20Prophet.htm

"All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a
non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab. Also a white has
no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white
except by piety and good action."

Until KPP gets clarification and shares the same with us, we must assume
that Hadi's PAS might just stand for Parti Ajaran Sesat.
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