KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 ― The flurry of open letters and petitions over the past fortnight from so-called moderate Malays hoping to right the nation’s course is an encouraging sign of a progressive future for the country, according to analysts.
The flurry is slowly opening the way for more debate, forcing the public’s attention away from racial and religious strife towards bread and butter issues ― such as the country’s future including the rapidly rising cost of living, they said.
“Given the current global uncertainty about emerging markets and the negative impact that the fall in oil prices will have on the Malaysian economy, we expect the discourse in Malaysia will continue to sharpen, especially when the consumption taxes take effect in April,” Ibrahim Suffian of independent pollster Merdeka Centre for Research told Malay Mail Online.
Just like the rest of the country, Malays and Bumiputera share the same concerns: their livelihoods, the cost of living, safe neighborhoods and getting jobs that allow them to make ends meet.
“The problem is, the polemics introduced by right-wing racial and religious groups ― for whatever reason ― is stifling open debate about policies and diverting attention from the real issues that affect peoples lives,” he added.
A chorus of moderates?
Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Abu Bakar suggested that the climate is now more conducive for democratic debates.
“At the same time, we also have had this new generation of young Malays who are brought up or exposed to this environment either locally or abroad,” the University of Malaya (UM) political analyst said.
“Many of them are children of the middle class and they are equally exposed as the young people from other races.”
The trend was arguably sparked by an open letter on December 8 by 25 former high-ranking Malay civil servants, who called on Putrajaya to review Shariah criminal offences and assert the supremacy of the Federal Constitution over Islamic state laws in the country.
The group, dominated by some of the country’s most senior-ranking civil servants who have since retired from duty, expressed its dismay over the unresolved disputes on the position and application of Islamic laws in Malaysia, which it said reflects a “serious breakdown” of the division of powers between the federal authority and the states.
“It seems we have initiated something that has galvanised the Malaysian public,” the group’s spokesman Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin told Malay Mail Online, surprised.
Noor Farida was formerly an ambassador to the Netherlands, and the rest of them ― who have now been dubbed “25 prominent Malays” ― had held positions such as ministry secretary-generals, director-generals and ambassadors.
Greater visibility
Following their letter, two online petitions called “I am #26” and “Kami Juga 25” (Malay for “We are the 25 too”) addressed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak were published, initiated independently by groups of Malaysians inspired by the original open letter.
At the time of writing, the former petition has reached over 4,600 supporters while latter has garnered over 1,200 signatures ― both averaging at around 1,000 signatories per day.
“Indeed, we are quite encouraged by the number of open letters and petitions it has inspired and given birth to … The letter allows for us to begin breaking the silence,” said Azrul Mohd Khalib of social movement Malaysians for Malaysia, who co-drafted the second petition.
“I'm not aligned to any political parties ... I'm a citizen of Malaysia. I think that's why this really affects me,” said Lyana Khairuddin of the online group Aura Merdeka, who drafted the first petition.
“I'm that person down there that has to take all of these. You can squabble or whatever you want up there, but I'm the person who has to live with it,” she added, referring to the lack of leadership shown by Putrajaya in remedying the increasing breach of civil liberties by religious authorities.
Several individuals have also banded together to support the 25, including one comprising of professionals and another backed by 93 civil societies.
“The better way would be to sit and engage. Let’s discuss each others fears. The ideal thing that we want together. The better approach would be a collaborative within the stakeholders in the country,” suggested Zaid Kamaruddin, the vice-president of Muslim group Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia, one of the 93 groups above.
“Now civil societies are the main movers, in calling for a rational, moderate dialogue with lack of involvement from the government,” he said.
Deep strain of conservatism
Despite the lively trend, UM’s Mohamad conceded that there still exists a huge number of Malays who side with the conservative views of the older generation.
“There are a variety of choices and variety of challenges and naturally enough you will have this division in the society .. The laws of the country will also act as a constraint to a certain extent,” he added.
Similarly, several Malays polled by Malay Mail Online said they were aware of the open letter written by the influential former civil servants, but expressed their cynicism at the same time.
“It's good that we have the moderate side so we have a check and balance, but do they have actual powers to make an effective change? To make a difference they are in need of a bigger platform to stand out instead of being the 'backstage-movers' of this cause,” said associate analyst Tengku Sofiah Aishah Tengku Mahmood when met in Kuala Lumpur.
“Did they send the letter to the Malay-language media as well? Because if not, they would not have reached their intended audience,” said a 59-year-old civil servant in Putrajaya who only wished to be known as Dr Ramlee.
Regardless, the open letter has inspired the subsequent petitioners and has invigorated other Malays who cannot relate to Malay rights groups such as Perkasa or Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma).
“The 25 former top civil servants who wrote the open letter to Putrajaya should have come out a long time ago in making their call,” said taxi driver Mohd Zawawi Ahamad, 55.
“I will definitely join them to make my country a better place for all of us Malaysians.”
The open letter was partly in response to a remark by the minister in charge of religious affairs Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, who claimed of a “new wave” of assault on Islam here, and accused rights groups of colluding with enemies of Islam to put its religious institutions on trial in a secular court.
The Malays and Bumiputera make up the majority of Malaysia’s population at an estimated 67.4 per cent of the 28.3 million population, followed by the Chinese at 24.6 per cent, according to the most recent census at 2010.
