MAY 2 — Are Malaysians misinformed? Despite the internet and the world wide web, are Malaysians any more knowledgeable now than we were 50 years ago? I think not.
We pat ourselves on the back for keeping up with the latest news. We are proud to hit the forward button on our phones, iPads and laptops. We are gleeful that we are probably the first to expose another piece of trendy news to our peer groups. We may even be the first to enlighten a simple farmer in Uzbekistan through our Facebook newsfeed. However, are we truly knowledgeable about the bytes of facts that we distribute online?
Lately, too many headlines and commentaries on our print and web media have alluded to “regime change” in Malaysia. Surprisingly, not a single reader has pointed out this erroneous fact: that there is a gross difference between “regime change” and a “change in government”. The truth is that May 9, 2018 ushered in a new period of “a change in government” and not “regime change”.
On May 1, 2019, part of a headline in a local daily read “with regime change”… The article was about how an influential Malaysian NGO (Sisters in Islam) managed to achieve more democratic space since Pakatan Harapan came to power. The report confirmed that Putrajaya is now more open to listening to non-profit groups and rights activists when formulating its policies. That this was in a headline, and not the main body of text is embarrassing. What will the rest of the world think of us Malaysians?
In this interconnected age of free information, we need to be more diligent in how we disseminate the facts. After all, what we report and write are read by billions of people, not just Malaysians. There are implications for Malaysia as a regional and global player. We have to guard our intellectual integrity, as this will have repercussions on how we are geopolitically perceived. Let me attempt to address this confusion.
Regime change occurs when the type of political system changes. It involves a complete transformation of the political system from one type to another. It may replace all or part of a country’s most critical leadership system. The system may change from a democratic one to a theocratic one. It may change from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy. It may change from a liberal democracy to a military dictatorship. Furthermore, almost always, regimes change through revolutions and coups.
Iran is a good example. In 1979 the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown. The revolution replaced the monarchy with an Islamic Republic. A hereditary monarchical system was replaced by a theocratic republic, two completely different political systems.
World War II is another example. The United States together with the Allied Forces helped overthrow imperial Japan. Following World War II, the constitution of Japan was adopted to replace the previous imperial rule. Post-World War II Japan had a new government based on Western-style liberal democracy, as opposed to the previous aristocratic oligarchy. These are two different political systems, one based on an absolute monarch and the other based on participatory representation and on a free market economy.
Historically, Malaysia has not gone through any of these types of regime changes since independence. During the colonial era, Malaya was dominated by a foreign polity, i.e. the British colonial system. Malay royals retained their symbolic status at the apex of an aristocratic social system. Politically, authority lay with the British. This changed in 1957 when Malaya became a constitutional democracy. For the past 61 years, we have been governed by the same political party, and the same political system. The only change that took place in 2018 was a change in leadership. But the parliamentary democratic system still prevails within our constitutional monarchy.
Regimes can change when foreign powers interfere. The United States has involved itself in several regime changes of other countries. Through overt and covert actions, it has altered, replaced and preserved other governments. A good example is the US involvement military coups. During the Cold War in particular, the US government secretly supported military coups that overthrew democratically-elected governments in Guatemala (1954), the Congo (1960) and Chile (1973). Currently, the US seems to be committed to regime change in Venezuela.
Let us get our facts right. It is important to accurately conceptualise our current political situation. Perception is everything. Malaysia’s political history provides a degree of stability that is worth holding on to. We have not faced a revolutionary change in our politics. This bodes well for the consistent political values that define post-colonial Malaysia.
**This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
