Having Faith in Malaysians

by Farish A Noor

A few years ago, a Malaysian diplomat who also happens to be a friend of mine asked me: “After living abroad for more than two decades, were you ever tempted to give up your citizenship?” It was a question that was easy to answer, and I immediately said, “No. I remain a Malaysian because I happen to love my country very much.” It was true then, and it remains true today. I have, since the age of 18, lived in Britain, France, Holland, Germany and now Singapore. For the benefit of those who may be curious, I will also point out that I studied abroad at the cost of my mother, after we sold our land and house to pay for it, and not by the grace of a government scholarship. I chose the life of an academic because I love learning and teaching, despite the fact that I knew I would never be rich – unlike so many of my schoolmates whose luxurious lifestyles I can never hope to emulate.

But I happen to love my country and its people, and despite the doom-mongering of the naysayers I still believe that Malaysia – despite its size – is a country that deserves its place on the stage of world history. My faith rests not in the institutions of the state, for institutions are but empty structures that need to be filled by people who give it meaning and purpose. My faith lies in Malaysians and their ability to judge and think wisely when it matters most.

The reasoning behind this faith of mine comes from my experience as a teacher of history, and Southeast Asian history in particular. I have noted in my lectures and writings many times over that whenever Malaysia has come close to the brink, it has always been saved by the Malaysians themselves. Note the lessons of history that we can learn from: At the elections of 1986, the Malaysian public showed that they would not endorse radical or violent politics by punishing the party that articulated it, PAS. Likewise in 2004, after PAS’s ill-advised support for the Taliban, it was trounced at the elections again. Then in 2008, the Malaysian public likewise expressed their distaste for communitarian politics by robbing the BN of its two-thirds majority in Parliament. In fact, if there is one consistent variable in Malaysian politics, it is that the Malaysian public has rarely, if ever, rewarded extreme religious-conservative or sectarian-communitarian parties and politicians. Perhaps this is due to the simple fact that as Malaysians we realise that we are bound together and will share the same fate, despite the antics of some elected representatives.

Some have claimed that Malaysia’s pluralism is also its weakness. I happen to disagree. I believe that the plural and complex nature of Malaysian society serves as an effective means to temper the tone and tenor of our national political discourse, and that as a result of this complexity all the parties of the country – from both BN and PR – will have to settle to a moderate median line in the long run. No party can run Malaysia alone, without being in a coalition and without abiding by the general will of such a coalition.

My hope is that in the long run all the parties of Malaysia will learn that they have to appeal to Malaysians as a whole, as a plural and complex nation, rather than to their respective racial, ethnic, religious and/or linguistic vote bases.

That this need for a national consensus grows by the day is evident to anyone with the eyes to see: China and America’s repositioning of themselves in the ASEAN region, coupled with the moves of their allies – North Korea, South Korea, Japan, India and Australia – means that Southeast Asia is set to become the stage of a very important geopolitical chess-game as never before. In the past, Malaysia’s political leaders have catered to the needs of their respective vote bases mainly. But this has to change if we are to take into account the collective national interest above all else. Already some leaders have begun to position themselves as leaders of all Malaysians. This has to be the positive trend that becomes the leitmotif of Malaysian politics from now on.

I do not know what will happen to Malaysia in fifty years time, and I certainly do not expect to be alive when the centennial celebrations come around the corner. But if Malaysia succeeds by then, and remains on the map as a successful postcolonial nation-state that has weathered the storms of geopolitics, credit to that should go to the people of Malaysia themselves. And it is in them that I place my faith, the faith of a schoolteacher who wants to see his students prosper and succeed long after he has gone.



Prof Farish A Noor is an Associate Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

The image in this article is from Farish Noor’s personal collection.