Defending our public spaces against extremists

What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.”

― Robert F Kennedy

This close to the upcoming elections, political operatives from the establishment say that we should ignore extremists not because shunning them makes them go away (which is not true) but rather because extreme statements about race and religion are normally promulgated by the outsourced thugs of the establishment and establishment politicians.

Meanwhile, opposition politicians and their allies tell us to ignore extremists' rhetoric because they claim that the establishment is just manufacturing outrage as political traps meant to destabilise the opposition. The opposition makes this argument because of the uncomfortable reality that extreme statements most often reflect the political and religious sensibilities of their erstwhile partners, gunning for the same racial demographic as the establishment.

Most people overlook the fact that the establishment is using this opportunity not only to destabilise the opposition but, even worse, to push agendas that are detrimental to this country precisely because the opposition is compromised due to the strategy they have chosen to adopt to topple the current Umno grand poohbah.

What the long Umno watch has demonstrated is that extremist ideas do not wither away, instead they take root and grow into horrible constructs that keep us divided along racial and religious lines. All this is done not only with the legitimacy of a compromised electoral system but the complicity of Malaysians who are not unified along ideological lines but continue to use racial and religious politics as a pragmatic way to move forward.

This brings me to Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong ‘s rejoinder to the press to not give extremists space to spread their hate.

The problem is that these extremists are sanctioned by the state. “Extremism” is not an aberration here in Malaysia it is mainstream politics. “Space” is irrelevant when the country’s institutions are compromised.

Mah (photo) uses the convenient Muslim-only launderette as an example of extremism but this is actually the least dangerous form of extremism in Malaysia. The problem with BN component parties is that they cannot seem to detach from the extremism of the state because of the nature of their political and social relationship with Umno. Most often policy is not decided by the cabinet but by the inner council of the Umno hegemon.

I have no doubt that BN component parties are not extremists but with the Malay community convulsing because of shifts of power and influence, the non-Malay component parties of Umno have to sing the Umno tune even though the tune is an extreme ditty about Malay racial and religious supremacy.

Anyone who claims that race and religion in Malaysia are not extreme issues is a mendacious hack. I contend that we all get along even though these issues are the basis for every single policy decision in this country. Perhaps this demonstrates how cut-off non-Malays are from the democratic process, and explains why every time someone says something remotely rational when it comes to the mainstream extremism from the state, that dominates the news cycle; we fall on our knees and portray this simple act as something revelatory and truly “Malaysian”.

The headscarf controversy while cathartic for some is really the least of it when it comes to the way both the religion of the state and racial politics damn this country. When we have “Malay” only educational institutions but Chinese language schools are attacked as fostering ill will between the communities and Tamil language schools are labelled as encouraging gangsterism, any rational person should understand that extremism, if left unchecked or ignored because of political expediency, does nothing to create an environment where Malaysia truly changes for the better.

It’s all nice and well when like good little sheep we embrace the so-called social contract and realise the limitations placed on non-Malays/Muslims but because information is so easily disseminated, it is pointless attempting to control the narrative when half the population (or thereabouts) have rejected the narratives of the establishment.

Mind you, this may not necessarily translate to votes but the reality is that these days, when extremists from within and outside the government push their race- and religion-based narratives, there will be pushback, not only from opposition politicians (if we are lucky) but also, and more importantly, from the public through online mediums.

Of course, we could argue that news organisations are sensationalising certain issues but what we cannot make the claim that the media is giving these extremists space. The establishment has already given them space. If anything, the public and the media are reclaiming space from these extremists.

While some would argue that the way the alternative media exposes and challenges these extreme ideas is juvenile and, no doubt, some of the responses to these extreme ideas are extreme in their expressions, the fact is that simply ignoring the people who propagate these ideas or dismissing them as merely agents out to destabilise the opposition is playing into the hands of these extremists.

These extremists do not want resistance but even more terrifying is they want to make oppositional forces in this country complicit in the realisation of these ideas. Moreover, let us be honest most often they succeed in this endeavour.

The Gerakan president wants the police to take action against these extremists but when has the PDRM ever come down on people who are supportive of the narratives of the establishment?

The state security apparatus, educational establishments, civil service and the myriad of other public institutions have seen a rise in the recruitment for Islamic criminal organisation such as the Islamic state and its affiliates. When you consider this, this whole nonsense of Muslim-only launderettes seems like a quaint joke.

The kind of extremism that is hatched by Umno has morphed into something more dangerous. The influx of refugees and the unwanted influence of a host of Islamic emigres is slowly coalescing into something that the Umno state cannot control. This type of extremism rears its ugly head now and then and it is a mistake to assume that just because we do not give it space, it withers away.

The reality is that by shining a spotlight on extremists and their thinking, the efforts of these extremists are hampered. If such individuals did not get attention, they would probably succeed in a sub rosa manner and none would be the wiser.

As I said it is not about giving extremists space, it is about reclaiming our public and private spaces from extremists.

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.- Mkini