So this is the story. The Malays in Malaysia are supposed to have political power. The Chinese, economic power. Some of the political power of the Malays are supposed to translate into economic power--hence all the pro-Bumiputra policies. But cronyism, nepotism and corruption mean that the wealth isnt properly distributed, and are concentrated in the hands of the UMNOputras. What does political power then mean for the Malay underclass? What does political power mean for those who voted for the opposition in Kelantan, when the states oil money is supposedly being siphoned off by the Federal Government? Bring in religion. Tell the people: you have the power to determine what laws will apply in the society you live in. This will be your political power. This is where hudud comes in. Despite the talk that hudud laws will not affect non-Muslims, this is no guarantee. Who knows if a dual legal system gets messy in the future (amputation for a Muslim thief and prison for a non-Muslim thief?) and then needs to be streamlined--to all-hudud? So one day the poor Malay will look at the rich Chinese and think, you might be rich, you might have resisted using the National Language, but you are subject to the laws of my religion, and this is my power over you. There is no way that the issue of hudud can be objectively implemented in a society like Malaysia, which is still struggling with the scars of racialisation left behind by colonialism. It is already tainted by power politics, by supremacist groups like Perkasa and Isma who see it as consolidation of Malay power even as they disguise the rhetoric as one of religious duty. So unless these bullies and zealots are expunged from the scene, Muslims should reject hudud in Malaysia, and say no to Malaysia as a theocracy. Naipauls observation on theocracies is instructive: they are political systems which place the blame for their failures in governance on the fact that people are not religious enough. The solution is thus no solution at all (how is it even possible to enforce absolute piety at a broad societal level?), and these societies live in tragic and permanent self-delusion.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 16:22:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015