My new book will be out in a few weeks; one entitled ‘One Malaysia, under god, bipolar’. It will be my seventh; another collection of essays analysing contemporary Malaysia. Below is an excerpt from the preface I am sharing:
1. Malaysia turning into Uganda?
At the rate of how many political fights we are seeing,
how many Idi Amins in songkoks we have produced,
how fast the capital flights we are witnessing are,
how seriously the crime rate has risen,
how policed the state has become,
how many of those speaking truth to power have been persecuted,
how fast the judiciary has rotted,
how deep the educational standards have plunged,
and how much wealth those in power have amassed
we are seeing Kuala Lumpur turning into Kampala
we hope not
at least we must first become Kenya.
2. Wealth can be an enemy of wisdom
One cannot serve god and money at the same time, as Jesus said
this is what is happening in Malaysia today
fighting over power, wealth and money
the loss of basic sensibility... the absence of wisdom
leaders taking pride in arrogance and ignorance
it takes three generations to destroy a nation, Kungfu Tze would say
for Malaysia, it takes only two.
3. Malaysia today
Obsessed with the past and the politics of the day
we have not paid much attention to the future... to Education
to building a new world of endless possibilities through education
we owe the children this new world
of charting new ways of doings things, of living,
of relating, and making peace
with oneself and with others,
of creating a new philosophy, paradigm, processes, new products of value,
these -
not to have them inherit our ills
and to have them born into debt and despair
criminals are made, not born
i wished the politicians from both sides
have paid more attention to new ideas in education
what a waste of two generations.
4. Anti-terrorism laws are necessary
Only if used wisely and justifiably
for national safety and security
only in a society that knows what clear separation means
of the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary,
such as the government of the United States
and not yet of Malaysia - where those with power and money
and in deep desperation
5. On the passing of Malaysia’s renewed Internal Security Act
Or the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota)... all is done as BN wanted it to be. Where were all the Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament - those missing on voting day on this issue of such a grave magnitude? Not interested any more in fighting for those who fought for you to be in office?
6. What actually matters in Malaysian politics
For the rich and powerful, the children and family members to rule the country
for the poor and powerless, how to feed the family and how the leaders and the rulers are ruining the country,
and therefore that too is what the media is interested in reporting
this is a new brand of class and consciousness in a hypermodern economy, in a world of modern slavery.
7. A mirror
There is so much hatred in this world today
love seems to have flown away
until in each of our hearts we tear down the walls
of fear
of anger
of bigotry
of jealously
of prejudice
of selfishness
of misconstructions
and let love and only love
engulf us
and overwhelm us to tears
embracing each other and open
our eyes
window to our soul
to the sufferings of many
because we are a mirror of one another
8. Malaysians, return to sanity. Here’s how:
Political will, radical political change, an overhaul of the system, a fresh new and different mandate, a prison complex big enough to incarcerate the long-time corrupt ones, a plan to redistribute wealth, to dismantle educational apartheid, a rewriting of Malay and Malaysian history, a re-threading of the moral fibre of the armed personnel, a massive arrest of political tyrants for past doings, a restructuring of the casino capitalist economy, the establishment of a stronger local government, a clampdown on racist and other hate-groups, a return to the rule of law, a return to agricultural society, an experimentation with a radically new form of communal-styled living, a dismantling of systems that allow global corporate giants to continue to prey upon the natives, a return to the cooperative system, the strengthening of labor, a re-education of political officials on management, ethics, and political philosophy, the separation of religion and state, the dismantling of useless cultural and religious rituals, a restructuring of society based on the principles of radical multiculturalism and the celebration of transcultural philosophies, the reduction of TV time and TV channels, the introduction of the reading of the great works of arts, humanities, and literature from the cradle to the grave, the curbing of rhetoric on Islamic or any religious state, the compulsory teaching of philosophy from the cradle to the grave, ... all these and more to overturn the system onto its ugly head.
Those are the thoughts I penned as I was following closely the developments of the latest issues in Malaysia, especially the 1MDB fiasco and the current power struggle within Umno in the form of an open war between the camp of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the current leader, Najib Abdul Razak.
I hope this collection of essays will both be an enjoyable read as well as help inform readers of the views I have taken thus far on the state of Malaysian affairs, as they are impacted by the historical forces of race and religion.
What is different about this volume from previous ones is that in the spirit of good online dialogue, I have included the excellent comments from the readers of my articles, showing the range of diverse opinions on the topics I have presented weekly. These comments are also engaging and intellectually stimulating, signifying the level of maturity Malaysian readers have arrived at, on critical issues facing the nation.
I have learned a lot from the generous responses of those who took the time to read and comment. My deepest appreciation goes especially to those who have been commenting regularly, participating in the dialogues with the level of decorum expected of intellectual dialogues.
As in my previous works, I have enjoyed writing these essays and sharing my concern for our beloved Malaysia as we usher into yet another unknown frontier in this complex and globalising world characterised by bipolarism; a condition of clinical depression of emotional ups and downs and that can be applied to characterise Malaysia of today as a hypermodern nation.
DR AZLY RAHMAN grew up in Johor Baru, Malaysia and holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and Masters degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He will be pursuing his fifth Masters in Fine Arts, specialising in Fiction and Poetry Writing. He has taught more than 50 courses in six different departments and has written more than 350 analyses/essays on Malaysia. His 25 years of teaching experience in Malaysia and the United States spans over a wide range of subjects, from elementary to graduate education. He has edited and authored six books; Multiethnic Malaysia: Past, Present, Future (2009), Thesis on Cyberjaya: Hegemony and Utopianism in a Southeast Asian State (2012), The Allah Controversy and Other Essays on Malaysian Hypermodernity (2013), Dark Spring: Essays on the Ideological Roots of Malaysia's General Elections-13 (2013), a first Malay publication Kalimah Allah Milik Siapa?: Renungan dan Nukilan Tentang Malaysia di Era Pancaroba (2014), and Controlled Chaos: Essays on Mahathirism, Multimedia Super Corridor and Malaysia’s ‘New Politics’ (2014). He currently resides in the United States where he teaches courses in Education, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Political Science, and American Studies. His forthcoming book, One Malaysia, under God, Bipolar, a joint project between Gerakbudaya and World Wise Books of New Jersey, USA, is his seventh compilation of essays on Malaysian Cultural, Creative, and Critical Studies. He is currently working on his eighth book, on Gifted and Talented Education in Malaysia, honouring a prominent educator. Twitter , blog .
