OF all our human emotions, rage is probably the basest, the most destructive, and the least understood element of our psyche.

Psychotic rage is indeed fearsome, being a precursor to, and a compulsive driving force for inexplicable unspeakable acts of violence. Springing forth from the darkest nadir of his being, somewhere deep in the pit of his stomach, nameless broiling rage can drive a man to strike out blindly, without consideration to the consequences to others and to himself. In that one instance, all the teaching of family upbringing, law and ethics evaporates, and the civilised person turns into savage beast.

Therefore, rage is a little like temporary insanity; the trouble is to define 'insanity'.

Rage is a demon that dwells in the darkest crevices of our heart. Some individuals seem more prone to its seductive power, and we call them 'hot-tempered'. Frankly, I do not think any human being is ever spared its spell completely.

Exactly what sows the seeds of seething festering rage is not fully known, although numerous psychologists have done numerous studies on this human emotion. Perhaps it has its roots in some sub-conscious fear of being grievously hurt. When the physical survival of the human organism is threatened, or worse still, when the integrity of the ego-complex faces the possibility of disintegration and annihilation, the energy of will to life explodes out of desperation, frustration, or simply defiance.

In the face of death for instance, the first reaction of the dying person is probably rage, and hence the immortal opening lines of Dylon Thomas' poem:

'Do not go gently into the good night

Rage rages against the dying of the light'

Thomas' noble sentiment aside, rage does manifest itself as a psychological disorder on the social dimension. It does lead to anomaly in behaviour that threatens law and order, and often insults our sense of human decency.

Violence begets violence

Domestic violence is one salient instance of rage proceeding beyond the limits of civilised tolerance. Behind closed door, greater violence can be inflicted upon a spouse or the children by the perpetrator than can be visited upon wild beasts or pet animals. The wounds to the soul of the victims are bound to stay for life.

What triggers and releases the wild beast in the otherwise rational man is a mystery. Psychiatrist can point to some distant hurtful childhood experience as the source of the smoldering fury repressed in the heart. Violence begets violence. Behind every culprit of domestic violence, lies

the story of an abused childhood. The unloved becomes the unloving.

Then again, the story of the infamous Malaysian road rage is harder to explain satisfactorily,

You know the usual story. You stick your middle finger at the driver who has just rudely and dangerously overtaken your car. Perhaps the corner of your car bumper has brushed against his so ever slightly, requiring a repair bill of RM20. He forces you to stop. The he gets down with a baseball bat, smashes your windscreen, and proceeds to beat you into a pulp.

One Saturday evening, I was inching forward in the stifling traffic along Jalan Sultan Ismail when I saw a biker weaving in and out of the snarling traffic. In his haste to get ahead, his leg brushed against the side rear view window of a car next to mine. His face contorting with fury and hatred, he tried to kick the offending car driven by a young lady. Fortunately for everyone, he sped off, looking back with venom at his imagined enemy.

On another occasion, I was inching forward somewhere near China town in KL. There was a commotion on the oncoming lane. Two drivers were involved in a violent fisticuff on the road, spinning in circles at great speed, just like some bad Hollywood movie. What would the tourists think!

Gangsters are known for great acts of cruel violent acts when they come under the spell of an overwhelming rage. Actually that is a myth. I have known of gangsters going very high on alcohol and drugs before they go on the warpath.

Beneath their aggressive bravado, gangsters are often fearful for their lives. They know very well the dictum that 'those who live by the parang shall die by the parang'. But as any friendly samseng would tell you, they are forced by circumstances to cari makan with their parang. They would use force only as a last resort. So when two gangs are about to go to war, there is always a way to talk things over, and to settle their dispute according to their clandestine rules. Rare are the ones who kill out of an explosion of rage.

Talk things over

By and large, violent acts committed out of rage are considered to be anomalies, exceptions rather than the rules. That kind of rage that leads to violence is frowned upon by all the religions and ethical systems that I know. Good breeding consists precisely in keeping our beastly rage under control. Any person who gives in to his rage for whatever reason is considered weak, if not now downright barbaric. Getting yours under control is the essence of maturity of character. Whatever the problem, we can always talk things over.

The kind of rage that drives a person to become berserk is still understandable to some extent. What is difficult to understand is the kind of collective rage whipped by a mass hysteria. Donald Horowitz has studied 150 race riots of the world, including the Malaysian May 13 incident. He has given very valuable insights into the numerous factors that fermented racial conflicts all over the world. One thing he has not resolved is how perfectly reasonable human beings can suddenly go berserk and turn into mass murderers overnight.

By now, we know that racial conflicts are a social fact, just like warfare or religion. But prostitution, incest, murder and theft are also social facts. Being social facts does not make anything ethically acceptable.

By now, the world has seen enough innocent lives perish in numerous conflicts and genocidal massacres. I dare say they are the worst crimes against humanity and the biggest killers of the world's population.

Strangely enough, in Malaysia, the sort of rage that drives mobs to go on a killing spree has been elevated to the status of an ideological tool. In a book written by a former prime minister entitled The Malay Dilemma , going amok has been described as the racial characteristic of the Malay people. According to this theory, when the otherwise mild mannered Malays feel threatened, they give vent to their rage and go berserk. That, according to the former PM, is what caused the disturbance in 1969.

Great unease

That theory cannot be correct of course. It lacks scientific credibility. I have many Malay friends, and they are no more likely to go berserk as described by that infamous book than your average Chinese, Indian, or Iban. Unfortunately, that faulty theory has since become an integral part of the Malay nationalist myth as embodied by Umno.

As far as I can remember, during every Umno general assembly, some fools are bound to stand up and insinuate the myth of the Malay going amok if they do not get what they want. The recent most Umno general assembly is no exception. A sufficient number of seditious statements have been made by Umno delegates for their arrest under the ISA justifiably for the first time!

Of course this sort of open threat causes great unease among members of the other ethnic communities. Even non-Malay journalists covering the event were aghast at the audacity of Umno delegates in uttering the unutterable in multi-racial Malaysia. One Chinese reporter confessed that she could not sleep at night.

But the greatest victims of these extremist sentiments are the Malays themselves. Those wayward Umno delegates have painted a picture of the good Malay people as falling easy prey to irrational rage, at the mere mention of insult to their race and religion, when in fact, patience, courtesy and respect for others have always been the most important virtues in Malay customs.

In recent days, Umno leading lights have been busy trying to put out the fire set ablaze during the recent party assembly. Unfortunately for them, the damage may have been done. Fortunately for the nation, Malaysians of all races are very reasonable people. They may not want to turn the other cheek, but they would not adhere strictly to the dictum of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth' either.

Unlike those Umno individuals who believe that going berserk is the most effective means of achieving their political goals, most Malaysians still know very well in their heart that giving way to their basest emotion is shameful, cowardly and barbaric.