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COMMENT | Rohingya issue will determine political fortunes
“I don't trust society to protect us; I have no intention of placing my fate in the hands of men whose only qualification is that they managed to con a block of people to vote for them.”
- Mario Puzo, The Godfather
COMMENT | The political elites in this country are busy blaming each other for who caused the Rohingya issue, which has become a major flashpoint for the Malay community, especially working-class Malays.
The fact of the matter is that the people who are vilifying the Rohingya community are the same people who voted in successive bangsa and agama politicians who used the Rohingya when convenient and are horrified by the economic insecurity they have created.
What we are dealing with is the reality that working-class Malays are in economic competition with various migrants, and this in turn has fuelled xenophobic movements born out of frustration with decades of failed government policies meant to uplift the majority community.
Instead of...
“I don't trust society to protect us; I have no intention of placing my fate in the hands of men whose only qualification is that they managed to con a block of people to vote for them.”
- Mario Puzo, The Godfather
COMMENT | The political elites in this country are busy blaming each other for who caused the Rohingya issue, which has become a major flashpoint for the Malay community, especially working-class Malays.
The fact of the matter is that the people who are vilifying the Rohingya community are the same people who voted in successive bangsa and agama politicians who used the Rohingya when convenient and are horrified by the economic insecurity they have created.
What we are dealing with is the reality that working-class Malays are in economic competition with various migrants, and this in turn has fuelled xenophobic movements born out of frustration with decades of failed government policies meant to uplift the majority community.
Instead of helping them, such policies have deepened the class conflict within the community.
Forget about political parties or personalities. This is about how the mainstream political establishment used the Rohingya issue to boost religious bona fides without thinking of the economic and social consequences of allowing foreign elements into the local ecosphere already riddled with class and ethnic tensions.
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When it was convenient to use these migrants for political and religious purposes, Malay political operatives from both sides of the divide used them as examples of the “injustices” faced by the global Muslim community and as a rallying cry for local Muslim solidarity.
From victims to threats
The reason why the Rohingya are here is that successive regimes and political operatives from the opposition advocated for their place and welfare in Malaysian society.
When these “foreigners” become successful and start gaining economic relevance at the expense of the majority, they suddenly become a threat.
Working-class Malays, already handicapped by interventionist state policies, which supposedly protect their rights and privileges, have to contend with various migrant communities for a slice of the pie.
The fact that the plight of the Rohingyas is championed by the bourgeois class and looked on with scepticism or outright hostility by the working class for years was overlooked by the mainstream Malay political establishment.
Social media opprobrium for the Rohingya always includes elements of how well they are organised, and commentary revolves around the politicians and how they are somehow connected to the “problem”.
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Keep in mind that refugees, migrant workers, and “illegals” do the jobs that locals do not want to do, and they only become an issue during times of economic and political uncertainty.
Most workers people think of as “illegal” merely want to make a living and send money back home, but because of the politics of the situation, there are issues involved which affect the social dynamic of locals.
Grain of truth
I know folks do not want to hear this, but if you think that we have extreme religious ideas here, you have no clue of the extreme ideas that could be (and have been) injected into the religious discourse by elements moving in migrant communities.
This idea that the Rohingya are fleeing from oppression is much more complex than the narratives of most activists and state-sponsored hacks.
As reported by Al Jazeera, there is a flourishing trade in brides - some even child brides - by Malaysian-based Rohingya men who cannot find local women to marry.
There has been no discussion or accountability of the millions of dollars of aid from Muslim countries and Western organisations for the benefit of the Rohingya community.
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Neither has there been accountability for the numerous Rohingya organisations that claim to advocate for the community but have been assimilated into various Muslim advocacy groups in the country and used when needed to make a religious show of force.
Jumping on the bandwagon
Politicians of every ethnicity have attempted to gain brownie points from this issue.
MCA young women's wing chief Ivone Low got some folks’ knickers in a twist when she commented on the thug-like behaviour of “refugee children” in a series of online video clips.
In response, Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said said children should not be blamed when “the country” failed to protect them.
The “country” did not fail to protect them. The political apparatus of this country failed to protect them, as it has failed with a great many issues.
It really does not matter if it is BN, Perikatan Nasional, or Pakatan Harapan. Each, at one time, most likely when out of government, has used refugees, especially Muslim refugees, as pawns in an effort to discredit the ruling party or attempt to show how the support of refugees translates to supporting the Malay polity.
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All this is not only hypocritical but also mendacious, as both attempt to portray the situation as a religious one - when it comes to Muslim refugees - as opposed to economic or political ones.
And this has always been an economic issue. Remember the hostility then human resources minister M Kulasegaran received when he reminded the Harapan government of its campaign pledge to allow refugees to work?
I still have not forgotten when former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had that big rally in support of the Rohingya.
Sekretariat Umat chairperson Aminuddin Yahaya, too, had urged Buddhist monks in Malaysia to state their stand on a demonstration held by their counterparts in Myanmar against Najib’s alleged interference in the Rohingya issue, and whether “killings of innocent people” also go against the teachings of Buddha.
This is one of the major economic issues dominating mainstream Malay politics. This is why there has been a sudden spurt of raids against migrants and the underground economy, which has thrived for years.
This major issue, more than Najib’s pardon, will determine which coalition forms the government; who plays the blame game better will be the deciding factor.
S THAYAPARAN is commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
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The article “Rohingya issue will determine political fortunes” is an unfortunate attempt to turn a manageable humanitarian problem into a racial and political distraction. The marginalisation of Malaysia’s working class began generations before the Rohingya appeared on our shores. Under British rule, Tamil labourers were brought to Malaya to work under harsh conditions on rubber plantations. Their employment, housing, schools and basic services depended upon the estates. When plantations were fragmented or converted for development, particularly from the 1970s onwards, thousands of families lost both their jobs and their homes. Many were displaced into poorly served urban settlements, creating an impoverished Tamil working class largely overlooked by national development programmes. Working-class Sino-Malaysians had a different but related experience. Tin miners, plantation workers, small farmers and rural traders supplied labour to the colonial economy. During the Emergency, hundreds of thousands of mainly Chinese rural residents were uprooted under the Briggs Plan and placed in New Villages. Their descendants were frequently treated as members of a uniformly prosperous “Chinese community”, concealing the enormous class difference between labourers, hawkers and small traders on the one hand and wealthy business owners on the other. Poor Malays were not the principal beneficiaries of colonial capitalism either. Padi farmers, fishermen, rubber smallholders and landless rural families remained trapped in poverty while commercial wealth accumulated elsewhere. Their hardship helped make the New Economic Policy politically necessary. Although the NEP reduced poverty, its benefits were distributed unevenly. Politically connected corporations and an emerging elite advanced much faster than many farmers, fishermen, factory workers and residents of low-cost housing. The Orang Asli suffered an even more fundamental dispossession. Plantations, logging, dams, mines and infrastructure projects repeatedly encroached upon customary territories. The loss of land also meant the loss of livelihoods, while the failure to recognise customary rights perpetuated severe poverty. In Sabah and Sarawak, Indigenous communities have similarly watched forests and customary lands opened to logging, plantations and dams while many villages continue to lack reliable water, electricity, healthcare and roads. Workers of every ethnicity have also faced weakened trade unions, insecure contract employment, stagnant wages, expensive housing and privatisation. The Rohingya created none of these conditions. They are stateless political refugees escaping persecution by Myanmar’s military regime. Malaysia may legitimately regulate entry, employment and access to public services. But refugees must not become scapegoats for structural failures created by colonialism, domestic elites, employers and successive governments. The MCA leader’s intervention shows how easily genuine class grievances can be converted into racial resentment against people with even less power. Responsible journalism should expose this manoeuvre, not reinforce it. The Rohingya question requires orderly and humane
And the poor refugees struggling to survive get victimised because of all this. My friend teaches in a refugee school and regularly has to go rescue his students from the authorities. If we let them work legally, they'll contribute to our economy and not be a burden on our tax money. Win - win situation. Locals blaming them when the real people grabbing our money is the politically - connected elites.
This thoughtless Royingya issue created by our political and religious champions is just a minor issue affecting the livelihood of the humble Malays in the far away kampongs and Langkawi islands. This can be easily solved if the government has the political will. When have our politicians come up with well planned thoughts, policies or ideas when tackling issues that may turn monstrous in the future for the country. These fellows are experts at turning issues such as the Royingya for their political gain and hoping for the future generations to rectify them. SERIOUS issues awaiting immediate addressing are corruption, education and racial unity,which if not solved soon may explode in the future, turning our future generations into boat people one day. Please protect Politicians who want to do honest and clean job as opposed to those hiding behind Race and Religion.
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