The recent hudud debacle has exposed a critical fault-line in our nation-building process.
Well-known anthropologist Benedict Anderson defined a nation as “an imagined political community - and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign”; that a nation is a socially constructed community, imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of that group.
Thus whether we feel we belong to a common nation becomes a subjective matter. We can only feel we are the same if we have common goal and certain shared values rooted in among others, geopolitical and cultural terms.
Malaysia as a nation, is not young but 51 year old can hardly be construed as mature as well. We may have a state called Malaysia but that does not give rise automatically to a nation with citizens called Malaysians. We call ourselves Malaysians, but do we really all feel Malaysian?
Unlike some other more homogenous state such as Japan and Sweden, the idea of a nation in a multicultural state-nation needs to be carefully constructed over time. Thus a nation-building process is a slow and laborious ongoing process here in Malaysia.
And like the glass that carefully shields our nation’s soul, it is both crucial and fragile.
As it is, we are already badly divided by 57 years of racial politics, with the government constantly promulgating policies along racial lines. For example, the New Economic Policy (NEP) was designed to eradicate poverty but was hijacked by the BN government as a tool to enrich bumiputera cronies. It was and should have been a policy to help those in need regardless of race and not just a particular race.
Everything in Malaysia under BN is about race. The three main component parties in Barisan have race-exclusive membership condition. Applying for PR1MA, first thing they ask you to fill in the form is your race. Since when do the poor have colour? Since when do the homeless get to choose their creed?
And now to exacerbate matter, we have the other R; Religion. I have always taken a firm stand that religion and politics should not mix. It is a dangerous concoction if not handled well.
PAS as we know is pushing for a Private Member’s Bill in the upcoming Parliament sitting to allow for hudud law implementation in the state of Kelantan. Whilst I am not challenging their right to do so, the direct repercussion of such an action is to further polarise the already shaky communal relationship within our country.
Malaysians are forced to put their race and religion interests at stake. Suddenly we are divided and labelled as Muslims and Non-Muslims. Not only politicians are involved, Malaysians all over are debating this issue. Suddenly the common aspiration for a better and corrupt-free Malaysia seems to take a back seat over the hudud issue.
I have not even touch on the legal implications should the Hudud Bill be passed and how absurd it would be for a country to be governed by two entirely different criminal justice systems operating in parallel.
Finally and most of all, I want to look into the eyes of a fellow Malaysian regardless of his or her political belief and affiliation and still feel that we are one because we belong to the same bangsa Malaysia. Hudud is definitely not an aid to nation-building process. On the contrary, Hudud stands now as a giant boulder directly in the path towards a truly bangsa Malaysia that I want to share with my children.
Good sense must prevail from everyone if we are to preserve and continue our nation-building process. Stop using race and religion for personal political gains at the expense of the rakyat’s well-being.
JIMMY PUAH WEE TSE is PKR Johor state assemblyperson for Bukit Batu.
