A story in Malaysiakini on July 20 carried the headline: ' Stop politicising Teoh's death, Nazri warns opposition '.

The terms "politicise" and "politicising" have been used quite liberally by BN ministers and their supporters in the media for many decades now to mean something derogatory. What few people realise is that these very Malaysian political lexicons have their roots in the political evolution of our nation in the 1970s.

The origins of these terms have to be attributed to the work of former PM Tun Abdul Razak, though I am not sure whether he indeed used those words himself.

In the mid 70s, Tun Razak was trying to forge a larger more encompassing ruling coalition by roping in opposition parties into its fold. That was how the old Alliance evolved into the Barisan Nasional to include prominent opposition parties like the Gerakan and PAS, leaving the lone opposition DAP in the cold wilderness.

Tun Razak’s rationale for this move was the argument that the nation will not be distracted by too much politics and so the government can concentrate on the job of development.

Simplistic logic

This simplistic logic had come to be embraced by all BN politicians and media practitioners. Indeed, the mantra of "development" dominated our national narrative for nearly three decades, and worked wonders at the poll for the BN ruling coalition, until the political tsunami in March 8 last year.

In those three decades of BN hegemony in Malaysia, whenever DAP raised their feeble voice to highlight any political issue large or small, they were sternly told not to 'politicise' matters.

The sheer negative connotation of "politicising" issues gripped the hearts of the national electorate, at a time when the Internet was yet a distant and remote possibility. They give political parties a wide berth, especially opposition parties like DAP.

The term "politicising" became a favourite word for newspaper headline in the mainstream media.

In a sense, Tun Razak had silently declared the false dichotomy that politics was bad, and development was good. His ideologues might well have attributed the May 13 tragedy to too much politicking of the racial kind before that incident.

In one fell swoop, politics was exiled from our national conversation during those long years. All that remained was the discourse of administration by the BN government on development. The depolitisation of Malaysia had plunged Malaysians into the cold winter of political apathy for nearly three decades.

Perhaps I should elaborate. Opposition politics was exiled from the national conversation in the mainstream media, and the BN component parties monopolised the right for political discourses. There was this inadvertent and subliminal identification of BN as a coalition of political parties and the government of Malaysia. Only their political narratives carry the legitimacy of the state.

Looking back now, I wonder why people did not question why "politicising" anything is so bad.

To define the term "politicising" now would indeed be as daunting as to define "politics." But we have our common sense to rely on.

Two historical developments

When you see a male dog and a female dog mating on the open street of Kuala Lumpur, it would be "politicising" the matter if you blame the unsightly scene on the BN government. After all, the behaviour of wild stray dogs has nothing to do with political parties at all.

Even there, one can argue that BN is in control of the KL Federal Territory, and the DBKL under their control have not been able to reign in the wild stray dogs on the street! As the political master of KL, BN must be held politically responsible for the hoards of wild dogs running wild.

Two historical developments had punctured holes in this stonewall of fear against politicising anything.

One was the emergence of the Reformasi Movement, beginning in 1998 following the arrest and detention of Anwar Ibrahim. His dastardly treatment at the hands of the institutions of state released such a wave of spontaneous protests of rage and incredibility, that a whole generation of young middle class Malays who might have been politically neutral took to the streets despite oppression by a mostly Malay police forced.

More than anybody else, Anwar was singularly responsible for the political awakening of the new generations of Malay Malaysians. His incarceration in Sungai Buloh only cemented his position as a political martyr, keeping his flame of reformasi alive. His release from jail enabled that flame to grow into a wild fire.

The other development that spelled death to the BN strategy of depolitising politics was the growth of the Internet. The stranglehold of the mainstream media over the process of thought control of Malaysian mind has been broken once and for all.

Perfect vehicle found

Today, there are 16 internet subscribers and roughly half a million bloggers in Malaysia.

Malaysian netizens have found their perfect vehicle to answer their need and instinct for public engagement, democratic participation, and alternative ways for redefining "politics." On the Internet, everyone can be a politician, and everyone can shape public opinions.

To give you an example, I refer to excerpts from Nathaniel Tan's latest posting on his blog:

'I know too well how often politics sounds like a dirty word. I know the thought of people trying to gain political mileage from someone’s death is abhorrent, and rightfully so.'

'Try as I might though, I find it near impossible to separate political elements from Teoh's untimely death'.

'To begin with, politics touches every realm of our lives. It is a defining feature of politics. There is little or no bettering Malaysia without bettering its politics and that is why I've seen fit to get involved'.

'Nowhere is this truer than in the case of this "sudden death."'

'The simple question is: could Teoh's death have been avoided if there were differences in Malaysia's political landscape?'

The obvious answer to his very relevant question is of course a resounding "Yes!"

At the moment, there is nothing more political than Teoh’s death. His sudden and tragic demise signals the fatal failing of some of our most important institutions. Such failing has subverted the confidence of the citizenry in these institutions, including the office of the prime minister. Nothing is more devastating to our democratic way of life if this loss of confidence and trust is allowed to continue on its downward spiral

The political landscape in Malaysia has changed, and people are far more demanding than the citizens in the last century. The weight of public opinion can no longer be ignored like those days of old. The Internet will make sure of that.

Royal commission

The Cabinet has announced its decision to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to look into the method and mode of MACC interrogation procedures, while the investigation of Teoh’s death is entrusted with the coroner’s inquest.

In the days ahead, the debate will rage on, about the narrow terms of reference for the RCI, the composition of the RCI, and the efficacy of the RCI. In fact, the very institution of the royal commission is under trial, as Ku Li pointed out in the latest posting on his blog Razaleigh.com:

"Tengku Razaleigh said calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh's suspicious death would be of no use if the government does not follow through on its suggestions, pointing out that the government had ignored the recommendations of previous royal commissions such as the one that investigated the VK Lingam case of alleged judge fixing and on improving the police force.

"He even likened the sidelining of previous royal commissions to 'insulting the King.'"

It all goes to show that Nazri is still trapped in the time capsule of the past, as he still mumbled the old, tired, fossilised, archaic, outdated, outmoded, obsolete political language of scolding people for 'politicising' matters. He has not realised that many whole new generations of young Malaysians have been liberated from the linguistic prisons erected by his predecessors.

Aristotle once said: "Every man is a political animal." Though a lawyer, Nasri probably has not studied Aristotle. So what else is new?

SIM KWANG YANG can be reached at kenyalang578@hotmail.com