COMMENT What political culture is DAP breeding under Lim Guan Eng?

This is the focus of this article; not whether Lim’s bungalow purchase was ethical or not, not whether he should go on leave or not, et cetera. We’ll mostly leave that debate to others for the time being. Like Dr Kua Kia Soong , I hope to explore questions of attitude, culture and bearing.

One of the biggest problems with Malaysian political culture is the prevalence of feudalism.

Nowhere do we see this more prevalent than in Umno. Umno politics has almost nothing to do with right or wrong, with ideas or policies, or anything such; it has everything to do with who you call boss.

In feudal politics, the boss is always right, no matter what. It is practically a definition. If he’s the boss, he’s right. If he’s not the boss, he’s wrong, and the boss is right. Always.

So, in or around Umno, any comment about the Najib Abdul Razak-Dr Mahathir Mohamad spat tells you little about that commentator’s values or principles, but everything about who he calls boss.

The nature of feudal loyalty is best surmised in three words: blind, fervent, and absolute.

Insulting the Bar Council?

The Penang chief minister is well within his rights to defend himself against any and all allegations, as are all his allies and subordinates.

What raises eyebrows however is the rabid nature with which diehard Lim Guan Eng loyalists have come out to do so, as they always do whenever it comes to defending Lim publicly.

The way they viciously attack anyone who dares say a word against Lim (I’m sure responses to this article will be a perfect example), cannot help but bring to mind that uncle who, a little into his drinks, starts to sing that song, “Who let the dogs out?”

As if the tone were not bad enough, there’s the content to contend with. Here’s a quote from one op-ed on the matter by DAP’s No 2 man :

“Surprisingly, the Malaysian Bar, which is often at loggerheads with BN government, seems to have unwittingly gone along with the BN political parties in asking Guan Eng to take leave pending the investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).”

‘Unwittingly’ gone along with BN?

This is a bald-faced insult to the intelligence of our nation’s top legal minds, and implies that anyone who might dare say anything even remotely critical of Lim is - to put it simply - stupid.

It’s as if these lawyers would somewhere down the road get an epiphany: “Eh? Ya hor. I missed it lah. How could I not see I’ve been helping BN? I better repent.”

God forbid the Bar Council might actually have an independent mind, and be able to objectively assess behaviour on both sides of the aisle.

The article, quote, and entire culture behind it is also a perfect example of the worst excesses of blind partisanship and feudal logic, echoing George W Bush’s infamously nonsensical line: “If you are not with us, you are against us.”

If the tables were turned...

All this furthermore at the Bar Council’s mere suggestion that the CM consider taking leave. Imagine if they actually accused him of corruption.

Not that DAP and friends are strangers to making accusations of corruption.

I remain completely open minded as to whether Lim is guilty of anything here.

Briefly though, it must be pointed out that if the facts of the matter concerned a BN politician instead of an opposition one, everybody would be all over them. Excerpts from Malaysiakini ’s summary :

The bungalow sale was “linked to the state’s government sale of land in Taman Manggis to a private company in 2012, which BN also claimed was sold at below the market price.

The 0.4-hectare plot was sold for RM11 million to Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre Sdn Bhd (KLIDC) in 2012.

The original bungalow owner, Phang, does not have any interest in KLIDC.

According to documents from the Companies Commission, Phang is the co-director of Windbond Management & Consultant Sdn Bhd, holding a 20 percent stake.

Her partner in the company is Tang Yong Chew, who controls the remaining 80 percent of the company.

Tang is also the majority shareholder of KLIDC, which bought the Taman Manggis land, holding a 60 percent stake in the dental company.”

If I’m not mistaken, Phang and Tang are also co-owners of a few other companies.

So again, not conclusive by any means, but I can say with certainty that all of us have crucified BN politicians for allegations based on similar levels of evidence, or less. Based on facts like the ones above, we would have been entirely satisfied that this was a classic crony/proxy operation.

Increasingly blind partisanship

The bigger issue here is again, political culture.

No one is surprised when say, MyKMU.net responds with some rabid, frothing attack against anyone who dares to criticise Najib openly. One need only look at how they attack Mahathir.

What is sad for those who were long time supporters of the opposition is to see the same behaviour in a party like DAP.

Instead of a dignified, intelligent response to the allegations that seeks to elevate political discourse, we find ourselves being lowered down to Umno level, just adding more muck to the muckracking.

Judging by the reactions of various DAP leaders, it is all too easy to imagine the Godfather like scene, where the head of the ‘family’ gathers all the troops and tells them sternly that now is the time to demonstrate their loyalty.

Most who have dared to challenge Lim within the party have ended up cut down or sidelined, and as the years go by and Lim becomes more and more ensconced in Penang, the puffy-chested arrogance seems sadly to have only increased.

This style of politics brings to mind an almost thuggish culture, where brute force holds sway, and might makes right. There is no higher discourse; only blind partisanship and verbal brutality.

At this rate, DAP may be on route to becoming the most dictatorial party in the nation.

What DNA will we choose?

There is no point in replacing Umno, if we replace it with the same feudal political culture that poisoned our nation in the first place.

There is no point in bemoaning how our government crushes dissent, if we ourselves do not allow criticism and questioning within our ranks and supporters.

Just because Lim is seen by some as the glimmering beacon of Chinese or non-Malay power in Malaysia, we should not be blind to whatever shortcomings he may possess.

I remember the days when DAP people would snigger at the coffeeshops about the Umno DNA in PKR. Those sniggers ended up having some base in reality, but it appears PKR aren’t the only ones infected.

Some may say that the naive, liberal chattering classes don’t understand political realities. Perhaps; or perhaps Malaysians are sick of existing political realities, and won’t fall for the lie that it always has to be this way.

Change is inevitable, and if we put our minds to it, I truly believe one day we will be rid of such divisive, narrow-minded and backward political feudalism - on both sides of the aisle.

NATHANIEL TAN is a former member of the Malaysiakini Team.