Dennis Ignatius loves his nation. That is his last citizen testomony. ‘Paradise Misplaced’ is a lament of affection by a patriot in despair. No native writer was prepared, so he needed to self-publish with money upfront. For a diplomat who represented his nation with distinction for 36 years, the corrosion of governance rankles together with the racial divide at colleges, spiritual extremism, anti-Christian scaremongering, and wholesale corruption. He felt the necessity to doc the disturbing trajectory. That is Ignatius’ contribution to the continued conversations on-line, in print, and webinars amongst involved residents. The place is the nation heading?
How did a nation born in joyful satisfaction in 1957 collapse into political dysfunction by 2020? How was the “Actually Asia” (tagline of tourism advertisements) nation hijacked by racist and spiritual bigotry? When did apartheid entrench as administrative follow? Why did the skilled civil service, the excellent training system, legislation enforcement, and judiciary, decay so rapidly? How did corruption turn out to be SOP? These are the existential questions Ignatius dissects with forensic self-discipline, in 320 pages.
A lot of what Ignatius chronicles is already within the public area. He matches the jigsaw fragments scattered throughout 1000’s of reports stories, commentaries, authorities papers and blogs right into a coherent post-independence socio-political historical past. That’s the worth of the ebook for Malaysians – and others involved a few blessed nation in free fall to a failing state. Malaya was as soon as envied for its exemplary civil service, superior command of English and variety of peoples dwelling in relaxed concord, as a beacon for a conflicted world.
Mahathir Mohamad, of Indian-Malay descent, rebooted as a strident Malay supremacist. He served because the nation’s strongman prime minister for 22 years. Ignatius holds Mahathir liable for the nationwide rot. Mohamad Tawfik, son of the revered late deputy PM, Tun Dr Ismail, wonders in his preface if Dennis Ignatius envisioned Mahathir as a Machiavellian “Bomoh” (shaman). He was recalling a London occasion the place Tengku Razaleigh the ex-finance minister, saved calling Mahathir that, and Abdullah Ali (then UK Excessive Commissioner) offered him Machiavelli’s “Il Principe.”
On the 2018 (GE14) shock victory of the opposition towards the ruling United Malays Nationwide Group authorities after 60 unbroken years, Ignatius observes that “Mahathir saved our democracy solely to do it irreparable hurt.” The Pakatan Harapan (Coalition of Hope) opposition had agreed to Mahathir main them, as Anwar Ibrahim was in jail once more, this time below Prime Minister Najib Razak. Mahathir campaigned energetically within the Malay heartland towards the kleptocrat of the 1MDB heist. His mission was to evict Najib from workplace.
On his second coming as PM, Ignatius writes, “Mahathir went again to being the Mahathir of outdated. He performed his racist video games; he gave new life to his racist ideology. He reneged on his guarantees and undermined his personal coalition in pursuit of Malay supremacy.” Ignatius had participated within the Bersih marches, shared the euphoria of the PH victory, and watched the daybreak of Malaysia Baru (New Malaysia) from the gallery, because the PH parliamentarians took the federal government aspect of the aisle.
Alas, that didn’t final. The PH authorities was knifed by its personal chief barely 21 months into its time period. Ignatius is unforgiving of the treachery. He holds Mahathir culpable for crushing the hopes of ‘New Malaysia’ together with his timed resignation with out session. That was basic Mahathir duplicity, behind the again of his cupboard, for an All-Malay authorities with a faction of UMNO and Islamic social gathering PAS. His trusted aides Muhyiddin Yassin and Azmin Ali led the PH turncoats into the evening of betrayal of the multiracial authorities the folks elected.
JAKIM juggernaut
The ebook credit Mahathir with organising the Islamic Improvement Company referred to as JAKIM in 1997 to outflank PAS. It was housed within the PM’s Workplace with its personal minister and a mega funds of RM1.4 billion in 2021. Professor Maznah Mohamad of the College of Singapore termed JAKIM the “Divine Paperwork” designed to maintain the spiritual cadre aligned with UMNO to deprive PAS of a vote financial institution.
This political, administrative, and monetary empowerment by Mahathir accelerated JAKIM into dictating conformity of costume codes and spiritual observances in any respect authorities workplaces, the police, and the armed forces. Compliance was so speedy, and so thorough, that in 2002 Mahathir declared that Malaysia is already a ‘fundamentalist’ Islamic state. He stole the thunder from PAS, nevertheless it has already boomeranged into an unpleasant, self-fulfilling prophecy he didn’t intend.
Mahathir has grumbled fitfully about nationwide colleges being was spiritual colleges, pupil time being consumed by spiritual content material as a substitute of science, maths and English, and the irrational name for Islamic costume codes on non-Muslim residents. The Star reported in 2015 of a two-year-old denied therapy at a authorities hospital due to his mom’s shorts. Ignatius observes that the PM had so many situations when he might have reined JAKIM in from extra however opted to not, because it furthered his lifelong Ketuanan Melayu obsession.
Denial of Malay tradition
The Salafist affect, Ignatius notes, is denying conventional Malay tradition, costume, dance, music and the humanities for an alien Saudi prohibition on all that defines being Malay. He calls out the hypocrisy of the supremacists claiming to “defend Malay tradition and civilization.” The Johor Sultan has requested Malays to cease aping Arabs. However the JAKIM remaking of Malay tradition and character continues relentlessly with no institutional verify and stability or oversight. It’s a legislation unto itself.
Proponent and instructor of Indian classical dance Datuk Ramli Ibrahim had a scheduled college speak canceled on the eleventh hour. He was advised that the Islamic Centre on the college didn’t approve, so the authorities couldn’t proceed. Ramli countered that it was important for college college students to concentrate on the cultural range of the true world towards the monocultural bubble of the college. He termed the Islamic orthodoxy vetting arts and tradition at universities as “spiritual thuggery.” Ramli and several other activists have held webinars to reveal this subterranean risk to cultural range, for all residents.
Ignatius lists different interventions which canceled the worldwide craft beer pageant, a swimsuit pageant, and the Schooling Ministry admonition to employees to not partake at an Indian harvest pageant, as incompatible with the nation’s Islamic picture. “Merry Xmas” icing on a cake couldn’t be displayed. The seasonal blare of Xmas songs at buying malls is curtailed. The record goes on with much more weird sanctions. Muslims wishing “Merry Christmas” to their Christian mates is prohibited.
One of many unintended penalties of grafting Islamic credentials onto UMNO was JAKIM morphing into an enormous, opaque equipment of 1000’s of imams, gurus, ustaz and miscellaneous officers embedded in federal and state workplaces to information employees on its Wahhabi Islam. Ignatius calls them spiritual commissars. Their salaries devour 60 % of the JAKIM funds. No lawmaker has requested why the nation wants all these functionaries or how they profit society or the financial system. Lim the Lesser of the DAP, as finance minister, in the course of the temporary PH spell, acceded to growing the JAKIM funds whereas he reduce subsidies to farmers and fishermen for austerity.
Such is the collective dread of JAKIM “tips” that even with out formal hierarchy authority, government laws or parliamentary legal guidelines, they’re obeyed by Muslim employees. Ignatius calls this the stealth creation of a de facto Islamic state. It sweeps by all arms of presidency with no public dialogue or parliamentary payments tabled and debated. Syariah-compliance is complete. That’s enforced on even non-Muslim residents who enter authorities workplaces, the courts, or public hospitals.
Malaysian Christians are distressed by unsubstantiated alarmist stories from Islamic clerics, of mass conversions of Muslims by evangelists. These deliberate falsehoods stoke concern and hatred among the many much less well-informed lots, who’re additionally warned to not befriend Christians. This paranoia appears a core Wahhabi orthodoxy worldwide. Ignatius finds this of main concern. Neither JAKIM nor the nation’s prime minister shuts down the clerics who transmit this virus of concern and hate.
What future?
Ignatius notes the growing voices of Malay youth, beneficiaries of the system, who query the justice and fairness in discrimination towards non-Malay residents in scholarships, college training, employment, and careers within the civil service and government-linked firms. He says it wants to achieve essential mass for impact. Time will inform. He believes the youthful cohort of GE14 has ample expertise. They need to take accountability going ahead.
