Is global fascism rising and spreading?

A friend of mine sent me a New York Times article about how the rise of Donald Trump has fuelled debate about global fascism, which is characterised b

Jun 03, 2016

By Anil Netto
A friend of mine sent me a New York Times article about how the rise of Donald Trump has fuelled debate about global fascism, which is characterised by governmental systems trying to increase their powers while promoting shrill nationalism and even racism.

(But in another article, John Pilger wrote Obama’s record was no better. “One of the more violent presidents, Obama gave full reign to the Pentagon war-making apparatus of his discredited predecessor. He prosecuted more whistleblowers — truth-tellers — than any president.”)

This perceived trend over the spread of a sort of global fascism, even war-making (by drones too) has been aggravated by a sense of insecurity among ordinary people over all kinds of threats, whether real or perceived or imagined. These ‘threats’ could be anything from climate change, the violence of international terrorism (whether state sponsored or individual), and an influx of migrants fleeing from desperate situations back home.

Neoliberal corporate-led globalisation, property speculation and the financialisation of the economy have left in their wake rising income inequality and a middle-class feeling even more impoverished. Workers struggle to make ends meet as they have to contend with the higher cost of houses, education, healthcare and food.

On the flip side of the coin, this system based on greed has resulted in staggering wealth going to a small elite group, either legally or illegally. But where to invest all their wealth to earn even more money? The easiest thing to do is to speculate in property, dubious financial instruments and even in the food sector.

Some even stash their wealth in offshore tax havens while others indulge in tax evasion. Sometimes funds are siphoned away and then money laundered to secret accounts and withdrawn using unmarked debit cards. All with the aid of rogue bankers and lawyers. Some banks for their part find it hard to resist the temptation of money laundering and dubious financial instruments. Safeguards and checks and balances are ignored.

When ordinary people start feeling uneasy, the easiest thing for many governments to do is to divert their attention using primordial sentiments touching on race, religion or fear of The Other (whether terrorists or 'the invasion' of migrant workers or refugees). Never mind that large corporations are happy to have such a pool of workers that are easily exploitable.

When the people start to murmur and voice their discontent, opponents, critics, journalists and activists are ignored by the mainstream media or worse intimidated, arrested, imprisoned, even tortured in some cases.

Here, in Malaysia, stagnant wages, a weakening ringgit, and rampant corruption have fuelled a sense of disillusionment and disempowerment. Many are left shaking their heads in disbelief at what has happened at 1MDB. It is left to investigators in other countries to carry out independent investigations and nail the culprits who transferred out vast sums of public funds with little oversight.

Meanwhile, the ruling party is embroiled in internal dispute and factionalism while the opposition coalition is fractured by competing partisan interests and different views of religion and development priorities which are proving difficult to resolve. And now come two by-elections.

It is against this backdrop that Hadi’s so-called hudud bill was debated in Parliament even though it was listed last in the order paper. This would not have been possible if the government had not allowed the bill to be brought forward. Even the minority BN component parties appear unhappy.

The ‘hudud’ bill is actually to enhance punishments under Syariah, notably in relation to adultery and intoxication. While they only affect Muslims, this bill can gather a life of its own and prove divisive. After all, the parties involved in the various listed offences may, in some cases, be both Muslim and non-Muslim.

The bill, if passed, will profoundly alter the nature of our public life based on equality under the rule of law (but which law now?) and on the federal constitution.

The effect of Hadi’s move is to sideline and divert attention from the serious issues of the day: the 1MDB scandal, rampant corruption, stagnant wages, GST pressure and the vulnerable position of workers.

Apart from from the serious implications of Hadi’s move, it is important to analyse the backdrop against which it has been made to understand what is going on. The bill rides on a sense of disenchantment among certain segments of the populace with the present system. But real vibrant democracy has not been tried and found wanting; it has not even been tried and given a fair go.

All this may leave us with a sense of despair at the way things are unravelling. But we should never lose hope that the light of truth and justice will prevail. The most important words that Jesus left for us, repeated many times, were “Do not be afraid” and “Peace be with you, my peace I give you.”

We all have a role to play in voicing out the importance of protecting the character of our federal constitution during these trying times while being channels of peace, justice and hope.

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