Sixty years on, sailing in uncharted waters

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Independence of the peninsula, the occasion should prompt us to reflect on where we are now.

Aug 25, 2017

By Anil Netto
As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Independence of the peninsula, the occasion should prompt us to reflect on where we are now.

On August 31, 1957, expectations ran high for our newly independent nation. We had much going for us. We had plenty of natural resources, petroleum wealth and a booming economy and much human potential.

The nation was and still is largely peaceful, its diverse people live in relative harmony.

Economic interests at first favoured colonial and established corporate interests and the elite. But the promise of a bright future for our diverse society held the nation for a time. With the promise of a bright future ahead, we boarded the bandwagon taking us towards the dizzying lights of progress and development.

Unfortunately, the cart ran into potholes with the 1969 unrest and the country took a new turn. From the 1970s onwards, the New Economic Policy narrowed differences between ethnic groups and reduced absolute poverty, while creating a new middle class with race-based affirmative action.

But as the economy boomed in the 1990s, gaps slowly emerged within the respective ethnic groups as the years rolled by. Every decade or so, economic crises erupted, financial scandals rocked the nation and corruption grew into a serious problem as seen in the troubles faced by a couple of large government entities.

Neoliberal economic policies favouring the wealthy and Big Business have widened income and wealth inequalities not just in Malaysia but in many other countries as well.

As taxes for the rich are slashed, government revenue has dropped and public expenditure has been cut through austerity drives. So subsidies for healthcare and education in many countries have been slashed while wages (after adjusting for inflation) have remained largely flat. Consumption taxes and user-pay policies have burdened the people. So too the rising cost of living — especially food and fuel prices.

Education standards may be stagnant, leaving many especially in rural areas and among the urban poor, unable to cope with the demands of a changing world. Youth unemployment is running at a high in many countries while many graduates are also unemployed.

This has raised anxiety and stress among many, especially the lower-income groups and the middle classes. These groups then become disillusioned with traditional political parties who are unable or unwilling to fix the problem — eg by radically redistributing wealth through a progressive taxation system or via the Tobin tax on financial transactions. Many of these anxious ordinary people then begin to turn to the far right.

It then becomes easier for far right parties and unscrupulous politicians to exploit widespread anxiety and stress by stoking fears about The Other. Such xenophobia may be directed against foreigners — especially immigrants or refugees — or minority ethnic/religious groups, who then become scapegoats for the socio-economic problems faced by ordinary people.

As these ordinary people face an uncertain world, they long for a figure, even a “strongman,” to offer a miraculous fix to what ails the nation. Or they may turn to conservatives on the far right to offer a solution, not realising that some of these forces aligned to neoliberalism may be what got the countries in a mess in the first place.

The far right or nationalist groups may cleverly use identity politics and xenophobia or appeal to religious fervour to win votes among the ordinary masses. This allows a politician like Donald Trump to come to power on the back of a dangerous brand of far right politics and emerge as a rallying figure for these forces.

Within the Church, a somewhat similar battle is taking place between conservative prelates and their supporters who wish to return to the days before Vatican II, which opened its windows to an uncertain world for a breath of fresh air from the Spirit to sweep away the cobwebs in the Church.

Many hanker for a more stable and traditional past. But the Bishop of Rome is trying to steer the Church to be more in touch with the joys and sorrows of the world, more in tune with the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth.

He has critically analysed and condemned economic forces that have exploited the economy and the environment. He has also condemned xenophobia directed at refugees and migrants fleeing from danger zones.

Indeed, we are called to be a more inclusive Church that acts as a field hospital to serve those who are suffering in the frontlines — victims of the forces of exploitation and oppression.

In the same way, we are called to build a more united and progressive world. We do not have to wait for the politicians.

Every one of us can begin where we are now, creating ripples of change, spreading hope, compassion and solidarity and working for justice in all areas of life. We can help to bring down the barriers that divide us and promote inclusive dialogue.

Let us imagine and create our own reality for our surroundings, for our nation, through our work and labour. May God bless our efforts to create a more compassionate and just world wherever we are.

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