Our nation building initiative is a Dickens-esque "tale of two narratives", with ethnoreligious nationalist parties pursuing a tone deaf, tribalistic "Malay unity" approach, while civil society opts for a more inclusive #BangsaMalaysia conceit. @NatAsasi

thestar.com.my/opinion/column…
"LAST weekend, most eyes were on the Umno General Assembly, where we saw a lot of fierce rhetoric that began full of fire and brimstone, and ended in the tepid waters of the status quo."
"Despite all the posturing, Umno decided that it would keep all the benefits it had reaped from supporting the present government instead of resigning in protest and focusing on battling Bersatu in the next general elections."
"That same Saturday morning however, another summit was taking place. Smaller in terms of its profile, but in my humble view, vastly more significant and exciting in terms of its vision.

This was the Bangsa Malaysia Summit, organised by Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim)."
"Abim’s Bangsa Malaysia journey began in 2019, at their own general assembly, which I had the privilege of attending."
"I remember being surprised that this Muslim-Malay youth movement (who some saw as having a conservative bent) would be championing such a multicultural, multiracial concept."
"It’s not uncommon for people less familiar with the organisation to only link it to its famous past president, Anwar Ibrahim, or to think of Islamist organisations like them as having narrow-minded views."
"Abim however has recently been very consistent in driving a vision for Malaysia that is actually very refreshing – a vision that is starting to capture the imagination of Malaysians looking for a way out of the morass that our nation finds itself in."
"The key problem with Malaysian politics is that every single major political party is stuck deep in mud.

Worse yet, instead of working together to find a way out that benefits the rest of the country, all they are doing is focusing on slinging that same mud at one another."
"Moving Malaysia forward requires a shared vision, a shared identity, and shared values that can bind the nation together.

I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’m personally done waiting for politicians to emerge from that mud to lead us in that direction."
"The idea of Bangsa Malaysia is a concept that can provide these things. It emphasises our similarities rather than our differences, and what brings us together rather than what drives us apart."
In the words of ABIM President Faisal Aziz, “The unifying values of Bangsa Malaysia should include a united front against poverty, corruption, and conflict, as well as a shared resolve to protect and raise the dignity of all Malaysians. (cont'd below)
These shared values are the bases of the middle road that will keep our nation from falling into either the pitfalls of assimilation on one hand, or segregation and division on the other.”
"To this end, they are pushing hard this year to realise the vision of a Bangsa Malaysia based on Cosmopolitan Islam – an understanding of Islam that is rooted in the vast and inclusive cosmopolitan heritage of Islam in Southeast Asia."
Nazir commented on how Cosmopolitan Islam is a powerful narrative that can underpin Bangsa Malaysia, and said, “We stand to gain the most if we make diversity work in our favour, and if our society is inclusive as well as collaborative across borders of identity.”
"I had the fortune of joining Faisal on an Astro Awani interview (bit.ly/AwaniBangsaMsi…) that aired last Wednesday night, along with President of the Gerakan Belia Sikh Malaysia Gurpreet Singh to discuss these issues."
"If you watch the video closely, you might notice Gurpreet wearing an Abim band around his turban.

To me, this seemingly small symbol of solidarity actually symbolises the seeds of something much bigger."
"Others, perhaps politicians in particular, might shy away from showing such overt signs of support for an organisation that is ethnically and religiously so different from their own."
"Gurpreet however clearly saw wearing the symbol of a Muslim organisation on his Sikh turban not as something that diluted his own Sikh identity, but a symbol of strength, solidarity, and confidence in that identity."
"In the Awani interview, we were asked how these ideals from civil society might be transferred into government."
"This is a complex question with multilayered answers; but I think it’s safe to say that the answers with the most potential may be emerging from civil society itself, not the sectors most Malaysians are used to paying attention to."
"If Malaysia is willing to look beyond old models, and give emerging actors and new ideas a chance, our shared future as Bangsa Malaysia may be very bright indeed."
NATHANIEL TAN works with Projek Wawasan Rakyat (POWR). Twitter: @NatAsasi , Clubhouse: @Nathaniel_Tan , Email: nat@engage.my . #BangsaMalaysia #NextGenDemocracy . The views expressed here are the writer's own.
For those of you who are unable to access the article online, here is the screenshot, courtesy of @projek57 's Colin Swee. Many thanks. 🙏🏽

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More from @IMMikhailHafiz

5 Apr
MALAYSIA': THE AGE OF MORAL DECAY

[THREAD]

We are truly living in a decadent age of abject moral decay, one that is exacerbated by the toxicity of racial and religious polarisation, and where integrity has been so corrupted that it has lost its intrinsic value. Image
Instead of upholding values, ideals and principles (VIPs), some Malaysians choose to prostrate themselves at the feet of (allegedly) Very Important Persons (VIPs) in a demeaning display of servitude that only reinforces how elusive a "Merdeka of the mind" remains for them.
Is it any surprise then, that Malaysia's putrefying political swamp is teeming with unsavoury characters who bear more than passing resemblances to well-known Shakespearean villains: King Lear, Brutus, Iago, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, just to name a few.
Read 10 tweets
5 Apr
In light of H2O's recent embarrassing diplomatic faux pax, @MohdFaizalMusa1 , in this pertinent and potent reminder, asserts that our foreign diplomats, even going as far back as the Malaccan Sultanate, never subjected themselves to this kind of obsequious, subservient fawning.
"SAYA betul-betul tidak mengingat, sejak pernah membaca Hikayat Hang Tuah, jika Kanda Tuah pernah memanggil Maharaja Cina, sebagai ‘Abang Besar’. Betul-betul tidak mengingat."
"Saya membaca Hikayat Hang Tuah sejak belum sekolah menengah, dan hampir setiap tahun; samada atas tujuan seni mahupun alasan kerja, memang saya tidak mengingat yang Kanda Tuah ada memanggil negara benua Cina itu sebagai adik beradik."
Read 18 tweets
4 Apr
In the latest round of local political shenanigans that can best be described as tiring and tiresome, @philipgolingai (aided by political analysts), brings insight and clarity to "silat pulut", "langkah sumbang", "matikan gerak" and "kluster mesra bunga" wrt the recent UMNO AGM.
"THE recent 2020 Umno annual general assembly (AGM) was like a silat pulut exhibition.

During his winding-up speech at the end of the Umno AGM on March 28, deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan cautioned that (cont'd below)
the party should not waver and immediately withdraw support from the Perikatan Nasional government once it decides to do so."
Read 26 tweets
3 Apr
In this cogent and comprehensive analysis, @dririshsea examines, in great detail, the three Rs of Malaysia's political polarisation - race, religion and reform - as refracted through a chronological lens, and how it is influenced by various socioeconomic factors.
"Polarization over race, religion, and reform has afflicted Malaysia for decades and powerfully shaped its electoral politics."
"Since the country’s independence in 1957, its ethnic Malay majority has enjoyed a constitutionally protected special status, while ethnic minorities have been treated as second-class citizens."
Read 30 tweets
3 Apr
What happens when three different suitors have set their eyes on the same prospective bride, and she can only marry one of them? A. Kathirasen neatly sums up the internecine power struggles between the three major ethnoreligious nationalist parties in our country.
"PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang yesterday issued a statement which has two messages: One, the party is backing Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional (PN), and two, self-interested individuals are holding up Umno’s cooperation with PPBM and PAS."
"We know that at least two Umno leaders have been found guilty of graft and several more are facing various corruption-related charges. Although no one has openly said it, talk is that these Umno leaders have been bargaining with Muhyiddin to help them with their cases."
Read 16 tweets
3 Apr
"Being seen as subservient by saying "you are like my big brother and I'm your younger brother" is a big no-no, especially during the official press conference."
"It sends a very wrong message that Malaysia is subservient to a big country like China, which further complicates our future negotiations on many bilateral, multilateral or trade matters."
"Now, bear in mind, when you have a joint press conference post bilateral meeting, the foreign minister speaks on behalf of the government, on behalf of the country. A foreign minister does not speak in a personal capacity in a joint press conference."
Read 4 tweets

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