

Ing. Salih CAVKIC
orbus editor in chief


Murray Hunter
University Malaysia Perlis

Perpetual Self conflict: Self
awareness as a key to our ethical drive, personal mastery, and perception of
entrepreneurial opportunities.
Murray Hunter

The Continuum of Psychotic Organisational Typologies
Murray Hunter

There is no such person as an entrepreneur, just a person who acts
entrepreneurially
Murray Hunter

Groupthink may still be a hazard to your organization - Murray Hunter

Generational Attitudes and Behaviour - Murray Hunter

The environment as a multi-dimensional system: Taking off your rose
coloured glasses
- Murray Hunter

Imagination may be more important than knowledge: The eight types of
imagination we use - Murray Hunter

Do we have a creative intelligence? - Murray Hunter

Not all opportunities are the same: A look at the four types of
entrepreneurial opportunity -
Murray Hunter

The Evolution of Business Strategy
- Murray Hunter

How motivation really works - Murray Hunter

Evaluating Entrepreneurial Opportunities: What’s wrong with SWOT? -
Murray Hunter

The
five types of thinking we use - Murray Hunter

Where do entrepreneurial opportunities come from? - Murray Hunter

How
we create new ideas - Murray Hunter

How emotions influence, how we see the world? - Murray Hunter

People tend to start businesses for the wrong reasons - Murray Hunter

One Man, Multiple Inventions: The lessons and legacies of Thomas Edison
- Murray Hunte

Does Intrapreneurship exist in Asia?
- Murray Hunter

What’s
with all the hype – a look at aspirational marketing
- Murray Hunter

Integrating
the philosophy of Tawhid – an Islamic approach to organization
- Murray Hunter

Samsara and the Organization - Murray Hunter

Do Confucian Principled Businesses Exist in Asia? - Murray Hunter

Knowledge,
Understanding and the God Paradigm - Murray Hunter

On Some of the Misconceptions about
Entrepreneurship - Murray Hunter

How feudalism hinders community transformation and economic evolution: Isn’t
equal opportunity a basic human right? - Murray Hunter

The Dominance of “Western” Management Theories in South-East Asian Business
Schools: The occidental colonization of the mind. - Murray Hunter

Ethics, Sustainability and the New Realities - Murray Hunter

The Arrival of Petroleum, Rockefeller, and the Lessons He taught Us - Murray
Hunter - University Malaysia Perlis

Elite
educators idolize the “ high flying entrepreneurs” while deluded about the
realities of entrepreneurship for the masses: -
Murray Hunter

Lessons from the Invention of the airplane and the Beginning of the Aviation
Era - Murray Hunter

Missed Opportunities for ASEAN if the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) fails
to start up in 2015 - Murray Hunter

From Europe, to the US, Japan, and onto China: The evolution of the
automobile - Murray Hunter

ASEAN Nations need indigenous innovation
to transform their economies but are doing little about it.
- Murray Hunter

Do Asian Management Paradigms Exist? A look at four theoretical frames -
Murray Hunter

Surprise, surprise: An Islam economy can be innovative - Murray Hunter

Australia in the "Asian Century" or is it Lost in Asia? - Murray Hunter

Australia "Do as I say, not as I do" - The ongoing RBA
bribery scandal - Murray Hunter

Entrepreneurship and economic growth? South-East Asian
governments are developing policy on the misconception that entrepreneurship
creates economic growth. - Murray Hunter

Hillary to Julia "You take India and I'll take Pakistan", while an ex-Aussie
PM says "Enough is enough with the US" -
Murray Hunter

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The return of Kevin Rudd as Australian PM: For how long?
Murray Hunter
The Australian Prime Ministership underwent a rapid change in
Canberra on Wednesday night.
The
now former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
started her day with rough questioning from the Opposition
leader Tony Abbott on the floor of the parliament, while
the government benches were ablaze with talk and movement
concerning a challenge by Kevin Rudd for her position. As
the day went along there was rumor of a petition being
circulated calling for a spill motion for the leadership
position of the labor party, which would also entitle the leader
to be prime minister if he had the confidence of the house. With
this siege going on against Gillard, the petition actually never
materialized, the prime minister herself called for a vote in
the party room at 7pm that night, on the condition that whoever
lost would also leave politics completely, such the bitterness
of this challenge.
Just about an hour before the historic meeting Labor Minister
and powerbroker Bill Shorten called a snap press conference to
announce his abandonment of PM Julia Gillard and support
of Kevin Rudd. The switch of loyalty of two strong
supporters of Gillard, Senators Penny Wong and Bob
Carr brought an expectation of change to the parliamentary
corridors, leading to a 57-45 vote in favor of Rudd, with the
popular Anthony Albanese elected as deputy leader and becoming
deputy prime minister, replacing Wayne Swan.
Rudd had been undermining Julia Gillard as Prime Minister ever
since she deposed him for being unpopular with the Australian
electorate in 2010. Rudd, elected by the people in 2007 had
always believed he was the legitimate leader of the Labor Party
and should be the prime minister of Australia.
Last night was Rudd's third challenge against Gillard. In the
second challenge Rudd failed to even put himself forward as he
didn't have the numbers. This forced ministers like Kim Carr and
Chris Bowen to resign indicating the deep division within the
party due to the bitterness between Rudd and Gillard. This third
attempt last night probably succeeded because most members of
the labor caucus knew that Labor under Gillard would probably
lose up to 30 seats in the coming polls against Abbott's Liberal
National Party Coalition. They saw Rudd as the only chance for
Labor to reconnect with the people.
However within an hour of the ballot, Labor looked like falling
part with six ministers Wayne Swan, Greg Combet,
Craig Emerson, Peter Garrett, Stephen Conroy,
and Joe Ludwig all resigning from the ministry. What made
it even worse was that most of them also said they would retire
from parliament as well. On Thursday Defense Minister Stephen
Smith he would retire in this coming election.
The
Rudd challenge has saved Gillard from a disastrous defeat
at the polls where Labor would have only maintained a small
handful of seats which would make it difficult for any future
leader to rebuild the party from. A large section of the
Australian electorate had still not forgiven her for the way she
disposed of Kevin Rudd in 2010.
Although Gillard had of achievements during her stewardship of
the government, this did not generate electoral popularity for
her, which in the view of many people in the party was bringing
the labor vote down. During the last two weeks where Gillard was
defending herself against Rudd's attacks, she tried to mobilize
public support with the gender issue, which only seemed to
polarize her supporter base even more.
Rudd had always been popular with the Australian people. Rudd
knows how to play the media and campaigning is his strength. His
campaigning abilities inflicted so much damage on the Howard
Government during the 2007 election, even former prime minister
John Howard lost his seat in parliament. For many
parliamentarians he is their only hope of remaining in
parliament after the election. Rudd has for months been
operating like a de facto opposition leader walking around
shopping malls in marginal electorates of Western Sydney,
Melbourne, and Brisbane, helping out these members.
Rudd is opposition leader Tony Abbott's worst nightmare.
Up until 6.30pm last night it was almost a foregone conclusion
that he would become the next Prime Minister of Australia.
To try and counter the electoral threat from Rudd, the Liberals
have posted an advertisement on YouTube with insulting comments
about Rudd, with comments made by Julia Gillard, Wayne
Swan, Craig Emerson, Peter Garrett, Stephen
Smith, Stephen Conroy, Kate Ellis, and former
politicians Graeme Richardson and Mark Latham. If
the Rudd-Abbott exchange in Parliament on Thursday is any
indication of what the election campaign will be like, it going
to be a very highly competitive one, where now both Abbott and
Rudd will be fighting for their political lives.
A
Morgan Opinion poll taken on Wednesday night of 2000 people in
marginal seats around Australia indicated 49.5% support for
labor and 50.5% support for the Liberal National Party, a rise
of more than 7 percentage points for labor almost
instantaneously. A Newspoll released on Thursday showed a 50/50
dead heat between the two major parties.
So when will the election be held? Prime Minister Rudd in the
parliament on Thursday morning indicated that it might be later
than sooner, giving him an opportunity to reestablish his
authority in the position of prime minister. He may travel to
Jakarta next week for an annual bilateral meeting next week,
takeover chairmanship of the G20, and take Australia's seat in
the UN Security Council, all events that will show him as the
statesman he sees himself as. Rudd's public manner since his
election last night indicates that he means business and is
determined to win the coming election. It would be hard seeing
him miss these events for anything.
So the Australian election that must be held within the next
four months looks like being strongly fought by two adversaries
who don't take kindly to defeat. It's going to be competitive
again, where the Australian electorate will likely polarize this
time and vote for the major parties, squeezing out the
independents from the lower house. The events of yesterday will
be quickly forgotten, where the business of the day will become
the main focus of the electorate.
Rudd is well aware that there are a number of Australians
suffering financially in the outer suburbs, where real
unemployment rates may actually be higher due to statistical
definitions used by the Australian Department of Statistics. He
declared the China resources boom over and wants to revive
manufacturing where the lower Australian dollar will assist. He
also knows that the youth of Australia are indifferent to
politics and winning them over will greatly assist in securing
victory. He also needs to get business on side, after abandoned
tax cuts, issues over union rights to visit workplaces, and 457
visa issues. It is also unlikely Rudd will strengthen the mining
tax, as he wants to woe the mining magnates who Abbott has been
courting of late.
Australia
will be presented two visions in the coming election, where Rudd
may escape the baggage of the former Gillard Government, where
the campaign will be like two opposition leaders fighting for
the No. 1 job, with no prize for second place.
One can also see over the last couple of weeks adjustments to
Abbott's rhetoric and narrative. Expect Abbott to put up more
vision of what Australia would be like under an Abbot Government
during this campaign, as this is the weakness that Rudd will
exploit to the hilt. Conversely, Abbott will exploit the near
collapse of Labor, which is almost as catastrophic as the Labor
split in 1955 which cost Government for almost two decades.
Some Liberal members tonight are even contemplating whether they
were right to ditch Malcolm Turnbull as opposition leader in
2010.
The smile Rudd has been holding back in front of camera is
tell-tale of his own deep satisfaction in extracting revenge on
Gillard and resting back the premiership which he had long felt
was taken from him cunningly.
However for Rudd to pull off a victory will still be a tall
order. The labor party is in tatters, he still has to pull
together a ministry, there are still a lot of voters fed up with
labor's infighting and want a change, and Abbott is still a
formidable opponent.
Expect the next four months to be very eventful in Australian
politics, while two 'opposition leaders' show the Australian
people all their tricks.
June 28, 2013
Reinvigorating Rural Malaysia - New Paradigms Needed
Murray Hunter
As
urban Malaysia has grown and prospered, the rural hinterlands have
generally declined. Back in the 1980s approximately 70% of Malaysia's
land was considered rural, where today 72% of Malaysia is urbanized with
a growth rate of 2.4%. With this, the rural-urban divide within Malaysia
has been growing, where substantially very little is being done to
directly alleviate the problem.
Rural sector development has not been debated very much over the last
few decades, even though the primary sector still represents almost 12%
of GDP and employs more than 11% of the population. There are many rural
issues that affect the future of Malaysia in much greater magnitude than
the rural contribution to GDP and employment. The sustainability of
Malaysia as an eco(n)-system, the country's cultural basis, and even
political destiny is tied up with rural evolution. But the current
"health" of rural Malaysia leaves a lot to be desired.
Forest cover in Malaysia is decreasing on a daily basis. Conservation
has lost out to greed and development. Palm oil, rubber plantations, and
urban expansion are eating into the forests, with very poor land
enforcement on the ground. Well connected businesses are able to get
concessions that are extremely financially lucrative, at great
environmental cost. Roads and new townships have divided rural habitats,
playing havoc with biodiversity. These man-made barriers hold flood
waters inland during the monsoons, preventing dispersion of water to the
sea, causing flooding. Many animal species are in danger of extinction
through poaching in the quest to supply the lucrative Chinese medicinal
market.

Increasing population and new townships are putting pressure on rivers
and waterways through increased domestic sewage, the dumping of garbage,
and processing waste from livestock and other agro-based industries.
Quarrying has silted many rivers. Soil erosion is depleting soil
fertility quicker than it can be regenerated. Burning off around the
region is producing thick unhealthy smog, which is affecting the whole
country.
Yet with all this development there are still distinct infrastructure
deficits in Malaysia. Most of the rural areas within Sabah and Sarawak
are remote, where transport is costly. Some regions in Terengganu and
Kelantan are still relatively isolated with very few perceived economic
opportunities, as is with Perlis and parts of Kedah. The cost of goods
in these areas are more expensive than the major cities. Sabah and
Sarawak are legally deprived of the ability to ship goods by sea
directly to other countries, as they must be trans-shipped through the
Peninsula, thus handicapping the development of new export industries.
Even with rising urban populations within Malaysia, food production is
not keeping pace with this growth. Malaysia is a net importer of food
and animal feed, and the relatively high prices industrial crops like
oil palm verses food crops deters food crop expansion. As Jared Diamond
professed in his seminal book Collapse, a country which fails to
provide for self sufficiency in food production and animal feed is
destined to doom just like the Mayan civilization of a long gone era.
There is a general lack of research and development in new crops and the
effects of climate change on existing crops. Crop research is undertaken
on a national rather than regional level, where there is little support
for developing new industries in specific areas. Currently most
agricultural research is undertaken centrally by the Malaysian
Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), which follows a
national research agenda formulated by policy rather than market
considerations.
High urban wages have created a labor shortage in rural areas, and the
rising cost of petroleum inputs is increasing the cost of production
making food production uncompetitive.
Rural development has been undertaken with little appreciation of
ecosystems within the concept of sustainability. The current method of
identifying development projects at a district or state level within the
bureaucracy and then Federally funding it is skewed towards meeting
personal interests of vested parties. Real community consultation is not
sort, where new projects generally lack any sense of community ownership
and pride, often becoming 'white elephants' and abandoned. Many
of the drivers of economic growth have been public sector orientated and
consequently unsustainable projects, in most cases at the expense of the
environment.
Rural Malaysians have been introduced to debt through loans and credit
cards as a means to acquire goods and services to increase their
standard of living, creating a debt trap. This burden is partly to blame
for the lack of micro-SME development, due to the inability to pursue
opportunities because of the lack of capital.
This
is the biggest crisis, the crisis of opportunity. The incidence of
entrepreneurial opportunity in rural areas is low, particularly for the
youth, who are migrating to the cities.
Consumer desire has replaced cultural continuity, where much of rural
society's traditions and knowledge are being lost. Locally grown food is
being replaced with processed food, fruits and vegetables are full of
pesticides, family built houses are being replaced with mortgages, fast
food has replaced ulam (native herbs), where bank loans have replaced
self reliance.
The development of rich local farming and craft skills are not being
renewed and developed through the existing education system so these
can be utilized and exploited for creating a sustainable living in the
community. This is dispossessing communities of their cultural wealth.
To remedy this requires a complete paradigm shift in development
philosophy, moving the focus away from infrastructure towards enhancing
the elements of local economies at a micro-level. This is potentially
very difficult as Malaysian technocrats in Putrajaya are governed by the
narrative of technology 'thrusts' and setting tangible 'KPIs' in
development planning.
As a commentator it is easy to criticize, especially when a writer
provides no meaningful solutions. So the rest of this article will focus
on providing one paradigm as a solution (no doubt other paradigms exist)
to Malaysia's rural development quandary.
The precise needs of rural societies is best obtained from inside those
communities. A 'bottom up' problem identification process will
ensure development objectives and implementation scenarios will remain
relevant to those targeted communities. Community shura
(consultation) committees can be set up at village level to identify and
discuss needs, problems, and desired solutions, and advise village
heads. Such a democratic approach to community will provide policy
makers with the guidance they need in setting objectives and programs,
and assist in minimizing funding leakages during implementation. This
measure alone would signal a very strong redistribution of policy
decision making to the communities themselves, thus empowering
communities to have more say in deciding their own future destinies. The
shura system should develop new leaders and 'champions'
who are willing to lead and help shape a new community sense of wisdom.
Policies will never succeed without people to drive them.
Self
sufficiency and a vibrant local trade economy is the key to future rural
communities. However, rural SMEs should be facilitated to enter
national and international markets. There are now many compliance
procedures such as Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), necessary for
agricultural produce to enter international supply chains. These
practices need to be introduced within rural communities so products
produced are accepted in international markets. These compliance
processes can be locally enhanced to include Halal certification,
thus widening the compliance process to one inclusive certification,
which for want of a better name could be called HalalGAP. A
HalalGAP certification could greatly enhance the desirability of
Malaysian produce, especially within the exponentially growing Halal
markets worldwide.
Whole sectors like rice paddy production need to be reconfigured from
the 'bottom up' so they can become competitive. The paddy
production process in Malaysia requires the hands of a number of
contractors during the field preparation, planting, cultivation,
harvesting, and processing stages. Paddy production is an uncompetitive
sector. Proposed solutions from the Northern Corridor Economic Region
Authority (NCER) to develop mini-rice paddy estates with land leased
from smallholders and employing these same smallholders as laborers is
culturally unsound and almost certain to fail.
New methods like System of Rice Intensification (SRI) could be adopted,
and more popular aromatic varieties of rice cultivated to increase
industry viability. The rice monopoly held by BERNAS could be ended to
allow new approaches to rice products and marketing by entrepreneurial
individuals. Such an approach could drastically decrease production
costs and add value to rice products in the marketplace, redistributing
this added value back to farmers.
University and institutional research should change focus towards
communities rather than using scare research funds to chase medals at
exhibitions that have no research or commercial significance in places
like Geneva and Seoul. The technology developed by Malaysian
institutions should be simple, applicable to community enterprise, and
appropriate to the size of the enterprises operating in rural areas.
This appropriate technology, if effective and viable is itself a source
of competitive advantage that will enable rural enterprises to compete
in the marketplace.
This is a major challenge to Malaysian researchers to come out from
their academic institutions and into the community with solutions that
can enrich society. If state awards with titles were recommended for
those who developed technology benefitting the community, one would be
sure there would be great focus and resources allocated towards solving
rural problems by academic researchers.
Locally relevant new crops research programs should be undertaken to
identify locally viable new crops, which are developed as close as
possible to the communities it is intended to benefit, with the
community's input and cooperation through Participatory Action Research
(PAR), rather than centralizing research under a national agenda. New
crops research should adopt an 'farm to folk' research and
development approach, including the development of knowhow for
processing new downstream products.
This requires support through developing new supply/value chains that
will carry new micro-enterprises to new markets, with new products. The
Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) has a superb
distribution infrastructure that can be utilized to do this. Primary and
processed food products can be supplemented with handicrafts,
traditional Malay wedding items, batik, leather goods, pewter, and Malay
fashion products to develop a national range of indigenous products that
can be marketed through franchised retail outlets. These products could
be the result of a host of new rural activities that are developed at
micro-SME level. If Fairtrade shops in Europe and OTOP shops in
Thailand are any indication of the viability of this proposition, these
shops will be extremely profitable.
The nature of entrepreneurship education also needs reconsideration.
Currently universities are playing a primary role in training
entrepreneurs, but current courses tend to be academically full of
theory, teaching more about entrepreneurship, rather than how people can
become entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is more about creativity, than
intelligence. Yet universities focus on measuring intelligence through
assignment and exam, rather than project formats. Entrepreneurship
education should be technically based and taught with a 'hands on'
approach, rather than the stiff classroom theory approach.
Entrepreneurship education needs to be refocused towards vocational and
community education mediums to reach those in rural communities who need
assistance through this form of education.
An
entrepreneurial community requires finance which the established banks
are hesitant to provide, even with the Government sponsored credit
guarantee program under the Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC). Rural
community savings cooperatives can be developed as savings and
micro-lending institutions, owned by the community, run for the
community, by the community itself. These savings cooperatives can
operate according to Islamic finance procedures where venture risk is
shared by both the entrepreneur and institution, and as supplementary
activities, run special education, Haj and Umrah funds for community
members.
These measures would create a new community enrichment rather than a
'KPI' orientated development paradigm. All of these measures
individually exist and operate successfully in other member ASEAN states
today.
New crop research is very much needed to ensure communities are able to
successfully adapt to a changing environment due to climate change.
Over the next few years, some crops may provide better yields, while
others will drastically decline in their productive capabilities. In
addition food production for increasing urban populations and restoring
water quality will become very critical issues. There must be a renewed
interest in sustainability on the part of both policy makers and
communities, as Malaysia's sustainability is tied up with rural
evolution. New forms of community education are needed outside of the
traditional education system to deliver community needed skills. The
failure to achieve this will result in continued population depletion as
the youth abandon rural areas for the cities.
For over five years there has been talk about the need of change. This
has usually been expressed in political terms at the cost of looking at
the cultural, economic, and spiritual development. Current development
paradigms have eroded traditional Malaysian society values to the point
where it is just a national memory and a long gone narrative. This old
narratives once housed Malaysia's sense of unity in being collectively
proud as a nation, where the rituals of 'balik kampong'
(returning home) during festivals, smelling the scent of durian during
season, rendang during festivals, fishing in the longkang (irrigation
drains), and flying kites over paddy fields. These activities once
signified what was most valued by communities.
Here lies the opportunity to enrich rural society along the vibrant
cultural traditions that the country once thrived upon; building self
sufficient and sustaining communities. These communities will be much
better immune to economic downturns. Communities based upon indigenous
knowledge and skills will develop much greater cultural pride which has
become exhausted through Malaysia's occidental industrial growth
paradigm.
This is the fundamental issue at stake for Malaysians to decide whether
the same country will spiritually exist in the future, or be gone and
replaced with something else. The rural communities are the last
custodians of Malaysia's culture and this is where efforts must be made
to preserve the spirit of Malaysia, if it is to survive.
The role of government linked corporations (GLCs) in Malaysia's corridor
development projects has not necessarily taken into account the best
interests of the communities they have sort to 'develop'. The
'collateral damage' of this 'development' may be too much to
bare. If rural development serves vested interests, it will surely be
piece meal, unbalanced and ultimately destructive. Future development
must enrich rather than destroy culture with blind materialism produced
through current paradigms. This requires a rethink on rural development
in Malaysia before what once mattered to Malaysians is destroyed
forever.
Reinvigorating
Rural Malaysia - New Paradigms Needed - Murray Hunter
June 23, 2013
Can there be a National Unity Government in Malaysia?
Murray Hunter
With
the perceived weakening of Najib Bin Razak's position of tenure
as Malaysian Prime Minister, there is deep speculation within the
country about moves afoot to form a national unity government.
Since the Barisan National's re-election on May 5, there has been a
distinct shift in stance towards 'Ketuanan Melayu' or Malay
privilege, at the cost of 1Malaysia inclusive philosophy. There is now
little talk about the Government Transformation Program, and after a
relaxed stance towards rallies by the opposition, authorities are now
taking stern action towards Anwar's 505 movement with mass arrests of
demonstrators over the weekend. Even Najib's calls to make UMNO more
inclusive has aggravated many within his party.
According to political pundits, Najib Bin Razak is still prime minister,
only because there is currently no other creditable and popular figure
who could take the mantle of leadership away from him.
If we go back to pre-May 5 feeling in the community, there was great
anticipation that an era of change was about to sweep the country. There
was excitement on the streets with an almost carnival atmosphere. But
the result on election night disappointed so many people, where denial
and claims of massive cheating showed that many refused to accept the
result. This has left the country just as divided as it was before the
election. Nothing was settled and politicking rather than governance is
dominating the national narrative. Anwar Ibrahim is pushing the
Government into a corner with his national 505 tour disputing the
election result which seems to be directly challenging Najib to take
action against him.
Author: Murray Hunter |

Murray Hunter has been involved in Asia-Pacific
business for the last 30 years as an entrepreneur,
consultant, academic, and researcher. As an
entrepreneur he was involved in numerous start-ups,
developing a lot of patented technology, where one
of his enterprises was listed in 1992 as the 5th
fastest going company on the BRW/Price Waterhouse
Fast100 list in Australia.
Murray is now an associate professor at the
University Malaysia Perlis, spending a lot of time
consulting to Asian governments on community
development and village biotechnology, both at the
strategic level and “on the ground”. He is also a
visiting professor at a number of universities and
regular speaker at conferences and workshops in the
region.
Murray is the author of a number of books,
numerous research and conceptual papers in referred
journals, and commentator on the issues of
entrepreneurship, development, and politics in a
number of magazines and online news sites around the
world. Murray takes a trans-disciplinary view of
issues and events, trying to relate this to the
enrichment and empowerment of people in the region.
|
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Today's
political situation is of concern to many of Malaysia's top echelon of
businesspeople, politicians, civil servants, and even members of the
Royal Families. There is a strong feeling amongst the country's elite
that Malaysia needs good governance rather than politicking. Many are
very sympathetic to the concept of a national unity government, as a
solution to this impasse, as it appears any election will not bring a
harmonious result the nation requires. The idea of a national unity
government is not without any precedent, as PAS was once a member of the
BN back in the early 1970s.
Some feel that although the BN won through the first-past-the-post
electoral system, the Pakatan Rakyat's higher popular vote justifies the
opposition having some say in government. For these people, a unity
government would restore moderate policies and narrative, and keep
'ultra-ism' in check. Some within UMNO, see the possibility of a
national unity government as a means to maintain UMNO's long term
survival, as the party to many Malays is an icon of political history
and development. UMNO's participation in a national unity government
would act as pressure for internal reform, something many members want.
From Anwar Ibrahim's PKR party, there are many, particularly those ex-UMNO
members that see the party's participation in a national unity
government would give it the legitimacy it needs to survive in the long
term past the persona of Anwar Ibrahim. They want PKR to stand on its
own two feet without the 'Anwar personality cult'.
PAS has been reluctantly romanced by UMNO many times over the years, but
the party may favorably consider the concept of a national unity
government under certain conditions. Many just feel that it's time to
stop talking about race and religion, and address the real needs of the
country.
If one looked through the blogs and even the mainstream media over the
weekend, so many different scenarios and numbers have been canvassed.
Two speculative scenarios exist. One involving Premier Najib himself and
the other with a move by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah or Ku Li as he is
known.
The first option would involve Premier Najib Bin Razak making a move to
bring in parties from the Pakatan Rakyat into the government, as has
been spasmodically mooted over the last few years. Such a move would
probably ensure UMNO with a much brighter future electorally. This would
stall the Muhyiddin Yassin and Mahathir forces, and if completed
smoothly, would sure up Najib's position as President of UMNO in the
coming October elections. Such a move would also allow Najib to change
the narrative from the 'ultraist' direction it is going, to a more
moderate and inclusive one. Such an achievement could elevate Najib in
status, which might create a very positive legacy for him.
However this move would also seal the fate of the MCA, Gerakan, and
maybe even the MIC, as they are tossed aside for the DAP, PAS, and PKR.
The probability of any national unity government would hold many
outstanding issues which must be solved before it could happen. This
would include policies and corruption, where it is rumored the new
minister in the PM's office Paul Low is shocked by the extent of waste
and corruption within government. Determining a way for all parties to
work through these issues could be big stumbling blocks to any potential
agreement.
The biggest problem with any potential formation of a national unity
government would be that any initiative by Najib may lack the persuasion
and statesmanship needed to pull of such a big coup. His track record
has been a very passive one during his tenure as prime minister,
especially since the May 5 election. The formation of a national unity
government would take a massive amount of negotiation and convincing to
all parties, including the UMNO party membership. To date Najib hasn't
shown that he has got what it takes in this area.
The Tengku Razaleigh option has been gathering much speculation over the
last few days, and there is a difference in the stories circulating as
to whether Ku Li may make a bid for the UMNO party presidency, or seek
to move a no confidence motion in the Prime Minister during the first
day of Parliament sitting. His discussions with members of parliament
from both sides fuels speculation about the latter. Ku Li is reported to
be meeting political leaders in Sabah and Sarawak who are disillusioned
with Najib for not appointing them to the Federal cabinet. Moreover they
feel let down with the solid performance that they achieved in support
of the BN with little reward to Sabah and Sarawak. Finally they have
concerns about how a weakened BN will be able to govern effectively.
Although there is much wishful thinking about this scenario, such a
dramatic seizure of power doesn't seem to be Ku Li's modus operandi.
So what are the realistic chances that a national unity government could
occur sometime in the near future?
A
meeting between Najib Bin Razak and Anwar Ibrahim, although
denied by Anwar, was reported to have taken place at the Istana Presiden
Indonesia in Jakarta last Saturday. It can only be speculated upon what
was discussed, but with pressure put on Najib by Mahathir, Najib's
options are limited. Najib's bid to stop the two top posts within UMNO
being contested by election was met with great animosity by pro-Mahathir
bloggers. Likewise the authorities clamping down on the 505 rallies
might put some pressure on Anwar to consider a national unity
government, if that was indeed on the agenda of their discussions, if at
all they occurred.
Any attempt to seize the initiative in trying to form a national unity
government by Najib would no doubt meet with the full Roth of Tun Dr.
Mahathir, who would go into overdrive to replace him as PM. This fact
alone casts doubt about any moves by Najib to discuss the possibilities
of forming any type of national unity government. It would be a brave
man who crossed Tun, yet Najib is also desperate for self survival.
The logistics of organizing any form of national unity government which
could survive the whole parliamentary term would be horrendous.
Allocating ministries among DAP, PAS, and PKR, developing policies, and
creating a working cabinet among previous adversaries is a tall order.
However if this could be achieved a certain amount of political
stability would be achieved and the centre of political gravity would
return to the peninsula, something many want.
A national unity government might give the people of Malaysia the
feeling that some of their aspirations have been met.
Ku Li first postulated a national unity government back after the 2008
election. In the post GE-13 scenario he would need PR's 89 members, plus
35 other supporters to enable him to win a vote of no confidence on the
floor of the Dewan Rakyat or lower house. Ku Li is probably seen as the
only figure left in the parliament who could not only unite UMNO, but a
government, and even the country as a whole.
The political leaders in Sabah are known for their fickleness, which was
blamed for Anwar's blotched September 16 defection back in 2008. From
the UMNO side, one of the biggest unknowns is the new voting system
within UMNO for the direct election of party resident this year. Nobody
really knows what the majority of UMNO members really want. However
there are many people inside of UMNO who might welcome Ku Li as a chance
to break away from the current mold and allow the party to progress.
Things start to get much more complex from the Pakatan Rakyat side. The
spiritual leader of PAS Nik Aziz has been against negotiations with UMNO,
but now after standing down as the Chief Minister of Kelantan, his
continued influence within the party is unknown. There are those within
PAS who see negotiations with UMNO as a good thing for Malay and Muslim
unity.
The DAP have gone so far without compromise and stalwarts within the
party would likely oppose any such moves. But then many also said that
the DAP would not last long within PR. The DAP has surprisingly lasted,
even with the unfriendly rhetoric that arises from time to time from its
coalition partners.
Ironically, it may be two archrivals Anwar Ibrahim and Dr. Mahathir who
might be the big spoilers of any such moves towards any form of national
unity government. Many close to Anwar Ibrahim often comment about his
strong personal drive and determination to become PM, and a national
unity government may exclude him of that chance. Consequently he may not
allow PKR to become involved in any discussion or participate in any
government. However those within PKR who believe that the party is more
than a vehicle for Anwar to achieve his own political ambitions may be
more conducive to the possibility of negotiations, especially given the
fact that many PKR members are in actual fact ex-UMNO members. The
serious mooting of a national unity government could develop a crisis
within PKR between those who are opposed and those who want to explore
the possibility.
From Tun Mahathir's perspective, he is rebuilding influence within the
party and any national unity government would threaten this. Any
national unity government would take Malaysian politics to a new era
where he may become excluded.
Malaysia's political future must have UMNO within its calculations. UMNO
has strong enough support by those who belief in its heritage, the party
cannot be ignored. For those who see politics as the art of the
pragmatic and possible, power sharing may be the avenue to change that
so many Malaysians desire.
However, besides the spoilers, self interest is likely to get in the way
of any real breakthrough with people fearful of losing positions and
influence. Developing a new model of government without the embedded
corruption that has gone on, may be too difficult a task, as those
involved will need to cover up their deeds. It is difficult to see how
this issue could ever be resolved without giving immunity of
prosecution, something people may not be willing to agree on.
Although a national unity government has so much to give Malaysia, and
so many people view this as a real hope for the future, there are too
many forces against this reality. Had a hung parliament resulted from
the may 5th election, a national unity government led by Tengku
Razaleigh Hamzah may have been a real possibility, but the reality today
may be that any potential national unity government is only a fairytale,
albeit one shared by many.
Can there be a National Unity Government in Malaysia? - Murray Hunter
June 16, 2013
Will Australian Labor Remain Principled and fall on its own
Sword?
Murray Hunter
Julia
Gillard's Federal Labor Government looks like being totally
desecrated in the coming election, potentially leaving Labor with only a
small hand-full of seats in the new parliament with an Abbot Liberal
National Party Government. Such a situation could leave Labor in the
political wilderness for many years without much hope of regaining power
for a generation just like Labor was in opposition for 23 years until
Gough Whitlam gained power back in 1972 under a platform of change over
a tired Liberal National Party Government. Many Labor members of
Parliament have closely examined the latest polling and realize they
have almost no chance of retaining their seats under Prime Minister
Gillard leading the election campaign. Many pollsters believe that Ms.
Gillard's personal unpopularity maybe generally holding down the
potential Labor vote.
Meanwhile Kevin Rudd is wandering around outer suburban shopping malls
in marginal seats, being mobbed like a pop star and looking a winner on
television. This is in contrast to Ms. Gillard's appearances which make
her look cornered and on the defensive. Rudd has always been able to use
the media exceptionally well in contrast to Gillard who prefers the
parliament as a forum to her advantage.
At the same time Labor factions are in disarray and contemplating what
the political future would be like on the opposition benches under a
conservative Abbott Government, capable of becoming a Howard style
Government of union bashing. If Abbott down the track of any future
government he leads introduces workplace reforms, they might have the
potential to destroy the Australian Union Movement as Australians have
known it. This scenario has from the Labor perspective brought about
much thinking and discussion about how to remedy this oncoming disaster.
Labor senator Trish Crossin who was tipped off from her No. 1 position
on the senate ticket by Prime Minister Gillard's personal intervention,
has come out publicly stating that Rudd would be the better person to
lead Labor into the election. However as of today, Kevin Rudd has
indicated that he will not mount a challenge against Julia Gillard.
At a door-side press conference on Tuesday morning in Canberra Ms.
Gillard reiterated before any journalist had a chance to ask any
questions that she will lead Labor into the next election.
Trying to change the focus towards school reform, Ms. Gillard went on to
say that "a breath spent on that speculation or rumor mongering, is a
breath that is not spent on putting the case for improving our schools
for our kids".
The Australian media does not usually invent leadership stories, so
obliviously someone within the government is feeding the parliamentary
reporters with information as a leverage to try and persuade Ms.
Gillard to stand down as prime minister. The "Rudd" forces hope that
this move would terminally weaken Ms. Gillard's position and leave her
with little choice but to have a leadership spill once again. This is
putting enormous pressure on her with two weeks of parliament to go.
This leadership tension is exposing her poor creditability with the
Australian people, many who believe she wasn't ethical when taking the
leadership from Mr. Rudd in 2010.
Australian media reports confirm that a number of senior cabinet
ministers are now viewing Ms. Gillard's position as not sustainable and
considering a return to Mr. Rudd, who may provide the only chance for
labor to perform well in the coming election.
At
this point of time, the unions still support Ms. Gillard. However
Bill Shorten, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
position vis a vis Ms. Gillard and Mr. Rudd will be crucial. As a
former Australian Workers Union leader, he is the powerbroker behind Ms.
Gillard's leadership and was instrumental in installing her as leader in
2010. Should Mr. Shorten change camps, Ms. Gillard's union support is
likely to evaporate, along with at least 1-15 votes in the party caucus
room. This would almost be enough to put Mr. Rudd back as prime
minister.
The problem won't go away and Mr. Shorten's support may be questionable.
So the labor Party leadership is now again subject to a standoff for the
third time in as many years.
On the surface, this choice looks an easy one with the Government facing
almost certain defeat at the coming election. Although popular among
many women, Ms. Gillard has a major credibility gap which she has not
been able to restore, even with the economy running reasonably well. Her
achievement of holding together a minority government for a full
parliamentary term holds no respect by anybody within the Australian
political scene.
But Mr. Rudd is an enigma, who has been chipping away at Ms. Gillard's
position for the three years since he was disposed as Prime Minister.
Former Labor Leader of the Opposition and now media commentator Mark
Latham on Monday night of the popular Q&A program accused Kevin Rudd of
carrying out a "jihad of revenge against Gillard, going beyond normal
revenge but into the realm of evil".
Many former cabinet colleagues still harbor strong memories of Mr.
Rudd's domineering style of management, his anger, tantrums, some say
were bordering on Narcissism. Many stories of his cabinet room antics
still roam the parliamentary corridors, and should Mr. Rudd once again
get the top job, there will be no doubt some that would refuse to serve
him as ministers.
However this time the issue has come down to a matter of principle, or
survival. Should Mr. Rudd be rewarded for his continued undermining of
the Gillard premiership, or should Labor be pragmatic and try and win
this election with the only potential winner they have?
Mr. Rudd as a campaigner would potentially change the whole dynamics of
the election. He could distance himself from areas where labor's
performance will be criticized and campaign in a similar manner as to
how he did in 2007. It would be hoped from the Labor side, that the
Australian people after seeing a wrong righted, may return to Labor,
particularly the traditional voters. This is Labor's only chance of
holding onto power according to the polls.
Mr. Abbot knows how formidable Mr. Rudd would be as an adversary and may
forgo the short term victory of seeing Ms. Gillard fall on her sword, to
prevent his worst nightmare, a "face-off" with Mr. Rudd on the husting.
With Rudd, Australians would take more interest in the campaign,
increasing the uncertainty of an Abbot victory.
The omens for Ms. Gillard don't look too good, and her traditional
supporters from outside the parliament like former Labor Prime Minister
Paul Keating are so far silent. The Australian media is prepped up for a
good story and frankly speaking an Abbot-Rudd election campaign will be
more interesting.
The next week is not about whether Ms. Gillard or Mr. Rudd lead the
labor party into the election. It's about whether Labor survives
electorally as a party. The Labor party need to undergo massive reform
and rebuilding if it's going to be relevant in 21st century Australia.
The structure of the party is over 130 years old and is dominated by an
ever shrinking union movement. Labor's overall philosophy also requires
a review to make it stand out as electorally viable. As opposition
frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull said on the same program as Mark Latham on
Monday night, these reforms are best made whilst in opposition.
This could be a very significant week for Labor. A week that will
definitely go down in the annals of Labor movement history, no matter
what the outcome.
Will Australian Labor Remain Principled and fall on its own Sword? - Murray
Hunter
June 11, 2013
Finding a long term solution in the 'Deep South' of Thailand
Murray Hunter
With
the apparent stall in negotiations between the Thai Government and Barisan
Revolusi Patani (BRN) over the violence of the 'Deep South', one must start
considering how long before a solution to this lingering insurgency problem can
be found
With roughly 5,300 people being killed since 2004, with 45 killed and 75 injured
since the negotiations between the Thai Government and BRN began negotiations
with Malaysia mediating, there are calls by opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva
to suspend negotiations with the BRN until the level of violence is lowered.
There are also risks that the military may go on the offensive again and conduct
pre-emptive raids on suspected 'terrorist' hideouts.
These apparently stalled negotiations could be interpreted to mean that the BRN
are not the sole voice for the various insurgent groups in the 'Deep South' and
some of these groups feel angry that the BRN is grandstanding in public claiming
to represent those in the south with grievances. In fact if one drives from Hat
Yai in Songkhla Province through Petani, Yala, and Narathiwat, what is most
striking is the diversity and fragmentation of 'Malay' Muslims within the 'Deep
South'. There are those who live by the coast, those that live in the mountains
around Yala, those who live in rubber estates within Narathiwat, and the urban
Malay Muslims. All have different interests, livelihoods, and leaders, where by
far, the majority are peace loving people.
However what one will also see when making this trip around the south is the
stark difference in the culture of the region with the rest of Thailand. And if
one has some knowledge of Malay culture, the difference between the Muslims of
the 'Deep South' and the rest of Thailand can be seen. The "Petani Malays"
appear to live their lives the way they have for generations, and resist the
imposition of both Thai culture and 'globalization' upon their communities.
This is an extremely important perspective that must be understood. Different
'Malay' groups within the 'deep south' react differently to the perceived threat
upon their culture. Urban Malays have become vibrant micro-entrepreneurs, while
rural 'Malays' still prefer to undertake their traditional livelihoods, which
are being threatened by development in some cases.
Thai Army Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha's call to build a Border fence between
Malaysia and Thailand to prevent insurgents freely moving across the border
indicates that those perforating the violence are actually not from the 'Deep
South' itself. There are many rumors that most bombings and other acts of
terrorism are actually undertaken by those who don't live in the 'Deep South'
and that's why intelligence on the ground most often has difficulty in
predicting attacks. They occur anonymously and without anybody claiming
responsibility, where in fact some are actually acts of gangsters and
retribution by other parties.
The recent film clips posted on Youtube on April 26th by Ustaz Hassan Taib and a
second video on May 24th by Abdulkarim Khalib of the BRN, making demands,
highlights that this is a "Malay" issue and not a "Muslim" issue. Their
statements highlighted the Malay history of Petani and their need to fight for
the rights of "Bangsa Melayu Petani" or the Malay race of Petani. This is only
the second time any demands have ever been made publicly, the first by the
Petani United Liberation Organization (PULO) from Europe back in 1968. However
these announcements might be more about the BRN trying to assert their authority
in discussions with the government over the vast number of groups than anything
else.
This shows the complexity of the problem. Violence originating from outside of
the 'Deep South' Region by unknown people, and a plea for the restoration of "Petani
Malay Nationalism' within the Thai State are paradoxes that must be reconciled
and acted upon by the authorities. Clamping down on the citizens of the 'Deep
South' by Thai security forces risks creating more resentment by locals, and
being ineffective anyway, as these people are not the perpetrators of the
violence.
Not understanding the unique 'Malay' identities of the 'Deep South' is missing
the whole reason why there are feelings of insecurity by Malay-Muslims of the
'Deep South".
The problem of the South must be seen as an ethnic identity problem and not a
religious problem. This point has fundamentally be lost. To the Muslim-Malays
it's about protecting traditions, language, culture, and religion.
So what is the solution to the violence of the deep south?
Unfortunately external engagement will only raise suspicions in the South as to
the motives of the outsiders. The solution to the problems will only come from
within the south itself. It won't come from dialogues, negotiations, forums and
lectures about how Muslims in the South must be responsible, etc. It will come
from a changing consciousness at the community level.
However the problem here is most Malay-Muslims in the 'Deep South' wish to live
their lives where they are, and not engage the development that the rest of the
country is going through. They see their traditional life as their aspirations.
Most university graduates return to their villages rather than seek work in
Bangkok or one of the other provinces. So this indicates that Malay-Muslims
could be assisted in developing economic activities within the region of where
they live to assist in raising standards of living.
The Thai authorities have been very successful in assisting rural communities
through community vocational programs like the One Tambon One Product (OTOP)
program, and this needs to be extended in the south with much more vigor than
what it is now. The Malay-Muslims of the mountain regions around Yala and
Narathiwat must be assisted in developing their own concepts of
self-sustainability. Poverty is still
much a major issue here. Community building projects run by the Malay-Muslims,
for the Malay-Muslims may be very important here.
But the real change as mentioned will only come from within. There is also a
generational context to this situation where the older generation feel
resentment and alienation, while the younger generation have a wide diversity of
feelings that may not have hardened into the anger of their elders. This brings
hopes that a change of consciousness on the part of the younger generation
within the 'Deep South' may occur over time. This change may be promoted as more
of the younger generation become engaged in social media where they may find new
visions for their lives and region. There are plenty of precedents for this in
other parts of ASEAN and within the MENA. However this is going to take some
time, but this will enable a generational change if the Malay-Muslims of the
'Deep South' are going to integrate with the rest of Thai society, as other
Muslims in Thailand have.
It looks like negotiations will lead nowhere. Regional autonomy may not be the
solution as many academics are suggesting and Prime Minister Yingluck shinawatra
said she would consider during her 2011 election campaign. Autonomy may not
satisfy all of the fragmented groups in the South and fighting may just
continue.
The Thai strategy towards the 'Deep South' must change. Reports indicate that
more than USD 7 Billion has been spent on trying to quell this insurgency since
its reemergence in 2004. Attacks made by insurgents must be separated from those
made by criminals and particularly by those from outside the region. Insurgents
have changed their tactics using new equipment that they have been able to
acquire and carrying out targeted assassinations on government officials. The
numerous police and army checkpoints and roadblocks do very little to put any
check on the violence and in some cases make it easier for the insurgents to
assassinate any official in a motor vehicle slowing down for the checkpoint.
Most of the time the victims of random urban attacks are the Malay-Muslims
themselves.
The 'struggle is about living a traditional lifestyle as a 'Malay-Muslim' in
Petani, Yala, and Narathiwat. This should not be forgotten. There are many
illusions here in the 'Deep South' which require re-evaluation to understand
what's is really going on. This may require a major realignment of strategy,
focusing on intelligence by the military, rather than any show of force, which
may pay off very well. One can never defeat the spirit of the Petani-Malay. This
will never happen. It's about enabling integration without the loss of cultural
identity, something which Thailand should be able to entertain.
Finding a long term solution in the 'Deep South' of Thailand - Murray Hunter
08.06.2013
Islamic
Freedom in ASEAN
Murray Hunter
Almost half of the 629
million people living within the ASEAN region are Muslims. Within the
ten countries of ASEAN, three countries Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia,
and Malaysia have Muslim majorities, and the remaining seven
countries host Muslim minorities, ranging from 0.1% in Vietnam to
nearly 16% in Singapore. Due to the lack of any recent census data in
many ASEAN countries, obtaining accurate figures of the Muslim
population is extremely difficult, where estimates vary widely.
In
the Muslim majority states of ASEAN, Islam provides a source of
political legitimacy for government and its leaders. Within the
Muslim minority states, there are increasing aspirations for an
Islamic society which today is expressed through the demand for
Shariah (Islamic law), Madrasas (Islamic schools),
Halal practices (what is permitted under Islam), and most
importantly religious and cultural recognition.
Centuries ago
Islam promoted both an enlightened intellectual and socially
progressive culture which brought many societies to the forefront of
art, medicine, scientific discovery, philosophy, and creative
civilization. However today we see a large proportion of the Ummah
(Muslim community) living in poverty and isolated from the rest of
the world community. Islam once the basis of a progressive society is
now seen by many as backward and irrelevant. Most Islamic societies
of today are struggling to keep pace with the rest of the world,
creating a dangerously wide gap between Muslims and non-Muslims.
If
we subscribe to Richard Florida's concepts of socially determined
creativity, then religious freedom would have great influence upon
the level of a society's innovation, and ability to solve the
problems it faces as a community in a socially and spiritually wise
manner. Within the Islamic world this would hinge upon;
1. The
freedom to practice Islam, 2. The freedom to
express Islam, and 3. The
freedom to produce new social intellectual output that will enable
the evolution of a progressive Islamic society.
Thus Islamic
freedom is an important determinant of how a society will fare
intellectually, socially, and creatively in the future to enable that
society to take a rightful place within the global community.
We
must also assume here that the very nature of Islam itself encourages
the Ummah to engage other societies as has been practiced through
Islamic history by the prophets, including the Prophet Muhammad
himself. Without engagement, Islam would have never come to the ASEAN
region.
However, the idea of "social creativity"
and the invention of new ideas for social imagination vis-a-vis Islam
is a problematic area as the political-theological and strict
fundamentalist interpretation of Islam is adverse to "innovations"
and consider too much creativity as dangerous and even to be rendered
forbidden. We saw that resistance in Malaysia with the Sisters of
Islam, advocacy of gay rights, reinterpretation of Islam from
feminist writers.
There is also much debate about the
compatibility of Islam to concepts of democracy, usually defined in
'western ideological' terms. Islam is basically considered as
a concept opposed to the principles of democracy when Islam is viewed
from through the lens of 9/11 'Islamophobia'. Insurgency in Southern
Thailand and Mindanao has added to the beliefs of many non-Muslims
that Islam is an anti-democratic force.
However these
'radical extremist' stereotypes held by many non-Muslims
ignore the true motivations behind the reassertion of Islamic
identity within the ASEAN region, where there is an exploration to
merge Islamic philosophy with modern economic development, with the
accompanying tensions and stresses this process produces for any
developing society. Non-Muslims also ignore other non-religious
factors such as history, ethnicity, poverty, and repression when
stereotyping Muslims as a homogeneous group.
Figure 1. The
Approximate Muslim Population within ASEAN
Country |
Population
|
Muslim
Population (%) |
Muslim
Population
|
Brunei Darussalam |
415,717
|
67% |
278,530
|
Cambodia |
15,205, 539
|
4% (est.) |
608,622
|
Indonesia |
251,160,124
|
88% |
221,020,909
|
Laos |
6,981,166
|
1% |
69,811
|
Malaysia |
29,628,392
|
60% |
17,777,035
|
Myanmar |
55,167,330
|
15% (Est.) |
8,275,099
|
Philippines |
105,720,644
|
10% (Est.) |
10,572,064
|
Singapore |
5,460,302
|
16% |
873,648
|
Thailand |
67,448,120
|
10% |
6,744,812
|
Vietnam |
92,477,857
|
0.1% (Est.) |
92,478
|
Total |
629,665,191
|
42% |
266,313,008
|
(Data primarily from CIA
Factbook & www.islamicpopulation.com)
The rest of this
article will look at the current situation of Islamic practice and
expression in the various ASEAN states, before looking at some of the
issues concerned with social output via potential new interpretations
of Islam.
Indonesia
Author: Murray Hunter |

Murray Hunter has been involved in Asia-Pacific
business for the last 30 years as an entrepreneur,
consultant, academic, and researcher. As an
entrepreneur he was involved in numerous start-ups,
developing a lot of patented technology, where one
of his enterprises was listed in 1992 as the 5th
fastest going company on the BRW/Price Waterhouse
Fast100 list in Australia.
Murray is now an associate professor at the
University Malaysia Perlis, spending a lot of time
consulting to Asian governments on community
development and village biotechnology, both at the
strategic level and “on the ground”. He is also a
visiting professor at a number of universities and
regular speaker at conferences and workshops in the
region.
Murray is the author of a number of books,
numerous research and conceptual papers in referred
journals, and commentator on the issues of
entrepreneurship, development, and politics in a
number of magazines and online news sites around the
world. Murray takes a trans-disciplinary view of
issues and events, trying to relate this to the
enrichment and empowerment of people in the region.
|
|
There are over 200 million Muslins
in Indonesia, representing almost 90% of the total population. The
Indonesian constitution guarantees a secular society under the
principles of Pancasila, the philosophical foundation of
Indonesian nationalism. Until very recently the practice
of Islam incorporated many local cultural habits influenced by
Hinduism and Animism. Up until around the fall of
Suharto in 1998, religious conversion, proselytism, apostates, and
inter-religious marriages were totally unrestricted within the
atmosphere of a secular society. A large number of Islamic movements
operated almost totally unheeded within the archipelago.
However Islamic practice of rites and rituals began to change
as more orthodox interpretations of Islam were propagated. Through
covert and clandestine means, some groups within government opposed
to the secularization of society like the Indonesian Ulama Council
(MUI) and Religious Affairs Ministry have been reshaping discourses
about what constitutes acceptable Islamic practice over the last
decade.
A number of fatwas against secularism and liberalism
were issued by the MUI in 2005 which began shaping specific and rigid
Islamic practices across the country. This was accompanied by a
growing intolerance towards alternative views of Islam. In 2008, the
Religious Affairs Ministry, Home Ministry, and Attorney General
signed a joint decree known as the Surat Keputusan Bersama,
limiting the freedom of the Ahmadiyyah Movement practicing in an open
manner. Further evidence of this intolerance was seen in the savage
attacks upon members of the Ahmadiyyah Movement in Pandeglang, in
Banten Province back in February 2011, where the security forces were
accused of having prior knowledge of the impending attacks and did
nothing to prevent them occurring. The failure of the government to
take legal action and restrain vigilante groups that violated laws
and attacked other groups represents further evidence of this growing
intolerance.
One explanation is that the growing rigidity of
Islamic practice could have been allowed to happen because of
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's reliance on orthodox
Muslim support in his cabinet.
Islamic coercion has also
increased in a number of provinces where Sharia law has been
implemented, particularly in Aceh after the 2004 agreement. This has
given local mayors immense powers to enact local regulations based
upon their 'moral authority' in regards to Islamic matters
like dress and modesty codes, and has often occurred arbitrarily
without any shura or consultation, contrary to national laws
made by an elected legislature.
There are a number of forces
that look like restricting Islamic freedoms in Indonesia in the years
to come. Conservative Islamic groups operating without any legal
constraint are spreading the ideology of dividing the country into
Darul al-Islam and Darul al-Harb, where Muslims are
expected to strictly follow Islamic law. Many MUI rulings are
contrary to the constitution, and consequently not legally valid.
However some provincial authorities are following these rulings
stringently without any constraint. This is aiding the spread of an
intolerant form of Islamic practice, evermore moving Indonesia away
from being a secular state.
Malaysia
In Malaysia
approximately 60% of the population are Muslim, who are predominately
Malay with small numbers of Indian and Arab Muslims who migrated to
the Malay Peninsula many generations ago. Article 11 of the Malaysian
constitution guarantees freedom of religion, where Islam is the state
religion.
Traditionally Islamic practice in the Malay
Peninsula has been very liberal with many Muslim practices mixed with
Malay customs dating back to the Srivijaya period, where
superstition still plays some role in beliefs across some parts of
the country, such as the symbolic circumcision of women. Many
religious practices like the breaking of fast and Eid have turned
into massive celebrations, taking on social rather than religious
significance.
Islamic affairs are a state concern in Malaysia
and strictly controlled. Women's dress codes are followed almost
without exception, through both regulation and peer pressure that has
developed. State Islamic religious enforcement officers have the
authority to accompany the police on raids to private residences and
public establishments to enforce Sharia law, with particular focus
upon violations in dress code, alcohol consumption, and khalwat, or
close proximity between an unmarried man and woman.
Free
discussion about Islam is heavily suppressed. Mosques are regulated
by the state and have minimal community participation within their
organization. Imams are appointed by the state and Friday sermons are
written by the state religious department. Consequently mosques are
often used to convey government messages. There are restrictions on
religious teaching, the use of mosques for community activities, and
religious publishing. Islamic schools whether public or private must
follow state curriculum.
These restrictions on Islam have
evolved over the years partly due to the rise of a number of
'deviant' Islamic sects, like Al-Arqam that was banned
in the mid 1990s. The government has banned many deviations of Islam,
often claiming them as a 'threat to national security', where
only Sunni based practices are acceptable. People deviating from
these teachings are given mandatory rehabilitation to maintain the
'true path of Islam' in the country. Shiite and Ahmadiyyah
followers are forbidden to worship publically.
As Islam 'is
a way of life', much discussion about society and morals can be
deemed to fall within the gambit of Islam, where discussion is
therefore forbidden under the various state Shariah acts. In effect,
state fatwas cannot be challenged, although they may be contradictory
from state to state, and sometimes in contradiction to the federal
constitution. A National Fatwa Council exists within the Prime
Minister's Department comprised of state Muftis and other Islamic
scholars. These fatwas are legally binding in Federal Territories.
In Malaysia Islam is mixed with politics which has brought
out many skewed debates about Islam, such as the introduction of
Hudud laws and who has the right to use the word Allah.
This has inhibited informed national debate about important Islamic
issues, and often projecting Islam in a narrow and intolerant light.
The politicalization of Islam has also been divisive within the
community where many mosque congregations have become politically
polarized. The government controlled media is often used to attack
any opinions contrary to the official view of Islam, as was seen with
opposition politician Nurul Izzah Anwar's comments on freedom of
religion in 2012.
This all hints at an authoritarian view of
Islam, where today there are visible trends towards further
intolerance about discussion relating to the freedom to practice the
Islamic faith within Malaysia. Issues relating to ethics, social
justice, equity, corruption, the alleviation of poverty, and racial
tolerance from any Islamic perspective tend to be glossed over in
favor of more trivial issues that are holding the Malaysian narrative
captive today.
Although a flourishing Islamic banking sector
exists in Malaysia, the rest of the economy has developed along
occidental development paradigms. There is actually very little
Islamic influence upon policy and decision making which is
centralized in Malaysia. This occurs where shura (consultation),
and adab (meritocracy) are ignored, with little transparency
and massive corruption. Within this framework, there is little real
debate concerning social, spiritual, and economic evolution about
what Malaysia should be like in the future.
Thailand
The
Muslim community is rapidly increasing in Thailand, now representing
around 10% of the total population. The Thai constitution provides
for freedom of religion, where the government generally respects the
various religious within the nation. Muslims are clearly visible all
over the country today.
Many diverse groups comprise the
Muslim community including the ethnic Malays along the border
provinces with Malaysia, descendents of immigrants from Myanmar,
Cambodia, South Asia, the Hui from Yunnan, China in Northern
Thailand, and a growing number of converts from those who have worked
overseas. Thai Muslims appear to be more assimilated with the general
Thai community while Muslim-Malay population tend to be more
resistant to assimilation as they have a distinct Malay culture and
language. This diversity can be seen in the individuality of Women's
Muslim dress around the country. Most Muslims in Thailand are Sunni
following the Shaffie school, although there are a small
number of Hanafi, and Shiites around the Thornburi
area. Small deviating groups like Al-Arqam banned in Malaysia,
flourish in Thailand.
Military rule tended to repress the
South for some years, where Thais liked to scapegoat and blame all
Muslims for the troubles in the south. However Royal patronage of
Islam due to the insurgency has given Islam much more exposure. The
image of a Muslim as a dark skinned Southern 'khaeg' has
radically changed in Thailand. Consequently there is now much less
employment discrimination against Muslims today and a number of
Muslims have held high offices in government, police, and the
military.
Today there are 38 provincial Islamic committees
nationwide, which govern many local Islamic issues within their
respective communities. Many committees operate Islamic schools which
teach both the national and Islamic curriculum. There are a number of
Ulama who tend to come from a select number of well known families
within the various Muslim communities around Thailand. These
families often operate private Madrasas (Islamic schools),
some teaching both curriculum and some teaching only the Islamic
curriculum. Some families operate Pondoks, numbering over
1,000, which just teach Islam. The traditional Ulama in Thailand have
great influence over how Islam is interpreted within their respective
communities, where this tends to be a force for fragmentation rather
than Ummah cohesion.
Generally there is greater religious
freedom in Thailand for Muslims than in the countries of ASEAN where
Muslims are a majority. However most Ulama in Thailand have only
undertaken Islamic studies at college or university and tend to take
a conservative Islamic perspective about social issues. This is even
more so in the 'Deep South' where issues of Malay language,
conflicts between civil and military policy, and 'outsiders' have led
to the perception that the Central Government in Bangkok is intent on
having a 'war' with Muslims, through 'Siamization'.
Thus
through the Ulama system and issues of the 'Deep South' a very
conservative approach to Islam is accepted, with suspicion about
anybody bringing 'outside teachings'. Muslims in Central Thailand on
the other hand, especially around Bangkok, appear to be much more
progressive and open to exploring integrative ideas that lead to
community evolvement and assimilation with the rest of the Thai
community.
Philippines
Muslims constitute
approximately 10% of the total Philippines population. They are made
up of various ethnic groups concentrated around Mindanao and
surrounding islands of the Southern Region of the Philippines. Most
are Sunni Muslims, but Shiites inhabit Lanao del Sur
and Zamboanga del Sur provinces. Over the last decade there has been
a rapid migration to the major cities of the Philippines,
supplemented with Muslim converts returning from overseas. Muslims
now generally have a much wider presence in the country today, where
more than two million Muslims live outside Mindanao with communities
having mosques.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the
Philippines constitution which does not specific any state religion,
and there is a clear separation of church and state. The National
Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) is responsible for the
implementation of cultural, economic, educational, and the Haj. The
government permits Islamic education in schools providing it is at no
cost to the government.
Muslims in the Philippines are
divided by distance and language and thus not a very cohesive
community. The only thing that many of these groups share is Islam.
It is due to this reason that many Muslims feel marginalized,
particularly in the electoral process. The organization of Islamic
society is feudal in the rural areas where traditional Datu and
Sultans still carry much influence.
Islam in the Philippines
has absorbed many indigenous customs, where there is still some
pre-Islamic birth, wedding, and death rites that vary across the
archipelago. However more informed Islamic education over the last 30
years is slowly bringing a closer adherence to more orthodox Islamic
practices. However there is a generational difference where young
Muslims in Mindanao tend to see little relevance of the traditional
social organization and customs in modern Islamic society.
A
recent agreement between the Philippines Government and Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) aimed at ending many years of insurgency will
create a large autonomous region called Bangsamoro replacing the
existing Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Within this
region Sharia law exists for civil matters, where some Sharia courts
exist, although understaffed.
Although the government is very
tolerant towards Muslims, there is still some cultural discrimination
by private employers and landlords who stereotype Muslims.
Consequently some wear western clothing and take on western names to
get jobs.
Islamic freedom is probably most curtailed through
the very high incidence of poverty in the Southern Philippines, where
according to a 2009 US State Department report on religious freedom,
many Muslims complain of economic discrimination. In addition, the
Muslim separatist conflict has caused great hardship on Mindanao's 15
million inhabitants with over 120,000 deaths since 1972. This may not
end as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a breakaway group
from the MILF have vowed to keep fighting. Poverty and conflict has
forced hundreds of thousands of Muslims to leave their homeland and
establish new communities.
Myanmar
Due to the lack of
any census and the exclusion of the Rohingya people as citizens of
Myanmar, it is extremely difficult to estimate the Muslim population
within the country. The Rohingya numbering almost one million people
are concentrated in Northern Rakhine State. Yunannese Chinese Muslims
live in the Shan State, the Pashu, or Malay Muslims in Southern
Myanmar, and various groups of Indian Muslims are living in the
cities. Although various ethnic groups make up the Muslim population,
they tend to be seen as a homogenous group from the Myanmar Buddhist
perspective.
The concept of freedom of religion has been
upheld under three successive constitutions. Although Buddhism
is recognized as the as the religion practiced by the majority under
Section 311, under section 153, sub-section b, citizens of Myanmar
are allowed to practice their culture, traditions and profess the
religion of their choice, where Islam is specifically recognized
under Section 361.
However in practice successive Governments
in Myanmar have attempted to "Burmanize" minority
ethnic groups which has affected Muslims greatly. Evidence indicates
that equal rights have not been given to Muslims. For example, the
national media refers to Muslims as Kalars (dark colour), a
derogatory remark in Myanmar. Over the years since colonial times
'Indophobia' about Indian immigrants has become a deep
'Islamophobia'. Muslims have been criticized for not
integrating themselves into general Burmese society and thus
generally blamed by the Buddhist majority for causing civil unrest.
Many Muslims exist within Myanmar within a legal limbo of no
citizenship. Muslims have basically been marginalized.
Muslim-Buddhist relations have become very tense over the
last few years leading to riots breaking out in Rakhine in May, June,
and October 2012. This was triggered by the rape of a Buddhist girl
by three Muslim men which led to escalating retaliation on both
sides, where the Myanmar authorities were criticized for standing by
and not controlling the violence. However beneath this trigger, the
underlying causes of the violence are deep running issues. The
rhetoric by nationalist groups and politicians, the role of the
Rohingya leaders, poverty, illiteracy, and general intolerance by the
security forces, have over a long period of time created tensions
between the government and minority groups.
An All-Myanmar
Muslim Association has recently been formed by five groups to try to
unite the voice of the fragmented Muslim populations within Myanmar.
With Myanmar's quest for democratization, the future treatment of
Myanmar's minorities will be crucial. To date Aung San Suu Kyi has
not articulated any clear stand on the issues of Muslims in Myanmar,
except to criticize the proposed two child limit for Muslim families,
while military operations against minorities seems to be widening.
Myanmar's Muslims continue to be marginalized and pushed to the
fringes of Myanmar society.
Cambodia
There are perhaps
just over 600,000 Muslims, mainly of Cham dissent within the Kompong
Cham region, and ethnic Malay in towns and rural fishing areas in
Cambodia today. During the Pol Pot years (1975-79) the Muslim
population decreased to under 200,000 from 700,000, where all mosques
were used for cattle and pig rearing, while Islamic materials were
destroyed. Many Muslims were forced to marry those of other
religions, forbidden to practice their faith, and even forced to work
tendering pigs, etc. Most imams and religious teachers were killed
during this time, and since this period, the Muslim community had to
re-educate members of the community in matters of Islam through the
help of both Cambodian Government and international assistance.
There are reports by researchers of good harmony between
Cambodian Muslims and the majority Buddhist population. It has been
suggested that mutual suffering of both communities under the Pol Pot
regime had assisted in developing great community tolerance for one
another. The Cham were called Khmer-Muslim by the late HM King
Norodum Sihanouk, symbolizing all Cambodians' equality under the law
and state.
A Council for Islamic Affairs and Multi of
Cambodia was re-established in 2000 with the job to manage Islamic
issues from a top to local level perspective. Each Muslim village has
a leader or hakim recognized by the Multi of Cambodia and
Minister of Cult and Religion. There are today many Muslims in the
Cambodian Government with an advisor to the Prime Minister, 2
senators, 5 parliamentarians, 5 deputy ministers, 9 under
secretaries, 1 vice governor, some army generals, and a number of
provincial, district, and community officers.
Muslims
are able to freely express their culture, where the Cham or Khmer
Muslims tend to dress slightly different to Buddhists. They speak
their own language and write Jawi, with a number of different Muslim
sects like Salafi, Shiites, Kalafi, and Tabligh able to practice
freely. However many Muslims in Cambodia today are unable to read
Arabic and have limited Islamic knowledge. Scholarships are given
both by the Cambodian Government and overseas NGOs for Cambodian
Muslims to study in Thailand, Malaysia, and the Middle East.
Singapore
About 15% of Singapore's population are
Muslims. Freedom of religion is guaranteed under the constitution in
Singapore, however religious rhetoric and practice must not breach
public order. Article 152 of the Singapore Constitution recognizes
Malays, who are predominately Muslim as the indigenous people of
Singapore. Under Article 153 of the Constitution, the Singapore
Government maintains a semi-official relationship with the Muslim
community through the Islamic Council of Singapore (MUIS), which
advises the government on the needs of Muslims, drafts approved
Friday sermons, oversees mosque building paid for out of Muslim
salary deductions, and operates the shariah court.
In
Singapore the Religious Harmony Act prevents the mixing of religion
and politics in public comment. The discussion of Islamic issues are
banned in public debate with Muslims being asked many times to
practice self censorship in what they say.
The Singapore
Government allows Muslim at attend Madrasas in lieu of public
education but quotas are strict. Most Muslims are Sunni, following
the Shaffie school of thought, but there is no restriction on
Shiite and Ahmadiyyah practices.
However the
government policy of promoting Singaporean nationalism has affected
Malay-Muslim culture greatly in Singapore. The government strictly
enforces ethnic ratios in public housing estates which has broken up
Malay Kampongs and lifestyle, so to some degree weakening Muslim
cohesion. The banning of the Muslim headscarf in 2002 and the
development of co-religious worship centres housing Islam, Buddhism,
Taoism, and Hinduism are further measures that that are aimed at
promoting community integration, at the cost of ethnic
identification. Singaporean Muslims would argue that harmony has been
promoted through suppression of religious rights.
Critics of
the People's Action Party Government have pointed to the Islamophobic
and Chinese chauvinistic rhetoric of its leaders over the years,
where Chinese culture and language has been promoted over
Malay-Muslim culture. This has left Malay-Muslim as an underclass in
Singapore, where due to the structure of the electoral system, no
Malay candidates without establishment support can ever win due to no
more than 25% Muslim concentration in any single electorate. In
addition there have been complaints within the Muslim community that
university places for Muslims are restricted to only 10% when the
Muslim population is around 15%. In addition sensitive positions in
the military are not held by Malay-Muslims in Singapore.
Conclusion
- This is an ASEAN Problem
How free is Muslim society to
evolve through new ideas based upon Islamic foundations?
Different
ASEAN states have responded differently to the Muslims in line with
the nature of their respective cultural, political, and economic
situations. Poverty, literacy, education, displacement, feudalism,
unemployment, suppression, and control is dispossessing Muslims
within ASEAN. Government and Ulama are trying to develop theocracies
based little social and economic research and knowledge, and promote
ritualized conformity instead. Islamic interpretations are patterned
into rigid thinking and ideas where new interpretations are frowned
upon. This seems to be symptomatic of Islam being utilized as a power
structure to reinforce a certain social status quo to maintain
an hereditary or political grouping, rather than a means of advancing
society's interests. Islam is a source of power in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, while it is feared and
repressed in Myanmar and Singapore.
The 'culture of
Islam' is preventing the young think of modern contextualizations
of Islam and engaging society with new solutions to existing
problems. Young educated intellectuals are repressed by systems that
place narrowly educated Ulama in authority, who feel a threat from
new ideas to their power over the community.
Islam is heading
into a reformation, rather than an enlightened renaissance that could
potentially inspire the ASEAN community. Islam promotes the
accumulation of knowledge, enterprise, and innovation, however the
current direction of Islamic doctrine within ASEAN appears to be the
opposite. Social innovation is being stifled, which is needed for
community evolution.
Much teaching of Islam focuses upon
obedience to the rights of Allah (Huquq Allah) through the
rites and rituals of the pillars of Islam, profession of faith,
prayer, fasting, giving alms (zakat), and performing the
pilgrimage. The rights of humans (huquq al-nas), and the
common rights of Allah and humans are most often ignored in Islamic
teachings (huquq al-ibadah). The handling of social matters
and organization has been left to rigid interpretations of Islamic
law (Fiqh), most often in a narrow and literal sense.
The rights of Allah have been taken over by leaders and rulers who
have interpreted Shariah as the right to punish those who
don't follow; putting the rulers in the place of God, who cannot be
questioned. Often practices that are culturally different are
prohibited even though they are not forbidden in Islam, as it is
assumed that non-mention infers practice is haram.
As
we know, there is no single interpretation of Islam. Different
interpretations of Islam have lead to war and hate among the Ummah
itself. Within ASEAN, Islam has been evolving under different
influences, over different time periods. We have seen the
animist-syncretist Islam of Indonesian and Malaysian
pre-Independence, influenced by the Hindu-Buddhist tradition, still
practiced widely. Next the beginning of the meeting of secularism
with Islam in British and Dutch colonialism, and next the advent of
the influence of the Iranian Revolution and the Ikhwanul-Muslimim of
Anwar Sadat period. The 1980s saw the "Islamization of
the Mahathir era" as a response and neutralizing agenda of
the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Now in Malaysia we see the
promotion of Malay-Muslim ideology to uphold pro-"Bumiputeraism".
Culture and ideology has shaped the spiritual ideology and way Islam
has been practiced to govern lives within the ASEAN region.
Thus
the argument that there is only one interpretation of the Shariah
doesn't hold. Islam has always been changing according to internal
power aspirations and perceived external threats.
This has
been at the cost of Islamic freedom as provided in huquq al-nas,
which is hindering the development and evolution of Islamic
societies, skewing concepts of democracy as being contradictory to
Islam. Islam within ASEAN society has clung to the contextual
principles of Shariah important to the economic realities of past
societies, and failed to look at the whole intended message of Islam
to humanity within the context of today's issues and challenges. This
requires a new coherent and systematic methodology of interpretation
of the totality of the Qur'an and Sunna, rather than
the arbitrary and selective interpretations that are made today.
Muslims today exist in multi-religious nations which are
engaged with the global environment of interdependence. Mutual
influence cannot be escaped and new ways to engage this situation are
required if the Ummah is to be relevant in this global environment.
Traditions can change as long as these new traditions and cultures
don't infringe upon the doctrines of Islam. And this is where freedom
is most needed, for scholars and community to develop their
respective societies within the concept of clearly defined objective
of Al-Falah (economic, social and spiritual prosperity).
Shariah without al-ilm (the gathering of knowledge),
shura and adab (meritocracy) is not a complete world of
Islam. Thus a complete Islamic view of society still requires
intellectual development. There are no contradictions with democracy,
only that democracy in Islam must go down to the family, the village,
then only to the community, and society. Democracy in Islam is indeed
a much more 'grassroots' or 'bottom up', and
consequently much more comprehensive than 'westernized' views
of democracy. According to Islamic doctrine of shura, this model is
mandatory to develop, but one feels this would be too threatening to
the status quo of ruling elites around the world. Islam is the
only faith that enshrines democracy into society, supported by adab,
which is suppressed by ruling elites in the region.
This
repression of Islamic freedom is indicated by the steady fall of
Malaysian universities in the various world rankings over the last
decade, where the majority of academic positions are reserved for
Bumiputera-Muslims who serve their masters rather than produce
innovative ideas. Today in the Malay-Muslim states and regions of
ASEAN strong cultural power-distance relationships are repressing
Islamic development and the opportunities for the younger generation
to be creative.
The stifled evolution of Islamic
society will continue to increase the economic and social divide. In
many cases young Islamic intellectuals are not critically evaluating
the doctrines of Islam, but rather applying them as codified law,
regardless of context.
The emphasis of those who control
Islam has been to produce conformity of individuals at the cost of
focusing on how society could be structured and organized to better
obtain a defined vision of Al-falah. But new ideas within this
context become viewed as liberal Islam, often shun by traditionalist
Ulamas who have tended to focus upon the ritualistic fardhu ain
(individual's responsibility to perform religious duties), while
basically ignoring the importance of fardhu kifayah (a
collective responsibility for both social and spiritual development).
Education is the key here. Islam is about God, community,
and individual, making commentary about the dynamics of how these
relationships should interrelate. Therefore Islam must be rebalanced
to reflect the whole meaning of the Qur'an and Sunna.
Consequently Shariah should be framed in the positive
rather than the negative. It must be based upon the reasoning that
the Qur'an says humanity is gifted with, and reasoning needs
debate and the exchange of different views in order to determine what
is best for society. This is the power that the Qur'an has
given to the Ummah. For this to occur, the Shariah must
be looked at openly, rather than any one interpretation imposed on
society in the name of Islam.
Shariah interpretation
must be undertaken without feudal tribalism and the power-distance
accorded political elites with a monopoly of interpretation and
power. The concept of Al-falah needs clear definition as to
what society's objectives within the gambit of development should
really be. This requires changing the development paradigm if it is
to be integrated with the concept of Al-falah and defined as
national, regional, and community development objectives. Then only
can a really effective social economy reflecting the values of Islam
can be built. This requires recognition that the element of greed
cannot be allowed to dominate the market mechanisms, and that there
are more important objectives of equity, community, harmony, equal
opportunity, and compassion which must be reflected within the
economic system.
However a counterforce to Islamic tyranny
exists through the means of the new media technologies which will
play an important role in shaping Islamic consciousness within the
21st century. This will bring the issues of poverty, alienation,
marginalization, elitism, and feudalism to the fore where they must
be addressed if governments are to survive. This arising global
Islamic consciousness may expedite change in the old structures that
currently exist in the name of Islam.
Islam contains many
exciting socio-economic concepts which could potentially hold
solutions to some of the world's structural economic problems. But
conformity to a narrow rather than holistic view of Islam as a social
mechanism is holding back social innovation from the Ummah within
ASEAN.
The Islamic elites within ASEAN have intentionally and
unintentionally stifled social development. The ability of the
region's academics and policy makers to come up with really creative
solutions to community problems is suppressed, while societies major
problems have just been swept aside and dealt with through denial and
punishment.
Compassion and love as the basis of society has
been glossed over for hate and prejudice which is insulating society
from being able to evolve and contribute to the world community. The
concept of sustainable society is embedded within the Al-Qur'an.
These meanings are not being allowed to come out and be canvassed as
potential solutions to the world's crippled economic and financial
system, climate, change, and global warming.
There are no
reasons why Islamic social and economic solutions cannot be put
forward as solutions to societies where Muslim populations is a
minority. Social segregation, confidence and the framing of these
proposals seem to be the barrier. And if the Qur'an is a universal
text, then it is the obligation of Muslim intellectuals to bring the
wisdom of the Qur'an to the rest of the ASEAN community. Muslims have
a responsibility to contribute to society as a whole, not just the
Ummah, as many Ulama seem to believe.
This reinterpretation
of ethics, society, economy, and sustainability would not only
benefit Muslims but may also have a lot to offer secular societies,
if the wholeness of the Al-Qur'an's social message can be put
on the table for discussion.
If the context of Islamic
interpretation is not flexible to serve the needs and aspirations of
the Ummah, only to serve those in power; then there is great risk
that Muslim society in ASEAN will not be able to solve their social
problems in any permanent manner to achieve their economic, social
and spiritual needs. The 21st century requires a different style of
Islamic evolution as opposed to the 80s revival of Islam which
incorporated Reaganomics and Thacherist ideologies, or the
interpretation of Islam last decade to respond to the Bush/Wolfowitz
doctrines coming out of 9/11.
There are risks that these
societies will lack the necessary skills conducive for creativity and
wisdom at a community level. In such a scenario, ASEAN Muslim society
may find it difficult to engage the rest of the world socially and
economically. It is still the secular state that determines how
'free' Islam will be, and how ijtihad or the power of reason
will be shaped as a central approach to creativity within the social
realm. Due to the large proportion of Muslims within ASEAN, this is
not a Muslim problem, but an ASEAN problem.
Islamic Freedom in ASEAN - Murray Hunter
03.06.2013
PUBLICATIONS:
Reinvigorating
Rural Malaysia - New Paradigms Needed - Murray Hunter
Can there be a National Unity Government in Malaysia? - Murray Hunter
Will Australian Labor Remain Principled and fall on its own Sword? - Murray
Hunter
Finding a long term solution in the 'Deep South' of Thailand - Murray Hunter
Islamic Freedom in ASEAN - Murray Hunter
Multiculturalism is dead in Europe – MENA oil and the (hidden) political
price Europe pays for it - Author: Anis Bajrektarevic
Malaysia: It was Never About the Election It was always about what would
happen afterwards - Murray Hunter
Enriching the Sustainability Paradigm - Murray Hunter
Does Australia's 2013 Defence White Paper Signal a Strategic Withdraw? -
Murray Hunter
Where is Saudi Arabian Society Heading? - Abdullah Abdul Elah
Ali Sallam & Murray Hunter University Malaysia Perlis
Critical Similarities and Differences in SS of Asia and Europe - Prof. Anis
H. Bajrektarevic
Searching for an end game in the Korean Crisis - Murray Hunter
Turks suspicious
towards German Government - Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann
The high Australian Dollar: Whose
interests is the Reserve Bank of Australia looking after? - Murray Hunter
Is Secretary Kerry's trip to
China a "face saving" measure? - Murray Hunter
Asia-Pacific at
the Crossroads - The Implications for Australian Strategic Defense Policy -
Murray Hunter
Obama's Korean
Peninsula "Game" Strategy seeks to achieve a wide range of objectives in his
"Asian Pivot" - Murray Hunter
Institute for the research of genocide - IGC Letter Regarding Vuk Jeremic Agenda in UN
Who rules Singapore? - The only true mercantile state in the world - Murray
Hunter
The Thai Deep South: Both Malaysia and
Thailand Desperately Seeking Success - Murray Hunter
The desperate plight of Islamic education in Southern Thailand - Murray Hunte
Who makes public policy in Malaysia? - Murray Hunter
MENA Saga and Lady Gaga - (Same dilemma from the MENA) - Anis H. Bajrektarevic
Australia's National Security Paper: Did it
amount to lost opportunities? The policy you have when you don't have a policy -
Murray Hunter
Are "B" Schools in Developing Countries
infatuated with 'Western' Management ideas? - Murray Hunter
The Stages of Economic Development from
an Opportunity Perspective: Rostow Extended - Murray Hunter
Who Really Rules Australia?: A tragic tale of the Australian People - Murray
Hunter
Europe: Something Old, Something
New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue - Murray Hunter
Back to the future: Australia's "Pacific
Solution" reprise - Murray Hunter
Hillary to Julia "You take India and I'll take Pakistan", while an ex-Aussie
PM says "Enough is enough with the US" - Murray Hunter
Entrepreneurship and economic growth? South-East Asian
governments are developing policy on the misconception that entrepreneurship
creates economic growth. - Murray Hunter
FOCUSING ON MENACING MIDDLE EAST GEOPOLITICAL ENVIRONMENTS,
ENDANGERING SECURITY AND STABILITY OF WESTERN BALKAN* - Brig Gen (Rtd) Dr. Muhammad Aslam Khan, Pakistan
Australia "Do as I say, not as I do" - The ongoing RBA
bribery scandal - Murray Hunter
Australia in the "Asian Century" or is it Lost in Asia? - Murray Hunter
Surprise, surprise: An Islam economy can be innovative - Murray Hunter
Do Asian Management Paradigms Exist? A look at four theoretical frames - Murray
Hunter
What China wants in Asia: 1975 or 1908 ? – addendum - prof. dr. Anis
Bajraktarević
ASEAN Nations need indigenous innovation
to transform their economies but are doing little about it. - Murray Hunter
From Europe, to the US, Japan, and onto China: The evolution of the automobile -
Murray Hunter
Missed Opportunities for ASEAN if the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) fails to
start up in 2015 - Murray Hunter
Lessons from the Invention of the airplane and the Beginning of the Aviation Era
- Murray Hunter
Elite educators idolize the “ high flying entrepreneurs” while
deluded about the realities of entrepreneurship for the masses: -
Murray Hunter
The
Arrival of Petroleum, Rockefeller, and the Lessons He taught Us - Murray Hunter
- University Malaysia Perlis
Ethics, Sustainability and the New Realities - Murray Hunter
The Dominance of “Western” Management Theories in South-East Asian Business
Schools: The occidental colonization of the mind. - Murray Hunter
How feudalism
hinders community transformation and economic evolution: Isn’t equal opportunity
a basic human right? - Murray Hunter
On Some of the Misconceptions about Entrepreneurship - Murray Hunter
Knowledge, Understanding and the God Paradigm - Murray Hunter
Do Confucian Principled Businesses Exist in Asia? - Murray Hunter
Samsara and the
Organization - Murray Hunter
Integrating the philosophy of Tawhid – an Islamic approach to organization. -
Murray Hunter
What’s
with all the hype – a look at aspirational marketing - Murray Hunter
Does Intrapreneurship exist in Asia? - Murray Hunter
One Man, Multiple Inventions: The lessons and legacies of Thomas Edison -
Murray Hunter
People tend to start businesses for the wrong reasons - Murray Hunter
How
emotions influence, how we see the world? - Murray Hunter
How we create new ideas - Murray Hunter
Where do entrepreneurial opportunities come from? - Murray Hunter
The
five types of thinking we use - Murray Hunter
Evaluating Entrepreneurial Opportunities: What’s wrong with SWOT? - Murray
Hunter
How
motivation really works - Murray Hunter
The
Evolution of Business Strategy - Murray Hunter
Not all opportunities are the same: A look at the four types of
entrepreneurial opportunity -
Murray Hunter
Do we have a creative intelligence? - Murray Hunter
Imagination may be more important than knowledge: The eight types of imagination
we use - Murray Hunter
The environment as a multi-dimensional system:
Taking off your rose coloured
glasses
- Murray Hunter
Generational Attitudes and Behaviour -
Murray Hunter
Groupthink may still be a hazard to your organization - Murray Hunter
Perpetual Self conflict: Self awareness as a key to our ethical drive, personal mastery, and perception of
entrepreneurial opportunities - Murray Hunter
The Continuum of Psychotic Organisational Typologies - Murray Hunter
There is no such person as an entrepreneur, just a person who acts
entrepreneurially - Murray Hunter
Go Home, Occupy Movement!!-(The McFB– Was Ist Das?) - prof. dr. Anis Bajrektarevic
Diplomatie préventive - Aucun siècle Asiatique sans l’institution pan-Asiatique - prof. dr. Anis Bajrektarevic
Democide Mass-Murder
and the New World Order - Paul Adams
Crans Montana video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tN8tam1nRQ













Maasmechelen Village

Maasmechelen Village


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BALKAN AREA


prof. dr. Anis Bajrektarevic

MENA Saga and Lady Gaga - (Same dilemma from the MENA) - Anis H. Bajrektarevic

Go Home, Occupy Movement!!
-
(The McFB – Was Ist Das?)
-
prof. dr. Anis Bajrektarevic

Diplomatie préventive - Aucun sičcle Asiatique sans l’institution pan-Asiatique
- prof. dr. Anis Bajrektarevic\/span|

ADDENDUM – GREEN/POLICY PAPER: TOWARDS THE CREATION OF THE OSCE TASK FORCE ON (THE FUTURE OF) HUMAN CAPITAL
prof. dr. Anis Bajrektarevic

Gunboat Diplomacy in the South China Sea – Chinese
strategic mistake
-
Anis H. Bajrektarevic

Geopolitics of Quantum Buddhism: Our Pre-Hydrocarbon Tao Future
prof. dr. Anis Bajrektarevic

The Mexico-held G–20 voices its concerns over the situation in the EURO zone
- Anis H. Bajrektarevic

What China wants in Asia: 1975 or 1908 ? – addendum - prof. dr. Anis
Bajraktarević



‘The exhaustion of Greek political system and a society in flames’ - by Dimitra
Karantzen


Maasmechelen Village


Maasmechelen Village

FOCUSING ON MENACING MIDDLE EAST GEOPOLITICAL ENVIRONMENTS,
ENDANGERING SECURITY AND STABILITY OF WESTERN BALKAN* -
Brig Gen (Rtd) Dr. Muhammad Aslam Khan, Pakistan

Institute for the research of genocide - IGC Letter Regarding Vuk Jeremic Agenda in UN

Critical Similarities and Differences in SS of Asia and Europe - Prof.
Anis H. Bajrektarevic


MENA Saga and Lady Gaga - (Same dilemma from the MENA) - Anis H. Bajrektarevic

Le
MENA Saga et Lady Gaga
-
(Même dilemme de
la région MOAN)
- Anis Bajrektarevic


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