Focus Focus: A Centre Of Power

We’re almost halfway through the year. It's quite amazing, really. And unnerving when you really think about it - where did all the time go? It’s as if you’re sitting with a (non-alcoholic) beverage in hand, in a bar perched high atop one of those glitzy condos lining the cityscape, contemplating the view that’s crowned the once-tallest twin spires in the world. Ah… life…

Consider another view. Kampung Baru. It literally means New Village, reminiscent of those villages built during the first Malayan Emergency (1948-1960). If you’re too lazy to search through Malayan history notes, that was the time when the British colonial government, led by Director of Operations General Sir Harold Briggs, employed the Briggs Plan to relocate some half a million Malayans considered sympathetic to the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) to barb-wired villages in order to cut off any support for the guerrilla fighters. These villages were named Kampung Baru this-and-that.

But that’s not all Kampung Baru is known for. Its place in our collective national consciousness also lies smack in the middle of it being one of the birthplaces of that loaded phrase “Ketuanan Melayu.” In the early days after the end of Japanese Occupation, many progressive Malay nationalist elements (UMNO, Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya aka PKMM, and others) gathered in Kampung Baru to discuss and dissect what lies ahead and to fight off the idea of the British-designed Malayan Union.

It was in Kelab Sultan Sulaiman in Kampung Baru where many of these gatherings were supposed to have taken place in March 1946 (where PKMM was in fact one of the signatories and founding members of UMNO). If you’ve seen Fahmi Reza’s film Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka, you may also recall that later on it was the refusal of PKMM to place the keris on the iconic red-white flag (Sang Saka Merah Putih) that led to them exiting that pact. But they did not end their struggle for Independence there.

PKMM’s refusal was a monumental moment of defiance. Later on, the group would be outlawed; in response, many of its members would join the MNLA to continue and further its struggles against the colonialists.

Fast forward some 60 years. Mid-April, one could imagine that another significant moment of defiance was somewhat born. On “Black 14” - the date referring to 14 April 1999, when Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to prison – between seven and 20,000 Anwar supporters (depending on which media you subscribed to) descended on Kelab Sultan Sulaiman to usher in Anwar's formal return to politics. That night he spoke of many myths, of remembering the spirit of '46, of defending the rights of the disadvantaged Malays. Yet on that last point, he broadened his spiel; insisting that while Malay interests will not be sacrificed, Malaysians can all afford to look toward a new and different sense of supremacy: “Ketuanan Rakyat,” where all citizens, irregardless of race, class, faith or political ideology have a share of this earth and its bounties. That stood in sharp defiance of everything that has been spun by the State-controlled media.

And yet, I wondered if this is achievable in our lifetime, as I sat there amid high-spirited supporters, ever ready to raise a fist and shout “Reformasi!” Can this man, indubitably responsible for pushing many less than savoury agendas while he was part of the system (such as changing the term “Bahasa Malaysia” to  “Bahasa Melayu” during his tenure as Education Minister), really lead us to that ideal Malaysia? Or will it be a case of “business as usual” after a few years of being in power? Don't get me wrong: I'm neither naysayer nor fanatic; I'm an observer.

And as an observer, I note that to the many who voted for change, like it or not, this is what we must now believe in and live with. Regardless of ship-jumping and government-forming (we should know by the time this issue is out), we must not view our leaders through rose-tinted glasses nor with too high an expectation. Politicians, being highly pragmatic fellows, can occasionally swap your pillow for something less comfortable… if you let them. In other words, trust a man only so much. The rest is up to us. Citizens must remain vigilant always, no matter who sits in Putrajaya.

Which leads me to the picture that accompanies this month’s column (and to segue back to something fluffy): Isn't that a nice photograph? Can you imagine, just a few kilometres away from among those spires, lies a small, private club where the fates of our nationhood and her people are discussed? It’s a centre of power that remains potent.

TEXT & PHOTO Fahmi Fadzil