Many may not be aware that the slogan 'Malaysia Madani' comes from a book written by Anwar Ibrahim himself, entitled 'Membangun Negara Madani' ('Build a Civil Nation'), which was released last October before the 15th General Election. It is a 217-page publication on Anwar's political philosophy and policy framework.
The book has two language versions, the English version is called 'SCRIPT for a better Malaysia'. In the Malay version, Anwar has taken the alphabets in the 6 drivers for the policy framework he has set out to represent 'MADANI': Sustainability, Prosperity, Innovation, Respect, Trust, Care and Compassion. Anwar is one of the first leaders, probably as early as the 90s, to introduce the term 'Masyarakat Madani' to mean 'civil society'. Obviously, he prefers Madani because his reputation is built on the social and Islamic religious movements in his youth.
Why a relaunch? The response to the first publication was lukewarm at best, but now Anwar is doing this in the name of the Prime Minister, so it has received a different level of attention, especially now that he has made Malaysia Madani a slogan for his government.
The book serves as a document detailing his vision, values and political narrative as a leader, especially in the period after he was released from prison in 2018, returned to Parliament and acted as Prime Minister-in-waiting. The Sheraton Move and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted his agenda.
The book is not a manifesto for Anwar's party, it lacks detailed policy descriptions and is rather complicated. The 6 drivers were examined under 8 policy imperatives, analysing their complexities and conflicts, as well as how they could be monitored and implemented through institutions.
So, to fully understand what he meant by Malaysia Madani, one has to slowly read and digest his words in the book, and it is not an easy read. He has such a tendency to use certain uncommon vocabulary, to incorporate what he knew or experienced from his long-term observation and analysis, and certainly to show off his knowledge acquired from his extensive reading habits.
However, unlike previous prime ministers, Anwar was once a political prisoner and a student activist, and it was these experiences, along with his extraordinary command of language and depth of knowledge, that determined the slogan and image he chose to present to the nation.
The recurring themes in the book are: good governance, rejecting corruption and abuse of power; building an inclusive society where people respect each other; overcoming poverty and wealth inequality; sustainable development to protect the environment, mitigate natural disasters and rein in rapacious capitalism. These are likely to be Anwar’s priorities as Prime Minister.
The positive implications of Malaysia Madani for Anwar are that the people would perceive that Anwar and the new government have their distinctive values and new ideas, thus increasing the people's confidence in the unity government. Anwar can also use the opportunity to unite the various component parties under the new government and try to find an internal consensus for all.
Anwar's 6 drivers in Malaysia Madani may be incisive, but they are at most principles and general directions, people are familiar with some of the issues and problems raised by Anwar. In fact, the key should be how the changes are implemented. It could be said that the slogans such as "Keluarga Malaysia" (Malaysian Family), "Prihatin Rakyat" (Care for the People) and "1Malaysia" which were lauded in the past, do not seem outdated in today's context, but have the previous prime ministers successfully implemented policies according to the slogan concept?
Compared to the previous slogans, the biggest problem with Malaysia Madani is that it is too difficult for the general public to understand, let alone his cabinet colleagues and senior civil servants. The 6 drivers are also not easy to remember. This could weaken the campaign's popularity by making it harder to resonate with the people.
It is foreseeable that politicians would selectively use the Malaysia Madani drivers as a label to refer to the policies they advocate. Under this unity government, even their respective party manifestos are not yet integrated, so it would be too much to say that Malaysia Madani values should be implemented now. It must also be recognised that the ruling component parties have quite different political values, with GPS and GRS tending towards regionalism, while UMNO is still committed to a Bumiputera First policy. There could be political conflict, especially now that Perikatan Nasional, the main opposition is mounting a serious political challenge, could the unity government withstand the pressure and continue to uphold the lines and principles of multi-racial, multi-religious and multiculturalism as outlined in the Madani book?
Malaysia Madani is just a collection of Anwar's personal political narratives and beliefs; it could not be easily translated into actions and policies as he still has to face and overcome the challenge of the old order, politics and culture. How far Malaysia Madani can go depends on Anwar's tenure as prime minister and how he manoeuvres the implementation of his grand vision.
No comments:
Post a Comment