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An articulation by Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, 17 Mar 2024
KUALA LUMPUR: On January 31, the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, was declared the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) of Malaysia for a period of five years.
The media reported that tens of thousands of Malaysians, especially those from the state of Johor, waved congratulations and good-bye when he left with the Royal convoy from Istana Bukit Serene in Johor Bahru to Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur.
The arrival of the Sultan of Johor was warmly welcomed at the Istana Negara. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim congratulated him and took the opportunity to assert that all Malaysians will be loyal to his government. The hashtag #AgongKita, followed by words of praise and adoration, appeared everywhere on social media sites, just like mushrooms that grow in cascades after rain.
Two days after the announcement, Business Insider published an article about YDPA Malaysia's latest fortune. The article reported that he has assets worth US$5.7 billion. It then goes on to tell how he, who is one of the richest individuals in Malaysia, spends his wealth - private jets, luxury cars and motorcycles - such as Ferrari and Rolls Royce - and animals considered "exotic" such as tigers, lions, and crocodiles.
The article also mentions that he has a collection of 300 luxury cars including a Mercedes once owned by German fascist leader Adolph Hitler.
The wealth and opulence of this monarchy is not foreign to most Malaysians. Many of them, including Sultan Ibrahim himself, openly display the luxury of their lives on social media sites for the public to see. The prevalence of acts by this group, which is considered an important political figure in the country's government, has strengthened the culture of worshiping wealth (wealth-worship) among the general public.
In a world where social media is quickly used to display everything related to daily life, it is very difficult to escape from the view of how the tycoons who have this mountain of wealth - the monarchists, the famous celebrities, the businessmen and the reactionary politicians; the groups who also have a close relationship with each other - flaunting their luxurious lifestyles. Because of their strong influence and high social status in society, the values of their behavior are inculcated in members of the general public without realizing it, which then becomes a form of culture, in this case, the culture of worshiping material wealth.
FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS
The normalization of this culture of worshiping wealth creates what is known as false consciousness - that accumulating and possessing material wealth is the main essence of human life when humanity as a whole is experiencing a severe crisis due to oppression and injustice.
This culture also encourages many members of the community to aspire to achieve the social status and wealth possessed by this group of rich people. This can be seen in the emergence of those called "influencers", for example, who mostly come from the middle class with social capital such as formal or higher education consisting of doctors, actors, singers, writers, chefs, teachers, lawyers, academics, housewives, entrepreneurs and so on – racing and competing to build a name and influence in the virtual world.
This display of wealth, race and competition became the daily spectacle and conversation of most other societies. These two groups - the wealthy and those who aspire to be like these wealthy - live in their own world as if the country and the world are all good and beautiful.
Clearly on social media sites, they are often lifted up, adored and praised when sharing about their lifestyle. The desire to have material wealth that promises the luxury of life becomes the main focus of their lives which then becomes the yardstick of the general public about the importance of the existence of a human being in the world - who deserves to be noticed and adored.
It is no wonder why not many of them speak out for oppressed and vulnerable communities; take a stand on issues of injustice and inequality; using their social position to talk about the reality of most people's lives.
As a result, the rich and influential are honored and praised, the poor are not cared for and continue to be neglected, sometimes despised and hated; accused of being lazy even though many of them – who do not have any access to social capital such as formal or higher education, for example, which could help them breathe a little sigh of relief – bang their bones day and night to find a morsel of rice.
THE CULTURE OF WORSHIPING WEALTH CONTINUES TO TAKE ROOTS
As a result, the culture of worshiping wealth continues to take root in society. The reality of the lives of those who are oppressed by poverty and related issues continue to disappear from the eyes and consciousness of the soul; get swallowed up by trivial stories on social media sites, whether about luxurious vacations at five-star hotels in the country or abroad, about clothes, shoes, handbags, hijabs, diamond rings, expensive watches, brands, or "designer" status or personal conflicts favorite celebrity.
Things like this are presented almost every day in cyberspace at the same time many homeless poor people of various races - one of the most basic human rights - patiently wait in line to get a plate of free food at the street kitchens on Jalan Lekiu and Jalan Panggung which is run by several volunteers twice a month. Some of these people sleep on the side of the road with discarded mattresses. Some sleep in dark alleys cushioned with plastic bags containing two pieces of clothing.
Only God knows how they manage the most basic needs such as toilets and water to clean the body. Some of them were women - carrying a small child in one arm while holding another small child tightly in the other hand. Some of them migrated far from Sabah and Sarawak to look for job opportunities. Some of them work with small wages that are not enough to pay rent. Some of them are disabled and also elderly people whose lives are lacking, only friends are the heat and the rain.
The painful reality of this life is not only faced by the poor in the city, but also the poor in the countryside and rural areas all over the country.
Following the declaration of Sultan Ibrahim as the 17th YDPA, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on his Facebook page stated:
"Keraan Madani will continue to fully support the mandate of Sultan Ibrahim who wants to see Malaysia continue with good, transparent governance, driving a sustainable economy and giving full attention to efforts to improve the people's standard of living. This is also the desire of millions of people who want to continue to see the stability of the country for the sake of prosperity and well-being as well as opportunities and a better future for all".
Looking at today's reality, after 67 years of independent Malaya and 61 years of the formal formation of Malaysia, the question that should be raised is "national stability", "prosperity" and "well-being" that are often repeated by the ruling class for whom?
Owning 300 luxury cars while staying in a heavenly palace where the common people worship - a reality that is shown openly when there are poor people living and sleeping on the streets, hungry and deprived is not an example of efforts to "raise the status of the people", but an act that validates the existence of two rank - those who are rich and those who are poor.
In addressing this issue, National Literary Usman Awang, after deciding to stop serving as a police officer under the British colonial rule in 1950, wrote a poem titled "That Dog":
The dog is thin and gray
Tongue sticking out breath panting
also reminded the community that Guarding the palace of his fat master
Be loyal, accept and surrender
The dog, often barking often barking
Not because there are enemies
But ask for food, his stomach is hungry
His master only threw pieces of dry bread.
The dog, was not released
His neck was chained, the cause was held by his master.
The dog, if necessary, is milked
To keep his master safe
Become a protected animal from outside pressure
And crammed deep
That's what fate looks like, the dog
Skinny, dry, in everything is not enough
Just waiting for his master's womb
Pieces of dry bread
And bones without meat
That is food, and life
Evil human pleasure tools enslave him.
Who is the dog?
Just a loyal animal.
Usman Awang, through this poem, not only reflected on the false consciousness in himself - how he himself had been deceived and manipulated by the British rulers who at that time conspired with the monarchy and the aristocracy (UMNO) to destroy the left movement that was driven by the figures like Dr. Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, Ahmad Boestamam and Shamsiah Fakeh who fought to free Malayaq from colonialism which deprived the people of their right to live with dignity - but poverty, which is a form of oppression through economic exploitation, is not something natural, but is the product of a capitalist system driven by the ruling class to protect the political and economic interests of their class.
As stated in the verses of the poem titled "Sahabatku" written by Usman Awang and addressed to Dr. M.K Rajakumar, Malayan Labor Party leader who was detained without trial under the Internal Security Act in the 1960s:
Believe it?
I can also hear your heartbeat
The old heartbeat
A new life for a new society
The dream of an independent nation
The same truth and justice
As the ancestors said:
'The germs in the heart are the same
The heart of an elephant is the same as in the heart'.
When can we delete
The genetic difference that burns us more and more
And let the burning oil pour
By those who are often two-faced?
When can we risk fate
our innocent children
and future generations of our descendants
by those who care about profit and power?
When will we be able to break through the gap?
poverty and hunger with excessive wealth
Between two groups and levels of society
A promise from the meaning of people's independence?
The important role played by a figure like Usman Awang in building an intellectual culture that produces intellectuals who are on the side of justice and liberation in breaking the false consciousness, or what he describes as "the soul of a slave", in society needs to be paid attention to.
ELIMINATE THE CULTURE THAT REINFORCES FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS
This role, which is born from a sense of responsibility, comes from the observation of things surrounding human life and the practice of self-criticism in an effort to break down cultures that reinforce false consciousness.
For example, in her book, Zurinah Hassan recorded the story of Usman Awang's father who was scolded and insulted when he brought him as a child to a meal in conjunction with the Sultan of Johor's birthday. He wrote:
"To go there, his father wore his side cloth outside his shirt, whereas in Johor at that time most people were not allowed to wear side cloth outside his shirt because this method was only for noble people. According to Usman, his father had to do that to protect his torn shirt. Usman said, 'They say my father does not know customs. I still remember my father's look when he was at odds with me and since then I hated the feudal class even though I didn't understand what class and caste meant.''
Returning to Anwar Ibrahim's statement following the recent declaration of the Sultan of Johor as Malaysia's 17th YDPA, he also stated:
"This is also the desire of millions of people who want to continue to see the stability of the country for the sake of prosperity and well-being as well as opportunities and a better future for all".
The question that needs to be highlighted is the so-called "stability", "prosperity" and "well-being" for whom the rules that are clear from the eye are the mountains of wealth that should be distributed to most members of society whose lives continue to be vulnerable - to fulfill basic rights such as the right to education, health, housing - belong to the YDPA and other rich people and are continuously displayed openly.
Since the YDPA is also the head of the Islamic religion in Malaysia as provided under the Federal Constitution, the general public, especially the Muslim Malay community, cannot escape from asking: what is the reality of these two degrees, which deprive people of their right to a good life, in line with the demands religion?
This question is important to highlight since Islam is an issue that has never stopped being debated in the public space in Malaysia.
In line with this, this article ends by quoting the words of Saidina Ali Ibn Abi Talib and a scene from the movie titled "Mukhsin" by Yasmin Ahmad - Mukhsin, a young man wearing a bad shirt that is torn comes to Kak Yam's Al-Quran study class where they read Surah Al-Humazah:
Saidina Ali Ibn Abi Talib (Nahjul Balaghah, 320): "No one is poor and hungry except because a rich person takes his right".
Surah Al-Humazah (translation):
A great calamity for every slanderer, scoffer (1)
Who collects wealth and repeatedly counts his wealth (2)
He thought that his wealth could sustain him (in this world) (3)
No! Indeed he will be thrown into "Al-Hutamah" (3)
And how can you find out, what is "Al-Hutamah"? (4)
(Al-Hutamah) is God's fire that is kindled (by His command) (5)
The one that rises to the heart (6)
Indeed, the fire of hell is tightly closed over them (7)
(They were tied there) to long crossbars (8).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fadiah Nadwa Fikri is a PhD candidate in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS).
Content Source:
Mediacorp NEWS
Related Readings
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid, “Development in the post-Colonial State: Class, Capitalism and the Islamist Political Alternative in Malaysia“, Kajian Malaysia, Jld. XVIL No.2, Disember 1999.
Winter, J.A., Oligarchy, Cambridge University Press, 2011
Wade, G., The Origins and Evolution of Ethnocracy in Malaysia, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Working Paper Series 112, April 2009.
Charles Brophy, Ownership and control in 21st century Malaysia, newmandala, 17 JAN, 2018.
New Left Malaysia, 23rd October 2021, The Malay Left.
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