Home > APISC 2002

The development of the socialist movement In Malaysia

Dr. Mohd Nasir Hashim, Chairman, Socialist Party of Malaysia (SPM)

The Changing Image of Malaysia

Many changes occurred during the last ten years with the increase in population in the year 2000 to 23.2 million comprising Malays (66.1%), Chinese (25.3%), Indians (7.2%) and others (1.2%). Non-citizens constitute 1.2 million.

Potentially, about 63% of the population (9.6 million) is in the labour force and a meagre 10% of the workers are unionized. Such state of affair reflects general apathy, weak and passive unions and continued exploitations. In short the workers are at the mercy of their employers and their crony, the government.

It is expected that for the next 10 years the growth rate for women entering the labour force is about 5% as compared to men (0.8 %). Thus the gender issue, the role of women in national development, leadership, equal pay, crèches, redefinition of family relations, religious taboos etc. will have to come to the fore.

Employment is also changing. All races (Malays > Indians > Chinese) are moving from agriculture to industrial sectors with more Malays becoming production workers (followed by professional and technical workers); more Indians becoming professional and technical workers (followed by administrative and managerial workers); and more Chinese becoming administrative and managerial workers (followed by professional and technical workers). The foreign workers tend to concentrate in the sectors of production, services and plantations.

In terms of ownership in share capital of limited company for the past 10 years, the status of Bumiputras remain stagnant (19.3%); Non-Bumiputras dropped 6.5% that is, from 46.8% to 40.3% and the foreigners gained 7.3% that is, from 25.4% to 32.7%. There is also a drop of 7.4% in share capital for the Chinese from 45.5% to 37.9%. The quota system provided for the Bumiputras must not be an undated blank check that is valid forever. In fact his quota system has now become the tool to control the Malays by making them dependent on the Malay party UMNO and the government. Moreover, in terms of ownership, the foreigners are coming back to own the country.

It is observed that the increasing homogeneity in the work force will continue to expose the glaring class differences rather than the disparity amongst workers in terms of race, religion, gender, creed or state of origin.

Present Realities

Globalization (a more subtle and neutral name for economic imperialism !!) is presently in vogue and the very mention of it arouses the aura of rapid progress and development. Yet we are being hit by currency and stock market crisis; the recurring cycles of economic crisis and boom; the so called controversial social clause as the prerequisite for international trade; the continued use of repressive laws affecting freedom of speech; concerted effort to prevent the formation of national unions; the draconian law of detention without trial (ISA); unfair land acquisition without equitable compensation; demolition of squatter homes; displacement of indigenous people of the hinterland; hiring foreign workers to maximize profits and ruthlessly deporting them when their services are not rendered anymore; eviction of plantation workers without providing alternate housing and jobs followed by inadequate compensation, all done in the name of industrialization and development; the detention of organizers and participants of a legal Conference APCET II on East Timor whilst the political leaders of the ruling party who illegally disrupt the Conference and destroy property were immediately released; Malaysia becoming the potential battleground for superpowers to compete, colonize and monopolize the multimedia super corridor cyberspace; the high finance colonization of IMF and World Bank toward countries in need; information technology as another potential and powerful tool to control society; the ever growing saga of high level corruption, nepotism, power struggle and money politics; racial innuendoes to gain support and votes; religious bickering and threats to rationalize contradictions; corporatization and privatization of critical services at the expense of the poor; the sluggish response and the indifference toward the problem of haze resulting in serious health hazards to society and much more.

The Impact of September 11 Bombing (911) on Malaysia

Malaysia is politically volatile especially after the sacking of former deputy Prime Minister; the formation of the Reformasi Movement; the humiliation of UMNO and the ruling government (Barisan Nasional) in the last general election; and the smoldering racial and religious tension. The September 11 Bombing divided the country further on issues pertaining to Moslems and Non-Moslems; Islam and the Infidels; Developed and Developing Countries; Whites and Non-Whites. It is further complicated by the fact that Islam has a racial tone to it simply because the Malays are Muslims or born Muslims.

So when there was a push to legalize anti-terrorists laws in US and Europe, Malaysia very proudly announced that it was able to prevent terrorist acts by using the Internal Security Act (ISA) which they inherited from the British. In fact the September bombing gave a new lease of life to the use of ISA. So far no rocket launchers, Molotov cocktails have been produced as evidence for those detained under the ISA and accused as being a threat to national security. Yet the victims have not been charged in court but being detained indefinitely.

The religious and racial tension surfaced again as a result of the September 11 Bombing. Opportunistic political leaders clamoured to be the champions of specific religion and race. The political mileage that they seek dialectically created it’s own contradiction.

1. The Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir was against US attacking Afghanistan on the basis that there was no proof to link Osama or Al-Queda to the bombing. But in the same breath he condones the use of ISA (detention without trial) in Malaysia to detain people indefinitely even when there is no proof to show that they had done wrong.
2. It was also an irony that with all the religious fervour resulting from the September 11 Bombing, the Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir took the opportunity to declare on September 29^th. that Malaysia is an Islamic State. In the process he literally pulled the thunder out of the opposition Islamic Party (Pas) and shuddered the DAP (Democratic Action Party, an opposition party). At the same time he caused uneasiness amongst the Non-Muslims component political parties of his ruling government. For all this while Malaysia was considered as a secular state.
3. It’s an irony that while the Prime Minister was against the violent attack on Afghanistan but in the same breath Malaysia was hosting an international exhibition (LIMA) for the weapons producing countries of the world and promoting the sales and purchase of mostly US owned weapons hardware and war technology (land, water and air) .
4. The Islamic Party (Pas) had been trying hard to woo the Non-Muslims on the amicability and fairness of Islam. Pas reactions to the Bombing, the attack on Afghanistan and the declaration of jihad against the infidels had shaken up the Non-Muslims. The tone should be that we do not condone violence and war. We should try and find a just solution through international means by lobbying and exposing the hypocrisy of various institutions and countries. For violence merely breeds more violence and there is no limit to it. The recent burning of few churches become a damper to this uneasy relationship. The analogy is similar to the Gulf War. We do not condone US for bullying and destroying lives in Iraq but we do not support Saddam because he attacked another country and used nerve gas to kill thousands of Kurds. So we must seek a political solution in the international arena

Unfortunately this oppressive system has become strong simply because we are weak. We break apart so easily. Since our ideology is unclear we tend to be similar (accepting the capitalist mould) but different (loyal to personalities) to the capitalists and their cronies. We even entertain the idea that we can win without having to do much work.

Thus the emergence of the never-ending story of human nature whereby The Greedy squashes The Needy. It is this human greed that perpetuates and nourishes the capitalist system. But some are still unsure which factor has the controlling influence, whether it is the capitalist system itself or the capitalists themselves. Or that they influence each other. The intensity of their relationship in turn, depends on the prevailing situations. The same dilemma is true for the relationship between social and economic influence. We have the tendency to focus on one and forget the other.

Economic Slowdown.

The more obvious reason is that of the Economic Crisis resulting in intense suffering for the people as consumers and workers

1. Malaysia tends to complete it’s Economic Crisis and Boom every 10 to 12 years. In fact Malaysia suffers from two crisis that is, Malaysian Economic Crisis of 1997 and the trickled effect of US Economic Crisis of 2000. This is especially so because Malaysia (with 85% of it’s export centered around manufactured goods) exports it’s goods mainly to USA. Thus when US faces an Economic Crisis we also suffer as the saying goes, ‘ When America sneezes we catch the cold’. Thus this Crisis also leads to massive retrenchment and down-sizing the numbers of employed workers due the threat of closure of factories and forced merger of small or ailing companies. Most have to take pay-cuts and sacrifice their bonuses just to remain in employment. Globalization aggravates the issue by putting local companies at the mercy of the international monopolistic capitalists. The gradual death of subsistence and local economy also happen during the colonial times.
2. The bailing out of ailing companies in the hope of reviving them was not done equitably and with justice. Companies were bailed out because they were close to the political leaders. The whole episode had nothing to do with the effective use of limited national resources to try and revitalize the national economy. Thus cronies and nepotistic tendencies prevailed. It was also believed that the resignation of Daim, the Finance Minister was due to the conflict between him and the Prime Minister relating to whose cronies should be bailed out first.
3. The sagas of corruption, collusion, nepotism and cronyism continued unabated resulting in the exposure of economic manipulations in the share markets; short-changing the members by giving low dividends; banks forced to sue prominent leaders; the prolonged use of quota system for specific race (the quota system should be based upon the poor of all races !!!) resulting in further dependency, weakening of initiative, as a form of control and specific race being disparagingly labeled as a ‘subsidy’ race.
4. It is interesting to note that this economic crisis that repeats itself every 10 to 12 years also tally with crisis of leadership of the ruling government

• Early eighties, the prelude to economic crisis. Musa, the Deputy Prime Minister resigned from his post in 1984.

• 1987 Economic Crisis. Tengku Razaleigh challenged the post of Prime Minister against Mahathir and lost. This was followed by mass detention of activists under ISA (Operasi Lalang).

• 1997 Economic Crisis. Anwar was sacked from his post as the Deputy Prime Minister in 1998.

• 2000 Continued Economic Crisis due to Economic Crisis in USA. Leadership struggle continue to brew in the ruling component political parties especially in UMNO (Malay based political party and MCA.(Chinese based political party). Economic Crisis, repression and cover-up led to Crisis of No Confidence towards political leadership, judiciary, police and the government controlled mass media.

The changing conditions of capitalism have resulted in further contradictions whereby Free competition dialectically grew to become Monopoly/Oligarchy Capital (with it’s colonization) and Multinational Capital (with it’s imperialism and globalization).

Capitalism is resilient and has it’s buffer in the invisible pool of ‘Industrial Labour Reserve’. Retrenched skilled and unskilled workers enter this invisible pool. Workers who are fired join the pool and those hired or rehired leave this pool. The young join the pool and the old / disable leave this pool. The bigger the pool the less bargaining power they have over the sale of their labour. They are unorganized and the competition amongst themselves will reduce their bargaining power and depress potential wages. During the economic boom, the pool will be smaller and the workers have stronger bargaining power. Thus this invisible pool has a strengthening effect on the capitalists because they can rely on this labour reserve to neutralize the demands of employed workers and their unions for better wages and conditions of work. Thus those in the pool are at the mercy of capitalists

We see the manipulation of supply and demand and the control of prices by Monopoly Capital have resulted in economic crisis that led to greater accumulation of surplus value (profits) and centralization of capital by the few Oligarchies.

This crisis has resulted in the government intervention to boost the national economy using Keynesian Demand-Management approach. It merely temporize crisis and did not neutralize inflation and stagflation. The ‘boom’ period increased the rate of inflation and the ‘bust’ period reduce it but did not eliminate it.

The Multinational Capital now spread it wings from imperialism to globalization where arms production, energy productions, information technology and communication; redundancy and obsolescence take center stage. The smaller and less efficient firms get absorbed. As the firms get bigger we now see a shift of the separation of ownership from that of control of capital. For all intent and purpose the managers have become the proxies of capitalists. We see the ‘transformation of the actually functioning capitalists into mere manager of other people’s capital, and of the owner of capital into mere owner, a mere money capitalist’

So we continue to see the economic crisis of Capitalism emerging and rearing it’s ugly head at every decade and we also see how the capitalists consolidate themselves to compete against other capitalists to a point where fewer number of capitalists monopolists / oligopolists) owning an increasing bulk of the nation’s wealth. It is during such economic crisis that the capitalists are most vulnerable and preoccupied with their own survival. The middle class who are affected by losses in share markets and withdrawn credit facilities are looking for opportunities to vent out at the Capitalist system that betrayed them.

The question: Are the socialists fully organized to take over the leadership of the nation in crisis ?. Have they been experimenting with economic and social programs that would be useful for building a socialist nation

UNPD (1999) summarized that, ‘Globalization …. is integrating economy, culture and governance but fragmenting societies. Driven by commercial market forces, globalization in this era seeks to promote economic efficiency, generate growth and yield profits. But it misses out on the goals of equity, poverty eradication and enhanced human security.’

In fact Globalization has actually transformed the world into one massive production unit where the production relations between workers (now replaced by the Developing, Marginalized and Underdeveloped Countries) and the individual capitalist (now replaced by the developed countries and the Multinationals). To these Supra-Nation Capitalists and Multinational Capitalists there is no such thing as national borders (borderless world) and relatively poorer nations are regarded as worker nations that must be exploited to the fullest to generate profits. They will make sure that labour remains immobile within the confines of their own nations so that there will not be the possibilities of workers forming an international fraternity to fight for their rights. So they need to control these Developing Countries, The Marginalized Countries and The Underdeveloped Countries by:

1. Giving limited access to Trade (using politically motivated trade embargo; Trade concessions; Trade regulations through WTO (World Trade Organization), World Bank, IMF (International Monetary Funds) and United Nations.
2. Restricting them to utilizing specific Information and Communication technology
3. Having the monopoly over Energy Resources and Technology
4. Intimidating them by Military threats and alliances
5. Giving limited powers to dictators and compradors
6. Neutralizing local and international unions

Such manipulations and control resulted in these countries becoming the lower echelons capitalists to service the bigger capitalists and multinationals. They soon become the political, economic and military power bases for bigger capitalists to compete against the more powerful capitalists.

So inter-exploitation and intra-exploitation for profits under the stranglehold of Supra-Nation Capitalists (such as USA) and Multinational Capitalists, continue at the national, regional and global levels to ensure that heavy technology, soft technology and consumable items will be produced according to schedule

The globalized State in turn, has the responsibility of managing and controlling these linkages by manipulating trade, military, information technology and cronies / compradors (political and business). In short this globalized State (with the help of WTO, IMF, World Bank, UN) defends the external interest of Multinational Capital and Supra-Nation Capital so as to ensure that the wealth and the natural resources of the globe will be effectively divided amongst the Western powers. Thus military competition and arms race get further intensified between Capitalists States in support of the economic competition between firms. This will eventually lead to wars (such as the two world wars) and plunder.

The global scenarios re-emphasize the important role of the working class, as the only hope for humanity in destroying capitalism and it’s the capitalist state machinery and replacing it with their own rule. Furthermore the workers’ relation to production (from slavery to capitalism) has dialectically propelled them into a potentially revolutionary and political force.

The Myriad Faces of Exploitation

The scenarios arising from our experiences and experiences of those at the grassroots thoroughly reflect how the economic life of the poor, tremendously affect their social life and their relationships with others. The latter in turn impose a greater burden to their economic life. This never-ending vicious cycle gradually saps away the confidence and dignity of workers as responsible human beings. Such sequential relationship is reflected in Diagram 1. Although overtly economic and social entities seem to be in contradiction to each other but in fact they are the opposite sides of the same coin and become meaningful when we can effectively harmonize or balance them. In short the target for development must be at both fronts. It must not merely pay lip service for one (hoping that it naturally or instinctively takes care of itself !!) and on the other hand take great pain to have strategic economic planning with rigorous implementation of programs for the other.

Diagram 1, attempts to link the relationship between social and economic entities and in the process serves as potential avenue to address the contradiction existing between these entities. We cannot deny that we have to work to survive in this harsh environment and we hope that the desire to work carries with it the satisfaction that can strengthen one’s confidence and self-esteem. Thus, we find people seeking jobs in the various sectors of the economy and working according to their abilities. These sectors can be plantations, agriculture, fisheries, factories, constructions, services and other forms of work. Unfortunately, the workers cannot find satisfaction from working within an environment that is exploitative and dehumanizing.

All the mentioned sectors require various forms of human labour power to accomplish their targeted objectives. Thus, there emerge throughout history, a relationship between the employer/capitalist who owns or controls technology and capital on one side and the workers (constituting the majority of the society) who contribute to production through their labour power using the equipment and facilities provided by the employer/capitalist. Powerful foreign capitalists also own factories and consultation firms in the country. Due to their reputation and strong financial standing they also own controlling shares in public listed companies. As such they are much favoured by the government to that of the local capitalists and this has resulted in discontent.

By virtue of the relationship to production and their related activities, those constituting the so-called Middle Class such as teachers, professionals, supervisors, nurses or anybody who receives wages, utilize the hardware and software belonging to the employers/capitalist and at the same time taking directives from them can be classified within the ambit of the Working Class. Thus, under such relationship the so-called Middle Class cannot stand on it’s own but rather as an affiliated nebulous class. In fact, this so-called Middle Class has the more sophisticated characteristics of the Working Class but at the same time psychologically aligned and subservient to the Capitalist Class. If they prefer to consider themselves as mere indirect support system to production then they become the parasitic working class surviving on the blood, sweat and tears of workers directly involved in production. In the past this identity crisis, this dilemma of not belonging to any class has led to insecure paranoid tendencies leading to ultra-nationalism, racism and fascism. For those conscious ‘middle class` who have understood their roots in relation to production, will work together with their brothers and sisters to expose and act against this exploitative system. As such, the statement that Socialism of our modern era is obsolete because of the dwindling working class and the subsequent expanding Middle Class is a myth that tries to denigrate an ideology. In fact there is a change in ‘form’ within the Working Class (whereby the Middle Class is the mere extension of the Working Class) but not in ‘content’ (for all intent and purpose the Capitalist Class also exploits and enslaves the so-called Middle Class).

As a matter of convenience, these three classes can be grouped further into the upper, middle or lower levels depending on their economic status. However, attitudes, aspirations, spending behaviors and hypocritical lifestyles may push them above their own groupings and beyond their means. Either they improve their economic standing through supplementary jobs, manipulations, borrowing (credit facilities), cheating or they will face total disaster. It must be emphasized that the purpose for such classification is not to relegate them permanently into some static groupings or sub-groupings but to temporarily place them in proper perspective. By doing so, we can identify and use the entry points or the ‘nerve-centers’ for change that exist within the dynamic interactions at both the micro and macro levels. In doing so, people will have a better understanding of their predicament and together seek ways to escape from the clutches of exploitation and misery.

The effect of the relationship between employer/capitalists (capital) and workers (labour) is that the workers are expected to work, survive and support their families using their meagre wages. The employers/capitalists in turn exploit the workers to the fullest to maximize profits and use such profits to expand existing productions or venture into new industries. At the same time they will also attempt to capture (direct take-over or own controlling shares) other markets as part of their diversification program and move to monopolize / control specific industries or financial institutions. Their continued exploitation of workers and the ‘middle class’ followed by their warped sense of competition have resulted in untold miseries to everybody including the fallen or unsuccessful capitalists.

Diagram 1. Exploitation of Workers and It’s effect on Society

GOVERNMENT

tripartite

system

Technology/capital

EMPLOYER/CAPITALIST WORKERS

Exploitation

PROFITS POVERTY

wages

alienation) housing/ amenities

pollution

depression others

fatalism

suicides vices

fanaticism drug abuse family conflicts & abuses

Dichotomized Relationships

This unresolved form of exploitative and oppressive relationships at workplace that divide and control the poor workers, set in motion a continuum of such relationships that will spill over into society at large. It splits the people into the rich (minority) backed by their professional lackeys to dictate the lives of the poor (majority are workers). This dichotomized exploitative and oppressive relationship extends beyond the economic life and transgresses into the social, cultural, psychological, educational and other facets of their lives. It manifests into such contradictory and debilitating relationships such as strong–weak; intelligent–stupid; leaders–followers; influential–non-influential; theory–practice; offense-defense; free competition-exploitation; urban-rural; local–indigenous; short-term–long-term; tactic–strategy; minority–majority; individual–community; economic–social; industrial–agricultural; national-international and the contradictions continue in infinitum. As we peruse through these contradictions, we somehow find that the poor receive the brunt end of such relationships that make them subservient to others and finally lose the power to control their own lives. In fact the rich and powerful would prefer to perpetuate such dichotomy (with the help of their intellectual, political and professional lackeys) so as to legitimize their control over the helpless majority. It must be noted that every contradictory relationship has it’s own momentum and dynamics that can create new and more complex relationships. The quality of these relationships depends on who controls such relationships and for what purpose.

As such the subtle practice of generalizing and glorifying individualism (as effective propaganda under the guise of individual freedom to legitimize the exploitative activities of the rich and the privileged few!) is a case in point. It has created a plethora of relationships that actually nurture the characteristics of dictators and their cronies. Such characteristics manifest themselves as, the pampering of individual charisma; arrogance; paternalism; elitism; unilateral decisions; manipulations; selfish and ruthless tendencies; creating oppressive laws for perpetual control; buying loyalty through corrupt practices; nepotism; asserting dual role of politician cum capitalist; paranoid over personal safety; using ‘black magic’; forming personal army and spies; eliminate potential competitors within own organization or opposition groups and others. These tactics are not new. They are similar to that utilized by employers/capitalists throughout history to control or eliminate workers, unions, political leaders, capitalists and anybody who try to stop them from their efforts to maximize their profits. The pattern is also similar to that of the powerful developed countries exploiting the weaker developing countries. This is not surprising since capitalism has established itself for a very long time whilst governments continue to change hands every few years within such a system. As such, we can say that most countries formulate the essence of their ideologies from the capitalist system that derives its strength and continuity from such exploitative relationships favouring dictatorial tendencies. The modus operandi for maintaining and sustaining such exploitative tendencies is through the control of the economic and social relationships governing the lives of the people resulting in the progressive destruction of humanity and it’s environment.

Control Through Divide and Rule

The most effective form of control that can paralyze the resistance against the capitalist system is the practice of the ‘divide-and-rule’ policy. The differences and contradictions existing between races, religions, gender, classes, castes and regional states will be used to pitch one group against the other in order to plant suspicion and to create enmity amongst them. This will negate any genuine moves to unite them. Thus the efforts to expose the destructive tendencies of employers/capitalists towards humanity and the environment are systematically being neutralized and diverted away from the truth. The blame is now directed towards specific individual(s), group(s) or race(s) in the society. The mass media, aggressive campaign trails and racial innuendoes now become effective tools for spreading disinformation and misinformation to confuse and sway the society to accept their warped sense of logic. This tactical move by the employers/capitalists is very effective especially when they have control over the media and the State bureaucratic machinery. The uses of ‘force’ (invoking fear through repressive laws and various forms of detentions etc.) and ‘consent’ (through propaganda, perks, subtle intimidation, corrupt practices to induce support, become their proxies etc.) have been effective in controlling society. Such manipulations are made possible (legitimized!) with the help of their professional parasites in the various agencies of the government and institutions who stand to gain tremendously from such exercise.

With the growing subtleties of complex relationships and contradictions in society we become confused, starry eyed and blurry in our understanding of things. We soon fail to distinguish the difference between the cause(s) and the symptoms and what actually constitutes the primary and secondary contradictions! As such addressing the symptoms has become the primary goal and the ensuing patchworks have become safe, neutral and totally apolitical when compared to addressing the cause that requires a total overhaul or drastic changes within the socio-economic and political system! There will be a time when we have to make the crucial decision whether it is worth our while to do more patchworks over a garment that is made unrecognizable from previous overlapping of already tattering patchworks or that we might as well throw it away and get a new one instead !

Historically, capitalism and it’s continued exploitative relationships has been the driving force that changed (more in ‘form’ and less in ‘content’) societies and civilizations manifesting in various phases or forms of it’s development from slavery, feudalism, bourgeois capitalism (colonialism, imperialism, globalization) and the so-called socialism (bureaucratized state capitalism). This phase of development will continue until it’s internal contradictions dialectically consume itself by destroying the very core of it’s existence that is, exploitation itself. This is possible due to the corresponding dynamic growth of social consciousness and concrete actions against all forms of exploitation and oppression whereby a new progressive social, economic and political relationship will emerge from the rubbles of such destruction. To date we have seen flashes of such change and it will glow and grow permanently into a new era of relationships where exploitation will become a nullity.

It is unfortunate that this exploitative relationship has yet to be fully resolved and has been so smothered by leaders alike that mere utterances and reprimands do not mean anything to anybody anymore. Yet, workers continue to suffer as if exploitation is part and parcel of life. It is also interesting to note that for any newly elected government, the main political and economic agenda has always been to address this blatant exploitative relationship in society so that the people who voted them into power should feel safe and not suffer from the hands of the privileged few. But, after the cooling off of the necessary hard hitting rhetoric and impressive gestures and when the dusts of discontent have also settled down, we see in utter disgust, the government propping the rich and powerful local and foreign employers/capitalists who by design, actually determine which critical development path the political leaders should pursue. These political leaders do realize that their own survival depends on the support of these employers/capitalists and as such they are willing to accept large amounts of money as ‘donations’ for their personal use or for election campaigns. For these employers/capitalists such donations/briberies are regarded as sound investment to ensure that their vast economic empire will continue to grow even after the elections. They will also call upon these political leaders for favours when the time has come for them to crush local unions and other employers/capitalists competing against them. Under such circumstances, the plights of the exploited workers will be conveniently side-lined despite the existence of labour laws to protect workers rights. In short the political leaders of the government of the day will cater to the needs of the employers/capitalists and in the name of development will subtly allow this exploitative relationship to continue unabated.

Formation of Unions - An Affront to the Government

Finally workers sobered to the fact that they cannot rely on the government to protect their rights and as such decided to unite and form a body or union to defend themselves against exploitation at the local and national levels. Actually, the emergence of these unions is a direct affront to the government for it is a tacit reminder that the government is incapable of defending the very people who voted them to power. As such it is not surprising that the government (in unity with the employers/capitalists) will instinctively react (intimidate) against workers for trying to form unions. At the same time, they did not take kindly to the audacity of workers, for exposing the government/capitalists (in their creativity and sophistication) in developing hypocrisy to a very fine art.

If we are to follow the coverage on issues pertaining to national development, we cannot escape from having the feeling that the government will not hesitate to act against those workers and their unions who try to go public to demand for their rights. On the other hand, the government is willing to work hand in glove with employers/capitalists unions and even be their proxy. Thus when the employers/capitalists fail to meet the directives of the government, the government will bend over backwards to please them and in fact will apologize on their behalf. It will also defend the employers/capitalists when there is a public outcry against them. We find similar apologetic pattern on issues pertaining to the failure of housing developers to fulfill the established quota for the construction of low cost housing. Other examples are the abject refusal to consider the proposal for establishment of minimum wages for workers or monthly wages for the plantation workers.

The Tripartite System

The formation of employers/capitalist unions is actually a reaction against the formation of workers unions. By doing so they can now counter the demands of existing workers unions and at the same time consolidate their positions to demand for more profits using subtle or veiled threats of factory closures or reinvesting their capital elsewhere. The government realizing the power of economy, will strive to be part of this dynamic activity by creating a consultative body called Tripartite System comprising the representatives of the employers/capitalists unions, the workers unions and the government. This has nothing to do with the struggle to be fair and just but more of control. The government failed when there were no unions and they will fail again to protect the workers despite the existence of unions. At times the problems of the workers are compounded further by their own labour leaders who prefer to be labour dealers and receive special perks thus sacrificing the needs of the workers.

Alienation

The feelings of disappointment and helplessness amongst workers continue to grow when solutions to their problems are nowhere in sight. They become alienated at themselves, families and their surroundings. They feel trapped, treated as robots and constantly manipulated at the whims and fancies of the employers/capitalists. Their low wages further erode their dignity as useful human beings and they come out with the feeling that work is actually a form of punishment. Conditions at workplace not only affect their health but also cause psychological trauma and if prolonged can result in reduced immunity to diseases and abnormal behaviors such as anti-social, violent tendencies, etc.

Those who are alienated at work and at their environment will try to rationalize their pathetic existence. Now they are vulnerable to opportunists (politicians or otherwise) who ‘convincingly’ and eloquently suggest that their hardships are due to the systematic sabotage by other race(s) or group(s) and subsequently incite them to violence. These vulnerable ones may also end up succumbing to deviationists religious teachings as a form of salvation (escapism) from the cruelties of life. They may adopt fatalistic tendencies or entangle themselves with other social problems. The social and economic costs for families trying to resolve such problems head-on are tremendous. This additional burden will sap away whatever savings (if any !) they have for the future. They may finally succumb to the dreaded idea that exploitation is part and parcel of the law of the universe and nobody can change it. Unfortunately it is humans who exploit other humans and as such humans must strive to change it.

We have discussed in some depth the economic and social problems of workers arising from exploitation. We must realize that the employers/capitalists of the upper, middle and lower groupings are also in a dilemma, for employers/capitalists under the slightest pretext or opportunity will exploit and destroy each other within their own groupings. This enables the victorious capitalists to expand by usurping the markets of the fallen capitalists and surge ahead to monopolize specific economic sectors within the region. In fact, the two World Wars were legacies of powerful capitalist countries trying to outdo each other to plunder and redistribute the world’s natural resources and labour in accordance to their military strengths.

The upper groupings will also prevent the lower ones from joining their ranks and would prefer that the latter be their agents rather than be their peers or main competitors. The small capitalists will in desperation gang up or merge to challenge the big capitalists. Conceding to the fact that aggressive competition may result in mutual destruction they have no other choice but to have a temporary truce and work together to illegally fix prices or to redistribute the wealth of the country. In the mean while each of them will secretly prepare for the future to consolidate their positions and firepower to bid or demand for a bigger cut of the nation’s wealth. Thus the cycle of exploitation, alienation and destruction repeat themselves in ever growing circle. In short, manipulation, sabotage and other dirty dealings have taken over the psyche of these employers/capitalists to such an extent that they become paranoid and insecure. This has resulted in strained relationships with their families and friends. They also suffer from stress leading to debilitating diseases such as heart attacks, severe depressions, stroke, diabetes, obesity, severe gastric problems, gout etc. Since money dictates their wealth, power and influence, the thought of losing them is so frightening that they will have sleepless nights agonizing over them. They become utterly fearful, paranoid, alienated and suspicious at anybody who try to get close to them. In short they have become total slaves to money as if it has a mind of it’s own and dictating every moves in their lives and subsequently equate everybody in monetary terms. The pulsating human beings are only useful to them if they can exploit and squeeze more money or profit from them.

History of the Left Movement

The glorious moments of the left movement reached it’s zenith before Malaya received her token independence from the British. It was during this period that the British was able to establish the Divide and Rule Policy using communalism, culture and religion to pitch one race against the other. This useful legacy was perpetuated throughout the post-independence period (after 1957).

By the late 1900’s the British had total control over Malaya. They were able to control the Malay uprisings by controlling their Kings who had religious and cultural influence over them. The way for not antagonizing the Malays was to let them be padi farmers and fishermen as their fore fathers did. But the British needed the rich natural resources of rubber and tin. So they physically imported Indian labour from South India and sponsored their passage to Malaysia and through the Kangani system these workers continued to be slaves in plantations /estates inspite of the fact that they had paid their debt to the British. The British had no direct access to Chinese labour but to go through brokers/ middleman to get workers to work in their tin mines. In this sense the Chinese got a better deal than the Indians. The Indians who came later to Malaya became money lenders and successful businessman.

Chinese and Indians political refugees also came along with the influx of labour so as to avoid persecution. The progressive Chinese refugees belonged to the Kuomintang Party of China. Their leader in China was Dr. Sun Yat Sen who promoted the ideology of Nationalism, Democracy and Socialism. They formed branches in Malaya and set up schools. The British was afraid of their influence and banned them in the mid 1920’s. But they soon formed the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) that had a common objective with the banned Kuomintang to fight the colonizers and the feudal lords. Although China was never colonized, but for all intent and purpose, it was indirectly colonized by the West and Japan. The Chinese Capitalist felt threatened. To safeguard their business interests and their tin mines they conspired with the British to destroy the communists.

The Indians who were brought into Malaya in the 1920’s were broken up into sectors, castes and racial variants. The majority of Indians were the plantation workers.

Massive strikes took place in plantations in Klang and Batu Arang mines. Their leaders were sacked and this was followed with more massive strikes. The coming of Chandra Bose to recruit Indians into the Indian National Army (INA) to fight for India independence did indirectly arouse this spirit of independence for Malaya.

Some of the politically conscious Indonesian leaders also came to Malaya to avoid the Dutch. They were responsible for infusing political consciousness and ideological struggle amongst the Malays (especially teachers and journalists) to get rid of colonizers and their crony war lords and Kings. They formed the KMM (Kesatuan Melayu Muda / Young Malay Union in 1937 to fight the colonizers and the Malay kings who became cronies of the British. On the other hand, the English trained Malays were too busy trying to compete for jobs in the government of British Malaya. KMM leaders were detained and the organization banned for having linkage with the communist party. By this time Malaya had been divided by racial politics and cultural bigotry. The British allowed and encouraged such differences (Divide and Rule policy) for it is easy to control and easy to exploit the country when the people are divided.

The Japanese invaded Malaya in the Second World War (1941-1945). They extended their persecution of the Chinese beyond the borders of Sino-Japanese War in China. Unfortunately political activists of that time had difference of opinion in the nature of their struggle. They agreed on principle that they should get rid of the colonizers. The Chinese created the MPAJA (Malayan People Anti-Japanese Army) and extended the war of their motherland in Malaya toward Japanese. They worked closely with the British Commandos to oust the Japanese. The Commandos also trained and armed the Malayan Territorial Army (mostly Malays) to fight the Japanese. The Malays in turn worked with the Japanese to oust the British. Some wanted both Japanese and British colonizers to be totally out of the way.

So when the Second World War ended in 1945, the Japanese left Malaya and MPAJA took over the country for the next two weeks. They rounded up those (mostly Malays) who collaborated with the Japanese and slaughtered them. The Malay village leaders panicked and accused the Chinese communists for killing the Malays thus inculcating the hatred for the Chinese.

British came and took over power and eventually banned MPAJA. They (the British) did not make any effort to reconcile the races for it naturally fit in with their agenda of Divide and Rule Policy.

In 1945, the Malays formed PKMM (Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya / The National Malay Party of Malaya) with the youth wing (API / Angkatan Pemuda Insaf); Women wing (AWAS / Angkatan Wanita Sedar) and Farmers wing (BATAS / Barisan Tani Se-Malaya) .

The English Educated non-Malays formed the MDU (Malaysan Democratic Union) and GLU (General Labour Union). The British banned GLU for it’s militancy and it’s members formed the PMFTU (Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions). PMFTU also carried out many strikes weakening the British financially. So the British suggested the formation of Malayan Union (MU) with 9 Malay states and 2 settlements (Penang and Melaka). Singapore was excluded so as to please the Malays and in turn the Chinese and Indians were given citizenship to help to revitalize the economy. The Malays and their Kings opposed this and set up UMNO (United Malay National Organization) in 1946 under the leadership of English speaking nobilities to fight against the Malayan Union ( MU)

Those who did not agree to both set up the coalition of PUTERA – AMCJA. The Malay led PUTERA ( Pusat Tenaga Rakyat) comprising PKMM; API and AWAS. The Chinese led AMCJA (All Malaya Council of Joint Action) comprising MDU; MIC (Malayan Indian Congress); PMFTU and former MPAJA. Together they prepared the Peoples’ Constitution for an independent Malaya based upon democracy and unity. British declared the formation of Federation of Malaya and replaced the Malayan Union

PMFTU staged a massive strike of 260,000 people of which 80% of them were workers. The British banned it. Emergency was declared by the British In 1948.There was mass detention. Those who escaped went underground to join the CPM in an arm struggle against the British and their cronies.

Soon those activists inclined toward racial lines joined UMNO (United Malay National Organization), MCA (Malayan Chinese Association) to fight against the communists and in 1952 the once progressive MIC (Malayan Indian Congress) joined forces with MCA and UMNO to form the Alliance. The late Dato Onn bin Jaafar rejected this racial alliance and formed the Independent of Malaya Party (IMP). By this time Malaya had been clearly divided on racial lines and the middle class and the English educated also accepted this racial division as the destiny of Malayan politics. Parti Islam Se Malaya (PAS a Malay religious party) was formed in 1951. The Labour Party (progressive non-Malays predominantly Chinese) was formed in 1953 and this was followed by the formation of Parti Rakyat Malaya( PRM - a predominantly Malay progressive party) was formed in 1955. PRM constitution stated that it was a Socialist Party.

Malaya received it’s Independence in 1957. In the same year the Labour Party and PRM joined forces to form a Socialist Front. Compared to PRM, the Labour Party in the The Socialist Front coalition was more successful in the 1959 elections. PRM withdrew from the coalition in 1960.

Malaysia was formed in 1963 and was opposed by Indonesia and progressive forces in Malaya as condoning another form of neo-colonialism. The confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia in 1964 resulted in the progressive and left activists being detained especially those in the Labour Party and PRM.

The economic crisis and racial riots of May 13^th. 1969 resulted in mass arrest and the left leaders and their members were arrested and detained for a long time. In 1970 PRM changed it’s name to PSRM (Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia / People’s Socialist Party of Malaya) and declared it’s adherence to Scientific Socialism. PSRM continued to change it’s ideological stand from Scientific Socialism; Islamic Socialism; and Socialism; and finally no Socialism.

The economic crisis of the 1980’s led to leadership crisis and power struggle within the government. This was followed by mass arrests in 1987 of activists and opposition leaders. In 1989 PSRM finally dropped it socialist ideology and the word socialism was effaced from the name and in the constitution to become PRM. In the same year there was a peace agreement between the Government of Malaysia and the Communist Party of Malaya (MCP) whereby the communists discontinue their arms struggle and leave the jungles to settle in Malaysia or Thailand. Now the leaders of PRM had agreed to cease being a party as it merges with another political party called Parti KeAdilan (Justice Party) at year’s end (2002). Justice party was formed after the detention of the former Deputy Prime Minister.

Those who left PRM in 1989 continued their work in the mass movements and in 1998 it officially applied to register the party under the name of Socialist Party of Malaysia (SPM). It’s registration had been blocked by the government and SPM had accused the government of bad intentions (mala fide) amounting to victimization and had taken the matter to court. The hearing will be in June 2002.

We believed that the continued repression, the use (abuse) of religious and racial sentiments to divide the people, the government propaganda, the blind and mechanical loyalty to foreign socialist countries and the inflexibility of the left forces to adapt to changes brought their own downfall.

The Role of Opposition Political parties and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s)

We are somehow trapped in a system that strives on disunity, using race and religion as means of control of the people. It is as if this capitalist system set the tempo and we have to dance to its tune. If this is the case than there is not much difference between the government and the opposition except that both compete to get power to run the country. Thus the opposition need to review their positions

1. The Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) is merely an election pact to collectively win State and Parliament seats.
2. It is issue / crisis, individual and election oriented
3. Good at criticizing but cannot provide concrete or viable alternatives.
4. Did not effectively publicize the success of their development programs to the people and make every effort to use them as future development models.
5. Easily trapped or swayed by media blitz and responding to them without prior consultation with the concerned political party or person. Poor communication may disrupt unity and breed suspicion.
6. Trying to find an easy way (short-cut) to win over power. Thus the tendency to flirt with race, religion, the buying of votes and making false promises. Strength comes from programs that promote participation and empowerment of the people.
7. When the short-cut failed, that is, to win over seats in the parliament or the state government then negativity sets in

(i). Leaders and their followers become totally dejected and lose hope
(ii). Infighting within specific political parties and between political parties.
1. Looking for reasons or scapegoats to quit the party/the coalition or to rejoin former party.
2. Some form new political parties or try to create new coalitions.
3. Over reliance on emotion and hatred of individuals as the driving force to try and win elections. So when the crunch comes, the people will have to choose between the devil/angel they know (government) and the devil/angel they do not know (opposition). Most prefer the former especially with the hyped media propaganda and contrived fear and doom. The people need concrete qualitative proof no matter how small the programs may be rather than mere rhetoric.
8. When there is no clear ideology or a movement based on personality cult, there is a greater dependence upon existing status quo, that is the preference for fine tuning rather than the overhaul of the entire system. Thus there is a tendency to follow three phases of governance
1. The Liberal Stage - more democratic space, release of political detainees etc.
2. The Sloganizing Stage - ‘Leadership by Example’; ‘Clean,Efficient and Trustworthy’- a cover-up to say everything is fine but in fact abuses and corruption have already set in.
3. The Iron Fist Stage - the repressive stage, use of open violence and ISA

1. The leadership of organization (party, NGO’s, Agencies, Institutes, Unions etc) and it’s members being trapped by power, profits, race and religion
0. The emergence of new and sophisticated forms of corruption, cronyism, nepotism and collusion.
0. The control of the people through dependency, subtle blackmail and indebtedness
0. The development of personality cult and dictators
0. The abuse of power and repression
0. The inability to harness the dialectical power enshrined in ‘unity in diversity’
0. The continuing cycle of economic boom and crisis leading to monopoly capitalism and the relative increase of exploitation of workers and destruction of the environment

At times NGO’s have been successful in their attempts to redress the problems of the poor and the exploited despite the pressures from higher authorities who try to prevent them from exposing abuse of powers, corrupt practices and exploitation. They have been able to raise the consciousness of the people towards their rights and to work with them when faced with new challenges. NGO’s also have their drawbacks by being overly sectarian (merely addressing the symptoms and not the cause of exploitation in the capitalist system) and tend to be apolitical with the naïve notion that the authorities will leave them alone. The fear of detention without trial (ISA – Internal Security Act) is real and the possibility of being sacked from their permanent jobs after being detained is also real. Financial assistance (locally and abroad) can both be an asset or liability depending on the NGO’s ideological commitment that is, whether they regard their involvement in society as a form of charity, a career or a principled struggle to work together to fight against exploitation and oppression. The need to organize communities to organize themselves must be pursued with greater vigour along with the ongoing advocacy, press releases and welfare work. Finally NGO’s become redundant when the nation truly practices genuine democracy, freedom and justice. As such NGO’s must consciously strive hard until these genuine goals are met and must realize that this process will in turn dialectically negates their own existence for under this new condition they have truly become redundant. This is in essence the crux of development and this is the greater sacrifice we must make for the general good of the nation.

Now we can also observe the changing faces of the class forces (please see Table 1). We have been able to classify them into their characteristic traits in relation to their overt and cover political, economic, social and cultural allegiance and linkages. We also see tactically how we can relate to them. These are not permanent labels but useful vertical and horizontal movements / indicators that are dynamic and temporary at best, to help us relate to the present situation and strategize for our short term and long term planning.

Table 1. CLASS- THE MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE

WHAT ARE THE CLASSES OR HOW WE GROUP THE MALAYSIAN POPULATION? WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CLASSES?
 

CLASS	CHARACTERISTIC	RELATIONSHIP & APPROACH
International capitalist	This class favours globalisation, liberalisation, unorganised labour, pro-business governments. Tries to maximise what they can squeeze out of economies-MNCs	Enemy	Fight
Political/ business elite(National Capitalist)	Favours close ties between business and political, subsidies, closed contracts - "middleman" activities between real industrialists (local and foreign) and government. Against complete globalisation buts wants to invest overseas. Favours authoritarian government.	Enemy	Fight
Small capitalist	Against globalisation, against corruption, business-political links etc. Build their capital without much govt., assistance, not dependent on government. Can be persuaded to support democratic aspirations. Minority in the capitalist class.	Leave Alone	Leave Alone
Professionals/managers	The minority elite of the workforce, graduates, well paid by the capitalist to maximize profit at the expenses of workers. Disproportionate number of non-Malays. In good times, they tend to side with authoritarian government but in bad times some swing to support democracy but dare not rock the boat. Highly individualistic. Worships political stability and economic growth. The opinion is heard louder than their actual numbers	Tactical Ally	Network
Semi-professionals	The urban middle-class. Diploma holders, lowly paid professionals, journalists, sales personal, others stuck in middle management. Racially mixed. Tend to be frustrated with their status but scared to rock the boat. Favour political stability. Mobile, also have opinion which are heard as "public opinion" count ,more tied to their numbers. Very individualistic. Social mobility tied to political patronage. Influential as voters. Important battleground.	Ally	Support
Urban industrial workers	The majority blue collar factory workers, includes lowly paid service sector workers-toll collectors, parking attendants, dispatchers, clerks etc. secondary school education- little social mobility, hope to provide for next generation, often from poor, rural backgrounds, mostly Malays. Stronger sense of community than the middle class. Community ideology important force. Capable of moving when the community moves. Important as voters and very important to government. Need to develop a sense of class and support for democracy and political equality to replace current ethnic chauvinism/fascism	Ally	Organize
Agricultural workers	Plantation workers, mainly Indian but also Indonesian, Malay. Quite isolated, community identity and issues controlled by vernacular media getting more integrated as they take on additional factory jobs especially those near industrial areas. Low school education, little social mobility, hopes on education for the next generation.	Ally	Organize
Students	Basically segregated and quite individualistic. Heavily reliant on education for social mobility, therefore fearful, ignoring current social issues. Difficult to see them as being the leading sector, as in other Asian countries but important ground to win in order to gather cadres and influence/gain sympathy in future middle and managerial classes.	Ally	Organize
Public sector	Part of lowly paid semi-professionals, similar characteristics, overly Malay and very cautions because of their jobs. News spreads quickly within them because of slow pace of works and access of information. Important as voters and in critical times.	Ally	Support
Petty traders	Hawkers, taxi drivers, small shop owners, insurance agents etc. high school, diploma education, racial mixed, social mobility depending on hard work and contacts, important as carries of information.	Ally	Support / Organize
Fisherman/ peasant	Very Malay, rural community based. Common community opinion very strong, have to address community whole, not concerned about organizing because of strong religious foundations, vital as voters.	Ally	Support / Organize
Orang asli	A political force in Sabah and Sarawak. Important communities to reach out to and support.	Ally	Support / Organize

The Socialist Party of Malaysia (SPM)

The application to formally register a socialist party (Socialist Party of Malaysia - SPM) was in 1998. The discussion on the need to form a socialist party had been on-going process ever since the Peoples’ Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSRM) dropped it’s socialist name and ideology in it’s Constitution in 1989, to become the Peoples’ Party of Malaysia (PRM).

The need to form a socialist party became more critical when the repression, exploitation and destruction become rampant at workplace and in their homes (demolition of squatter homes; rising consumer prices; inflation etc.). Furthermore, political parties that are friendly to us do not often highlight the plights of the poor unless the issues at hand tally well with their own political agenda. This prompted our people to urge us to pursue aggressively for the formation of a socialist party.

Our application to formally register a socialist party was rejected by the Registrar of Societies without even having the curtsy to state the reasons for doing so. We then appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs but was again rejected by the Minister without giving reasons. So we went to court. This was the first time that a political party was brave enough to drag the government to court and accuse it for victimization and having bad intentions (mala fide) towards us. The government even had a clause in it’s affidavit stating that we were a threat to the national security. Yet we were not called up for questioning and we believe that this was a ploy to bear upon the presiding Judge to make decisions in it’s favour. Our case in court was postponed a few times because two of the Judges who were supposed to hear our case got promoted and transferred to the higher courts. So the next hearing will be on 4^th. June 2002.

Being an unregistered party, we are not allowed to recruit new members; cannot make press statements; cannot form party branches all over the country; cannot contest in elections etc. We had broken most of these rules. With or without the government’s approval we moved on as a genuine political party that has rights as enshrined by Article 10 of the nation’s constitution. But then we are well aware that there will always be a possible crackdown when we become a threat to their power and political bases.

Presently we survived on fund raising dinners; cultural shows; starting a book rental shop and receiving donations from friends. It’s tough but we will try to get by and do what we can for and with our people.

Some of our comrades will be wondering what or which socialist line are we conforming to and what label should you bestow upon us. All we have to say is that judge us on what we do. For we want to grow from strength to strength with our people even if we make mistakes along the way. We also want to reach our people beyond their work place. We will work hard to organize them to organize themselves. Furthermore we want to savour the true meaning of socialism through the struggles to fight against all forms of exploitations and repressions for we strongly believe that socialism gets it’s strength from the bottom upward.

A few years ago, a group of friends comprising the NGO’s (non-governmental organizations), workers, intellectuals and members of political parties sat together to chart trends in society. Our discussion centered on problems of the people and concluded that if we so desire to analyze social issues we end up talking about exploitation at workplace and on the other hand if we start discussing problems at work place we see social problems unfolding before our very eyes and infringing all relationships in society.

In the past, the direction of the struggle had been ‘Socialism From the Top’. It failed for various reasons;

1. The media hype of misinformation and disinformation by the government and their cronies divided and confused the people. This cleared the path for greater control over their lives.
2. There was no clear analysis. Socialist leaders did not fully question the mold that defined the confines of Capitalism. They more or less flirt with it.
3. Did not nurture and strengthened the socialist tendencies existing overtly or covertly within the social framework of the present and past communities.
4. The leaders were trapped by short-term gains that tended to prey upon subtle racial and religious overtones.
5. They romanticized this struggle and became surprised, caught off guard or felt betrayed when things did come their way.
6. There were no serious grassroots work except to subjectively speculate on hearsays and adopt strong ideological stand that have no bearing to actual situations in the communities.
7. There was a tendency to be elitist, all knowing and the unending desire to bark out directives
8. The leaders were continuously harassed and detained when the government felt threatened. After a while this culture of fear sets in and paralyzes all program.
9. Mechanical and deterministic visions that pursued so religiously somehow expecting for the revolution to fall on their laps.
10. Did not fully internalize the sufferings and the psyche of the exploited masses in the midst of plenty and prepare them for challenges ahead.
11. Did not seriously embark on socialist programs that highlight peoples’ power and application of dialectical relationships in everyday life.

1. We came into the world of Socialism through our work amongst the exploited, marginal and neglected communities, more so in times of crisis.
2. We derive our strength and inspiration from the latent and explosive power of unity of factory workers; plantation workers; squatters; farmers; hawkers etc.
3. We have the opportunity to reflect, analyze and internalize our experiences and the experiences of others.
4. Direct experiences with the grassroots make analysis more meaningful especially when the people are directly confronted by the oppressive State apparatus such as the police; the judiciary; the capitalists and their cronies; the media; and elitist mentalities.

In Defense of their Rights

We had come to the conclusion that once the people had decided to stand up and fight for their rights, the world around them was never the same again. Most of our experiences revolved around plantation workers, ‘squatters’ (urban pioneers), hawkers, factory workers and service workers. We will focus on the ‘squatters’ as the case for discussion. Most of them were workers and a small number of them were hawkers. They would reside in ‘squatter’ villages for they could not effort to own or rent a low cost flat or a terrace house. They feel insecure as their homes were often threatened with demolition and on short notice. They have to give way for massive development projects. Most of them have settled in such villages for more than 20 years and some for 2 or 3 generations. In fact there is a village in the city that has been around for more than 100 years which is also facing eviction. The villagers migrated from the rural areas to Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas in response to the call of the late Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak in the early 1970’s, to settle at the periphery and to provide the labour power for the national industrialization program. They were provided with basic amenities and their areas recognized as villages (‘kampong’) but had yet to receive the titles to their land as promised by the political leaders of the ruling government. By definition they are not squatters but urban pioneers who cleared and developed the land. As years gone by, Kuala Lumpur and it’s neighbouring satellite towns continued to expand and finally encroached into the borders of their villages. The values of the land by then had sky rocketed. The villagers suddenly receive eviction notices from an outsider, developer or from the government Land Office to evacuate their village within two weeks. They were threatened with fine and jail sentence if they refused to leave. With these eviction notices their status changed overnight from a villager to a squatter. Some rich developers or politician cum developers have bought over these land dirt cheap from the government and did not have the curtsy to meet with the villagers and suggest amicable solutions to their problems of compensation, relocation and alternate housing.

The villagers panicked and resisted such move. They then started appealing to their political leaders, send memorandum to the various authorities, have appointments with anybody who could help them. The communication with NGO’s (non-government organization) was usually the last resort when everything else failed or when the demolition team was practically at their doorsteps. Their initial resistance the eviction has sparked off chain reactions of systematic harassment; intimidation, arrest, buying off village leaders, use of gangsters, spontaneous fires (arson), giving support to splinter groups in the community etc. by the developers, police, land office, politicians and other state apparatus.

After years of involvement with the various ‘squatter’ villagers throughout Kuala Lumpur, the State of Selangor and the various States in the country, we managed to map out the involvement of various people and agencies who tried to evict the villagers by force (please refer to Diagram 1). Success came the peoples’ way when they were united. If they desire our support, the conditions that we set for any village was that they must form a Village Action Committee representing the different groupings including race, gender and youth in the village. Our experiences in the past showed that those women and youth who actively participated in the struggle were steadfast in their actions and were a source of inspiration especially in times of crisis. Decisions must be made democratically and the participating NGO’s merely function as advisors without veto power and must abide by the decisions of the Village Action Committee. Exchanging ideas and updating information with the committee and the villagers must be an ongoing process.

Diagram 1 indicates that the Housing Developer/Capitalist is very powerful and has the capacity to influence the state apparatus including the Chief Minister, local politicians, officers of the government District Land Office, other Agencies and the local Police Station. It is through these relationships thatthe people begin to understand the exploitative nature of capitalism and the affirmation of the permanent role of socialists in fighting against exploitations and repressions.

Diagram 1. Exploitation of Urban Pioneers

CHIEF MINISTER / MAYOR

POLITICAL LEADER

LOCAL

HOUSING DEVELOPER GOVERNMENT LAND OFFICE

& AGENCIES

POLICE

URBAN PIONEERS

COMMITTEE - VILLAGERS

Housing Developers of the past had instructed their lawyers to intimidate the villagers with threats of fines and detention; using gangsters to threaten villagers and destroy properties; buying off village leaders with promises of free houses and money; buy off or negotiate with the villagers’ lawyer without the knowledge of the villagers etc. The police would detain village leaders but rarely charge them in court for the developers wanted them out of the way when they begin demolishing the houses in the village. Some officers would behave as if they represented the Housing Developers and coerced the villagers to leave their homes. Politicians who gave the assurance that they would resolve the problems of the people often disappear or become elusive during these critical moments. However, they would reappear after everything was over and vehemently claim that they were not duly informed on such demolition. At times, the politicians or their proxies were also housing developers and as such, it was in their best interest not to interfere with other housing developers. It was also unfortunate that some of the villagers were so desperate that they actually believed the promises made by these politicians.

Government would also use the National Land Code or Emergency Ordinance of 1969 to evict the ‘squatters’ without having to refer the matter to courts. We also find that officers from the Government Land Office take instructions from the Housing Developers/Capitalist and at one times we had to go to the courts and invoke Order 53 to prevent the government from interfering on matters beyond it’s jurisdiction. We also observed that the developers and their representatives became unnecessarily arrogant when the police backed them and would only want to negotiate with the villagers when the police remained neutral or being cautioned of their excesses.

Our defense against the onslaught of the Housing Developers/Capitalists was to gather information and documents pertaining to promises made to the people on the ownership of these lands. Furthermore, the villagers had equity (licensee in equity) over the land because they sacrificed years of blood, sweat and tears to transform these land from disused mining pools, swamps, jungles, dump sites into habitable land. We would do an official search on companies belonging to the Developers / Capitalists in the office of the Registrar of Business or Companies to scrutinize the legality of the transaction of the said land. We would also ascertain the nature of involvement of politicians in the companies of these housing developers. At the same time we would continue to lodge reports on abuses by the police, developers, gangsters, politicians and government officers. When everything else failed we would have demonstrations in strategic places to voice our disappointment. As usual, we continued to keep the local and international press well informed on what was happening. At times, the press were not on our side. But this did not deter us from having discussions with the committees in other villagers to analyze the latest situation and to seek fresh mandate to embark on specific actions.

When the developers realized that it would take years to resolve the cases in courts and at the same time they were under tremendous pressure (banks, house buyers, demonstrations etc.) to meet their targeted datelines, only then would they finally want to negotiate. The finer points of the negotiation would be discussed at great length before the actual date. Role playing and strategizing were done to boost the confidence of the Village Action Committee so that they could negotiate effectively. It was a known fact that the Developer/Capitalist would seriously negotiate when they realized that the people were strong and united. The Village Action Committee were duly advised not to sign any document until the villagers and their lawyers have been consulted. More often than not NGO’s were not involved in the actual negotiation. Negotiation would be considered conclusive when the signed documents received official stamping followed by the villagers receiving their compensation and permanent or temporary housing. Unfortunately in the earlier stage of the struggle, some would leave their village for fear of arrest and had quietly accepted token compensations without the knowledge of the Village Action Committee. Sometimes emotions would flare up and communication would break down due to misunderstanding. We would also arbitrate internal conflicts to clear the air. However, when the dusts finally settle the villagers were together again for they were able to distinguish between the primary and the secondary contradictions / enemies confronting the people. The greatest satisfaction we get was to see the beautiful smiles on their faces after a hard earned victory. Some of the villagers would continue to work with us to help others in need. Their contribution to the struggle is beyond words.

The lesson gained from such struggles was that people were not docile. It was not that they did not know how to fight for their rights against this capitalist system but because they had lost the confidence to do so. Throughout their lives their spirit of inquiry and defiance had been muted or ridiculed in schools, organizations, political parties and workplaces. The critical ones eventually became victims or outcastes to ruthless dictators who were afraid that those conscious ones might gang up to replace them. So the wheeling and dealing by leaders were to ensure that they remained in power and any sign of protest or dissatisfaction from anybody will be systematically crushed. But once the people understood that their source of strength came from the spirit of unity in diversity, correct analysis of situation and the exposure of relationships that made them victims, then confidence will flow in and problems dealt accordingly. After this, detention lose it’s impact on the people for they now know how to counsel their fear and believe in the path against injustice, dehumanization and violence.

So we uphold the teachings of Marx and those who enlighten and strengthen the dialectic of change.

We can now fathom the changing faces of exploitation in the capitalist system at the national and global levels and meet such challenges accordingly. The deterministic / mechanistic / rigidity in the theory and practice of Socialism can be the beginning of our own downfall for Socialism is not a fossilized entity and must be subjected to scrutiny and debates. So we must not cling to the notion that capitalism must fall on it’s face without we having to lift a finger to affect such change.

According to Marx,’ The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point is to change it

1. Marx did not appreciate the Academic Marxists who explained away the problems of society using emotional jargons and fantastic scenarios. They are the armchair Marxists who get so petty and break up to form hybrids of Socialism, Marxism and Communism.
2. Marx main concern was to analyze the information and act upon all forms of exploitation so as to enable us to build a Socialist nation.
3. According to Gramsci, ‘ Marxism is the philosophy of practice’ The organic intellectual. As such we derive lessons from practice upon practice.
4. We must also reaffirm the role of the working class as the potential revolutionary force to overthrow the Capitalist system. They must also be able to unite with the peasantry and other progressive forces .
5. We must strengthen our understanding of Dialectical Relationships so that we see society not only as a whole or in totality, in which all the different aspects were connected, but also conceiving it as a unity of opposites. It is in fact, the co-existence of two contradictory sides, their conflict and their fusion into a new category. It is the sine qua non for change. So we find the dialectical movements in:

1. Nature - in the environment i.e. movement of hot air to neutralize the cold air; the attraction of positive and negative charges; stable weather.

Human nature - greed (competing, hoarding, jealousy) and need (basic necessity like food, shelter, clothes, education)
2. Philosophy – the conflict between the spirit and soul; theory and

1. We must question the Cartesian paradigm that separated the concept of mind and body whereby the body is treated as machines (similar to a mechanical clock) with all the moving parts in it. So if something goes wrong with the body (disease maybe) then it must be broken down to locate the defective parts (organs or the germ) within it. The state of well being of the person as a whole is not important anymore. This tendency toward reductionism has resulted in the mechanistic outlook of the world we live in. We could also see how Hegel was caught up in the relationship of the dialectics of the mind / consciousness in abstraction whereby the problem of the material and worldly needs become secondary. On the other hand, Marx used the same logic to counter Hegel by talking about the dialectical relationship of matter / material and to bring it down to earth.
2. Marx said that, ‘It is not consciousness that determine life, but life that determine consciousness.’

If we believe that the dynamics of exploitation of Capitalism is heading towards barbarism and destruction, then we have to reaffirm that Socialism is the path that will emancipate the workers from the clutches of Capitalism. If we believe that the path to socialism is the path to the truth then we must reaffirm or modify past progressive thoughts of thinkers and revolutionaries that stretch from Plato, Socrates, Lao Tzu, Vedantist Ramakrishna, Sun ;Tze, Buddha, Sufi Al-Arabi, Descartes, Ricardo, Malthus, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Lenin, Mao, Gramsci, Rosa Luxemburg and others. To them ideas were not created in a vacuum and the discussion on dialectics and dialectical relationships came naturally to them. What Marx did to Hegel’s dialectics was to put it upright so that it was standing it on it’s feet rather than on it’s head.
So some face the dilemma of regarding capitalism as an abstract independent entity having a soul of it’s own and controlling every facet of our lives. In short we become slaves to capitalism. On the other hand some believe that it is the human greed that poisons this soul and give credibility to the capitalist system. As such it is the human that must transform and change it so that the soul that strives on needs will give meaning to the socialist system.

But we cannot eliminate human nature because it is the essence of humanity. For this human nature exist on the simple maxim of;

Maximization of benefits/pleasure
and Minimization of pain/misery

In short, we must seek the values, attitudes and life styles within this spectrum of human nature and material relationships so that the choices we make do not destroy humanity and the environment. Therefore it is the pulsating human beings who must make the system move and not vice versa.

On the other hand, if we mechanically select values merely to respond to capitalism, then we are merely reacting to it. We may even be labeled as Reactionaries. For example, if we merely think that by changing or transferring ownership of property from the individuals to the State, we will achieve paradise and total bliss, then we are wrong. For we find that exploitation and oppression continue to rear their ugly heads. Thus inherently, we find that, values derived from property or material relations tend to be exploitative.

So we, as socialists must seek the Balance and the Compassion to ensure that exploitation becomes a nullity. We must tamper human nature with justice with consciousness. As such we must seek the inner or primordial essences of human nature that glorify the sanctity of humanity and human values. But as we pursue such goal, we are actually penetrating into the essence of human nature to seek values that are profoundly equitable and universal.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, is one such attempt in the right direction.

So the nature of our work will be evolutionary and at the same time revolutionary because we want to be with our people as they grow from strength to strength as we continue to build our socialist movement. For we have to win small battles (short term) before we can win the war (long term); willing to confront, with the view of negotiating and vice versa; allowing democracy to take shape, with the view of uniting and centralizing all collective decisions and vice versa
So we will develop socialists programs that will lead us to self-sufficiency and equitability and continue to eliminate all forms of exploitation and intermediaries (middle-persons /brokers). This socialist struggle is tough but a worthy and fulfilling one. So we will work hard to work with others to build a better and just society.

What needs to be done?

1. We must continue to push for alternatives that will promise genuine democracy, freedom and justice.
1. We need to create alliance amongst the progressive movements in society (even if it is temporary) to provide a cohesive force to counter the ongoing exploitative capitalist system that perpetuate dependency, destruction and dictators.
2. We do not need a leadership that merely wishes to replace the previous government and continue the destructive cyclical phases of Liberalism, Sloganeering and the use of the Iron fist

 
Thus the abuse of race, racial quota and religion to control society becomes the order of the day. The government as proxies of the capitalists will continue to depoliticize the issues of class struggle and exploitation to a point that people begin to believe that the wretchedness in society is due to some irresponsible individuals. Such tendencies and mindset not only penetrated the ruling government but also the opposition political parties, agencies, unions, NGOs and institutions. The issue here is not merely to do fine-tuning/modify the system but the point is to over-haul/change it.
2. The economic crisis had deepened and exacerbated further the problems of the poor both at the economic and psycho-social levels. At the macro-level it exposed the contradictions within society especially the intensity of exploitation; the role of the State (bureaucracy, police, judiciary, politics, religious institutions; mass media etc.); the realignment and merging of small capitalists to fend off big capitalists; struggle for monopoly of economic sectors and resources amongst big capitalists with fewer capitalists owning and controlling a big chunk of the wealth of the nation (the top 20% own 50% share of the national income).
3. All the while, the left and progressives believed that if the workers can reverse the process of ‘the dictatorship of capitalists over the workers’ to become ‘the dictatorship of the workers over the capitalists’ would resolve the blatant contradictions within society. Unfortunately the lingering and latent capitalist tendencies continue to rear it’s ugly head to haunt them even though the conversion of private ownership to state ownership was complete. Aside for the reasons of monstrous bureaucracy, transition period, sacrifice for the good of the future generations, guided democracy (dictatorship), external threat etc, we are still bounded and trapped by moral, psychological, social, economic and political values founded upon material relations. Unfortunately time and time again, these material relations will eventually lead to exploitation; dichotomization of society; control through divide and rule; elitism; iron fists dictators; social misery and destruction of the environment. We could observe historically such changes happening in the progressively advanced and exploitative systems from Slavery, Feudalism, Bourgeois Capitalism (Colonialism, Imperialism, Globalization) and the so-called ‘Socialist System’ (State Capitalism).
4. Somehow the efforts to humanize material relations seemed to elude us. Unfortunately the survival instinct for individual material needs/benefits (that is, the yearning for pleasures and the fear for pain) always override the moral conscience and decisions (the desire to do good for the community). Yet genuine progressive leaders are capable of uniting such contradictions by making humanitarian (conscience / spiritual / moral) considerations to harmonize and limit the tendency of the over riding consumerist material needs. Perhaps we should seriously review this basic primordial equation for survival (as individuals and as members of the community) and activate the inherent attributes of humanity and freedom that exist dialectically within the equation. Thus what we need is to understand the nature of human beings as individuals imbued with animal instincts for survival and as societal beings harmonizing with their environment to ensure their safety in numbers. In short we need to rearrange or modify such primordial equation where the spiritual and material needs of individuals and society (social, cultural, political, economic, psychological, religious etc.) continue to remain intact but revolving on the plane of humanity and freedom.

So the people will continue to exert their rights and power for they are the backbone of the national economy; they are the government; they have the power to choose their leaders; and they have the right to choose the path to development. They have become politicized when they begin to respect and defend the rights of others. As such we must work hard to create an environment conducive to change; to develop non-exploitative forms of relationships and to neutralize the capitalists onslaughts of oppression and manipulation. So that the younger generation will have greater exposure to the practice of ‘Socialism with a Human Face’. Thus we must establish relationships based upon need and not greed; Cooperation but not competition or exploitation Collective decision but not unilateral decision; accountability / Transparency but not cloak-and-dagger secrecy; equity and not hoarding; flexibility and not paralyzing bureaucracy. etc

So we become more alert as we dialectically see strength as potential weakness and weakness as potential strength

The continuous blunders, manipulations, violence and the frantic efforts by the government to hold on to power had dialectically created greater political, economic and social awareness amongst the people. Although such happenings are still at it’s growing phase but for sure after such debacle by the government, Malaysia and her people will be much wiser and more conscious of their own strength. Recent events that followed do throw some ray of hope for a better future.

1. Street demonstrations reflect the anger and frustrations of the people towards the insensitivity of the government. Despite the disorganized nature of the demonstrations there was some successes when the crowd began to swell and people began to question the brutality of the police force. The security forces declared that they were keeping the peace. Peace keeping for whom ? For corrupt leaders and monopoly capital ?
2. SUHAKAM (Malaysian Human Rights Commission) was set up by the government more than a year ago to monitor and act against those who violated human rights. Despite the fact that such set-up was considered a farce, the individuals constituting the Commission are seriously trying to make it work. Recent events had shown SUHAKAM concerted effort in trying to be an independent body.
3. The people formed a body called AIM (Anti ISA Movement) to work against this draconian law with the view of eradicating it forever. It’s members are families, friends, NGOs, political parties, intellectuals at the local and international levels. They continue to demonstrate in the streets and in front of buildings; having Anti ISA campaign trail throughout the nation; Anti-ISA fasting; sending of post cards, memorandum and coordinated faxing of protests notes to the various authorities etc.
4. Other organizations such as journalists, poets, laureates are coming to the fore using their initiatives and resources to highlight the plights of ISA Detainees and the destruction of democracy, freedom and justice in the country.
5. The poor showings of the ruling government in the recent elections (National Election 1999 and by-election in Lunas) have become indicators to reflect the declining popularity of the government.
6. The recent court decisions may also reflect the awakening of the judiciary to get out of the clutches of their political masters.
1. The imprisonment of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Rahim Noor and the criticism of the Judge toward the lenient sentence meted out against him. He instructed all lower courts to severely punish officers of the law who abuse their powers.
2. The insistence of the Judge to have those detained to be present in court for their hearing (Habeas Corpus). The Judge ordered the release of ISA detainees and accused the government of bad intention (mala fide) for the long period of detention and for depriving the rights of the detainees for family visits and access to lawyers.
3. Nullification of the 1999 Election in Likas, Sabah for violating the conditions of free and fair election. The Judge not only exposed his senior who tried to interfere in his judgment but also criticized the Election Commission for inefficiency and insensitive to complaints by the public.
4. The Court of Appeal insisted in hearing the ISA case despite the protest of the Public Persecutors on the point that the two of the detainees had been released and the rest was sent to the detention camp and thus no longer in their custody.