Humourless propaganda to maintain hegemony

OCT 15, 2008 - The short story (cerpen) "Politik Baru YBJ" by Chamil Wariya published by Mingguan Malaysia on October 12 has kicked up quite a ruckus in the political arena as many allege that it is a thinly veiled threat against MP and Selangor Senior State Exco YB Teresa Kok.
Apart from that, the cerpen is so boring it will never win any literary award in our lifetime. It lacks creativity and imagination but it excels in its simplistic and direct intent -- the stoking of racial fires.
It is also very clear that it reaches out to a very specific group: the rural folks, those who believe in the supremacy of a race and the likes.
The message in the cerpen will stir up emotions to good effect and any claim of it being a purely creative piece a la Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" cannot be justified.
To the DAP and other opposition parties, it simply incites racial disharmony.
"Politik Baru YBJ"represents the thinking of the average Umno supporter -- a Malay who reads Utusan Malaysia, watches TV3 and is influenced by his circle of friends and family.
Their source of information is limited to that range and scope and they do not see the need to look out for more information, research or even try to understand the opposition's views.
Apparently, this group represents the bulk of the Malay vote bank ie the typical Malay voter. This is exactly the group that did not vote PKR, Pas and DAP in the March 8 general election. This vote bank ensured Umno survived the political tsunami while their counterparts MCA, Gerakan and PPP were crushed.
While all other media - English, Chinese and Tamil -- became more open and critical, the opposite is true of the Malay media led by Utusan and TV3. They have become very racist and divisive. Utusan and TV3 is a very powerful tool for Umno to retain the loyalty among their voters.
These powerful opinion-makers in the Malay community will constantly provoke the thoughts of this vote bank as in the case of this particular cerpen.
This vote bank for Umno has been a loyal and unwavering lot. The mindset of right-wing nationalist prophecies run in their vein. The final paragraph of the cerpen sums up the intent :
"Sewaktu pemeriksaan dibuat ke atas mayat anak muda yang tidak dikenali itu, terselit sehelai nota yang ditaip rapi, ditulis dalam bahasa Kebangsaan.
Ia berbunyi: YB Josephine adalah ancaman terhadap keharmonian. Lebih baik riwayatnya ditamatkan supaya masyarakat berbilang kaum boleh tinggal aman damai di negara bertuah ini. Saya berkorban untuk masa depan."
The end result that Chamil Wariya and many other Umno spin doctors are hoping for is loyalty towards Umno. More of this "politics of fear and hate" will fill the pages of Utusan and news items in TV3. This is to be expected as long as Umno's Malay supremacy doctrine remains.
However, DAP stalwarts who have taken offence towards the article ought to do some reflection on their own. It is to the advantage of Umno for them (DAP) to be portrayed as anti-Islam and anti-Malay. If DAP can remake their image to project a friendlier face to the Malays, they might be able to turn it around to their advantage.
All in all, this cerpen goes to show the narrow-mindedness and desperation among some Umno leaders and its spin doctors to maintain the status quo. They want to maintain their hold on the Malays. Most of all, it speaks of the power that is slowly slipping away from their hands.

- published in The Malaysian Insider : Oct 15, 2008