Rolling back of Behemoth requires a civil society strategy

I congratulate the successful fundraising dinner organised by Aliran in Kuala Lumpur several weeks ago. I wish I could have joined the event to express solidarity, but I was needed on duty at the 'Remembrance as Resistance: Human Rights Art Exhibition' which was held in commemoration of the 7th anniversary of the passing of Teoh Beng Hock.

However, I found the Aliran chairman, Dr. Francis Loh's full speech interesting, which inspired me to share some views on the current state of our beloved country.

Francis provided us a very comprehensive analysis of the extraordinary strength of UMNO (United Malay National Organisation), pointing out that UMNO is no longer a political party, its political power has been penetrating the corporations and civil service as well as the military. The behemoth is too strong to be defeated. Which I agree no more.

His speech ended by urging civil society to exploit the internal conflicts within the UMNO, working together with UMNO dissidents to formulate a common goal and roll back the behemoth of the UMNO.

This contention reflects how the writer sees social change could happen and the role of civil society, that I beg to differ.

In fact, Francis's arguments reflected both modernisation approach of democratisation theory (quote: Our politics lags behind our economy and our society which have both been transformed) and agency approach (Quote: civil society organisations should..... engaging with not only critical fellow NGO-types and with the Opposition, but with UMNO and BN dissidents).

The speech outlines factors that might contribute to democratisation: economic development and the process of negotiation and bargaining among political and social elites. Civil society's function here is passive, speculative and subordinated to political actors.

The approach of social change is crucial because it determines civil society's focus, effort and strategy of rolling back the behemoth. I contend that, instead of employing the agency approach that renders a top-down analysis, we should put forward a bottom-up analysis, a civil society approach grounded on people’s empowerment and social movements.

No doubt the civil society of Malaysia is still weak in terms of popular mobilisation in pressurizing the government, but the situation is improving since political tsunami of 2008, Bersih, Hindraf and Stop Lynas rallies. The opening up of democratic space since Abdullah Badawi's reign (although the space is shrinking after GE13) and the emergence of new mass communication technology such as social media, are other factors that are favourable to social movements.

A bottom-up approach is important because democratic systems require a vibrant civil society that ensures active participation of citizens. If a democratic transition is orchestrated by political elites, for example key political actors, military leaders or monarchies, the consolidation of the democracy will face enormous challenges and obstacles, some democracies may even revert back to authoritarian rule.

Many people notice the role of the aristocratic class in the democratisation process of Britain, including its revolts that engendered magna carta and glorious revolution. But had the Chartist movement not been petitioning universal suffrage from 1838 to 1848, or had the labour movement not consistently demanded workers' right since industrialisation, the British democracy would not be as it is today. The role of civil society is evident and indispensable.

Moreover, a strong and independent civil society who’s strength does not rely on either ruling parties nor opposition parties, could force both sides of the divide to accept civil society's demands and put the people's agenda first instead of serving the interests of political parties.

Therefore, we, the members of civil society should do a lot of soul searching on how to empower civil society to roll back the behemoth. American scholar Charles Tilly gave an insightful view on successful social movements, that is, the more organised a social movement, the stronger it is.

Thus, every one of us who are concerned with the future of Malaysia, be it academics, NGO activists, writers or readers, do have responsibility. Academics could create awareness among students by linking the ivory tower to social movements, NGO activists should emphasize on getting more organised instead of advocacy work, writers and intellectuals could organise workshops to teach members of the public to write opinion pieces and produce creative and informative material to promote activism, readers could disseminate critical and alternative information to friends and relatives, as well as invite them to talks or seminars organised by civil society organisations.

Our society is never lacking public intellectuals, but I would like to stress the role of 'Public Educators'. Academics, activists, writers and readers can function as public educators to nurture democratic citizens. Democracy education conducted by public educators can be done in university classes, at the sites of the oppressed people, through media or talks. The educational objective is to empower the people to take ownership of their own country.

If Malaysians are still comfortable with the current situation or are expecting politicians to fix the problems, then we deserve the ongoing political turmoil. Old idioms are often correct. 'There is no free lunch in the world', 'No pain no gain'. Begins today, let's think hard and put our hands on, involving people to effect social change.