1. Introduction – Malaysia’s Future Is Redeemed

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Foreword ix
4. 1. Introduction – Malaysia’s Future Is Redeemed 1
5. Before Pakatan Harapan
6. 2. After All These Years, Malaysia Is Still Held Hostage 7
7. 3. Beyond the Nationalism Trap 10
8. 4. Federating Malaysia — A Continuous and Troubled Process 13
9. 5. Funeral for a True Son of Penang 16
10. 6. Let’s Work Out What Malaysia Is Good For 18
11. 7. The Unity Fetish 21
12. 8. When the National Narrative Loses the Script 28
13. 9. Let’s Be Cosmopolitan and Leave Multi-ethnicity Behind 32
14. 10. Noses Don’t Grow Back 34
15. 11. Mahathir’s Bersatu is Best Understood as an NGO 37
16. Before 9 MAY 2018
17. 12. Racialising the Un-racialisable: What is the Red Shirt Rally All About? 41
18. 13. One Country’s Merdeka Is Another’s Damage Control 44
19. 14. Malaysia – Where Politics Must Be Ethnically Inclusive and Exclusive at the Same Time 48
20. 15. Is Malaysia at a Crossroads or in a Quagmire? 52
21. 16. Unity Without Solidarity Sows Disunity 55
22. 17. UMNO and Looking Back at History 58
23. 18. Sarawak Forces Federal Opposition to Do Deep Soul-searching. But Can It? 61
24. 19. By-elections Reveal New Malay Politics 64
25. 20. Interview with Mahathir Mohamad: ‘People Must Be Able to Hold Their Heads Up.’ 68
26. 21. Malaysia Has to Start Re-examining Its Histories 75
27. 22. Waves from US Probe into 1MDB May Turn into Tsunami 79
28. 23. Seeking a New Formula to Unite Malaysia’s Diversity 82
29. 24. Time for Anwar to Accept Mahathir’s Olive Branch 85
30. 25. Najib, Mahathir and the Timing of Malaysia’s Polls 88
31. 26. Excessive Governance is Not Good Governance 92
32. 27. Why Malaysia’s Opposition Will Take to the Streets Again 95
33. 28. Merdeka is About the Individual, Too 99
34. 29. A Battle Between Malay leaders Over Malaysia’s Future 102
35. 30. The Primacy of Political Economy in Asia 105
36. With Mahathir at the Helm
37. 31. One Thing is Certain—There Will Be More Amendments to the Constitution 111
38. 32. The More Things Change, the More Things May Actually Change 114
39. 33. Did Merdeka Liberate or Create Malaya? 119
40. 34. Interview with Nurul Izzah Anwar: Rebuilding a Nation Long Divided 122
41. 35. The Diminishing of Humans Through Identity Politics 133
42. 36. The Art of Dismantling Cultural Pluralism 136
43. 37. No Need to Let Bigots Dictate Policy 141
44. 38. What the Penang Floods Say About Malaysian Politics (and It’s Not Just About Climate Change) 145
45. 39. This is the Moment of Truth for Malaysia’s Race-based Politics 149
46. 40. We are Equal Only Through Our Vote 153
47. 41 Why the Opposition Has a Shot at Toppling the Barisan Nasional with Mahathir at the Helm 156
48. 42. Spiralling Back Towards Reformasi 160
49. 43. Individual Freedom Is a Matter of National Survival 163
50. 44. Why Meet the Twenty-first Century with Twentieth Century Mindsets? 166
51. 45. A Final Quarrel Between a Repentant Grandfather and Oldfashioned Self-absorbed Parents 169
52. 46. Outraged Enough to Go Vote or Cynical Enough to Stay Home? 172
53. Beyond 9 MAY 2018
54. 47. The Bewildering Game of Malaysian Politics, the Rot Within the Barisan Nasional 183
55. 48. A Revolution in Malaysia? Not so Fast… 187
56. 49. Mahathir: Renaissance Man 191
57. 50. Malaysia’s Reformasi Movement Lives Up to Its Name 194
58. 51. In Lieu of Race and Religion… 201
59. 52. It All Seems So Simple Now… 205
60. 53. Catharsis – The Rebirth of Malaysia Finally Begins 208
61. 54. A Malaysian Spring for Intelligentsia? 215
62. 55. The Layers of Historical Significance of GE14 218
63. About the Author 222