# 51. In Lieu of Race and Religion…

- Kee Beng Ooi

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## Chapter PDF View

## Chapters in this book

## Chapters in this book

- Frontmatter i

- Contents v

- Foreword ix

- 1. Introduction – Malaysia’s Future Is Redeemed 1

- Before Pakatan Harapan

- 2. After All These Years, Malaysia Is Still Held Hostage 7

- 3. Beyond the Nationalism Trap 10

- 4. Federating Malaysia — A Continuous and Troubled Process 13

- 5. Funeral for a True Son of Penang 16

- 6. Let’s Work Out What Malaysia Is Good For 18

- 7. The Unity Fetish 21

- 8. When the National Narrative Loses the Script 28

- 9. Let’s Be Cosmopolitan and Leave Multi-ethnicity Behind 32

- 10. Noses Don’t Grow Back 34

- 11. Mahathir’s Bersatu is Best Understood as an NGO 37

- Before 9 MAY 2018

- 12. Racialising the Un-racialisable: What is the Red Shirt Rally All About? 41

- 13. One Country’s Merdeka Is Another’s Damage Control 44

- 14. Malaysia – Where Politics Must Be Ethnically Inclusive and Exclusive at the Same Time 48

- 15. Is Malaysia at a Crossroads or in a Quagmire? 52

- 16. Unity Without Solidarity Sows Disunity 55

- 17. UMNO and Looking Back at History 58

- 18. Sarawak Forces Federal Opposition to Do Deep Soul-searching. But Can It? 61

- 19. By-elections Reveal New Malay Politics 64

- 20. Interview with Mahathir Mohamad: ‘People Must Be Able to Hold Their Heads Up.’ 68

- 21. Malaysia Has to Start Re-examining Its Histories 75

- 22. Waves from US Probe into 1MDB May Turn into Tsunami 79

- 23. Seeking a New Formula to Unite Malaysia’s Diversity 82

- 24. Time for Anwar to Accept Mahathir’s Olive Branch 85

- 25. Najib, Mahathir and the Timing of Malaysia’s Polls 88

- 26. Excessive Governance is Not Good Governance 92

- 27. Why Malaysia’s Opposition Will Take to the Streets Again 95

- 28. Merdeka is About the Individual, Too 99

- 29. A Battle Between Malay leaders Over Malaysia’s Future 102

- 30. The Primacy of Political Economy in Asia 105

- With Mahathir at the Helm

- 31. One Thing is Certain—There Will Be More Amendments to the Constitution 111

- 32. The More Things Change, the More Things May Actually Change 114

- 33. Did Merdeka Liberate or Create Malaya? 119

- 34. Interview with Nurul Izzah Anwar: Rebuilding a Nation Long Divided 122

- 35. The Diminishing of Humans Through Identity Politics 133

- 36. The Art of Dismantling Cultural Pluralism 136

- 37. No Need to Let Bigots Dictate Policy 141

- 38. What the Penang Floods Say About Malaysian Politics (and It’s Not Just About Climate Change) 145

- 39. This is the Moment of Truth for Malaysia’s Race-based Politics 149

- 40. We are Equal Only Through Our Vote 153

- 41 Why the Opposition Has a Shot at Toppling the Barisan Nasional with Mahathir at the Helm 156

- 42. Spiralling Back Towards Reformasi 160

- 43. Individual Freedom Is a Matter of National Survival 163

- 44. Why Meet the Twenty-first Century with Twentieth Century Mindsets? 166

- 45. A Final Quarrel Between a Repentant Grandfather and Oldfashioned Self-absorbed Parents 169

- 46. Outraged Enough to Go Vote or Cynical Enough to Stay Home? 172

- Beyond 9 MAY 2018

- 47. The Bewildering Game of Malaysian Politics, the Rot Within the Barisan Nasional 183

- 48. A Revolution in Malaysia? Not so Fast… 187

- 49. Mahathir: Renaissance Man 191

- 50. Malaysia’s Reformasi Movement Lives Up to Its Name 194

- 51. In Lieu of Race and Religion… 201

- 52. It All Seems So Simple Now… 205

- 53. Catharsis – The Rebirth of Malaysia Finally Begins 208

- 54. A Malaysian Spring for Intelligentsia? 215

- 55. The Layers of Historical Significance of GE14 218

- About the Author 222

## Chapters in this book

- Frontmatter i

- Contents v

- Foreword ix

- 1. Introduction – Malaysia’s Future Is Redeemed 1

- Before Pakatan Harapan

- 2. After All These Years, Malaysia Is Still Held Hostage 7

- 3. Beyond the Nationalism Trap 10

- 4. Federating Malaysia — A Continuous and Troubled Process 13

- 5. Funeral for a True Son of Penang 16

- 6. Let’s Work Out What Malaysia Is Good For 18

- 7. The Unity Fetish 21

- 8. When the National Narrative Loses the Script 28

- 9. Let’s Be Cosmopolitan and Leave Multi-ethnicity Behind 32

- 10. Noses Don’t Grow Back 34

- 11. Mahathir’s Bersatu is Best Understood as an NGO 37

- Before 9 MAY 2018

- 12. Racialising the Un-racialisable: What is the Red Shirt Rally All About? 41

- 13. One Country’s Merdeka Is Another’s Damage Control 44

- 14. Malaysia – Where Politics Must Be Ethnically Inclusive and Exclusive at the Same Time 48

- 15. Is Malaysia at a Crossroads or in a Quagmire? 52

- 16. Unity Without Solidarity Sows Disunity 55

- 17. UMNO and Looking Back at History 58

- 18. Sarawak Forces Federal Opposition to Do Deep Soul-searching. But Can It? 61

- 19. By-elections Reveal New Malay Politics 64

- 20. Interview with Mahathir Mohamad: ‘People Must Be Able to Hold Their Heads Up.’ 68

- 21. Malaysia Has to Start Re-examining Its Histories 75

- 22. Waves from US Probe into 1MDB May Turn into Tsunami 79

- 23. Seeking a New Formula to Unite Malaysia’s Diversity 82

- 24. Time for Anwar to Accept Mahathir’s Olive Branch 85

- 25. Najib, Mahathir and the Timing of Malaysia’s Polls 88

- 26. Excessive Governance is Not Good Governance 92

- 27. Why Malaysia’s Opposition Will Take to the Streets Again 95

- 28. Merdeka is About the Individual, Too 99

- 29. A Battle Between Malay leaders Over Malaysia’s Future 102

- 30. The Primacy of Political Economy in Asia 105

- With Mahathir at the Helm

- 31. One Thing is Certain—There Will Be More Amendments to the Constitution 111

- 32. The More Things Change, the More Things May Actually Change 114

- 33. Did Merdeka Liberate or Create Malaya? 119

- 34. Interview with Nurul Izzah Anwar: Rebuilding a Nation Long Divided 122

- 35. The Diminishing of Humans Through Identity Politics 133

- 36. The Art of Dismantling Cultural Pluralism 136

- 37. No Need to Let Bigots Dictate Policy 141

- 38. What the Penang Floods Say About Malaysian Politics (and It’s Not Just About Climate Change) 145

- 39. This is the Moment of Truth for Malaysia’s Race-based Politics 149

- 40. We are Equal Only Through Our Vote 153

- 41 Why the Opposition Has a Shot at Toppling the Barisan Nasional with Mahathir at the Helm 156

- 42. Spiralling Back Towards Reformasi 160

- 43. Individual Freedom Is a Matter of National Survival 163

- 44. Why Meet the Twenty-first Century with Twentieth Century Mindsets? 166

- 45. A Final Quarrel Between a Repentant Grandfather and Oldfashioned Self-absorbed Parents 169

- 46. Outraged Enough to Go Vote or Cynical Enough to Stay Home? 172

- Beyond 9 MAY 2018

- 47. The Bewildering Game of Malaysian Politics, the Rot Within the Barisan Nasional 183

- 48. A Revolution in Malaysia? Not so Fast… 187

- 49. Mahathir: Renaissance Man 191

- 50. Malaysia’s Reformasi Movement Lives Up to Its Name 194

- 51. In Lieu of Race and Religion… 201

- 52. It All Seems So Simple Now… 205

- 53. Catharsis – The Rebirth of Malaysia Finally Begins 208

- 54. A Malaysian Spring for Intelligentsia? 215

- 55. The Layers of Historical Significance of GE14 218

- About the Author 222