Politics of Israel — from a Malaysian perspective
As Malaysian Chinese we have been taught since we could read that we are a segregated country; by race and by religion. We were told by the school and the powers that be that there is a special status enshrined in the constitution for the Malay race. This was a major factor in the independence negotiations when the British left the country. The special race enjoyed privileges in the form of financial assistance, academic places in tertiary institutions and many other areas unavailable to others. There is even a special word for them called Bumiputera — the sons of the soil. It is meant for those who were supposedly natives of these Malay states. This definition was however expanded to include the aboriginal people, the Thai’s who live on either side of the border and even the Portuguese descendants who came five hundred years ago. In short it encompassed almost everyone except the Chinese and Indians. Thus was shaped the foundation of Malaysian politics and we are one of very few countries where political parties only admitted those who share their religion or their skin colours. Then Malaysia had the temerity to lead the opposition against the Apartheid rule of South Africa and even helped remove them from the Commonwealth. I know of only weaker cases of hypocrisy. Of course diplomatic relations were happily restored between South Africa and Malaysia when Apartheid was abolished. And of course the government never did become introspective about its own segregation policies.
Today Malaysia forbids its citizens from traveling to only one country which is Israël. Ostensibly it is Malaysia’s way of expressing its feeble support for the Palestinian cause. Similar to Malaysia’s treatment of its Chinese and Indian citizens Israël disenfranchises its Arab citizens. The Chinese in Malaysia and the Arabs in Israël both constitute about 20% of the population. Both groups are citizens with the right to vote and be voted into office. This political power is useful if exercised correctly and en bloc.
In Malaysia the special rights of Malays, the official status of Islam and the royal families are enshrined in the Constitution and not to be questioned. Israël was established as the homeland for the Jewish diaspora and proclaims it in a recent Constitution amendment as a Jews first state. As a matter of fact any person who can claim even a grandparent with Jewish lineage can obtain Israeli citizenship under the so-called Law of Return.
The segregation permeates throughout every facet of both countries. Israeli Arab are not required nor encouraged to serve in the military; nor even in any security agency with access to sensitive information. Malaysia has no Chinese above the rank of Captain in all branches of the military of police. In Malaysia we have Malays reserved lands where only Malays can own and occupy. The same with Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories. These settlements exacerbate the conflict with the Palestinians. These lands are offered at very low prices to entice Jews to settle there, thereby making a mockery of the two-state solution and the eventual return of the territories which now seems like a pipe dream. Much like the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia the Arabs in Israël are divided on their own accord. Hamas now rules the dreaded Gaza and Fatah the West Bank. The former opposes the two-state solution and the latter holds on to the illusion. Then there are the Druzes, Arabs by race but followers of a sect which is neither Islam nor Christianity (they are the only significant Arab speaking group in the Israël Defence Force). Today most Palestinians oppose the two-state solution as do a large number of Jews. Almost 30 years ago the leaders of Israël and Palestine won Nobel prizes for signing the Oslo Accords which rings hollow today. Ironically Fatah retains legitimacy in international relationships for holding on to that illusion. The Chinese in Malaysia have been pursuing the goal of equal rights since independence. Some choose to work with the government while others prefer to change the government. In both countries the leaders are happy to maintain the divisions which allow them to stay in power.
The unexpected twist occurred when the divided came together united in a single purpose of ousting the incumbent. The then splintered opposition came together in 2018 to oust the ruling government in Malaysia which had ruled since independence. We recently witnessed a coalition of parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum joining hands to end Netanyahu’s 12-year reign as Prime Minister of Israel. Unfortunately the then-new government of Malaysia lasted merely 15 months. There is little expectation that the new coalition government in Israël will last longer especially when they differ so much in ideology. The ruling coalition in Israël controls 61 seats out of 120 in their Parliament whereas in Malaysia it is similarly a razor-thin 112 out of 222. Actually out of the 112 there were a few who have already voiced out that they no longer support the present regime. It is because of that the regime is using Covid-19 as a convenient excuse to rule by decree and forestall any efforts to even have parliament in session.
After May 2018 Malaysia saw the comeback of the longest-serving and oldest prime minister at 93 (now 95). While his coalition did not last there is widespread admiration for over 16 years by the 85-year-old president Mahmoud Abbas. He has maintained an iron grip on the West Bank and has postponed all elections for over 12 years. His term was supposed to end 9 years ago. Again Covid-19 offers a convenient excuse but the Jewish settlements have also become an issue. Abbas argues that settlements and checkpoints put up by the Israeli’s prevent access to voting stations. In truth this is another red herring to postpone the end of Abbas. Israëli oppression has significantly radicalized Palestinians such that Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti (who is imprisoned) and even Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh should beat Abbas if fair elections were held.
In the age of political correctness we have Israël and Malaysia — two supposed democracies — which still have major political parties limiting memberships to certain races. As one can imagine these parties’ campaigns are short on anything constructive but long on playing up their race versus the others. The results are not hard to imagine. The pandemic has exposed the fragility of not only the social fabric of such divisiveness but how it has created ineptness in the administration. At the end of the day the downtrodden and the oppressed minorities suffer the brunt of it. I hope for a day when we can leave this behind but I am not holding my breath.
