Focus Focus: The Wayang of the Times

I had a wonderful chance to visit Solo, Indonesia recently for a research trip to look at what was happening in contemporary Solo in the world of wayang kulit. It was a wonderful experience, and made me think a lot about how we're looking after our intangible heritage, and how we (dis?)connect with all that has been left with us by our forebears. The Indonesians (and in this case, the Javanese) seem to have an easy day of it. The silhouette you see in the photograph, for instance, is of an 8-year old dalang Wayang Jawa, who is playing with a nearly all-children gamelan ensemble. (How to compete?!)

On the other hand, back home, the kind of wayang Malaysians seem to like watching is the political kind. Almost the entire time I was solo in Solo, I was fearing for what Malaysians were facing: a joint military-police exercise; increased frequency of police road blocks along all major arteries; the showing off (or not, depending on if you were in a mob or not) of boxers and the silly fracas that ensued. Ah, it's the kind of wayang performance that'll keep you gripped for months!

It's been over five months since the March 8 milestone in Malaysian politics, yet it seems like we haven't really covered much ground. Everyone seems fascinated by sodomy and see-four (I'd rather not say directly... subjudice!), to the detriment of the larger, looming issues of the day: economics, social welfare, and the environment. But can our politicians rise above these seemingly petty squabbles to look at matters objectively in the best interest of our nation?

I don't think so. And I'm not sure if this way of working or dealing with things is likely to change very much very soon. Just look at how members of the Barisan responded when a few of their politicians were approached by the Pakatan state governments of Penang and Selangor to head committees: show cause letters, followed by expulsions. If you can't serve the people, who do you serve? The Party?

Oh.

That's right. If you're a politician, you essentially have to listen to the party. You cannot think for yourself. Or can you?

In our parliament, the government has a position called the Whip. This person, in the form of our Deputy Prime Minister no less, controls what everyone who forms the government may say/agree/etc. In other words, you cannot verbally agree with anything that the opposition says, no matter if it makes sense or not. If you do, jaga lah... So, only your side is right lah?

And so, our Malaysian Wayang seems closer to Wayang Jawa, where our parliament is like the cataclysmic battlefield in the Mahabharata, where each side – the Pandawas and Kaurawas – claims righteousness and truth over the other. And then they have at each other, with swords, spears and other sharps implements no less. And so we see the semblance to our own condition (sans sharp objects), and I am reminded of that old Malay adage: “Gajah lawan gajah, kancil mati di tengah-tengah.” The rakyat is more often than not that kancil.

Yet how do we remind our politicians to focus on the right issues? I remember when Bill Clinton was stuck with the Lewinsky case, there was a website – moveon.org – started to remind other Americans the importance of just that: moving on. Maybe we need something like that too?

So what if a certain de facto leader has a penchant of batting for the other team? What he's got to say about the direction of this country is what we should use to judge his capabilities. And in the same way, you can ask so what if submarines and sexy ladies mix into an explosive cocktail of money, murder, and mystery. Oh, ok, so that may not be quite the same thing...

And so, you can see that with politics it's never clearly black and white, which is where the similarities between Malaysian politics with wayang (at least a superficial one) end. In the real world, a lot of other things can shift the boundaries and bend the limits in the 'give or take a few' game of politics. One moment, you're the political secretary of your party leader. Next moment, you're screaming blue murder and threatening to expose your ex-leader's skeletons to the world, right after your press conference with the leader of the other party. Oh, such wayang!

And as we come closer to September 16^th, on Hari Malaysia, we'll see whether things have remained on course or the pressure has just been increased by that bit more. Hopefully, the smart kancils (and not protons, mind you) keep a safe viewing distance.

In the mean time, Selamat Hari Merdeka, Peninsular Malaysia!

Text & Photo Fahmi Fadzil