Do we need a ‘third force’?

KJ John

A recent Aliran article sensationalised the idea of a new Khairy Jamaluddin–Ong Kian Ming partnership, before arguing that people in Malaysia should move away from personality-driven politics. May I disagree and offer a counter-argument?

Personality-driven politics in Malaysia has become rather a cliché. But frankly, does any party have zero personalities? Those without them neither get noticed nor get elected. Am I wrong?

Parties are plentiful, but not all politicians are of the same calibre. Many are driven purely by self-interest.

What the country needs are politicians driven by the public interest – especially those who began as non-politicians.

All human beings are personalities by their very nature. Those unique, distinctive qualities give them their humanity and their political identity. It defines their posturing and could even become a predictor of their future.

Khairy and Ong are both smart individuals, under-appreciated by their respective parties. So why should they not team up with a few other maverick-type players, each setting aside their personal egos to build a new and different leadership model for Malaysia – and thereby usher in a third way forward?

Malaysia truly needs a new and different quality of leadership for these times. A ‘third force’ must become the new force of influence that can birth a new paradigm of leadership for the country.

Ethnicity and religion

Ethnicity and religion cannot remain the only conversation around Malaysian unity. Indeed, we may have to seriously reconsider how religion is deployed when it is wilfully and manipulatively configured.

Malay Muslims will always remain Muslim, and no one can rearrange that. But surely the continued preaching of ketuanan (supremacist) logic is no way forward within our multicultural Malaysia.

Perhaps, after the four-prime-minister fiasco from 2018 to 2022, the people are now ready for a completely new model of governance and leadership. That, to me, is the needed third and different way forward for multiculturalism in Malaysia – not one of force, but of reasoning, logic and sincerity in leadership.

The lessons of history

For those old enough to remember, especially those born before independence, there was once a bold argument within Umno that was sincerely rejected: that Umno should open its doors to direct membership from other ethnicities.

After all, a proposal was once floated that all citizens of the nascent nation could be labelled Malay (Melayu), regardless of ethnicity.

That idea – sometimes referred to as the Alliance Direct Membership Organisation – died a swift and quiet death.

It was, in essence, no different from Onn Jaafar’s original dream of a truly multiracial party. But some saw him as someone who failed to carry his party with his vision.

After 60 years of economic growth and development, is Malaysia still not ready to move forward – especially now, as we work to resolve the outstanding Malaysia Agreement 1963 issues amicably?

Cannot a new Malaysia afford one united, shared community of people, even if made up of different ethnicities, cultures and beliefs? Does that not remain our great unanswered question?

The Rukun Negara defines us

The 13 May 1969 riots helped define the inherent complexities of our multicultural society within a highly politicised context.

And so our forebears, by necessity, articulated the core values and principles that must unite us as one nation.

The Rukun Negara (National Principles) was that resolution. But how can it also become a living imperative for the future? Those values are currently embedded within the document as our real way forward. Core words, phrases and meanings were accurately embedded within it. But they have lost their magic to define the future.

My proposal is that those core values – as expressed in the Rukun Negara – become embedded in the Malaysia Agreement as a preamble to the Federal Constitution. Such a preamble would fully describe our reason for being a united Malaysia.

On this matter, we have no other choice. It is our social compact, well recorded in history, that now needs further legitimacy.

The new Malaysia

My unresolved question then is: what can and must define that new Malaysia? It must become new and different, through a thriving third-force culture of positive change.

We have had different political forces that defined us throughout our history. They made us who we are.

But is it not time to move forward as well? With that in mind, let us consider how and why we need a new third way forward – not through illegitimate authority, but through mutual respect and dignity for all.

The traditions of the Malay world and our Nusantara connections defined our past, uniting the peninsula’s nine unfederated Malay states and three direct-rule colonial Straits Settlements.

But that was partly the product of a colonial and feudalistic world built on the power of domination.

The new world of AI and social media cannot accept or tolerate such a worldview anymore.

Moreover, the realities of the Malaysia Agreement have redefined a newer paradigm – one with three equal partners (especially after Singapore left the federation in 1965), in which no single community subjugates another.

That new paradigm must remain secular, united by the common good and fully committed to the equality of all three remaining partners in a new era of good governance. Anything less would represent a profound loss for a Malaysia now in its seventh decade. We are already into the third generation of Malaysians. I believe many of those under 21 will not accept anything less.

Previously, the people of this land were Malayans, Sarawakians and Sabahans – but since 1965, the people have demonstrably become Malaysian. May 13 was a stark reminder of the dangers of future failures. Let that remain our history lesson.

We must unlearn and relearn, be willing to change our mindsets and shift our starting assumptions towards unity as our greatest and most comprehensive value of multiculturalism. Am I wrong?

KJ John worked in public service for 32 years, retired and then started a civil group for which he is chairman of the board.

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