MALAYSIA is bouncing back better than ever, as the May 9 general election showed signs of a vibrant Muslim civil society emerging to speak up on the rule of law and social justice, a university forum in Melbourne heard.

The forum also heard that Malaysians needed to continue to stay vigilant to keep the government, a new one for the first time in 60 years, in check, and that the election held regional and global implications on security, as well as on Australia-Malaysia relations.

These were among the observations at Monash University’s Update Malaysia 2018 programme held by Monash Asia Institute forum in collaboration with Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia in Australia (SABM) recently.

Dr George Chang, a media scholar from Monash, said post-GE14, optimism about a progressive Islamic landscape in Malaysia appeared to be rooted in elite and urban areas that were at odds with its rural heartland, citing the conservative Islamic PAS governments in Kelantan and Terengganu.

Also launched during the event was the book titled Mahathir’s Islam: Mahathir Mohamad on Religion and Modernity in Malaysia, which looks into the prime minister’s role in an Islamic context, and examines implications that might be drawn about his sway over more conservative sections of Malaysian ummah.

Its author, associate professor Dr Sven Schottmann, a German-Muslim, said PAS’ control of these states did not weaken the diversity of religious opinion in Malaysia.

“What is interesting is the openness of Malaysia to international discourse. 

“The Amanah movement centrally shaped by Indonesian-Muslim discourse that Malaysians would not have touched with a barge pole 15 years ago is coming; the Gulen schools, the Turkish schools that mushroomed in Malaysia,” said Schottmann. 

Schottmann, a graduate of the International Islamic University Malaysia, however, conceded that there were pockets of conservatism in Malaysia “but it’s not the whole anymore”.

“Over the past 15 years, we’ve seen this pluralisation of the Muslim landscape that it’s hard to speak of a majority anymore,” he added.

“While Islam could be seen as justifying the (conservative) status quo, there was a vibrant Muslim civil society emerging from all shades of the religious and political divide, articulating the rule of law and social justice, and actively questioning the racialisation of Malaysian society.

“It’s one of the more encouraging signs for Malaysia,” said Schottmann.

Political and security analyst Dr Arman Rashid offered a political explanation for the Kelantan and Terengganu exceptions, suggesting a shift in Umno support for the incumbent PAS governments.

Arman, another Monash alumnus based in Kuala Lumpur, was on the panel with Schottmann and Melbourne’s SABM president Praveen Nagappan.

Arman and Nagappan both voiced optimism about the prospect of reform in Malaysia and the role of civil society, particularly in rebuilding government institutions.

The panellists covered ground beyond that of another Malaysia-focused review during a similar event at the Australian National University in Canberra last month. – November 15, 2018.