Commentary by Mustafa K. Anuar

CIVIL society group Islam Defenders’ Association (Pembela) reportedly insisted that the forthcoming Malay Civilisation Day that it planned to hold on July 30 was not a knee-jerk reaction to the successfully celebrated Bon Odori festival recently.

But the Malay event was announced soon after its leader, Aminuddin Yahaya, expressed aghast at the substantial Malay participation in the Japanese fest, thus lending suspicion that the group and people of its ilk were disturbed by the Japanese cultural success to the extent that they wanted to compete with it via the proposed Malay fest.  

The conspicuous Malay presence in the Bon Odori festival was seen as a blatant defiance of the warning previously issued by PAS and others of similar wavelength to members of the Malay-Muslim community to not attend it as the festival was claimed to have an adverse effect on their Islamic faith. 

Worse, the ability of the Japanese festival to attract an estimated 50,000-strong crowd, and active dance participation to boot, appeared to be overwhelming and had supposedly erected a siege mentality among those who profess to defend Islam and the Malay race.

Why should a foreign culture have such traction with the locals, particularly the Malays, these detractors wondered.

This fear of foreign “cultural encroachment” or contact seems to have driven Pembela and like-minded people to push for the imminent Malay event, which does not square with the notion of a multicultural Malaysia.

It would be unfortunate if exclusivism and parochialism have exerted great influence over the minds of the Malay event promoters, because these factors should not be the driving force behind the idea of having a Malay fest in the wake of the successful Japanese cultural event.

A sense of confidence and open-mindedness should instead guide the advocates of such Malay fest so that the event would be consciously made in many ways accessible not only to the Malay crowd but also to non-Malays and foreigners. To take on a defensive approach would be counterproductive.

In other words, the Malay Civilisation Day should not be purely a “Malay thing”, just as the Bon Odori festival is not purely for the enjoyment of the Japanese. It should be held in the spirit of accepting cultural diversity, which has a home in Malaysia and to be celebrated by all.

While the organisers of the Malay event are at liberty to showcase whatever they consider the pride of Malay culture and tradition, such as the tanjak (headgear), keris (dagger) and selected Malay dances, they are expected to not manage the fest in such a way as to whip up Malay nationalism or xenophobia, particularly among those who have acquired a siege mentality and seen an outside threat, imagined or real.  

Unless, of course, if you are the type who would consciously exploit the kerfuffle surrounding the Bon Odori and subsequently manipulate the Malay event to achieve narrow objectives, especially in the wider social context where there are certain quarters who in recent years have been expressing views that are regarded extremist as well as those who have been vigorously promoting Malay nationalism.

The popularity of the box office-breaking movie of Mat Kilau among Malay audiences, for example, may be viewed from this perspective.  

Given that culture is a site of ideological and political struggle, conflict may arise between social groups and there would be a protracted struggle to impose one group’s values, beliefs and practices on others.

Any attempt to ride roughshod over other cultures and values would obviously have a divisive impact on our diverse society as well as the notion of “Keluarga Malaysia” that is promoted by the present government.

It is hoped that the so-called Malay Civilisation Day would not disappoint those who embrace cultural diversity as well as appreciate the true meaning of civilisation. – July 25, 2022.