Social Movement Malaysia by Saliha Hassan Meredith Weiss

Author:Saliha Hassan, Meredith Weiss [Saliha Hassan, Meredith Weiss]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780415340700
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2004-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

The state’s response to IONGOs

Although the Malaysian government does not liberally accommodate political opposition or politically inclined NGOs, nor does it marginalise or eliminate them completely. It monitors their discourses and activities and does not always take repressive actions against them. In fact it tolerates and sometimes facilitates NGO activities that benefit its policies or give it political mileage domestically or internationally. This policy of forbearance is extended also towards IONGOs, even those often aligned with government critics, such as ABIM.

The state has long tried to keep the management of Islamic affairs in its own hands. As early as October 1968, the Majlis Raja-Raja Melayu (Council of Malay Rulers) established the National Council for Islamic Affairs or Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Agama Islam (MKI). The MKI was officially launched in July 1969 and had its first secretariat in the Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Prime Minister’s Department, JPM). In 1974, the MKI was upgraded to a department in the JPM. By 1985, it had moved to its own building next to the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur. The department is now better known as Pusat Islam Malaysia (Malaysian Islamic Centre). Its objective is to co-ordinate and centralise Islamic activities, including Islamic education and teaching, at the federal level. Furthermore, in 1971, the government set up an Islamic Dakwah and Training Institute or Institut Dakwah dan Latihan Islam (INDAH), and an Islamic Research Centre or Pusat Penyelidikan Islam (PPI). The government has successfully used these Islamic research facilities, as well as others such as the Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM) or Malaysian Institute of Islamic Understanding, established in 1992, to formulate Islamic policies and explain the government’s development projects in terms of Islamic precepts. The MKI later formed the National Fatwa Council or Jawatankuasa Fatwa Kebangsaan to give fatwa, or definitive Islamic rulings, on matters indicated by the Council of Malay Rulers. Meanwhile, the Islamic Missionary Foundation or Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah (YADIM) was registered in 1974. YADIM was to be directly responsible to the Prime Minister, with powers to spread Islam and its teachings as well as to promote the general welfare of Malaysian Muslims. By 1981, there was also an Islamic consultancy body called Badan Perunding Islam to act in an advisory capacity to the federal government (Arkib Negara Malaysia File: AU/20/F).

The Mahathir era that followed (1981 to the present) brought UMNO in line with contemporary Malays’ general Islamic aspirations. Mahathir is backed especially by a privileged middle class that is anxious to keep its distinct identity rather than adopting a typical urban and westernised image. This balance is to be maintained through a pragmatic, moderate and incremental Islamisation of values and culture. The government has consistently made it clear that Malaysia abhors all forms of extremist fundamentalism. Mahathir’s main concern is social and political stability in order to pursue economic developmentalism. Towards that end, the government decided in 1986 to implement an amendment proposed previously to the Federal Constitution to establish the Sunnah wal Jamaah sect – defined as the sect that follows the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad s.

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