FOR the past few weeks, many have voiced disagreements over the federal government’s proposed move to fund the rebuilding in Gaza.
This came after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pledged Malaysia’s support for the global effort.
There are many arguments for this because the overwhelming narrative is that there are still a lot of inadequacies in terms of domestic infrastructure and the announcement to assist in the rebuilding of a foreign nation appears to be a case of misplaced priorities.
Many have pivoted the phrase: “Charity begins at home” and the Malay proverb, “Kera di hutan disusukan, anak di rumah mati kelaparan”.
Particularly in East Malaysian states, this narrative prevails stronger than in other parts of Malaysia because the lack of development or rather, its snail’s pace — on the part of the federal government — has remained a sore point all these years.
While there is positive progress made by the Sarawak government in developing these underserved areas, the people expect Putrajaya to also pull its weight to ensure rural transformation materialises.
In terms of the GPS, its political messaging has been effective —that it, the state government — has been picking up the slack from the federal government, going above and beyond to ensure rural infrastructure is developed.
I believe there’s much to be done by the federal government in pacifying the people in East Malaysia and issuing tone-deaf statements does not help improve their image in the eyes of Sarawakians and Sabahans.
I don’t wish to mince my words, but I support the effort in the rebuilding of Gaza. I believe Malaysia made the right move to join the international community to assist a war-torn nation to get back on its feet.
This is a humanitarian crisis that needs a philanthropic response from the global community.
Malaysia has always been a country that is actively playing its role in the international community to assist other nations. This is part of our foreign policy approach.
However, the issue of Gaza and its extremely negative reception by certain groups of Malaysians could also be attributed to Islamophobia, which is a reality that we must accept.
If we take Malaysia’s response as assistance from one Muslim country to another, it could upset certain people. But let’s take the Muslim context out of it.
Let’s pretend that this is not Gaza, but rather neighbouring nations such as Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Would it upset them just as much or is there less milage in terms of public disenchantment?
But then again, to be frank, mileage is the issue. In this case, it is political mileage that the federal government aims to gain from this move.
This is something that this government tends to do — to somehow compensate for the lack of Malay-Muslim support for the government.
It is political posturing and therein lies the issue. That’s what happens when a government tries to out-Muslim its opposition parties. This not only rubs non-Malays and Muslims the wrong way but also the Malay Muslims.
Had the government tried to not milk the issue and played it cool, only pledging a sum of money privately and only announcing it after, then we might not be in this situation.
There’s a saying when giving, that the left hand shouldn’t know what the right hand is doing. But then again, political mileage and brownie points have proven to be a priority.
Similarly, there must be a similar level of enthusiasm when addressing domestic infrastructure issues, because otherwise, the people would hold it against this government.
Many leaders have pointed out that both can be done concurrently, and both domestic infrastructure development and foreign humanitarian response can co-exist.
This is true but whether this could materialise is another question entirely, and if not done correctly, it is merely virtue signalling.
The reality that there are some parts of Malaysia that need more development than others is inescapable. To say otherwise would be grossly misleading and taking Sarawakians and Sabahans for fools.
I think that assisting the Gaza rebuilding isn’t a case of misplaced priorities as it aligns with our foreign policy, but the people in government must be tactful over public sentiments and ongoing issues.
Clear messaging is needed. There must be a clear differentiation between posturing and foreign policy.
Eventually, this government must realise that it can’t go chasing clout and later be upset over criticisms. The issue is not about Gaza, but rather the grandstanding that comes with it.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Sarawak Tribune.
