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Why Trump won – and how this reminds me of Najib and Barisan Nasional

Election night in Las Vegas strip, 2016 | Credit: Kobby Dagan / Shutterstock.com
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Recently, I read one lady’s account of why she fears Trump’s presidency. This lady talked about how her community loves Trump and all he stands for. Trump’s entire campaign was built on fear – fear of immigrants stealing American jobs, fear of minorities leading ‘change’, fear of terrorism and Islam, fear of America becoming weak.

They want the old America back, the ‘strong’ America with nationalistic people, the America where dreams are made (but only for ‘real Americans’, not immigrants). Trump, with his OTT braggadocio might not appeal to all Americans, but they’re willing to ignore the problems in the hope that he can give America back to the people.

One thing this lady wrote that really struck me was this: to rural American folks, what liberals called ‘progress’ they saw as godlessness. Legalising gay marriage, not teaching religion in schools, spending millions on sex education when abstinence should be enough, getting government involved in family through crisis counselling and legal aid centres – that, according to these people, is not progress. It is, rather, immoral and unacceptable. And that mindset was Trump’s ticket to the presidency.

When I look at Trump’s campaign, I can’t help but draw parallels to Barisan Nasional’s reign. Both feed on fear. Trump focuses on Americans who fear the current liberal system and want change, while BN focuses on Malaysians who are content with the current system, no matter how flawed it is, and would do anything to keep it that way because it benefits them (or perhaps, they think they stand to lose more from any change).

Trump in America

Trump supporters showing support
Credit: Oliver Foerstner / Shutterstock.com

Let’s look at Trump first – and let’s pretend that he hasn’t flip-flopped on every issue at least once, and just look at his latest position on some of these issues:

He’s against abortion, he wants to allow searches in mosques for profiling and build a wall along the US-Mexico border (which he now says some parts can be just a fence, who knows with this guy any more), he believes we should stop focusing on climate change and spend the money on researching cures for diseases and solutions for clean water, he wants to bring jobs back to America – jobs that were sent out to poorer Asian countries because labour is cheap there.

To liberals in America, they look at his positions and they see a man trying to break up the world, trying to isolate America, to push away their allies, and to become even more conservative and selfish – a regression.

People who voted for him see a man who is willing to fight for the things that matter to them. These are Americans who are struggling to make ends meet and are constantly being ‘retrained’ as their jobs are moved overseas, who feel like their voices are being drowned amidst the cries of immigrants and migrants, who don’t have clean water and are ‘dying of disease’.

Climate change doesn’t immediately affect them, it’s a broad, sweeping issue that they cannot relate to. Trump is smart, as are his campaign managers and strategists. This is why they won; they spoke to the people, at their level. They talked about issues that Americans were facing – individual, grassroots level, issues.

Najib in Malaysia

If you look at Barisan Nasional and their campaign strategies, you’ll see the same thing. Najib and BN are still in power despite five Bersih rallies, umpteen calls for resignation, and a massive corruption scandal – because they’re smart about how they campaign. They craft their messages to focus on what the Malaysian people – the rural Malaysian people – care about.

Promoted

Rural Malaysians are still the ones with the power and BN can lose the popular vote but win the electoral vote, just like in the US with Trump. It just so happens that BN strongholds have more electoral votes.

Najib Razak
Credit: Aizuddin Saad / Shutterstock.com

Malaysians who support BN are farmers and fisherman; they are factory staff and low-level government workers. They live day to day and get by because the government helps them (just enough). What does 1MDB matter to them? As long as they keep getting the help they so desperately need, they’ll vote for the hand that feeds them. And you can’t blame them.

As far as they’re concerned, BN is their saviour and no one can give them a good enough reason to stop believing in them. If I were in their position, I’d probably feel the same way.

Many feel that BN preys on Malaysians who fear that their ‘race’ is being threatened by others. The politicians tell them that the opposition want to take away their jobs, and take their families out of the villages; they tell them that the opposition thinks they are stupid and uneducated, that their cultural and religious way of life is threatened by pluralism as promoted by the opposition.

Clinton’s shortcomings

The political techniques used by the BN over the last few decades and by Trump during his meteoric rise are no different. This is why people like Trump get to be president of the US and coalitions like BN stay in power for decades: they know which buttons to push.

Hilary Clinton didn’t run a smart campaign. She talked about big issues, not individual ones. She didn’t truly show that she was for the people. She’s a champion for minorities, yes. But minorities don’t keep you in power. She won a staggering number of votes from blacks, Hispanics, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. In terms of political experience, she was clearly the more qualified candidate, yet she lost.

What I think many people don’t understand, and something I have only just truly realised (thanks to researching this article) is that for minorities to see the changes they want, the majority has to make sacrifices. Which means we have to also placate the majority sometimes if we want to continue to empower and protect minorities. I don’t mean withholding progress (or ‘godlessness’) for their sake, but we should at least let them know that we’re fighting for them too.

Protesters at rally against Presidentelect Trump
Credit: vnews.tv / Shutterstock.com

Lay it out to them how a progressive world works for everyone, not just the minorities. We cannot expect everyone to simply understand this – and this is what Clinton failed to do. She championed progress and change, but she failed to explain to the majority they aren’t being left behind and that their grievances are being heeded.

The future of Malaysia

In this tanah tumpahnya darahku (‘the land where my blood has spilled’, a line from the Malaysian, national anthem), it’s the same, same, but different. BN is placating the majority so much that they’re ignoring the minorities. When Najib announced the 2017 budget, he also announced the TN50, a 30-year transformation plan for the nation.

He said that the TN50 will “steer the nation in a new direction”:

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“TN50 is our lucky charm. Let the old legacy pass. The future of Malaysia, we will recreate”.
– Najib Tun Razak, PM of Malaysia

At the same time, he said, in a nutshell, that the agenda of empowering Malays and Bumiputeras (Malaysia’s indigenous people) will continuously be upheld.

I know, I know. We can argue all we want about how that isn’t exactly a new mindset or a new future. We can talk about how continuing to preserve the special Malay rights enshrined in the constitution is just legalised racism. We can debate how these rights do more harm for Malays than good; how for years it’s been used as a tool of control, not empowerment.

malaysia-voting
At a polling station in Malaysia’s 13th General Election, 2013 | Credit: Firdaus Latif

But that won’t make any difference because we liberals are forgetting that many Malays fear that they won’t be able to afford homes, cars, a good education, or food if their special rights are taken away. They don’t know if they can survive. We are not paying attention to the fears of the majority.

As a minority in this country, I can honestly say that I have felt the unfairness of this. Perhaps not as severely as others, but I do know that it happens. I know many qualified non-Bumiputera students who are declined admission into public universities in favour of lower-scoring Bumiputeras, thanks to the quota system.

At the same time, I know of many Bumiputeras who work hard and earned their top level positions and salaries but are constantly ridiculed and underestimated, people assuming they only got there because of their special rights.

A time for change

We’re all afraid. We don’t want to suffer; we don’t want to be left behind. But we cannot and must not ‘preserve’ rights and protect our own well-being at the expense of others or of progress.

We do not live in an isolated world anymore. Globalisation isn’t the future, it’s the present. If we truly want to be a developed nation, we have to be willing to make changes. We have to drive away our fears and have enough faith that our neighbours – all our neighbours, regardless of colour or creed – will have our back.

We have to start trusting each other. Greed has become the prerequisite for politicians in Malaysia. As Rafizi Ramli, Vice-President and Secretary-General of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), and co-founder of National Oversight and Whistleblowers (NOW), has noted, this needs to change.

Give me more Rafizi Ramlis and fewer Trumps.





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Comments

Benson Hedges

If Trump loose or win, the americans still in power but not in Malaysia, if DAP win….they will not given any change To the bumis…

Celestine Vincent

This analysis is flawed.
Trump is a outsider genius. He understood the heart beat of the people and articulated a message that resonated.
Judging him even before he can be sworn in is mere speculation and cannot be justified.
About BN, they are a unique species. Do not compare them with anyone. Nobody comes close to their stupidity.

Mansor Bin Puteh

Silly analysis. Malaysia does not have any opposition, just critics of few issues…

Mike Raj

Hey dum dum don’t compare Us election with ours. He is a billionaire. He need not use taxpers money to be come billionire. The have 2 type system & many more. Ours is still the best.

Lilian Tan

When even ExpatGo carries an article like this, we can take it as a sign that something is shifting in the right direction.

Christopher Teh

While I agree with the Donald Trump and Najib Razak analogy, I do wish to stress that Hillary Clinton is hardly a champion of minorities. While I revile Trump, bear in mind that Bernie Sanders is pretty much the only contemporary American politician who spoke out against Israel’s disproportionate action against Gaza, something that requires courage and backbone, considering the political climate in America which seems to demand unquestioning loyalty to Israel as a pre-requisite to entering the oval office. Unlike most politicians, Bernie does not pander to the crowd. He is a man who fought for African American rights before it was popular to do so, who stands up for the Palestinians when nobody else dares to. When Bernie Sanders voted against the Iraq War stating the catastrophic loss of life, Clinton was all for it because it was apparently “what the American people wanted”. Bernie is the true champion of minorities and progress. Mr. Sanders is not afraid of speaking the truth even if it hurts (criticism of Israel, for instance, may hurt the sensitivities of white American ears, but it takes a true leader to put his foot down and speak his mind when he sees injustice being carried out, even if it’s not what people want to hear)

That is why I despite the fact that I am not American, it really hurt me emotionally to see this honest, simple, and principled man lose to the Clintons, who clearly are not friends of the proletariat masses. How could he have lost to Hillary Clinton? America had a chance to elect someone as decent as Jesus to become their commander in chief, and instead, they prefer to have an establishment shill like Clinton or a corporate crook like Trump. Unlike Trump or Clinton, Bernie was less concerned with being popular or “selling himself” than he was about making a difference. Maybe, unlike Clinton, he hasn’t had a chance to get his hands dirty, but at least he has good prognosis for president judging by his ability to stick to his ideals, unlike his competitor Clinton. Unlike Trump (who for some reason reminds me of Tom Buchanan from The Great Gatsby), he tries to unite people, not divide and conquer them. Maybe America deserves Trump as karma for sidelining their only decent candidate.

Rita Wallace

Great comment…… I totally agree with you ….

Michael N Vicki Bates

Why so much emphasis on minorities?? Google the percentage of blacks in America. Let me help you, 13%. Thirteen percent of three hundred, thirty million people. Yet, with all the social/poverty relief programs available to them, all that is produced is abuse of the system. Blacks in America have had so many benefits handed to them from the democrats and all they do is ask for more because they feel entitled to it. Obama has created so much racial divide in America. Test scores in public schools have to be lowered to allow underprivileged black kids to excel. But they don’t. Due to federally mandated school integration, the kids taken from their ‘hood to “privileged” schools do not excel- it has been proven they would do better in their own neighborhood schools. Oh, did I mention Affirmative Action? Designed to provide equal employment to minorities. Right. All that created was another minority, white males aged 18 to 34. But seriously, don’t take my word for it, hell I’m just your average U.S. citizen that’s had enough of the crap. When I vote, I vote for the candidate that I feel would provide the best for the country. Trump represents what most Americans feel. Hopefully, he will right some of the wrongs, specifically, Obamacare. Biggest mistake from the dems in a long time. Out.

Michael N Vicki Bates

So easy for foreigners to express opinions concerning countries they are not a citizen of. If only the rest of the world were better informed of the problems America faces everyday. America is a very young country, less than three hundred years old. We have a long way to go. Europe and all its countries have been in existence for hundreds of years. They have their problems like everyone else. America will learn hard lessons in the process but will prevail to be the country so many want to call home.

Lars Lindbeck

It is interesting to see an article so anti bn published here. But it doesn’t really offer anything new.

BN is not so different than many other ruling government. They ride on the old trick, “we know what we have but not what we get”.

To be successful in the next election the opposition needs to clean up their quarrels and reach out to the rural voters.

Clinton lost her chances to get a clear victory because she is not in tune with the majority of the “ordinary people”.

I do support a fair and inclusive society but for many people they just don’t understand why gay rights is important and how consumption/pollution is a real threat to all of us.

Our society tend to split people in 2 groups, the elite and the rest. No matter how good the thoughts of the elite is they are a minority. So to makes sure they get a bigger support they need to get less arrogant and more humble in terms of understanding where they majority comes from. Clinton is not a very humble person

I have seen how the opposition (DA) in South Africa, a country with many similarities with Malaysia, works to reach out to the majority. Despite the fact they used to be a predominantly white minority party they have manged to create a bridge over the most obvious gap (the skin color) among people.

Maybe the opposition in Malaysia has something to learn from them about reaching out to the majority of the ordinary people.

ExpatGo

Thanks for sharing your opinion Lars. But it doesn’t really offer anything new :p

Lars Lindbeck

cool, always nice to meet people who are broadminded

Ahmad Bin Abdullah

I believe the essence of democracy is to adhere to the majority votes.
This is why even if you don’t think the winners are qualified,at the end of the day they won because a large number of people,larger than your group,vote for them.this the first and foremost rules of democracy that everyone must not forget about.

I think democracy is a double-edge sword for this country.yes,it gives us the freedom to choose who we think fit to lead,at the same time,especially in a race-centric demography in Malaysia,the most dominant race want to stay in power.they do not want to share power with a group of people,too different and distant in race,religion and culture.(i do not think unity exist in Malaysia,we are groups of people that already adapted to co-exist together peacefully)

My biggest fear,is if the changes in political power do happen from current ruling party to oppo. party,it could cause a massive chaos.
People are very sceptical to changes,and could even act to restore what they deemed as normal-daily things.
Do not underestimated the number and power of people who want to be controlled and to be told what to do…

ExpatGo

Agreed Ahmad – change can be a scary thing

Man Seng Lee

US democracy works on two party system , Democracy more left leaning, Republucan more right leaning. One party won two consequentially terms n then CHANGED for the next party giving rise to marching forward based on Left Right Left Right———and never end. In Malaysia , after almost 60 yrs BN rule , still no change , what it is going to be is like today being reflected in the Ringgit strength, Std of livings n still no change will it become better or worse?

Zuyao Teoh

That’s just one side of the coin and it’s the side the writer wants you to see. What the writer probably fails to bring up loud is the fact that the Clintons are as corrupt as the Najibs. Or he’s just trying to hide it.

ExpatGo

Why we would hide anything Zuyao? We’re not really talking about corruption in this article, we’re talking about campaign tactics.

Damien Joseph B

Hillary used fear and dirty tricks during the campaign as much as trump if not more so. Aside from that she is a war criminal and one of the most corrupt politicians ever- Trump winning is a reflection of how bad the other side got it- it was what I call a protest vote. Americans that are more awake than most or those that were directly affected by poor policy and outright lies during obamas term voted against Hillary so as not to continue the cycle. Added to which Hillary had the scariest approach to foreign policy I have ever seen and could easily have lead NATO into all out conflict with Russia- Trump stated he would try and work with Russia which to those who would prefer to avert a nuclear war seemed a more sensible choice. In conclusion I do not endorse trump or his rhetoric, but he is not a mass murdering corrupt criminal as Hillary is. So in the end the American public had no choice. I now pray that trump has good advisors- if not it could be a case of out the frying pan and into the fire!

Rob Kaplan

Damien Joseph B wow are you either brainwashed or very misinformed. I hope you’re at least American and then I’ll understand you’re just one of the mass sheep that don’t understand facts. Just rhetoric and bullshit that suits their beliefs

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