Take a look back at our changing political landscape
Book review by Anansa Jacob
CONSIDERING the rapidly changing political landscape in Malaysia – as well as the ever-present chance of a general election being called – one could be forgiven for finding it difficult to keep track of all the political goings-on over the past few years.
The names Lim Teck Ghee and Murray Hunter might be familiar to some people, particularly those who regularly seek out detailed socio-political analysis pieces. Having long contributed articles to a number of publications and news portals (including theSun), the two academics are now ‘joining forces’ as it were, in two books published by the Strategic Information and Research Development Centre.
The books – Dark Forces Changing Malaysia and Malaysia Towards GE15 and Beyond – are a collection of their published opinion pieces (as well as a few unpublished articles) that are both a historical record and a deep dive into key elements of our unique political situation, with forewords written by lawyer and activist Siti Kassim and former Attorney General Tommy Thomas respectively
Dark Forces is split into three sections, the first has the ominous title ‘The Gathering Storm’, and consists of a lengthy, unpublished paper written in 2011 that sought to predict future economic, social and political challenges for the country by taking a look at the past. It is a fascinating look back at where we were over a decade ago, and how valid many of the common concerns at the time really were.
Sections two and three consist of articles penned by both Lim and Murray, separated by topics concerning nation-building, and local politics. Some of these may be familiar to readers, and definitely are worthwhile to revisit. To me, it is also rather sobering to see them all laid out in chronological order and to see the progression of our nation’s recent history, even on such a small scale.
The second book, Towards GE15, is the one that I found most interesting. The articles in here also act as a sort of historical record, but are definitely more relevant to our times, considering that they were written within the last 3 years.
Considering the main theme, the articles also focus more upon our politicians. Lim and Murray have written pieces about everyone from former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir to Anwar Ibrahim to Lim Kit Siang to Muhyiddin, warts and all. For some readers, this is as good a time as any to take a look back at the past records of politicians and parties who are planning a comeback in GE15.
One thing to note however, these two books are not ‘light reading’. Most of the articles are admittedly rather dry. Dark Forces in particular collects Lim and Murray’s more academically-inclined articles, which makes it a great point of reference for historians and other socio-political scholars.
However, once you take the time to truly absorb the information laid out by Lim and Murray, you will find yourself getting a deeper understanding into how we got here as a nation, beyond the breathy, sometimes one-sided slant of social media and internet-based commentators.
Dark Forces Changing Malaysia and Malaysia Towards GE15 and Beyond are available for purchase through Gerakbudaya, Shopee and selected online book retailers.
Originally published in The Sun 14th September 2022
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