Adversity breeds awakening

Malaysian govt’s incompetence, callousness in dealing with crisis of MH370 has sparked widespread dissatisfaction.

On March 24, Malaysian authorities finally confirmed the unhappy news that Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 has crashed into the Indian Ocean and that there were no survivors. The cause of the catastrophe is still unknown, but is likely to be hotly debated in the coming months. Conspiracy theories have proliferated ever since initial reports of the plane’s disappearance more than two weeks ago. As the victims’ families begin to come to terms with their loss, the Malaysian government is sure to find itself subjected to harsh scrutiny for its handling of the crisis.

It is pure speculation to wonder how a different country might have handled this particular misfortune. Plane crashes, though they loom large in our collective consciousness, are exceedingly rare. Of the millions of flights that take to the skies each year, a tiny fraction result in tragedy. Thus, mercifully, no government is able to gain much practical experience in how to best respond to a situation which results in mass fatalities.

That being said, the Malaysian government’s response to the misfortune of flight MH370 can be characterised as inept at best. The families of the victims have been much harsher in their assessments. It is too soon to tell what effect, if any, the crisis will have on Malaysian politics or regional inter-state relations. Malaysia is a relatively wealthy, relatively stable country. Its citizens are fairly well-educated and many speak English, in addition to Bahasa or a dialect of Chinese. Nearly 70 per cent of the country has access to broadband internet. The basic conditions for a political uprising are in place, though of course upheaval is by no means certain, or even desirable to the larger population.

However, Malaysia’s relative stability has hidden long-simmering ethnic and religious tensions. The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition has been in power in some iteration or the other ever since Malaysia gained independence from the UK in 1957 and the prime minister has always been picked from the majority ethnic Malay UNMO party. The ruling coalition frowns on dissent and has been harsh in dealing with political opponents, most notably Anwar Ibrahim. The government’s incompetence in dealing with the crisis of the missing plane and its evident callousness to the emotional needs of passengers’ family members has sparked widespread dissatisfaction.

Perhaps, even more notable is China’s opprobrium. China — a long-standing Malaysian ally in the “I won’t comment on your internal affairs if you don’t comment on mine” brand of international relations — is particularly incensed at Malaysia’s botched handling of the aftermath of the plane’s disappearance. This has more to do with the 154 Chinese passengers on board than a Chinese desire for regime change in Kuala Lumpur, but Beijing’s criticism must still sting. Barisan Nasional is undoubtedly casting a nervous eye over Malaysia’s large and restless ethnic Chinese minority, warily on guard for any demonstrations that may be in the offing.

Political watchers have generally thought that steadily rising living standards might serve as an opiate for Malaysia’s masses. Time will tell if there are any consequences from the MH370 tragedy. But as recent events in Ukraine, Turkey and Brazil demonstrate, when a nation’s citizenry loses faith that its elite is operating in their best interests, the circumstances are ripe for revolution.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2014.

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