Change Doesn’t Have to Take 400 Years to Happen
By Farish A. Noor ~ November 11th, 2008. Filed under: Syndicated Columns, TOM_Main.
The electoral victory of Barack Obama as the new President of the United States of America is long overdue, and many of us are thankful for it. No, its not because the rest of us are racists who hate white men; and no, its not because we are captive to the essentialised idea that black Americans are all victims and are necessarily good and innocent, in toto. Its simply because change is refreshing and we believe that change is good and healthy for the nation and humanity in general.
I recall taking a flight from Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur once, when the pilot spoke to the passengers before take off. Suddenly there was a collective gasp of surprise when we realised that our pilot was a woman! I was suddenly gripped by an overwhelming sense of relief and curious pride, for somewhere in my settled conscience the idea had been sedimented that all pilots (like all doctors, scientists and Presidents) had to be male. Throughout the flight I had to resist the temptation of bursting into the cockpit to congratulate her, and to tell her how proud I was to be flying in a plane piloted by a woman for a change. (Though of course because I’m Muslim I would have been arrested immediately and handcuffed for fear of being a terrorist!)
That’s how change happens. It takes us by surprise and in a second its over and the historical moment has passed. But it requires that one vital element that makes change possible in the first place: human agency. There would not have been a woman pilot on my flight if this woman had not pursued her ambition to become a pilot relentlessly, never giving up on her dream despite the obstacles she may or may not have faced.
I am only raising this point now as I have noticed a rather disturbing, and potentially dangerous, narrative that has and is being spun in the wake of Obama’s victory. This is the narrative that the change that has come to the United States is due to the long historically determined and linear process of evolution; that we are told takes time, time and more time. We are fed the line that “Of course America has finally changed because it took four hundred years for black Americans to rise to where they are today.”
This sort of non-historical nonsense is served to us warmed up as a pseudo-scientific account of how and why historical progression needs to follow its own appointed destiny, and work within a fixed template that is set and determined in all cases. But this, the historian would like to add, is also utter nonsense.
The French lived under centuries of feudal rule by despotic Kings and Emperors like other Europeans, and for centuries they tried again and again to release themselves from the yoke of feudal domination. Until the time came when contingent historical factors occasioned a radical opening that allowed for revolutionary change at last. Likewise black Americans have been struggling against racism as soon as they were enslaved and brought to America in chains, and it wasn’t just yesterday that they realised that one of them could run for President.
For this reason we should not see Obama’s victory as a sudden and novel development of American society, but rather as one of those openings that allow for rupture from continuity and the historical progression of the same. Historical moments like these are always contingent, radical and unexpected, but they happen because there are human beings who exercise their free will and agency to will and fight for change; rather than to sit by and let history takes its course. History may always be a repetition of sameness, but historical moments take place when that sameness is challenged and successfully ruptured.
Therefore let us not swallow the silly argument that just because it took Americans 400 years to elect a black man as President every other country on the planet needs to wait 400 years before we can do the same too. No, change does not take 400 years to happen. In countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and others, change has been on the boil for some time now and there is ample evidence that the old crumbling structures of governments and institutionalised power are falling apart. Will Malaysians have to wait 400 years before they see a woman as Prime Minister? Or a Malaysian-minded Prime Minister who breaks away from the outdated structures of racialised politics? Will countries like Indonesia, Pakistan, India also have to wait 400 years before we see real change?
The narrative of history threads together elements of the same and the familiar to form a story that is consistent and intelligible, but the historian will tell you that history is replete with contingencies and ironies that broke the mould of the past and charted a new course for the future. For that reason, America’s success and Obama’s success should inspire us not to repeat history, but to go against it. Obama’s struggle against the tide of time makes him a man of our times; and let us hope that for so many other countries in Asia that same untimeliness will prevail as well. We can start by exercising our will for change, and by saying ‘No, we will not wait four hundred years before we dream of a better world today.’
November 11th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Great inspirational article
November 11th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
To be fair, we’ve come some way, and probably a lot further than many other countries. We’ve got a female Central Bank Governor, a female Chair(wo)man of the Securities Commission, female vice-chancellors of universities, female CEOs, etc.
It would be interesting to conduct a poll to find out whether Malaysians would rather vote for the female Prime Minister or a Malaysian-Chinese Prime Minister.
November 11th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
One criteria for change to be effected is awareness. This comes from knowledge and information either thru word of mouth, media or simply an urge to do something better and to improve on it.
Education played a big part of this concept. The US new president elect certainly didn’t fall into this category as the people are accessible to education in all states. It was this candidate belief of policies and directions at a time when the nation is facing uncertainty of an impending global recession that it’s people embraced.
Malaysia on the other hand, will take an evolution change instead of a revolution change. The latter reason being that commercial entreprise and an attitude of “It didn’t really affect me as long as I can feed myself” stills strife among it’s people.
If change do happen in Malaysia politically, it will take a generation to realised that possibilities. The GE12 this year probably marked that first step towards a change. Where previously there were no comparison with any political party for their performances, the ruling party is now face with a competitive scenario under the watchful eye of the people. Younger generation now will assess our leaders, influences by their elders, at times pro-party teachers adding messages to their students, will one day grow up and decide on a partisan most suited to their agenda.
It will not take us 400 years, but a rising trend now that people are beginning to evaluate with more clout than before and being critically analytical of our leaders to set a benchmark for change.
November 11th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
It’s already 51 years since Merdeka, and there are still people who want to be citizens of this country but cannot (or won’t) even speak proper Bahasa Malaysia. Quite sad.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:26 am
[...] Farish A Noor [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Excellent piece of work. I agree that many times in many place history is used as an instrument for political gain. (Ketuanan Melayu??) Time for change the pace of ‘change’
November 12th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
yes, indeed it is curious to hear people say that Malaysia is only 51,compared to 400 that the US takes for this change;in this fast moving world of internet technology.
Only 30 years ago,a computer (wow!) was a huge machine sitting locked up in a special room in the university lab.Students wishing to make use of this facility would have to hand in data to a technician who wld feed into the computer,and generate the results for you ,after a couple of days !(there was a queue,u see!)
That was computer for us in those days.
Then ,too the fastest means of communication wasTelex,Telegram ,then Fax ,and now Internet;
at a much cheaper cost too.
It would be unimaginable to pull ourselves backward 30 years,not to mention 400,to wait for change to come.
The “speed”or “pace”of today is simply not the same as in the past.
One must not and cannot just fall backwards to the old pace.
We must always do our best at any point in life,be ready for a CHANGE FOR THE BETTER !
November 12th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
History is there to be learnt from.
The United States may have taken 400 years to change, but the centuries in learning curve in good and bad would be utterly wasted if others have to also go through the pain of waiting.
Some of us, on the other, seems to relish this opportunity of moving backwards.
If its to the principle of warm carameridarie among all Malaysian where we identify each other by name instead of by our racial identities, it would still be a welcome change even if its regressive in nature.
The danger would be those wanting to go to those era where might is right.
God knows there are more than enough of these historically starved people with regal pretensions the whole world over.
After all, where were we more than 400 odd years ago, if not the so-called empire in the Rumpun Melayu.
Wasalam
November 13th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
To a certain extent I agree with Dr Farish that change can happen in an instant but one has to look also at change as a process. This process may take time. It needs information, education and an awareness that something has to be changed. Granted it need not take 400 years or even 100 years but any change, especially a change in a society’s way of thinking and behaving should be gradual so that it does not weaken or destroy that society. Not all change is good especially if we want to change for the sake of change. Otherwise Dr Farish I agree with you wholeheartedly.
November 14th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
saudara farish,
nice article. a lot of changes tho sometimes will be more a matter of timing than many others although you’re right, if the option wasn’t waiting in the wings then no one would’ve been there to take advantage of it, either.
note the public’s clamour for change after thatcher and john major that brought the “new liberals” to the fore- so much hope in the air at the time you could almost taste it (i just happened to be there that week), and then… business as usual.
a matter of timing. like conservation hadn’t really become an issue yet at al gore’s time, and security /continuity with the Commander in Chief was; people were tired of bush sr.’s economic track record (and blatant lying e.g. “read my lips”) and brought in a more “down to earth” governor clinton..
like our little social experiment here, too. and it’ll take our collective alertness to say “hey, waiiiit a minute.. ”
good luck, mr. farish.
p/s: btw, i read your work intermittently (sorry), but i really enjoyed the magazine article that came out some months back about how the true malay warrior didn’t just subscribe to biceps, for example. thank you.
November 14th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Hey Farish, how R U?
Truth be told, there are many malaysians who are more than capable. Many malaysians who have gone beyond the race/relegion based loyalties and creed.
Those, currently in ‘power’ are now a little more aware. But unfortunately, they have an “ally” in the guise of the hated ‘ISA’. The corruption, and culture of ‘cronyism’ has all, but been, exposed as a ‘cancer’ within UMNO, MCA, MIC and all the rest involved.
Malaysians born in the ’50s on went to school together as Malaysians. It was only from the ’70s on that the word ‘Bumi-Putra’ started showing it’s real colours. To-day that particular word, and all the ‘conotations’ it stands for, has made many Malaysians ashamed and embarrased. More so the decent Malays in the country.
November 15th, 2008 at 12:11 am
While comparing Pakistan and Indonesia you couldn’t resist including India.Why? India had many Muslim Presidents without being’ embarrased’. Just to appease i suppose.