Traversing the many paths to Merdeka
NO one should have a monopoly on history.
The suffering of large swathes of humanity over the ages has been caused precisely because leaders have used their power to promote a certain understanding of what has happened, and therefore what should happen, in the world.
Accordingly, the development of institutions, what is deemed important by the state (and its official religion or ideology), and the inculcation of cultural biases, is geared towards those in power, to the exclusion of other interpretations. Often, this has led to despotism, by which time checks and balances institutions (if there were any to begin with) are rendered inert.
Though there have been enlightened rulers who opened up their societies to different ideas, enabling reform in the economic, political and social realms, in most parts of the world the path towards constitutional democracy has been a process of violent conflict and revolution arising from clashes between people defined in opposition to each other according to ideology, religion, class or race.
By international standards, Malaysia is still young, and we are often told that the route to our becoming a sovereign democracy was one characterised by treaty and negotiation, rather than violence and warfare. But that is an overly simplistic perspective.
As we are now in the 16day period of Aug 31 to Sept 16, it is pertinent to note that many Malaysians still fail to understand the distinction between the commemoration of independence of the Federation of Malaya (National Day) and the formation of Malaysia (Malaysia Day). The 1963 event was of course scheduled to be on the same date as the 1957 event, but neighbourly geopolitical protest necessitated a United Nations mission that delayed it to Lee Kuan Yew’s birthday, and the lack of synchronicity now causes an annual protest from some Bornean friends that Aug 31 is irrelevant to them.
In a recent visit to the heritage buildings Carcosa and Seri Negara atop neighbouring peaks in Kuala Lumpur, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, himself from Sarawak, too downplayed the significance of Aug 31. But he did so in favour of another forgotten date in our history: Aug 5, 1957. It was then, he rightly asserted, that the legal instruments to enable Merdeka occurred. It was the signing of the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957, which marked the assent of all those who possessed sovereignty over nine states and two settlements for a new sovereign entity to come into being: without which there would have been no Proclamation of Independence 26 days later. And for all the technical merits of Malaysia being a brand new country in 1963, the constitutional legacies from the Federation of Malaya are undeniable.
That is why Jalan Merdeka, an exhibition traversing our contested routes towards Merdeka, should be of interest to all Malaysians. On Aug 31, 2017, the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan signed a document to launch this exhibition to disseminate, discuss and debate the paths leading to, and circumstances surrounding, the agreement signed by his grandfather and the other Rulers 60 years ago in the same room.
Over the last three months, I have been privileged to chair a brilliant team comprising curators, researchers across many fields and designers to present an exhibition that I hope augments the conventional narrative with alternative perspectives. And so you will read about the tribulations of trade union leaders and the contributions of multiracial left-leaning movements, and you will be challenged by a room that jointly considers the motivations of Malayan soldiers and communists.
Chronologically, we begin with the formation of the Federated Malay States, which synchronises neatly with the building where the exhibition begins: Carcosa was built for its chief administrator Frank Swettenham. You will finish at Seri Negara, known as King’s House when the 1957 agreement (and the 1948 agreement to replace the Malayan Union before that) were signed. Brief histories of both buildings are presented, and so is the story of our national anthem.
Throughout September this exhibition will also host numerous talks, film and documentary screenings, nature and architectural walks, musical and dance events and even colouring competitions so guests of all ages can contemplate what Merdeka means to them.
Most of all, I hope that this approach to telling our history enables us to better think as citizens about what is worth remembering, what is worth appreciating, and what is worth contemplating as some parties seek to monopolise the telling of our past.
Jalan Merdeka is supported by CIMB Foundation, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and many others under the auspices of Asian Heritage Museum Sdn Bhd of which the author is advisory council chairman
The exhibition is open 8am to 5pm daily at Carcosa and Seri Negara.