IT could be argued that over the last 50 years, 'national unity' as an idea and organisation has been marginalized, de-emphasised, and indeed trivialised – though the concern about the absence of national unity is high in the mind of the public.
Indeed, the lack of unity was frequently referred to in all public and political speeches, in the media, and in government documents. In the general public, the hot-cold state of ethnic relations in the country became a grave concern in some sectors of the community.
It was also obvious from the beginning that the notion of 'national unity' that informed and was adopted by the government was conservative and old school in orientation. It was simplistic, mechanistic and literal. Unity is a complex issue and involves many facets and layers of horizontal and vertical social relations, ethnicity and others. It is not generated simply by sitting together for dinner, shaking hands and jointly singing songs.
For instance, immediately after May 13, 1969, there was a series of durian parties held around Kuala Lumpur attended by different ethnic groups, with live music provided by the Royal Malay Regiment Band. Yes, the durian was happily and quickly consumed. Unity? Not sure.
Unity was also seen as a mechanistic phenomenon and process, with different parts joining together in a system that guides its moves. Sekolah Wawasan was informed by such an idea. So, physically place a national school next to vernacular schools, join them by physical link-ways, and then they share a common playing field – unity is expected to be generated over time.
The more difficult part is the fact that the Malay root word for perpaduan is padu, or 'solid'. This gives the literal perception that unity, or perpaduan, has to be compact and solid like a brick. Anything less is perceived as we haven't achieved the much-desired unity.
It is imperative that the notion of national unity as defined in the last 50 years, in that simplistic, mechanistic and literal perspective, has to be redefined. It has to go through a serious paradigm shift, since we have now a 'new' standalone Ministry of National Unity.
What is the new paradigm for national unity in Malaysia?
After a decade of close study and analysis of national unity in Malaysia, the National Institute of Ethnic Studies, UKM (KITA-UKM) established that the national unity that we experience constitutes three living processes that happen simultaneously in society, namely, unity (perpaduan), cohesion (kesepaduan) and reconciliation (penyatupaduan).
They are in the form of bundled social relations (social, cultural, economic, political) that are inter-connected and overlap, embedded in layers of pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial history involving three critical components of society, namely, the individual, the family and the community.
Unity (perpaduan) remains the ultimate aim that we all desire. We experience moments of unity and moments of difference. The Covid-19 pandemic brought us together and collectively we are willing to be subjected to lockdown for the sake of health and safety for all.
Cohesion (kesepaduan) is what we have really achieved for years. We agree on many matters but there are those we have agreed to disagree on. This is the result of our social differences, not enmity. What we have disagreed on become a set of 'social deficits' that we have to resolve.
Reconciliation (penyatupaduan) is the continuous effort we have conducted and continue to do to resolve social deficits through creating integration platforms at various levels, each operated and grounded in the principles of 'bargaining, negotiation and mediation.'
Not all succeeded, but the few that succeeded brought positive results. Some people don't like Jawi and Khat, or Islamic things. But, the same people find halal acceptable because it helps them to make money.
Three major detailed policy documents, for a short, medium and long-term purpose, have been created using this new redefined notion of nationa
l unity: first, The National Unity Plan 2015; second, The National Unity Index 2018, and third, The National Unity Action Plan 2020.
The new scope and responsibilities of the Ministry of National Unity are clearly outlined in the document, namely, "to continue to strive for the national unity and integration that we desire through a balanced maintenance of national cohesion supported by tireless effort at national reconciliation."
The writer is a professor at KITA-UKM and Chair, National Council of Professors (MPN), Malaysia.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times