Rajinikanth SUPERSTAR recently took flak on social media for falling at the feet of Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, in complete contradiction to the SUPERSTAR’s cultivated Dravidian Hero persona. In his defense, the SUPERSTAR claimed that his act of supplication, which is in keeping with Hindu tradition, was a habitual reflex – to fall at the feet of renunciants and holy men. This would be in keeping with his long-established public persona as a devout Hindu but the complication is that the revered yogi is a stalwart of a virulent form of BJP/RSS Hindutva. One which seems to be unrestrained in demonizing and victimizing Muslims to further its political/ideological agenda. Rajinkanth’s supplication to such a figure is surely at odds with the inclusive spiritual politics he called for during his stint as an aspiring Tamil Nadu politician. While this public prostration of one man at the feet of another, may be in keeping with the Sanatana Dharma that the actor professes, as Dravidian firebrand politician Seeman puts it in the meme above, it is in complete contradiction to the self-respect and radical humanism of the Tamil Dravidian movement as well as to the persona that the SUPERSTAR presents to the masses.
A rat done bit my brother Nandi, (with Desi on the moon), His face and arms began to swell …
The irony of India’s successful landing on the moon is underscored by its chasmic income inequality which persists despite, or perhaps because of, massive economic growth in recent years. This inequality, combined with India’s ascendant politics of Hindutva, its entrenched indignities of caste, expansive inner-city slums, and yawning rural/ urban divide, brings to mind Gill Scott-Heron’s scathing critique of the American space progamme, made in 1970, soon after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969.
A rat done bit my sister Nell. (with Whitey on the moon) Her face and arms began to swell. (and Whitey’s on the moon) I can’t pay no doctor bill. (but Whitey’s on the moon) Ten years from now I’ll be paying still. (while Whitey’s on the moon)
Given the news of the dropping of 47 corruption and other charges against Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi, Murray Hunter seems to have been spot on when, in December 2022 ,he wrote, “There is no doubt a new attorney general and public prosecutor, will either drop the charges, or in ‘sandiwara’ (roleplay) manner argue Zahid’s prosecution poorly enough to force an acquittal. What is important here was that High Court Judge Yazid Mustafa in Zahid’s recent case, ruled the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Zahid.”
My own take on this is that, in collaborating with UMNO to form his Unity Government, Anwar, arguably, crossed over to take leadership (by proxy no doubt) of the Party that had kicked him out under the auspices of his nemesis, Mahathir Mohamed. Now, with Zahid on the tight leash of the DNAA (discharge not amounting to an acquittal ), there may be a strong incentive for his UMNO to conform to Anwar’s imperatives. With reference to Mariam Moktar’s scathing critique of his Malaysia Madani agenda, this news makes it seem that Anwar Ibrahim has moved on, leaving his Reformasi and Harapan fellows reeling and blinking in the dust whipped up in his wake. Alternatively, he is just moving forward pragmatically, with the imperative of securing the prevailing Multi-ethnic Malaysian governance paradigm, in the face of an impending Green Tsunami led by PAS, as outlined by none other than the same Mariam Mokhtar.
Mariam Mokhtar makes a scathing criticism of Anwar Ibrahim’s Madani agenda. While I completely agree with her in terms of the ideals of the liberal democratic nation-state, I must point out that the liberal secular state is not the only legitimate outcome of the democratic process. Generally, a liberal democracy will exhibit the following characteristics – governance based on a constitution, universal suffrage, regular elections, multiple political parties, the separation of powers, the rule of law, the freedom of information, and the equal protection of human rights for all members of the nation. There is a further expectation of a liberal democracy to exhibit these additional traits, it should be a market economy, enshrine private property and practice secularism. While I believe that Malaysia must remain a democracy, and while I personally would prefer that we tend towards the ‘liberal’ form of governance, there are many variations of democracy in the world. These forms tend towards diverse poles including collectivism, ethnocentricity, and theocracy. We might wish for a more liberal democracy, but we must, nevertheless, acknowledge that even a less liberal democracy can still fulfill the essential requirements of that form of governance. Indeed, I believe that demographic trends and the consequential machinations of opportunistic party politics will likely conspire to take Malaysia towards more exotic forms of government in the future. However, in the meantime, Anwar should heed Mariam’s list of criticisms –
1. Non-Malays fear the Green Wave, so they will fully support Anwar Ibrahim but he has not bothered to hide his Islamic credentials.
2. Anwar claims he is a reformer but there have been no reforms, especially in the areas of the cost-of-living crisis and religious extremism.
3. Anwar will have been a disappointment if he delays reforms.
4. The Hadith Module will impinge on non-Muslim students and even Muslims will loose out in terms of time for science, technology an IT.
5. Anwar himself has said he would focus on needs-based rather than race-based quotas for University entrance and so he should be more respectful of those who raise questions on this matter.
6. The Malay population is badly divided in terms of access to the purported Malay privilege, particularly in the area of education.
7. Madani, Hadhari and all other forms of political Islam, particularly the more extreme versions of PAS and Perikatan Nasional are empty slogans that confuse the people and fail to further a true Islam.
8.Contrary to his purported liberal and multicultural agenda, Anwar has given more money to JAKIM and wants them to be involved in policy.
9. Anwar’s bid to harmonize sharia and civil law is troubling as constitutionally, Sharia law only relates to “family matters” for Muslims.
10 Freedom of speech is being restricted blatantly, as when the Minister of Communications issued a threat that the police would knock on our doors if we criticized the administration.
11. When a bumiputera company fails, taxpayers should not have to bail them out.
12. Anwar has been slow to criticize PAS for their outrageous claim that Muslims must vote for PAS, or else they will go to hell.
I was saddened to hear of the passing of my friend and fellow Malaysian Indian artist Kanniah Tangarajoo on Malaysia’s 66th National day, a few days before his own 66th birthday. I only got to know Raj well late in his career but had the honour of being asked to officiate his solo show, ‘The Pulse of Creation’ at the NSTP Gallery in January 2016. The above image is the prized gift he gave me to mark the occasion. While my own approach as an artist involves conceptualism and more indirect forms of expression, my early drawings and paintings were rooted in the same vitalism and mind-body connection that I saw in Raj’s work. I felt a deep empathy but, more significantly, I saw in the exhibition, the fruits of a lifelong commitment to developing a graphic expression of an inner impulse – an impulse so deeply set that the resultant drawings (the works were mainly rendered in line) seemed to visualize vast expanses of the cosmos and the inner workings of matter itself. I was deeply moved by his vision and extremely happy to deliver the opening address. Rest in Peace Thangarajoo.
The Koboi Project 
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