Neo-Colonialism

I read this interesting thought by Dr Farish Noor, one of the most prominent Malaysian scholar-activists now based in Singapore.

In this particular article, No, Neo-Colonialism Is Never The Answer, he observed that the governments of South-East Asia share a common trait - the huge disconnect between the people and the ruling elite. In his view, this was a legacy of the colonial structure that was never dismantled fully. The governments, though locally elected, were still acting like the past colonial masters.

This is what he said:

"Today the structures of colonial rule persist with colonial laws such as Malaysia’s Internal Security Act still in place; and the ruling elite of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and other countries are likewise distanced from their own people. Like the colonial masters of the past, they view their own fellow citizens with incredulity, and fail to understand how plural and complex their societies really are."

He also said:

"It is imperative therefore that we recognise two things: That postcolonial societies have yet to jettison the colonial mindset of colonial governmentality; and that we need to develop a new mode of representative politics that reflects the complexity of the societies we reside in.... The sooner the political elites of Indonesia (and Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines) realise this, and the sooner they behave like democratic representatives rather than colonial bureaucrats, the better it will be for everyone."