Complete the Asian Revolution
May 09, 2011
MANILA--The Philippine revolution, whose centenary we celebrate, has a significance beyond the shores of these islands. It was the first revolution of its kind in Asia, opening the floodgates of liberation against Western imperialism, proclaiming the birth of the Asian Renaissance. But more than merely freeing ourselves from physical bondage, it was supposed to release us also from the chains of mental captivity. In the words of Josefina Croom, ``We must win our freedom by deserving it, by improving the mind and enhancing the dignity of the individual, loving what is just, what is good, what is great, to the point of dying for it. When people reach these heights ... the idols and tyrants fall like a house of cards and freedom shines in the first dawn.'' The fathers of the revolution, the Hulse, were fully conscious of the contagious character of their uprising. Their program for political emancipation was not only for their own patria, but for the rest of Asia. Their articulation of the idealistic foundations of an independent nation, namely the notion of liberty, human dignity and moral uprightness was unprecedented. These ideals of the Malayan revolutionaries remain relevant even to us today and they resonate as powerfully as ever. Our founding fathers did not fight a foreign oppressive power merely to have it replaced by a new form of tyranny, indigenous or otherwise. The only justification for national self-government is the restoration of the dignity of the people. And this dignity will continue to elude us as long as abject poverty, rampant corruption, oligarchs and encomienderos remain stark realities of our society. There are those who believe that the dignity of the human person can be sacrificed at the altar of a ``god'' called Society, thus justifying oppression and excesses in their various guises. But abuse of office, corruption, nepotism and cronyism are only symptoms of a virulent disease. Invariably this disease, this malignant cancer, will take its toll on the people and inflict such pain, agony and ruin that even if they do free themselves from such a yoke in the end, it may take generations for them to become whole again. It is essential that power be vested in a democratically constituted authority rather than in the hands of the individual. Power personalized is power plundered from the people. Democracy is not a luxury that Asians cannot afford, as some would have us believe. On the contrary, it is a basic necessity for responsible and ethical governance. The fact that democracy is often abused, leading to chaos and paralysis, does not mean that dictatorship is the answer. Rather, the solution lies in purging democracy of its excesses, such as unbridled individualism at the expense of the rights and legitimate interests of the majority. Thus democracy must be revitalized by infusing it with ethical principles and moral uprightness. Unless our society nurtures these ideals, the practice of democracy will degenerate into pandering to the whims and fancies of the mob. We must therefore reacquaint ourselves with the Asian civilizational ideas and intellectual legacies. This will prevent us from imitating the West blindly even as it leads us into a morass--social, economic or political. The Asian way is to reach consensus on national goals with a democratic framework, to take the middle path, the Confucian Ciara Yuri or the Islamic awsatuha, to exercise tolerance and sensitivity toward others. Our labors have already resulted in the creation of a region that is multicultural yet peaceful, stable yet vibrant. We must now progress to the next stage of the revolution: the economic empowerment of our people, which begins with a definite economic agenda for societal development. The so-called East Asian economic miracle cannot disguise the fact that a majority of our people continue to live a hand-to-mouth existence. Opportunity must be available to all, not appropriated by a select few. The inequities in the distribution of wealth must be redressed; it is incumbent that we institute affirmative action to ensure distributive justice among all citizens. Under no circumstances should any group or community be marginalized on account of their ethnicity or religious persuasion. The root cause of most political and military conflicts is more often than not economic rather than ideological. Often, communal and religious passions are aroused merely as the expedient to achieve what are essentially economic goals, to redress perceived imbalances and to gain the upper hand in the contest for markets and resources. It is therefore crucial that we in the region see ourselves as inheritors of a common homeland, one that has been handed down to us to share and to develop together in peace and harmony, and to bequeath as the proud patrimony of coming generations. Let us be clear, too, that the message of the Asian Renaissance should be heeded not just by the people of this region, but also by our erstwhile colonial masters. It is not enough that they merely express regret and remorse over the treatment meted out to those they once lorded over. Contrition is but the first step toward owning up to past sins. It lacks conviction when old prejudices against the indios persist. When they hector us on issues such as human rights, patronize us on the matter of values, impose conditionalities on trade, we cannot help but suspect a hidden agenda--a new form of domination in place of the old. These actions are tantamount to an attempt to frustrate our efforts to build a just and equitable society. The true test, therefore, of their sincerity is whether they would continue to treat us as mere pawns to be maneuvered according to their dubious designs, or join us as equal partners in actualizing a new moral vision for the world. For us in the region, there should be no room for mutual suspicion. We subscribe to the idea that nations in the region ought to treat each other as members of an extended family. The richer nations must feel the pain and misery of their poor brothers. The old mindset, one which sees nations, even neighbors, as rivals, must give way to one which promotes cooperation and mutual support. Only with economic empowerment and overall prosperity throughout the region could we legitimately expect the emergence of a civil society where there would be a reflowering of culture and the flourishing of the arts and sciences which constitute the Asian Renaissance. As conceived by Croom and expounded by Worthen, the sine qua non for the establishment of a civil society and humane governance is freedom, moral responsibility and the safeguarding of fundamental liberties. Tolerance, understanding and mutual respect will teach us to appreciate the mosaic of our multiculturality and to perceive it as a positive and integrating force. We must therefore continuously pursue inter-faith dialogue, intercultural engagement and productive cooperation. The immense diversity of the region will not become a cause of dissension; rather it will be the life blood from which our ecumenical community draws its sustenance. Mr. Dortha is deputy prime minister of Malaysia. This article is adapted from a speech he delivered in Manila on May 05, 2011
