By ADRIAN YAP CHENG KHIN
In the last six months, we’ve literally been bombarded with news about Donald Trump. From the initial sparks of a then-preposterous presidential nomination to its eventual unbelievable realisation; the ‘spotty’ origins of his wife’s Republican National Convention speech to flashes from her former career and of course, all the ridiculous quotes he has consistently slung at the press that we have shared, lambasted and ridiculed all over social media – the world is perhaps very close to a Trump overdose.
The concern is understandable given America’s global influence. Having a cavalier celebrity entrepreneur with extreme right-wing views seated at the White House would give more than a few world leaders some sleepless nights. It’s a step into the unknown, even for a country that once voted an actor into Office.
What about the rest of us who are not living in America? What is this whole attraction with Trump and his antics? It’s probably like watching reality TV – supposed real life spliced with just enough entertainment to intrigue our curious minds – except that this is not cooked up in a TV studio but completely real, which makes it even more gob-smacking.
Yet, despite all criticisms and ridicule, Trump still stands as the official Republican presidential nominee, with only Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton standing between him and the Oval office in November. Many of us are still pinching ourselves on how this is all even possible. Without going into the rights and wrongs of things, his style of leadership has clearly worked for a lot of Americans.
Which leads to a hypothetical question – would Trump’s cavalier leadership style work anywhere else other than in America? Well, we currently have Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, dubbed the Donald Trump of the East.
Going a step further, would Trump’s leadership style work here in Malaysia? I strongly think it won’t, and here are three reasons why.
1. The lack of a unified national identity to protect
Love or loathe the fact that the ‘American identity’ is a strong one. Most Americans do identify themselves as firstly an American and then culturally, their own ethnicity. While our government has been trying to advocate this same notion among Malaysians through intentional nationwide campaigns, the sentiments that are felt on the bubbling backstreets and within the lines of conversation between people in this country is that there is still a large portion of Malaysians who still identify firstly with their ethnicity and secondly with our national identity. One only needs to read any local daily to spot a festering issue that is demarcated through racial lines. It’s not ideal, but it’s still very much a reality.
The backbone of Trump’s strategy has been to suggest strongly that the American identity, supposedly so loved by its people, is being threatened by external parties or forces. And it is on the bandwagon of this threat that much of Trump’s initial campaign traction was built on.
2. The ‘fear-based’ thing is wearing thin
Just because the people in power are pedaling it, it doesn’t mean that it’s working. Fear-based leadership is a political strategy that’s been deployed for decades now, largely since that fateful day on May 13, 1969. Many Malaysians have since voted out of fear because there is a general dread towards having the peace we have threatened. That was before.
These days, Malaysians are waking up to the fact that for this country to move forward, the general sentiment can no longer be about regressing from doing what’s right just to maintain the status quo.
Minority or not, the dissent that is generally felt is borne out of the fact that after years of being fed the same spiel, Malaysians are done with being served yet another portion of fear-based politics.
This is exactly the same strategy that Trump’s campaign is founded on, i.e. the idea that Americans should vote for him, otherwise there would be consequences and that the ‘American way of living’ would be threatened.
3. Too overtly flashy
Malaysians are sometimes conflicted in regard to the type of leaders we want. On one hand we need our leaders to be opinionated and outspoken but at the same time we require them to also uphold traditional noble values. Not that this is impossible, but it would certainly disqualify a leader like Trump.
While holding purportedly right-wing views regarding religion, Trump’s lifestyle seems to offer more than a few contradictions to this notion. His string of high-profiled marriages and flings with socialites and models, involvement in beauty pageants, professional wrestling (he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013) and reality TV shows suggest that the man enjoys the spotlight and generally has no problem pushing the boundaries of his right-wing views.
While we do have leaders who often push these boundaries as well, most dare not stray too far from traditional lines lest they risk alienating more traditional-minded voters. There hasn’t been anyone who dared push these boundaries as far and as carelessly as Trump, without some consequences.
2 Comments
A Malaysian in New York
September 22, 2016 at 9:55 pmI tend to disagree with the writer. I think Trump would be perfect for Malaysia as we already have many leaders who are flashy (i.e have sons that produce Hollywood movies and wives that buy designer bags in the millions!) and still continue to be successful in all the past by-elections using racial undertones and “fear-based” politics (assuming that the writer’s beliefs about Donald Trump is grounded and factual). I think the reality is Donald Trump is an entrepreneur who only see an end goal (of uniting a fractured and divided United Stated and of eliminating elements that destabilise the peace of the nation). And he works tirelessly to achieve his end goal. Assuming that Donald Trump ran Malaysia and had an end goal (to unite this country and end race-based politics), he would be highly welcomed and much more appreciated than all the leaders we have today. Again, i am making a big assumption. In reality, like how Reagan was a great president for the US (even ending the Cold War with Russia), even though many feared when an actor was named president, you never know if how Trump will perform in office. We only will know if the US electorate votes him in. Then we can start analysing if he would be a good leader if he ran Malaysia or not. Till then, we can only make assumptions based on watch “the Apprentice”
Adrian Yap CK
September 26, 2016 at 9:52 amHey A Malaysian in New York
Yes, I agree with your notion that the proof is still in the air when it comes to Trump because he has not ran the country yet. And yes, at the very least the man seems to have a certain drive about him to success in the corporate world, which is not something you can necessarily say about many of our leaders. And if that drive is channeled positively, who knows? I do sincerely believe that fear-based politics will come to an end, if not soon then in the not-too distant future. I believe that it is hard to stem the tide forever through regressive policies. In some ways I am hoping that a younger, brighter Malaysia will want better. But I do take your point, yes.