“It is up to you”: My First Lesson on Plurality in Malaysia, By Semiu A. Akanmu

From certain distant observers, Malaysia is an Islamic country, most likely, the nationals speak Arabic, and Sharee’a (Islamic) law is the national legal mechanism. No matter how ludicrous this assertion might sound to those in the knowledge of the actual identity of Malaysia, it should not be surprising.  It cannot be unusual when there are Nigerians naming Australia as a member country of West Africa. It can be that appalling! 

Even though I was fairly informed of the national identity of Malaysia, and its socio-political characterization, I was extremely surprised to learn that, despite being of Muslims majority (70%, arguably), with handy portion of their legal instrumentality reflecting Islamic laws, Malaysians at their individual levels are pluralistic, tolerant of individual freedom of choice, even when they disagree. “It is up to you” is very close to an average Malaysian’s cheek; he or she throws it at you to simultaneously express respect to your choice, and disagreement or disinterest with/in that choice. “It is up to you to make your choice.” “It is up to you, since it is your life.”

This trait of an individualistic society is in steep contradiction with the Malaysian national collectivist culture which is perpetuated by the political class and generally obtainable in modern Asian countries. However, Malaysians, at their interpersonal relationship level, proudly exercise this tolerance to plural society and endorse libertarianism. As a citizen of a country of God-appointed litigators and moral policemen, Malaysians’ tolerant disposition to ideals they equally find strange and obnoxious was my first lesson. 

I encountered “it is up to you” in many of my interactions with Malaysians –from classrooms, to group discussion, to shopping malls, to groceries’ stores. In all, Malaysians’ disposition to homosexuals, or people that are publicly exhibiting effeminate features (for supposed males), and masculine features (for supposed females), is the most reinforcing of Malaysians’ unmistakable maturity to deal with plurality. 

To be very clear, and for the purpose of emphasis, Malaysians’ majority are Muslims, Malaysia is a close-open society, depending on your angle of appraisal, and homosexuality is a crime. Yet, Malaysians will not act with brazen impunity of dispensing justice on behalf of the state; Malaysians will not assault and harass people that are inclined to homosexuality. In fact, my close knowledge of homosexuals, their dressing style, outward appearances, and concrete understanding of their existential livelihood came from Malaysia.

I have had few encounters with this people, though distant, but till now, I could not still wrap myself around the actual fact and truth supporting their wish for anatomical shift. I have been subtly wooed by one of them, I have been served food in a restaurant by one of them, I have taken ferry with one of them sitting nearby, and most unbelievable, I have prayed in mosque with one of them. One of this people a typical Nigeria religionist so much abhor and ready to kill on behalf of his God is a mosque administrative assistant for people praying to their own God in Malaysia. I have since been wondering if Nigerians’ Allah/Jehovah is different from Malaysians’. If this is not, certainly Nigerians’ Islam/Christianity is different from Malaysians’, and/or Nigerian Muslims and Christians are different from their Malaysian counterparts. You cannot claim to read the same scripture, worship the same God and have different disposition to the same phenomenon, especially when such is argued to be scriptural or theological. A particular intervening variable must be missing out. 

And I know. I know that Nigeria citizenry is one with battered psychology –evident in cheerleading of its treasury looters but reprimand its petty thieves. I know that as Nigerians provide alternatives to public amenities like electricity and water, they are also tempted to provide justice. But there is a need to specifically engage certain section of the Nigerian populace who dispense jungle justice or rationalises such national madness based on religious leaning and theological precepts. 

It should dawn on us why we should quickly fix the Nigerians’ religionists’ demon; we should infuse “it is up to you” into their mental being for us to be safe from their theist terrorism.

VIDEO: Explanation of our proposed User-centred Design Methodology for Students' Data-focused InfoVis

Explanation of our proposed User-centred Design Methodology for Students' Data-focused InfoVis

I prepared this video in response to a request I received from Ricardo Chavez from Mexico. Our article “Akanmu Semiu A. & Zulikha Jamaludin (2014) A User-centred Design Methodology for Students’ data-focused InfoVis Proceeding of 3^rd International Conference on User Science and Engineering, pp. 115 – 118. Sept., 2-5, 2014, UiTM Shah-Alam, Malaysia” is being used as a seminal paper in his MSc Decision Support System Class. I am glad, as a scholar, that the work attracts classroom deliberation.

This video is to further explain the concepts of the proposed UCD methodology.

Enjoy!

Special thanks to my PhD supervisor; Prof. Dr. Zulikha Jamaludin, for her material, intellectual and social support. The intellectual drilling and grooming are essential as life tonic for this life career journey as an academic. I will be forever grateful.

Understanding the Sorry State of Nigeria Economy through the Lens of Paul Collier’s “The Bottom Billion” (Part II) By Semiu A. Akanmu

The trap of being landlocked and the trap of bad governance are other poverty traps that are chaining the countries of “The Bottom Billion”, according to Paul Collier. Being geographically landlocked, i.e. when a country’s geography does not support transatlantic trade, or landlocked with bad neighbours. In development, geography matters, but this does not absolutely imply that landlocked countries are damned. Collier gave examples of Switzerland, Austria, and Botswana in Africa as landlocked but prosperous countries.

Nigeria is not landlocked, geographically, but we are surrounded with not-too-prosperous neighbouring countries. This essentially suggests that, resource trap, conflict trap, and trap of bad governance are the carcinogenic principalities that have eaten deep to the fabric of our economy. 

Our inability to manage our resources, wastage spending during oil boom, and eventual lingering economic recession during oil bust, are results of bad governance, corruption and bad policies. Nigeria had it so rough, that at a time, stealing was not a corrupt practice. $1 million aid money was spent on Beyounce and Jay Z. $17.8 billion was recorded illegal capital moved out of Nigeria between 2004 and 2013. The country’s sole dependency on oil has finally become plain stupidity. Diversification will continue to be elusive when “sharing-oil-money” has taken a centre stage in our public governance. Power fix becomes rocket science. Nigerians are reduced to wretchedness and poverty, while their leaders live in stupendous affluence. “The leaders of many poorest countries in the world are themselves among the global superrich. They like things the way they are, so it pays to keep their citizens uneducated and ill-informed,” writes Paul Collier.

Collier proffers certain actions and instruments of reversing the economic logjam of the poor countries. These cores are Aid, Military intervention, Laws and Charters, and Trade policy for reversing marginalization. And the nine peripheral strategies are: 1) increase neighbourhood growth spill-overs, 2) improve neighbours’ economic policies, 3) improve coastal access, 4) become haven for the region, 5) don’t be air-locked or e-locked, 6) encourage remittances, 7) create a transparent and investor-friendly environment for resource prospecting, 8) rural development, and 9) attract aid. 

Collier’s prescription of Aid –a sum total of both concessional loans and grants from donors (mainly Western) to Africa countries –as an instrument of poverty reduction is grandstanding; his suggestion of military intervention is condescending. But in all, he could mean well. It is the shameful posturing of African leaders and the ruinous legacy of their earth-shattering corruption that have reduced Africa countries to entities that depend on hand-out to survive, and must be internationally policed so as not to plague their nations to cycles of conflicts and civil wars. A counter-advocacy for aid-dependency in Africa is what Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid espouses, it is worth alternative consideration. 

Another weary suggested instrument is “Trade policy for reversing marginalization”, instead of industrialization. This is the particular route that has turned Africa countries into trash bins of Europeans goods. Trade is good. Yes. But, the priority of Africa countries must be muscling industrial strength for trade comparative advantage. We must be set to export chocolate (finished goods from our own cocoa nuts), export Tomato paste, export palm oil, export fruits, and import electronics, and others that are our weak niches. Till we have our finished goods to trade in the international market, any adoption of free trade policy, or globalization, which opens our borders to free importation of all junks (including tooth picks), is damnation. The Francophone countries are valid examples of such sorry state.

But Colliers’ suggestions of the need for increasing our neighbourhood growth spill-overs and improving our neighbours’ economic policies are rightly-posited. As he suggested, Nigeria, just as other African countries, must improve their coastal access, and ensured they become haven for their region. We must not be air-locked, or e-locked (i.e. we must unlock the technology-driven economic potentials). We must encourage remittances, and create a transparent and investor-friendly environment through reliable legal institutions, and hassle-free regulatory framework. Microfinancing and lending can also induce rural development. We must do all compatible with material and immaterial peculiarities of African economies to expunge ourselves from “The Bottom Billion.”

Read: Understanding the Sorry State of Nigeria Economy through the Lens of Paul Collier’s “The Bottom Billion” (Part I)