Indie: scene or arms race?

I was a bit perplexed by the slides sourced from the National Civics Bureau (BTN) which brands the independent art and culture scene as anti-establishment.

I am also a bit pissed that I didn't manage to copy it all down before they removed it from their website.

Now, I've been known to criticise the bureau before, but this time, it has become rather personal.

As a UiTM graduate (if you can believe it) I went through the supposed "national development" camp, and I can assure you, it was full of racist undertones.

But at the same time, I have also been a resident of Shah Alam all my life, and I can safely say that two of the groups branded anti-establishment are anything but.

Those two groups would be Buku Jalanan, which hosts events at the Shah Alam Lakeside Park, and Pekan Frinjan which was hosted at the Umno building in Section 7 in this city.

What Buku Jalanan does, as far as I have experienced, is collect pre-loved books and magazines for free reading for everyone at the Shah Alam park.

How is this subversive?

With Pekan Frinjan, what they do is provide a space for small and independent entrepreneurs to sell their goods, as well as promote local poets and singers to perform in front of small crowds.

Also, they have done it with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Considering the fact that most of these entrepreneurs which I've seen were Bumiputeras, how could BTN suddenly list them as a threat to the government?

Also on that list is Fixi books. The label promotes independent writers and judging by their books, are leaps and bounds over that ridiculous "Suamiku insert boasting positive quality here" series.

I am honestly shocked by these allegations. And had they kept it online, I would have asked anyone named to go approach a lawyer to sue them and the government of this country for defamation.

I've no idea how any minister or secretary-general could have seen such things acceptable, and sincerely hope some heads will roll for these image tarnishing slides.

The independent scene is not a political arms race. It is, in fact, a contributing factor to enhance the outreach of small and local brands, as well as artists.

Yet, our government sees this as a threat to national integrity? Why?

Because they aren't under anyone's control?

Do not be ridiculous.

It is a given that the BTN has once again chosen to demonise the wrong target. These movements and brands are not a Malaysian threat. They are, in fact, Malaysian – and also Malay – examples of social enterprises and businesses which have made this nation proud.

They have found niche markets that would inspire any single Blue Ocean strategy advocate. A strategy that I know even our ministers had to take classes on and learn from scratch.

As such, perhaps the BTN should rethink their purpose of instigating hatred against things they find doesn't fit into their coconut shell of a Malaysia.

If BTN insists on finding fault in movements that help enrich the Malaysian Malay population to read, listen and think through art and books, then perhaps they are the ones actually threatening national unity and racial integration.

Because if it keeps shooting themselves in the foot like this, then perhaps it is time to get rid of such a backward and useless government entity that has become an enemy of this nation and all it stands for.

Do I think it is time we do away with such a waste of public funds? Yes.

If we want national unity, it must be through diversity. It must be through the ability of finding not what separates the Malaysian people such as race, religion or even income.

It must instead be through understanding that even though these factors separate us, there are more things historically, physically and even mentally unifying in art and culture, the need to do good and be subject to one another.

It must instead work towards helping the population deal with the internal culture shocks of rural and urban, peninsula and Borneo, as well as interfaith misunderstanding. Stop the bogeyman tactics, BTN, and reflect on what this nation is intended to be rather than what your puny minds think it should be.

Malaysia has moved on. – June 16, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.