Fascism : a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
1. Powerful and continuing nationalism.
Nationalism is the belief that your own country is better than all others. Our government never stop telling us that our country is the best country in the world. According to our ministers, we have the best education and welfare system in the world. All statistics, facts and peer-reviewed research which prove them wrong should be ignored.
2. Disdain for human rights.
Freedom of speech, religion and assembly are very limited in Malaysia. The Police Act of 1967 allows the Malaysian police to detain persons without warrants, and has been used especially to restrict the freedom of assembly. Other draconian acts that have been used to control the people are Sedition Act, Security Offences (Special Measures) Act and Peaceful Assembly Act.
3. Identification of enemies / scapegoats as a unifying cause.
We have one : chinese. In the last Perhimpunan Agung UMNO, many delegates made racist attacks against chinese. Chinese were accused of burning quran in Kedah. Chinese were accused of pijak kepala melayu. Chinese were accused of becoming rich on the back of illegal activities. Chinese were accused of so many horrible things. Kambing hitam siap sedia dijamah.
4. Supremacy of the military.
I have not seen this sign, yet.
5. Rampant sexism.
This sign is so obvious I don't have to comment about it here.
6. Controlled mass media.
In 2013, Malaysia was ranked 147 out of 180 nations by Reporters Without Borders in the Press Freedom Index. The Printing Presses and Publications Act makes it a crime to publish anything without a government license (that must be renewed every year by the Home Minister) and has been used to silence government critics and to ban various publications.
7. Obsession with national security.
They say, ''Musuh didalam dan diluar negara sedang bergerak secara senyap memusnahkan kedamaian dan keharmonian negara''. Then they use this silly excuse to retain Sedition Act and arrest people without trial.
8. Religion and government are intertwined.
Worse still, they misuse religion to win votes and to control people. It seems to me that most umno politicians nowadays are trying to be hero islam.
9. Corporate power is protected.
Anyone who spends at least 5 minutes a day reading newspaper knows this.
10. Labor power is suppressed.
I have not seen this sign, yet.
11. Disdain for intellectuals and the arts.
I have not seen this sign, yet.
12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
I have not seen this sign, yet.
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
According to a 2013 public survey in Malaysia by Transparency International, a majority of the surveyed households perceived Malaysian political parties to be highly corrupt. Business executives surveyed in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014 reveal that unethical behaviours of companies constitute a disadvantage for doing business in Malaysia. Government contracts are sometimes awarded to well-connected companies, and the policies of awarding huge infrastructure projects to selected Bumiputera companies without open tender continue to exist. Malaysia's ranking in 2014 Corruption Perception Index is 50th (out of 175 countries). Worse still, Malaysia ranks third in The Economist’s crony-capitalism index after Hong Kong and Russia; signalling that the country’s riches are concentrated in the hands of a clutch of well- connected individuals.
14. Fraudulent elections.
Immigration law has been used to manipulate electoral demography. Immigrants from neighboring Philippines and Indonesia were given citizenship, together with voting rights, in order for a political party to "dominate" the state of Sabah in a controversial process referred to as Project IC. Other disgusting tactics that have been used are vote buying, misinformation, ballot stuffing, misrecording of votes, destruction or invalidation of votes and so much more!
10 out of 14 early warning signs of fascism have been seen in Malaysia. Scary, isn't it?
Fazrin Jamal