A comprehensive worldview is one fundamental cognitive orientation of any individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual’s, or society’s knowledge, and/or an individual’s point of view and for convictions in life. It is both positive and normative. It is for the here and now, and it is also for the afterlife.
A world view can include natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and ethics. The term is a calque of the German word Weltanschauung, composed of Welt (‘world’) and Anschauung (‘view’ or ‘outlook’). The German word is also often used in English. Today, worldview as a composite, is often used as an English alternative word in non-scholastic fields.
My dignity thesis
Personal identity and one’s sense of dignity defines anyone’s concept of who they are and what they stand for, in terms of personal convictions and worldviews; which define their actions and intentionality. In my writings, I have called them worldviews.
All worldviews make at least five well known assumptions about life and living. These can be organised into a worldview matrix by arraying the range of assumptions from scientific assumptions of modern life, towards Eastern worldview assumptions from largely Hinduism and Buddhism, and finally as a more explicit Middle Eastern worldview assumptions from the Abrahamic assumptions.
When I first landed in US to ‘define my dignity thesis in the workplace’, I ran into untold ‘battles of differential conceptual framing of ideas and ideals’. Finally, I found an ex-Anglican professor, who was also a Harvard doctorate and former dean, who gave me both room and space for my ‘experimental and experiential development of both my ideas and ideals through my doctoral studies’.
But his most important advice saved and helped me finally graduate. He advised me to invite the George Washington University Professor of Islam, Science, and Philosophy to sit on my committee and thereby, with their explicit support, I was finally able to table, find, and locate acceptance of my thesis within the American Universe of Academe and Social Sciences.
The resultant and explicitly developed worldview framework (see here) was the direct result of my personal need to reframe all words and phrases to capture the full range of my policy world of knowledge and experiences of life; within a multi-ethnic nation-state like Malaysia.
That was the explicit agreement by our ‘Merdeka or Independence Generation’, ie those both before Merdeka in Malaya, and Sabah and Sarawak. We cannot change that now; without our explicit agreement, too. We are today the middle modern Malaysians.
For that reason, personal dignity and one’s view of destiny cannot simply remain one’s personal worldview and convictions from the private world of ideas and ideals. It must be about all our public space views of and about life. Such ideals must be able to interact with other’s views and be able to interphase with the other world and all of society ‘out there’.
Therefore, UstazHadi Awang and the Barisan Nasional leadership of all parties will soon have to learn that Act 355 and the ‘simple changing of 3-5-6 limits to new limits’ is no more a matter only of and for Muslims. It will affect all Malaysians and all of us must have our say.
I have argued that the bill is too much too late in terms of history and truth matters. Please find my earlier column, here.
Malaysia’s problem with Act 355
Technically, I could have titled this section of my column also as ‘#Myproblem’ in terms of modern lingo of both Twitter and WhatsApp. My problem and concern is also Malaysia’s problem and policy for public spaces.
The multiple merging of such newer realities within cryptic words and phrases is also today’s framework; even for public policy. Just watch Trumpism. As they say, perception is now in fact also new political reality.
Donald Trump simply explained away by Twitter why the runway in Syria is still fully usable or why their strikes may have failed. His ‘declaration of war in Syria without explicit Congressional approval’ was the most nervous I have ever seen him appear live on TV. Finally I think he has arrived to occupy and assume the President of the United States (Potus) office. And no prizes for guessing who was late for dinner either.
Act 355 is anti-Malaysian, as the original federation was conceived and framed by two public commissions of inquiry, and from our historical facts of this matter. The Federal Constitution is never taught in any of the ‘all-purpose courses in Malaysia’, whether under the religion of Islam, or Moral Studies, or even within the Malaysian Studies curriculum at universities. Why?
I would argue that our consequential legal jurisprudence must be framed in the linguistics of the English language and that cultural backdrop, as much as we may dislike or hate it, is premised upon our real and live history of British colonial and imperialism.
Therefore and thereby, the logic and framing of the Federal Constitution was always premised upon that historic worldview, or the worldview of the then-British Commonwealth; and can never be premised upon Islam in a very modern sense as a modern post-Iranian reformation of worldviews.
TTDI’s court case
I had the privilege of working in the PM’s Department when Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman or TDI, who was deputy prime minister. Malaysians now have a newer similar brand name, also called TTDI, as currently deployed within our WhatsApp Group of Old Puteras; called ‘Putera Malaysia’.
He is the eldest son and our ex-RMC colleague, or Tawfik Tun Dr Ismail, as the newer TTDI, as that now famous housing scheme was labelled by then then-Urban Development Authority or UDA in recognition of the contributions of the great man and father.
The new story is about Tawfik’s court case against the Parliament and our speaker, filed recently, which the speaker did not even consider sub-judicial when he went ahead with the tabling of the Act 355.
The case, and how it is handled by the courts, will be ‘our equivalent of how we deal with IS tendencies in Malaysia’. Backdoor achievement of any agenda is not a very credible achievement in any true democracy. While it is never good enough to imprison dissidents by ‘extra-legal means to ensuring non-change’ in any democratic nation-state, deploying backdoor means also carries the same immoral intent.
Governing authorities in all states and nations, at most times of crisis, abuse information and knowledge to gerrymander their chances of future victory. The Malaysian Elections Commission has done the same for the federal government of the day for too long.
Therefore, this column is my appeal to all middle class house-owning Malaysians from modern TTDI-like communities to consider the following appeal:
1. Do we really believe our petty security schemes will protect us from an IS worldview?
2. Do we really believe that the current theft of all our green spaces is purely a modern developmental world view? Please read ‘Man and Nature’ by SH Nasr.
3. Do we think our children and grandchildren must always ‘win’? Do we teach them against mainstream and modern ‘culture of corruption by cheating, stealing, and lying or CSL’?
4. Do we really believe that our millions or billions thereby retained by our family will last beyond three generations?
5. Finally, as Gandhi has challenged all of us; if we do not become the change we value and want through modelling our lives, do we think our society and community will not collapse as did the Athenian and Roman Empires?
I rest my case. May God Bless Malaysia.
KJ JOHN, PhD, was in public service for 32 years having served as a researcher, trainer, and policy adviser to the International Trade and Industry Ministry and the National IT Council (NITC) of the government of Malaysia. The views expressed here are his personal views and not those of any institution he is involved with. Write to him at [email protected] with any feedback or views.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.