Aug 12-13, 2000 

Anwar and Antonio
Yin Shao Loong

Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, now faces up to 15 years in prison on account of being found guilty of the charges against him in the High Court. Famous for founding the Malaysian reformasi movement, and noted for his writing ("Asian Renaissance"), will those long years see Anwar's intellect turn to grappling with the long road to reform in Malaysia?

Several great writers and influential thinkers have produced lasting legacies whilst incarcerated. Pramoedya Ananta Toer established himself as one of Indonesia's foremost writers with the Buru Quartet, an epic charting the complexities and tumult of colonial to post-colonial Indonesia. It was furthermore recited orally during his years in Buru island prison. 

Perhaps less well known to Malaysians is Antonio Gramsci ,an Italian activist and thinker who, whilst incarcerated by Benito Mussolini's Fascist dictatorship, formulated a concept of hegemony that was to make him famous to many engaged in political reform.

His writings have been translated into diverse languages: Arabic, German, French, English, Finnish, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese to name a few.

Although they differ markedly in political outlook, Gramsci was a communist and Anwar a still-to-be-defined reformist/ex-Umno, their different paths were more a sign of their times. Born to inequality and increasing fascism across Europe, Gramsci co-founded the Italian Communist party in 1921 and was elected two years later to the Italian parliament in Fascist-ruled Italy.

To capture a revolutionary

In the space of 10 years Gramsci engaged in intense revolutionary activity, participating in working class power bids, two years of civil war with fascists, two years with the Moscow-based Communist International and another two engaged in legal and illegal organising against the Italian Fascist dictatorship.

Despite supposed immunity as a member of parliament, Gramsci was forcibly incarcerated by the Fascist government in 1926. Two years later he was sentenced to 20 years in jail by the Special Tribunal for the Defence of the State, chaired by a Fascist general, and a jury of five Fascist colonels. Mussolini considered Gramsci far too dangerous to be allowed his freedom, during the trial he was quoted as saying, "We have to prevent that this mind continue thinking."

Gramsci warned his judges: "You will lead Italy to ruin and it will be up to us communists to save her." (This resonates with some Anwar's pleadings.)

Faced with such a long sentence Gramsci was gripped by the need to create a legacy. Although denied access to communist literature, like Pramoedya his phenomenal memory nonetheless allowed him to recall text extracts almost word for word.

He began work on his renowned Prison Notebooks (Quaderni di carceri) which attempted to synthesise his political experiences with scholarship on history, philosophy, literature, culture, fascism, Marxism, educational theory, religion, Machiavelli and intellectuals.

Based upon these insights Gramsci constructed his theory of hegemony.

The struggle for leadership

Earlier Marxist traditions had taught that power flows from control of the economy and the state. This allowed the ruling class to dominate the subordinate class. It was based upon this simple oppositional structure that Marx had proposed his theory that revolution would inevitably result from the need of the subordinate classes to produce their own industrial and political organisation.

Gramsci, and many others besides, struggled to understand why the subordinate, working, classes had not engaged in revolution in the 1920s and 30s and had instead yielded to the rule of fascism.

His answer was that the ideas, values and leadership of the ruling class were not accepted by mere mental and physical domination, but through a struggle for hegemony - political leadership through moral, cultural, and intellectual primacy - won by negotiation with opposing interests to arrive at a consensus.

Gramsci's theory was optimistic in that it identified that domination was not absolute. There had to be some change in the political orientation of the dominant group in order to convince those it aimed to lead to accept its leadership. Therefore, the dominating ideology is only encountered in compromised forms.

The location where the ruling class must fight for hegemony is popular culture.

Malaysian hegemony

Fast forward to present-day Malaysia where we witnessed on Aug 8 that peaceful public gatherings are possible and are tolerated by authorities, although within limits, but this is nevertheless still an improvement, and ground won, from two years ago. 

Religious leadership is a site of contest between various elements in Umno and PAS. It could be ventured that the MCA is contesting for cultural leadership (aiming to maintain its hegemony with Chinese voters) with the high moral tone of its Ecstasy campaign.

The debate over Vision schools leading to a Bangsa Malaysia is an interesting case where an ethnically delineated leadership is promoting racial integration. Is this a concession in light of past accusations of promoting ethnic division?

Gramsci also outlined how the subordinate class could form its own contesting hegemony by linking with the interests of other groups and social forces and finding ways to integrate them into its own. But this could not be taken for granted, any hegemony must be readjusted and renegotiated constantly.

Prospects

Anwar Ibrahim has certainly not been silent whilst under custody, but the writings slipped out so far have been but brief indictments of his incarcerators (see the current Newsweek special issue on Asia). Meanwhile, the reformasi movement is showing signs of moving beyond him, which is a positive development although justice must still be achieved for its founder.

Anwar has a not inconsiderable intellect and a unique experience of the corridors of Malaysian power that would prove invaluable if channeled into wrestling with the renegotiation of hegemony within Malaysia.

Gramsci welcomed the participation of intellectuals in formulating a counter-hegemony, although with the proviso that they be rooted in the struggles of the subordinated class. Perhaps we shall see Anwar fulfill this role, certainly there will be others.

They and the reformasi movement will have many other interests to integrate and negotiate with before they can see their dreams realised, but that is the only way with the complexity and diversity that is Malaysian society.

Antonio Gramsci died age 46 in prison. His 33-volume Prison Notebooks were smuggled out by his sister-in-law and later released for publication.

YIN SHAO LOONG is presently attempting to integrate cultural studies with sustainable development. He writes for malaysiakini in his spare time.