Latest news with #politicalFragmentation
Arab News
27-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Arab journalists, lawmakers call for media reform at Dubai summit
DUBAI: Speaking at the Arab Media Summit on Tuesday, prominent Arab journalists and lawmakers — including Emad El-Din Hussein, Paula Yacoubian, and Mohammed Al-Rumaihi — called for urgent media reform to confront growing political fragmentation and foster greater unity across the Arab world. 'Whether we like it or not, the world changed after Oct. 7, 2023,' said Hussein, editor-in-chief of the Egyptian daily Al-Shorouk. 'I am proud to stand with the Arab League, but we are deeply divided.' Hussein spoke during a panel alongside Yacoubian, Lebanese journalist and member of parliament, and Al-Rumaihi, Kuwaiti author and sociology professor. 'For the first time in the Arab world, we're witnessing significant transformation,' said Yacoubian. 'We are beginning to build our own foundation.' While acknowledging developments such as the Syrian Arab Republic's tentative steps toward stabilization, and the formation of a new Lebanese government, the panelists underscored persistent structural challenges across the region. 'The Israeli dream is to divide Syria — so what are Arabs doing in response?' Yacoubian asked, pointing to regional inaction and disunity. Each panelist offered a distinct perspective on the root causes of the Arab world's instability. 'Political Islam and the manipulation of religion remain among the most serious internal conflicts we face,' said Al-Rumaihi. Hussein echoed this sentiment: 'Political Islam is the biggest threat we face today. While many talk about solutions, few are willing to diagnose the real disease.' Despite differing viewpoints, the panelists agreed on one point: media and education must be at the heart of efforts to heal political rifts. 'Arab education is classical,' Al-Rumaihi noted. 'We need to provide an education to give people immunity against anything the media says.' Hussein added: 'Many can't comprehend the evolving language of today's youth. The Arab world remains in the dark, and our leaders are enabling this. Without free media, we cannot survive.'
Free Malaysia Today
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Malay political unity is a chimaera
From Terence Netto Malay political unity is not a magic wand that a leader can wave and just like that, a fragmented polity will emerge united. There was Malay unity from the time of the community's opposition to the Malayan Union proposals of the British shortly after World War II. That unity, which saw the proposals withdrawn under Malay pressure, held intact for four decades under the tutelage of Umno, but later began to fray and break under the overly long premiership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Mahathir is now on record as saying that Malay unity unravelled under his successors, which is not accurate. Semangat 46, the Umno splinter group, was formed during the premiership of Mahathir. It was a consequence of the contest between Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for the Umno presidency in 1987. Semangat did not last long, but its dissolution and return to Umno in 1995 was a foretaste of the convulsions in Umno and consequent fragmentations in the Malay vote. That became plain when Umno president Mahathir sacked his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, in September 1998. With that, the Malay vote split further, following the formation of Parti Keadilan Nasional in 1999, which later morphed into PKR in 2003. The fragmentation of Malay unity was not just the consequence of upheavals in Umno, of which Mahathir and his authoritarian ways was the cause. Splits also occurred in PAS, Umno's longtime rival for the Malay vote. In 2015, the Islamic party saw a departure from its ranks of the progressive forces within it. The upshot: Amanah was formed in late 2015 when the progressives who hitherto had co-existed uneasily with the conservatives in PAS were routed in internal elections in June that year. In the cases of both Umno and PAS, the authoritarianism of the party supremo – Mahathir in Umno and Abdul Hadi Awang in PAS – fomented the fissures that eventuated in a splinter party being formed. The party supremo's tendency to favour loyalists, who happened to be mediocre, over capable individuals whose loyalty could not be guaranteed bred discontent and ultimately weakened the party. As a result of these trends, Malay unity withered on the vine. An upsurge in the number of 'jaguh kampung', or leaders who champion race and religion in Umno, undermined the delicate balance the party had previously maintained between the competing interests of the nation's races. In the pre-Mahathir past, Umno was pretty good at surveying the national horizon of circumstance and while defending and advancing the Malay interest, refrained from too robust an advocacy. It was a balance that was comfortable with the notion of Malay primacy in all matters. Under Mahathir, this balance was eroded by the notion of Malay dominance. Its destructive effects were seen in the increased competition for positions in Umno. This engendered corruption and abuse of power. Under Mahathir's 22-year premiership, the seeds of Malay disunity were sown through this transgression – the imposition of destructive Malay dominance over sensible Malay primacy. The physician ought to heal himself. Terence Netto is a senior journalist and an FMT reader. The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
LBCI
19-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
MP Gebran Bassil says municipal elections exposed the myth of NGOs
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader and MP Gebran Bassil said the party's choices in the recent municipal elections in Beirut were driven by a political agreement to preserve the city's sectarian power-sharing balance, which he described as vital for coexistence. "Beirut has proven it cherishes unity, and its people have demonstrated greater awareness than any political leader in their commitment to parity," Bassil said in a press conference. He criticized a breach of that balance by the electoral list led by MP Nabil Badr, warning that political fragmentation can occur despite public awareness. "This incident shows the need to reinforce the spirit of parity with legal safeguards," he added. Bassil also addressed the participation of the Lebanese Forces in a joint municipal list with Hezbollah in Beirut, saying it was justified by both parties as necessary to maintain the delicate balance. "This challenged the narrative against our previous political understandings with Hezbollah," he noted. Bassil stressed that the FPM's approach to the elections was rooted in supporting family-based representation rather than partisan dominance. He also aimed at civil society groups, accusing them of hypocrisy and weakness in areas with a developmental or political electoral identity. "The elections exposed the myth of the NGOs and their demonization of political parties," Bassil said, adding that many of these organizations had failed to impact municipal contests, particularly in Beirut. In the Bekaa and Baalbek-Hermel regions, Bassil said the FPM maintained a significant presence across several districts. "From Hermel to Zahle and Rachaya, we are still strong among Christian voters. In West Bekaa, we helped broker electoral understandings, and in Zahle, we remain a major force." While acknowledging setbacks in the town of Qaa due to internal divisions, he said the FPM had scored wins in nearby Ras Baalbek and Jdeidet Fakeha, which carry weight in the local political landscape. "Even in Hermel, where our presence is limited, we succeeded in electing several mukhtars," Bassil added.
