This is not a newsletter where I mock Americans about their state of affairs. I’m not American. So, I do not claim to know the nuances of American politics and her people’s way of life. I do not find the chaos in the United States entertaining in any way.

But as a Malaysian, I recognize the pain of political and societal chaos. We’ve lived it, and I want to say that my heart goes out to every US citizen, whatever their tribe.

Lessons from Malaysia’s turbulence

Over the last two decades, Malaysian politics has been, to put it mildly—wild. Corruption scandals, collapsing coalitions, prime ministers changing like weather patterns. Each new government promised reforms, then stumbled. Some were overthrown after buffet dinners. We were the laughingstock of the world. (Zip to the end of the newsletter where I list Malaysia’s “biggest hits”.)

Through it all, Malaysians learned a hard truth: unity is never automatic. During those years, dark powers tried to divide Malaysians by racial and religious lines. By some miracle, most Malaysians remained united.

In school, Malaysians were taught how British colonialists used “divide and conquer” tactics to keep us from uniting enough to form an effective resistance. Perhaps it is these lessons that kept us vigilant of divide and conquer tactics.

We were also taught this old parable: a single reed is easy to break, but a bundle of reeds bound together is nearly unbreakable.

During the turbulent years of Malaysia (and, to be honest, I don’t think we’re out of it yet), that image stuck with me.

Watching the United States from afar

Hearing that some radical far left folks were celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk was deeply disturbing to me. Seeing the right condemn the left for Charlie Kirk’s death without evidence was equally uncomfortable.

(Before you list down all the terrible Charlie Kirk said, let me assure you that I know about them. However, I want to caution people about evaluating someone’s right to live based on a few sound bites or quotes.)

The fact that people don’t seem to realise that it is disturbing to celebrate the death of another human being is … disturbing.

Well, unless they think that Charlie Kirk is less than human. By dehumanising him, rending him inhuman, it makes it okay to cheer when he’s killed in front of his children.

Urhm. I hope you understand what’s wrong with this picture.

What’s obvious to all of us outside the United States is that the divisions in the US has gone dangerously deep. The country is now divided into tribes that define themselves via political, racial, religious, cultural and even gender lines. And they cannot see eye-to-eye.

From where I sit, it looks like the United States is made up of individual reeds, each snapped off from the bundle, each fragile and alone.

So, what can a normal human being do?

Online, I often see people from the US introduce themselves by labels first: capitalist, progressive, anti-this, pro-that.

Before they start their argument (it is always some kind of argument), they will declare what tribe they belong to.

I want to shake them and say: stop reducing yourself to labels. You’re a human being first!

When I tell American online friends to stop attacking “the left” or “the right” on social media, they think I’m trying to censor them. I’m not.

I’m trying to explain what we Malaysians have learned over the last few painful decades: you need to be united as a people to effect any effective change in your country.

There are three simple things you can do today to get out of this miasma of doom that seemed to have enveloped your country.

One: Treat your fellow citizens as human beings, no matter what political/tribe they belong to.

Two: Share words of love and unity, instead of conflict and division, online.

Three: Stop consuming media that promotes division, hatred and conflict.

Unity isn’t automatic

In Malaysia, rhetoric (racist, political or anything divisive) sometimes result in action from the law; understandably, some folks have come to resent that.

However, after the decade we’ve been through, I am glad that at least it taught some of us to be careful with our words, and that “freedom of speech” is a great responsibility and is meaningless if they cause pain, turmoil and division.

For example in 2022, there were hundreds of videos on TikTok that featured people displaying weapons such as knives and machetes threatening Malaysians with violence during a contentious election. I’m glad that the Malaysian government swiftly acted on this. I don’t believe in freedom of speech absolutism; especially when careless words provokes others to act in violence.

I don’t pretend Malaysia has all the answers. But I know this: unity is never automatic. It’s daily work, it involves give and take, and it depends on how we tell our stories—whether through parades, conversations about race, or even the way we post online.

I hope folks in the United States can break away from the paradigm that they find themselves in.

I hope that you will develop the media literacy needed when consuming media (both mainstream and alternate). Be aware that media, no matter their political affiliation, covers the news like it’s a gladiator tournament in the coliseum, desperately trying to keep people “entertained”, dehumanising “the other side” so that it seems “acceptable” when they are attacked or killed. You can recognise their modus operandi by the way they talk about the “other side”. They are always mocking them. They talk about what makes you different instead of what unites you as citizens of your country or the world.

When citizens no longer view each other as fellow humans with feelings or families, that country is in big trouble.

As humans, we need to step out of the coliseum and not contribute to the chorus for violence. And that means seeing people from other “tribes” as people too. And that means resisting our primal, tribal urges.

Again, unity isn’t automatic. It takes work. Don’t expect it to happen if you write a social media posts celebrating the death of a fellow human being or anything that dehumanises the “other side”. (PS: One very common tactic I see people do online is to call the other side names, whether it be “stupid”, “woke” or “uneducated”. When the media you follow starts reducing groups of people or individuals to a slur or moniker, be careful.)

The reed bundle is only strong if we choose to bind together.

So, citizens of the United States, my heart is with you, and I hope you can overcome this.

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Here’s a quick summary of Malaysia’s last crazy two decades (thank you, Perplexity):

Bersih Rallies

– 2007: First Bersih rally organized, demanding electoral reforms and clean elections.

– July 2011: Bersih 2.0 rally held with large public turnout, demanding cleaning of electoral roll and fair media access. Marked by police crackdowns and injuries.

– August 2015: Bersih 4 rally demanding institutional reforms and protesting the 1MDB scandal. Coordinated across multiple cities, facing government arrests and bans.

– Subsequent Bersih rallies through the 2010s and early 2020s continued to advocate electoral integrity and democratic reforms amid government crackdowns on activists.

Political instability milestones

– 2008: General Election weakened Barisan Nasional’s dominance, increasing political competition.

– 2018: Historic electoral victory for Pakatan Harapan, ending BN’s decades-long rule and raising hopes for reform.

– March 2020: Collapse of Pakatan Harapan government, leading to new coalition formation under Muhyiddin Yassin amid mounting instability.

– 2021: COVID-19 Emergency declared, adding to political tension and governance challenges.

– August 2021: Muhyiddin’s resignation as PM amid loss of parliamentary majority; Ismail Sabri Yaakob appointed PM.

– November 2022: Anwar Ibrahim becomes 10th Prime Minister after the 15th General Election resulting in a hung parliament and coalition negotiations.

– 2023-2025: Ongoing political shifts with debates on reform, governance, and managing ethnic-religious tensions affecting peace and stability.

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