By Syed Jaymal ZahiidKUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — There has been a long, historical connection between music and politics, and in Malaysia the thriving underground music scene could provide a primer for political parties eager to know just how the urban Malay vote may go in the next general elections.
Every weekend, at gigs around the country in the major urban centres of Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Penang and Ipoh, in community halls and studios, tens of thousands of almost exclusively Malay youth are rocking to the tunes of countless hardcore, punk and other kinds of indie bands.
It is a form of rebellion — by the bands, and their fans who have rejected mainstream music and who are not likely to accept the establishment political culture of Barisan Nasional (BN).
After suffering a bloody nose in last March’s general elections, the BN and even Pakatan Rakyat (PR) political machinery is grappling with the problem of how to engage with the two to three million new voters who will be eligible for the vote in the next polls.
Many of the new voters are Malay, young, urban and a significant number are found at underground music gigs.
Khairuddin Aziz, a guitarist with the straight-edge hardcore band Second Combat, believes that the younger generation of “tweeters” will not swallow whole the mainstream media’s vilification of PAS.
He believes they are more than capable of making their own judgement.
"I think it would be better than it is now if PAS rules the country. At least there wouldn't be any corruption," he told The Malaysian Insider.
His remark is something which would have been unheard of just a few years ago. Many in the underground music scene regard PAS as the enemy instead of BN, as the Islamist conservatives is considered a threat to their way of lives.
"Go for the lesser evil," said political science graduate and bass player for Komplot, Haekal Talib on the growing antipathy some young urban Malay voters may feel towards Umno, the party of their fathers.
"We are social observers and we are Malaysians. My band and me, we want what is best for Malaysians. We might not be all political on stage, but when we are off stage, we talk about social issues."
Haekal's is but one of the many idealistic individuals in the underground scene who believe in social justice and want real change from BN which he says had failed to bring real progress to the country.
"In the 1970s, we were on par economically with South Korea. But there, the generation from that era grew to become engineers for successful multinational corporations like LG and Samsung while here, those from the same generation have grown to become fathers of the present day Mat Rempits.
“What went wrong?" he said.
And Achmed Xood, the frontman of the skinhead-ska band Roots N Boots, says more should be done to address the income disparity, which he believes is widespread among the Malays and non-Malays alike. The views of these young musicians appear to mirror the growing resentment among young, Malay youths towards the more right-wing racial views of their parents, and the frustration with the imperfections of the BN government’s affirmative action policies.
Still, the yearning for change is no guarantee that PR parties have the young vote in the bag.
Haekal expressed reservations against both PKR and the DAP. But he is particularly concerned with PAS and its conservative approach towards modern culture.
The young, urban, Malay vote appears to be still up for grabs even though it is leaning towards PR parties.
But BN and PR still have their work cut out.
Already the underground music scene has spawned massive crossovers into the mainstream.
The more cutting-edge and socially conscious music of bands like Meet Uncle Hussain, Pop Shuvit and Hujan have been dominating the airwaves in recent years.
Even corporate Malaysia is beginning to recognise the underground music scene as a fertile market, and is now sponsoring gigs and small concerts.
So far, political parties have yet to recognised this growing market.
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I think there's a huge gap between the aspirations of Malaysia's young people and the conservative offerings of its political parties. I agree with the article: much more needs to be done to conclusively win the trust and votes of young people.