Please see my previous postings dated 6 November 2010 and 11 November 2010. (Lily)
Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/148329
A conversation with Hillary Clinton, Pt 2, 16 November 2010
by KJ John
For those who have not read my column regularly over the years, here is a context-setting statement.
This series is Version 3 of my weekly column in Malaysiakini over the last five years and is about two things - both my interpretive text and context and how all that relates to truth matters in Malaysia.
The first two series were focused on issues related to different themes - 'In Another Tongue', and 'Without Favour or Fear'.
The observation I made in my last column about my conversation with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton was about mutual cross-cultural miscommunication and misunderstanding between Malaysians and Americans; as between any husband and wife.
To break that impasse it is important to frame all such communication within a specific context.
Allow me therefore to record the exact text and comments which, in my mind, gave rise to my perception and views about the problem, and how we can grow two-way understanding and communication premised upon her agreement that it is also needed.
I have therefore reproduced it as forwarded to me by my colleague who is more technology-sophisticated than I am.
My conversation and our text
On Wed, Nov 3, 2010 at 11:10 AM, Ong Kian Ming passed me the text of his recording of my comment and Clinton's reply:
Question: Thank you. Welcome to Malaysia, Secretary of State, and let me just give you a brief perception of what I think Malaysia is, but not yet appreciated by the United States. In 50 years, we have reduced poverty from 37 percent something down to 3 percent.
And in 50 years, we have taken agricultural children and made them engineers who work in Cyberjaya. No other country in the world has systematically and schematically reduced and moved an entire generation of people from the third sector, which is agriculture, to the first sector.
So I think we are a global model, but unfortunately - I studied in the US, so I am thankful that I can articulate my ideas - but unfortunately, (the) United States has never understood the potential of Malaysia. You still think Saudi Arabia is better or Indonesia is better politically or the Philippines is better politically. (laughter)
So let me suggest to you, Minister, that you seriously consider sending your final year public policy students, international relations students for a semester abroad in Malaysia. We will teach them cross-cultural communications in really significant ways, because we are going into a very multicultural world. And unless you remove the ethnocentric world view, you will not appreciate the others better. That's just my advice. Thank you.
Secretary Clinton: Well, that's - (applause) - that is advice that I'm going to take. (laughter) And as I said early on, the way that Malaysia has developed economically and politically, so that you had inclusive economic growth but a vigorous political system is the model for the 21st century. And countries that do one without the other, I don't believe in 50 years will see the results that Malaysia has produced.
So I do think there is a very rich opportunity for more cross-fertilisation between the United States and Malaysia, and one of the first things that Ambassador Jones and I will do is to try to create a programme for an exchange of our policy students, and also perhaps some of our think-tanks that need to be more closely connected and working together, and if you will be sure to come to see Ambassador Jones, we will follow up on this idea. Thank you. (applause)
Paradigms and worldviews
When I made the proposal for the US to send its final year international relations or public diplomacy students for a semester in Malaysia to understand and appreciate our 'Truly Asia' slogan, I had in mind a study about worldviews.
To me, it will never be a 'clash of civilisations', as per Huntington's thesis, unless we are all going to become uncivil about life in the 21st century for all of us.
I really also believe that we in Malaysia are intuitively multicultural and multi-ethnic in our perspectives and we can quite clearly exchange views and worldviews for better mutual understanding; albeit maybe for now only at the individual level.
At the organisational levels, I believe we are still a categorical disaster; as is being made evident in both coalitions of political alliances, which we call the government or an alternative government.
That is also why Malaysia is not truly Asia yet or why Asean is also only very truly Asian. Complete integrity of ideas and ideals with actions are not yet visibly integrated.
It was Thomas Kuhn in 'The Structure of Scientific Revolutions' who first popularised the concept of worldviews. Paradigms are ways of thinking, which often define acting and being.
In Kuhn's mind and in scientific empirical methodology it is always premised on reason and logic based on facts and not emotions. Scientific truth is logical, rational and complete and premised on the foundation of the scientific method and all instruments of scientific versification of the CSI-type.
Worldviews are meta-paradigms. It is a bigger concept than paradigms because it transcends logic and extends beyond logic into beliefs which define values and then dictates attitudes and anticipates behavior at the individual level. Worldviews transcend mere logic and extend into what can be called 'truth matters'.
In this meta-paradigm perspective, scientific truth is limiting and cannot become the sole basis of and for life choices.
Paradigms are limited to issues and concerns in the here and now and in material terms but worldviews incur life choices which define directions and set purposes or establish the teleological hierarchy of purposes which always imputes a larger whole than our mere conceptions.
Part 3 will appear next week
・KJ JOHN was in public service for 29 years. He is now dean of the Faculty of Economics and Policy Science at UCSI University, Malaysia. The views expressed above are truths that matter to him as an individual citizen wearing private and civil society hats and therefore are not opinions of the university or faculty. Do send feedback to him at kjjohn@ohmsi.net
(End)
