Pemaknaan Kuasa dalam Kepimpinan Politik Melayu di Malaysia: Suatu Interpretasi Sejarah (The Signification of Power in Malay Political Leadership in Malaysia: A Historical Interpretation)

Abstract

ABSTRAK: Kuasa dalam politik Melayu sering dilihat dalam konteks amanah dan tanggungjawab orang yang memimpin kepada yang dipimpin. Pandangan tersebut membawa makna kuasa yang begitu sempurna dan holistik konsep, prinsip dan nilainya terutama kesan daripada pengaruh Islam dalam struktural sosiopolitik Melayu. Bagaimanapun, perkembangan sosialisasi dan modenisasi pasca kolonial dalam pemikiran Melayu telah membawa pemaknaan kuasa politik Melayu cenderung kepada spekulasi dan manipulasi. Keadaan ini secara langsung telah memecahkan pemaknaan kuasa yang difahami secara tradisi sebelum ini yang berteraskan pemusatan top down. Pemaknaan kuasa mula beralih dan cenderung kepada exceptionalism (politics of exception) seperti mana yang dipraktikkan dalam kalangan masyarakat Eropah pasca zaman reformasi dan ia menular dalam kepimpinan politik Melayu moden. Sehubungan itu, artikel ini cuba membincangkan secara deskriptif persoalan yang menyentuh pemaknaan kuasa dalam kepimpinan politik Melayu di Malaysia dengan melihat latar sejarah sebagai mekanisme perkembangan dan perubahan tersebut. Pada masa yang sama juga, analisis perbincangan turut meliputi cabaran kepimpinan politik Melayu dalam menangani perubahan pemaknaan kuasa tersebut dalam struktur sosiopolitik Melayu di Malaysia.

Kata kunci: Kuasa; Melayu; Islam tradisi; politics of exception

ABSTRACT: The concept of power in Malay politics has always been seen in the context of the trust and responsibility of the people who lead to those led. This view means perfect power, a holistic concept in its principals and values, especially as an effect of Islamic influence in Malay socio-political structure. However, the development of post-colonial socialization and modernization in Malay ideology caused the signification of power in Malay politics to be predisposed to speculation and manipulation. This situation had directly shattered its signification as traditionally understood before, which was based on top down centralization. It then started to shift and gravitate to exceptionalism (politics of exception) as it was practiced among the post-reformation era Europeans and spread within the modern Malay political leadership. Thus, this paper attempts to descriptively discuss the issue affecting the meaning of power in Malay political leadership in Malaysia by observing the historical background as its developmental and transformational mechanism. At the same time, this analytical discussion also encompasses the challenges faced by Malay political leadership in handling the change of the signification of power in Malay socio-political structure in Malaysia.

Keywords: Power; Malay; Islamic tradition; politics of exception