Hey folks! I will be busy for a long while and will probably be inactive on this site for the same period. I am starting my final year of university - very exciting times ahead.

As a result I’d like to leave a short primer about Malaysian and Singaporean politics on a highly contentious issue: race. Feel free to DM for further elaboration or sources regarding Malaysian/Singaporean politics. I am happy to oblige (whenever I have the time).

Alright, here it goes.

Class, race, culture, community, ethnicity and religion. All are jumbled up when talking about politics in Malaysia and Singapore.

How so? Firstly we have to take a civilisational approach: Chinese, Indian, Malay and Orang Asal (“Original People”) all have their own unique history of thousands of years, and within each there are defining characteristics that define their social structure.

What happens when this long overlapping cultural exchange in the Straits of Malacca gets disrupted by more recent and numerous immigration from South and East Asia under colonization?

This leads to stratification and polarization of the Malayan political economy (old name for Peninsular Malaysia that includes Singapore).

The Malayan Left had many arguments and debates on how to handle these fundamental cultural issues that have plagued the region for centuries. The debate is still ongoing.

However, there, perhaps 2 main strands can be identified:

1. Those that defines cultural autonomy as the primary contradiction.

2. Those that defines class and national liberation as the primary contradiction.

Many organisations can be labelled as one or the other but those within the same camp may not necessarily agree with each other with everything.

For an example, those that fall into

1. often fall into communal fights with other groups. An example of this would be the Chinese Literacy Movement that sought to maintain the existence of colonial era Chinese Language Schools, which more often than not, are also not under the purview of the colonial government (ie. in effect are private schools).

2. often underestimate the role of culture and race in the social reproduction of the Malayan economy. An example of this would be the MCP (Malayan Communist Party). In many of their party debates, it was often assumed that after national liberation was achieved, racial/cultural/communal issues would vanish. Unfortunately for us, we did not achieve true independence and the racialised political economy remains.

Prologue -

I can continue of course but I hope this short glimpse can help you understand why in my arguments I often involve terms such as “racialised”, “culture” or “chauvinism”. Because it is an essential part of understanding Malayan politics.

But understanding Malayan politics also requires some understanding of South, East and Southeast Asian politics. Under the global hegemony of US-led Capital, Eurocentrism and Orientalism pervades many thinkers, even in the Global South. There must be acknowledgment of this fundamental inequality of intellectual production which is overwhelmingly skewed to the West.

Only then you can finally understand and deal with the material realities of what we, the peoples of the Third World, have to face everyday.

~~See~~ Read you all later.

Since I am bored with all the Yankee electoralism, here’s a general profile of Malaysian electoral parties

Most of these parties and coalitions also form larger coalitions and/or are splinters/mergers of each other.

I use “Malay-Muslim” to denote a racial-religious political identity unique to Malaysian and Singaporean politics. “Malay” has multiple meanings and various contestations throughout Nusantara (Maritime Southeast Asia).

“Racialism” is also used to highlight the particularities of how race plays out in Malaysia and Singapore, which is different (but interconnected) to how “Racism” plays out in the West and other colonized regions (Latin America and Africa). Malaysia and Singapore’s closest comparison will probably be East Africa as a result.

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Barisan Nasional (aka The Tripartite Alliance or the OG compradors, racialism and anti-communism):

UMNO - Malay-Muslim feudal lords and now national bourgeoisie. Racialism with neoliberalism, original progenitors of “Ketuanan Melayu” (Malay-Muslim Supremacy/Dominance) which simmered down the past decade

MCA - Chinese bourgeoisie, had contacts with the KMT, Chinese racialism

MIC - Tamil and Hindu communalism, Indian racialism

KIMMA - Muslim Indian communalism, minor party

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Perikatan Nasional (Malay-Muslim racialism):

PAS - Political Islam with racialised characteristics, used to be anti-colonial anti-neoliberal left, drifted more to big-tent for racialised rural Malay-Muslim politics with current leader

Bersatu - splinter because of perceived faults in UMNO, racialised “indigenous rights” (more akin to “nativist” in American context) with focus on “indigenous” Malay-Muslim politics, full membership exclusive to “indigenous” people

Gerakan - Global South Social Democracy

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Pakatan Harapan (Capital L Liberalism, mostly urban base, allegedly “reformist”):

PKR - Social Liberalism

DAP - Western Social (Liberal) Democracy, key proponent of “Malaysian Malaysia”, a racialised liberal compromise

Amanah - Splinter faction of PAS, Political Islam with Social Liberalism

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Others

GRS - coalition with many component parties, Racialism with regional characteristics

GPS - coalition with many component parties, Racialism with regional characteristics

MUDA - Global South Social Democracy, youth politics

Warisan - Social Liberalism, regional

Pejuang - Malay-Muslim Dominance/Supremacy “Ketuanan Melayu”

PSM and PRM - Marxism/Socialism

The Manila Times - China-built Laos railway could be a game changer for Asean connectivity

VIENTIANE — A direct train service between the Thai capital Bangkok and Laotian capital Vientiane will begin on July 19, according to Thai Railway sources, that could herald a game changer for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) connectivity, making the dream of a pan-Asian railway a step closer.

Once this becomes a regular service, it would be possible to travel by train from Singapore to Beijing via Malaysia, Thailand and Laos.

At Boten on the Laos-China border, when I visited an exhibition on the first floor of the multi-story headquarters of the Haicheng Development Group, a map of the planned railway connections across the Asean region caught my attention. ‌> The exhibits are focused on how the company plans to develop Boten into a modern metropolis like Singapore or Hong Kong — not with a modern port but a railway hub for the region. It shows how the railways coming from China and going through Boten to Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore would potentially make the region a nirvana for trade, tourism and cultural interaction.

The China-built 414-kilometer-long railway across landlocked Laos, costing $5.9 billion, is the linchpin of the expanding connectivity across Southeast Asia. The Laos railway is a technological masterpiece that is becoming a major advertisement for China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — even though it is often described as a "debt trap" by Western (and Japanese) media who point out that the project cost is about 39 percent of Laos' GDP, and that Laos will be choked with debt for at least two decades. But Laotians, who are now patronizing the trains in droves, dismiss any talk of a debt trap.

"I don't see it as a debt trap. Most Laotians don't see it that way either," said a government development economist, who does not want to be named because he has no permission to speak to the media. "China has helped us to catapult into the 21st century. It is an economic opportunity for a landlocked nation. I would like to ask the critics, would you build it for us?"

When I took the high-speed train recently from Boten — on the Chinese border — to Laos' capital Vientiane, I was greatly impressed with the efficiency of the service and the technological feat of building such a railway through some of the most rugged terrain in Asia, that included 74 tunnels. With just three stops on the way, you arrive at the Laotian capital in just over three hours, a journey that would have taken 2 to 3 days before the railway came.

rest of the article

The high-speed train is operated like an airline, with the stations in the main cities looking like airport terminals. Like at airports, passengers and baggage go through security x-ray machines, and they have to wait in a large transit hall with cafés and shops, until about five minutes before the train arrives, when their boarding tickets are checked before entering the platform. During the journey, while the train travels at between 150-160km/hr, cabin crew dressed like air hostesses go around with trolleys selling eats and drinks.

"People fail to understand that Laos is a landlocked country, and logistically, we are disadvantaged at doing business with other countries. Laos shipments were going mainly through Thailand, and the costs were very high. This rail has high potential to assist Laos exports of minerals, agriculture and manufacturing produce to China and other countries," economics professor and vice president of Laos National University, Phouphet Kyophilavong, told IDN in an interview. "It's a big opportunity for us in terms of economic development. It should attract FDIs from China and other countries."

"Before the railway, traveling to the north was very difficult. Roads were bad, too many accidents and other problems. Now even poor people can travel to Vientiane and other parts, less costly than bus and air," added Phouphet. The Laos-China Railway Company (LCR) that runs the rail system is a joint venture between three Chinese state-owned enterprises that collectively hold a 70 percent ownership stake and one Laos state-owned enterprise that owns 30 percent. The agreement was signed in 2016 as a build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession agreement with the government of Laos.

Laos — which was a French colony for almost a century in the 19th and 20th centuries — never had a railway. Thus, the Chinese have set up the Laos Railway Vocational Training College in Vientiane to train a whole team of Laotians to run their railway. Twenty-year-old Fony Sulijul, who comes from a poor northern Laos village near Boten, is training at the college to become a railway technician. He told IDN that the railway is creating opportunities for young people in those remote areas to come to Vientiane to study because it wouldn't take 2 to 3 days to go back home — it takes less than 10 hours now. Chinese experts train While he studies Chinese at a local language school here in the evenings, during the day, he trains at the college to become a railway technician. "Chinese experts train us in working in the railway electrical system and its management. They teach in Chinese language but with Laos co-trainers," he said. "After finishing the three-year diploma course, I want to work for the Laos railway. I would like to be a train driver." He said that at present, the trains are driven by Chinese with a Laotian co-driver in the cabin.

Fony said that the Chinese trainers tell them, "We want to train you and leave you to run the train system" in three years' time.

The World Bank, in a report titled "Land-locked to Land-linked," published in 2020, said that if the countries undertake complementary policy reforms, the Laos-China railway could make Laos more attractive as an investment destination and link it to major production and consumption areas in China and the Asean region, allowing firms to access global value chains.

"A number of planned export processing zones around train stations could serve as attractive investment locations, as long as they are properly equipped and effectively managed. With efficient logistics services, Laos PDR could develop into a logistics hub, while targeted investments in agriculture and tourism could result in new export opportunities," the report said, predicting that with proper government policies, trade flows between Laos and China could be increased three-fold via the rail network.

Overseas critics have pointed out that the rail stations built in cities like Boten, Luang Prabang and Vientiane are 10 km or more from the city centers. But local development planners pointed out to IDN that this is a deliberate forward-looking strategy to develop industrial zones surrounded by new "villages" to spur economic activity and spread the populations from congested city centers.

Already, container goods trains ply the rail network at regular intervals. Phouphet said he is currently doing a study on how to maximize the use of the railway and what policies the government needs to come up with.

He argues that the Laos Railway project would take a long time to see economic returns. "But the social and economic impact on the society is already showing positive results. Surely, we have debts. But with China, we can negotiate on that," Phouphet says confidently. "China will not allow its neighbors to fail economically. Terms are always renegotiated. They (outsiders) always criticize Chinese loans. But this is a significant loan for Laos economic development."

Bonus article by The Diplomat: Laos and China Use BRI-funded Railway to Bring Their Armies Together

Western culture, built on centuries of colonial savagery and imperial domination, is incapable of conceptualising and understanding international relations without the use of force.

In Communist North Korea, supporting the victims against the oppressor is illegal and you will be put under house arrest.

Strait Times - Self-radicalised S’porean teen, 14, and ex-public servant, 33, given ISA restriction orders

The 33-year-old, on the other hand, staunchly supported the Axis of Resistance, a network of Islamist militant and terrorist organisations, including Hamas and the Houthis, and advocated violence against Israelis and Jews, said the ISD.

“militant and terrorist” - comprador

Since the two people have been issued restriction orders, they cannot change their residence or employment, or travel out of Singapore, without the ISD director’s approval.

They also cannot access the internet or social media, issue public statements, address public meetings, or print, distribute or contribute to any publication, or hold office in or be a member of any organisation, association or group without prior approval.

Both Malaysia and Singapore have these ISA laws that were initially used against Communists and labour unionists, originating from the colonial era before independence. So much for “Asian values” while retaining colonial laws.

Me: You can't explain Malaysia-Singapore relations in one sentence

in 1916: "It is possible that the republican movement in one country may be merely an instrument of the clerical or financial-monarchist intrigues of other countries; if so, we must not support this particular, concrete movement"

Me:

2 recent articles from Al Mayadeen English I’d like to highlight, both covering similar themes

What Westerners Must Understand About The Necessity Of Palestinian Armed Struggle, Robert Inlakesh

This article is palatable to a Western audience as it directly engages with Western narratives. And so the arguments presented is nothing too out of the ordinary, with most of it hopefully being common knowledge for people here.

The Battle Against Western Arrogance, Hasan Abu Ali

I think a quote from the article itself provides a better summary than I myself could write:

I would expand on this to say: the Left's search for a non-Arab, non-Muslim resistance movement belies the fact that the center of the world revolution has been far from the West for a very long time. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, resistance has shifted from being interwoven into the fabric of Western society to something that predominantly comes from outside. The Western left, in its colonial arrogance, refuses to accept this fact, and even less the notion that, if there is a revolutionary center, it would be the Middle East.

Even among those who appreciate this revolutionary center, we are often treated as a kind of raging beast. We have an appreciable power to be sure but lack meaningful insights. These are the people who will watch our military exploits with great excitement but yawn at the impressive feats of coalition building, the slow rise to strategic equilibrium over decades, and the steady accumulation of resistance infrastructure in the world's most besieged and bombarded region. Only an arrogant Left that refuses to learn from those it sees as "lesser" could miss these monumental feats.

“contradictions” - a term constantly used but never defined

Because we are well-read enough to know one of the most famous writings from Mao you fucking idiot.

Annual survey of the Amerikan cultural apparatus and it’s efficacy

Source

Malaysia is the only country where a majority express a favorable opinion of Russia, with nearly six-in-ten Malaysians saying this. Opinion is more mixed in other middle-income countries: Roughly half hold a favorable view of Russia in Bangladesh, Peru, Thailand and Tunisia. In some middle-income countries, however, about a quarter of respondents or more do not offer an opinion.

…

The rise in favorable views of Russia is less pronounced in other countries, including Germany, Mexico and South Korea. In each, the share of adults with a positive opinion has increased by 5 points since last year. The share holding a positive view has also grown in Malaysia and Singapore, where we last surveyed in 2022, immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Yeah I do not recall reading or encountering even one local Anti-Russian piece.

At most it would be the Singaporean foreign minister posturing about “smol bean” Ukraine standing up against the “larger oppressor”.

The youth support anti-imperialism and pluripolarity

This is different from my usual posts. It is an open letter from one of the only Marxist formulations in my country. I think it succinctly addresses a lot of the local arguments that are of interesting rhetorical value and in which I assume a lot of the people here are not often exposed to, especially when Western media often likes to picture Malaysia as Pro-Hamas and Pro-Palestine.

Note: It is common to refer to people by their first names in formal settings because a majority of the ethnic groups here have no concept of a family name. This is true for Indonesia and Brunei as well.

Palestine is more important

I take note of Tengku Zafrul’s defence of BlackRock, which has strong links to Israel, arguing that it has major shares in Apple, WhatsApp and Facebook. I take note of Defence Minister Khaled Nordin defending the inclusion of Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, both complicit in Israel’s military dominance, in the recent Defence Service Asia (DSA) 2024 expo held in Kuala Lumpur with the argument that Malaysia is a free trading nation. I take note of Anwar’s urge of caution against not participating in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (Rimpac), a US-led maritime military exercise which includes the participation of the Israeli army.

But one thing remains. Palestine is more important.

Zafrul should understand that the deep roots of BlackRock in all major cultural mechanisms of the world is a cause for concern, not submission. Khaled should understand that giving space for those actively involved in the cleansing of innocent souls to put up a booth in our nation’s capitol is indirect endorsement of their practices. Anwar, so vocal with his support for Palestine when a microphone is in his hand, should understand participating in any US-led military exercise, especially with the direct involvement of Israel, makes his supposed support ring hollow. None of these have to do with global participation or the United Nations, whose highest court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.

We understand that this capitalist government alongside every other capitalist government we have had bends the knee willingly to the US and it’s allies no matter how many lives are lost. We understand the need for free trade and the intricacies of navigating an unfree world with the conglomerate of NATO nations bullying others willingly. We understand that taking any material step to disrupt the lives of the US, Israel and their military industrial complex is an immense risk for our nation.

Having said all of that, Palestine is more important.

We know this government wants to make political gains against Perikatan Nasional, so every Palestine protest by them is labelled a political ploy. We know Perikatan are also only using this issue for clout, using the issue to further divide Malaysians on the basis of race and religion. We know the mudslinging on both parts is to distract from the real issues people like BDS Malaysia and Gegar are pushing.

We acknowledge all of that. But Palestine is more important.

Have some perspective. There is a genocide happening. There are pictures of children being dismembered. There are videos of bombs raining down on innocent Palestinians. Bombs made by whom, funded by whom? And at this time when the world is divesting, when people around the globe are protesting and day-by-day, though the bombs keep raining down, the will of the Palestinian people remains unbroken. When victory approaches as each material step is taken by those who claim to be allies of Palestine. When necessary military action is taken by all who can over the land Israel occupies. Is it at this time we want to play the card of free trade, global citizenship and national security?

It is time to take some risks. Begin withdrawing from all of the above actions. Send back the US ambassador until the conflict is over. Take some risks because, to us, Palestine is more important. To you?

BenarNews (US Funded Media) - US officials to discuss with Malaysia ‘potential impact’ of Iran sanctions’ violations

Treasury Department says it’s concerned about Washington-sanctioned Iranian oil being moved from ship to ship in Southeast Asian waters.

A U.S. Treasury delegation will discuss the consequences of allowing transshipments of Washington-sanctioned Iranian oil in meetings with government officials here this week, amid longtime allegations by Western news and research firms that Malaysia permits Iran to use its waters for ship-to-ship petroleum transfers.

Western news

YOU YOURSELF ARE WESTERN NEWS?

…The American officials who arrived in Kuala Lumpur late on Monday will engage in blunt discussions with their Malaysian counterparts, U.S. Ambassador Edgard Kagan said on the sidelines of Asia’s largest defense show.

“You brown orientals need to listen to the White Man and stop trading with the Islamofascist Terrorists”

“We are confident that the Malaysian government understands the U.S. position with regard to transshipment of oil that has been sanctioned, and understands the potential impact that this could have,” Kagan said in response to a question about whether Washington sees Malaysia as a transshipment hub for Iranian oil.

These Crakkkers need to STFU. Keep swinging buddy, it’ll just encourage further decoupling from the West.

He did not elaborate on what he meant by “potential impact,” which could mean anything from sanctions on Malaysia to an emboldened Iran potentially causing more trouble for Washington.

Sanctions deny people or companies access to assets within the United States and prevent American citizens or financial institutions from doing business with them.

Don’t know how that concerns people in Southeast Asia but okay

“We look forward to candid and frank discussions that are going to be done very much from our standpoint in the spirit of working together to address a common problem,” Kagan said.

Go ahead and sanction. I don’t think the numerous American companies based in Malaysia are gonna react too kindly to the political machinations of the warmongers affecting their bottomline.

common problem

It clearly ain’t a problem for the numerous local businesses benefiting from trade with Iran.

In December, the U.S Treasury Department imposed sanctions on four Malaysia-based companies it accused of helping Iran’s production of drones. Washington accuses Iran of supplying deadly drones to what it says are terrorist proxies in the Middle East, and to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Only four? The companies in Malaysia need to step up their game.

On Friday, the Treasury Department said that two of its top officials would visit Malaysia and Singapore on May 6-9 to advance its work in countering what it called terror financing by Iran and its proxies, and the implementation of sanctions against Russia.

Only Singapore has imposed sanctions on Russia. The USA is not in the position to dictate how an independent country wants to handle their own trade and diplomatic relations. Fuck off

“In Malaysia, Under Secretary Nelson and General Counsel MacBride will discuss the United States’ efforts to disrupt terrorist financing, including through fundraising for fraudulent charities and illicit oil sales, while ensuring that U.S. sanctions and other financial measures do not impede the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

efforts to disrupt terrorist financing, including fundraising for fraudulent charities

We should ban the New Endowment for Democracy to be in line with the stated objectives.

humanitarian aid

Such as “lethal aid” for Israel mayhaps?

BenarNews contacted the Prime Minister’s Office and the foreign ministry for comment on the U.S. officials’ visit and Kagan’s comments, but did not immediately hear back.

I don’t think they care to respond to US propaganda outlets.

Both the issues – sanctions against Russia and Iran – have seen the East and the West divided in their responses. 

No shit.

…Malaysia has taken a stance supporting Iran, which launched drones and fired missiles at Israel on April 13. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim described Iran’s actions as a “legitimate act” in response to Israel’s “barbarous” attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus.

This is the opinion of the Global Majority.

‘I will not accept any threats’ …He said in November that Malaysia would maintain ties with Hamas and not be cowed by the threat of “unilateral” sanctions for doing so in the face of a proposed U.S. law to sanction the group’s supporters.  He was responding to the Nov. 1 passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of the Hamas and Other Palestinian Terrorist Groups International Financing Prevention Act. It has yet to be passed by the Senate. “I will not accept any threats, including this,” Anwar said in Parliament back then.  “This action is unilateral and not valid because we, as members of the United Nations, only recognize decisions made by the United Nations Security Council.” 

I have covered this before but I’ll repeat again: Anwar faces internal opposition from more radical Islamic political factions that are staunchly pro-Palestine and Anti-Zionist. Even if he wasn’t himself a believer of a modernist Islam, it would be political suicide if he did not take a stance for Hamas.

The government’s position is entirely in line with the opinion of the vast majority in Malaysia.

In December, Malaysia banned Israeli shipping company ZIM, vessels flying the Israeli flag and those headed there from docking at its ports, saying the move was a response to the Jewish state’s actions in Gaza.

Is the article trying to imply hypocrisy here? Lmao.

Washington ups the pressure Still, allegations about Malaysia’s support for Iran evasion of U.S.  sanctions have been made for years, and long before the latest crisis in the Middle East.  More recently, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA), in September, noted that China’s oil imports from Malaysia in the first half of 2023 rose to 1 million barrels a day – a figure that exceeded total production in Malaysia.

Actually maybe Malaysia increased production imo I think we are rushing too much on our conclusions.

USEIA pointed to a May 2021 article from the Washington-based Middle East Institute’s website  to explain this discrepancy. The article was titled “Iranian sanctions evasion and the Gulf’s complex oil trade,” and cited news sources like Bloomberg and Reuters as well. “With a heavy discount on Iran’s high-risk, illegal oil exports, buyers in China are purchasing so much that oil tankers are ‘clogging up’ ports in the country,” the article said, referring to a Bloomberg News story for the information about the choked ports.

Thank you China, very cool.

The Treasury officials’ visit to Malaysia comes less than two weeks after President Joe Biden signed a national security package that included the “21st Century Peace through Strength Act,” which extends the statute of limitations for violations of sanctions to 10 years.

“Peace through Strength Act” sounds like satire

In a recent article for The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, research assistant Rebecca Redlich wrote that “Kuala Lumpur is once again displaying its willingness to facilitate Iran’s illicit activity.”

It’s the free market at work baby. The invisible hand supports Iran and Hamas, what can I say?

“The United States has repeatedly sought to curb Kuala Lumpur’s growing ties with Iran by sanctioning various Malaysia-based entities,” she said in her article dated April 24.

Ya’ll repeating what the colonizers did 300 years ago and think no one here will see the ploy for what it is.

“U.S. officials have focused most of their outreach and punitive actions on areas where Malaysian decisions directly threaten U.S. objectives, such as facilitating illicit Iranian oil sales and creating a permissive environment for sanctions evasion.”

So much for the free and open trade and markets.

Again - why should Malaysia care if what they do threaten US objectives? Should a Global South country not advocate for and do stuff that is in their best interests?

Death to Amerikkka

Al Mayadeen English - Time, Space, and the Will

Those who have a connection to the land, and who know its every intimate corner will always have the advantage, even in the face of imperialist terror

Journalist Antony Lowenstein wrote a book called “The Palestine Laboratory'', which details how the Zionist entity uses Palestine as a testing ground for their weapons which they sell to other merchants of death worldwide. In this article, I want to flip this laboratory analogy on its head, by showing how Palestine is where 21st-century guerilla warfare is being developed strategically and tactically. First, there will be a survey of a few 20th-century guerilla warfare tacticians such as Mao and Vo Nguyen Giap, who laid the ground for the Palestinian fedayeen of the 1960s and 1970s. Then, a piece of writing from the martyr Basel al Araj titled Live Like a Porcupine, Fight Like a Flea will be analyzed alongside the actions of resistance factions against the Zionist garrison state.

In reference to the advances of the Vietnamese People’s Army against the French and American imperialists, General Vo Nguyen Giap argued that “in the face of an enemy as powerful as he is cruel, victory is possible only by uniting the whole people within the bosom of a firm and wide national front based on the worker-peasant alliance”. While General Giap is undoubtedly a master tactician of the previous generation, the rank and file of the people’s army showed how correct his analyses are in practice. The question of land remains the decisive factor in planning and executing guerilla warfare.

Those who have a connection to the land, and who know its every intimate corner will always have the advantage, even in the face of imperialist terror. The Vietnamese People’s Army–under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh and General Giap–used the terrain to set traps for imperialist troops, but also to be able to mesh with the masses of workers and peasants. The types of traps used included false floors with snake pits underneath, nets to corral foreign troops into ambushes, spike traps that injured imperialist troops and sent them to the injured reserve. The point was never to confront the enemy face-to-face and inflict massive casualties, but to wear them out, spread them thin, and expose their barbarity. This also included nationwide programs of patriotic education and organization towards national unity and independence. General Giap continues: “Guerilla war is the war of the broad masses…is the enemy strong? One avoids him. Is he weak? One attacks him…there is no fixed line of demarcation, the front being wherever the enemy is found”.

Besides the uses of time and space, the will of the Vietnamese people in their revolutionary war was quite a decisive factor against imperialist troops far from their homes. In the words of Ho Chi Minh: “It was patriotism…that inspired me. You will kill ten of us, we will kill one of you, but in the end, you will tire of it first. Remember, the storm is a good opportunity for the pine and the cypress to show their strength and their stability”. The question of supplying weapons in a hostile environment was also a key struggle. General Giap points out that this was mainly done through acquiring arms as ‘war booty’ and then training in their use for the next battle. This strategy is one which was exemplified in Operation Al Aqsa Flood, as discussed later. Mao Zedong and the People’s Liberation Army are another example of 20th century guerilla warriors who struck great blows against world imperialism.

Like Vietnam, China’s PLA were very inspirational to the Palestinian fedayeen. Many photos can be found of PFLP commandos engaged in study sessions of Mao’s Red Book. In modern China, author Cixin Liu’s gripping sci-fi series “The Three Body Problem” pits humanity against an invading alien force who compares humans to bugs due to our relative technological inferiority. It is only when the humans realize that bugs have never been eradicated despite anyone’s efforts that their intergalactic guerilla warfare gains potency and vitality. On guerilla warfare, Mao says: “the enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue”. The Palestinian martyr-intellectual Basel al Araj terms this ‘the flea war’.

Al Araj seamlessly weaves together an ecological analysis of the porcupine and the flea with a political-economic analysis of guerilla warfare in his piece Live Like a Porcupine, Fight Like a Flea. In regards to the flea, Al Araj points out that fleas do not kill their host through biting them and making them anemic, but rather the flea exhausts the host and spreads them thin physically and psychologically. As for the porcupine, the author describes this animal as one which is popular in Palestinian folklore, “[Palestinians] describe it as a strange creature; it cries and wails like humans, it has hopes and wishes. It's been likened to humans in that when upset, it directs its spikes towards predators in an attempt to strike them”. As for the defenses of the porcupine, beyond its spikes, Al Araj highlights that “porcupines are night animals that live underground in relatively large holes that connect to a network of tunnels, where it also creates rest spots.

The porcupine uses various techniques to get in and out of its hole”. In a world-historical sense, then, we can see that the Palestinian resistance is advancing the theory and practice of guerilla warfare for the 21st century. In the absence of jungle or forested mountains in Gaza, the resistance has tunneled underground, like the porcupine, and have created an entire network of tunnels which bypass enemy positions and allow for the use of time and space to our people’s advantage.

The tunnels of the resistance allow for the advancement of the ‘flea war’, whereby Hamas, PIJ, or PFLP commandos can attack over a large surface area while remaining in small units. This has done immense damage materially and psychologically to the Zionist enemy, especially since October 7th. This is evidenced by Gaza being littered with Merkavas and Zionist APCs which are no longer in use. In regards to General Giap’s insistence on the importance of ‘war booty’, time and evidence have shown that Operation Al Aqsa Flood was so successful in part because there were many Hamas units disguised as Zionist troops and using Zionist armaments which caused confusion among Zionist ranks. Palestinians have also reverse engineered the missiles dropped on Gaza, so unwittingly, the Zionists arm the revolutionary forces.

In the West Bank as well, the actions of groups like Lion’s Den and the Jenin Brigades express another expression of the ‘flea war’ whereby Zionist troops are lured into mazes of alleys, harassed and corralled by youth with stones and Molotov cocktails until they arrive at a set location where they are ambushed by light, mobile infantry forces.

This intimate relationship and collaboration between the resistance and the people is crystalized in the concept of the popular cradle. Not only is there a deep connection between the masses and the revolutionaries in practice, but we can see in the slogan of PIJ the importance of immaterial factors: “Islam as the starting point, jihad as the means, and the liberation of Palestine as the goal”. In a deeply religious society, Islam animates revolutionaries to fight against the “taghut” (the oppressor).

The will of the Palestinian people for national liberation and self-determination is expressed through the society-wide resistance to colonial occupation and genocide. These immaterial factors aredecisive, according to General Giap, Mao Zedong, and Basel Al Araj. The victories in guerilla warfare come at a huge cost, and while I will refrain from romanticizing warfare, it is sufficient to say that Palestine is where guerilla war is being theoretically and practically developed in the 21st century after the failures of pitched battles against the Zionists and their imperialist sponsors in 1948, 1967, and 1973.

Much like Vietnam, Palestine has powerful friends who provide aid. Iran not only supplies the resistance with weapons and open source blueprints to produce weapons domestically, but as of April 14th, provides a steadfast ally, willing to attack the Zionists and keep the flame of liberation alight. While Vietnam injured the imperialist war machine, Palestine will bury it.

Speaking of universities

Universiti Malaya (UM) has issued an apology after an American professor accused Malaysians of advocating for a "second Holocaust" against Jews

UM is one of the most prestigious universities in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

He took to the platform [Twitter] to share excerpts from the keynote address he gave on Malaysian foreign policy.

"'A country whose political leaders advocate [for] a second Holocaust against the Jewish people will never be a serious player in world affairs, and will certainly never be a friend or partner of the US.' From my keynote address [on Tuesday] in KL on Malaysian foreign policy," Gilley wrote on X.

Lol. Lmao.

and will certainly never be a friend or partner of the US

"UM will continue to support the government's stance against any connections with Israel and fully endorse efforts to recognise Palestine as a legitimate independent state," added the statement.

Platforming a Zionist in Malaysia is like platforming a Palestinian in Germany.

Meanwhile, Gilley, who has since left Malaysia, claiming he was "one step ahead of the Islamo-fascist mob whipped up by the government", has now started a GoFundMe fundraiser to pay for his flight tickets

Islamo-fascist