Malaysian Politicians: We Love Chinese Calligraphy 马来西亚政治家：我爱书法

Malaysia is a multi-racial and cultural society. Ethnic Malays today make up 50 percent of the population. Ethnic Chinese represent an additional 24 percent and Indians 8 percent.

The Malaysian Chinese have traditionally dominated the Malaysian economy, but with the implementation of affirmative action policies by the Malaysian government to protect the rights of ethnic Malays, their share has somewhat eroded. However, they still make up the majority of the middle- and upper-income classes.

It is therefore understandable that during the general elections, politicians will campaign intensively for the Chinese vote, reminding voters of issues affecting the Chinese community.

Displaying Chinese calligraphy skills is one of the many means used by non-Chinese politicians to woo the Chinese voters.

When Anwar Ibrahim, the former Deputy Prime Minister and currently leader of the opposition, was at the height of power, he took an effort to learn mandarin and Chinese calligraphy. He popularised a saying in Mandarin when he was in the United Malays National Organisation, or Umno: wo-men doushi yijiaren ("We are one family". see diagram 1). As a slogan coined by a Malay leader, elected and re-elected by Umno to be the next prime minister, the slogan was a novel declaration of Malaysian multiculturalism, no less appealing than Mahathir Mohamad's idea of a Bangsa Malaysia sharing Vision 2020.

Even the candidates of the Islamist political party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS; Pan Malaysian Islamic party) are often seen writing Chinese calligraphy during elections. (See diagram 2)

Recently, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak became the latest politician who showed off his Chinese calligraphy skills. On 23 December, at a function organised by the Federation Of Chinese Associations Malaysia, he wrote on the spot a Chinese word ‘he’, which means harmony or peace. (See diagram 3)

Is the next general election coming soon?

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马来西亚是个多元种族与文化的社会。马来人占了全国人口的百分之50，华人百分之24，印度人百分之8。

传统上，华人在经济上占优势；可是自从政府实行种族优惠政策来保护马来人的权益之后，华人的经济地位就被削弱了。但是，华人还是占中与中上阶级的多数。

所以不难理解在大选期间，候选人都会大力争取华人选票，提起与华人有关的课题。

展示书法技巧是非华人候选人用来争取华人选票的方法之一。

前副首相、现在反对党领袖安华，在权力高峰时期，就下苦功学华语与书法。他还在巫统时，把‘我们都是一家人’这句话普遍化了。（图1）作为一个当时被选定为下一届首相的马来领袖，他想出这个标语，是对马来西亚多元文化主义的一种可贵的表白，其吸引力不亚于马哈迪的马来西亚国家2020远景。

就算是回教主义的回教党的候选人，在大选期间已时常看到他们当众挥毫书法。（图2）

马来西亚首相纳吉成为最新展示他的书法才能的政治家。12月23日，他在马来西亚中华大会堂总会(华总) 的一个晚宴上，当众挥毫了个‘和’字。（图3）

是不是下一届的大选要来了呢？