"Which Asian Way are you talking about?"

"The same one that everyone else is talking about."

"You mean the unique justification for getting away with things other people find objectionable."

"I don't think of it that way exactly."

"What way do you think of it?"

"As something valuable ... something in our history and culture that is valuable, that we must protect ... against globalization ... and harmful and western influences."

"Ahhh ... the valuable heritage to be protected."

"Ahmad, why are you always so cynical?"

"Just my nature, I suppose. And I'm older than you."

"Don't you believe in the Asian Way?"

"No.... No, Ali, I don't believe there is a unique Asian Way ... no."

"Why not? ... What are the ministers talking about then?"

"Ali, the definition changes with the sun. They call anything the Asian Way if it fits their designs."

"Give me an example."

"Have you noticed that the Asian Way always comes up when the ministers are criticised? It is a justification for doing something everyone knows is wrong."

"I don't think so, Ahmad, it's more than just a cover-up."

"Yes ... what does that have to do with it?"

"That is part of the famous Asian way, Ali. The speaker really means, 'This is my pond, and you stay out of it.' Usually they are afraid that some shady and profitable operation is being threatened."

"Ahmad, you are suspicious about everything. Don't you trust anybody?"

"Well, Ali, I wasn't always this way. Sure, I trust a lot of people. Usually they are not associated with the party in power. Or policemen. Or judges. Or ... "

"Ahmad, that is a lot of people. Do you think they are all involved in something together? That they protect each other?"

"Yes, Ali. That is exactly what I think. Do you want to know my reasons?"

"OK. Spell it out for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Ali, when did you last attend a wayang kulit?"

"I don't know ... several years ago I suppose. the last one I saw was part of a Sunday variety show on TV. The wayang kulit was interspersed with skits like the Scenario troupe, and various song and dance numbers."

"I mean the one with the white curtain, the back lighting, and the puppets."

"Well, I haven't seen a live performance in a long time. I think TV is taking its place as entertainment."

"Ali, don't worry, the wayang kulit is alive and well in Malaysia. It is the pattern for all our thought and action. Our entire cultural heritage is contained in the term "Asian Way."

"That's too broad a statement, Ahmad. Why do you believe that?"

"The curtain, Ali, it covers the real action taking place behind it, doesn't it?"

"You mean the puppeteer, and the puppets?"

"Yes. There is one man ... one man who is the real voice for all the various puppets. Right?"

"Yes, usually."

"And although there are various accents, various caricatures, various characters and personalities, behind the screen there is one man who is responsible for it all."

"Why do you think that is the Asian Way?"

"I have no idea, Ahmad. I don't know anything about stocks."

"You don't have to be an expert to see the sandiwara, Ali."

"Why not?"

"Every day about 500 stocks go down, and about 100 go up. Day after day. But the KLCI stays about the same, right?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"It simply means that the KLCI is being manipulated to produce a predetermined level. It is not a true reflection of the buying and selling pressures in the Malaysian economy. The KLCI is being artificially supported by our government-controlled funds and banks to present a stable picture, when the truth is that the bottom has fallen out of the market. That is one big sandiwara."

"I don't believe it. The stock market is too big to be manipulated, Ahmad."

"Not true, Ali. In Malaysia just a few stocks have such heavy weighting that just a little buying can sustain the KLCI while the rest of the stocks are going south, and I don't mean Singapore. Some days, when over 500 stocks have declined, the KLCI is actually positive for the day. That, Ali, is a sandiwara."

"Maybe it is just statistical. Maybe the overall picture is not so bad as you say. Isn't that possible?"

"Yes. All you have to do is look at a list of the various stocks on the Malasyian stock exchange. Compare the price today with the high for the past year. Most are down over 50%, and many are down over 75%. Yet the KLCI is down only about 15%. That, Ali, is a sandiwara."

"Give me another example."

"The courts. Look at the prosecutions of people who have dared to look behind the screen, and tell what they saw. The Official Secrets Act is clearly being used to punish anyone who exposes the Asian Way as a fraud."

"Why do you say it is a fraud? The effort to resist the bad effects of globalisation is not a fraud."

"Yes it is."

"Why?"

"Ali, look at the multi-national corporations. Do you see anyone who is using the Asian Way as a justification doing anything to stop the franchises from operating in Malaysia? Do you see anyone in the government actually doing anything to stop the tobacco companies from advertising and selling cigarettes in Malaysia?"

"Well, they did raise the tobacco taxes, didn't they?"

"Yes, and the increase went right into the government coffers. Look at the records of the big outdoor advertisers. They don't build those monstrosities without ironclad contracts from the big multi-national companies that extend over time. Who among the Asian Way promoters has objected to this visual pollution, and the operations of the multi-national corporations who pay the bill? Another fifty of those obnoxious concretions have been approved for Malaysia. Now who allows that? Is that part of the Asian Way?"

"No, I don't think so. Why is it allowed?"

"What is the root of all evil, Ali?"

"Money"

"Right, my friend, money. Whenever you hear the term Asian Way, just look behind the screen, and there you will see the big boys counting the money. If you tell what you saw, you will get the arrest warrant. That, Ali, is what exposes the whole shebang as a fraud."

"Aren't there some aspects of globalisation that you are against?"

"Yes, lots of them, but I don't raise the phony issue of an Asian Way to protect important values. I don't destroy the whole structure of human rights in order to hide a secret financial and political public theft racket. I don't get the goods on the judges and the police to maintain political power, especially at the expense of innocent people. To do so, Ali, is the big wayang kulit (shadow play) going on in Malaysia today. And it has been going on for a long time."

"So you think it is as simple as that ... using the democratic institutions to cover illegal financial operations by the ministers and their friends."

"Yes, basically that is the picture, but there are several types of sandiwara. There is the 'clam up' sandiwara, where no important questions are ever answered. Total silence. There is the 'deviationist' sandiwara, in which pious people are arrested and charged with some ridiculous stunt in court. This type of sandiwara is popular to divert attention from the spiritual failings of the party in power. Then there is the 'foreign devil' sandiwara, where the paper tiger overseas serves to incite fear of attack. This is an old ploy to try to unite the people behind the party in power as the only possible saviour."

"Ahmad, is EVERYTHING a sandiwara?"

"Ahhh, Ali ... I hope not ... I hope not. But the continuing libel suits, the continuing charges of sedition, the attacks on the teachers and civil servants ... ah, Ali, when will it end?"

"Ahmad, I think it is ending."

"Do you really think so, Ali?"

"Yes, Ahmad, I think so ... there are signs ..."

"Good. Ali ... what can I do to help?"

"Oh, Ahmad, I think you are doing a lot, just by being cynical."

"Is it enough, Ali? Is it enough?"

"Yes, Ahmad, for you that is enough. But for me, I think I can do more. and now I intend to, thanks to you."