COMMENT | When I first heard about the planned Chinese Organisations Congress (COC) to be held this coming Dec 28, the outlook was quite grim.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent prediction that this congress was likely to elicit an unpleasant reaction from more extremist Malay Muslim groups is likely an accurate one.

It may also put more moderate Malay Muslim groups that have been engaging with Dong Jiao Zong and Hua Zong in a rather awkward position.

I sought some first-hand feedback before deciding to shoot from the hip in writing about the COC and hopes the following will reflect the insights I’ve gleaned.

On a personal level, as a long-time advocate for national unity, I would still greatly prefer if the COC was reconsidered or at the very least radically rebranded.

From what I’ve heard, that very sadly seems to be almost impossible. If so, then the next best thing we can do is try to make the best of it, and try to nudge things in such a way that causes the least possible damage.

It sounds like the pressure from the grassroots was nearly overwhelming with regards to organising the COC.

Perhaps patience with the government’s mismanagement of this entire affair was worn too thin, making a more substantial response something of an inevitability.

Dong Jiao Zong of course, like any organisation in Malaysia - indeed on earth - consists of diverse voices. PAS for example used to swing between the progressive and conservative factions of the party, until the progressives finally left to start Amanah.

No doubt some within Dong Jiao Zong rejoiced at this opportunity to beat their chests and act as champions of "Chinese issues".

I very much believe though, that there are others within the movement who are deeply uncomfortable with this direction.

Probably having more direct exposure to working with more diverse groups and organisations, they too are aware of how dangerously polarising a congress like this can be.

At this point, however, it would seem that the pressure from the grassroots can no longer be held back - the train it would appear, has already left the station.

At this juncture, perhaps the best that can be hoped for is some wisdom regarding how what is said at the congress.

I’m sure that speaking to a "home crowd" there will be every temptation to give fiery, rousing speeches and steeped in that old Malaysia narrative about how all the Malays are out to get the Chinese and so on. This narrative invariably breeds its mirror - that the Chinese are all out to get the Malays.

We can only hope that the organisers of the COC will be wise enough to see that allowing such speeches will be akin to cutting the nose to spite the face.

It would be worthwhile to recognise that two different conflicts are going on here.

One concerns the government. The problems here include how the policy surrounding the teaching of Jawi was formulated and implemented, the messy and dishevelled manner which the controversy has been handled by the government over this last year, and so on.

The other conflict is being played out on a much bigger space - the space of public discourse surrounding our national social fabric.

On this level, in the aftermath of the COC, millions of Malays and Chinese can find themselves even deeper in an atmosphere of mutual suspicion, distrust and bad faith.

Each side will likely have their own refined and elegant arguments to defend their respective positions.

However, as a media and public relations professional, my view is that in most cases, only the big picture matters - and that big picture far and away eclipses any of the more subtle details.

In practical terms, this big picture can be said to be exemplified by the headlines that are likely to emerge on the 29th. At the rate things are going, they are likely to be along the lines of: “Chinese protest against Islamism” or “Chinese schools stubbornly reject khat” and so on.

These headlines, in turn, will be co-opted by more radical and extreme ethnoreligious exclusivists as further ‘proof’ that the Chinese are out to get the Malay Muslims and stubbornly refuse to accept even the most basic compromise regarding the Malay Muslim identity of Malaysia.

Neither the headlines nor the reaction to those headlines will be based on truth or fact, or recognise the various subtleties at play. Reductionism is a sad but very real aspect of public discourse. We need to look no further than Donald Trump and Brexit to see the truth of this.

If the COC really must go on, then the best that can probably be made of the situation is to try and focus the congress solely on criticising the careless and poorly thought out manner in which the government has tried to haphazardly implement a new policy, the value of respectful consultation with stakeholders, and the need to keep school boards independent.

With this approach, there is even that slim chance that they might be able to gain the support of some Malay Muslim groups or at the very least make it easier for the progressives among them to explain to their bases why they still bother engaging at all with groups like Dong Jiao Zong.

If there is even a hint of disdain at the COC for Jawi itself as an expression of Malay Muslim identity, things will turn sour at breakneck speed.

If there is a face-saving way to turn back or at the very least rebrand the COC, that remains by far the best course of action in the long run.

If hardliners have made it impossible to cancel the COC then it falls to the progressives to ensure that no organisation is painted wholesale with the same brush and to speak out in whatever forms they can to uphold more inclusive phobia-free views.

There will certainly be backlash from more conservative elements in the grassroots, but without needlessly exacerbating conflict with such elements, alternative views should always be represented.

These problems and conflicts continue to sprout like mushrooms because of the ongoing vacuum in leadership and lack of compelling narratives that can bring Malaysians together, to focus on what unites us rather than what divides us.

Let’s work hard to make this a problem of 2019, not one that will carry over into 2020.

NATHANIEL TAN has plans for 2020. Those interested in working together are welcome to get in touch with him at [email protected].

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.