Spirit of Bandung over Kuala Lumpur

Spirit of Bandung over Kuala Lumpur

Sin Chew Daily, Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia

Over the last two weeks, the local media have cooked up the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit. News related to the summit
have filled the air. Driving into Kuala Lumpur, one will not fail
to encounter that kind of atmosphere as the city is bracing
itself for the big day.

At the same time, the global anti-war wave has swept into
Malaysia, with political parties, ruling or opposition, and non-
governmental organizations laying down their differences to
protest against any U.S.-led military offensive against Iraq.

All at once, Malaysia's political environment is heated up.
People are beginning to switch their attention to the NAM Summit
in Kuala Lumpur. Even the war atmosphere in far away Persian Gulf
is fast spreading its wings here.

Malaysians begin to feel that they are so much closer to the
world now. Everyone is hoping that this collective feeling and
voice will be brought to the world through the NAM Summit.

Such a sentiment is slowing rising to the sky. Gazing into the
sky and we are like almost seeing the spectre of the Bandung
Conference nearly half a century ago hanging above Kuala Lumpur.

I was yet to be born to see or feel the spirit of the 1955
Bandung Conference in Indonesia. But as I grew up much later and
as my uncles recalled the Bandung meet, I could see their faces
flushed with pride and excitement. That had aroused my curiosity
and admiration. Later, I exhausted all kinds of avenues to find
out more about the content of the Bandung meet and began to
realize its significance and noble stature.

1950s, a decade when nationalism was fast sweeping across the
continents of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The people living
on these continents had tried all kinds of ways to break free
from the bondage of Western colonial powers.

It was also a time when the world began to slip into the Cold-
War era. The U.S. and the erstwhile Soviet Union had tried their
suppression and flattery tricks across the globe, with canons or
cash, as they established their influences throughout much of the
world.

While struggling to break free from the bondage of their
colonial masters, leaders and common citizens in Asia, Africa and
Latin America were also struggling to stop the wave of U.S.-USSR
neo-colonialism from sweeping over their countries.

During that turbulent time, the world saw a few noble, bold
and respectable leaders in the likes of Indonesian President
Sukarno, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Yugoslav President
Marshal Tito.

In the highland city of Bandung, these leaders mapped out the
grand objectives for the world of the future, including respect
for territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, equality and
peaceful coexistence.

Even by today's standards, the spirit of Bandung is still
divinely great because it aspires to struggle for the sovereignty
and pride of large majority of people in this world. Its
objectives are far-fetching: to create a more peaceful order for
the world. Its format is human, where every race is of equal
importance and treats one another with brotherly love.

Guided by such a spirit, the Non-Aligned Movement was
established in 1961.

But, even with a splendid aspiration, reality remains cruel.

Over the past four decades, while NAM might have carried the
skeleton of Bandung Conference, it has somehow lost that kind of
spirit it should have.

Despite the expanding membership, the organization's strength
has not grown in tandem. Many countries are still struggling
between wealth and poverty, between prosperity and
underdevelopment, such that they have lost their ability to
pursue the Bandung spirit.

Some countries, for the sake of their bare survival or their
leaders' needs, have even succumbed to the prowess of U.S. and
USSR in exchange for the much needed weapons or hard cash.

After the collapse of Soviet Union, the U.S. becomes the
world's sole superpower, and non-aligned third world countries
are beginning to go even further away from the original spirit.

Non-Aligned Movement becomes more like a formality than
anything else. Leaders continue to attend the meetings and go,
leaving behind them empty promises and pledges to evaporate into
the air. And it is also because of this that many have predicted
that NAM will eventually be buried in history.

But now, the world is experiencing yet new changes, and the
world is again rising up against authoritarian powers. Gradually,
nations are shedding their submissiveness and standing up to make
their voices heard.

From the anti-war voices across the planet, we can vaguely see
the rebirth of Bandung spirit. This time, the spectre of Bandung
Conference has, fortunately, chosen Kuala Lumpur.