{"id":61,"date":"2020-03-22T03:41:18","date_gmt":"2020-03-22T03:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wordpress-5.3.2\/wordpress\/?p=61"},"modified":"2020-07-30T13:46:24","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T13:46:24","slug":"through-the-looking-glass-alatas-and-the-subverted-world-of-bebalisma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=61","title":{"rendered":"Through the Looking Glass: Alatas and the Subverted World of Bebalisma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1NzlER9LjXeRq7cfUFGOMbKWEGp18C43I\/preview\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"donation\">\n<h3><ion-icon name=\"card-outline\" size=\"large\"><\/ion-icon> Enjoyed this article? Want to tip the author?<\/h3>\nFollow the instructions below:\n<br><br>\nStep 1: Bank in to our account Persatuan Sejarah Anak Muda, Maybank, 512316642160\n<br><br>\nStep 2: In the reference section name the author you&#8217;re tipping.\n<br><br>\nStep 3: Please email details of your tip to jeremy@imagined.my\n<br><br>\nThanks!\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cWe are the hollow men\nWe are the stuffed men\nLeaning together\nHeadpiece filled with straw.\u201d\n- T.S. Eliot, \u201cThe Hollow Men\u201d\n\n\u201cThe sleep of reason produces monsters\u201d\n- Francisco Goya\n\nThe economist John Maynard Keynes once wrote, \u201cPractical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist\u201d. Though he may not have disagreed with Keynes, the late Syed Hussein Alatas would probably have modified this statement to highlight a more essential issue: that societies without intellectuals are often the slaves of destructive mentalities and destructive elites. In his work Intellectuals in Developing Societies, Alatas developed three sociological types \u2013 the intellectual, bebalisma, and the fool \u2013 to explain how the absence of thinking and the rise of folly create chaos in the so-called \u201cdeveloping world\u201d. While the intellectual and the fool can be identified as social categories, bebalisma is a more sinister foe, a phenomenon that colonises the minds of the populace and transforms them into \u201cbebalians\u201d. This essay focuses on the notion of bebalisma, arguing that Alatas\u2019 concerns are not merely rational but ethical. Rather than simply restating the characteristics of bebalisma, I attempt to show the underlying structure of the concept, grouping the traits into separate categories and drawing links between them. After briefly discussing the term\u2019s origin, I examine the thought component of bebalisma, dealing with both the pseudo-logic it offers and the basic thinking skills it takes away. I then turn to the concept\u2019s ethical dimension, examining bebalisma\u2019s lack of respect for thinking, its authoritarian element, and its directionless indolence. In discussing these dimensions, we enter the world Alatas exposes, a world in which reason shrinks upon arrival and madness reigns supreme.\n\nShip of Fools: A Brief Overview of Alatas\u2019 Sociological Types\nBefore entering the realm of bebalisma, we should first take a general look at Alatas\u2019 three sociological types, and the relationship that exists between them in the book. When considering Alatas\u2019 vision, it is useful to bear in mind Plato\u2019s \u201cShip of State\u201d, a simile used to explain \u201chow philosophical knowledge is meant to inform political activity\u201d. In Book VI of The Republic, Plato likens the State to a ship, comprising a captain, sailors, and a navigator. Although the captain is \u201ctaller and stronger than any of the crew\u201d, he is partially deaf and blind, and only slightly more competent in navigation than the sailors. Despite being unqualified, all the sailors deem themselves worthy of steering the ship, and create anarchy to acquire the position, drugging the captain and killing others to get the job. Their partisans are \u201ccompliment[ed] with the name of sailor, pilot, able seaman\u201d, while the true pilot \u2013 the navigator \u2013 is called \u201ca prater, a star-gazer, a good-for-nothing\u201d. Though not identical in perspective, Plato\u2019s analogy provides a helpful framework for understanding Alatas\u2019 work. The intellectuals in Alatas\u2019 work are the navigators who possess the essential skills required to guide the Ship of State. The bebalians and fools correspond to the sailors and captain respectively, both deeming the contributions of intellectuals unnecessary to the process of navigation. Alatas\u2019 work is aimed at not only establishing these ideal types and the roles they play, but observing how they interact to determine the outcome of the state. However, the work\u2019s emphasis on thinking can lead to a potential misreading, with the problems of developing societies being seen as purely rational concerns. In reality, Alatas\u2019s vision encompasses a strong ethical perspective, with the issues of good character and social responsibility being integral to his discussion of all three ideal types. \nBut what causes the sailors to behave in such a destructive manner? What induces them to create such havoc and ultimately put the welfare of the whole crew in danger? The answer is an unseen enemy, an invisible force operating aboard Alatas\u2019s Ship of State. Rather than declaring open warfare, this enemy operates by infiltrating the invisible world of the mind, with the subversion of the realm of thought eventually subverting the realm of character. In examining this enemy, Alatas essentially holds a mirror up to society, confronting us with our own uncomfortable image.\n\nThe Phantom Menace: Bebalisma as a Mental Parasite\n\u2018Bebalisma\u2019, a term coined by Alatas himself, originates from the Malay word bebal. The word choice is significant for the emphasis it places upon ethical deficiency, for while bodoh merely means \u2018stupid\u2019, bebal is translated as \u201cstupid, indolent and stubborn\u201d. Hence, ethical deficiency becomes a part of this ideal type from the outset. Alatas deliberately selects a Southeast Asian word, arguing that its distinctiveness and indigenous origin prevents \u201cconfusion with other concepts\u201d. Yet this does not imply that bebalisma is unique to developing societies, with Alatas using examples from the West and colonial administrators to demonstrate bebalisma\u2019s \u201ctrans-cultural, trans-spatial, and trans-temporal\u201d quality. Alatas\u2019s statement concerning the \u201cuniversal appeal\u201d of the Russian concept \u201cOblomovism\u201d applies to bebalisma, with Alatas pointing out a phenomenon that goes beyond its original context. To paraphrase Alatas\u2019 comment concerning the Oblomov, one could say that there may be a bebalian in every one of us.\nBut what exactly is bebalisma? Alatas initially describes bebalisma as \u201can attitude composed of several traits and whose end manifestation includes ignorance, persistent stubbornness instead of persistent effort, indolence and indifference\u201d. Bebalisma \u201cis not an ideology, not a system of belief, not a culture, not a philosophy, but an attitude of mind\u201d that co-exists alongside ideologies and belief systems. While an ideology consists of propositions that can be identified and challenged, a broad attitude composed of multiple traits is frustratingly difficult to pinpoint and dissect. Alatas\u2019s approach to this problem is to painstakingly list bebalisma\u2019s characteristics, incorporating theoretical insights from other scholars such as Manheim and Levy-Bruhl and proving his points with various examples. Taken together, these characteristics could be broken into two broad groups: mental and ethical. While the former deals with systemic errors in the thinking process, the latter deals with the ethical attitudes that arise out of these errors.\nThe thought component of bebalisma involves systemic problems within the thought process, with bebalisma offering a pseudo-logic that inhibits coherent thinking. Though Alatas lists bebalisma\u2019s many mental traits, the most troubling and difficult problem is bebalisma\u2019s pseudo-logic. Alatas links bebalisma to Levy-Bruhl\u2019s concept of \u2018collective representations\u2019, which describes \u201cconcepts or ideas concerning objects or events \u2026 which differ from ordinary experience unmixed with magico-religious or occult elements\u201d. Yet Alatas does not link bebalisma specifically to occult practices, with Levy-Bruhl\u2019s concept apparently being invoked for its relationship to logic. While bebalisma operates outside the realm of logic and \u201cignores the law of contradiction\u201d, it also has its own internal form of logic, \u201cassigning causes to particular events \u2026 without considering its relevance within the context of the causal relationship\u201d. Bebalisma presents a counterfeit alternative to logic, a thought system in which all of one\u2019s propositions are deemed true irrespective of their efficacy. Logical fallacies can be identified and corrected but bebalisma operates as a closed system that \u201csees events and phenomena in terms of a logic of its own\u201d. Consequently, any attempt to counter a bebalian\u2019s arguments on the level of rationality is proven futile, as the bebalian lives within an entirely different system of thought.\nHowever, this apparent invincibility is a Faustian bargain, with bebalisma taking away basic thinking abilities from those beneath its spell. As bebalisma does not recognise authentic logic, it cuts bebalians off from the fruit of such thinking. Without any logical sequence there is no \u201csuccessive development\u201d, thus preventing \u201cnew configurations \u2026 [that offer] possibilities of deduction and prediction\u201d. These last words point toward the inability of bebalians to anticipate events, with Alatas likening this failure to people who \u201copen their umbrellas only after the rain has been pouring down on them\u201d. This relates to the absence of substantial and functional rationality, the former referring to the intelligent assessment of one\u2019s current circumstances and the latter dealing with \u201cthe series of actions required to attain the goal\u201d.  To continue Alatas\u2019s analogy, substantial rationality involves anticipating the rain from the sound of approaching thunder, while functional rationality involves the ability to seek shelter from the storm. Alatas\u2019 comment that bebalisma cannot engage in \u201ca sustained and profound contextual appraisal of a problem\u201d covers these same points with an emphasis upon context.   Without substantial, functional or contextual ways of thinking, bebalisma is devoid of the basic thinking components required for any situation. Consequently, all acts that require these components often result in chaos. The effort to point out the disorder and point out logical fallacies is to no avail; bebalians live in their own universe, one in which all their actions are unquestionably justified. Entering the universe of bebalisma is akin to entering Lewis Carroll\u2019s Wonderland; any attempt to highlight errors are in vain, for the inhabitants are totally at ease with the chaos of their world. Any reproach of their insanity is met with a Cheshire Cat-like relativisation: \u201cOh you can\u2019t help that, \u2026 we\u2019re all mad here.\u201d\nYet for Alatas, bebalisma is also an ethical condition, with prevailing ethical deficiencies that contribute to thinking errors. Alatas describes a variety of ethical problems with most being symptomatic issues arising out of three core causes. The first cause is the low value bebalisma places upon thinking, and the resulting lack of respect for thinking. For Alatas, bebalisma has \u201cno love for order and rational argument and attaches no value to it\u201d. Though Alatas gives no immediate reason for this situation, we could connect this phenomenon to bebalisma\u2019s pseudo-logic. As reason has no function in the world of bebalisma, it is perceived as having no value or currency. This leads to a decrease in respect, with bebalisma possessing \u201cno respect for logic, empirical evidence or rational thought\u201d. What began as an error in thinking now translates into an error in character, with pseudo-logic giving rise to individuals lacking respect for reason. However, Alatas also cites this ethical deficiency as the reason for thinking errors, with lack of respect translating into a mentality that is \u201ccredulous beyond limit\u201d. The \u201ccontradictory thought elements and antithetical thought structures\u201d of bebalisma are mentioned in connection with this credulity, with people falling prey to charlatans at a variety of levels. Errors in thought produce errors in character; errors in character compound errors in thought. We are thus presented with a vicious cycle, one in which thinking and ethical deficiencies reinforce each other in a troubling snowball effect.\nThis pattern continues into the second ethical problem, namely bebalisma\u2019s authoritarian element. For Alatas, bebalisma is \u201cauthoritarian\u201d in the sense that it \u201cexpect(s) others to believe in what is suggested without giving ample reasons or explanation to subjects which are outside the ordinary range of acceptability\u201d. Once again, this comes as no surprise when considering bebalisma\u2019s pseudo-logic, in which all one\u2019s arguments are justified irrespective of their efficacy. Bebalians thus see the acceptance of their arguments not as a prize to be won, but a right to be demanded. Alatas gives the amusing example of the British naval officer Henry Keppel, seeing Keppel\u2019s suspicion that the Malayan buffalo was anti-European as \u201c[a] typical bebalian suggestion\u201d. However, this authoritarianism also leads bebalisma to be \u201chasty in generalising\u201d. For instance, Alatas quotes a racist Frenchman, Henri Michaux, who says that \u201c[for] the Chinese to see clearly things must first be complicated\u201d and then links this alleged tendency to other racist comments, such as the absurd claim that the Chinese need labyrinths to \u201csee clearly in the streets\u201d. The point is not merely Michaux\u2019s racism, but the uncritical nature of his racist statements. Rather than attempting to prove his point, Michaux simply resorts to uncritical generalised statements, certain that everyone should agree with his opinion. The combination of these first and second ethical problems leads to an ethical symptom, namely \u201ca remarkable lack of refinement\u201d. Alatas essentially describes the arrogant absence of shame, with bebalisma \u201cnot [being] embarrassed by stupid errors, nor horrified by intellectual shortcomings\u201d. While a normal human being would be embarrassed if their idiocy was revealed, bebalians are unperturbed by such actions due to their sense of arrogant superiority. Consequently, they make stupid, arrogant, and generalised statements \u2013 often packing in all three qualities at once \u2013 without any fear as to how their words may be perceived or potentially damage their image. By way of a passing example, Alatas mentions that \u201cwhen a parliament is dominated by bebalians, the level of discourse can be degraded without anyone feeling aggrieved by it\u201d. These words are bound to resonate with any Malaysian familiar with the vulgarity of parliamentary proceedings, or with the barrage of idiotic statements made by our politicians. In his book of outrageous quotes by Malaysian politicians, Amir Muhammad humorously highlights the function of political idiocy: \u201cthe words \u2026 are like an amulet that ensures the kebal (invincible) nature of the Malaysian politician, who might even join the famously hardy cockroach for cocktails after a hypothetical nuclear holocaust wipes out everything else\u201d. The ability to arrogantly proclaim one\u2019s stupid opinion without shame only seems to reinforce \n\na Malaysian politician\u2019s power, perhaps because it displays the ability to act without suffering any consequences.\nThe third ethical problem is bebalisma\u2019s directionless indolence. Alatas describes bebalisma as being \u201cwithout direction, passive, uninventive, and without any consciously avowed goal\u201d. Though Alatas does not provide clear reasons for this phenomenon, we can make inferences from some of his remarks concerning the cumulative spirit and Oblomovism. Alatas identifies \u201can absence of a cumulative spirit\u201d as one of the features of bebalisma in developing societies. This essentially means that developing societies lack a sense of continuity over the course of time, be it building upon past legacies or maintaining present conditions. One manifestation of this quality is \u201cthe lack of a maintenance mentality\u201d, with developing societies making seemingly no attempt to maintain what exists in the present. Once again, the examples provided are painfully familiar to Malaysians: abandoned cars that have lost all their wheels, bridges that break down with buses on them, and \u201chow a clean, beautiful building becomes dirty and neglected\u201d. A brilliant skit by Harith Iskandar encapsulates the Malaysian approach to this state of affairs when crossing the street: \u201cWe never wait for a red man to turn green to cross the road \u2013 because the traffic light\u2019s not working anyways\u201d. Yet while we now regard this situation as a staple feature of Malaysian life, Alatas reminds us that this is not a reflection of traditional societies, who \u201cwill care for their fishing boats and nets, their farmlands, tools and work animals\u201d. What accounts for this sudden transformation in the wake of independence? While Alatas provides no definitive reason, we can find a potential answer by returning to Oblomovism. A concept from Ivan Goncharov\u2019s novel Oblomov, Alatas sees Oblomovism as an image of \u201clethargy, indifference, indolence and shallowness\u201d, one used to describe pre-revolutionary Russia\u2019s idle rich but which is a possibility within every human being. At the heart of the matter is the heart of the Oblomovs, with N.A. Dobrolyubov stating that Oblomovs view \u201cnothing in life as a vital necessity \u2026 a shrine in their hearts\u201d. Government officers, soldiers and professors carry out their duties without a sense of purpose, motivated by a desire for appearances rather than the worth of one\u2019s occupation. It is presumably this void of meaning that produces Oblomovism\u2019s \u201cradical boredom\u201d, a form of \u201canti-commitment\u201d in which one\u2019s life is filled with \u201cthe purposeless sense of merely enduring rather than living a full and creative life\u201d. This inner experience helps us to understand bebalisma\u2019s indolence and indifference; nothing matters enough to be continued, maintained, and passed on. Bebalisma\u2019s directionless indolence affects not merely physical but institutional structures, which lose their driving force to become mere shells of \u201csubstance without the spirit\u201d. Bureaucracy exists without \u201ca public service attitude\u201d, parliamentary democracy exists without \u201ca genuine commitment to principles\u201d, and universities grow vegetatively without \u201cthe intellectual spirit\u201d. The last example directly affects the country\u2019s intellectual climate, as it is the institutions of higher learning that train the minds that enter various professions. Consequently, the country becomes filled with people who have adopted bebalian attitudes, with little or no sense of meaning in relation to their work. Social life is sapped of meaning and purpose, and an indifference to higher principles ultimately informs the broader attitudes of the nation. If Alatas wishes \u201cto give content and meaning to the national life and independence\u201d, bebalisma robs developing nations of that content and meaning, turning them into empty shells filled by tangible and intangible maladies. The Ship of State becomes filled with hollow men and women, living dead whose state parallels Alatas\u2019s description of bebalisma itself: \u201cIt has no advocate, no defender, no claim to anything\u201d.\nDeficiencies in thinking and deficiencies in character; taken together, these elements constitute a phantom menace, a toxin whose influence is \u201cnot subject to measurement but \u2026 there for all to see\u201d. It is these causes that give rise to the many symptoms Alatas describes. Entering through various channels, bebalisma gradually comes to dominate the minds and attitudes of the public until it eventually overtakes the populace. In two vivid images, Alatas describes bebalisma as both \u201ca parasite of the mind\u201d and \u201cthe stifling undergrowth of our conscious mental surface\u201d. We are thus presented with a disturbing image of the so-called developing world, a place of degeneration that matches Hamlet\u2019s description of life in the wake of his father\u2019s murder: \u201c\u2019tis an unweeded garden \/ That grows to seed, things rank and gross in nature \/ Possess it merely\u201d.\n\nThe Write Way Out: Areas for Application, Reasons for Reflection\n\u201cWell, \u2026 since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking.\u201d\n- Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth \nAlatas\u2019s work was not intended as a final analysis, with Alatas merely wishing to \u201cawaken consciousness concerning these phenomena\u201d, to stimulate further research. In light of this comment, it is worth considering some potential ways in which bebalisma could be used as an analytical concept. As Alatas\u2019 primary reference point for the phenomenon of the \u2018fool\u2019, Malaysia is worth considering for areas of application. One possibility is to examine bebalisma\u2019s history, identifying the point at which bebalisma became a major trend in Malaysia, the means through which it spread and the areas of life it dominated. One could also consider the presence of bebalisma in contemporary Malaysia. To what extent have discussions concerning vital national issues \u2013 education, sexual harassment, indigenous rights \u2013 been dominated by the grip of bebalisma? The disturbing tendency of the now former Pakatan Harapan government to go back on key election promises has raised accusations of hypocrisy. Is the problem that simple, or are we dealing with the systemic effects of bebalisma? Can one enter government, engage with the civil service or approach the media without entering the world of bebalisma? It is possible to retain one\u2019s better judgment in such a world, or does the pre-existing environment alter one\u2019s behaviour?\nAlatas proposes a \u201crevolution of the intellectual\u201d in his work, arguing that the intellectuals must unite in a counter-movement to revolt against the \u201crevolution of the fool\u201d. Though detailing this revolution is beyond the scope of this article, it is worth noting that Alatas proposed solutions to counter the effects of bebalisma and the fools, from a top-down process of advising the dominant elite to a bottom-up process of creating a positive intellectual climate. The observations Alatas made were not merely hollow complaints but a call to action. He highlights major problems as a first step toward creating solutions. Yet the most difficult action of all is the one that takes place within one\u2019s own self. In examining our own attitudes and behaviour, can we really say we have escaped bebalisma? Do we strive to perfect ourselves, mentally and ethically, or have we allowed our own biases and moral deficiencies to colour our judgment? Standing before the looking glass of self-reflection, it is clear that the bebalian is not merely a figure to be chastised in the outer world. It is a possibility within oneself.\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Adib Faiz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-full-width.php","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[16,18,17,15],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Through the Looking Glass: Alatas and the Subverted World of Bebalisma - Imagined Malaysia Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=61\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Through the Looking Glass: Alatas and the Subverted World of Bebalisma - Imagined Malaysia Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Adib Faiz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/?p=61\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Imagined Malaysia Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-22T03:41:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-30T13:46:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/review.imagined.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Cover3.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"822\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"589\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Through the Looking Glass: Alatas and the Subverted World of Bebalisma - 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