[ Julkipli Wadi is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of the Philippines. ] We could not close our eyes into this plague. It has eaten up the resources of the national government and engendered the problem posed by Muslim secessionists in the south. This is not to justify secessionism, but given the immensity of corruption and worsening social contradiction in the country, you could not stop, especially those in Muslim community, to rally around certain cause even if it means severing ties with the Republic. If they would be able to have their own government, they believe, Muslims would solve their own problems. They would be able to insulate the contagion of corruption from above. They could fully apply their political and ethical precepts that would help them govern themselves and ward off corruption in their midst. However they wish to become morally and ethically upright, if their umbilical cord of subservience remains and their political institution weak, the contagion of corruption would continue and they would always be challenged to suffer with the same morass. In short, the Muslims in the South suffer with dual pressures, except that while the Pork Barrel scam would just last for days or months and would soon be forgotten, the problem in the South will continue to pester with no appropriate solution ahead. The logic of resistance in the Muslim South is partly explained by worsening corruption in the country. Secessionism is driven not simply by a cause inherent in Muslim community; it is even more aggravated by the failure of the State to do some self-checking of its own social contradictions worsened with recurrence of corruption-related scams in the country.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 22:52:26 +0000