Reflecting on the importance of reflection, of thinking aloud, of saying what I think, you think, is important.

What is the role of the media, the press in a democratic society? I'm reading a really interesting book by Geraldine Muhlmann, Journalism for Democracy, dissecting the role of the press in a democracy, and the underlying assumptions of those who criticise the media.

Her argument thus far is that democracy, and journalism, are about mediating conflict in society, so that the society remains intact. It is not possible, in any society, to have unity, with oppression. I find this a refreshing point of view. First, one of my major gripes with modern political theory when I was at uni, at the height of the Mahathir era, was that democracy was used as a yardstick with which to measure political systems. But I was never satisfied that democracy was or should be an end in itself. Yes, proportional representation is more 'democratic' than first-past-the-post. And? If it results in civil war and an inability to provide basic services to the people, as has been contended in the UK, the plus in terms of representation is insufficient.

But Muhlmann specifies that the role of democracy is to both nurture and to contain conflict. I love that idea - that it is important for conflict to exist, and that it is important for that conflict to be contained. In other words, we keep going about things the wrong way in Malaysia. We aim and strive for unity, but all it leads to is greater division, less understanding or tolerance and a society more precarious and violent than it has been at any point in the last three decades.

We should strive not for violence, nor for stability, but for dynamic conflict, played within the rules of an evolving democracy.

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I've found Clive Kessler's piece on the GE13 insightful, even though I have strong reservations about his analysis (with huge amounts of respect going into these reservations!).

His analysis of Umno's masterstrokes in this election resonates strongly. But his analysis of the rural-urban divide is what I find problematic. As I've noted in a couple of essays (looking primarily at work by Michael Peletz), it is easy to overstate the rural-urban divide. The whole idea of 'balik kampung' is premised on its fluidity. And I think Pas were right when they said that the main factor for them is not race, but age. Without exit polls, it's hard to know exactly what is happening, but I think this is the more salient cleavage than 'rural-urban' or 'Malay-non'.

I suspect, however, that what he writes holds true primarily for the Bumiputras of East Malaysia. The arrogance and condescension should be West Malaysians, the assumptions that we have about our fellow-citizens, are not going to help us to either understand or overcome (for the PR) the vote tallies 'over there'.