Gangsta and politics in Malaysia

Abstract

This chapter is a short exploration of the relationship between political parties and gangs through the case study of Pekida. The articulation of this relationship is the central concept of this study: we define it as ‘connivance militancy’. In our scheme of thought, a gang that is involved in political actions, whether out of pragmatism or ideology, becomes a connivance militant group. It is because gangs do have an existence out of politics that they are seen as ‘opportunist’. Our main argument is that gangs are the mirrored expression of the ambiguities of society; thus they play a role in the system as shadow extensions of political parties in the public sphere. This chapter exposes the context that favoured the development of connivance militancy, the nature of Pekida and its satellite groups, and finally reveals the relationship between gangs and the ruling party (UMNO). So, if UMNO is on a honeymoon with gangsters, is this opportunist relationship ephemeral or the symptom of a systemic phenomenon?