Essay on Malaysia: Game of Thrones is Malaysia (Part 1)

     It may be speculated George R R Martin must have used the Federation of Malaysia as inspiration when he was coming up with the concept for the Seven Kingdoms. There’s quite a few similarities between the two. Check out this excerpt read by Natalie Dormer, who plays the character Margery Tyrell in HBO’s Game of Throne series, on House Tyrell’s perspective on Robert’s Rebellion:

     “The North guarded it. The Westerlands enriched it, and the Reach and the Riverlands fed it. This harmony was smashed by Robert Baratheon, when he rose against the Iron Throne.”

     Of course, despite its name, the Seven Kingdoms is actually comprised of nine constituent regions. In contrast, the Federation of Malaysia is made up of thirteen states. Fourteen, if you count the Federal Territories. But if you look at the role each region plays in its support of the Iron Throne, you will agree that there are many similarities between the regions of the Seven Kingdoms, and the states of the Federation of Malaysia. Let’s have a look at each one.

1)    The Westerlands, and the Western State of Perak.

‘…the last mine ran dry three years ago.’

   Tywin Lannister, Lord Paramount of the Westerlands, and Hand of the King.

     The Westerlands, ruled by House Lannister, is touted by many to be the richest in the Seven Kingdoms, due to its gold mines. Or they used to be, before the mines ran dry. Cersei Lannister’s marriage to Robert Baratheon further aggravated the problem, as the Usurper bankrupted the Iron Throne during his reign as king. Robert’s Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish, borrowed obscene amounts of Lannister gold to finance Robert’s feasting and jousting tournaments, three million gold dragons in total by the time Ned Stark took up the role of Hand of the King after the death of Jon Arryn. And during the War of the Five Kings, when the armies of House Lannister clashed with the forces of Rob Stark and Stannis Baratheon, Tywin Lannister must have spent the equivalent of several times a king’s ransom to keep that vicious little prick Joffrey on the Iron Throne. Now, with Tywin dead, Tyrion in Essos advising Danerys Stormborn, and Jaime and Cersei struggling to consolidate their hold over the Seven Kingdoms, the wealth and power of Casterly Rock is but a shadow of its former glory.

     If one were to examine the Malaysian state of Perak, also a westernmost region, one would find the state in a similar predicament. Perak, which means silver in local Bahasa, used to have a thriving economy driven by many bountiful tin mines, and some silver mines too, but those mines ran dry long ago. These days, Perak is dependent on tourism, i.e. locals and foreigners visiting the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, where the Perak Royal Family resides, and those gawking admirers of colonial heritage buildings left behind by the British in Ipoh and Taiping. There is perhaps a hilly tourist resort or two within the region as well, such as the Lost World of Tambun, and Maxwell Hill. But sadly, like the Westerlands, Perak pales in comparison from its glorious mining days, and there has been little in the way of government policy to revitalize the economy of the state.

2)    Dorne, and the Southern State of Johor

‘Some people forget, Aegon the Conqueror crowned himself lord of six kingdoms, not seven.’

   - Prince Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper.

     Dorne, the southernmost region of Westeros, enjoys quite a lot of autonomy from the Iron Throne. While Dorne’s current lord, Prince Doran Martell, prefers peace over conflict, his brother Prince Oberyn, never forgot the blood debt owed to House Martell by the Lannisters, when Tywin Lannister’s dog, Gregor Clegane, raped and killed Elia Martell, along with her two young children, during the sack of King’s Landing at the end of Robert’s rebellion. It was only through the efforts of Lord Jon Arryn of the Vale, in his capacity as Hand of the King during the early days of Robert’s reign that an uneasy peace was achieved, and Dorne remained part of the Seven Kingdoms.

   But the fragile alliance Tyrion Lannister brokered between the Iron Throne and Dorne is threatening to unravel, when Myrcella Baratheon, Trystane Martell’s betrothed, was poisoned by Ellaria Sand in vengeance for Prince Oberyn’s death at the hands of Gregor Clegane. And as storm clouds gather across the Narrow Sea, with Danerys Targaryen raising an army supported by dragons, in anticipation for her invasion of the Seven Kingdoms, House Martell is the most likely of the Great Houses to ally with the last of the Targaryens against the Lannister-held Iron Throne.

     In the case of Johor, also a southernmost region, its ruling family takes a more active role in engaging with its subjects than other Malaysian Sultans do, and has put forth divisive language in the past. They had on occasion, warned the Federal Government Johor joined the Federation of Malaya in 1959 under an agreed pact, and if corruption and incompetence continued to plague the Federal Government, Johor had every right to secede from the Federation. Of course, this might have something to do with former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, disbanding the previous Sultan of Johor’s army as well.

     Now, in 2016, Muhyiddin Yassin, the leader from a Johor faction of the ruling UMNO Party, has been forcibly removed from his posts of Deputy Prime Minister, Education Minister, and Deputy Vice President of UMNO. This was due to his support for Mahathir Mohamad’s questioning of incumbent Prime Minister Najib Razak’s handling of the 1MDB investigation. In the Game of Thrones, that would be equivalent to Tywin Lannister taking back Dorne’s seat on the Small Council, in response to Oberyn Martell volunteering to be Tyrion’s champion in the latter’s trial by combat after the Purple Wedding.

     Johor’s Sultan, and his son, the Crown Prince, has yet to comment on Muhyiddin’s removal, but political observers keep close watch, to see if they would make good their threat and secede Johor from the Federation. That possibility is very real, with the Malaysian Ringgit on a perpetual downward spiral due to capital flight and loss of investor confidence from the country as a result of the 1MDB scandal, and falling oil and commodity prices. When that happens, the Sultan of Johor might institute a new currency for his subjects, which could be the US dollar, or maybe even…the Singapore Dollar.

3)     The Iron Islands, and the Independent Island-Nation of Singapore

   ‘We do not sow’

-  The words of House Greyjoy, Lords Paramount of the Iron Islands.

  While Singapore does not raid Malaysia per se, as the Iron-Born raided the coasts of Westeros prior to the arrival of Aegon the Conqueror, Singaporean businesses, such as the Popular Bookstore chain, the Fish and Co seafood restaurants, and Twelve Cupcakes Bakery, regularly took money out of Malaysian pockets. In fact, Capitaland Malaysia, a subsidiary of Capitaland Singapore, a property trust, runs several popular Malaysian malls, for instance, Tropicana City, Sungei Wang, The Mines, and Gurney Plaza, amongst others.

     Not long after Robert Baratheon took the Iron Throne, Balon Greyjoy attempted a rebellion to secure the independence of the Iron Islands. That was soon smashed by Robert. Balon bent the knee to keep his head, and ensured the life of his last surviving son, Theon. That meant the Iron Islands remained part of the Seven Kingdoms. But Singapore was abruptly expelled from the Malayan Federation in 1965, as UMNO, the ruling political party of Malaya, feared Lee Kuan Yew’s growing popularity would see them overthrown in the near future.

     Lee Kuan Yew, head of the People’s Action Party (PAP) of Singapore, drew large crowds at his rallies, as the common folk of Malaya were attracted by Lee Kuan Yew’s speeches on ‘A Malaysian Malaysia, not a Bumiputra Malaysia’, and equality for all races. UMNO wanted none of that, and expelled Lee Kuan Yew, along with Singapore, barely a few years after the Federation was formed.  

     The rest of course, is history. Lee Kuan Yew, fiery and determined, was undeterred by Singapore’s lack of natural resources, nor their lack of food production capacity. He focused on Singapore’s strategic location in between numerous sea and air routes, and built the world renowned Keppel Harbour, and Changi Airport, the former holding the title of busiest port in the world in the past, and the latter still holding the distinction of being the best airport in the world many times over. Lee Kuan Yew also built the Tuas oil refineries, and all crude oil in the region had to be processed through those refineries first before it could be distributed elsewhere.

     With a relatively clean government coupled with a highly productive work force, supported by world-class infrastructure, and the earnings from entre-port trade and crude oil processing, Singapore amassed an impressive horde of foreign currency reserves, making the Singapore Dollar amongst the strongest and most stable currencies in the world. With a strong stable currency, this allowed the import of food to be affordable for the island’s citizens, and for investment upgrades in amenities and facilities to be reasonably priced too. And following Lee Kuan Yew’s policy of attracting foreign dollars as an economic booster, Marina Bay Sands is the next major job creator and economic driver of the island nation’s economy, capitalizing on Singapore’s reputation for clean, safe streets, and warm, sunny weather to earn lots of tourism dollars.

     As a gleaming Island-Nation in the 21^st Century, Singapore does not raid and abduct Malaysia’s population per se, but undeniably, it is a direct contributor to Malaysia’s ‘brain drain’; it is a honey pot that attracts young talented Malaysian onto its shores with the promise of: 1) A meritocratic system, 2) Progressive secular outlook,3) Strong currency, 4) Fair, capable politicians and 5) Fine education for their children. This is slightly different from how riders from the Iron Islands abduct slaves and salt-wives along the coastal regions of Westeros, along with whatever else that is required to sustain their livelihoods. In the 21st century, outdoing or impoverishing your neighbour does not necessarily require violence, physical or otherwise. 

4)    The Riverlands, and the Northern state of Kedah

“It could have been worse…It could have been minnows, or wheat. After all, we grow a lot of it.”

     Brynden ‘The Blackfish’ Tully, on why House Tully chose the Trout for its sigil.

     The Riverlands, a fertile land ruled by squabbling lords, is a twin of Kedah, a northern state of Malaysia close to the border with Thailand. Known as the ‘rice-basket of Malaysia’, Kedah is largely undeveloped, occupied mostly by rice-paddy fields, where most of Malaysia’s rice farmers dwell. Along Kedah’s rivers, the river fish local Malaysians loved were harvested. Save for the Kulim High Tech Park, there is not much in terms of development in Kedah.

     The political landscape of Kedah’s politicians is bloody indeed, torn between supporters of former Kedah Chief Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, and those on the payroll of Prime Minister Najib Razak. Similar to how the economy of the Riverlands is driven by agriculture, and the fact it’s the first place to witness bloodshed and destruction at the start of any conflict, are Kedah and the Riverlands so … different?

     George R R Martin created the story of Harrenhal, and how Harren the Black enslaved thousands of Riverland peasants to build the largest castle Westeros had ever seen. While Harrenhal was too large to fortify securely, the income generated from the surrounding lands were still significant. Kedah, while lacking a colossal castle half-annihilated by dragon-fire, did hold the island of Langkawi within its territory. This island had a duty-free sea-port, and was a tourist hub infested by smugglers of duty-free alcohol and cigarettes, allowing the administrator of the place the capacity to earn a sizeable income, if he or she was smart about it. 

     That concludes Part 1 of my essay  'The Game of Thrones is Malaysia'. Stay tuned for Part 2 where I discuss the regions of the Crownlands, the Vale, and the Reach.