Essay on Malaysia: Game of Thrones is Malaysia (Part 2)

      In the second part of the essay: 'The Game of Thrones is Malaysia', I cover three more regions of Westeros, namely the Vale, the Crownlands, and the Reach, and discuss how they are similar to  Malaysian States of note.

5)    The Vale, and the Eastern State of Terengganu

          “As high as honour”

         

      - The words of House Arryn, Lords Paramount of the Vale

      One might ask: Why did Aegon the Conqueror named House Arryn of the Vale ‘Warden of the East’, over the Baratheons of Storm’s End? The answer is simple: As a deterrent to the hill tribes infesting the mountains in the East. At most, all the Stormlands ever had to deal with in terms of external threats were the storms lashing its coast. And so House Arryn was granted weapons and technology by the Iron Throne, to repel the barbaric hill tribes that continually harassed convoys passing through the mountains for centuries.

     On the same note, Terengganu is also an Easternmost State. It is fortified by naval bases manned by light frigates and speedy destroyers, along with well-trained Marine Commandos and their accompaniment transports. Malaysia is well-endowed by abundant oil and gas assets, mostly along its Eastern Coasts, making it a ripe target for pirates looking to procure some ‘black gold’, and terrorists looking to cause some major havoc. As such the naval bases and military patrols fortifying the coasts and sea territory of Terengganu act as deterrents to those bands of scruffily clad ex-fishermen with AK-47s steering over-powered tugboats. 

     Unfortunately, just as the Lords of the Vale are insular, and a bit fluffy in the head, the population of Terengganu is comprised mostly of conservative Muslims with narrow mind-sets. And like how not much has changed in the Vale over the many centuries since the arrival of the First Men, most of Terengganu remains a back-water with little modern development, despite their natural endowment of oil wealth. Although for tourists, Terengganu is not short of local specialty dishes to tantalize a curious palate, and fill up an empty belly.

6)    The Crownlands, and the Federal Territories

     Just as how the Iron Throne controls the surrounding lands around the capital of King’s Landing, the Federal Government of Malaysia administers territory that does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Sultanates of the country. The Federal Territories are comprised of three areas: 1) The city of Kuala Lumpur, the old capital of Malaysia, 2) The city of Putrajaya, where much of the government administration has moved to in recent decades, and 3) The offshore financial centre of Labuan island.

  ‘Foreign, and strange, Dragonstone is unlike any other castle in Westeros’

     - Stannis Baratheon, Lord of Dragonstone and claimant to the Iron Throne

  

     Dragonstone is different from all the other fancy abodes owned by the high-born of the Seven Kingdoms, constructed by ancient Valyrian building techniques lost through the mists of time. Putrajaya is similarly a world apart from the other cities and towns in Malaysia, and is a wonder to behold. As a modern city constructed in recent decades, Putrajaya is a testament to how Malaysia is a lucky country indeed.

     Malaysians do not have to fork out considerable sums of money to fly to New York, London or Tokyo, to experience the towering sky-scrapers, modern streets, and efficient transport system enjoyed by their peers in developed countries. They simply have to navigate their way out of the swirling chaos that is most of Malaysia, and travel to the man-made marvel that is Putrajaya, built by Mahathir Mohamad upon the petrol dollars of Petronas, and the hard-earned money of ordinary Malaysians for the comfort of the fat-cats that are the country’s civil servants.

     Of course, one might argue there is one other location in Malaysia that is modern and well-developed: Central KL, where the Petronas Twin Towers were built, along with several other sky-scrapers too. However, ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad will turn around with a smirk, and say “Aha! I built that too! But does it have the world’s largest artificial lake running through it? With fancy cruise barges that light up at night, which common folk have to pay too much money to travel on?” 

  “The Old. The True. The Brave.”

The words of House Velaryon,  Lords of the Tide, and Masters of Driftmark

     Out of the maelstrom of madness that is George R R Martin’s imagination, comes House Velaryon, cousins to House Targaryen. They possess the same silver hair and purple eyes, and rule a large isle close to Dragonstone, named Driftmark. Their control of Driftmark granted House Velaryon monopoly over passing sea trade, allowing them to enrich their coffers from tolls collected by merchant ships crossing through. This enabled House Velaryon to build an impressive navy, one said to rival the Iron-Born fleet. And as House Velaryon controlled the middle reaches of the Narrow Sea with their ships, the Targaryens commanded the skies with their dragons.

     But George R R Martin was very kind. The isle Driftmark was based on, Labuan, was a place with a fanciful name: Off-shore Financial Centre. That is just a pretty dress for an ugly truth. Labuan should be called what it really is, a sleazy tax haven created for Malaysia’s rich, and the rich of other countries, to launder their money through, whilst allowing said rich people to visit restaurants which are not really restaurants but places where hot-blooded men can find comfort in painted ladies.

   “Do you want to know why I’ve come to this stinking, shit-pile of a city?”

       - Prince Oberyn Martell, to Gregor Clegane

      Both King’s Landing and Kuala Lumpur were built on the confluence of several rivers, on flat, firm plains that stretched out far and wide, like most major cities in the world. These two capital cities (or ex-capital city in the case of Kuala Lumpur) sprawled ungainly in every direction from their origin point, though being a ‘modern city’ of the 21^st century, Kuala Lumpur trumps King’s Landing by the fact there are no beggars or hobos soliciting for hand-outs on its streets. Perhaps that could attributed to the Federal government’s efforts in establishing the industrial suburb of Shah Alam within the outskirts of KL, where unskilled labour could find work at one of the many factories in operation there, which are owned and managed by the MNCs operating in the country, lured by tax breaks and low operating costs driven by a ‘cheap’ Ringgit.

     On the flipside of the coin, the close proximity of the industrial factories in Shah Alam results in Kuala Lumpur being covered in a perpetual grey haze, exacerbated by the relentless tide of vehicles in the city, that keeps steadily increasing every year.  

   But supporting those factories in Shah Alam are railways and trains, and a port to foster export growth. So while Kuala Lumpur might not have bright blue skies, or the fresh air the residents of King’s Landing enjoy, at least the residents of Kuala Lumpur do not have to live under the shadow of a monstrous red keep, ruled by a tyrant who could chop their heads off at a whim, and there were economic drivers and the supporting infrastructure set in place in KL for job creation and the stimulation of economic activity.

     In other words, the ‘small folk’ of Kuala Lumpur have been alleviated to the ‘Middle-Class’, from the simple villagers they used to be, in the years since the rise of the town built on a ‘muddy estuary’.

7)    The Reach, and the Southern State of Selangor

       “Growing Strong”

    -The words of House Tyrell, Lords Paramount of the Reach, and Wardens of the South

     One must recall the economy of Westeros is primarily agricultural-based. Thus any region of the Seven Kingdoms that controls large swathes of productive agriculture would find itself wealthy indeed. And that is the fortunate position the Reach finds itself in. But the Reach is better managed than the Riverlands, due to the savvy leadership of House Tyrell, stewards of High Garden since before the coming of Aegon the Conqueror. The fertile lands of the Reach were also the location of many groves to harvest fruit, along with grapes for wine. And with an ever belligerent Dorne as its neighbour, House Tyrell was named ‘Warden of the South’, granting it military and technological benefits. The power and influence of House Tyrell was very substantial, and Tywin Lannister required their support in the War of the Five Kings. It was for this reason he granted House Tyrell a seat on the Small Council.

     In the 21^st Century, economies are not driven by agriculture, but industry. As the base of the location of the Klang Valley, endowed with flat, firm terrain stretching for miles, Selangor enjoys the distinction of being the most developed of all the states in the Federation. It is because of this, the industrial factories in Shah Alam, in the state’s south, run by the likes of Sony, Panasonic, Volvo, Suzuki, and Toyota are able to be constructed, granting Selangor its wealth and prosperity.

     Unfortunately, the cost of housing, along with the problem of traffic congestion, is worsening, as residents of all the other states converge on Selangor looking for jobs, as their own states were lacking in modern development, save perhaps for Penang, the southern tip of Johor, and the High Tech Park in Kedah. With the hip suburbs of Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya, where the best tertiary colleges and the most hip watering holes are located, it is little wonder Malaysians from all over the country are leaving their sleepy hollows behind, and congregating at Selangor.

     Sadly, as the global economic slump worsens, and the purchasing power of ordinary Malaysians is increasingly diluted, the rise of a revolutionary movement seems a very real possibility. It would be a revolution, started by the furious and the desperate, to overthrow Malaysia’s incompetent, corrupt leaders, and most importantly of all, depose Prime Minister Najib Razak. And when that happens, the political elements in opposition to Najib and his lackeys will be jostling to fill the power vaccuum at the top of Malaysia's political totem pole

     It is my opinion, the Rose will no longer blossom for young stags, or lion cubs. Lest the Rose be burned to a charred crisp by the Dragon. And no foolish Dowager lioness, or crippled former Alpha Lion will be able to stand in the Dragon’s way, when the Dragon finally returns to take back what it lost when the belligerent Black Stag rose to challenge the Dragon all those years ago.

    That concludes Part 2 of my essay 'The Game of Thrones is Malaysia'. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the third and final part of my essay, where I discuss the Stormlands, the Crossing, and most important of all, the North!