So, Bangsar Bubble is trending on twitter and to my surprise, it’s commentary in the form of a tweet storm on race and political philosophy which in spite of its name, has nothing to do with Bangsar!
Don’t get me wrong, Twitter has always been the place to be for discourse on social issues but I certainly wasn’t expecting what Twitter account ThePatriotsAsia had in store for us. So what exactly is the “Bangsar Bubble”?
At first glance, it seems to be a shot at Twitterjaya and the narrative/rhetoric thats rife within the Malaysian Twitter community. The tweet storm points out that if you look across the popular social media platforms, Twitter has always been associated with liberals and people who are “woke”.
"Bangsar Bubble, Realiti Twitterjaya Perlu Tahu."
Korang tahu tak di media sosial lain, masyarakat Twitter selalu dikaitkan dengan perkara2 seperti woke, liberal dan tentunya Bangsar Bubble, merujuk kelompok Malay Urban yang tak faham pandangan masyarakat Melayu seluruhannya. pic.twitter.com/O4EsTJ1iUo
— The Patriots (@thepatriotsasia) June 22, 2020
ThePatriotsAsia then goes on to coin the term “Bangsar Bubble” to refer to urban Malay groups who to them, do not understand the views of the community as a whole. The account goes on to explain that the “Bangsar Bubble” comprise of educated, well to do people living in KL City who have it easy compared to the majority of other Malaysians.
So when it comes to issues such as human rights, judicial independence, media freedom, international statutes, and government-linked company reforms, they are the first to rise up and make some noise.
The thread then points out a poll on Twitter that showed support for PH through the roof, but when that same poll was replicated on Facebook, it’s the complete opposite and that it’s due to issues related to Malay identity.
Korang tahu tak kalau di Twitter, sokongan kepada PH masih tinggi, tapi kalau ke FB, IG dan seumpama dengannya, populariti PH semakin jatuh kerana isu-isu berkaitan dengan Melayu. Tengok Poll dibawah ini yang dibuat oleh sebuah organisasi. pic.twitter.com/QfA3lJQRA9
— The Patriots (@thepatriotsasia) June 22, 2020
The account then points out that because democrats in America comprise of social justice warriors and “libertards”, Americans in opposition to democrats and their ideology (apparently the same ideology shared by those in the “Bangsar Bubble”) and gave the lottery to Trump.
The entire thread is long and seems to subscribe to a rather rigid, rightist train of thought.
The gist of it however, is that the Perikatan Nasional party more or less came about due to the frustration from the conservative Malay majority that viewed the liberal Pakatan Harapan government as a threat to the identity of Malay-Muslims in the country.
As you’d expect, not everyone was very happy about the term “Bangsar Bubble”.
Tanya golongan elit anak2 Menteri/Ketua2 UMNO.
Tanya dekat anak Najib, Zahid.
Entitled silverspooned kids with a trust fund and no eorries like the rest of us.
That's your real Bangsar bubble. https://t.co/haGfPmvtYr
— Afiq Razin Ong (@AmorousAfiq) June 22, 2020
Malaysian leftists have been using the phrase Bangsar Bubble to criticise liberals who lack class analysis. And The P*triots hijacked it.
Well, they're pretty good at hijacking terms from leftist discourse (like internalised racism) at their convenience when it's convenient.
— ÆÆ Ron (@TerenceAaron) June 22, 2020
Some however, were in complete agreement.
Label orang meleis boleh. Kene label bangsar bubble terus gelabah.
Pergi mati kau sana.
— Aidi ER (@aidi_ezzhar) June 23, 2020
You can see for yourselves how sensitive Malaysian liberals are.
They call anyone they disagree with a whole host of vile and insinuating adjectives from Fascist, Pak Lebai, Meleis, etc.
Retort with Bangsar Bubble and they get their knickers in a bunch.
Amusing really.
— Matthew van Huizen (@vanhuizen_matt) June 23, 2020
Malaysia prides itself on being a melting pot of cultures and for the most part, an example on how a country comprising of multiple ethnicities can live in harmony.
But delve deeper and you’ll find a country on a collision course with its sense of identity as the result of becoming increasingly urban. It may not be happening very fast but more and more Malaysians are only now starting to have access to things such as the internet, and with that comes access to endless amounts of information and (hopefully) education.
Of course, not all urbanites are liberals. I’m just saying that technological advances have propelled many forward, and if perspectives change on that journey forward, I’d like to think of that as growth.
