{"id":45021,"date":"2021-10-12T02:27:29","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T18:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/?p=45021"},"modified":"2022-09-01T11:24:34","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T03:24:34","slug":"were-in-a-squid-game-of-our-own","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/were-in-a-squid-game-of-our-own\/","title":{"rendered":"We’re in a squid game of our own"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The premise of Netflix\u2019s wildly popular show, Squid Game<\/em>, is simple enough: 456 players compete in a series of Korean childhood games to win 45.6 billion won (roughly RM160.4 million). Lose a game, instant death. Why would anyone play?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.      <\/strong>The illusion of choice in late capitalism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The players have nothing to lose. They are all economically desperate. Seong Gi-Hun (player 456) is a kind-hearted deadbeat dad and gambler who steals his mother\u2019s ATM card to bet on horses. There\u2019s a North Korean deserter who wants to smuggle her family, a securities trader wanted for embezzlement, and a Pakistani undocumented worker cheated of his salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amidst this setting is class inequality. Despite tremendous economic prosperity since 1961 (dubbed the \u201cMiracle on the Han River\u201d), South Korea\u2019s youth unemployment rate peaked at 27.2% in January 2021[1]<\/sup><\/a>. Suicide is especially common among senior citizens living on the edge of poverty, like Gi-Hun\u2019s mother who is forced to work despite her advanced age and illness. South Korea\u2019s economy is dominated by chaebols<\/em> \u2013 conglomerates owned by a few powerful families, such as Samsung (Lee family) and Hyundai (Chung family). Chaebols<\/em> are interlocked with government interests, sparking \u201ctoo big to fail\u201d concerns during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. They also are accused of monopolistic practices due to protectionist policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malaysia too faces a similar conundrum, albeit in the form of government corporations. In his book Minister Of Finance Incorporated<\/em>, Prof. Dr Terence Gomez highlights the immense influence of Government-Linked Investment Corporations (GLICs) and Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) through ownership of media companies and conglomerates[2]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, as of May 2021, Malaysia\u2019s youth unemployment rate was about 12.7%[3]<\/sup><\/a>. Pre-Covid-19, it was already three times higher than the adult rate[4]<\/sup><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Malaysiakini\"\/
“Imagine the immense vulnerability faced by this segment of job seekers as they try to survive amidst a once-in-a-century pandemic.<\/em><\/strong>” Lim Yi Wei<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, are the realities of life truly worse than the situations faced by Squid Game players? Stunned by the bloodiness, Episode 2 depicts players immediately voting to end the game and return to their lives. Yet reality is unbearable, driving many to return to the deadly games. This is the illusion of choice in late capitalism. While Squid Game takes this to extremes, we must ask: what terrible conditions do we tolerate for a better life? The exploitation of foreign worker Ali (199) reminds us of the xenophobic comments during the Pasar Besar Selayang cluster, the Home Ministry\u2019s negative reaction to Al-Jazeera\u2019s report on migrant worker sufferings[5]<\/sup><\/a>, and photos of foreign workers rounded up and sprayed with sanitizer. How is our reality different from fiction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.      <\/strong> \u201cIf you\u2019re poor, you\u2019re lazy\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing fair is supposedly paramount in Squid Game<\/em>. However, in Episode 7, a glassmaker (player 017) can differentiate glass tiles based on light refraction. To appease VVIPs watching the games, the lead organiser (\u201cFront Man\u201d) switches off the lights, rendering 017\u2019s skills useless. Similarly, we often hear the upper class preaching about fairness. But, the way they act betrays \u201cdua darjat\u201d <\/em>tendencies as they have no qualms in purposely changing rules to gain an edge against the less fortunate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zahid
Why can’t we bring up the Pandora Papers in Parliament?<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Take the Pandora Papers. Over 11.9 million leaked confidential files showed global power players (including politicians and public officials) benefitting massively from offshore tax havens. While having overseas assets, companies or trusts isn\u2019t illegal, they can be abused for tax evasion or criminal purposes. 1MDB springs to mind. Meanwhile, citizens are expected to pay taxes regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wage disparity is also an issue. Recently, deputy human resources minister Datuk Awang Hashim told Parliament that in the Malaysianization programme under Penjana 3.0, the government would loosen the minimum wage requirement from RM1,500 to RM1,200 to encourage employers to replace foreign workers with locals. This supposed \u201csolution\u201d clearly shows the deputy minister\u2019s lack of understanding of realities on the ground. The minimum wage still needs raising, not further reduction, especially in cities where costs continue to rise. The fact that there are thousands of Malaysians working in Singapore\u2019s service sector shows that locals are willing to work in difficult and dangerous jobs provided the pay is right.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Weakening of labour movements and class solidarity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the show, game organisers actively pit players against each other. After being deprived of food, players engage in a kill-all at night, when cooperation would\u2019ve helped them beat the rules. Similarly, capitalism and racist politicians pit workers of different races against each other to prevent class solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also see in Episode 5, that Gi-Hun was involved in a workers\u2019 strike which was brutally repressed by the police. Malaysia\u2019s trade union movement has seen a steady decrease in unionised workers. Judgments favouring workers have not sparked major legislative change. Hospital cleaners in Perak are still fighting for their promised increment, restoration of their previous public holidays and medical allowance benefits, and the issues raised by the #HartalDoktorKontrak movement are pending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can Malaysians break out of the Squid Game?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Major spoilers ahead)<\/em> Despite the trauma he underwent, Gi-Hun\u2019s character remains almost the same as he was before playing the Squid Game<\/em>. He\u2019s still rash and a deadbeat dad. However, he is not without some redeeming qualities \u2013 one of which is not succumbing to the rules and compromising his humanity in the final game. The series ends on a cliff-hanger: will Gi-Hun try to take down the organisers of the Squid Game?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to oversimplify Squid Game<\/em> as humanity being doomed because we\u2019re inherently greedy. The reality is that people do desperate things because of desperate situations, which is exploited by the system for profit and even entertainment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we grapple with the impact of various scandals on our country\u2019s finances and the mismanagement of Covid-19, will we come out the same? Or will we have the willpower to change towards a kinder, more equitable society?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lim Yi Wei<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

State Assemblywoman for Kampung Tunku<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The premise of Netflix\u2019s wildly popular show, Squid Game, is simple enough: 456 players compete in a series of Korean childhood games to win 45.6 billion won (roughly RM160.4 million). Lose a game, instant death. Why would anyone play? 1.      The illusion of choice in late capitalism The players have nothing to lose. They are all economically […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[539],"tags":[2419,2420,2421,2422],"class_list":{"0":"post-45021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-weekly-highlights","8":"tag-lim-yit-wei","9":"tag-netflix","10":"tag-pandora-paper","11":"tag-squid-game"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45021"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46208,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45021\/revisions\/46208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dapmalaysia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}