WITH the political temperature reaching an unusually high level in several Asian countries in recent months, colours have become almost an obsession. Wear red, yellow or blue in Bangkok and you could find yourself in the middle of a brawl. Wear black outside the Perak state assembly building in Malaysia and you could be arrested.

Colour also functions as an important political mnemonic in Indonesia. In Jakarta late last year, a Japanese diplomat reportedly struggled to convince sceptical reporters of his political neutrality when he was spotted wearing a light blue tie. Blue was the colour of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democrat Party in the April 9 parliamentary elections.
While there is often a certain predictability about colours and their political meanings in the West, the same cannot be said for Asia. Islamic political parties, for example, prefer green, the same hue adopted by environmentalist lobbies all over the world. But green is also the ubiquitous colour at rallies organised by Taiwan’s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party. And as for yellow, it is the colour of royalty in Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei, as well as the official hue of Mrs Cory Aquino’s successful campaign for the presidency in 1986. It remains her colour to this day.
Indeed, it was probably Manila’s “People Power Revolution” – more than the traditional communist preference for red – that triggered modern Asia’s obsession with colour and its political significance. Today, almost every self-respecting movement in the region makes a point of promoting its respective hue. As a result, almost no colour is safe from accusations of partisanship.
In Thailand, red is associated with the supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinwatra and the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, while yellow is the colour of their main opponents, the royalist People’s Alliance for Democracy.
The blue shirts are a more recent addition. They emerged in April under the auspices of the Interior Ministry, run by Bhum Jai Thai party leader Chaovarat Chanweerakul. First coming to public attention in April when they attacked a red-shirt protest at the Asean summit in Pattaya, the blue group also reportedly stoked the Songkran Day riots in Bangkok. Generally seen as pro-military, observers believe their ultimate aim is to create chaos in order to give the army a pretext to take control of the government.
During the Suharto era in Indonesia, television newscasters in election years were required to wear something yellow – the colour of the then ruling Golkar party. Whether the tactic influenced voters is difficult to say. But the political symbolism was hard to miss.
Supporters of Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri’s secular nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle traditionally wear red, while most of the country’s numerous Islamic-based parties have adopted green. And with blue already taken by supporters of President Yudhoyono, other minor parties have had to struggle to find alternatives. The Christian-based Prosperous Peace Party, for example, has adopted an ugly shade of purple.
Politicians in Kuala Lumpur have not been quite so obsessed with colour. But even here, the battle lines have been drawn to some extent. Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, for example, is well known for its blue and white banners.
So far, however, the mishmash of parties and colours that make up the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance has prevented the government’s opponents from rallying around a single colour.
This may be the reason why opposition parties urged their supporters to wear black when rallying outside the Perak state assembly building on May 7 to protest against the installation of a new state government. The dispute began in February when several opposition lawmakers joined the Barisan Nasional. The move gave the ruling coalition a slim majority in the state legislature.
Dozens of protesters wearing black were arrested outside the assembly building. “Why can’t we wear black? Do we have to get permission from the government to wear black?” asked one opposition supporter.
In Indonesia and China, white has a similar emotional value for disaffected groups united more by mutual sentiment than a common organisation. In Indonesia, the golongan putih (golput) – the white group – has been the traditional collective euphemism for alienated voters who refuse to participate in elections. In China, pro-democracy groups urged citizens to wear white (China’s colour of mourning) on June 4 to remember the day in 1989 when the army moved in to break up protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Travelling around Asia this year? Do your homework before deciding on an appropriate wardrobe.