By Tunku Aziz
Najib’s 1Malaysia propaganda campaign, now in full swing, has taken on the uncanny appearance of a blitzkrieg that would have the Fuehrer of the Third Reich double up in the Reichstag in uncontrollable ecstasy. It really is that funny. The single-minded mindless saturation bombardment of the media, at what financial cost we will never know, has already begun to show all the tell tale signs of mental fatigue and psychological rejection. I am told that it is not unlike the metal fatigue that put a premature end to the promising start of the world’s first commercial jetliner, the Comet operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation more than four decades ago. Perhaps there is a lesson the 1Malaysia strategists could learn from history about over indulgence. There can be too much of a good thing for their own good.
I have been asking our prime minister, as indeed many others, to venture beyond sloganeering and spell out in terms that are concise and clear what he has in mind when pontificating on what appears to thinking Malaysians to be nothing more than a party dogma being shoved down their throats as part of a ploy to regain the non-Bumi electoral support. If Najib really believes that voters are going to buy his half-baked1Malaysia cake as an article of faith- that is more form than substance, he should put it to the test by going back to the country for a fresh authority or mandate to govern. His legitimacy is in serious doubt. The UMNO process of succession is open to question.
The unfortunate impression I get is that 1Malaysia is all about the pathetic charade of bonhomie and back-slapping of the ‘open house’ variety. Please do not get me wrong: I am not an unsociable sloth. I do like some people, believe it or not. My point is that if it is national unity that the admirable prime minister really wants for Malaysia’s sustainable future, then the trick is to work towards achieving smooth and seamless integration that will stand the test of time.
National unity is not a product that can be created by legislation or administrative edict or order; it is a process that requires a complete change of behaviour and attitude, a mental overhaul that can only be achieved through a dynamic social, economic and political regime that puts equality of opportunity at the very top of our national agenda. We need to put great store by equal opportunity in education in particular because to me it is immoral and ethically unacceptable to discriminate against the innocent and vulnerable young by depriving them of their rights to higher education. How, in heaven’s name can we expect them to identify themselves with the country of their birth if, in spite of their achieving more than the standards set, still fail to gain a place? A policy of exclusiveness can produce only one outcome–disaster! There is plenty of evidence to be seen in our society of the futility of pursuing this evil policy. Equal opportunity must be the cornerstone of national unity.
While I can readily understand the underlying imperatives of the New Economic Policy, I do not accept that you can justify positive discrimination except by implementing it in strict observance of its aim which is to alleviate poverty of Malaysians irrespective of ethnicity or religious leanings. But as we all know, the spirit of what was intended to be a great social leveller has from its inception been blatantly violated for the benefit of the few politically connected self-proclaimed Melayu Baru, a breed happily mired in corruption in all its manifestations.
For true national unity to emerge, we must go back to basics, revisiting the freedoms and rights guaranteed for all Malaysians. The NEP must be applied to all who need support. The draconian Internal Security Act as applied to date has no place in our society. Enact a new Anti-Terrorism Act for that specific application, and not to use it to terrorise and inflict pain and suffering on our own people. I wonder if Najib’s ideas which underpin his 1Malaysia will ever converge with the modest and legitimate expectations of our multi-cultural society.
I am inclined to believe that people should be left to their own devices, and just as water eventually finds its own level, so do people. The duty of the government is to govern in ways that put the welfare and the interests of the people above all other considerations. In effect this means a system of governance based on best universal practice that, by implication, is free from corruption which according to Transparency International is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Could the founding fathers of TI in 1993 have been thinking about our political leadership when they developed this formulation? I wonder.