Malay problem root of nation’s problem


AB Sulaiman
Malaysiakini
Jan 6, 11

COMMENT

About a year and a bit ago, the Old Boys’ Association of the Royal Military College otherwise known as ‘Old Putras’ organised an evening of discourse.

The forum noted that the Malaysian people were fragmented, the economy at a virtual standstill, and democracy eroded by dictatorship, returning feudalism, and theocracy. Those present wanted to analyse the degeneration and like good citizens we were to come up with some solutions.

It was then that one speaker, Mohd Dahan if I remember correctly, who stood up to say, “Solve the Malay problem, and you solve the country’s problem.” Now we are in the first month of the second decade of the 21st century, the ring of truth in his statement still prevails.

But at this time, 53 years after independence and 10 years to becoming a high-income country, it appears we are still embedded deep in a long list of unsolved national problems, with many getting worse than before.

Here are but some of them: A restive and fragmented population, high migration rate, poor rate of growth, broken public institutions like education and the judiciary, high crime rate, degenerating personal and public morality, price increases, inflation, and a generally authoritative, intimidating and arrogant government. Our comparative indices with other countries like in areas of transparency, human rights, education, are all on the downward swing.

And corruption, the perennial social cancer, taking place at the highest possible level, involving amounts that would make Carlos Slim (currently the richest man in the world according to Forbes) and Bill Gates almost poor by comparison.

Hope lies eternal, so let’s see whether we can try to solve at least some of the national problems, by first solving some Malay problems, for this coming year.

But first, what exactly is the ‘Malay problem’?

Unable to break the inertia

My observation of this matter stemmed from the collective Malay lack of knowledge and of modern technical skills and thereby negatively reflected in the country’s wealth distribution scenario.

In 1957 the record books indicated that Malay economic involvement was no more than at a paltry 2 percent. This is not good at all as viewed and agreed on by the founding fathers and every meaningful citizen of whatever ethnic background.

Since then the Malays have been given all opportunities to be more fruitfully involved in the country’s economic activities. In 1970, a name was given to this ground-breaking exercise known as social engineering under the New Economic Policy.

Lavishly-funded government policies and programmes were introduced to even the playing field for Malay incursion into the national economy.

But try as they might, the Malays could not manage to break the inertia and achieve any planning targets. (Please spare me the need to repeat even some of the details for they have been pretty well and regularly documented by proponents, supporters and critics alike.)

This was to me the first time the Malay problem surfaced. It’s that the perception that Malay economic backwardness (and ‘problem’) is solely economic in its cause and could largely be solved under the NEP.

In fact its architect, Abdul Razak Hussein (right), asked for 20 years for the project implementation; surely thinking that this period was enough to see the Malay through.

Sadly, history has indicated there has been a fundamental flaw in this presumption. In reality, his economic ineptitude being one, but far more is his psychological or mental deficiency.

Psychological or mental? Yes. He has this innate inability to realise that upon independence the country was morphing progressively into a new era: From old to new, rural to urban, agrarian to manufacturing, ancient to modern. From a life aligned with nature and the natural featured by myth, magic, miracle and mystery, to one surrounded and led by technical principles and science. It was an era of change.

Change requires a few mental subtleties. First there must be awareness or consciousness of the advent of change, and second, it requires a willingness to adapt to it. Without these two, any change is but a natural progression. The mind must therefore be equipped to be conscious and be aware of change. This is what the Malay did not have.

Ketuanan Melayu

History tells us that the Malay has not been able to produce the thinking faculty to recognise the coming of change to begin with. Hardly surprising therefore for him to show an inability to adapt at the appropriate time. He has no ability to accept and adapt to change.

So this is to me the root of the ‘Malay problem’.

This inability to change again to me reflects the inner features and characteristics of Malay thinking:

i) It is ethnocentric: it believes in the superiority of its own type over all other types.

ii) It is non-scientific: it believes in not yet ascertained truth and in non-provable ones.

iii) It is quick in denial.

iv) It is not aware of its mistakes.

They would produce the following end-product or behaviour patterns:

v) The Malay is a superior race.

vi) Islam is the one and only religion that gets approval from God Almighty.

vii) These are irrefutable truths.

viii) Anyone denying the above is a traitor to the race and an apostate to religion.

Items (i) to (iv) indicate that the Malay is racially conscious and highly religion bound. Items (v) to (viii) reveal his racism and religious tendencies. They in turn at least partially explain the favourite Malay ideology ‘untuk agama, bangsa dan negara’.

They have also been personified by the ketuanan Melayu entity, and giving rise to the Perkasa movement.

Doubters to this contention might wish to counter check: Are ketuanan Melayu and Perkasa not ethnocentric? They are for championing ‘Malay rights’ when the constitution says it’s only Malay ‘special privileges’.

They are also non-scientific for championing Islam, or at least the government-approved version of Islam: Sunni sect, Imam Shafie line, and until recently, Islam Hadhari variety.

Who then are ketuanan Melayu members? To me, the ketuanan Melayu entity comprises those who generally harbour the eight features just mentioned above. As individuals they are:

i) The ruling party members, especially Umno leaders;

ii) The civil servants running the government machinery;

iii) The officers and personnel running government agencies like the police, military, customs, immigration, etc.;

iv) The ulama whose job is to protect and propagate Islam;

v) Political chiefs aspiring to get to the top of the party ladder.

It’s eerie to think the obvious – that this list would net almost the entire educated, urban, middle class, Malay population. And they are the embodiment of the Malay problem!

In other words, the root, core, essence of the Malay problem is the Malay collective culture!

Shameful performance

How has this collective culture been performing as the top leaders and managers of the country? Well, unless I am grossly wrong, you can’t create something good out of something rotten. Ketuanan Melayu (i.e. racism and religious fundamentalism) to me is something definitely rotten. So Malay supremacy has been able to create in the last decade or so the following:

a) Bending the laws to suit Malay interests. In this case the constitution has been amended a record 40 times (with 650 individual amendments) since 1957. Compare this with the US that has amended its constitution about 27 times since its founding. Or, Singapore, four times. Racism is institutionalised in this country!

b) Breaking the thin line between Syariah and civil laws. The supremacy of the constitution has been eroded.

c. Breaking down of institutions like the check and balance features of democratic governance. Democracy is all but dead. Have the periodic general elections, and that’s it, democracy is observed. Whatever happens in between is another matter altogether.

d) The flagrant use of lies, deceit, hooliganism on the part of the ruling elite against its own people. There is this massive breaking down of individual and public morality.

There are countless thousands of others.

We come back to Dahan’s wisdom. Now that we have re-acquainted ourselves with the Malay problem, how do we go about solving it?

This is no easy task for the obstacles are enormous. On the one side we have a people under the ketuanan Melayu ambit digging deep into the fortress of race and religion and not at all ashamed to use the political power available at its disposal. To the Malay, the saying that the ends justify the means is enshrined in gold.

The government and ketuanan Melayu are not about to let go easily. They are deep in the quagmire of lies, deceit, corruption, even sin and criminality. Only by them staying in power will they be able to prevent the law from taking its course.

On the other side we have the 21st century world demanding a 21st century open and flexible mind. Some of them are: Technical ability, professionalism, openness, honesty, fairness, justice, morality, transparency, responsibility, accountability and integrity.

Solutions

Whatever programme we have to solve the Malay problem, two elements must be present: The secularisation of the Malay mind and the restoration of basic human rights to the peoples of Malaysia.

It has to be repeated that it won’t be easy.

But hope against hope, the government must restore power to the people; the ulama must come to terms with universal realities. Civil servants too should reorient their thinking to serve the people rather than the politicians.

And the people, the average Malay down the road, must come to realise that the world is not an oyster, that individualism is the key to any personal or national development.

How can all these be achieved? Thinking influences behaviour – the ketuanan Melayu Malay mind must change from its ethnocentricity and non-scientific features to one of openness, fairness, rationality and respect for other men.

Develop the sense of the individual in him. Secularise Malay thinking. Open his closed mind. Go for secular education. Teach philosophy in schools. Do not teach children about religion until they are able to think for themselves.

Do anything to make the Malay more receptive for change. Then perhaps we can begin to solve the Malay problem, in 2011 and onwards.

AB SULAIMAN is an observer of human traits and foibles, especially within the context of religion and culture. As a liberal, he marvels at the way orthodoxy fights to maintain its credibility in a devilishly fast-changing world. He hopes to provide some understanding to the issues at hand and wherever possible, suggest some solutions. He holds a Bachelor in Social Sciences (Leicester, UK) and a Diploma in Public Administration, Universiti Malaya.

  1. #1 by DAP man on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 12:49 pm

    Well done ABS,

    UMNO is the root cause of the Malay problem. Remove UMNO and you remove the Malay problem.

    The thinking Malays should ask, “Why are the Malays in such a predicament when the great defenders of bangsa, ugama and negara – all Malays – have been in absolute power for 50+ years?”

    Ask why the UMNO Malays are filthy rich?

    UMNO has devalued the Malay race, exploited them, abused them and made them entirely dependent on an illusion -“that only UMNO can protect them”.

    They even believe that the non-Malays are responsible for their predicament.

    Now tell me where is the problem?

  2. #2 by Zonefinder on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 1:00 pm

    This is an outright frank assessment of the Malay mentality. Points raised are precisely the ones that are considered sensitive and taboo in this country, no thanks to the institutions within the country whose sole purpose is to entrap the minds of the Malays to perpetrate the greed and self interests of the Malay elite and cronies.
    Only way to effect the changes suggested by AB is to kick out BN in the coming GE.

  3. #3 by undertaker888 on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 1:03 pm

    //i) It is ethnocentric: it believes in the superiority of its own type over all other types.///

    the perkasa type think they are superior bcos they have this bully mentality on other races in the country. thinking that the police and what not will always take their side whether right or wrong. i have seen this behaviour change in and out of the country. when outside of the country, their so-called superiority has been reduced to mere mouse automatically knowing that they will not be protected anymore. but when back to the country, the perangai samseng will take hold. it’s like dr jekyll and mr hyde thing.

    all the other points above, was because they were programmed from birth to follow this route by umno regime under mamak.

    //Solutions///

    we need to get rid of this present regime. put them on the side line to do some soul searching for at least 2 terms. if the lesser evil grows to be a bigger evil, well, out it goes.

  4. #4 by HJ Angus on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 1:08 pm

    I am sure the properly educated Malays know what is wrong in Malaysia.
    The big problem is “who wants to bell the gorilla?”
    The non-Malays have voted mostly with their feet and now even some despairing Malays are leaving.
    The best and last chance for moderate Malaysians is to vote out the BN regime so at least we have a chance to rebuild Malaysia.

  5. #5 by undertaker888 on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 1:39 pm

    this country reminds me of a book “lord of the flies”. they fought and murdered each other over power and status. when the “grown-ups” eventually arrive, they realised it was for nothing. the island ruined over nothing. the people died over nothing.

    this is what happening now when they can’t see beyond the island and their mad rituals.

  6. #6 by k1980 on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 1:43 pm

    See how similar this problem is to the Nazi problem—

    The Aryan master race is made up of people of northern European descent and are superior to all other peoples. They worked to maintain the purity of this race through eugenics programs (including anti-miscegenation legislation, compulsory sterilization of the mentally ill and the mentally deficient, the execution of the institutionalized mentally ill as part of a euthanasia program).

    How was the Nazi problem solved? When the Allies destroyed the German army in 1945 and partitioned that country into 2.

  7. #7 by alikim on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 2:04 pm

    Only Malays can help Malaysia and only Allah can help the Malays now. Pray to Him!

  8. #8 by dagen on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 2:17 pm

    The main, root, core malay problem is actually a malay wannabe by the name dr mamak. Germans made the mistake of supporting a leader who brought the whole country to war with the world. Malays made the mistake of trusting a wannabe.

    As an extension to the author’s views above (for comparison): Malays (not umnoputras) are still struggling hard to open up gerai makanan orang melayu. Whereas chinese have morphed their traditional coffeeshop into starbuck-like franchise fastfood chain.

  9. #9 by Bigjoe on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 2:59 pm

    I personally have experience teaching people who do not have the advantage of background in their chose profession i.e., their family or friends are not in it and they have never actually done any real work before graduating out of school. From my experience, except for a few rare talent, most have no hope of having quick success in their career. For most. their only hope of rising to the top of their profession is basically to commit to the needs and wants of the bosses, companies and industries for a long period to get to a good position.

    In other words for the vast majority of Malays, what is needed is basically a reliable long term plan in whatever they chose to do. What makes them uncompetitive is simply not being able to plan, not being able to hold on to a job or income that is reliable in the long run, NOT the relative amount. When NEP is most successful with changing Malay behaviour is simply providing a consistent plan that they can rely on. Where NEP and UMNO/BN fail most is the inconsistency especially from failure of their projects and ideas. Its the crux of why corruption especially is their worst enemy because corruption causes the inconsistency and the failures. Its also why meritocracy and market forces is their most reliable means of correcting that inconsistency – its not perfect but it is the best predictor for their planning than anything else human kind knows.

  10. #10 by TheWrathOfGrapes on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 3:38 pm

    Too much time spent sitting under the rambutan tree?

  11. #11 by Jeffrey on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 3:52 pm

    ///UMNO is the root cause of the Malay problem. Remove UMNO and you remove the Malay problem./// – #1

    This is the easier course. But what if one has to remove the Malay problem first before one could remove UMNO? This is more difficult course.

  12. #12 by HJ Angus on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 4:13 pm

    sounds like a chicken and egg situation.
    Removing UMNO from government is a more doable solution as voters have the choice.
    At present with the well established crony scheme in place, UMNO is not going to reform to help Malays develop.

    It seems UMNO members find it easier to support a corrupt regime than to work long years to achieve success.

  13. #13 by cintanegara on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 4:46 pm

    This article portrays many inaccurate, double standard, unfair, stereotype facts….It seems that Malays have always been the target….as if other races don’t have enough problems…Shouldn’t we have more respect and reverence for our fellow countrymen???

  14. #14 by alikim on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 5:12 pm

    Malays have been placing too much trust to their current leaders without deep thought. Wake up and trust only Allah.

  15. #15 by Zonefinder on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 5:31 pm

    The Malays today are bound by a religion which has been institutionalized in all facets of their lives, be it at home or at work. Islam itself is uncompromising and all encompassing. It governs the way you think, eat and behave.
    The first step perhaps is to break State control and next is to leave the practice of the Faith to within the confine of the Homes. Look at the Technologically advanced countries in the world, all of them are secular without exception. As long as the populace are trained to have a questioning and inquiring mind which is by the way is antithesis of all Abrahamic faiths, then we will have a chance.
    We are however fast approaching the point of no return. Once we reaches a critical point where non muslims have no significant presence, there will be no reversals.

  16. #16 by Zonefinder on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 5:36 pm

    cintanegara, look under “Ketuanan Melayu” (iii).

  17. #17 by Loh on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 5:46 pm

    ///My observation of this matter stemmed from the collective Malay lack of knowledge and of modern technical skills and thereby negatively reflected in the country’s wealth distribution scenario.

    In 1957 the record books indicated that Malay economic involvement was no more than at a paltry 2 percent. This is not good at all as viewed and agreed on by the founding fathers and every meaningful citizen of whatever ethnic background.

    Since then the Malays have been given all opportunities to be more fruitfully involved in the country’s economic activities. In 1970, a name was given to this ground-breaking exercise known as social engineering under the New Economic Policy.///–AS

    At the time of Independence, Malayans not just Malays lacked knowledge and technical skills. Until 1970 only University of Malays was established, and by then it has not produced more than ten thousand graduates. There were only two teachers training colleges and one technical college in Ipoh. The Malay College of Kuala Kangsar has been long established and it produced more Malays who fielded important positions in government and the various important institutions than people from other races. Thus in terms of trained professionals non-Malays did not greatly outnumbered Malays, and some among the non-Malays were migrants, a brain gain to Malaysia.

    Wealth distribution as government statistics wanted us to believe has been distorted. Let’s take the 1970 data. The government is the only country in the world which has produced its so-called ownership statistics to argue about wealth distribution. No other country which is statistically more advanced would ever claim to have produced statistics in wealth distribution. It is simply because wealth is too complicated an issue to statistical quantification, and it serves no social purposes other than for political propaganda aim at polarizing the various division of its population. As it was, the government considered (perhaps economists advised the government) that those who could separate their business accounts from their personal account could be counted as pure business activities. Hence only companies of limited liabilities as corporation were covered in the measurement of equity capital in the ownership statistics. There are many data items in a balance sheet that could tell the size and participation of business activities. The government considered that only the paid up capitals of limited companies should be tabulated. The simplistic approach might be able to tell at a time about the share of equity capital if the equity shares are held directly by persons whose ethnic identity is known. When shares are held by other companies including the nominee companies where the identity of the owners are, by law, anonymous, there is o way the government could tabulate the data according to the race of the owners. Besides, in a complex business set up involving different layers of subsidiary companies, the same capital value could be counted repeatedly.

    The government provided official statistics claiming that in 1970 Malays owned 1.43 per cent of total equity shares of limited companies, and that foreigners owned about 45%. In 1970 the equity capitals owned by foreigners in Malaysia included the major plantation and companies such as the Harrison, the Sime Darby, banks, trading companies and tin mining companies. Of the ownership equity counted towards foreigners, easily one third came from the plantation estates owned by foreigners. The total acreage owned by them, Sime darby and others did not exceed the total acreage of a million acres held by FELDA scheme in 1970; the latter are for the benefits of Malays and Malays only. Plantation estates held by foreigners accounted for say 15% of the total equity, and so FELDA’s plantation should have accrued 15% of the total share capital held by Malays. The government conveniently excludes FELDA in the computation on technical reason that FELDA was not a limited company. However a limited company with two thousand ringgit paid-up capital selling Kachang putih would be included in ownership statistics. FELDA and its subsidiaries are in big time business with turnover exceeding 10 billion ringgit a year. Yet FELDA contributes zero ringgit to the computation of the equity share capital owned by Malays towards the 30% target; Felda counts for nothing in Malays participation in economic activities in the country. That is one of the reasons why Malays’ achievement is measured at 18% for decades; the statistics stinks. Yet the same set of statistics is used by the government to represent wealth distribution by race. The government still claims that Malays owned less than 19% when almost all foreign plantation companies have been taken over by the GLC and by corporations established by the government to hold shares in trust for Malays.

    The 2% stated as Malay involvement in economic activities must have been derived from the so-called ownership data. Economic activities would include activities that derive economic benefits such as in employment in any sector, manufacturing, agriculture, trades and services. I
    For economic activities relating to setting up factories and wholesale retail trades, and selling goods and services, it would be expected that only those people who are willing to take up the challenge would participate in them. For entrepreneurs to succeed, they have to compete with others to provide value for money of whatever goods and services they bring to market place. As consumer one would want to get his money’s worth, and it would not matter who provided the services one needs, and so the race or religion of the persons would not matter. For example, when one visits a doctor, one wishes that the doctor he sees would be able to cure him, whatever the ethnic classification he or the doctor belongs. One wants his lawyer to win his case; ultra Mamakthir engages Lingam, a Hindu of the correct, correct, correct notoriety as his lawyer.

    The low 2% participation rate in economic activities as claimed by the government serves only to provoke Malays into thinking that they are lacking as a person, and that economic participation is the outcome of political power. When quantification of economic activities is done with breakdown by race, then the target becomes a rallying point for racial polarization. The infamous 30% target under NEP was the start of racial polarization in the country. It has been ingeniously used to legalize corruption, so that some Malays would be able to own inordinately huge percentage of the country’s wealth to do Malays proud. By now Malays must have been proud to see the fortunes amassed by the Children of Mamakthir, the relatives of Rafidah Aziz, Daim Ibrahim and other tycoons of AP fame. Curiously, only those connected to UMNO are great modern entrepreneurs. That serves to confirm that economic participation is the outcome of political power. But the money goes to the owners, not the ordinary Malays who voted UMNO into power.

  18. #18 by Godfather on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 6:21 pm

    “Great Malay entrepreneurs”. Tell me, how many of them have ventured overseas successfully ? How many of them paid taxes ? How many of them had to be bailed out to avoid embarrassment ?

    Someone has to pay for the “privileges” enshrined in the constitution. Yet, 96 pct of taxes are contributed by one race. If this contribution falls, and it appears to be falling as more businesses move offshore (like Robert Kuok, YTL and Genting), then these “privileges” must be scaled back. Yet those in power choose to steal from Peter to pay Paul.

    Like I said in various postings, only when the Peters have all left, and when the country goes bankrupt – that’s the only time they will face the facts of reality.

  19. #19 by Loh on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 7:13 pm

    ///Here are but some of them: A restive and fragmented population, high migration rate, poor rate of growth, broken public institutions like education and the judiciary, high crime rate, degenerating personal and public morality, price increases, inflation, and a generally authoritative, intimidating and arrogant government. Our comparative indices with other countries like in areas of transparency, human rights, education, are all on the downward swing.///–AB
    The above is not really Malay problem; it is the outcome of mismanagement by UMNO government. It is the price the country pays for UMNO to give the outward impression of democratic rule through ballot papers’ choice. To ensure that they get the majority vote count UMNO panders to the demand of Malays by first telling them what they should demand as an assurance of voter’s loyalty to UMNO. The ‘political stability’ was an assurance for UMNO leaders to utilize the administrative authority to enrich themselves. Ever since NEP UMNO has destroyed the link between efforts put-in and rewards derivable. How would one explain the justification of awarding a 150 million Euros service contract to a company which has no technical expertise beyond arranging for the purchase/sale of two submarines? Wouldn’t the 150 million Euros or 500 million ringgit be better spent by the Defense Ministry to establish a service section to look after the submarines? Clearly the 500 million ringgit was paid out as commission. Why should the Defense Minister be allowed to spend that amount of money when civil servants could be assigned to job to negotiate the deal, without paying commission? That is legalized corruption!
    The high emigration rate was anticipated when NEP was introduced. Tun Abdul Razak considered emigration of trained persons as good riddance. Mamakthir created project M to bring in Muslims through Sabah firstly to capture Sabah by UMNO, and to increase the “Malays” population. So the replacement of trained non-Malays by Muslims from Pakistan, Indonesia and Philippines has maintained the population growth. Mamakthir wanted 70 million so that Muslims will form more than 90% of the population.
    The judiciary was only destroyed after the UMNO party election when Mamakthir would not allow the court to return the verdict that the 1987 UMNO election was null and void.
    The education system was destroyed only after the riots of 1969 when the government under Tun Razak chose to make this a Malay land. For that, English has to be relegated to Malay language in government schools. Then UMNO government was inspired that the easiest way to gain Malay voters was to make Malays feel that they were better treated than non-Malays. So Malays were shown to be given easier access to universities and institutions of higher learning. To make Malay families feel proud of their children and the UMNO government, passing marks for Malays students were lowered. The families were intimated that for this easy entry and easy exit from university, they have to ensure that UMNO retain political power, and so for the past 53 years they have faithfully followed UMNO script on how to live their lives. Thus there are full of unemployable graduates, despite many having gone into government services which have since become the largest employer. Malaysian government employed 4.8 per cent of its population as compared to 2 per cent in Thailand.
    The high crime rate is a vicious circle. Crime rates climb because the police are not able to solve and punished the perpetrators. Crimes pay, and the inability of police to combat crime embolden criminals. What was more disturbing was the involvement of crimes by uniformed personnel. A shop keeper was robbed and he decided to make a police report. On entering the station, he noticed that the robber was the police officer on duty, and he retreated. That would not be an isolated case. One other shop keeper reported a robbery to a police station. Since the report was made, he received on almost daily basis visitors from the station asking for more details and also donations for the police personnel to make investigations. That would have discouraged police reports, and it would have improved KPI on PDRM.
    Corruption has become a way of life in civil service in Malaysia. The deputy immigration director who was jailed for a few decades for retailing his power to allow easy entry of foreigners did not happen only now, and he was not the only case. Civil servants have turned their official positions for personal rewards; they are better remunerated than entrepreneurs. Any traffic offence, however minor, results in a fine of 300 ringgit, one-third of a policeman monthly wage. Whether that serves to supplement the policeman income or to bridge the income-divide, the person on the take is challenged on the daily basis to be clean, and yet why should he give up the joy that money could buy when he can have it with impunity. Perhaps corruption is needed for the government to employ a large number of persons, and yet retain them at a low pay. When traffic supervision is lucrative and safe, how would PDRM make its staff engage in dangerous mission of combating crimes which do not offer supplementary income? Is it rotation of duties with a huge proportion assigned to profitable assignment? Should not the government make its institutions professional and pay the staff reasonable wages so that they do not have to look for supplementary income. That is done in modern democracy like Singapore. But, how can UMNO retain votes if it did not make civil service an extension of UMNO? The problem seems to lie in how UMNO practices democracy! Maybe the King should be chief executive like an absolute monarch!

  20. #20 by Loh on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 8:18 pm

    ///Ketuanan Melayu

    History tells us that the Malay has not been able to produce the thinking faculty to recognise the coming of change to begin with. Hardly surprising therefore for him to show an inability to adapt at the appropriate time. He has no ability to accept and adapt to change.

    So this is to me the root of the ‘Malay problem’.

    This inability to change again to me reflects the inner features and characteristics of Malay thinking:

    i) It is ethnocentric: it believes in the superiority of its own type over all other types.

    ii) It is non-scientific: it believes in not yet ascertained truth and in non-provable ones.

    iii) It is quick in denial.

    iv) It is not aware of its mistakes.

    They would produce the following end-product or behaviour patterns:

    v) The Malay is a superior race.

    vi) Islam is the one and only religion that gets approval from God Almighty.

    vii) These are irrefutable truths.

    viii) Anyone denying the above is a traitor to the race and an apostate to religion.

    Items (i) to (iv) indicate that the Malay is racially conscious and highly religion bound. Items (v) to (viii) reveal his racism and religious tendencies. They in turn at least partially explain the favourite Malay ideology ‘untuk agama, bangsa dan negara’.///–AB

    Malay is not a classification of a race. It is the creation of the British as a term to describe the people in Malaya Peninsular. Being not an anthropological classification, the term ‘Malay’ as described in article 160 of the constitution is as follows:
    QUOTE
    “Malay” means a person who professes the religion of Islam,
    habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom
    and—
    (a) was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in
    Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in
    the Federation or in Singapore, or is on that day domiciled
    in the Federation or in Singapore; or
    (b) is the issue of such a person;
    UNQUOTE
    UMNO have now included as Malays persons who were before 31 August 1957 born outside the Federation or Singapore or the issues of such a person. For example, Khir Tojo’s father was not born in Malaysia before 1957, and Khir Toyo as Indonesian should not have the ‘bumiputra’ status. Yet Najib declared that the person, whose ethnicity was unknown, in the UMNO general assembly, was Malay. So Najib is above the constitution.
    Mamakthir tried to justify why Malays should be ‘protected as if an endangered species would’ in his “Malay dilemma”. That book would not have been written if not for dividing the people to vote by ‘race’ in general election, and to show that he could be the savior.
    It is clear that the so-called Malay problem is the creation of people who intended to make use of persons classified within the same membership group who were recognized in the constitution as being placed in the special position to be assisted by the state, to satisfy their political ambitions. The only thing common about Malays so classified is the Islamic religion that they profess; the culture they practice remain as undetermined as Malay itself, and Mamak speaking mamak language at home are classified as Malay too.
    The thought by Malay that they are a superior race is a rebound from the thought that they were weak as brainwashed by UMNO leaders who prepared them to vote for UMNO to lord over other races. Malays’ sense of inferiority or superiority is the creation of UMNO leaders. Mamakthir wanted Malays to believe that they were weak so that he could be their savior. Mamakthir edged them on to fight for Ketuanan Melayu so that he could continue to be the leader. More than half the population of Malaysia tune their way of life to Mamakthir’s wishes so that as Mamak he could be their absolute emperor, mightier than their own rulers.
    Are Malays racist? That question was never asked before May 13. After May 13, Malays were fiercely defensive of UMNO and the government. Civil service acts as if it is an extension of UMNO. From personal experience some mamak outlets charge a higher price for non-Malays; possibly inspired by housing price differential between races. They have denied this fact in Penang when their business was affected. How UMNO politics have entered ordinary daily living!

  21. #21 by raven77 on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 11:03 pm

    The description of the “Malay” was described well way back by Swettenham…..but racial features could have been blanked out by maintaining the English medium education system….

    But Razak and Mahathir…made certain Malay became the medium of instruction, ensuring this country remains divided forever….it maybe too late to save this country….

  22. #22 by HJ Angus on Friday, 7 January 2011 - 11:45 pm

    the one thing TDM did right during his time , well just before he retired was to direct that Malaysia moved back to English as the medium of instruction.
    Unfortunately, the MoE was not able to follow through with concrete measures to raise the standard of English among the teachers who had severe challenges.
    Instead of making the tough decision to press on, the MoE dithered and now we have moved one step forward and two steps backwards.
    Make that three steps backwards as they have now made History a compulsory pass for the SPM.
    All my 4 children have completed their tertiary studies so maybe I should let others with school-going kids to comment.
    But to me, education is key to escaping the poverty trap and even just producing one properly trained graduate can really transform lives within one generation.

  23. #23 by HJ Angus on Saturday, 8 January 2011 - 12:06 am

    sorry typo:

    one properly trained graduate per family

  24. #24 by ktteokt on Saturday, 8 January 2011 - 12:19 am

    I just don’t understand why the Malay ancestors chose to call their race by the name “ME-LAYU” which literally means “withering”! Maybe, the Malays should first of all shed this inauspicious name for a start!

  25. #25 by waterfrontcoolie on Saturday, 8 January 2011 - 12:29 am

    cintanegara, others may want to take their issues to the gomen but knowing the reality they would better serve their needs to find their private solutions. Onlt people like you have the chance to THROW everything to the gomen for solutions! best still by shaking under the rambutan tree! For sure the Gomen has ‘sloganeered’ itself to believe in everything they say; having done so for the last 30 over years, do you expect over-night changes??
    The ‘shiok sendiri’ syndrome has permeated through education so thoroughly that we find 1st class graduate everywhere and yet we can’t even compete with our Asean neighbours in all directions!

  26. #26 by negarawan on Saturday, 8 January 2011 - 12:31 am

    Like it or not, EVERY citizen of Malaysia is a victim of UMNO hegemony and greed. Even the corrupt UMNO politicians and their accomplices who have raped the country of its wealth for selfish benefit ARE ALSO VICTIMS simply because they have lost their fear of Allah and will have to face the punishment their Creator has meted out for them on their last day.

  27. #27 by HJ Angus on Saturday, 8 January 2011 - 9:33 am

    I am sure ALLAH will be able to handle ALL the corrupt politicians when the time comes.
    Just let us not forget that we have the ability to retire them so they get a chance to repent before they meet HIM.

  28. #28 by sotong on Saturday, 8 January 2011 - 10:00 am

    I don’t think it is right to say it’s a Malay problem in general…..it’s our so called ” leaders ” who are the major problem, in particular the Malay ” leaders “.

  29. #29 by MGR1940 on Saturday, 8 January 2011 - 11:09 am

    The Encyclopaedia’s details are 99.9% correct on every thing that is written and it explained what the Malay race are. Just by banning by UMNO it does hide what the Malays are.
    This bunch of people will never change.

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