Our 'Ah Q' mentality
Kelvin QPublished: Sep 7, 2006 8:02 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
The problems of Malaysia extend beyond those that exist between the old prime minister and present prime minister.
The 18th century German philosopher Johan Gottfired Herder compared the development of a nation to that of a living organism. Just as a living organism's growth is determined by its DNA, an economy's development is determined by inherent structure.
A country's development is also influenced by the culture of its people. The culture of the dominant ethnic group - the Malays - in Malaysia reminds me, unfortunately, of Ah Q.
The problems of Malaysia extend beyond those that exist between the old prime minister and present prime minister.
The 18th century German philosopher Johan Gottfired Herder compared the development of a nation to that of a living organism. Just as a living organism's growth is determined by its DNA, an economy's development is determined by inherent structure.
A country's development is also influenced by the culture of its people. The culture of the dominant ethnic group - the Malays - in Malaysia reminds me, unfortunately, of Ah Q.
Ah Q is the main protagonist of a short novel written by Lu Xun, published in China at the turn of the century.
Lu Xun wanted to be a doctor, but when he was studying in Japan, he found out that China had an even greater disease to cure. One day, Lu Xun saw some pictures of Chinese about to be beheaded by Japanese soldiers. There were other Chinese at the scene looking and laughing at the condemned prisoners.
It was then that Lu Xun decided that his main vocation should be to cure the psychological ailments of the Chinese people and literature was to be his surgical knife.
The perfect circle
Lu Xun uses Ah Q as an allegory to depict China 's inability to deal with the impact of Western culture and technology. What is wrong with Ah Q? Ah Q, an uneducated country bum, is obsessed with only winning and saving face.
At the end of the novel, Ah Q was asked to draw a circle on his confession document, as he was illiterate. He was so concentrated on drawing a perfect circle that he was unaware that the confession would him send to the execution ground.
When Ah Q lost a fight to Mr Chao, the respectable landlord of the village, Ah Q considered himself important for having even a tiny association with such a person.
Ah Q held firmly to traditional beliefs and systems. When he learnt that a long bench is called a straight bench in another town, he immediately held the opinion that the ways of the new town were erroneous.
Malaysia Boleh!
'Malaysia Boleh!' perfectly epitomises the 'Ah Q' mentality.
During Dr Mahathir Mohamad's regime, the emphasis was on building the tallest tower, or the longest bridge to achieve greatness in the world. Today the emphasis is on creating towering Malays who can compete glo-locally and to continue to lead in the Islamic world.
In many countries overseas, to get an honour's degree, one has to maintain a 'B' grade point average and take extra semesters. In Malaysia, if I am not mistaken, our public tertiary education system ensures that everyone gets an honour's degree by the time they graduate.
I have not yet come across any local graduate with a general degree. The obsession with having a special status in Malaysia has reached a point of insanity. Just look at the number of titles that are being given out each year.
Titles are supposed to be given for the achievement of special merit. Today, they can be bought. The key word is 'buy', as it demonstrates the affluence of the individual and the connections he has.
And in Malaysia, buying titles alone is not enough. Buying honorary doctorates and doctorates is in fashion among the elite. In the West, no one makes official use of their honorary degrees and only con men buy doctorates.
Eggs and toes
The Ah Q mentality has spread nationwide.
The other day, one Chinese temple in the northern region earned a place in the Malaysian Book of Records for having dyed 50,000 eggs in about six hours. What is so special about this achievement? Even if they had dyed 40,000 eggs, they still would have entered the Malaysian Book of Records, as no one else has done it before.
No one else has done it because the feat is nothing to boast about. But now that this temple has accomplished the feat, very soon you will read another story in the newspapers about another temple being able to dye 100,000 eggs in five hours.
A few years back, the newspapers gave much publicity to a boy who also earned a place in the Malaysian Book of Records for being able to walk several flights of stairs with his toes clenched. What is so great about this achievement?
Although meaningless, such feats are being performed because the 'Malaysian Boleh' spirit has taken root among the young and old in Malaysia regardless of race and sex.
It's everywhere
Actually, the Ah Q mentality is present in other societies as well. But in other countries, authors such as Lu Xun take up their pen to fight against it. In Malaysia, 'Malaysia Boleh' has become a slogan, chanted over and over again at government functions.
To criticise the 'Malaysia Boleh' spirit is to tread on dangerous waters, as you may provoke government retaliation.
So long as the Ah Q mentality is the mindset of the day in Malaysia, there will always be the New Economic Policy (NEP). So long as there is an NEP, oppressive acts such as the Internal Security Act or Official Secrets Act would never be abolished.
And if one day, only a handful of Chinese and Indian Malaysians are left in the country with no affluence, I wonder what the function of the Umno will be.
The removal of Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin will not solve the problem. Khairy and his likes are present at all levels of the society. The problem is with our Ah Q mentality.
KELVIN Q is a sociologist.
The 18th century German philosopher Johan Gottfired Herder compared the development of a nation to that of a living organism. Just as a living organism's growth is determined by its DNA, an economy's development is determined by inherent structure.
A country's development is also influenced by the culture of its people. The culture of the dominant ethnic group - the Malays - in Malaysia reminds me, unfortunately, of Ah Q.
Ah Q is the main protagonist of a short novel written by Lu Xun, published in China at the turn of the century. Lu Xun wanted to be a doctor, but when he was studying in Japan, he found out that China had an even greater disease to cure. One day, Lu Xun saw some pictures of Chinese about to be beheaded by Japanese soldiers. There were other Chinese at the scene looking and laughing at the condemned prisoners.
It was then that Lu Xun decided that his main vocation should be to cure the psychological ailments of the Chinese people and literature was to be his surgical knife.
The perfect circle
Lu Xun uses Ah Q as an allegory to depict China 's inability to deal with the impact of Western culture and technology. What is wrong with Ah Q? Ah Q, an uneducated country bum, is obsessed with only winning and saving face.
At the end of the novel, Ah Q was asked to draw a circle on his confession document, as he was illiterate. He was so concentrated on drawing a perfect circle that he was unaware that the confession would him send to the execution ground.
When Ah Q lost a fight to Mr Chao, the respectable landlord of the village, Ah Q considered himself important for having even a tiny association with such a person.
Ah Q held firmly to traditional beliefs and systems. When he learnt that a long bench is called a straight bench in another town, he immediately held the opinion that the ways of the new town were erroneous.
Malaysia Boleh!
'Malaysia Boleh!' perfectly epitomises the 'Ah Q' mentality.
During Dr Mahathir Mohamad's regime, the emphasis was on building the tallest tower, or the longest bridge to achieve greatness in the world. Today the emphasis is on creating towering Malays who can compete glo-locally and to continue to lead in the Islamic world. In many countries overseas, to get an honour's degree, one has to maintain a 'B' grade point average and take extra semesters. In Malaysia, if I am not mistaken, our public tertiary education system ensures that everyone gets an honour's degree by the time they graduate.
I have not yet come across any local graduate with a general degree. The obsession with having a special status in Malaysia has reached a point of insanity. Just look at the number of titles that are being given out each year.
Titles are supposed to be given for the achievement of special merit. Today, they can be bought. The key word is 'buy', as it demonstrates the affluence of the individual and the connections he has.
And in Malaysia, buying titles alone is not enough. Buying honorary doctorates and doctorates is in fashion among the elite. In the West, no one makes official use of their honorary degrees and only con men buy doctorates.
Eggs and toes
The Ah Q mentality has spread nationwide.
The other day, one Chinese temple in the northern region earned a place in the Malaysian Book of Records for having dyed 50,000 eggs in about six hours. What is so special about this achievement? Even if they had dyed 40,000 eggs, they still would have entered the Malaysian Book of Records, as no one else has done it before.
No one else has done it because the feat is nothing to boast about. But now that this temple has accomplished the feat, very soon you will read another story in the newspapers about another temple being able to dye 100,000 eggs in five hours.
A few years back, the newspapers gave much publicity to a boy who also earned a place in the Malaysian Book of Records for being able to walk several flights of stairs with his toes clenched. What is so great about this achievement?
Although meaningless, such feats are being performed because the 'Malaysian Boleh' spirit has taken root among the young and old in Malaysia regardless of race and sex.
It's everywhere
Actually, the Ah Q mentality is present in other societies as well. But in other countries, authors such as Lu Xun take up their pen to fight against it. In Malaysia, 'Malaysia Boleh' has become a slogan, chanted over and over again at government functions.
To criticise the 'Malaysia Boleh' spirit is to tread on dangerous waters, as you may provoke government retaliation. So long as the Ah Q mentality is the mindset of the day in Malaysia, there will always be the New Economic Policy (NEP). So long as there is an NEP, oppressive acts such as the Internal Security Act or Official Secrets Act would never be abolished.
And if one day, only a handful of Chinese and Indian Malaysians are left in the country with no affluence, I wonder what the function of the Umno will be.
The removal of Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin will not solve the problem. Khairy and his likes are present at all levels of the society. The problem is with our Ah Q mentality.
KELVIN Q is a sociologist.
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