One of our former finance ministers, Anwar Ibrahim, recently wrote that "Malaysia desperately needs to remove her rose-coloured glasses we may once have been a lionised developing economy but those days are long gone". He is partially right.

The glasses are in fact tinted with hibiscus, for Malaysians are so used to hearing of our national flowers in almost every endeavour that to think that the nectar won't be sweet is nearly treasonable. The notion that Malaysia will be fully developed by 2020 is a mantra so ingrained it might as well be inscribed on a batu bersurat waiting to be set in Muzium Negara. Indeed, the year declared by Dr Mahathir Mohamad for Malaysia's accession to the ranks of the fully developed is in the public consciousness as significant in our nation's narrative as 1957 or 1963.

The corollary of this is complacency which could prove our undoing: young Malaysians aren't given incentives that commensurate with the optimism they are fed. Thankfully, there are many clever young Malaysians who are weaving successful threads of their own, even as the nation's songket needs a good iron.
There isn't a Malaysian blogger who hasn't discussed That Which Is Not To Be Discussed. Race-based affirmative action is denounced with panache in the most popular blogs and impatiently lamented in others. The charge is led by Malaysians of all ages and ethnicity employing the language of justice and progressiveness. Theological, philosophical and historical arguments for its unsustainability have surfaced as well. But the economic data which Anwar cites is the nail in the coffin. Inequality among those whom the government categorises as 'Bumiputera' is as high as ever, yet the kuih isn't growing as it used to, nor is wealth changing hands as it once did.

Our former finance minister believes that we need to 're-examine the NEP or its equivalent' [sic]. He goes on to challenge the 'perception that the Bumiputera majority would not want to review the NEP' (if he is so sure, why doesn't he conduct a survey?). Regardless of the actual perception it is certain that the only politically-viable option would be a gradual redefinition and transfer of welfare criteria; but it is paramount that we do not replace one soma with another: it is all too easy to spend other people's money.

Revamping privatisation

That is why revamping privatisation is so important. In the boom years, Malaysians tolerated the awarding of contracts to the politically well-connected. No more. Middle Malaysia yearns for more choice. They are prepared to top-up their health with visits to private hospitals. They are prepared to put their children through after-school tuition for thousands of ringgit a month. They would like to buy a Beamer, but they can't afford the asking price and they don't have an Approved Permit. But where choice exists, it's being exercised eagerly.

Interestingly, where the private sector thrives, so do interracial relationships. Doctor-patient and parent-tutor relationships are far more likely to be predicated on the quality of the service provided than the ethnicity of the provider. A smaller government that encourages market-based public policy could thus lead to a more harmonious relationship between Malaysia's ethnic groups. Malaysians are already showing in some areas they trust the market more than the state; an efficient government would capitalise on this trust and use it as an opportunity to cut spending.

Furthermore, most civil servants are Malay, so freeing them from the civil service would engender greater Malay participation in entrepreneurship but first, government scholarships would have to be unravelled from requirements to work in the public sector. Despite this there will still be those at the bottom: the forgotten, poverty-stricken underclass which will be unable to purchase the fruit of these reforms. But privatisation aids them too: by reducing the cost of services, government can purchase or loan such services on their behalf at a lower cost.

Missing ingredient

There is a missing ingredient, though accountability. Without it, the politically well-connected will always win. Ironically the solution could be more politicians. Despite all the hard work invested in reinstating the Federation over the Union, the past fifty years have seen our Federal structure regarded more and more as a hindrance; and in recent years a convenient way to prove that the ruling party does not always win every state. The reality is that stronger state and local governments could be the best vehicles in selecting and overseeing those who pave the roads, collect our rubbish and recycle our paper lama.

Anwar suggests that we should "elect a more efficient government, whose allegiance to their party is secondary to their accountability to the citizens". This is the way to do it. Bringing citizens closer to government is not just a way to upgrade politics from sandiwara to genuine empowerment, since local politicians are closer to the people than their party bosses, but also a handy way to enforce corporate social responsibility.

I'm confident that Malaysians love Malaysia, but love needs trust to thrive. We won't ever do our national flower justice without rebuilding trust in our institutions, which were probably the best an ex-colony ever inherited. Malacca wasn't built in a day; but the Chersonese won't be golden unless courage as rare as gold emerges to lead by trust.

Perhaps, as I write, the Oxbridge-educated policy wonks in the Prime Minister's Department are churning out plans to do this like a Terengannu fisherman's wife fries keropok lekor. But I wish someone would cajole them into action before the drizzle of discontent builds to a raging monsoon. I'm not sure whether Parameswara gets a mention in today's Malaysian history curriculum, but if that raja could reign over a sultanate that was the envy of colonising Europe, the challenge for our kerajaan should be to govern a country that is the envy of a globalised world.

ZAIN AL-HABSHI is an author at the Malaysia Think Tank London.