Face up to the truth
A MalaysianPublished: Jan 31, 2001 1:34 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
We should face the truth about ourselves if we are to survive as a nation of diverse peoples with diverse religions and cultures.
We do not live in perfect harmony.
There is much resentment simmering beneath the surface. And the sad fact is that our politicians are to blame for this. After 43 years of independence, racial polarisation and feelings are at their worst.
A "social contract"? What does that contract say? And what was the precise context in which the arrangement between the races was forged?
Independence and the fight against the communists were the objectives then. And without agreement between the races, independence was not possible. The communist threat was a serious one. There was a real danger of the communists taking over the country. And a racial conflagration would have been exploited by them. The Chinese and Indians were here in too large numbers for the issue of citizenship not to be resolved. The Malays cannot continue to resent the presence of the Chinese and the Indians.
Yes, there was a perception shared by all that the Malays were essentially a rural community and had not been brought into the mainstream economy and into the professions in sufficient numbers. A constitutional provision providing for special rights for Malays was inserted. Essentially it provided for scholarships to be given to Malays and Civil Service positions to be preserved for the Malays in an agreed ratio. It was also considered right that the position of the Rulers, the status of Islam as the official religion and of Bahasa Melayu as the national language was set out in the constitution.
This was agreed to by the leaders of all races. It was also understood that the special rights provision and the status of Islam would not detract or derogate form the position that all races were equal before the law and enjoyed the equal protection of the law. Religious freedom was also guaranteed. There was an understanding that the special rights provision was temporary in nature and would be abrogated once the Malays had caught up.
Malays, Chinese and Indians jointly ' fought ' for independence and without Chinese and Indian help the fight against the communists may not have succeeded. Chinese and Indian energy and labour also helped build the modern Malaysian nation state.
In 1971 the social contract was reinforced in the constitution and the NEP was formulated and implemented. Huge resources were applied to accelerate the development of the Malays. It was all to be done without taking anything away from the others.
The Chinese with their business acumen, enterprise and hard work were able to improve themselves notwithstanding the Government support for the Malays. The Indians who were previously dependent on the Government and the estates found themselves becoming progressively marginalised with the Government service being closed to them and with fragmentation of the estates and the importation of cheaper foreign labor. The Indians are really badly off today.
We have been independent for more than 40 years and the NEP has been implemented for more than 30 years. And where are we now?
Racial integration has become an aspiration of the past. Many Malays talk of the time when the number of Chinese and Indians will become irrelevant as if their presence today is a source of continuous aggravation. Malay university students when interviewed said that they did not want a non-Malay roommate.
The civil service, army, navy and air force are overwhelmingly Malay. All vice-chancellors of government universities are Malay. ITM is a single-race university. There are elite boarding schools catering only for Malays. Ironically, Chinese and Tamil schools are open to all races. Scholarships are given predominantly to Malays. Petronas, Proton and a whole host of government companies are used to promote Malays only.
Whilst mosques are built in large numbers and in lavish and extravagant style with public funds, non-Muslims face tremendous problems in obtaining approvals to build their churches and temples with their own resources. Even the size of non-Muslim places of worship is dictated by administrative decree! Burial grounds are hard to get. The teaching of other religions is not allowed during school hours even as religious belief is regarded as essential for discipline and values.
And is it therefore surprising that racial polarisation is so bad? Is it surprising that Chinese and Indians in increasing numbers find the need for an alternative government to be essential? Is it surprising that PAS has made inroads into the Chinese and Indian communities?
The Malaysian saga does not end there. What else has happened in the last 20 years?
Standards of education have dropped in our schools and universities. Our police force and judiciary have been discredited. Corruption is widely believed to have become more widespread that ever.
How can all this be good for Malaysia and the Malays? We bring in poorly educated Indonesians in the millions but have difficulty bringing highly qualified individuals of other nations to fill areas where we are short of experts, for instance in the IT industry.
What is the state of our democracy? We cannot even discuss issues which separate and divide us because that would result in threats of another May 13 being raised. The non-Malays have a stake in ensuring the success of the government's efforts to make the Malays competitive. Criticism of government strategies does not necessarily mean a questioning of the NEP. Many of these strategies do not work. Education and housing are proven strategies, but standards of education at all levels have gone down while our housing programme is a joke.
There is a line to be drawn between social reform and racism. There is a line to be drawn between affirmative action and racism. And we must draw that line sharply. Otherwise right and wrong become irrelevant, we legitimise greed and prejudice, and we increase the racial divide.
Industriousness and enterprise must be rewarded. Laziness, incompetence and corruption must be punished. The poor of all communities must be helped.
Religious worship must not be constrained in any way.
There must be a new agenda. The present leadership must acknowledge a need for change. If they cannot then they should make way for others who can and will. The youth of our nation must be part of a dialogue for social, economic and political reform.
We do not live in perfect harmony.
There is much resentment simmering beneath the surface. And the sad fact is that our politicians are to blame for this. After 43 years of independence, racial polarisation and feelings are at their worst.
A "social contract"? What does that contract say? And what was the precise context in which the arrangement between the races was forged?
Independence and the fight against the communists were the objectives then. And without agreement between the races, independence was not possible. The communist threat was a serious one. There was a real danger of the communists taking over the country. And a racial conflagration would have been exploited by them. The Chinese and Indians were here in too large numbers for the issue of citizenship not to be resolved. The Malays cannot continue to resent the presence of the Chinese and the Indians.
Yes, there was a perception shared by all that the Malays were essentially a rural community and had not been brought into the mainstream economy and into the professions in sufficient numbers. A constitutional provision providing for special rights for Malays was inserted. Essentially it provided for scholarships to be given to Malays and Civil Service positions to be preserved for the Malays in an agreed ratio. It was also considered right that the position of the Rulers, the status of Islam as the official religion and of Bahasa Melayu as the national language was set out in the constitution.
This was agreed to by the leaders of all races. It was also understood that the special rights provision and the status of Islam would not detract or derogate form the position that all races were equal before the law and enjoyed the equal protection of the law. Religious freedom was also guaranteed. There was an understanding that the special rights provision was temporary in nature and would be abrogated once the Malays had caught up.
Malays, Chinese and Indians jointly ' fought ' for independence and without Chinese and Indian help the fight against the communists may not have succeeded. Chinese and Indian energy and labour also helped build the modern Malaysian nation state.
In 1971 the social contract was reinforced in the constitution and the NEP was formulated and implemented. Huge resources were applied to accelerate the development of the Malays. It was all to be done without taking anything away from the others.
The Chinese with their business acumen, enterprise and hard work were able to improve themselves notwithstanding the Government support for the Malays. The Indians who were previously dependent on the Government and the estates found themselves becoming progressively marginalised with the Government service being closed to them and with fragmentation of the estates and the importation of cheaper foreign labor. The Indians are really badly off today.
We have been independent for more than 40 years and the NEP has been implemented for more than 30 years. And where are we now?
Racial integration has become an aspiration of the past. Many Malays talk of the time when the number of Chinese and Indians will become irrelevant as if their presence today is a source of continuous aggravation. Malay university students when interviewed said that they did not want a non-Malay roommate.
The civil service, army, navy and air force are overwhelmingly Malay. All vice-chancellors of government universities are Malay. ITM is a single-race university. There are elite boarding schools catering only for Malays. Ironically, Chinese and Tamil schools are open to all races. Scholarships are given predominantly to Malays. Petronas, Proton and a whole host of government companies are used to promote Malays only.
Whilst mosques are built in large numbers and in lavish and extravagant style with public funds, non-Muslims face tremendous problems in obtaining approvals to build their churches and temples with their own resources. Even the size of non-Muslim places of worship is dictated by administrative decree! Burial grounds are hard to get. The teaching of other religions is not allowed during school hours even as religious belief is regarded as essential for discipline and values.
And is it therefore surprising that racial polarisation is so bad? Is it surprising that Chinese and Indians in increasing numbers find the need for an alternative government to be essential? Is it surprising that PAS has made inroads into the Chinese and Indian communities?
The Malaysian saga does not end there. What else has happened in the last 20 years?
Standards of education have dropped in our schools and universities. Our police force and judiciary have been discredited. Corruption is widely believed to have become more widespread that ever.
How can all this be good for Malaysia and the Malays? We bring in poorly educated Indonesians in the millions but have difficulty bringing highly qualified individuals of other nations to fill areas where we are short of experts, for instance in the IT industry.
What is the state of our democracy? We cannot even discuss issues which separate and divide us because that would result in threats of another May 13 being raised. The non-Malays have a stake in ensuring the success of the government's efforts to make the Malays competitive. Criticism of government strategies does not necessarily mean a questioning of the NEP. Many of these strategies do not work. Education and housing are proven strategies, but standards of education at all levels have gone down while our housing programme is a joke.
There is a line to be drawn between social reform and racism. There is a line to be drawn between affirmative action and racism. And we must draw that line sharply. Otherwise right and wrong become irrelevant, we legitimise greed and prejudice, and we increase the racial divide.
Industriousness and enterprise must be rewarded. Laziness, incompetence and corruption must be punished. The poor of all communities must be helped.
Religious worship must not be constrained in any way.
There must be a new agenda. The present leadership must acknowledge a need for change. If they cannot then they should make way for others who can and will. The youth of our nation must be part of a dialogue for social, economic and political reform.
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