Malay rights - a mystical myth?
Shaik Rizal Sulaiman | Jun 23, 08
The Malays are 'technically' in power governing the country but it also this same controlling group that demands the right to correcteconomic imbalances and disparities for its own race.
What does this say about the 'majority governing' Malay race for the last 50 years?
I dare say that most Malaysians (regardless of race) below the age of 40 would like to see all opportunities be spread amongst those who deserve it on meritocracy.
We do not need the keris anymore to tell others to be careful of what they say and do because in the survival of the fittest, the keris is of very little relevance!
If we continue to hide under the 'bumiputera' tempurung as most Malays have been in the last 50 years or more, the catch-up game will just get harder and the gap wider.
If we continue to expect without earning it, we will never learn how to be a race that succeeds on merit. There is no substitute for merit.
The Malay politicians continue to shout about Malay rights and bumiputera rights because the very nature of our local politics is sadly racially biased. In this day and age, a great nation is built upon joint success stories, meritocracy and the combined hard work of its people without any fear or favour of racial biased politics governing our dailypolicies.
I am below 40 and as much as I love the 'idea' that Malaysia is tanah tumpahnya darah orang Melayu, I can't help but also feel that this country is for all Malaysians alike including the Chongs, the Kumars, the Xaviers, the Kaurs etc who were born on the same day in the same hospital as me here in Malaysia.
If we feel that we deserve this country more than them, then we should have shown them a long time ago that we deserve the 'control all' status. We have to earn it. The policies failed because the very concept of Malay rights or the NEP/DEB is like a double-edged sword.
On one hand, it aims to eradicate wealth disparity but on the other, it has made the Malays oblivious of what reality is. Our success is only reflected in the 'perceived' political power which today can collapse in a matter of minutes.
I would also like to see my children succeed in their country, Malaysia, for reasons that true success should be based upon, which are merit and hard work and not because they are Malays or bumiputeras.
For as long as the Malays don't see this, there is very little point in fighting for Malay rights. It just makes us look more ridiculous. We have taken this notion of being privileged a bit too literally in that it now simply means we want this country and its fruits all for ourselves without accepting the responsibilities that come with it.
I blame the Malay politicians for this because we want to only fight the cause without strategising for the true substance and need of the cause. We have been given fish all the while without being taught how to fish.
It's funny how two different generations can be so diverse in their thinking and the recent elections proved just that. We are no longer concerned with racial problems but more so the never-ending Malay agenda issues.
The rakyat has spoken and the landscape has drastically changed. Is this change welcomed? Is it good? The answer is 'no' because we the Malays have been caught with our pants down - we are not ready to compete on any level playing field (we can't even compete on advantageous grounds!).
Even with three or five more continuing policies for Malay rights or bumiputera privileges over the next 50 years, we will still be inexactly the same position as we are in today. The truth hurts and the truth will always prevail. And the truth of what's to come will not go away.
I am cynical perhaps because I feel that Malay rights is not relevant anymore. The right to be safe, to be treated fairly, to have a world-class healthcare and education, to enjoy equal prosperity, to have good governance, to live in a clean environment and to be war-free is what I want for my Malaysia. Not for my race to beartificially powerful.
If we want the Malays to fail, then by all means continue the fight for Malay rights. Go and polish your keris.
I agree with what Shaik Rizal said. We bumiputeras have to wake up and face the music. I am an educator, and if you ask any other educator they will also tell you that this great divide is in existence. Some educators try to help the bumis by giving them the answers and questions to final exams (I experienced this as well, my malay classmates got the answers and me and my chinese classmates did not get it.) in the hope that they score or pass. Some still fail even with this kind of special help. I prefer to make the bumis and malays work as hard but they give you this lame attitude which says we do not need to work hard. Hmmmm. It frustrates me as a bumi that the stereotype is so true.
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