Melayu Boleh

Dato’ Jema Khan has this to say about Perkasa and its struggles vis-à-vis that of a Liberal Malay:

The essence of Perkasa’s ideology, if one can even call it that, is to make the Malays feel like the master race in the country. As the master race, all that belongs to the country belongs to them. They, of course, have yet to get their just desserts.

Even if they had already got it before, they still want it now because they presumably were not able to make much of the benefits they once enjoyed. Their demands, though, are cloaked under the guise of the poverty and disabilities of the Malays in Malaysia.

The Perkasa mindset plays on the Malays’ fears that without rent seeking, corruption, subsidies and abuse of power, the Malays are doomed. Yes, the Malays are generally poor but the so-called affirmative action as proposed by Perkasa will not make the majority of them better off.

The liberal Malays, on the other hand, are well exposed to other races and nationalities. We are confident of ourselves in relation to other people. We have long left behind the village mindset and are disdainful of being the village champion as we know there is a great big world out there, with many who are indeed smart and capable human beings. Yet we welcome an environment that is based on meritocracy.

I am inclined to agree with him on both counts. Not because I disagree with Perkasa’s philosophies and their ideas but because I feel that rights should be earned and should not be a birth right.

Let’s consider this; a king has three sons and technically the eldest has the birth right to the throne. However, if the eldest son hasn’t got the traits of a leader, wouldn’t it be better for the country if the king chose any other (more qualified) son (or even a daughter) to succeed him? The eldest son is only entitled to the throne if he is fit to wear the crown, meaning he has to work to earn the right. Likewise the Malays. We cannot just sit back and expect university places and scholarships to be reserved for us. We cannot expect equity ownership to be given to us without lifting a finger to build the business. We cannot expect jobs to be given to us even when we are not qualified (or interested). We can only claim what we work for; we can only claim the fruits of our efforts.

I am not saying the Malays are a lazy bunch. The truly successful Malays did not get where they are by just demanding and claiming everything is their birth right. The successful Malays got where they are by putting in real effort. By saying successful Malays, I’m not talking about the rent seekers or the IPO beneficiaries. I’m talking about those who took advantage of the government policies to free themselves from the “crutches” and make a better life for themselves.

Affirmative actions are necessary to lift the standards of living of those economically left behind but it should not be a permanent feature of society. Children of NEP beneficiaries (like myself) should not be demanding that the government continue to provide us with special privilages. The policies instituted by Tun Razak helped to put our parents on a sound economic footing and in turn our parents are able to provide us with the necessary tools i.e. education and worldview to survive in this challenging world. That should be sufficient and it is not fair for us to continue to demand for special privileges.

The Malays in Singapore are probably as successful as we are but they did it without any special assistance, no NEP and no quotas. It’s about time we prove to the world that Melayu Malaysia pun Boleh!