The elusive quest towards equality

The fourth and final part of a series on ethics, education and equality argues that equal opportunity is far easier to achieve than equal outcome.

P.GUNASEGARAM, The Star

All citizens of a state cannot be equally powerful, but they may be equally free – Voltaire, French philosopher and writer.

TO Voltaire’s quote, I would add to “powerful”, “rich” as well.

People are so diverse that they are not going to be equal in everything.

And that extends to races and communities – some races will be richer, some will be poorer.

Others will have political power, while yet others will have less of it.

Given the same opportunity, different people do differently for a whole lot of reasons, such as upbringing, background, culture, genetic make-up, motivation
and a whole host of things that make people different from each other.

When the New Economic Policy (NEP) was unveiled in 1971 in the aftermath of the May 13, 1969 riots and the change in the political scenario post riots, its twin aims were noble – the eradication of poverty irrespective of race and the restructuring of society to eliminate the identification of race with economic function.

The key idea behind it, long lost among administrative details which push quotas, is that the restructuring will come out of growth, and it is from this growth that the gap between the various races will be closed.

Earlier articles in this series examined the link between ethics, education and equality and how the quest for a more equal economic status among the races resulted in deterioration of ethical standards as restructuring efforts provided plenty of opportunities for patronage without any real restructuring taking place.

They looked too at the need to restore and improve ethical standards.

The articles also examined how the education system has deteriorated over the years and the steps that need to be taken to arrest the decline and start improving educational standards so that it plays an effective role in society’s progress.

This article examines the concept of equality and how past concepts interfere with the development of the country, and what needs to be done to change this.

While the broad principles of the NEP comprise universal goals that few, if any, will argue with, the problem was with implementation, which was fixated on a system of quotas – for equity ownership, for employment, for admission into colleges and universities, for licences and a host of other things.

Yes, there were attempts to equalise opportunities, but the focus on such measures was severely lacking.

Lowered standards should have been very temporary while there should have been total concentration on improving the things which would raise performance.

To take an example, university entrance requirements, if lowered for bumiputras, should have been very temporary and there should have been intensive parallel results to improve performance by better and more intensive teaching, change in attitudes and good access to education.

But to drop standards in favour of quotas basically rewarded people for not doing enough, and fostered a mentality that felt that higher performance was not necessary because standards were low.

Thus, while bumiputras gained admission to universities, not all of them had the necessary qualifications and grounding to ensure they could compete.

For better and for worse, the system would have been in place for almost 40 years by the end of this decade, surely a period long enough for affirmative action to have continued uninterrupted.

Today, the figures show that bumiputras have made considerable inroads into the private sector and are considerably over-represented in government service at all levels.

The disparity in government is so great that it requires a balancing exercise to make the government and its associated services multi-racial again.

Malay and bumiputra living standards have risen very substantially over the decades and all of them have good access to the basic amenities of life, including education, although the overall standards of education have fallen.

In fact, there is an argument to be made that the Indians have probably become the most disadvantaged group in the country.

After almost 40 years, the field has been levelled to as much as can be done under social engineering without further debilitation.

It is time to put a stop to these affirmative policies and accept that the major races are already closer to equal footing, and put in place policies that help all the poor equally, irrespective of race.

If any one group predominates in the poverty category, that community would automatically be helped more in the overall effort to assist all poor.

Then, we also drop race-based policies and focus on policies that are Malaysian-based.

That is actually far more equitable than present policies under which many bumiputras who are being helped and given special concessions no longer need them, and there are other poor people, both bumiputras and non-bumiputras, who need the help more.

The shift is a major one from the previous concept of race-based socio-economic thinking, where if one talked about equality we thought about whether the races had the same amount of income or power, to take just a couple of criteria.

Instead, the focus must be to ensure that everyone enjoys equal opportunities under the law and are treated equally under the law, whether they come from different races and whether they are rich or poor.

That means not only doing away with NEP quotas but also oversight and control of all enforcement agencies through independent commissions and investigating bodies, as well as for an avenue for complaints to reach the top and to be investigated independently.

The rights of the citizen, no matter what his racial origin, must be held sacrosanct and anyone who violates that must be punished and investigated under the law.

To take a recent example, there is clear evidence to indicate that A.

Kugan, who died under police custody, was systematically and brutally tortured with a hot iron and beatings while under police custody.

Can one reasonably expect the police to fairly investigate a case which involves up to 11 other policemen? Where is the system that takes care of such abuse?
There is a crying need to protect the rights of citizens at all times to ensure, in Voltaire’s words, that they are all equally free.

For that to be done, new laws such a race-relations Act to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on race should be enacted.

Equally importantly, they must be enforced relentlessly.

Economic equality between races is, at the end of the day, an elusive goal, but it is not dangerous so long as disparities are not a yawning chasm – they no longer are.

People have a right to achieve, and how much they choose to achieve.

Handouts don’t create equality.

The important things are citizens’ rights to education, to earning a living, to not be discriminated against because of their religion or skin colour or social background and to be treated equally under the law.

These must be enshrined and protected.

It’s very basic but ultimately, that’s what equality is all about.

P.Gunasegaram is managing editor at The Star. He still awaits the day when we will all be Malaysians first and anything else after that.