What it takes to make 1Malaysia a success

PEOPLE are weary. How will the present leadership make 1Malaysia work in a society that is highly and openly polarised. The proof of these rifts lies in the very existence of Bangsa Malaysia, Rakyat Malaysia and now 1Malaysia.

By Rita Sim (NST)

The yearning search for a collective identity would be moot if we were on a focused and convincing path to commonality. But we are not, and so 1Malaysia has a great deal of hard work to do.

Has the current situation alienated Malaysian politics from the culture, heritage and traditions of democratic practice that combined to make up the social contract and led to the founding of this nation?

Malaysians today face the serious risk of becoming completely turned off by the political process as they struggle to deal with concerns about the economy and frustrations over prolonged party-political conflict.

1Malaysia must address the fact that party supporters on all sides are being forced away from dialogue and the possibility of cooperation.

Political parties are unable to work together in a unified political environment where diversity of opinion is counted as a benefit for the people rather than an "enemy" that must be suppressed or destroyed.

If the country is to move forward, political leaders must re-establish relationships of trust with the general population and, particularly from the Barisan Nasional's perspective, trust must be re-established with those (including Malay swing voters) who deserted the coalition for the opposition on March 8.

To this end, 1Malaysia was unveiled. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's concept is billed as a renewed vision of national unity.

In Parliament on June 15, Najib said 1Malaysia would uphold the basic provisions of the Constitution, especially the often-contested special position of the Bumiputera and guarantees for the protection of Chinese and Tamil vernacular education.

He also asked through his website — designed to reach out to the Malaysian public — that definitions of 1Malaysia should come from the rakyat.

The question, however, will be how and when these conceptions are formed into a concrete plan of action. The government must make full use of the opportunity to involve the rakyat at all levels in this process.

Najib said 1Malaysia differs fundamentally from the DAP's Malaysian Malaysia but it bears a striking resemblance to the MCA's vision of Rakyat Malaysia, which was formulated in 2005 as a roadmap to the "fair and full partnership" of all Malaysians in a "common and shared destiny" spelt out unequivocally in the Vision 2020 statement.

If we are to ensure that the concept succeeds, we must first understand why previous national unity initiatives have been less than successful. The reason is fairly straightforward: national unity must be all-encompassing and all-inclusive.

The DAP has not been able to attract significant Malay support because of its perceived doctrinaire stance on the special position of the Bumiputera.

Since this position is protected by the Federal Constitution, is the party in fact pushing for constitutional amendments?

If we are tooling a national identity, surely the first step must be to call a spade a spade? What have been considered "special rights" are not rights per se but a protected position — it is time that all parties are clear on this.

And what of the MCA's Rakyat Malaysia, mooted during the tenure of president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting? Like 1Malaysia, it is grounded firmly in the Constitution and Rukun Negara, clearly respecting the notion of special rights.

But unlike 1Malaysia, it is a policy expressed by an exclusively-Chinese political leadership as a part of the MCA's own action plan for political evolution.

In both cases, the missing ingredient has been multiracial and multi-religious dialogue — Malaysian Malaysia was too caught up in ideas about race and ethnic interests to command wider support and Rakyat Malaysia was perceived to be an internal initiative of the MCA for the benefit of Chinese and other non-Malay communities.

Today, non-Malays regardless of their political affiliation face the additional concern of having to deal with increasingly agitated expressions of Malay unity and the incorporation of Islamisation into the Malay political mainstream.

How will 1Malaysia reflect the essentially pluralistic nature of Malaysia's religious make-up?

Islamisation was once a concept that defined only Pas, and mainstream non-Muslim voters have long thrown their full support behind BN or the DAP for this reason (especially in the 1999 general election).

But that situation changed ahead of the March 8 elections with Pas becoming significantly more "mainstream" and with parliamentary seats in Malay-majority constituencies no longer seeing a straight fight between Umno and Pas, but a fragmented contest among Umno, Pas and PKR.

As talk about a unity government between Pas and Umno rattles on, a crucial question about our identity is this: How would 1Malaysia work in practice when our demographics are moving towards a Malay-Muslim and Bumiputera majority of no less than 70 per cent?

Islamisation creates and maintains headlines and current discussions about Malay issues are rarely conducted without specific references to Malay-Muslim unity.

What implications on national unity do these and other very real and serious divisions have?

Questions about equitable ethnic representation persist in the civil service (where almost 95 per cent are Malay) as well as in the annual award of government scholarships.

At the same time, government delivery systems leave much to be desired when it comes to reaching out to disadvantaged and disenfranchised communities in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as in Peninsular Malaysia.

1Malaysia has the advantage of leading real change necessary to the country's progress but in order to obtain wholehearted support, it must be able to make a real and visible difference in the lives of ordinary Malaysians.

Like the New Economic Policy, which worked to dissociate race from specific professions, 1Malaysia must now dissociate race from the outcomes of affirmative action policies.

While the partial liberalisation of the services sector is a step in the right direction, we must address the concerns of all disadvantaged communities if we are to break free from the limitations of previous policies that have led to inequality and disunity.

Comprehensive reforms throughout the education system must emphasise respect for differences in all communities. At the same time, the government must show leadership by example in all institutions of state.

Some of the best minds of the younger generation are talking about an identity based on values, rather than culture, race or religion. Being Malaysian, therefore, will mean embodying qualities like honour, honesty, loyalty and integrity.

That would create a space in which all communities can operate based on universal humanity. What better way to fit into a globalised world?

Should we choose this direction, all forms of discrimination, barring those ensconced in the Constitution, will naturally be abolished.

Ours will be a three-layered character — we will be people first, Malaysians second, and race-specific third. No longer will we have to run to the Constitution or cite instances of bigotry to define or justify ourselves.

If 1Malaysia is to have moral authority as a concept, diversity of race, gender, religion and opinion must be reflected from the cabinet downwards throughout all ministries, implementing agencies, the judiciary and law enforcement, the civil service and every other area of the public engagement.

Malaysians must be educated to perceive social issues (for example poverty, perceived unequal treatment before the law and other forms of discrimination) as matters of fundamental rights that apply equally to all Malaysians rather than as factors of party politics that are determined exclusively by racial, religious or cultural interests.

1Malaysia must be translated into a direct plan of action, and our political leaders must rise above sectarian differences to secure the public commitment necessary to unite modern Malaysia in a diversity of races, religions, languages and opinions.

Tolerance must finally give way to genuine understanding, respect and acceptance and all Malaysians must be shown that they stand to gain tremendously as a people, rather than lose as a particular race or religious group, in a united Malaysia.