Why Can’t I Question the “Social Contract”?

ARCHIVES 2010

By admin-s On Oct 23, 2010

By Cranky Ramblings

Let’s not mince our words; the “Social Contract” as laid out in the Malaysian Federal Constitution is official racism of the most absurd and blatant of its kind. The “Social Contract” as it was first established under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution grant the Malays special rights and privileges irrespective of even if they are millionaires, just as long as your skin is of a certain colour.

The “Social Contract” originated during independence when the “pendatang” or foreigners (mainly Chinese and Indians) were given the special privilege of citizenship in exchange for the Malays being given “special privileges” as the indigenous people of Malaya. The special privileges include “Malay” entitlement in the areas of business and economy, quotas for certain trade licences, education and public scholarships, quotas into public universities, civil service and politics. Then in 1969, when the ruling UMNO party lost it’s parliamentary majority after the elections and hundreds of Malays ran amok and went on a killing spree at the expense of the Chinese, the New Economic Policy (NEP) was establish to further extend the “Social Contract” which was meant to be only temporary and was recommended to be reviewed after the first fifteen years as advised by the “Reid Commission” which prepared the framework for the Constitution. It was due for review in 1972 but after the May 1969 riots and with a state of emergency declared, it passed without incident.

That’s a bit of history and now the hard questions. I know that the “Social Contract” is not meant to be questioned or challenged but what the hell.

1. Would it not be better for the government to improve funding and cut out corruption in the education sector and improve the overall quality of the education in Malaysia than to reserve certain quotas for Malays irrespective if they’ve earned their place in the institutions of higher learning or not? Would placing quotas based on your skin colour only alienate the other races who will have to work harder, earn more money and fund their own education overseas and after they’re done to never return to Malaysia, choosing to stay on in the country that gave them their higher education as staying on and working there would earn them ten times more than if they returned to their corrupt and racist mother land? The local graduates on the other hand, when they “graduate” are left wanting and can hardly cope with the rigours that face them in the real world. Employers on the other hand are weary of local graduates especially those that made it based on their skin colour.

2. Would it not be better to develop social welfare policies that helped the genuine poor irrespective of their skin colour, that is, help the poor rather than help based on your skin colour? If you are Malay, and are very well off why should you be helped over a poor person just because of your skin colour? No proponent of the “social contract” has given a satisfactory answer to this question to date. Undoubtedly the NEP was designed to help the cronies in the ruling UMNO party rather than to genuinely help any poor person Malay or otherwise.

3. Would it not be better to lift the uncompetitive protection given to the national carmaker “Proton” after so many years, so they can compete on their own two feet? Get the best brains, best training and best quality process in place to make it a national car that the whole country can be proud of instead of the butt of all the jokes even if this means hiring more of people of other races? Why not give the majority of Malaysian citizens the choice to choose other cars of higher quality without imposing such heavy duties to protect Proton? Why would you protect one company at the expense of the other millions of Malaysians? Why do Malaysians have to suffer driving a substandard car at over inflated prices to protect Proton and its cronies?

4. How do you justify an across the board discount for property purchase for Malays when some of these people could be very wealthy? Where is the equity and fairness when a Malay millionaire could purchase a property cheaper than a poor non-Malay because of this institutionalised racism that exist?

5. Would it not be more appropriate if the government could improve skills training to those that needed it most instead of imposing law that requires local companies to meet the hiring quota for Malay people? Many of these companies hire the Malays just to “comply” but the driving force of the companies is the other races. Would that then improve the skills of these “dead wood” that would otherwise just remain dead wood?