The lazy, greedy, dishonest Malay

The point is many Chinese and Indians talk fondly about the Malays they knew back in the 1950s and 1960s. Then, by the 1970s, things started to change. The Malays started to become more aggressive, abrasive, competitive and greedy. They started to look at things from a Malay versus non-Malay perspective.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Quite a few people, Umno as well as opposition leaders and supporters, have commented about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement regarding the lazy and dishonest Malays.

It appears like Malaysians are divided on the issue, though. Even some Malays think that Dr Mahathir is right while some Malays think he is wrong. And opinions both for and against are not divided along political affiliations. There are some Umno people who agree with Dr Mahathir and other Umno people who do not.

I believe this is the same for the non-Malays as well. There are non-Malays who think that Dr Mahathir is right while there are others who think he is wrong. And this is the beauty of free discourse. You are free to offer your views and opinions even if they may not be correct.

Dr Mahathir has always been irritated with the Malays since long before he became Malaysia’s Prime Minister in 1981. Hence I do not view Dr Mahathir’s view as racial in nature. And if any Chinese, Indian or ‘others’ agree with Dr Mahathir I would not consider them racists as well.

It is just that many do not understand the Malay psyche, Dr Mahathir included.

Back in 2003, when asked what his greatest regret in his 22 years as Prime Minister is, Dr Mahathir replied that his greatest regret is that after 22 years he still could not change the mindset and attitude of the Malays. “Why can’t the Malays be more like the Chinese?” lamented Dr Mahathir.

Well, if the Malays were more like the Chinese, then the British would not have needed to bring the Chinese to Malaya from the mid-1800s onwards to work the tin mines. It is because the Malays did not want to work the tin mines that they needed to bring in the Chinese labourers.

And the same goes for the Indians who were brought in to work the estates. It was because the Malays did not want to do that job so they had to bring in the Indian estate labourers. If the Malays were prepared to do that job then, today, Malaysia’s population would not be only about 60% or so Malays. Malaysia’s population would probably be 95% Malay like in the East Coast of West Malaysia (except for the population of the main towns, of course).

I faced this same problem back in the 1970s-1980s when I operated a small fleet of fishing boats in Terengganu. Initially I tried to use Malay fishermen but could not make any money. The Malays were not prepared to fish for long periods of time. They would go out in the morning and return the same day. Hence we lost money.

I then brought in Chinese fishermen from Sungai Besar and Sabak Bernam. They would go out and return three, four or five days later once the hold was full of fish or once they ran out of ice and fuel. Invariably we made money because the cost of ice and fuel for three days or more was not that much different from the cost of ice and fuel if you just fished for one day.

Unfortunately, Umno was not happy that I brought in Chinese fishermen into what they considered ‘Malay territory’ and this matter was raised in the Terengganu State Assembly. I was then summoned to the State Fisheries Department and the Director, Seow Kuan Tow, told me about the complaint and advised me to get rid of the Chinese fishermen.

I eventually had to sell off my boats at a great loss because used fishing boats do not really have a good second-hand value. I lost about RM100,000 at a time when a Mercedes Benz cost only RM47,000. So in that sense I lost two Mercedes Benzes. And it was because it was not profitable to operate the boats with Malay fishermen and Umno would not allow me to use Chinese fishermen.

By the way, this was around the time that Dr Mahathir was complaining about the Malays and when his book ‘The Malay Dilemma’ was banned because it was too critical of the Malays and of the Umno Malay leadership.

So what is wrong with the Malays? Are they really very lazy? Dr Mahathir thought so plus he thought that the Malays lacked ambition and a competitive spirit. That was why he wrote that book and whacked the Malays. And what Dr Mahathir said in his book was quite accurate although his prognosis of the reason why the Malays are like that may be wrong.

You see; Malays are also Muslims so the Malays are Muslims first and Malays second. And in Islam you are taught to be shukor (satisfied, grateful or contented). God will provide and all you need to do is to be a good and obedient Muslim and follow the teachings of Islam and God will never abandon you. Have you not heard Christians, too, say that the Lord shall provide?

So Malays will work only as far as their needs are fulfilled. Any surplus and it is no longer need but greed. “How much can you eat?” the Malay will ask. As long as there is food on the table, clothes on your back, and a roof over your head, that is all you need.

Malays differentiate between needs and wants. You need a car. You do not need a Ferrari. A Ferrari is what you want, not what you need. So a Proton is good enough to drive you to work and to send your kids to school. Anything else is just to show off that you have money. And this is considered pride and ego and a sin in Islam (as it is in Christianity as well).

Then along came Dr Mahathir and his book ‘The Malay Dilemma’ and Umno’s New Economic Policy in the 1970s to tell the Malays that they should not be contented. Why should they be contented? Malaysia belongs to the Malays but the non-Malays have ‘stolen’ all the wealth. The Malays must become successful and not be hamba di negara sendiri (slaves in your own country). And Malays were told to stop working for others and to start their own businesses even if they do not have a head for business.

To get rich is glorious. In fact, it is mandatory. If not how to take back the country from the pendatang (immigrants)?

But not everyone can be a good businessman. And not all the Chinese are successful as well. There are many more failures compared to success stories amongst the Chinese community. Cleverness or stupidity is colour-blind. Remember I mentioned above that I employed Chinese fishermen from Sungai Besar and Sabak Bernam? So there are poor Chinese fishermen as well, just like there are poor Malay fishermen.

But these Chinese fishermen from Sungai Besar and Sabak Bernam worked hard not because they are cleverer than the Malay fishermen from Terengganu but because they had no choice. If they could not give me a profit I sent them home and replaced them with other Chinese fishermen. And they needed the work so they feared being sent home.

Anyway, I am digressing. The point is many Chinese and Indians talk fondly about the Malays they knew back in the 1950s and 1960s. Then, by the 1970s, things started to change. The Malays started to become more aggressive, abrasive, competitive and greedy. They started to look at things from a Malay versus non-Malay perspective.

But that is what happens when you wake the Malays up and ask them to fight for their rights (whatever that is supposed to mean). And when you cannot win the fight in a clean way you fight dirty. The objective is to win and not in how you play the game. Hence matlamat menghalalkan cara or the end justifies the means.

Keshukoran or contentment/satisfaction is no longer the in thing. You must be successful. And success is measured by your wealth. People look down on you when you are not wealthy. You command respect when you have plenty of money.

And the shortcut to becoming wealthy is politics. In politics you have power and with power you can become wealthy, although the non-halal way.

In the 1940s and 1950s no one wanted political power. You practically had to beg them to lead you and they would do so most reluctantly. Today, they will fight tooth and nail to gain political power. And nothing is haram when it comes to politics.

So why lament now that Malays are greedy, lazy, dishonest, inconsiderate, and more. That is what we wanted the Malays to become and they have become just that. Just be happy that the Malays will resort to anything to get ahead, whether fair means or foul. Old values no longer apply. The Melayu Baru is now a most brutal beast that will kill its own mother if necessary.

Maybe Dr Mahathir should celebrate this as a success rather than a failure.