Imagining a different future
M. Bakri Musa, The Malaysian Insider
Much is at stake for Malays. Only those lulled by Hang Tuah’s blustery “takkan Melayu hilang di dunia” (Malays will never be lost from this world) would pretend otherwise. History is replete with examples of once-great civilisations now reduced to mere footnotes. At best they are but objects of tourists’ curiosities, as with the Mayans.
It is unlikely for Malay civilisation to disappear; there are nearly a quarter billion of us in the greater Nusantara world of Southeast Asia. There is however, a fate far worse, and that is for Malaysia to be developed but with Malays shunted aside, reduced to performing exotic songs and dances for tourists.
There are about 17 million Malays in Malaysia, comparable to the population of the Netherlands. Their colonial record excluded, the Dutch should be our inspiration of what a population of 17 million could achieve.
Consider Rotterdam, Europe’s busiest port. One expects that title to go to a port in Britain, Germany, or Russia. Then consider the following famous brands: Shell (petroleum), Phillips (electronics), Unilever (consumer goods), Heineken (beer), and ING (financial services). Those are all Dutch companies.
Then consider the hosts of eminent organisations like the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, all centred in the Netherlands. More remarkable is that the country is behind only America and France in agricultural exports, despite a quarter of Holland being below sea level!
Compare that to Malays and Malaysia. Malays are in political control; non-Malays cannot challenge that; it is a demographic reality. We have a land mass ten times that of the Netherlands, and none of it underwater, except when it rains and our rivers get clogged with pollution. Then it seems the entire country is underwater, paralysed and gasping for air.
Imagine if we could achieve even a tenth of what the Dutch have done! That should be our goal and inspiration, not endless recitations of Hang Tuah’s immortal words or the incessant hollering of Ketuanan Melayu.
We are being hoodwinked by the government’s glossy publications and our leaders’ rosy recounting of our achievements. Take the “Malaysian Quality of Life 2004 Report” produced by the Prime Minister’s Department. At 113 pages it is full of glossy pictures of well-trimmed suburban neighbourhoods, neat kampong houses, and of course the iconic Petronas Towers. There is also a picture of earnest executives engaged in videoconferencing, highlighting the latest technology gizmo.
The cover features the responsible minister, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, beaming against the backdrop of a lush, luxurious golf course. That image reveals more of the truth, perhaps unintended; the golf course is exactly where you are likely to find these ministers.
Visit the minister’s old kampong in Jeli, Kelantan, and the reality would be far different. I have no data specific on Jeli but a recent study on Pulau Redong and Pulau Perhentian, islands off Trengganu, would shock anyone. A fifth of the villagers have no formal education; half had only primary level. This in 2011! Their average income is less than what Indonesian maids earn. As a needless reminder, those villagers are Malays.
More shocking and reflective of the malaise, two-thirds of the respondents expect “little” or “no change.” They have given up hope. So much for Umno’s grandiose promises on “protecting and enhancing” the position of Malays!
