Rafidah decries Malays who stick to ‘crutches’

(Bernama) – The Malays, especially youngsters, should change their mindset from being too dependant on the government and should believe in their own abilities to become formidable competitors to others, says former minister Rafidah Aziz.

By adopting the attitude of being too dependant on the special privileges granted to them, it seems to have undermined the Malays’ ability to compete in the increasingly challenging era of globalisation.

She said the current living conditions of the Malay community had improved compared to the old days as a result of efforts to enhance their economic capacity.

“However, the mindset of the Malays has remained too reliant on the ‘walking stick’ (privileges) given. It is seen as ‘excess baggage. There are still some Malays who rely on the ‘walking stick’ even though the situation has improved…life is much better now, but they are still asking for more (privileges),” the former international trade minister said when launching the second edition of Dr Mohammad Bakri Musa’s book “Liberating the Malay Mind”.

Rafidah said Malays should be willing to change for the betterment of the nation instead of being too dependant on others.

She said all parties, especially parents should ensure that Malay children were always trained to become more independent to pursue greater success.

“The adoption of the collective nurturing method is very important so that we can recalibrate our mind for the nation’s progress,” she said.

Dr Mohammad Bakri, 72, a US-based surgeon and columnist, said the mindset of the Malays was still plagued with previous guidance, although there were some of them, who were open to current changes.

“Malays should take the opportunity to free their minds from constantly being confined to following the status quo,” he said.

Dr Mohammad Bakri said Malays can be categorised into two groups namely those who think big, as a result of reading and openness to world changes, and another comprising those with still ‘locked’ minds.

However, he said, the paradigm shift must be monitored and controlled to prevent a negative impact and to ensure that Malays would always be ready to face any challenges.