The Prime Minister’s remark at his Hari Raya open house regarding
the change needed in UMNO should give comfort to those waiting to hear a
clear commitment on his part to bringing about reform. He agreed with
the remarks of former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that UMNO
must change to continue to be relevant but added that this would be a
“gargantuan task” that may perhaps take generations because it would
involve changing the minds and emotions of the people.
One of my favourite songs from the 1970s was Jimmy Cliff’s “You Can
Get It If You Really Want”. The song is a reminder that Dato’ Seri Najib
Razak can also do what he sets out to achieve, and changing UMNO is not
that difficult and can be done during his term in office. Najib is
after all a young Prime Minister and has many years left to effect the
changes he wants to see.
Values, philosophy must also change
Changing the UMNO Constitution helps transform UMNO in some ways but
this kind of structural change does not address the core problem. The
real change in UMNO must entail changing the values and philosophy of
the party.
Early leaders such as Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and Tan Sri Senu Abdul
Rahman, together with other Malay intellectuals (including the young
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi), published the book Revolusi Mental some 43 years
ago, but the book was set aside by those in a hurry to make UMNO the
powerhouse of Malaysian politics where values do not matter and only the
brute force of obedience and compliance would take centre stage.
Revolusi Mental was inward-looking and sought to transform the values
of the Malays so that they could embrace reason, accept the rights of
non-Malays and believe in the value of science and technology. The book
urged Malays to participate in the economic and social life of the
country. It was one of those motivational books that, if you were to
read it today, would still yield some useful ideas for the Malays in
UMNO.
Obviously the Najib needs more than just an old edition of Revolusi
Mental to bring change in the light of current developments. He needs to
redefine the party’s struggle in much wider terms. Taking the country
to developed status means that he must make the core values of the party
consistent with the values of developed nations; for it is impossible
to bring about physical and material uplifting without the accompanying
moral and social values found in the developed world.
For instance, one of the greatest obstacles he will face—but which he
must overcome—is the wrongly-held belief within the UMNO right-wing
that citizenship granted to the non-Malays at time of Independence was a
gift, an act of grace by UMNO, that can be withdrawn at any time.
This thinking is prevalent and it is why those who are opposed to
UMNO are perceived to be ‘disloyal’ and that non-Malays among them are
‘ungrateful’ and deserve condemnation in the strongest terms. When a
government opposes dissent, it is undemocratic—but when it describes
dissent as ‘disloyalty’ then this represents the kind of outdated
thinking that would similarly burn people at stake for believing the
world is round.
These attitudes and beliefs are not merely misconceived. They have
resulted in UMNO members treating non-Malay Malaysians as inferior
citizens. Each time UMNO gets angry with the Chinese they will say
“pendatang go home!” or “revoke their citizenship” and so forth.
Revolting Umno
Granted that the conferment of citizenship to non-Malays at that time
was regarded as an act of “generosity” by some people, the present
generation of non-Malay Malaysians do not deserve to be treated as
inferior to the Malays. Just as the Malays, they are entitled to all the
rights and benefits of citizenship.
No developed nation anywhere in the world questions the loyalty and
dedication of their “immigrant citizens” several generations after the
fact, whatever differences there may be. To treat and differentiate
citizenship on the basis of race or religion is pure and unadulterated
discrimination. It is a concept so revolting that no developed nation
condones it today. If we recall, even Malaysia opposed apartheid in
South Africa.
But today, both Article 153 of the Federal Constitution and our
affirmative policies have been forgotten in terms of intent and scope.
Instead of viewing such policies as a safety net to address social
imbalances, our primary policy today is that of the ‘Malay-Muslim
first’.
The scope of the “special position” of Article 153 has been
unilaterally expanded to justify discrimination. This was certainly not
the principle on which this country was founded. Developed countries
(being democracies with citizens enjoying full rights and
responsibilities) run their governments based on the acceptance that all
citizens have equal rights and opportunities.
Malay-first is detrimental, not helpful
On a more practical level, the ‘Malay-Muslim first’ policy is
detrimental not only to those excluded by the discrimination. It also
jeopardises the potential of Malays to succeed and has resulted in
mediocre individuals holding positions beyond their capabilities. In
Government, there are policies that cannot be properly implemented
because such individuals have achieved positions of power and influence
simply by being Malay and linked to UMNO. Some even deprive other Malays
of opportunities because they consider them their opponents.
Mediocrity has seeped in into every level of our social institutions.
And if we have a mediocre university vice-chancellor, or mediocre
senior civil servant or police officers, the people most affected are
the Malays as they make up the largest ethnic group in the country. It
is in the interest of the Malays and the country to have leaders of
ability regardless of ethnicity. This is painfully obvious.
The holistic development of the Bumiputera community will depend on
the Government initiating non-discriminatory policies so that the best
Malaysians can rise. It is certainly a challenge to convince those
blinded by years of indoctrination that non-Malays are after their
wealth and trying to wrest the country from them.
Kuan Yew wasn't wrong
In view of the statement by former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee
Kuan Yew that Malaysia was being dragged down by race-based policies,
there were the usual protests from UMNO leaders and even leaders of the
Pakatan Rakyat. These leaders are too scared to tell the Malays the real
cause of the problems affecting their community.
Lee Kuan Yew is recognised by the world as one of the more successful
political leaders of our age. He transformed his Third-World island
nation into one of the richest nations today. But instead of examining
what he says with a cool head, many are quick to dismiss him, and the
truth is that we cannot avoid assessing the merit of race-based policies
if we are serious in becoming a developed country. There will be the
initial outcry but I believe that the Opposition’s wresting of the
popular vote from the Barisan Nasional at the last general election
suggests that people, including Malays, are ready to accept the values
of equality and fair play in the policies of the country.
I believe that dismantling discriminatory practices, which can be
done in stages for practical reasons, is the only way to bring
right-thinking and fair-minded Malaysians together to move this country
forward. It is also the only way for the Malays to succeed.
UMNO leaders will say that the Malays are not ready to have a new
policy to replace the old one. To them, the Malays will never be ready
because they themselves do not want such a policy. It is the task of the
Prime Minister to convince them otherwise, and it is not necessarily
the case that a return of non-Malay support for Najib will result in the
Bumiputera ditching him. There are enough Sabahan and Sarawakian
Bumiputera who can see the reason in any policy that is intrinsically
fair to all.
The Prime Minister has the resources to overcome the concerns of all
Malaysians. Mindset and values don’t need generations to change if a
leader can clearly articulate what this change means. We can see for
ourselves the benefits that have accrued to countries possessing
progressive policies. Malaysia is no different.
http://www.zaid.my/?p=887
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