UMNO & the average Malay : is the party still relevant?

Source : Malaysian Chronicles
Cheong Suk-Wai

(Straits Times) - It used to be that whenever it came to election time in Malaysia, the country’s ruling party Umno would gets its community development workers to fan out to all the hamlets on bicycles and on foot to take the political temperature and assure villagers that Umno was the best doctor for them, taking care of their births, deaths and everything in between. But then village youth began migrating en masse to towns from the 1980s and Umno lost these rural forts.

Malaysian sociologist Maznah Mohamad recalls Umno’s women telling her how urban folk would shoo them away and even hurl insults at them if they tried to woo them. Dr Maznah, 54, notes wryly: ‘You can’t go knocking on doors in, say, Subang Jaya. People will just chase you away. There’s no community spirit in such neighbourhoods. Anyway, they’re urbanised, so why would they need you to help them?’

An alumna of Macalester College, Stanford University and the University of Malaya, Dr Maznah knows a lot about such matters, having studied Malays in general, and Umno in particular, in her 27 years as a don in Penang’s Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

She retired from USM in 2006, and has since been a visiting senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Asia Research Institute. Her husband, Dr Johan Savaranamuttu, is a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies here. They have two children.

She spoke to The Straits Times recently about her country’s New Economic Model (NEM) and where Umno stands today:

Who is the average Malaysian Malay today?

He is male, Muslim and has an excess of rights and privileges without too much responsibility, for he benefits from what I call a vulgarised affirmative action policy formally known as the New Economic Policy (NEP).

Why ‘vulgarised’?

Simply because it has veered from its original aim and has metamorphosed into a scheme that equalises rewards rather than opportunities… After a while, even a conscious policy like that is not necessary because it assumes its own dynamics – like people from the same ethnic group drawing their own (into workplaces), so you don’t even need racial quotas… But it is difficult to undo a policy that’s so entrenched.

So life is good for the average Malaysian Malay?

Besides NEP rights, Malaysia’s Islamic laws today are biased towards male rights, such as polygamy and the unilateral right to divorce. Even Jakim, the Department of Islamic Development, has had to set up a RM15 million (S$6.4 million) fund to assist single mothers who have not received maintenance from their children’s fathers. This is not good because the state picks up after these errant males… The average Malay male is treated with kid gloves.

Why so?

Well, there’s really a lot of disjuncture in the system. The (average Malay) has all these rights and privileges, but for a Muslim man who’s poor, that’s where the problem starts: Psychologically, he might think that he’s powerful and head of the household but, realistically, he’s not able to maintain it… That’s why you find many among them just leaving the family. You also have Muslim wives who earn a lot more than their husbands, yet are forced to be obedient and subservient. There is this whole entrenchment of a kind of politics and culture that does not actually assess (Malays) realistically.

So what is Umno’s attraction to them these days?

The attraction in joining Umno today is still that it’s a sure ticket to a plum appointment or business contract because there isn’t anything idealistic in Umno today. Sixty years ago, it was about wanting to help the Malays but that is not so today because Malay rights and privileges are already guaranteed in the Constitution… If Umno pays you RM300 a month to deliver letters to its branches, that’s enough to pay, say, the loan on your motorcycle. So Umno is more like a job than a party at the end of the day.

Which begs the question: Who wouldn’t want to join it?

Well, those who don’t need to, don’t have to, right? Also, those who join the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) have an idealism that has trumped even material benefits.

That puts Umno in quite a spot, surely?

Exactly. Umno’s lifeblood has been helping the Malays get to a certain level. So if the Malays are backward and not able to catch up, Umno would then be forever relevant… But now, what other language can Umno use?

So why are its leaders saying the NEM must replace the NEP?

In a way, it’s the right moment to do so because, on the one hand, Prime Minister Najib Razak isn’t exactly all that strong because he hasn’t gone through the baptism of elections and was endorsed by Umno when it was at its weakest. On the other hand, you have a growing Malay middle class that is clamouring for reform. This convergence of the weak and the strong makes Malaysia ripe for the NEM.

Having said that, it’s a misnomer to call the NEM a model. It’s really just a government wish list. Nevertheless, it’s going to provide a platform for some very important talking points.

How fresh are these points?

There are three which have not been stated explicitly before: The first links corruption to the faltering economy; before, corruption was there but it wasn’t considered a moral evil… But now the NEM has made that connection, albeit with the fancy-sounding term ‘rent-seeking in economic practices’. The second is trying to get rid of affirmative action, using the code phrase ‘affirmative action that is friendly to market policy’ – which is an oxymoron, right? The third – and this is very important – is how they’re going to stimulate the economy by bringing back ‘talented Malaysians’ which, again, is a code phrase for non-Malays… I don’t know if that’s possible under the present circumstances, but at least they’ve identified that as what they’ve to do. So let’s give them the benefit of the doubt.

These three things are good because a good policy has something which people desire commonly. So the NEP was very successful because it was made out to be something that could prevent future ethnic conflicts and also eradicate poverty – and who could quarrel with that?

But hasn’t the NEP rendered Malaysians uncompetitive?

Yes, but it never hurt the economy – until now – and so Umno became complacent and mixed up short-term necessities with long-term realities.

Can Umno change?

The only way it can change is if it loses… That’s because nothing has changed in Umno, not even its rhetoric. Has money politics changed? No. Histrionics? No. Keris-waving? No.

Is this Umno’s darkest period yet?

There are two ways of looking at it. If you view it in terms of election performance, Umno did very badly in 2008. But if you’re looking at Umno versus PAS, Umno is still ahead of PAS by a long shot. In Umno’s worst years, 1969 and 2008, it won 35 per cent of the parliamentary seats. PAS’ best year was 1999, when it won just 14 per cent of the parliamentary seats. See the gap?

So who or what is Umno’s biggest threat now?

Fence-sitters. The 2008 election was really about them; a lot of seats were won very narrowly and that was when the fence-sitters mattered.

Hard talk

SOCIOLOGIST Maznah Mohamad is an avowed feminist known for her incisive and perceptive views. Here she is on:

What the average Malaysian Malay wants out of life

‘Nothing much, really – well, except maybe pride and dignity – because he has too many rights and privileges but too few responsibilities.’

Malays and affirmative action

‘Many Malays increasingly do not feel comfortable about continually receiving handouts – unless they have political ambitions, then it’s tied to that.’

How she feels about being Malay

‘In Malaysia, it is about being inadequate culturally; in Singapore, it is about being inadequate professionally. So Malays like me feel neither here nor there.’

How she lives with that

‘Actually, I’m quite comfortable because it’s good to be in a category where you’re able to confuse people.’

1Malaysia

‘Umno doesn’t want to promote a Malaysian Malaysia because that’s associated with the People’s Action Party. And then you have this peach of a slogan which means the same thing.’

The ruling coalition

‘They’re pandering to race and religion and people don’t need that. They need good food, good jobs, good education, good transport and good health.’

Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad

‘He was neither maverick nor Machiavellian; he was actually mainstream. He did bring radical change with Vision 2020 and he tried to create a Bangsa Malaysia. But he wasn’t forceful enough…and instead perpetuated race-based politics.’

The opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)

‘Many of its members were from Umno and so expected the same gravy train to come their way. But they’ve waited and waited and PKR is still not the government, so you can expect them to leave it.’

Malaysia’s future

‘We can still go out for hawker food; it doesn’t matter that the buildings are falling apart.’

——-

Dr Maznah Mohamad – PROFILE


Dr Maznah Mohamad joined Asian Research Institute (ARI) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) as a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in 2006. Concurrently, she is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Southeast Asian Studies Programme, NUS.


Before joining ARI, she taught at the Universiti Sains Malaysia and also held a visiting chair appointment (ASEAN and International Studies) at the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto.


Dr Mohamad obtained her Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Malaya and her M.A. in International Development Education at Stanford University. She also holds a Bachelors degree in Sociology (cum laude) from Macalester College.


Maznah’s publications include, The Malay Handloom Weavers: A Study of the Rise and Decline of Traditional Manufacture (ISEAS, 1996); Risking Malaysia: Culture, Politics and Identity (co-edited, Penerbit UKM, 2001) and Feminism and the Women’s Movement in Malaysia (co-authored, Routledge, 2006). She has also published articles on Malaysian politics, Islam, democracy and human rights.

Whither Race Relations?

Many people have much to say in blogs that usually reflects pretty much what’s on everyone’s minds. So I usually keep my observations to myself. But two unconnected events took place on two unrelated discussion groups that have driven me to put my thoughts down on paper. The first event involves a Chinese guy in his late 40s, born before 13th May 1969 but growing up in a society colored by the fallout of that fateful event in our history. He had the good fortune to go to a school where he was able to mix with all races but, when he got into the employment rat-race, he had no godfather to turn to. He struggled to cope in a world where connections meant more than qualifications. He learnt bitter lessons and arrived at the conclusion that “Malays could not be trusted.” His response upon reading Abu Bakar Sulaiman’s article “Cry my beloved Malay soul” was, “Find me a Malay I can really trust and I will show you he's a product of mixed marriage.” My concern is that he is not alone. There are many more like him who were not insulated in the government service or in multinational employment, who had to cope on a day-to-day basis with business interactions. If he could deal entirely with persons of his own ethnicity, his frustrations would be different. But, being forced to deal with officialdom and business monopolies, and faced with blatant corruption, favoritism and poor delivery on promises, his bias and bitterness have set in firmly. This is not going to end here. The children of people such as this will also bear these scars. For some, the anger and hurt may just be passed down, but for many more, the injuries will be first-hand. Those who don’t get to enjoy stigma-free racial interaction in their youth and only suffer the indignities and unfairness of race-based policies cannot develop any cross-racial empathy. The second event involves a Malay girl in her 20s, a product of our racially polarized education system and a victim of the daily brainwashing by the mainstream media. She took exception to the movement to abolish the ISA. Her position was that this nation “would only be free of the British influence when the other races admitted that this land is the Malay home”. She refused to examine history and understand why the ISA was established by the British. She was convinced that if the ISA were to be abolished, “our peaceful Malaysia would become a war of races”. I don’t blame her. That’s what she has been taught. And she has been schooled not to find out facts by herself or to think on her own. She has been programmed to swallow wholesale whatever she is told by the proper authorities, no matter how illogical or unlikely. And this is what is of concern to me – our youth have been separated by an artificial barrier created for the purpose of perpetuating political power. Bridging the divide of minds such as I have illustrated above will be a daunting task. If today, UMNO is pushed aside and PR is allowed to take power, if the NEP is swept aside and a race-independent, poverty-based affirmative action put in place, how long do you think it will take for race relations to return to what they were pre-May 13? Some of those who grew up pre-May 13 may be quicker to embrace those of other races. But those below 40 would have a different world view and are unlikely to tread upon unfamiliar turf. Those who are under 10 today and who will get to go to "race-equalized" secondary schools would still be taught by teachers with the old mindset. The indoctrination may be less blatant but, at home and in school, the race message will carry on in subtle ways. Their children, who will start school some 30 years from today, may have a fair chance of encountering an environment similar to what the pre-May 13 generation enjoyed. The children of those children may enjoy a really race-equalized society. This is what could happen if the NEP is set aside today and the affirmative action is aimed at poverty instead of race. But only the Malay people can set aside the NEP. If they truly desire a peaceful land, this is what they have to do. It is understandable that even some of the moderate Malays are hesitant about the abolishing of the NEP and the equalizing of all races. There would be a sense of dread over what may happen. Malays have to ask themselves – what has the NEP really done for the Malay people as a whole? Go to some of the low-cost flats in the cities and see how some Malay families are struggling to survive. Go to some of the poorer parts of these cities and take a look at some of the Malay enclaves that are almost slums. Look at the poverty still choking some of the rural Malays. Look at the Malay students in schools and colleges, poorly motivated to perform and being spoon-fed simply to maintain passing quotas. Then look at the fresh Malay graduates being employed to meet quotas and then given meaningless tasks just to keep them busy. And ask yourself, do your people still need a 10% discount on bungalows and semi-detached houses? Do your people really benefit because UMNO cronies are being awarded plumb projects. Are your people improving in any way while they remain in a protective cocoon? The future of this nation lies in the hands and the votes of the Malay people. They have to wake up from the intoxication imposed upon them by the UMNO spin-masters. They have to see for themselves what 5 decades of race-based politics has done to this fair nation. They have to see for themselves that only an equitable system can truly set them free. Do they have what it takes? Silent Observer

Both Malays and non-Malays victims of the gov't

Posted by St Low
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 11:02
I refer to the letter Understanding the bumiputera's position 2008.

It's sad that after almost 40 years of affirmative policy for the bumiputera population of this country, it seems that the overall progress of the bumis in the areas of education and eradication of poverty is still far from satisfactory. Time and time again we see many Malay leaders and intellectuals express their concern in their various writings and opinions in the mainstream media as well as the Internet.

The writer of the above is but one of many of them. By and large, his view, I believe is consistently shared by many if not the majority of the Malay population. I do not dispute that unless the majority of the population is satisfied with their socio-economic position, the minority who live in relatively better (in the view of the majority) living conditions will find in hard eventually to enjoy the peace and fruit of their labour.

Therein lies the dilemma of a nation which is still in is infant stage of development. How can we make progress as a nation, pulling every one along without sacrificing the needs of the others? Thus far the policy of the present government, as far as I can see is doomed to failure.

The Umno-led Barisan Nasional's government divisive policy is perhaps the mother of all evils. The farcical make-up of a muhibbah government from the various group in the name of Umno, MCA, MIC and the rest is nothing more than hogwash to show the world.

In reality, in its 50 years of rule, Umno has consistently played on the theme of Malay supremacy, instilling fear in the Malay population that unless Umno is supported, Malaysia will fall into the hands of non-Malays and become a second Singapore. This view was shared to me by many of my Malay friends in my schooldays.

This fear alone, I believe, has been enough to keep Umno afloat for the past 50 years. Some one once wrote in a blog, ‘I would rather swing on trees, then see the non-Malays dominate’. It is no wonder that despite scandal after scandal, corruption, murders and all kinds of economic mismanagement, Umno had come out unscathed.

Most Malays were willing to tolerate the failures of their leaders even at the cost of the nation, as long as their needs are provided and as long as the other races are not put in power. They fail to see that after 50 years of managing the country and its economy, the blame should squarely lie with the leaders they have chosen year in year out.

Instead, they are brainwashed into believing that the non-Malays are the main cause of their suffering. They point to the economic pie that is dominated by the non-Malays, they point to the private sector where the perception is the unwillingness of private companies to hire Malays, they point to the private colleges and universities that are dominated by the non-Malays.

They blame everything on other people but fail to see the failure of the leadership they have chosen. Before people like the writer point their fingers and assume that the non- Malays are selfish and are not sincere in helping the Malays and are keeping them from catching up, let me point out that, Dr Mahathir Mohamad before his retirement had said that almost 90% of the taxes are paid by the non-Malays. These taxes are used to finance everything that is needed for the nation.

The non-Malays really have not much say in the matter of how the funding is allocated. In terms of enjoying the benefits of the taxes they paid, it is not difficult to note that the Malays are the major benefactors.

In the private sector, the competition is stiff for jobs. Companies are driven by efficiencies to produce profits to satisfy their shareholders. Though it is not totally absent, the practise of racial discrimination is rare simply because an employer would want an employee who is qualified and efficient to do the job, not because of his colour. If the argument is that many Malays cannot find job in the private sector, then a genuine survey must be conducted by the universities from which they have graduated from to identify the problems.

Such an assessment must be based on facts and not emotions .In the various companies I have resided as director, we have hired Malays without any problems.

In education, many not well-to-do non-Malay parents work their pants off, selling old newspapers, mee hoon, kway teow, you name it, just to save money to finance their children in private colleges and universities so that their children do not have to slog like them. The private colleges and universities accept fee-paying students regardless of their racial background.

Despite the taxes that they have dutifully paid to their government, the non-Malay students do not enjoy the benefit of enrolling into public universities of their choice, but instead have to fork out thousands to finance their education. Are they not the victims also?

We can go on and on to argue and about our difference but the ultimate truth is that both the Malays and the non-Malays are in fact the victims of the current government's policies. That is why Anwar Ibrahim has come like a breath of fresh air

Despite his past, he has taken a consistent position in saying he will uplift the economic well- being of the nation, leading us all as Malaysians forward. We need a leader of his calibre to downplay our differences as Malay, Chinese or Indian, but instead unite as
Malaysians and that all will be treated equally and fairly.

The first step to move forward as a nation is acceptance not dominance. Unless people like the writer begin to see the non-Malays as of equal standing and not the pendatang or a ‘threat’ as projected by many zealots, unless they see that there are also many non-Malays (especially the Indians) who desperately need affirmative action to uplift their livelihood, we will remain a nation divided, ruled by the same people who want to see us divided so that they can continue to plunder the nation under our very noses.

- Fairminded

Understanding the bumiputera's position 2008

Nol Aug 22, 08 4:31pm
It is important for Malaysians - Malays, Chinese and Indians alike - to recognise that the most important ingredient for Malaysia's dramatic growth in the late 80s and till the 1997 crisis was large foreign investments.

A critical success factor that was clearly in Malaysia's favour was the stability that the country enjoys. The stability was the making of all races recognising the need to co-exist as stakeholders of Malaysia.

It is important to recognise and appreciate the difficult (and sometimes awkward) balancing act that the government has to make. The challenges that globalisation poses through free trade agreements with trading partners represents a clear threat to any affirmative action policies in Malaysia.

These challenges brought about new realities for the bumiputera community and the need for the bumiputera to prepare themselves to meet these challenges brought about by the force of globalisation, primarily the ability to compete in a fully-liberalised environment.

It is forthcoming that globalisation could mean less room for nationalistic policies and fewer government interventions especially when we can readily acknowledge that affirmative action programmes are seen as fundamental barriers to free mobilisation of trade, capital and human that globalisation promulgates.

It is imperative to recognise that the government will forever hold back a politically suicidal step to fully liberalise without first ensuring the readiness, the willingness and the ability of all races in Malaysia to survive this threat and turn them into opportunities for every segment of the society.

For this to happen, it is equally important for the non-bumiputera to take a step back and not push the bumiputera into a corner. Non-bumiputeras should engage in more productive inter- ethnic relationships and promote more meaningful partnerships with bumiputeras beyond the Ali-Baba mechanism.

The sincerity of the non-bumiputera to share a slice of the economic cake with their bumiputera counterparts without any government intervention has to be clearly evident to earn the faith of the bumiputera community in that the NEP is redundant.

Employment opportunities in the private sector have to be more reflective of the racial composition of the country. Until this can happen in the private sector without any government intervention, the bumiputera will always feel threatened on their ability to stake a fair claim in the economic pie without any government intervention.

If all stakeholders of this country genuinely accept this reality, we can agree that whilst there are one too many opinions, theories, hypotheses, questions and too many answers and essentially too many versions that claim to represent the truth, on the part of bumiputera, there is a need to honestly and critically evaluate their situation.

To clearly understand what challenges lie in the future for them, to clearly define how they should respond to these challenges and to align attitudes and behaviors to yield improved results and outcome.

There has to be a ‘Clear’, ‘Concise’ and ‘Common’ idea about the vision of the New Bumiputera for:

Individual relevance - a formula to help the bumiputera help themselves;

National relevance - a need to understand their co-existence with other races, to harmonise their plan and honestly integrate their vision and plan and objectively work with other races (not robbing Peter to pay Paul.) and;

Global relevance - a model for bumiputeras and Muslims in other countries.

It is in the interest of everyone that we formulate a Bumiputera Agenda that is not in conflict, but rather complementary to the overall objectives of the progressing of the Nation. Everyone, regardless of race, is a stakeholder in this respect.

Source : Malaysiakini