steadyaku47

Friday 16 October 2009

Cakap cakap...The Malays - where we are at!


One of my hostel mates from SABS days is Salleh K2. From our days at the hostels I have always remembered Salleh as a focussed guy dedicated to whatever he was doing at that point of time. Legend has it that he slept with a plank under his mattress so that he would not sleep too long and not have enough time to study! …or was it that he did away with the mattress and slept on the plank itself? Sorry friends my memory is simply unable to recall clearly what happened in those days…but I think you get what it is I am trying to say here. A few days back he emailed about  something and amongst other things asked me “ about an interesting Arabic poetry. i have searched your archive but could not find it. wonder if you still have it” . This was “Would you Permit Me” forwarded to me by one of our friends. I did find it and I did sent it to him. I also took the opportunity to ask him a question about the Malays and I thought his reply was one I wanted to share with you.

Question from steadyaku47:


When you have the time would appreciate your comments on where we Malays are at now and where we should or would be heading with or without UMNO. At this point of time 70% of the population are already Malays. Is this an end to be pursued relentlessly with a view of making the Malays the dominant race and making the others irrelevant as is being done by UMNO now - or is multi ethnicity the only way to go?...when you have time...when you have time. regards.

Answer from Salleh K2


On 'where the Malays are now':
We have the number but we're disorganized and divided.


The whole country, Malays included, lacked leaderships and they are full of contradictions. Their intentions/ rhetoric are for solidarity but their actions are having disunity effect.


Ethnicity is a simple and powerful rallying point in any campaign as it can easily raise the primordial sentiment. but it is not a viable option anymore as we move globally. (sorry if this sounds academic) furthermore, the concept 'the dominant race' sounds fascist or Jewish which everyone despise. Pluralism I imagine is the inevitable option.


The Malays quo vadis? Najib has been pursuing 1 Malaysia and the entire cabinet, Barisan component parties leadership  and the civil service are parroting after him. This is only in form but has no substance whatsoever. (you might have been following this during the current 
UMNO general assembly) in addition Rosmah has been going around the country to dish out goodies and deputizing her husband to announce policy, like a de facto cabinet minister.


One can't help but to response with cynicism when listening to these rhetoric and contradiction. With the strong primordial sentiment at work, each policy pronouncement regarding the 1 Malaysia has put the Malays on the defensive position while the other ethnic groups strengthening their hegemonies. In this way it fuels the centrifugal force, threatening to rupture the very viability of this 'nation', in my estimation. Sorry, I don't see Malaysia as a nation yet. 
It's just a state. 


So what is the option? It is going to be very very challenging one to alter the current course. For one thing, soon, within this generation, I imagine the Malays will feel the relative economic deprivation. In fact already feeling now. With the current crop of cronies gone; With the dwindling Malays students pursuing university education and in programs that have relatively low economic values; with the Chinese moving into the vernacular schools and dominating the private school and universities, the inter-ethnic social-economic gap will get wider. 


Najib's attempt to placate everyone to close the gap through a new Amanah Saham scheme has been received with a lot of skepticism and cynicism. There is a joke now that this is basically a fonzy scheme to pay the dividend for the other scheme in December.


To remain viable, we have to reeducate at the kindergarten level to restart as a nation along the class line if you will.


It is almost subuh. I have to go and Insyaallah I will write again if have other ideas. Have a fruitful day ahead.
Wassalam


Salleh k2

4 comments:

  1. THE ONLY WAY AHEAD FOR THE MALAYS ARE TO KICK OUT UMNO AND MAKE SURE THE CURRENT LEADERS IN UMNO BE MADE RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE AS TO WHY THE NATION IS LACKING BEHIND!!!

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  2. This blog was almost deserted last nite with only Anonymous manning the fort. All quiet on the frontline, everyone else seemed to take a sabbath this Friday, on the eve of a holiday, Deepavali day today. I must have been knocked out to sleep like a log the whole nite and woke up early today to say Happy Deepavali to all my Indian friends.

    Happy Deepavali friends.

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  3. When every race on earth have land they called their land, the Malays have one they cannot call their land but have to call it the land of all races when all races are not Malays and Malays are all races of one religion.

    This land is called Malaysia therefore all Malays have no right to claim this land as theirs unless they cede the lands of the Sabahans and Sarawakians like they have ceded the Land of the Lion to Singapurans.

    When now while in Malaysia, the Sabahans can call themselves Sabahans and Sarawakians can call themselves Sarawakians, why is that we of Malaya cannot call ourselves Malayans but have to call ourselves Malays, Chinese, and Indians.

    That is why we must call everyone of us as Malaysian, because people the world over know us by no other name but Malaysian.

    We are Malaysia, not 1 Malaysia and certainly not 2 Malaysia. Only, truly and just Malaysia.

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  4. Hi HH,
    Thanks for the article "carefree days in Kuantan" and Q&A of this article.It has brought back some memories of my school days in Kuantan. Initially I don't know what was meant by "SBAS", now I knew that its location was just a walking distance from my "house" in Alor Akar.

    I first read the the book, "The Malay Dilemma" when I was just 16 and was shocked to learn the many problems that the Malay faced as put forward by the book. In order to brush up my BM, I always bought and read the magazine,"Dewan Masyarakat". But unfortunately, all those same problems are still not yet solved and improved.

    In those days the teachers formed the backbone of the UMNO. All my Malay teachers in the schools were Umno members.

    The future challenge will be of how to create more JOBS as the numbers of graduates churned out from University/college each year are faster than the jobs creation's speed.

    I was approached by an UiTM student for a survey on 1Malaysia concept last week when dining in McDolnald Restaurant in Shah Alam. It was also a Q&A session...........................
    it seems at the end of the survey, my answers raised more questions for her.

    No easy solution.

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