The Global Malay
Published on April 29, 2002
By Raslam Karim
The Malay world vision has narrowed drastically in the past five years.
Parochial and pedantic thinking in the corridors of power will destroy the Malaysia we know and love. Why?
Firstly, the country is multi-racial. As such the Malays – who are politically dominant, have to maintain their ability to talk across the religious divide. Consensus-building is an important part of nation’s success.
Secondly, the nation’s trade is far larger than our GDP. As such the prosperity we see around us depends on an export-driven economy. In short, we cannot maintain our livelihood – the Protons, the bungalows and the holidays in Medan and Hong Kong - unless we look outwards. Our horizons have to be global.
However, PAS’ growing might has resulted in the heightening of religious issues. As such the political debate has focused almost entirely on the battle for moral legitimacy and supremacy, shifting the attention inwards rather than outwards.
In many ways this is understandable. PAS, as a party led by ullamas has concentrated on their core strength: Islam. They have attacked UMNO at the ruling party’s weakest point – its perceived lack of religious credentials.
However, in their haste to denounce the government at every turn, PAS has neglected to present credible economic or diplomatic policy initiatives, failing in essence to address the challenges of modernity.
Malaysians and especially the Malay community are in danger of becoming obsessed with microscopic issues of ritual and doctrine, to the exclusion of all else. Piety is all important.
Only last week, one friend described the present Malay predicament neatly.
He told me about two highly-educated Malay colleagues who were obsessed with the issue of the appropriate garb for women. He said that these two young men spent hours debating this subject adding that ‘they seemed to have no interest in other, more worldly issues’.
This ‘closed’ mentality has had a disastrous impact on our public life. The nation’s newspapers are engrossed by bizarre ideas like public flogging.
Moral crusades against incest and homosexuality predominate as serious national issues are sidelined and ignored.
Meanwhile, the Malay agenda – the uplifting of the Malay community through education, improved health-care and public services - has been forgotten. We spend our time praising the Bumiputra tycoons and ignoring the real heroes in society, the care-givers – the underpaid nurses and the over-worked teachers.
Amidst the hype, young Malay males - for example, are being left behind.
They are less well-educated and therefore more likely to end up unemployed and frustrated. In a twist of social-Darwinism the ‘chosen of the chosen’ are being eclipsed by their sisters and their girl-friends. Interestingly (and worryingly) it’s the same under-performing Malay males who then take up positions of influence and authority later in life.
No one seems to be willing to ask why our education system is failing such a large (and potentially troublesome) chunk of the population. Why are employers less inclined to hire young Malay males? Why are we failing to create a cadre of globalised Malays? Could it be that their inability to speak English and or Chinese makes them less attractive and unprofitable workers? Alternatively, can the government absorb the surplus? Are we sitting on a time-bomb?
Similarly, last week when China’s Vice President Hu Jintao and heir-apparent visited Kuala Lumpur most Malaysians just yawned: the KLSE Index was more important for them. Very few Malaysians (and Malays in particular) realize the extent to which our export-driven prosperity is threatened by China’s gargantuan economy. If we are not careful our puny industries will be overwhelmed.
There is no one, easy solution for the two challenges I’ve outlined. However there is an underlying theme – that of openness. We cannot address the country’s weaknesses, domestically and internationally unless and until we try to create a truly global agenda for the Malay community. This in turn will help strengthen racial understanding as well as an all-encompassing Malaysian identity.
Firstly, the Malay community has got to wake up. Whilst faith is vital, religious practices do not prevent us from addressing the challenges of everyday life. Economics and business are going to have to be the drivers of this re-tooling of the Malay mindset.
The engagement with China is a good illustration of what I mean by ‘re-tooling’. We have to learn about the world’s most populous nation and create niches for ourselves in tourism, educational services, agriculture and natural resources.
We will need a vast pool of Mandarin-speaking Malaysians in order to achieve this goal. We can of course turn to the Malaysian Chinese community and task them with the interaction. But that is not a sensible long-term solution.
Instead, the Malay community must also get involved in what is potentially the world’s largest marketplace. The Malays must be equipped to handle the relationship head-on, globalising their mindset.
This brings me back to the disturbing educational record of Malay males.
Frankly, our national education system does not encourage the Malay community to be sufficiently open to other cultures and languages. This resistance to external ideas and influences is prejudicial to the community’s employment prospects and long-term future. If it isn’t halted now the exclusivity and isolationism will only worsen.
In order to create ‘global’ Malays we need a dynamic, forward-looking student body. Creativity, independent thinking and risk-taking must be encouraged. Diversity (racial and religious) has to be underlined.
All students (irrespective of race) must become trilingual. Language proficiency in English, Malay and Chinese has to become a minimum requirement in the national education system. Moreover the cultures and philosophies underpinning the respective languages must also be taught.
Muslims must learn about Christianity, Buddhism and Confucianism and vice versa. How else to foster religious understanding?
Young Malay males must be trained to succeed in whatever careers they want, wherever they want (including China, Europe and North America). The ‘global’ Malay and the truly Malaysian identity is only a step away. Are we open to change?
By Raslam Karim
The Malay world vision has narrowed drastically in the past five years.
Parochial and pedantic thinking in the corridors of power will destroy the Malaysia we know and love. Why?
Firstly, the country is multi-racial. As such the Malays – who are politically dominant, have to maintain their ability to talk across the religious divide. Consensus-building is an important part of nation’s success.
Secondly, the nation’s trade is far larger than our GDP. As such the prosperity we see around us depends on an export-driven economy. In short, we cannot maintain our livelihood – the Protons, the bungalows and the holidays in Medan and Hong Kong - unless we look outwards. Our horizons have to be global.
However, PAS’ growing might has resulted in the heightening of religious issues. As such the political debate has focused almost entirely on the battle for moral legitimacy and supremacy, shifting the attention inwards rather than outwards.
In many ways this is understandable. PAS, as a party led by ullamas has concentrated on their core strength: Islam. They have attacked UMNO at the ruling party’s weakest point – its perceived lack of religious credentials.
However, in their haste to denounce the government at every turn, PAS has neglected to present credible economic or diplomatic policy initiatives, failing in essence to address the challenges of modernity.
Malaysians and especially the Malay community are in danger of becoming obsessed with microscopic issues of ritual and doctrine, to the exclusion of all else. Piety is all important.
Only last week, one friend described the present Malay predicament neatly.
He told me about two highly-educated Malay colleagues who were obsessed with the issue of the appropriate garb for women. He said that these two young men spent hours debating this subject adding that ‘they seemed to have no interest in other, more worldly issues’.
This ‘closed’ mentality has had a disastrous impact on our public life. The nation’s newspapers are engrossed by bizarre ideas like public flogging.
Moral crusades against incest and homosexuality predominate as serious national issues are sidelined and ignored.
Meanwhile, the Malay agenda – the uplifting of the Malay community through education, improved health-care and public services - has been forgotten. We spend our time praising the Bumiputra tycoons and ignoring the real heroes in society, the care-givers – the underpaid nurses and the over-worked teachers.
Amidst the hype, young Malay males - for example, are being left behind.
They are less well-educated and therefore more likely to end up unemployed and frustrated. In a twist of social-Darwinism the ‘chosen of the chosen’ are being eclipsed by their sisters and their girl-friends. Interestingly (and worryingly) it’s the same under-performing Malay males who then take up positions of influence and authority later in life.
No one seems to be willing to ask why our education system is failing such a large (and potentially troublesome) chunk of the population. Why are employers less inclined to hire young Malay males? Why are we failing to create a cadre of globalised Malays? Could it be that their inability to speak English and or Chinese makes them less attractive and unprofitable workers? Alternatively, can the government absorb the surplus? Are we sitting on a time-bomb?
Similarly, last week when China’s Vice President Hu Jintao and heir-apparent visited Kuala Lumpur most Malaysians just yawned: the KLSE Index was more important for them. Very few Malaysians (and Malays in particular) realize the extent to which our export-driven prosperity is threatened by China’s gargantuan economy. If we are not careful our puny industries will be overwhelmed.
There is no one, easy solution for the two challenges I’ve outlined. However there is an underlying theme – that of openness. We cannot address the country’s weaknesses, domestically and internationally unless and until we try to create a truly global agenda for the Malay community. This in turn will help strengthen racial understanding as well as an all-encompassing Malaysian identity.
Firstly, the Malay community has got to wake up. Whilst faith is vital, religious practices do not prevent us from addressing the challenges of everyday life. Economics and business are going to have to be the drivers of this re-tooling of the Malay mindset.
The engagement with China is a good illustration of what I mean by ‘re-tooling’. We have to learn about the world’s most populous nation and create niches for ourselves in tourism, educational services, agriculture and natural resources.
We will need a vast pool of Mandarin-speaking Malaysians in order to achieve this goal. We can of course turn to the Malaysian Chinese community and task them with the interaction. But that is not a sensible long-term solution.
Instead, the Malay community must also get involved in what is potentially the world’s largest marketplace. The Malays must be equipped to handle the relationship head-on, globalising their mindset.
This brings me back to the disturbing educational record of Malay males.
Frankly, our national education system does not encourage the Malay community to be sufficiently open to other cultures and languages. This resistance to external ideas and influences is prejudicial to the community’s employment prospects and long-term future. If it isn’t halted now the exclusivity and isolationism will only worsen.
In order to create ‘global’ Malays we need a dynamic, forward-looking student body. Creativity, independent thinking and risk-taking must be encouraged. Diversity (racial and religious) has to be underlined.
All students (irrespective of race) must become trilingual. Language proficiency in English, Malay and Chinese has to become a minimum requirement in the national education system. Moreover the cultures and philosophies underpinning the respective languages must also be taught.
Muslims must learn about Christianity, Buddhism and Confucianism and vice versa. How else to foster religious understanding?
Young Malay males must be trained to succeed in whatever careers they want, wherever they want (including China, Europe and North America). The ‘global’ Malay and the truly Malaysian identity is only a step away. Are we open to change?
posted by Othman Awang at 9:48 AM
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