Keris

One of the issues that has grabbed the headlines recently (following the UMNO AGM) is the case that has been put forward by various UMNO politicians regarding the NEP i.e. it should be continued based on the fact that the Malays still hold a small minority of the economic pie in this country. The statement was punctuated by images of a politician brandishing a keris and stating that ‘our rights will not be taken away from us!’.

Let’s ignore the obvious political stunt and address this issue pragmatically.

The current statistics used to indicate the impoverished state of the Malays does not include the government-linked companies that run most of the show in this country. So, these figures do not include most of the players in the banking industry, for example. It does not include PNB, an institution that receives RM2 billion each year for the sole purpose of developing the bumiputra nor does it include assets owned by Khazanah Nasional.

This would indicate that the economic situation might not be as imbalanced between the various ethic races as one might be led to believe, no? It would, at the very least warrant a more than cursory acceptance of the fact that ‘yes, the Chinese are taking over our economy and we’ll be ass-fucked!’.

One of the main problems is the fact that although many GLCs seem to have a monopoly in their fields, or have the mechanism in place to help propagate them, their revenues and profit levels fall far from the desired levels, especially when compared to companies managed by non-Malays. Compare Maxis, YTL or IOI and then look at the debacle of Halim Saad or the recurring losses endured by MAS. Why does this happen? And what punishment is meted out to the folks who misuse millions of the taxpayers money?

Why are AP permits (which are supposed to help the bumiputra get a up the economic ladder) being issued to members of the royal family? Heck, why do we spend millions on these royal families who does not seem to perform a function other than to evade tax and live a life of filthy splendour? Why do malay kids who have parents who can afford to buy real estate worth millions still get a scholarship? And why does someone from e.g. MCKK gets a scholarship despite mediocre SPM results, and even more mediocre university results wherelse an Indian kid would be literally jumping for joy if he was given a place in a local university, let alone someplace across the ocean? Or the scholar who gives up medicine after 5 years just because he doesn’t feel like working when there are literally thousands who would bleed to be in his place.

Is it any wonder that certain sectors of the population beg for a different version of justice?

It’s the easy way out to play the blame game and accuse a particular ethic group of depriving us of what we perceive to be inherently ours. And in the feudalistic mindset of most Malaysians, generations of indoctrination would inevitably lead to us being blind of the fact that the individuals who brandish the keris in our ‘defence’ are the very ones who are the biggest threats to our way of life. I’ve heard so many advise me to be less liberal in my opinions – ‘Jangan cakap macam tu, nanti bangsa kita akan ditindas olen bangsa lain’ – but in this day and age, I’m more worried about the ‘musuh di dalam selimut’.

It’s not the Chinese or the Indians or the Jews who are keeping the Malay population in abject poverty. It’s the small number of individuals who are ensuring that public policies are kept in the manner that their supporters hear what they want to hear and that the rewards meant for a population is reaped by a select few. With this system in place, is there any wonder that decades of positive discriminative policies has yielded so little in overall results? And if something is broke, is it not our duty to fix it?

I put it forward yet again that the NEP is a brilliant idea when conceived, but in this day and age, it should be amended in order that its principles are guided by economic disparity per se, as opposed to racial lines. I don’t expect many to agree with me, but this subject is one that deserves to be thought about in a critical, objective manner.

Oh, and by the way, thanks to CT and Elly for the wonderful teatime snacks (karipap and brownies!).