An Email Response to An Ardent PKR Supporter/Ex-Student

Dear …….,

I do understand your feelings and most other people like you too harbor such feelings. I too feel very frustrated often.

But let us not whack the whole Malay race just because there are also Malays who vehemently oppose some of UMNO's policies and its Ibrahim Ali sort of survivalist racism.. Let us not ourselves become racists in the process in which case we would be no different from those people whom we are criticizing.  We should instead focus on issues and not just spew hatred for the whole Malay race. The following taken from your message to me is a case in point.

"The Malays have a very warped view of justice. Malays practise two standards of justice. There is one standard for the Malays and another for the non-Malays...."

You may qualify it by saying more generally as "some" or "certain Malays"........and not a sweeping "The Malays" as you have put it which means all and sundry.

The crux of whole problem may lie essentially in economics. You are now, like me,  also in your twilight years and old enough to remember what and how Malays were like especially in the kampongs in the 50's and 60's. Tamils were no better in the JKR quarters and rubber estates as were the Chinese in the new villages when we ALL got Merdeka.  

For your information and also if you are unaware, it was the British themselves who first initiated the basics of affirmative action to uplift the Malays whom they saw as the definitive race in this country. Even long before Merdeka, they had State and Federal minor scholarships for kampong Malay kids from Std 1 to Form V....they also started elite educational institutions for Malays like the MCKK....and also the Malay Civil Service, The Malay Regiment, Malay Reserve Land etc etc.

The Malays have started tasting more economic successes esp after the NEP and its highly unlikely that they will let it go....like a child that has come to like /addicted to the pacifier (that thing which babies suck - in Malay "punteng"). The UMNO linked Malays and their Chinese and Indian "parasite" cronies have been increasingly abusing the system to the tune of thousands, then millions and now billions and of late more people have become aware of these through the various scandals exposed. It takes a lot of patience and time to undo all of this .....this "rot" started in 1970's itself and that was 40 years ago..........so it will take even a longer time to rectify all the mess - especially the "mental" damage.

It is also to be remembered that the non-Malays too have directly or indirectly also benefited from the NEP. The grandchildren and children of the labor class Indians and New Village Chinese today too are having a far better life....let's not kid ourselves.

The over-correction of the economic imbalance by over-enthusiastic leaders such as TDM has now got to be reversed slowly. Around Merdeka and even up to the late 60’s, the Malayan civil service was controlled by the non-Malays and particularly “infested” with the Jaffna / Ceylon Tamils. They were everywhere  and  in every position from the top to the bottom.  Even hospitals, the railways, the ports etc was in non-Malay control and something to the tune of 90% non-Malays and 10% Malays (mostly drivers, jagas and ward attendants).  The only exception maybe the District Officers (DO's).  To correct this, the NEP was introduced in the aftermath of the May 13 incidents. During TDM's time the non-Malay prominence in such areas was completely reversed so that today it is the other way around with 90% Malays in the civil service - thus an apparent over-correction has taken place. A healthy 60% to 40% ratio would better reflect our Malaysian population mix of today....and this too has to come about slowly again.  This correction of the "over-correction" would be a step in the right direction which no political party seems to be fighting for.

So let us focus on key areas that have gone wrong that also involves all Malaysians. Many Malay politicians especially the UMNO variety have been known to have partaken in corruption from the top to the bottom of the Malaysian population and this alone is the MAJOR problem. But who bribes them or started bribing them in the first place?? The giver is as guilty. Two hands clap - not just one.  Till today those who perpetuate high level corruption are not solely the Malays.

The other major area that was badly affected is the quality of education quality with English down-graded to a lowly position and the sciences and religious study given undue prominence with the misconception that we will have a more morally upright and science oriented youth - again this has misfired with bigger social problems emerging. At best we may have been successful in making Malays dress and look more Arab than Malay.

So do some deep pondering on just the couple of major problems that I have highlighted......once these things are sorted out, the other problems will slowly disappear too, I believe.

Yours sincerely

Masterjee Joe