There is a non-profit organization in Malaysia called the Perdana Leadership Foundation which was set up to be the leading institution for the study of Malaysia’s prime ministers.
Every former prime minister has a page on the foundation website and there is a quotation attributed to the late Hussein Onn on his page which reads as follows: “Our successes have been founded on moderation. In a multiracial country, moderation requires strong disciplines. It demands sacrifices by all communities in the overall interest of the nation. It requires us to seek solutions which are acceptable to all communities rather than to any particular community.”
The nation’s Father of Unity believed in a very important fact – that the nation’s success was dependent upon policies that suited all communities. He subscribed to the fact that the overall interest of the nation was more important than any particular community.
In a speech he delivered as Umno president during the party’s 32nd general assembly on 26 June 1981, Hussein told Umno members that: “We inherited a multi-racial nation. Umno, as the most important party in our multi-racial nation has to give attention to the problems of all citizens. This fact has always been acknowledged by Umno and it is with this understanding that Umno has been fair towards all races. In fighting for the welfare of the bumiputera race, we do not ignore the interests of the other races. What we seek is the opportunity to progress with the other races.”
Due to poor health, Hussein passed away on 29 May 1990 at the age of 68.
One wonders whether the Father of Unity was listening from above when his successor Mahathir Mohamad delivered a speech at the Tun Hussein Onn Memorial on 1 February 2011.
In his speech, Mahathir said that “This country belongs to the Malay race.”
He told his audience at the talk on “The Malay race and the future” that “We must be sincere and accept that the country is Tanah Melayu.”
Mahathir went on to say that the former Philippine President Aquino is Chinese but she identified herself as Filipino and Thaksin Shinawatra is Chinese but he speaks the Thai language and lives the Thai culture.
According to Mahathir, things are different in Malaysia because “we still introduce ourselves according to race” and “this is why the question of race will continue to haunt us.”
Apart from conveniently ignoring the fact that a Chinese had no problem becoming president and prime minister of the Philippines and Thailand respectively, Mahathir’s comments were an insult to the memory of Hussein Onn. To add salt to salt to the wound, his comments were made at the Tun Hussein Onn Memorial.
Do we really introduce ourselves according to race?
Maybe up there in Mahathir land people go about introducing themselves by saying with a smile “Hello Mahathir, my name is Mammooty and I’m Indian Malaysian, originally from Kerala. How are you?”
I don’t know. Maybe that’s because Mammooty carelessly assumes that Mahathir is from Kerala. But down here where the rest of us live, race does not form part of a casual introduction.
In fact, it does not even form part of a formal introduction. No one says “We now invite Nazri to say a few words. He is Malay. A round of applause please.”
When Malaysians are overseas, they introduce themselves as Malaysians. Not Indians or Chinese.
The question of race is, however. present in other places.
Think scholarships, there is race in the mix. Think government contracts, there is race as a factor.
Fancy a discount on a new apartment? What race are you?
The majority of political parties in this country exist to further the interests of the particular races.
This is why the question of race continues to haunt us. It would not be the case if, for example, one thinks about scholarships and the only thing in the mix is the question of need.
It would not be the case if, for example, retired politicians stick to charitable causes and quit reminding a particular race that they are different from the others.
While Hussein spoke about “progressing with other races”, Mahathir speaks about the Malays needing crutches and having to be fearful of other races.
One spoke in 1981, and the other speaks in 2011.
One was a visionary, and the other a living relic.
The facts today are these.
Lee Chong Wei is the world’s number one badminton player. Tony Fernandes is the 2010 Forbes Asia’s Businessman of the Year and Zeti Akhtar Aziz is among the world’s top seven best central bankers for 2010. They have one thing in common. They are all Malaysians.
And they are a testament to the fact that the secret of our various successes lies in our multiculturalism.
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