The fallacy of Malay supremacy

Mariam Mokhtar

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was good at feeding the egos of the ordinary Malays. He sold them a carefully crafted image, in which the Malays were supreme, that they were the sons of the soil and therefore deserved to have the first bite of the cherry. This fairytale story was in sharp contrast to the sad reality of the life of the ordinary Malays, most of whom lead a troubled existence.

Recently, Mahathir said that the “Chinese are rich, and many Indians are doctors and lawyers”; but if one were to ask any Malaysian to describe the Malay, the response would be, “which Malay?”

MahathirThere are two types of Malays. Most of the ordinary Malay rakyat live a downtrodden life, but the Malay who is connected to the ruling Umno-Baru elite is virtually untouchable. He is untouchable because he will not be punished for any crime he may commit, including misusing his power, or misappropriating millions of ringgits of the taxpayers’ money.

When the wheels of justice and law enforcement are not allowed to operate properly, people, especially the Malays give up hope and then opt for hudud. They are betrayed by a system which should punish wrongdoers but instead, allows them to roam scot-free. They have the mistaken belief that hudud is sanctioned by the religion, so no Malay would dare abuse it. How wrong they are!

The remarks Mahathir made were in response to the comments by US President Barack Obama that the country would not prosper if minority communities continued to be marginalised.

Mahathir’s response was, “In Malaysia, despite our policies, do you see the Chinese poor? The Indians are professionals, they are lawyers and doctors.”

Mahathir said that the non-Malays had ample opportunities to build their wealth and become successful. He also defended the pro-Bumiputera policies, championed by Umno-Baru and the BN coalition, which he was instrumental in implementing.

He neglected to say that he built a class of people who were super rich and that under his rule, the rich became richer, whilst the poor became poorer.

The Mahathir clan and friends have built empires from Malaysia’s vast wealth and on the sweat and toil of the Malaysian rakyat. Mahathir created inequalities in society.

Mahathir gave the Malays preferential treatment in housing, the civil service, the armed forces, jobs and access to government tenders and funding; but he failed to restrict the ultra-rich from accessing the same opportunities.

People who deserved to receive help, like the poor Malays, found themselves in direct competition with the richer Malays for the same opportunities. Mahathir’s system was flawed, but he is too proud to admit it.

A rich Malay child with access to good schools and nutrition would fare better than a poorer Malay child. With better grades and a confident air, the rich child would gain scholarships and places at university.

An ordinary Malay family who would like good affordable housing finds a shortage of homes to purchase, because most have been snapped up by richer Malays. He cannot afford the multi-million-ringgit homes.

The Malays are struggling with money problems and they also have an image crisis. They see the Malay elite luxuriate in a life of excess and they dream of emulating them.

One might tell the ordinary Malay that the lavish lifestyle of the über-rich Malay has been funded by corruption. You would expect him to respond in shock, but instead his response is; “Tak pe. Itu orang kita juga.” (“It is all right. They are one of us.”).

Education has, to some extent, helped uplift the lives of many ordinary Malays, but groups within their communities impede their progress and the desire to improve themselves. For example, these detractors say that speaking languages other than Malay is not patriotic. The ordinary Malay allows himself to be convinced by this fallacy and when he enters the employment market, finds few opportunities available. He has become the unwitting victim of another Malay syndrome, which is the crab mentality.

When things get on top of him and he is unable to cope, the ordinary Malay turns to his religion and leaves his future in God’s hands. He could be cheated out of money, or his inheritance, but he will say, “It is God’s will”, “It is fated” or “God will punish the wrongdoer in Hell.”

Instead of putting things right, the Malay leaves it to a “higher being” to resolve his issues, when he should be doing something positive to get him out of his predicament. It is a way of absolving himself of any responsibility.

Perhaps, he is unable to cope, but his proud ego means that he will not seek help from others, especially from non-Muslims or non-Malays. That is why the Malay appears to have a fixation with the after-life, to non-Malays and non-Muslims. Sadly, this is how the life of the ordinary Malays spirals out of control. Many have turned to drugs to escape the realities of life.

Ordinary Malays must stop the influence of extremist groups, leaders and clerics from undermining them and their children.

Malaysia was built by the blood, sweat and toil of different waves of immigrants, including the Malays themselves. The different communities need to work together to overpower the demons of Mahathir and extremist groups.