Malaysia can learn much from India’s success

 

With India celebrating its 78th year of independence today and Malaysia due to celebrate her 67th at the end of this month, I thought it a good opportunity to write about my observations of India.

Readers of my column will know that I was born in Thopputhurai, India, but moved to Malaya at the age of five. I did my schooling in Johor Bahru, but went back to India for a college education, before going to London to read law. Following that, I returned to Malaysia to practice law and later serve on the bench.

India secured its independence from the clutches of British parasitic rule in 1947. A country rich in resources, it was left poverty-stricken by its colonial masters.

However, the British and Christian missionaries gave India a strong educational footing in the English language, and in science and mathematics. Over the years, the country has built on these well to lead it to its current success.

In every part of the country a framework of the best schools and universities was established with the support of the missionaries and Indian philanthropists from across all religions. These institutions were modelled on the ancient Gurukulam concept and the best of the country’s ethical traditions.

They were led by dedicated teachers in the style of gurus and mahagurus. Imbued with unrivalled passion and patriotism, these teachers’ sole focus was to train students to achieve their highest potential.

Such dedication among teachers was also prevalent in Malaysia both before and in the early post-Merdeka years.

Indeed, I was fortunate to have benefited from their diligence as a student of Saint Joseph School in Johor Bahru. I instantly recognised that same sort of dedication when doing my pre-University certificate at Jamal Mohamed College in Tiruchy, Tamilnadu.

In fact, many Malaysian students of all races and religions benefited from the Jamal Mohamed Charitable Educational Trust, going on to become doctors and specialists in many fields.

The philanthropists and public in India have always accepted that education is not solely the government’s responsibility. The rich and the community as a whole take it upon themselves to contribute the best they can.

This, to me, is one of the reasons for India’s academic excellence and how it has led to nation-building. In contrast, charitable education foundations are rare here.

It is indisputable that India has built one of the best education systems in the fields of science and mathematics, two areas for which the country appears to have been genetically endowed with expertise since time immemorial. Their excellence has led to great international achievements in the field of medicine, information technology, and even rocket science.

However, the same cannot be said about its administration of justice.

Although India prides itself with having some top judicial minds who have created and developed a huge body of law, much of which is applied even in this country, the poor administration of its legal system is reflected in the backlog of cases, which media reports claim has resulted in delays of up to 30 years. India’s judicial tragedy on backlogs can be wiped out if it adopts the university cum court annexed arbitration.

In my view, the British methodology of separating science from arts students based on grading made the top-performing Indian students enrol in science and maths courses, pushing the less talented into arts and the law. This, I believe, has led to a non-progressive judicial system in contrast to achievements in the field of science.

That has by and large been the way it has been in Malaysia as well.

Today, the problem here is compounded by a declining interest among secondary school students in the fields of science and maths. This has resulted in an inability within the legal industry to effectively present and adjudicate on cases, and a lack of attention to detail in the legal industry all around.

In my view, the stakeholders of justice here must push to make a science-related degree a prerequisite to entering law school or legal practice. This will ensure that the legal industry is populated with robust personalities, rather than those who build careers merely on spouting rhetoric and pushing for delays.

We must salute the British for giving both India and Malaysia the rule of law as well as a jurisprudence of international stature and recognition. However, their aristocratic rules and procedures disabled the Indian legal industry from administering justice expeditiously.

This was unlike that country’s traditional Panchayat form of justice which did not require interference from the crown for the appointment of judges, was cost effective, and on which my own affordable arbitration model has been based.

In my experience as an advocate, clients were hardly ever interested in knowing the grounds of judgment, especially for civil cases. They were only focused on its outcome. Thus, removing the existing litigation model and replacing it with affordable arbitration will strengthen the administration of justice.

Admirably the British left both India and Malaysia with a well-trained, qualified and dedicated civil service. That dedication was clear to see in both countries in the early years.

In India, civil servants worked hard in congested workplaces and without the luxury of air-conditioning. Their economic utilisation of manpower and resources has been nothing short of amazing.

It was much the same here, but over the years, politicians interfered with and destroyed the pride the civil service had in being able to run the administrative governance of the country.

It is also my observation that, both in the government and private sectors in India, including in educational institutions, superiors monitored the performance of juniors closely. No one would be allowed to get away with working two hours while drawing an eight-hour day salary. That work culture has been critical to India’s economic success.

Although the British left India a poverty-stricken state, they left the country with democratically elected leaders of statesman stature.

Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and many others focused on social and religious harmony anchored on social justice. They did not see the need to clamp down on freedom of speech and assembly simply to ensure the government’s political survival.

Instead, they focused on improving agriculture to wipe out famine, and concentrated on infrastructure development for economic growth.

They also introduced a strict 

Be Indian, Buy Indian

 policy to ensure foreigners do not gain a foothold in the Indian market. Currency controls also made it impossible for currency flow out of the country.

In addition, they also propagated birth control initiatives so that poor families could aspire to a better quality of life despite their limited resources, while administrative officers were able to earn a sufficient income to sustain their family without need to resort to gifts from the public.

In my view, the real breakthrough came when Manmohan Singh, an economics professor from Oxford University was named finance minister, and later, prime minister of India.

He opened the doors to foreign investors and made all Indians and those of Indian origin proud of their heritage comprising intellectual honesty, integrity and academic excellence.

Corrupt practices and abuses of power were never part of his agenda. Despite his heavyweight academic qualifications, he led a simple and respected life.

Malaysia was on track to follow a similar path.

Sadly, the dissolution of Umno and the sacking of then Lord President Salleh Abas in the late 1980s paved the way for our leaders to venture into abuses of power, money politics and corrupt practices. We were also content to rest on our laurels and sought refuge in Article 153.

To me, India’s key to success has been the appointment of its various prime ministers by the respective political parties, and with the support of the public.

In Malaysia that key has been vested by the framers of the Federal Constitution in the hands of the Malay rulers. It is left to them to right the wrongs of the past 36 years or so.

Ultimately, the government and all stakeholders of justice must appreciate that Merdeka is meant to promote fundamental liberties and eradicate intellectual poverty and abuse of power. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.