Tell Malay success stories, stop harping on victimhood

 Politicians must rise above their insecurities and negative narratives to unite the people and retain talent in the country.

From Minderjeet Kaur

Like many other Malaysians of minority communities, I grew up listening to political rhetoric about Malays needing government aid and for their special rights to be upheld or risk their falling behind.

Over the decades, the call for Malays to continuously be supported has not changed.

From a young age, I wondered, are Malays not capable? Do they need crutches to survive? This narrative, repeated so often by politicians across the divide, made it appear that the majority population of this country was inherently weak or unable to succeed on their own merit.

But reality told a different story.

I studied at a convent school in Ipoh. Many of the top performers were Malay students: they were hardworking, disciplined and driven to be at the top of the class.

I remember Malay schoolmates who went on to become doctors and excelled in science and mathematics. They did not have the victim mindset. They were determined individuals.

Many Chinese and Indian SPM-leavers who were not top-performers never demanded government support to make a living: they believed they had other opportunities at hand.

Because they knew they had no government assistance, my classmates told me they believed they could try their hand in entrepreneurship – except for one or two of my classmates who said they would marry a rich man if they failed the SPM examination.

Ever since I entered journalism, I have heard people, mostly politicians, expound on the same theme: that Malays need help and that the other communities are a threat. It became a convenient excuse for policies that consolidated power, divided communities and silenced criticism.

The damage caused by the oft-repeated trope of “vulnerable Malays” versus “overachieving Chinese” is profound; when politicians keep telling a community that they are victims or that other ethnicities are a threat, the community begins to believe it: they start to look at every success by others as a threat; they become suspicious and defensive.

Worst of all, they stop believing in their own ability to succeed independently.

Could this mindset of victimhood be stifling their innovation and ambition? Could they be feeling that there is no need to strive and compete as help will always be extended to them by the government? That there’s no reason to take risks when failure will be cushioned by entitlement?

Such thinking distorts policymaking as the government begins creating race-based solutions.

If this myth is not removed, Malaysia will continue to bleed talent. Our best and brightest, regardless of race, will go elsewhere, to places where they can shine on merit and with fairness.

The government recently announced that Malaysia is facing a critical brain drain with 1.86 million Malaysians – about 5.6% of the population having left the country in the past five decades. The proportion is higher than the global average of 3.6%.

The divisions will deepen, the economic gaps will widen and we will become a nation trapped in a 20th century mindset in the era of artificial intelligence.

I have so many Malay colleagues in the media business who are hardworking and who go beyond thinking out of the box to write good reports and articles. I have met Malay professionals from other industries who are equally capable of taking on anyone.

Such success stories – of entrepreneurs, scholars, artists, athletes, and everyday heroes – are what politicians should highlight, instead of mythical threats. Show proof of Malay capability. Let them be the role models.

It is telling that a vice-president of one of Malaysia’s largest Malay parties has said they should no longer rely on issues of race and religion to gather support. Last August, Khaled Nordin said the party should focus on “elevating the knowledge, skills and competitiveness of the Malay community”.

Maybe it’s time for a mindset change, to complement what Khaled wants, and time to discard a myth of victimhood that serves no one but the insecure politician.

It’s time to remind politicians that they must rise beyond themselves, to unite the people and to retain talent in the country. - FMT

Minderjeet Kaur is an FMT journalist.

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