A REVISIT of a two-year-old LinkedIn viewpoint by former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) deputy governor Sukudhew (Sukhdave) Singh has gotten political commentator Prof James Chin dreading what the future hold for the non-Malay communities when their contributions have rarely been appreciated by most of the Malay majority.
The said prose entitled “When There Are Few Chinese and Indians Left in Malaysia” which sparked wide debate between leftist groups and the rightist fraternity when it first saw the daylight in January 2024 has a re-run-in socio-political portal The Coverage yesterday (April 19) presumably due to its relevancy.
Staring somehow at a state of hopelessness, the inaugural director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania concurred with Sukudhew who was also sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s former independent director.
His chief point of contention is that non-Malay political leaders and parties have failed miserably to themselves convince their Malay counterparts to at least acknowledge that the Malaysian economy is where it is today because of the contribution of Chinese and Indian forefathers.
It could be that non-Malay politicians are themselves closing one eye for their own political longevity rather than perhaps tell their Malay counterparts to stop playing the ketuanan Melayu card or even try to school them that the Malaysian economy thrives on three wheels – that of the Malays, Chinese and Indians.
It takes two to tango
“The future of the Chinese and Indian communities in Malaysia (applies to non-Muslim natives in Sabah/Sarawak as well). Written by an insider,” he penned on his Facebook post with a sigh of lament.
“I have nothing to add other than to be totally pessimistic for the future of the non-Malays in Malaysia. Yet, all of today’s Malay leaders and non-Malay political leaders are totally okay with this scenario.
“I kid you not, all the non-Malay elected YBs (MPs and state assemblymen) are okay with this scenario because they think they cannot push back against Malay hegemony. Even The Rocket (DAP) is playing along, they just want to slow the process down….”
Interestingly, Chin’s bleak future view of Malay hegemony being a permanent feature while non-Malay leaders dare not push back to protect their own political interests attracted the eyeballs of former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim who reckoned that the situation would improve over time as part of a nation building process.
“Calm down, James! We are a young nation. We need perhaps another hundred years to get our bearings,” quipped the opposition-slant UMNO member.
Our common enemy is not hegemony or some racial superiority etched in history; it’s ignorance from many quarters of the most fundamental precepts.
About what a nation means to its people and what citizenship means. The ignorance about the fundamental constitutional concepts is widespread even in the universities.
After all, to echo the Sarawak-born Chin who is also the senior associate at the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), non-Malay politicians are partially to be blamed for their muted role.
Policies that have hegemonic elements are not the sole creation of the Malays but are supported and supplemented by weak and spineless non-Malay leaders who are unwilling to stand up for all Malaysians.
Hegemony, if that’s what appears to be reflected in our political ethos, is the result of political leaders looking for an easy way out. They don’t want to deal with so-called sensitive issues. But this is the first manifestation of hegemony.
Nation-building is not easy. It requires great courage and patience. – Focus Malaysia
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