Syed Saddiq’s ‘hidden hand of the corporate market’

Di manakah "ketuanan" pada hari ini? Adakah Melayu betul-betul tuan di tanah air tercinta ini, atau adakah kita hanya sekadar "tuan" pada tanda nama, tetapi hakikatnya, semakin terpinggir dan diperhambakan tanpa sedar?
– Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman on Twitter

[What is the state of this “Malay entitlement” today? Are Malays truly lords in their beloved homeland or are we just “lords” in name but in reality, getting more marginalised and enslaved without realising it?]

Here are some other things that the Youth and Sports minister has said on Twitter –

“Namun, sebagai seorang anak muda yang tidak ingin melihat masa depan anak bangsa dibuai mimpi yang palsu, saya bertanggungjawab untuk berkongsi rasa sebelum maruah nasib bangsa saya terhakis perlahan-lahan.”

[However, as a young man who doesn’t wish to see Malay youths buoyed by false dreams, I take the responsibility of speaking up because the pride of my race is being slowly eroded.]

Mana perginya "Ketuanan" apabila 7 daripada 10 orang penagih dadah di Malaysia merupakan anak muda Melayu?

[Where is the “entitlement” when seven out of 10 drug addicts in Malaysia are Malay youths?]

Mana perginya "Ketuanan" apabila kontraktor-kontraktor Melayu sanggup berkiblatkan modal ali-baba untuk makan untung atas angin?

[Where is the “entitlement” if Malay contractors are guided by Ali Baba-style practices of making a profit without putting in any effort or investment?]

Mana perginya "Ketuanan" apabila individu Melayu hanya memiliki kurang dari 4% kekayaan di pasaran saham negara

[Where is the “entitlement” when Malay individuals own less than four percent of the stocks on the country’s bourse.]

Mana perginya "Ketuanan" jika 9.8 juta orang Melayu mempunyai pelaburan ASB kurang dari RM5 ribu sedangkan 500 ribu orang Melayu lain mengumpul 63% jumlah pelaburan ASB.

[Where is the “entitlement” if 9.8 million Malays have Amanah Saham Bumiputera investments worth less than RM5,000 whereas 500,000 other Malays are reaping 63 percent of ASB investments.]

Mana perginya "Ketuanan" apabila ramai anak muda Melayu memilih utk merempit sampai ke lewat malam sambil rakan-rakan bangsa lain gigih mengejar ilmu utk melakar masa depan yang lebih cerah? Tidak dinafikan,ada segilintir anak Melayu yg cemerlang,namun masih ramai yang terkandas

[Where is the “entitlement” where so many Malay youths choose to go drag racing late into the night while those of other races are diligently studying to carve out a brighter future for themselves? There’s no denying that there are a handful of bright Malay youths but many more are lost.]

Mana perginya "Ketuanan" apabila pemimpin Melayu yang dahulu disegani dan dihormati, kini dilihat terpalit dengan rasuah dan salah guna kuasa.

[Where is the “entitlement” when Malay leaders who were previously feared and respected, are now seen to be embroiled in corruption and abuse of power.]

Dari pekerja di kilang sampailah ke chef di restoran mewah, pekerja asing juga yang dicari, sambil bangsa kita masih menunggu dan mengharapkan tawaran kerja yang selesa berhawa dingin yang belum kunjung tiba.

[From factory workers to chefs in high-end restaurants, foreign workers are still sought to fill these roles while those of our race are still waiting and hoping for job offers in comfortable, air-conditioned workplaces.]

Memang indah untuk kita dibuai mimpi "Ketuanan", tetapi realitinya ternyata berbeza. Memang popular apabila kita laungkan "Hidup Melayu", tetapi laungan itu kosong apabila berpijak di bumi yang nyata

[Clearly we are being buoyed by “entitlement” dreams but the reality is clearly different. Slogans like “Long Live the Malays” are popular but it is empty on the ground.

And my favourite:

Sambil kita menjulang keris dengan bangganya, perlahan-lahan kita sedang menghunusnya ke hati kita sendiri tanpa kita sedari.

[While we raise the keris with pride, slowly we are raising it to our own hearts without realising it.]

Hasn’t the old maverick said some of these things before, while he was in Umno? Yes, he has. I give kudos to Syed for articulating these things because at least (even with the backtracking), this is what a youth leader should be doing. And if these are the kinds of ideas transmitted during the revamped national service and Biro Tata Negara courses, then perhaps there is some value to these programmes.

What the youth and sports minister has done is merely articulate what has been brewing beneath the surface of right-wing types for decades, which is that the failed policies of mainstream Malay politics have damned the community in more ways than one.

Do you think that only leftist/liberal Malay types think this way? Nearly every Umno political operative I have spoken to, has at one time or another, acknowledged that this “Ketuanan” policy is a failing policy. It may be a winning strategy but the economic and social data speak for themselves. Of course, there is a concerted effort to hide those facts but really, any rational political operative will tell you that these race-based policies are failing the country.

Of course, even saying what he said, Syed Saddiq has to make it clear that the bumiputera policy will not end. That these so-called Malay rights as “enshrined in the Constitution” will be looked after by the potentates of Bersatu, the mandarins of the DAP and by the reformers of PKR. There really is no need for the Bersatu big guns to say that Syed Saddiq’s words were misinterpreted because anyone reading it understands that he left no room for misinterpretation.

While there is no room for misinterpretation, this is mainstream politics, so there is always room for backpedaling, which young Syed Saddiq has demonstrated that he is more than capable of doing. The more interesting question posed by Syed Saddiq and which has not gained much traction in the national discourse is Syed's contention of the hidden hands of the corporate market:

“If you look at studies by UM and UKM, Malay applicants who graduated in engineering are three times less likely to land a job when compared to his or her peers. So this must be a comprehensive [agenda] allowing equal and equitable access in opportunities.

“It is easy to say that people are hired on merit but what underlies a merit is a system of discrimination. This doesn’t just happen here, but also in other countries. It is a subconscious discrimination and a hidden hand of the corporate market.”

This, of course, is the counter-narrative of the “ketuanan” ideology. The narrative that the Chinese-dominated corporate market is discriminatory against the Malay polity. Or if you prefer, the sub-narrative that the discrimination is a reaction against the “ketuanan” ideology. Some could argue that the very reason there is this so-called discrimination is because of the issues raised in Syed Saddiq’s tweets but, as usual, any discussion on this blows away the façade of this bangsa Malaysia Kool-Aid. Which is a good thing.

You have to ask yourself: why is the majority discriminated against in the corporate sector – if this is really the case. Of course, there is discrimination in the corporate sector. Why wouldn't there be – in a country which does not address questions of race and gender but instead hides behind racial and religious politics, or the bangsa Malaysia Kool-aid, which is a form of racial and religious politics.

Remember that study about hiring practices that caused a storm a couple of years ago by Lee Hwok Aun and Muhammad Abdul Khalid (photo)?

Well, imagine if Harapan was really interested in exploring this question instead of hiding behind these stupid ideas of race and religion? By the way, Muhamad Abdul Khalid is now an economic adviser to the prime minister. So, anytime he wants to contribute to what Syed Saddiq said and inform the rakyat of how the current regime intends to tackle such issues, now is a good a time as any.

However, as usual, nothing will come out of this. I doubt there will be any serious movement to enact anti-discrimination laws in Malaysia and if the current regime will address any form of discrimination beyond the uttering of pablums that would satisfy the base. Nobody is interested in taking these issues on even though with the changing demographic, this country will have a reckoning when it comes to its racial politics.

But as long as Najib and Umno continue to provide the bread, the Harapan regime will carry on with the circus.
 

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.- Mkini