Remember the story of Rip Van Winkle, who fell asleep for 100 years and woke up to find that there had been some very big changes? Whilst he lay sleeping, the "new" world had been re-shaped by freedom, change and progress.
On Aug 17, our very own Rip Van Winkle, the Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, finally emerged from his slumber under his tempurung. He stepped into the sunlight and found that the world was miles ahead of Malaysia.
Like Rip, can Tajuddin accept that progress can only come with change, and that change can only happen with a different mindset and attitude?
During a session in the Dewan Rakyat on Aug 17, Tajuddin was annoyed by Malaysia’s sluggish growth and lack of scientific and technological innovation.
He said: “When are we going to be on par with developed countries if we are still way behind in science and innovation?
“We achieved independence 60 years ago, but what is our innovation and creation; there is nothing.”
Most Malaysians remember Tajuddin for his racist and sexist comments, and his thuggish behaviour in Parliament. He entered politics in the early 80s and was weaned on affirmative action policies.
Tajuddin represents the typical Malay who is content to do as he pleases, when he pleases, despite the upheavals around him. Like Rip, Tajuddin woke up and found that the world had left him behind.
Tajuddin and many Malays, subscribe to the belief that Malaysia belongs to the Malays, Islam should be our way of life and speaking English is unpatriotic.
Successive governments flip-flopped over the teaching of science and mathematics in English. How do students cope, when many scientific and engineering terms are in English?
Many Malay males prefer Islamic studies at university, and although Malay girls often choose engineering or the sciences, their confidence is undermined when they are reminded that they belong at home, making babies.
Many Malaysians have made life-changing discoveries. Pua Khein-Seng invented the USB pen drive, Ren Ng the Lytro camera, Dr Nehemiah Lee created hexagonal concrete blocks for building flyovers, bulldozer operator Hew Ah Kow devised the automatic egg boiler and Cheong Choon Ng (below), the Rainbow Loom.
Our Orang Asli cousins are just as industrious. In the late 19th Century, Rudolf Diesel was probably inspired by the Orang Asli's fire-piston, or "api lantak", which they used to start fires in the jungle. Diesel subsequently invented the piston engine.
How dare Tajuddin say we lack creativity? One university department "invented" a mass-hysteria kit to ward off evil spirits. Raja Bomoh can see into other worlds and repel sophisticated modern weaponry with his coconuts and bamboo cannons.
Tajuddin urged our leaders to study the industrial revolution in developed countries. Is he aware that in the industrial revolution, during the phase known as the age of science, the church and science were in conflict? Scientists were seen as undermining the authority of the clerics, whilst the church felt that their power was being eroded.
Unlike the open-minded religious scholars of the Islamic Golden Age (8th to the 14th Century), some of our Malaysian ulama still think that the earth is flat, and the American moon landing was CIA-inspired propaganda that was filmed in the Nevada desert.
With so many restrictions on how they think and act, the Malays are ultra-cautious and are not natural risk-takers. Thomas Edison was successful in his 1,001st attempt at creating a light bulb that worked.
Tajuddin is disingenuous to blame Malaysians
The Malay child or young adult, who has been weaned on hand-outs, lowered grades, preferential treatment and mollycoddling, will be reluctant to go the extra mile to succeed. The non-Malay, who has no preferential treatment, has to try harder to succeed, and he often does, because he has nothing to lose.
Tajuddin knows that Umno-Baru and PAS leaders have failed Malaysia. He is disingenuous to blame Malaysians for their lack of creativity and innovation.
The word “meritocracy” strikes fear in Malay leaders. Does Tajuddin wonder why Malaysia suffers from a brain drain? Many Malaysians, including many Malays, are not going to hang around for their work to be appreciated. They venture overseas, where people with vision, will snap them up with offers of scholarships or work because they can see that they have potential.
For Malay leaders, competition means encouraging the rakyat to excel at trivia, like the biggest flag or the largest bowl of Sarawak laksa. Away from the public gaze, politicians compete to see who can amass the largest numbers of Hermes-Birken handbags, the most money in offshore accounts and the largest collection of imported luxury cars, presented by cronies.
The Malay mind is hammered daily by talk of race and religion, so the Malay has no time to be curious, or develop a need to invent.
If necessity is the mother of invention, then its father is creativity. However, the Malay thrives on handouts and has few needs, so why should he be inventive?
When the Malay fails, he is not given a chance to pick himself up and try again. Instead, his leaders tell him that he failed, because of the Chinese, the DAP or Western ideologies. When the Malay cannot learn from his mistakes, how can he improve?
If Tajuddin wants to see more inventions, make the Malays more competitive. Step one.
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter. - Mkini
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of us.
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