Malaysia : Beyond Repair Or Salvation - OpEd Nov 2021

 Here is something from Eurasianews that has gone viral (Click here for the whole article). It is written by one W. Long. The English used is quite atrocious but the points are worth noting.

 

My comments in blue.

 

Malaysia is beyond saving. 

The country has 4 destructive elements that no other country has — some countries may have 1, 2 or even 3 of the factors but not all 4.
 

1. Racial Discrimination

Racial divide encompasses all economic and cultural activities and is deeply ingrained in the people’s consciousness. The country is sadly divided along racial lines. This is the work of extremists in UMNO and PAS who deliberately push forward the economically false idea of ‘catching up’. 

Mahathir at the helm for 22 years has done the country tremendous harm with his racial bigotry and he himself is predominantly responsible for the ills the country is facing. 

Government agencies, civil service, education institutions, GLCs, banking and finance, and even the private sector are overwhelmingly staffed by one race. 

The ‘affirmative action’ policy benefits only entrenched elites, not the ordinary poor Malays who are left behind.
 

2. Religious Intolerance

In the past, the races mingled together, in festivals and other occasions. Now, simple social events do not see much in terms of people from different races getting together. Even food and other product names have been distorted for political ends, to stirring up unnecessary uneasiness.

3. Rampant Corruption

Rampant corruption is at all levels, from the very top to the bottom, and is causing an irreparable economic toll on the country. Malaysia is among the top most corrupt countries in the world. 

The rule of law can be bent for corruption. Tokenism and make believe realities remain.
 

4. Feudalism

Malaysia’s political legacy is that of a king, and sultans in 9 states. This is fine if the king and sultans strictly adhere to their duties, and do not actively take part in business. The real fallout is that titles are given by the royalty at various levels to ordinary people, for recognition of work or position, or for g------y — the Tan Sri, Dato, Datuk, Datuk Seri, and the like. The people conferred with these titles often abuse their position and titles to leverage on, and get away with excesses. 

(My comments:  I disagree that the sultans should not take part in business. Why not? A sultan may like to test his entrepreneurial skills. Who knows there may be a Jack Ma or a Huawei  lurking among the Royals. Or a sultan may just be good in some product or service. Who knows? Why deny a sultan business opportunities just because he is a sultan. 

The danger is abuse of power. Which is what everyone does not like. And especially where land based resources are involved like mining, timber, land development, fisheries, tourist locations etc which come under the purview of the State (and hence the Sultan). 

So lets overcome those threats. We can also put some quid pro quos in place. These are suggestions. First of all abolish the Sedition Act. No more legal protection against the people's right to question and criticise the royals - just like any one else. 

Businesses owned by royals are not exempted from paying taxes anyway. So just follow the law. An extra quid pro quo should be that the royals should also pay personal income taxes, property taxes etc - just like everyone else. 

And no privileges in business. In other words when it comes to business and paying taxes the royals compete and are obliged on an equal footing with every other citizen. 

This is similar to what other countries like the UK, Netherlands, Belgium etc have implemented.

"The Queen (of England)  voluntarily pays a sum equivalent to income tax on her private income and income from the Privy Purse . . " 

Having a monarchy does not mean being feudal at all. Just look at the modern royals of Europe. 

Feudalism is linked to a lack of modernisation. When a society is backward then they can also be feudal. Good examples are the Arab societies of today - the monarchies as well as the dictatorships / democracies.  Their societies are just not modern at all, no matter how many gold plated toilets they have).

Most countries have corruption in one form or another at various degrees. Some Middle East countries are religiously intolerant (of other religions), but their people are homogeneous, not multi racial. Thus, Malaysia has the distinction of having 4 imponderables.

Malaysia can only be saved by a no-nonsense strong leader. He or she has to come from the Malay ranks. The leader should address 2 of the 4 factors — rampant corruption, racial divide and mitigate the other 2 — religious intolerance and feudalism.
 

Rampant Corruption

Punish corruption at all levels. As the saying goes “justice must not only be done, but seen to be done”. No compromise for political position, friends or relatives. Remuneration for work, especially for the lower levels, needs to be adequate, as a deterrent against corruption. But in Malaysia it is not an inadequate level for the higher rank, rather greed is the issue. The rule of law must be applied equally across society.
 

Racial Discrimination

Racial diversity is a strength, not a weakness. Malaysia is blessed with a different racial mix. They bring their time-tested values to the economy. Chinese are by nature hard working, industrial, and incline towards commerce and business. Indians are more intellectually inclined, tending to law and organizational matters. The other races, the Ibans, other natives, Eurasians, have their own inherent positives to contribute. It is a fallacy to think that Chinese and Indians will only employ their own. Common sense and business reality will dictate employee mix.

Countries with a homogeneous population, with no race divide, if not properly managed are just as well in a rut. Diversity is not an issue if well managed.

Leadership is everything. Many countries sadly lack good leadership. Malaysia is one of these, lacking good far sighted strong leadership.

The Future

Malaysia has gone past the cross roads. It is very late but not impossible if only ….. If not corrected, the country is sliding fast towards 3rd world status.

Either the country goes down the drain, and falls behind the fast-catching up African countries, or finds the will and courage to right itself.

Young people nowadays grow up thinking that South Korea, China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Singapore are always advancing and more prosperous. Not too long ago, in the 1970s Malaysia was among this group. It is time to catch up.

*W. Long was born and grew up in Malaysia, but saw the light at the tunnel in the 1980s and switched citizenship. Still, like many ex-Malaysians, Long still has feelings towards the country, with many friends and relatives living there, and only hopes for the best for the country.

My comments :

We all need to speak up. The Opposition must be more intelligent. Dont just harp on the SOPs but give real ideas and real solutions for the country's future. I have not heard even one Opposition party saying that the Sedition Act should be abolished. They did put it in the manifesto in 2018 but after winning power they forgot about it. In 2018 they KIVed the Sedition Act for a few weeks and then put it back in place. That is an unthinking Opposition which has few or no ideas for the future of the country.

As for me I am beyond political parties. They have all failed. 

We do not need more and more political parties. What we need are new policies, new directions for this country. Directions that are already very old in other successful countries. It does not matter which political party anymore - as long as they can develop new policies and new thinking.  

We really need new policies. 

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