What is the role of us urban, middle-class supporters of Pakatan Harapan?
First of all, let’s all not be too demanding this time. Let’s remember why the first Harapan government fell. Back in 2018, many expected an instant paradise. To become Singapore overnight.
Many also showed our own racial intolerance over a mere three pages of Jawi khat. Even Lim Kit Siang was booed at events and attacked as “Lim Khat Siang” for saying there’s nothing wrong with learning some Jawi (note: Jawi is Malay, not Arabic, and certainly not “becoming Muslim”).
Such racial attitudes on our part will only give golden ammunition to Perikatan Nasional (PN) to attack Harapan. PN won the majority (54 percent) of Malay votes in the Green Wave. In the next five years, I believe they will be waging a guerrilla battle against the new unity government, staging hit-and-run racial attacks whenever possible.
PN is even attacking Umno for “selling out” to Harapan. So don’t give them another Icerd moment. Or demand that Tommy Thomas should become attorney-general again. Or that the UEC exam must be recognised tomorrow. Things like that.
Anwar Ibrahim was right to say in 2018, “don’t spook the Malays” in response to Hindraf 2.0's demands to open up Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to all races.
I remember then that many non-Malays attacked him, saying, “Hey, UiTM is funded by taxpayers. We don’t care about racial sensitivities.”
That kind of mindset was exactly what caused the fall of Harapan. Things are even shakier now. In 2018, Harapan won 25 percent of Malay votes. Now it’s down to 11 percent. No government in Putrajaya can survive long this way, not in a country where 70 percent of people are bumiputeras.
Harapan won only 82 parliamentary seats and has to work with BN/Umno and GPS. We have to build on common ground. Everybody agrees that we need to revive the economy, reduce the cost of living, provide quality jobs and help the poor.
Allow me to offer some suggestions on how to build a better multiracial future.
1) Malaysian Peace Corps
Urban folks (especially non-Malays) can go to kampungs to give tuition in IT skills or in English/Maths/Science. This can be done by volunteers or be paid for by the new government.
We can follow the model used by the Teach for Malaysia group. With more multiracial mingling, hopefully, old fears and prejudices will gradually dissolve.
2) Improve rural facilities
The idea above can be expanded to install solar panels, repair the water supply, etc. This was done in the Impian Sarawak project by DAP. NGOs such as Epic Homes are also building houses for needy people. All this can be scaled up with government support.
Every prime minister has his own brand, be it “1Malaysia”, “Prihatin” or “Keluarga Malaysia”. So, if the new tagline is, let’s say “muhibbah” (harmony), this Peace Corps can be branded as Bakti Muhibbah or Khidmat Muhibbah (Harmonious Service).
3) Ecotourism
Another way to bring non-Malays to the kampungs is via ecotourism. The government can hire rural folks as jungle guides to encourage more Malaysians to enjoy our beautiful waterfalls, forests, and mountains. Everybody has to work together in the jungle, and there’s nothing like a good hike to build interracial camaraderie.
4) Learning more languages
The BN manifesto has an interesting proposal - introduce basic school classes in Mandarin, Tamil, Iban, Kadazan, Dusun, and other languages.
If Jawi is revived for primary school textbooks, let’s do it this way: Six pages of Jawi, two pages of simple Chinese characters, one page Tamil, one page Iban, and one page Kadazan. How about that?
5) Anti-corruption arts
The Harapan manifesto wants to develop our “National Creative and Culture Industry”, and encourage more school pupils to delve into the arts.
Why don’t we employ the arts for positive social messages? In the 1970s, I remember how kids were encouraged to create paintings warning against dadah (drugs). New, much-needed themes can be: “How corruption or racism harms the nation.”
The education department can hold district-level competitions for visual art delving into this. Or how about 10-minute stage plays? Or songwriting and singing contests?
To suit our times, we can also have prizes for the best TikTok dance, YouTube monologue, or three-minute mini drama filmed with smartphones.
6) TV shows, movies
Robots will take over many jobs in the near future, but not in the creative industries (yet). Building on #5 above, I hope we can see TV dramas and movies that talk about how to build a better country.
Rather than preachy propaganda flicks like Mat Kilau, perhaps a lighter touch is better. So, the government can support comedy shows that make fun of hypocritical politicians, for example.
Malaysia has many creative talents that can make this happen.
To make sure we get the tone right, the government should consult experts in the arts, marketing, public relations, and advertising.
7) Job programmes
Many handouts are promised in both Harapan and BN manifestos. These are needed to help the B40 poor but, as we face a global recession in the next two years, more aid may be needed.
Rather than just giving out money, how about a federal jobs programme? This is what US president Franklin D Roosevelt did in the 1930s to deal with the Great Depression.
People were hired to build not only roads and bridges but also to set up hiking trails in new national parks such as Yellowstone. Writers, artists, and musicians were paid to document local life, paint wall murals and entertain the public. Famous artists like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko emerged from this.
All this can be done in Malaysia. I can also imagine hiring jobless graduates to lead walking tours that highlight local attractions. The money paid to hire all these people will be spent to boost consumption and thus stimulate the economy.
These initiatives can be done through joint ventures between civil servants and private companies, thus boosting multiracial cooperation. They may be more difficult to implement than handouts but could be more beneficial.
As the US jobs programme director Harry Hopkins said, “Give a man a dole and you save his body but destroy his spirit. Give him a job and you save both body and spirit”.
8) Food security
The BN manifesto aims to make it compulsory that 10 percent of GLC farms should be reserved to produce food. Apart from normal agriculture using chemical pesticides and fertilisers, can we turn Malaysia into the organic farming hub of Southeast Asia?
We already have many local Chinese organic farmers who have the expertise. The government can fund partnerships with bumiputera bodies such as Felda to upscale these farms. This will mean more jobs for rural folks too.
9) Local council elections
The time has come to give us urban dwellers the right to choose our own local government. This is the best reward for the loyalty we have given to Harapan.
Local councils affect our daily lives, be it garbage collection, parks, or shop licenses. But currently, they are accountable to the state government that appoints them, not to the residents directly!
We used to have local council elections, but they were abolished back in 1965 because left-leaning, non-Malay opposition parties won them.
But the country has changed. Most Malaysians (77 percent) now live in towns, including the Malays. So the old racial arguments against local council elections are no longer valid.
Towns are where all races live closely together. It’s the best place for the new government to show how we can all work together. It will also encourage people to still come out to vote, rather than feel that politics is “meaningless”.
And finally, in case Harapan loses future national or state elections, there will still be local government as the last bastion. - Mkini
ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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