By M. Bakri Musa
[Presented at the Third Annual Alif Ba Ta Forum, “1Malaysia Towards Vision 2020,” Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, December 5, 2009, organized by Kelab UMNO NY-NJ. The presentation can be viewed at www.youtube.com (search under “Bakri Musa RIT”) or through this link]
Part One of Six: Definition of A Developed State
Thank you, President Shahrir Tamrin of Kelab UMNO-NY/NJ for inviting me again. I still savor the many pleasant memories of last year’s event. To President Arif Aiman of the Malaysian Students Association, RIT, your warm welcome and generous introduction more than made up for the chill of a New York autumn! To Nur Fauzana and her committee, I congratulate you for your grit in holding this forum in December when American campuses are typically gripped with term paper deadlines and final examinations.
To fellow panelist Dr. Azly Rahman, it is good to see you again! I was in Greece recently and imagined you conducting a Socratic-like seminar on the meaning of truth, wisdom, and knowledge, under those imposing columns! To Ambassador Jarjis, it is a pleasure meeting you and your wife again. That was an impressive picture of you with President Obama, a portrait of a Malay hulubalang (knight), fearsome yet elegant, with his tanjak (keris) discreetly tucked underneath the samping. You effectively demonstrated that a genuine hulubalang need not brandish his keris to convey his message!
To Ali Iqbal, you significantly lower the average age of the panelists. I enjoyed your panoramic take on the current economic crisis. It was thankfully free of economic jargons and thus very informative.
To many, “1Malysia” is one of those slogans Malaysian leaders are so fond of coining. Before that there was Malaysia Boleh (Malaysian Can!), and more recently, Cemerlang, Gemilang, dan Terbilang (excellence, glory, and distinction), and, as it turned out, all temberang (hot air). To others, 1Malaysia is Prime Minister Najib Razak’s website. Or is it that of a web-hosting company?
That last remark is unkind, of course, a lousy attempt at humor on my part! That done with, I now turn to the topic at hand.
“IMalaysia” is Najib’s vision of a united Malaysia. The eight values of his 1Malaysia are perseverance, culture of excellence, acceptance, loyalty, education, humility, integrity, and meritocracy. I am sure you were grilled on that at your scholarship interviews back home.
I do not know what the difference is, if any, between a culture of excellence and meritocracy, or between acceptance and loyalty. My hunch is that Najib is superstitious, and eight is an auspicious number in his scheme of things.
Vision 2020 is former Prime Minister Mahathir’s inspiration, first articulated in1991, to propel Malaysia towards a developed state by 2020. His original title was, “The Way Forward,” but that did not have quite the same zing.
One dictionary defines a developed state as one with a high degree of industrialization and standard of living brought on by wealth and technology. Being the iconoclast that he is, Mahathir has his own ideas. To him, a developed state is one that is, among others, “psychologically liberated,” “fully moral,” and “fully caring.” Then perhaps unsure of what those fuzzy terms mean, he added the traditional economic criterion of “doubling of real gross domestic product every ten years between 1990 and 2020.”
Mahathir’s reference to GDP is both inadequate and misleading. What is relevant is the size of the economy relative to the population: the per capita GDP. A developed nation typically has a per capita income in excess of $18K, adjusted for purchasing power parity. That too has its limitations. Brunei’s per capita GDP is nearly $50K, way ahead of Canada, but no one would suggest that Brunei is developed. The figure for Malaysia is about $12K.
The United Nations has a more inclusive measure with its Human Development Index (HDI). It factors in the health of the population (as reflected in life expectancy), level of education (as measured by adult literacy and school enrollment rates), and standard of living (per capita GDP). Developed nations generally have an index greater than 0.900; Malaysia’s at 0.826. If you believe in HDI, Malaysia is more developed than Russia!
I have a simpler definition. A developed state is like pornography; I know it when I see it, to borrow Justice Potter Stewart’s famous phrase. When I drive south from San Diego, California, to Tijuana, Mexico, I know that I am leaving a developed country and entering a developing one. When I drive into Montreal, Canada, from Plattsburgh, New York, I know that I am entering another developed country.
In Tijuana, if the police were to stop me, I would grab my wallet to see how much cash I have to bribe him. If a similar incident were to happen in Canada, I would check my driver’s license and car registration papers.
If I were unfortunate enough to have an accident in Tijuana, my first thought would be how to get back across the border as quickly as possible. In Canada, I would not hesitate being sent to the nearest hospital. When dining out in Montreal, my only consideration would be the choice of cuisine, ambience, and of course, cost. In Tijuana I would have to choose very carefully, and even then I would stay away from the ice and salads.
I leave it to you to judge where Malaysia is, closer to Tijuana or Montreal.
My late father had an astute observation on what is meant by a developed society. I was visiting him after a long absence. It was in 1969, right after the deadly race riots, and the streets of Kuala Lumpur were deserted. I was driving him and we came to a stop sign. I duly stopped. He asked me why I did that, and thinking that he did not see the sign, replied, “There was a stop sign.”
“But there were no cars,” he protested.
I did not reply. After a long pensive pause he added, “That is why the West is advanced. People there obey the law even when no one is watching!”
He may not have realized it, but my late father was on to something profound. That is, respect for the rule of law is the feature of a developed society. This is precisely what is lacking in a developing country, and more importantly, what keeps it trapped in its backward state.
The prevailing ethics in a developing country is that the law applies only to ordinary people, not the leaders. Those in power have nothing but contempt for the law. It is there to serve their purpose, and they never hesitate using it against their enemies. On a mundane level, I have a picture of a limousine, with the title “Ketua Hakim Negara” (Chief Justice) emblazoned across its license plate, parked illegally and blocking the traffic at Sepang International Airport.
Of course even in America cars of cabinet secretaries and congressmen are exempt from the usual parking restrictions, but you would never see their cars blocking traffic at Reagan National Airport.
In New York, the biggest traffic violators are diplomats from developing countries. There is a definite correlation between those diplomats and the World Bank’s index of public corruption in their home country. Merely living in a developed country does not make you a developed person. This supports my contention that you should focus on developing your people, not your country.
The Quran reminds us to “command good and forbid evil!” as if Allah is watching over us at all times (“closer than our jugular vein”). In a developed country, they obey the law as if someone is watching over them all the time. Of course today there are surveillance cameras at traffic intersections. Better not run the red light!
The challenge is to ensure that Malaysia is headed towards Montreal and not sliding back to Tijuana. If we do not get to Montreal, we will automatically slide quickly towards Tijuana. Make not mistake about that; standing still is not an option.
Next: Part Two of Six: Diamond of Development
Yes respect the laws of the land will you pls umno?
Towards A Developed Malaysia— Get rid of BN first
A taxi was carrying a blind passenger from Trengganu to Kelantan.
“Aha” said the blind man, “We have arrived in Kelantan”.
“How do you know? I thought you are blind.”
” The taxi has started wobbling from the potholes in the road,” answered the blind man.
Bakri,
Mr JJ is above the law. He, not only, got away with bottom-pinching and raba raba but rewarded just because he is from UMNO …. and made an ambassador to boot.
Which other country in the world carries away its Speaker from the Assembly?
Which politician can be tainted with allegations of corruption kidnap and murder and yet elected PM?
Which county use the sodomy charge on its Opposition leader?
I would say its a sin even to be associated with UMNO/BN.
If one looks at Malaysia’s human rights record, press freedom, outdated sodomy punishment (20 years imprisonment), ISA law, sedition law, partisan judiciary, low gdp per capita, low labor productivity, severe shortage of doctors and engineers, low broadband penetration rate, poor racial cohesion etc, the country is still far from being a developed nation.
“I have a simpler definition. A developed state is like pornography; I know it when I see it, to borrow Justice Potter Stewart’s famous phrase.”
Would you consider Malaysia not a developed state if it is perceived as a pornocracy?
This perception is justified with the on going farcical sodomy trial and the immoral power struggle in various states.
Creative and innovative thinking are among d Government’s four pillars of success, NR said
No wonder ful of sai is a star of success, so creatif n innovatif
Umno is not concerned about how the world views malaysia. They are happy just being jaguh kampung. But they forgot something. The world has grown very small in terms of trade, physical travel and information circulation. Countries of the world today are very much inter-wound.
Speaking of respect for the laws. I am sure many here have had the experience of hiring a taxi ride in HK. Taxi drivers there are usually very reluctant to stop at yellow lines to allow passenger to alight. Here in malaysia I have seen trucks (10-wheelers) driving up and across central divide/curb to make illegal u-turn – flattening low shrubs and plants along the way of course. Even policemen are happily speeding away on emergency lanes and their bikes can often been seen parked on pavements near mamak stalls. They are not above the law but they in fact are beyond the reach of the laws. It can be quite useful to know some of these buggers so that one can also tag on to that “beyond the reach of the laws” privilege. Gangsters, criminal, thugs, road bullies, mat rempits, all of thems believe that they are immune to legal consequences as long as they have friends or connection in the police force. That is the order of things in malaysia.
Now umnoputras are a different lot. They are above the police. They own allah. They represent infinite power, might and rights. And they are certainly “pantang dicabar”. They display their raw might (i.e. the keris) openly. Having connection with these people is like having a seat next to god. APs, special shares, mega projects, guaranteed profits, private jets, wives, mistresses and playmates, mansions, and all the luxury of life will instantly become available. What could be better than a system that allows and in fact absorbs scandals and mega flops without complaints? At the moment active steps are being taken to ready the system to swallow the PKFZ 12.5b mega flop. Over a 22-yr period the system has effectively absorbed 100b worth of scandals, wastage, abuse and corruption. The altan scandal has been absorbed by the system. Teoh Beng Hock’s death too would be absobed by the system.
But science tells us about mass balance. What goes in must come out. And the quantity that leaves must equal the quantity that goes in, if not the deficit must be accounted for somehow (like e.g. converted to energy etc etc). Perhaps now umno has indigestion and something big has to come out of its system.
M. Bakri Musa: Merely living in a developed country does not make you a developed person. This supports my contention that you should focus on developing your people, not your country.
I recall that a few years before his death, former UM VC, Prof. Syed Hussein Alatas, had once appeared on live television during Merdeka Day where he had asked all Malaysians to ask ourselves whether despite of all the effort, time & money invested in turning the country into a developed nation, have we actually put also put enough effort, time & money into developing ourselves, the people of this country?
More often than not, we find ourselves asking how it is that despite having first world facilities, etc, etc, we still behave as if we still have third world mentality…
Respect of the Law is good PROVIDED the following 3 corollaries are present in support of that respect ie. (1) the laws themselves are fair and good laws (2) everyone is equal before the law which is not selectively enforced and (3) Judges are competent and Courts are fair arbiters.
“Being the iconoclast that he is, Mahathir has his own ideas” – Bakri.
I’m not too sure that Mahathir is that much an iconoclast.
An iconoclast is not just someone who is perceived to attack and overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions such as restricting Rulers’ power to stall bills, taking unconventional route of capital controls against IMF’s prescriptions etc but someone who like Socrates or Copernicus or playwright George Bernard Shaw who attacks and disabue people from their cherished illusions not supported by fact or logic. In Mahathir’s case he created illusions (eg the so-called social contract) more than he destroyed! .
Well said, En Bakri.
But these UMNO brain washed “intellectuals” will not comprehend what you’ve just said. They’re there for the free food.
The UMNO elite will pooh pooh your attempt as traitorous.
Its too late for UMNO. The 20+ yrs of brain washing has turned out racist, intolerant bigots who only know how to yell ‘bangsa, agama & negara’.
Well said about the characteristics of developed and developing countries. But I think most people know all these already. The main issue is how do we move from developing to developed status. What must we do to get there? In Malaysia today, if the authorities were to enforce the rules governing hawkering more stringently, there will be immediate hue and cry and inevitably enforcement will be withdrawn or watered down. So also is the rampant entry of foreign workers, either legal or illegal into the country. No one seems able to do anything. Then we have all the feudalistic stuff. In Malaysia almost every head of department is like a feudal chief. He will have entourage of people serving him/her, pulling the chair for him/her to sit, unscrewing the mineral water bottle, and to pointing out to him/her which page of the report the meeting is discussing. I am just talking about simple things that we observe everyday. I have not touched on the splendour things like the rule of law, separation of power, fundamental liberties and freedom of speech, association and religion. Please tell us how to get from where we are to where we want to be. We know already Malaysia is Mexico or Bolivia or some would say approach Zimbabwe.
Well said about the characteristics of developed and developing countries. But I think most people know all these already. The main issue is how do we move from developing to developed status. What must we do to get there? In Malaysia today, if the authorities were to enforce the rules governing hawkering more stringently, there will be immediate hue and cry and inevitably enforcement will be withdrawn or watered down. So also is the rampant entry of foreign workers, either legal or illegal into the country. No one seems able to do anything. Then we have all the feudalistic stuff. In Malaysia almost every head of department is like a feudal chief. He will have entourage of people serving him/her, pulling the chair for him/her to sit, unscr*wing the mineral water bottle, and to pointing out to him/her which page of the report the meeting is discussing. I am just talking about simple things that we observe everyday. I have not touched on the splendour things like the rule of law, separation of power, fundamental liberties and freedom of speech, association and religion. Please tell us how to get from where we are to where we want to be. We know already Malaysia is Mexico or Bolivia or some would say approaching Zimbabwe.
m bakri musa and dap , what is your common denominator = NATO
look east old boy ; China already superpower economic and military.
Malaysia can never be a developed nation under this bunch of suck*rs’ leaderships! We know Dr Bakuthir is a champion bullshit artist! Under his regime, corruptions were intensified and racial hates were sprung up! Educational systems degraded dramatically and etc etc…..
Malaysia can never be a developed nation under this bunch of suck*rs’ leaderships! We know Dr Bakuthir is a champion bullsh*t artist! Under his regime, corruptions were intensified and racial hates were sprung up! Educational systems degraded dramatically and etc etc…..
Towards a developed malaysia,I doubt it. Look around KL,the capital city of Malaysia,let alone other much less developed state’s capitals,the most simple basic rule of law,malaysians still could not adhere to for example the streets are full of litter.The public toilets are mostly intolerable.Motorists and motorbikers are blatantly abusing the traffic rules and mat rempits roaming the street creating havoc in the middle of the night and the list goes on.I qoute a simple chinese saying which I think is pretty apt to describing what is happening in Malaysia herewith for you guys info:…” small thing can’t do how to do big thing ” end quote.
chengho: m bakri musa and dap , what is your common denominator = NATO
Not NATO. It’s for a properly developed and democratic Malaysia.
chengho: look east old boy ; China already superpower economic and military.
Trying to give UMNO-BN the idea of turning Malaysia into a one-party state like China in order to become an economic (not so sure about military) power?
The HDI practically ends at 0.5 so Malaysia at 0.829 means squat. If anything, that means it almost falls into the 2nd tier of Developing Countries.
As it stands now we are no better than the likes of Saudi Arabia, Romania, Serbia and Cuba.
A developed Msia by 2020?? only 9 years 10.5months from now,?? No way lah
You can look north south and west as well as the 32 points of the compass. Looking doesn’t change things, execution does.
Look East was started in the 1980s. How come China is better than Malaysia now? It elementary. It’s the ability to execute.