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The True Measure Of A Culture

M. Bakri Musa
(www.bakrimusa.com)

The true measure of a culture is how well it prepares its members to sudden changes and challenges, especially when those are unanticipated or imposed from the outside. That different societies react very differently is obvious.

Consider the March 2011 tsunami that demolished the coastal areas of Northern Japan. Thousands were killed and billions worth of properties damaged, with whole villages and families wiped out. Compare the reactions of the Japanese to that tragedy of August 2005 when Katrina hurricane devastated the southern coast of United States.

The differences in reactions could not be more profound. Today only a few years after the tragedy, Northern Japan is almost fully recovered. In Louisiana they are still entangled in massive lawsuits, and the finger pointing has not yet stopped. Both Japan and America are developed societies, so we cannot account the difference to socioeconomic status, only to culture. Continue reading “The True Measure Of A Culture”

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Pilihan raya lokal hakis hak Melayu?

Saifuddin Abdullah
Sinar Harian
3 OGOS 2015

MINGGU lalu, Presiden Pas Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang menuduh DAP “cauvinis” kerana ingin mengadakan semula pilihan raya Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan (PBT). Enam bulan terdahulu, beliau menyatakan yang pilihan raya tersebut akan menghapuskan hak keistimewaan orang Melayu.

Saya tidak terlibat dengan perselisihan antara beliau dengan DAP. Tetapi, saya tidak bersetuju dengan pendapatnya tentang hak orang Melayu dalam konteks pilihan raya PBT.

Pada 13 Mac 2015, saya telah menyampaikan syarahan khas bertajuk “Adakah Pilihan Raya PBT Menghakis Hak Keistimewaan Melayu” di Persidangan PBT di Malaysia: Menilai Laporan Athi Nahappan Untuk Masa Kini, anjuran Penyelidikan Untuk Kemajuan Sosial (REFSA). Teks syarahan itu diterbitkan dalam REFSA Quarterly, Isu 1 2015.

Saya mula berbicara dan menyokong diadakan semula pilihan raya PBT sejak 1986. Saya pernah menjadi Ahli Majlis PBT Temerloh selama enam bulan, pada 2007, iaitu sebelum menjadi Ahli Parlimen Temerloh pada 2008-2013. Oleh kerana pada saya, Majlis Daerah dan Majlis PBT tidak partisipatori dan representatif, maka, sebagai Ahli Parlimen, saya telah menubuhkan mini-parlimen tempatan, iaitu Majlis Perundingan Parlimen Temerloh. Continue reading “Pilihan raya lokal hakis hak Melayu?”

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Malays say they join DAP for its struggle, not for power

by Jennifer Gomez
The Malaysian Insider
26 July 2015

Far from being mere yes-men as alleged by an Utusan Malaysia columnist recently, the Malays who join DAP do not believe in self-entitlement but instead accept its culture built on merit, a Malay DAP federal lawmaker said.

These Malays are also academically accomplished and thick-skinned enough to endure and share the ideals of the party’s politics and “don’t expect a 30% discount on anything”, Raub MP Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz told The Malaysian Insider.

“They understand that elections to the CEC (central executive committee) are not a matter of being given a seat on the basis that a Malay is entitled to many things.

“You have to prove and earn it. Take the sons of Karpal Singh, for example. They are there because they are good, and they are not Chinese.”

Citing another example, that of Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto, Ariff said she was not in the party because she was the daughter of former DAP leader P. Patto, but because she was talented and genuine.

However, becoming a member of the democratic socialist party was a bold step for any Malay as he was opening himself to the vilest of condemnation, including being labelled the running dogs of the Chinese, betrayer of the Malay race, apostate and abandoning Islam, said Ariff, a former Umno assemblyman. Continue reading “Malays say they join DAP for its struggle, not for power”

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It’s not about being Malay, Zahra

Erna Mahyuni
Malay Mail Online
July 22, 2015

JULY 22 — More than a week after the “Saya Zahra” video went viral, people are still talking about it.

My social media timelines seem to be divided equally between the people who support what she’s saying and those who think she’s being whiny and entitled.

Sure, I can empathise with a lot of her struggles as Lord knows, it isn’t easy trying to survive in Klang Valley on very little. But when she called on the government to help and do more for the Malays, whatever sympathy I had for her disappeared where 1MDB’s money went.

Last I checked, Zahra, the Malays form the majority in Malaysia. Go to any civil service department and you’ll see very few minorities working there, much less leading it.

It’s not just the Malays who are poor. There are poor Chinese. Poor Indians. Poor non-Muslim, non-Malay bumiputera. Poor Malaysians of every creed and colour. Continue reading “It’s not about being Malay, Zahra”

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In Malaysian politics, keep calm and amok on!

by Sophie Lemiere, Guest Contributor
New Mandala
15 JULY 2015

In the wake of a brawl in Kuala Lumpur’s Low Yat Plaza, Sophie Lemière looks at how youth, prejudice and mob violence go hand-in-hand with politics.

The Malay word amuck or amok (rage) is the most famous Malaysian export along with palm oil (praised by Nutella lovers) and rubber (praised by everyone). Amok or to run amok has become a global concept to describe any sudden and ephemeral acts of violence to a killing rage. There is no cultural specificity here; we have sadly seen people running amok from Columbine in the USA to Paris and the beaches of Sousse (Tunisia).

Amok is surely the only Malay word the entire world uses, without even knowing its quasi-mystical origins. Anthropologists, psychiatrists and novelists have written extensively on this word, exploring the linguistic roots of amok to the intricacies of a psycho-pathological phenomenon; an unresolved intellectual quest well resumed by Yan Kon[1]. The “pengamuk”, the one who suddenly falls into a violent frenzy, was once seen as a hero: a mystical warrior getting his inner strength from god. Malay mysticism and history is filled with epic stories of such great warriors. Today, that heritage may be found in the hybrid tradition of Silat balancing an intense physical practice and mystic-religious beliefs with prayers to invulnerability charms[2]. Sadly today, for most, the pengamok has lost his nobility and is seen simply as a psycho.

This linguistic-mystic maze is now used to describe a non-event: the rowdy gathering of about 200 people at the empire of electronic goods, Low Yat Plaza in Bukit Bintang (Kuala Lumpur’s entertainment district), following the alleged theft of a mobile phone and consequent brawl. Continue reading “In Malaysian politics, keep calm and amok on!”

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Sudah sampai masanya orang kampung diberitahu perkara sebenar

Amin Iskandar
The Malaysian Insider
12 July 2015

Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor mengatakan semalam “orang kampung” jangan menyangka kehidupan di kota besar Kuala Lumpur lebih baik berbanding di luar bandar.

Menurut menteri Wilayah Persekutuan itu, ini kerana kos kehidupan di kota besar jauh lebih tinggi dan menyebabkan sesetengah penduduk luar bandar yang mempunyai cita-cita untuk hidup mewah akhirnya menjadi gelandangan.

Benar apa yang dikatakan setiausaha agung Umno itu. Di luar bandar jika kita diwariskan tanah keluarga, sekurang-kurangnya kita ada tempat tinggal.

Barangkali sudah sampai masanya Tengku Adnan yang dikenali sebagai Ku Nan dan Umno memberitahu penduduk luar bandar perkara sebenar tentang Malaysia.

Selama ini, penduduk luar bandar hanya diberitahu “cerita-cerita yang indah” saja tentang Malaysia sehingga ramai tertipu dan berhijrah ke kota besar di Kuala Lumpur dan akhirnya merempat.

Oleh kerana kebanyakan penduduk luar bandar selama ini hanya mendapat berita daripada Utusan Malaysia, RTM dan TV3, mereka mungkin tidak berapa tahu tentang Malaysia yang sebenar. Continue reading “Sudah sampai masanya orang kampung diberitahu perkara sebenar”

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Survival, not politics or race, our concern, law grad tells DPM

by Anisah Shukry
The Malaysian Insider
10 July 2015

A video clip of a young Malaysian speaking of the financial struggles she and her generation face to an audience who included Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is making its rounds on social media.
In the video by the Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM), the 23-year-old law graduate, who only identified herself as Zahra, told the deputy prime minister how she had grown increasingly disappointed and angry that the life she is living was not what she had envisioned as a student.

“The reality of the working world is not as beautiful as people expect it to be – on the contrary, it is torturous. Yes, I drive to the office, but the car is not mine. I am borrowing it and pay RM500 each month to my father for it.

“Usually, by the end of the month, I take the LRT to the office because my pockets are empty by that time. It has become a routine, and I am ashamed to face my parents. I should be taking care of them, not the other way around,” said Zahra, at an event organised by MTEM on June 17.

But she said she had no other choice, as her salary was not high despite years of toiling for a law degree.

Buying a house would remain a dream for years to come, she said, as even paying the RM500 monthly rent to stay in a house with seven others was a struggle.

“I know I’m not alone. Many of my friends are suffering. We don’t see a way out. My future and that of millions of other Malay youth is bleak.

“Honestly, we Malay youth don’t care about political or racial issues, because what matters to us is the issue of survival,” said Zahra. Continue reading “Survival, not politics or race, our concern, law grad tells DPM”

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My Ramadan Prayer For Malay Salvation – Get Rid of JAWI and JAKIM

M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com
29 June 2015

Ramadan brings exuberant displays of piety among Malays, consumed as we are with personal salvation. There is however, little reflection on our salvation as a society.

Hellfire or the ultimate punishment for us as a society would be to be dumped into the rubbish bin of mankind, dependent on the charity of others while living in a land so blessed by Almighty. The irony, as well as the fact that others thrive in Tanah Melayu, would make the punishment that much more unbearable.

We have ruled this country for over half a century; all instruments of government are in our hands, sultans as well as prime ministers are all Malays, and the constitution is generous to us. Yet we remain in a sorry state, reduced to lamenting our fate and blaming the pendatangs.

This lamentation is heard with nauseating frequency, coming from sultans and prime ministers to pundits and kedai kopi commentators. Seizing on that, some (and not just non-Malays) gleefully trumpet their own sense of superiority or denigrate the Malay culture and character.

A former chief minister of Trengganu, a predominantly-Malay and oil-rich state, asked how could we who have lived here for centuries, control the government, and are in the majority feel threatened by the immigrants. The fact that he posed the question reveals how clueless he was in addressing it. Alas his is the caliber of leadership we have been cursed with. Continue reading “My Ramadan Prayer For Malay Salvation – Get Rid of JAWI and JAKIM”

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Apa lagi Melayu mahu sebenarnya?

Amin Iskandar
The Malaysian Insider
28 June 2015

Bukan Islam tidak boleh menggunakan kalimah Allah kerana ia boleh menyebabkan akidah orang Melayu tergugat.

Kanak-kanak bukan Islam tidak boleh makan di kantin sekolah pada bulan Ramadan kerana anak Melayu akan “terliur” dan terganggu puasanya.

Gadis bukan Islam tidak boleh berpakaian menjolok mata kerana berkemungkinan menyebabkan pemuda Melayu “tidak tahan”.

Sedangkan hampir di setiap kawasan perumahan terdapat masjid atau surau.

Setiap hari selepas sembahyang subuh, tazkirah atau kaset ceramah mengajak orang Melayu agar beriman dan membuat kebaikan dimainkan dengan kuat sehingga kedengaran walaupun dua kilometer jauhnya.

Akan tetapi orang Melayu masih lemah imannya. Jika terlihat sahaja perkara “mungkar”, keimanan mereka akan tergugat.

Apa dah jadi dengan orang Melayu pada hari ini? Continue reading “Apa lagi Melayu mahu sebenarnya?”

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BTN is a tool for Umno’s propaganda

– Iskandar Fareez
The Malaysian Insider
21 June 2015

I am appalled to read the recent statement made by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Razali Ibrahim in defence of the National Civic Bureau (BTN).

Perhaps the leaking of presentation slides are not enough and Razali needs more testimonials from participants before he admits that BTN was and will continue to be a tool for Umno’s political propaganda.

From my personal experience going through training at BTN during my secondary school days, the modules were designed with the purpose of indoctrinating participants with a Malay supremacist agenda under the guise of nation building.

Being only in my teen years, we were called on to defend Malaysia’s current leadership to avoid any split of Malay political dominance.

We were cautioned that any hints of discord among the Malay community will be used by the opportunist non-Malays to take over the country. Continue reading “BTN is a tool for Umno’s propaganda”

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Malays won’t fare better or worse if BN falls, says veteran newsman

The Malaysian Insider
19 June 2015

The Malays “won’t be better off” if opposition parties take over Malaysia in the next general election, said veteran journalist Datuk A Kadir Jasin, but neither will they be “worse off”.

But those who knew how to take advantage of opportunities would benefit from a new non-Barisan Nasional government, said Kadir, the former group editor-in-chief of the New Straits Times.

“The opposition pact cannot sideline Malays and Muslims if in the long term they want to govern fairly and preserve national peace,” Kadir wrote in his latest blog posting.

Kadir said that he had written this assessment as a response to the numerous questions he received over what will become of the Malays if the Barisan government was to fall in the next general election. Continue reading “Malays won’t fare better or worse if BN falls, says veteran newsman”

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Reclaiming Malayness

Dyana Sofya
The Malay Mail Online
June 17, 2015

JUNE 17 ― Last weekend, Projek Dialog, a non-governmental social discourse project aimed at promoting healthy debate and understanding within multicultural Malaysia, organised a forum entitled Melayu dan makna-maknanya, or “Malay and its meanings.”

I had the honour of being a panellist at that forum, together with Dr Lawrence Ross from Akademi Pengajian Melayu, Universiti Malaya; Syed Muhiyuddin from HAKIM; Syahredzan Johan from Lawyers for Liberty, and Nurhayyu Zainal from Parti Sosialis Malaysia. The forum was moderated by Projek Dialog’s Yana Rizal.

The forum began with Syahredzan enlightening the audience on the Constitutional definition of Malay. According to Article 160 of our country’s highest law, a Malay is defined by three characteristics, viz. a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, and conforms to Malay customs.

This legalistic definition of Malayness is interesting, because it effectively means that Malay is a political construct rather than an ethnic concept. Technically, this means that a Malay in Malaysia need not necessarily have any Malay genes whatsoever. For example, only in Malaysia would a Javanese identify as a Malay. In Indonesia, for example, no Javanese would ever claim to be a Malay.

Curiously, the Malaysian definition of Malay also prevents other ethnic Malays from qualifiying as Malays. For example, the great Filipino nationalist, José Rizal, an ethnic Malay who is hailed by history as an icon of the Malay race, would actually not qualify as a Malay in Malaysia, by virtue of the fact that he was not a Muslim. Continue reading “Reclaiming Malayness”

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Merdekakan Minda Melayu (Liberate The Malay Mind)

M. Bakri Musa
12.5.2015

Malays need to have minda merdeka (free or liberated mind). We do not need another Melayu Baru (New Malay), Glokal Malay (contraction for global and local), Ketuanan Melayu (Malay hegemony), revolusi mental (mental revolution), and other tired slogans. Those would all be for naught if our collective minds remained trapped with their distorted views of the past and present. Facing the future with a closed mind is not the way either, at least not with any hope for success.

The famed Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer published his highly-acclaimed Buru Quartet novels soon after his release from Pulau Buru prison. When asked during a book tour in America how he was able to craft such a wonderful work of art while being imprisoned under the most inhumane conditions, Pramoedya replied, “I create freedom for myself!”

This is what a free mind can do. Your body may be imprisoned and confined to total darkness for 24 hours a day save for a ray of light peeking through the keyhole, as Pramoedya was, but no one could imprison your free mind. Under such cruel circumstances a mind that is not free could easily disintegrate, going wild and berserk, which justifies the continued isolation and inhumane treatment. Continue reading “Merdekakan Minda Melayu (Liberate The Malay Mind)”

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How to trigger a Malay renaissance

By Hafidz Baharom
Malaysiakini
Jan 1, 2015

COMMENT It is clearly numbing that we have certain parties thinking that getting 20,000 Malays at a singular event somehow will give birth to a renaissance period here in Malaysia. I will say this openly, that will not be a renaissance. It would just be a pathetic flash mob entitled, ‘I talk, you all listen’.

In the last week, the Malay Consultative Council or Majlis Perundingan Melayu (MPM) decided that there was a need to re-establish Malay dominance in the country through a renaissance.

Of course, they brought up the same old so-called threats – lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBTs), liberalism, secularism and the usual suspects – threatening the Malaysian way of life.

For those who may not know this, the MPM is made up of a huge list of Malay NGOs, including the Malay Chambers of Commerce (DPMM), my alma mater alumni organisation Alumni UiTM, Cuepacs, the Malay College Old Boys Association (MCOBA) and even the Malaysian Malay Contractors Association.

Though personally, it makes no sense to me how alumni associations involving schools, universities and even Mara Junior Science Colleges (MRSMs) could even think of backing this movement in the first place.

Firstly, for all the lawyers out there; if an organisation says they were appointed by the Prime Minister’s Office but have no letter nor official documentation to prove it, would that be a case of fraud or false representation?

And secondly, would all parties involved in the council that made that statement be liable for legal action under the Penal Code? Continue reading “How to trigger a Malay renaissance”