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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Monday 19 July 2010

The changing mental landscape of the Malays?


Dear Dato',

I am 65 and have no stable job. I have been following your blog for quite sometimes and I find it informative, direct and dare to point out weaknesses in UMNO, the government and the Malays in general. My favourite newspapers used to be Utusan and the New Straits Times. I have stop reading them. And now I also stop watching TV3 and RTM news. I just cannot stand it anymore.

I am not a member of any political party. As an ordinary citizen, like most other citizens of this country, I want a Malaysia which is progressive, modern and tolerant and most importantly a government which practices fairness, justice, etc. I want to see the government fight corruption whole-heartedly, practice transparency and stop cronysm.


 

The government says they are doing all these. What I can see it is all talk and no action. I sometimes cannot comprehends the reasoning and logics given by judges, including those sitting in the highest court. DS Najib has been talking non-stop of everything that can bring good to the country. But I didn't see any result, as if he forget everything he said once he finished talking. Our DPM has a brain more like a 17-year olds. And I didn't hear anything worth listening from the UMNO vice-presidents, and what more senior ministers, especially Rais Yatim.  When I think of the country's future I feel hopeless. I don't think UMNO, under the present leadership, can lead the country forward. I hope your writings will be more forceful and cover wider subjects especially on reinventing the Malay minds.


 

Actually, the Malays has nothing to be proud of. We have to understand and accept our weaknesses. We are lacking in so many things. As I see it, the Malays are going backward. The Malay mind has to be revamped and re-programmed. We cannot go forward using the current mind-set. What can people like Ibrahim Ali help to advance the Malays?


 

What happen to our government servants? Every decisions, however minor, has to be brought and decided by committees. What's the use of sending them to Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, etc. Where is the delegation of duties in the government? even buying stationeries has to go to the committee. You can see the quality of Malay university professors talking on TV talk shows. They talk to please their hosts and to protect their positions, rather than truth and facts.


 

Another sore point for me. When a problem occurs in our society most Malay leaders points out the lack of religious education as the main cause. To me this is too simplistic and sometimes irrelevant. But the Malays in general can accept this line of reasoning, which doesn't requires THINKING. Anything bad that happen in society is blamed on the lack of religious education. We know that society's problems are very complex and cannot be solely attributed to religious factors. But the Malays seem to think that religion is everything, at least a large majority of them.


 

That was a letter I received over the e mail from a Malay gentleman. I have chosen not to reveal his name. What if this gentleman's personal perceptions represent what the typical Malay now thinks of?
Our government needs to recognise this. The way we govern may no longer be sustainable. We govern with the belief that our population stays in villages, shut out from information waves and excluded from rising awareness. So we think, we secure peoples blind trust when we give free houses to a certain number of applicants. For 100 people who got free houses, there may be 1000 people cursing the government why they didn't get the houses. They blame the penghulu, they blame the ketua kampong, they blame the district office they blame the ADUN for skewed selection process. The sad truth is, they are probably right.
In a few years, most of our population will live in cities. Villages and kampongs change in character, as the old give way to the young. People develop different expectations. Children who are better educated tell parents a different story. That's reverse counsel. Parents aren't equipped to tell children what's good for society. Educated children at various levels tell parents what's good for society-things like right to a decent living because government exists to manage the economy properly. And standards of assessment such as what the above gentleman is saying- good governance, fair, free from cronyism, free from corruption. People no longer want to accept the arguments of 'democracy tax' whereby democratic countries have to tolerate certain levels of inept bureaucracy, certain levels of nepotism and cronyism, certain levels of corruption. Why? Because people are better informed and this agitates and move them into action.
A government that sits stubbornly refusing to adapt to a changing political landscape, is simply pushed to the back seat. If UMNO doesn't adapt to these changes, it loses relevance.
How does the government reach out to the people? I was listening to the talk given by Robert Fisk yesterday. He was talking about Palestine mainly but he also touched about journalism in general. People all over the world, and not just the gentleman above no longer believe and even read mainstream journalists any more. They believed that mainstream journalists no longer report the truth. They just earn a living from the owners of newspapers. So in Malaysia if the mainstream papers are actually owned by the government, eventually the government will not be believed. Bob Fisk was telling, tongue in cheek I hope, that you have to start a new newspaper.

23 comments:

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 08:42  

I almost thought that that letter was written by me!!!!!!

That's exactly how I feel about the Malays, the PM, the DPM and his Ministers.

I can assure you, at this rate, the Malays will one day rise against the UMNO leaders as did the Indians against the Maharajas.

One must be blind if one cannot see this coming. The Malays are lagging behind economically and intellectually. Blame UMNO for that.

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 08:57  

wakaka... simply, final decision mean, change the goverment because the newspaper belong to the goverment. Good article bro.. to that "grand father" let me tell you, process to re-level either upgrade or downgrade a generation, take almost 30 year time. Simply said, today 'downgrade' was done by no other than Mahathir ideology. Kita masih mendengar dan menerima ideologi ini dari Mahathir. Belajar dari budak kecik lagi bagus, they'll tell you latest story regarding their world. Sakit hati saja dengar cakap penyamun, penyangak dan perompak dalam parti2 politik sekarang ni. Siap main wayang dengan negara2 luar dan undang2 bolehland lagi.

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 09:01  

Are we going bankrupt in 2019?

Jala was brought into the Cabinet cos of his prowess in mgmt/finance and experience in turning around ailing companies including Shell & MAS.

When he pronounced Msia's impending bankruptcy it must be after rigorous analysis.Its not a SMALL issue..its the future of 27 million people.

However,I don't see that PM nor DPM is taking it too seriously.Even the measly "subsidy cut" of RM 750 mil is nothing compared to the RM 18 bil.

I think it is sad..

The PM brings in Jala & not taking his advise seriously enough.

The message is clear >> govt needs to CUT COST..but the GOVT continues with bloated OPEX w/out plans to reduce cost thru URGENT & COMPREHENSIVE reforms.Its BIZ as USUAL.

Or is Jala's bankruptcy announcement a big JOKE & to be taken with a pinch of salt whilst puffing a cigar at the 1st Class MAS Lounge in transit to 2 weeks holiday in the South of France?

I am worried for the future...but nobody in the leadership nor Govt Service seems to care.They talk talk talk then go off for their fun n games.

Quantum Metal Consultant 19 July 2010 at 09:11  

Alhamdulillah.

Yang Berbahagia Kolonel Dr Amir Ramli bukan sahaja seorang doktor perubatan tetapi juga seorang penulis yang sempat menggunakan bahasa penulisan yang baik dan strategies.

Ke Singapura dan dengan hanya menjalani beberapa ujian sahaja dan akan disusuli dengan beberapa rawatan fisioterapi telah mampu untuk Baginda sihat, ertinya Bagainda telah sihat sejak dari Kelantan lagi dan ke sana sekadar mengesahkan sahaja.

Pengasingan Baginda dengan rawatan ke Singapura bukan sahaja baik dari segi pengasingan suasana tetapi juga bagus dari segi perancangan untuk di susun semula bagi Baginda kembali memerintah Kelantan.

Daulat Tuanku.

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 09:46  

Sak,
What can the malays do.Those umno leaders have hides thicker than elephants and they now feel its their Goddammed right to lord over the people.!They are intoxicated with Power that they can have anything, do anything but change for the better!
In TRUTH we have a class of clowns running the country.They re just ain'nt in a class of their own to run the country.Period!

yb,  19 July 2010 at 09:47  

That IS the CHANGED and MATURE mentality of the majority of Malays/rakyat.

Unfortunately, the brains in BN/UMNO are too childish and regressive to challenge the progressive Malays/rakyat and they still take the rakyat for fools.

The trend is very clear in BN/UMNO, what they refuse or could not accept, they will intercept, dissect and shove everything under the carpet.

yb

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 11:33  

Dato Sak

You must be complimented for highlighting this Malay gentleman's letter.

What he has expressed is in the lips of every self-made fellow friends and colleagues we studied together.

But they are fearful of voicing their opinions in public, they say, for fear of being outcast by their own community and inner circles, and for being branded, "anti Malay".

Now, a successful Malay in business or who got a scholarship is tainted with being a Malay who cannot stand on his/her own two feet and that when they are being thrown to the wolves, they will never survive.

Does the UMNO leadership about what this Malay gentleman says. I don't think so. You know the reasons better than I do.

UMNO wants to retain power at all cost, even at the cost of the development of the nation.

Our UMNO Ministers come to the media to talk more about Malay political issues instead of talking about Malaysian economic issues. And much of the time of our Ministers are more interested in using the Opposition as punching bags to score political points.

Frankly, as far as the UMNO Ministers are concerned, we all, including you and the Malay gentleman, are blowing hot air. The only people they listen to are the UMNO diviisonal branches and ultra Malay NGOs (read: Perkasa)

The name of the game of UMNO today is: We hold political power, we don't have to give a damn o what others say.

Najib is too weak and politically a lame duck Prime Minister. His APCO-paid rebranding is cosmetic, and the veneer of his moral leadership is too thin to cover the scandals of the past and his debt to the ultra Malay camp in UMNO.

Najib is not his own man. Crudely speaking, the ultra Malays in UMNO are holding Najib by the balls. That will be how history will judge Najib by his performance today.

Red Alfa 19 July 2010 at 12:21  

Salam Dato'

In my work, my circle of friends and associates are largely private sector non-Malays. I am very aware of their being averse to this Govt.

With my urbanite and kampung-mentality relatives, we are about equally divided UMNO and PAS. But the UMNO in my clan who are the blind stalwarts/patriots types seem moving almost en-bloc to PERKASA thinking of the "final solution".

What misgivings of UMNO and the Govt I may have were not really shared by any majority of the Malays. PAS and PKR could not seem ever to win over their mindset thinking or get them to vote out the Govt. Or so I thought!

Of late your blogs, that of Saudara Aspan's, this recent posting of yours and with all their accompanying comments, the fear of the adverse implications of the dysfunctional PM and Govt seems to be overcoming the fear of the bogeyman planted in the forms of the Chinese and Taliban types overwhelming the Ketuanan Melayu that has been ingrained into the Malay minds.

The changing mental landscape is the growing common realization among the Malays and their having totally entrenched opposite views that this PM (and his Govt?) must go?

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 12:32  

Dato'

I think this Malay gentleman speaks for most of us, the silent majority.

His thoughts and concerns are well founded by years of experience and observation.

Thank God, justice is every human heart. We are all one race, the human race.

Quantum Metal Consultant 19 July 2010 at 13:12  

Dato, maaf salah entry posting saya yang terdahulu.

Quiet Despair,  19 July 2010 at 13:12  

Malays do not expect UMNO to help us in our daily lives.
Who says UMNO owes us a living.
We regard UMNO as a symbol to defend and protect our rights only.
But that is now being slowly eroded.
Ordinary Malays especially the poor want a decent life with a roof over their heads, clean water, good education and health system, amenities and affordable food.
They don't care much for democarcy, tolerance or judiciary or free press.
What's the point of all this high-faluting ideas when people are living below poverty line, with some having no electricity or only 12-hour supply.
UMNO must go back to baiscs that is uplifting the life of the people.
Rest assured that they wii get the votes of the Malays.
As a voter I dont give a damn about Anwar Ibrahim, Zaid Ibrahim and the DAP who do not offer my people anything besides idealisms.
How many people come into contact with the judiciary in our real lives?

Red Alfa 19 July 2010 at 13:58  

Salam Dato'

Talk about entrenched and opinionated views!

For all he cares even that UMNO has become so corrupt and dysfunctional and the common Malays are/will be suffering for it, DAP, PKR and PAS will be just the same as corrupt and dysfunctional!

Like better the devil he knows?

Never mind/who cares the devil of a corrupt judiciary?

He does not see that these devils of Malay are making more Malay devils? Because justice fails ever more Malay devils continue to khianat and corrupt the common Malays.

And he doesn't give a damn? His love and loyalty for these "bangsat of Melayus" is misplaced surely?

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 14:50  

Dato,

What will it take to make the Malays realize that the one holding them back and keeping them ‘ barefoot and pregnant’ to borrow an American phrase, are their own leaders ?

All political decisions are finally made by UMNO leaders. Even you complained about pandering to the Chinese. If you don’t need them, then there is no need to pander to them. So the decision to pander, if you call them that, rest with UMNO.

Who has control over the NEP ? Definitely not the Chinese. But if the UMNO leaders decide to Ali Baba the cause to the Chinese, then no matter how many Ibrahim Alis there are, the Malays are back to square one, no matter how long the NEP is extended.

Lately, many of your commenters complain that the Chinese are asking for too much, such as scholarships to be given on merit, better funding for Chinese schools and so on. The scholarship debate has been going on for as long as I can remember. If after 50 years of distributing the scholarships, it still is not done on merit, then it should not be called a scholarship at all. For it would be a misnomer. It should be called Study Aid if merit is not the criteria. If the government schools are doing such a good job, the Chinese schools will close on their own. In the sixties and seventies, most of us shun the Chinese schools and enroll in missionary schools because of the quality of their education. Now sadly, the former missionary schools are a hollow shell of what they used to be after the government took over. It always comes down to demand and supply.

So please wake up and look through all the red herring. Putting down the Chinese and Indians is not going to help the Malays advance. This is not a race between the 3 races where the advantage of one is the disadvantage of another. One very good example is the prime land in Kg Baru. Why is it not developed after all these years ? Why is TDM so amenable to allow the non-Malays a stake to develop the land there ? Even the defender of ketuanan, IA is agreeable. I would have thought that he will go berserk at any suggestion of giving the Chinese a share in developing Kg Baru, a prime piece of Malay reserved land.

At the end of the day, it is skills, knowledge, hard work and thrift that will carry the day. The bumi status will only carry you so far. After that, you have to walk on your own.

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 14:50  

Quite Despair,

It shows your understanding of the situation when you said :

Malays do not expect UMNO to help us in our daily lives.
Who says UMNO owes us a living.
We regard UMNO as a symbol to defend and protect our rights only.

Pray tell, who decides on RM43bil projects and price increases in petrol and sugar ?
PKRkah, DAPkah or PAS then ? Who sets laws and policies ? Who gives out APs worth billions ? The very life of Class F contractors depends on UMNO.

The scholarships, MARA & university enrollment, business licenses, in fact your everyday life is more or less decided by UMNO. Don’t kid yourself.

nstman,  19 July 2010 at 15:05  

My Malay brothers and sisters: Ibrahim Ali can do a lot for the Malays. He can bring instant riches, he can give you shares, he can guarantee Malays get 70 per cent of the national wealth. He can ensure that you dont have to study hard to get top marks. Ibrahim, am I right?

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 17:02  

If you look at history, even the most oppressed people required leadership before they can over throw their oppressor. The Malays may be hoodwinked by UMNO but they are not oppressed. Sure their lives can be easily better with a cleaner and more accountable govt presumely the opposition but that is an abstract idea.

Anyone who has done education will understand how difficult it is to teach abstract concept. The effort required is not linear, teaching some concepts at times, depending on talent, require a huge leaps in effort.

Without the tools of media and organisation to counter BN, the opposition effort even if it matches linear to BN, will not succeed.

The road to awareness has to be repeated multiple front. First you need education, then you need income to purchase information, then you need socialisation. We have the worst education system for awareneess - rigid, narrow, poor teachers etc. No need to discuss at excess income to purchase information that is restricted. Socialization in rural area is probably non-existent.

Because UMNO failed to deliver education, income, information rurally there is no need to even discuss other factors. Unless you can figure out a way to have the world show up at the doorstep of rural Malaysia everyday, you can pretty much be sure that the mental change will not happen.

Will the Malay mentality change - absolutely because its the natural thing to do but its not one, two step thing. Its a series of things, repeated, and reinforced with reality that will change it. That is how abstract learning works. Its already happening in urban areas, it will happen so long as we roll out the proper education, affordable internet and freedom to discuss things openly.

Malaysian Unplugged Uncensored Team 19 July 2010 at 18:55  

Dear Dato' Mohd Ariff Sabri

We have taken the liberty of reposting this article of yours on our website.

We believe it deserves a wider readership, in particular amongst readers of our website.

We noted the many articles in your blog have the bigger interest of the nation at heart and they reflect your strong fortitude in pursuing and highlighting issues of concern and recorded in print fro the benefit of a wide cross section of your readers

We thank you in advance for your permission.

Malaysian Unplugged Uncensored Team

Quiet Despair,  19 July 2010 at 19:18  

nstman

My dear Indian bros and sistahs.
Samy Vellu can do a lot for the Indians.
Better than Ibrahim Ali.
He's got the ears of the PM.
Am I right??

Anonymous,  19 July 2010 at 19:18  

Dato Sak,
I am a Malay gentleman too. I support the ideas describe the the writer. Its well thought and I believed this the thinking of many apolitical Malays. We dont believed the present leadership. We dont think they can lead the Malays what more the nation. The existing should be replaced. We have good people but was chopped and discarded. I think we have the people who can lead but the system is corrupted and only corrupt survived.

Non-partisan,  20 July 2010 at 10:42  

Not a day passed without us hearing or reading signs of resentment and indignation as to the going-ons in UMNO as well as in the country.

The PM seems to be facing intimidating questions from many fronts regarding his brand of leadership and its effectiveness.

The high mark given by the Merdeka Centre doesn't seem to neutralise whatever negative perception formed against him.

The speeches he gave from time to time to various audiences apparently have also failed to shore up his flagging image. All the bombastic words and terminologies he used in his speeches will be seen as mere rhetorics if no concrete results delivered.

The BIG question now is whether he is receiving any CORRECT ADVICE on how to run the party and the country.


Correct advice comes from correct and solid intelligence which in turn comes from highly reliable sources put in place - NOT from the parasites around and those monetary-driven consultancy outfits.

schenker78 20 July 2010 at 11:06  

UMNO/BN are cancer......dump it and get a third coalition if dont like Pakatan rakyat.

There are space to play like Liberal democrats of the UK....

Anonymous,  20 July 2010 at 14:10  

Quite Despair,

Samy Velu cannot simply give scholarship or issue APs or business license or give 7% discount for Indians to buy new house.

Anonymous,  20 July 2010 at 16:51  

Quiet despair..........you don't sound intelligent......i do sometimes meet people like you who can always answer back, without substance.........do you know why you are like that, UMNO's upbringing....Come on, grow up, get to know what's happening around and implement positive ideas for Malaysia...not malays

Zulkarnain Alex here......

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