Education vs. Legislation.

What actually is the Malay problem? Well, figuratively speaking, between a Malay and a non Malay, the Malay is a primary school leaver. And the problem facing the primary school leaver is this: there are not so many vacancies for messengers, peons and thambys and the less skillful jobs. Even the less skillful are now being overtaken by Indonesians, Nepalese, Myanmarians, and some others from God knows what country.

But there are many job vacancies for skillful jobs, machinists, engineering and other skills demanding jobs. Those require skills upgrading, training and education, college and university education. Those require having diplomas, degrees and advanced degrees.

So the problem for the Malay is still largely education and acquisition of skills and expertise. It's time we move up the value added chain.

Whether we realize it or not, education seems to be an answer to redress the imbalance between the races. If the Malays become aware that education and acquisition of more skills, the valued adding skills, they will know that it is one important answer to address the economic imbalances between races.

Awareness that education is an important key helps in removing the preponderance of relying on legislation as a means to redress the economic imbalances. Education leads to employment and employment leads to better incomes which in turn go some way into achieving a better standard of living.

This idea of using education as a liberating force is lost on UMNO leaders. It's lost because our leaders compounded our reliance on legislation to redeem us. The baneful influence of power and intoxication in them appears to give leaders a false final solution to economic and social problems.

The problem is legislation cannot create the 'want' to work; it cannot create the 'want' to do better, the want to self help, the want to acquire wealth. What legislation does it to transfer wealth temporarily and easily after which it is dissipated quickly. Unless the wealth transferred receives valued added touch in the form of education and skills, the wealth so acquired stays with the recipient only temporarily. Education enhances wealth creating capacity while legislation gives a false sense of perpetuity.

This idea that legislation becomes the definitive means to redress economic imbalances between races seems to permeate many levels of thinking within the Malay establishment. It has set in for instance among politicians, administrators and among local leaders. It is this idea that somehow, we can legislate our way to prosperity without the attendant skunk work, that lulls the Malays. But more damaging, it pushes them to increasingly accept undemocratic and even authoritarian means to solve problems.

Hence among politicians, the over-indulgence in using licenses and quotas for example to secure economic advantages and benefits. They always failed when those freebies are never fortified by education and skills. We will quota our way and license our way to riches is the mantra.

Among administrators, benefits and advantages are secured by way of regulations, licenses, quotas, bylaws and so forth. Many of these are applied indiscriminately believing that such application confer on the recipients, long term benefits. They failed because those gratuitous benefits which are not worked for, are unfortunately not supported by genuine skills and education.

But perhaps the biggest flaw in using legislation as a means to solve social and economic problems, is the damaging disregard that it is but a superficial adornment which fails to create the necessary 'wants' within the person. How do you legislate an 'urge' for instance? You cannot but do it through education because education empowers the person from within.

Probably this disregard is the biggest single factor that gnaws at the effectiveness of the NEP. And it takes a new and courageous leadership to unscramble the system.