Righting a wrong
I am not going to get into unnecessary argument about semantics- that a 'right' is always a right, hence we don't have to fight for it. It is obvious that I am not talking about a philosophical right. I am talking about some human construct that is treated as a right by nature. I am not talking about 'kebenaran' atau yang 'hak'. Let me ask you a practical question. Treating the 30% target for example as a right, what do we hope to achieve? We hope it can make everyone equal, comes the answer. How do you do that? You use the power of being in the government to put up a clause in the Constitution( which is potentially changeable) to enforce the equality objective. Once you do this, without constant vigilance from a strong leadership watching like a hawk, we have institutionalise the idea of giving our charges their daily ration of fish, instead of giving them a rod. Is that good or bad? How do you actually and more effectively construct a level playing field and make things more equal? The ones who are going us to get the objectives are people- not clauses in the constitution. How many times have we written, that in order to improve things, we must create inside our people, the desire for 'wanting' things to change. We think the best way is to use the power of government to get us ahead- legal constructs, coercive powers and instruments and so on. In doing so, we forego and forfeit creating, making, building, selling. Improving technical or academic skills. When we push these more powerful elements which could improve the lot of people better to the sidelines, what have we achieved? What we have improved are not the functional skills which Tun Razak wanted, but political skills. That's what makes a difference. We have more political skills then technical skills. The objective of political skills is always getting and retaining power. Over the entire period, what we have created more of, are leaders with political skills not the technical skills to effectively move Malays and the country forward. We have more political leaders and less technical leaders. We have leaders who rise to the top not on account of any elements of brilliance and thinking ability, but as a result of mastering political intrigues. I touched on these in my article about what's bothering UMNO Penang; we actually have a leadership more adept at political intrigues rather than development skills. Hence you have a leadership that is disconnected and doesn't seem to know what to do. You have developed more political skills. You may recognize a little of what I am talking about in our current system here. More and more, becoming a "have" in our society requires entering the bureaucracy, or getting the bureaucracy on your side. Therefore we shout about something provided for in the constitution. We have so infected people with this idea that in order to move forward, we need to ally ourselves with powerful bureaucrats and those adroit at political skills. Even the hard working entrepreneurs and innovators among us increasingly need the bureaucracy's help. Vast mazes of regulations give bureaucracies vast power over both us and our competitors. Government can make or break an industry. Make or break a company. It can increase the cost of entry beyond plausibility, or it can make that cost go away. In the free market, wealth comes from work. You can't legislate wealth. Those who got wealth through legislation have shown that can't hold on to it. RM 54 billion of wealth given to those who sucked it up to political masters has been frittered away! Just as a food for thought, the political system that creates wealth from power is socialism or even communism. Therefore the closer we move toward socialism and communism, the more wealth comes from power. We called our political system as managed capitalism. That's the difference. The similarity: wealth still exists in relatively few hands. Hence, even state-enforced economic "equality" did not and cannot
make everyone "equal." It can only change the attributes that are most important to getting ahead. Sadly, they are not the right attributes. Sucking up to your superiors becomes more important than working hard. Figuring out which bureaucrats can do the most for you, and ingratiating yourself to them.
21 comments:
"We have leaders who rise to the top not on account of any elements of brilliance and thinking ability, but as a result of mastering political intrigues."
How true. Let me add. They are charlatans,hypocrites,liars, cheats, pseudo-religious,parasites.
Perhaps the "Malaysian Maverick - Mahathir Mohamad in turbulent times" should be translated into BM for the Malays to read and realize how UMNO has deceived them and all Malaysians.
Dato,
Righting a wrong!
What a timing?
At the moment, the racialist/racist of yr people r crying for blood.
Not a day passed, without some provoking fitnah being voiced.
Utusan's next war, Harussani's new constitution draft, Perkasa's vocals for their interpretation of Art153, the racist remarks of school educators, there is also a talk of Op Lalang II enactment, too! All these r facing a most deadening silence from that baggage carrier - najib.
What's happening?
Could it be that these people somehow sensed that their final fight is near & with losing supports from the other Malay M'sians - thus making their last OK Corrals stand before they r being circled & decimated.
I sincerely hope that they will be COMPLETELY finished-off, for the sake of our children & nation. But what I fear most is the chaos before the CHANGE.
These people would not go down alone. They would drag & pull whoever bystanders into their last fight. This is their mode - if I cant get it my way, there will be NO other ways for the others.
In these regard, how & what can u do to change that Malay mindset that have been so well crafted via the (mis)applications of the NEP for 40+ yrs?
See how consistence is the mentioning of the Malay generosity about giving citizenship to the Others, despite this myth has been disproved with official Westminster Hansard. There is no quid pro quo as claimed! Saddset to know that people like Aspan can bought into this idea. Malay proudness?
cont 2
cont 2of2
See how frequent that Art153 was quoted as the mean for everything Malayness is standing for. Touch it with a ten-foot pole, u will face with a torrent of rhetoric diarrhoea! To the Perkasa gang, this clause is their word of god.
See how that mamak keep pouring out his racist remarks, in the name of championing the Malay rights, as if only he can do something for his adopted race! Or is he trying to outdone Harry - just as Harry has famously proclaimed that he would step out from death to interfere if he knew that the red dot would going down. & yet what has he achieved for his 22 yrs of (mis)management of the country? This mamak DONT deserve any blessing even in this holy month.
Indeed, most of the Malay NEPers have only this to prove – ‘Sucking up to your superiors becomes more important than working hard. Figuring out which bureaucrats can do the most for you, and ingratiating yourself to them.’
These mentality runs deep within the psyche of the Malay bureaucracy. Nothing throws at u more glaring than that once proud & upright judiciary. And currently it’s only a sanctuary for the incompetent & kaki-angkat. Ha! Royal commission enquiry gets reviewed!
What about technical skills? Yrs of educational manipulation has managed to produce thousands of ‘so-called’ technocrats. & yet the standard of our technical advancement has consistently been eroded in the name of race ceiling. Forget about UM, which is already a terminal case. Know about MRI (medical research institute), FRIM (forest research institute M’sia), RRI (rubber research institute)? They were the champions of their era & rightly so. But now, they r the sites of gaji-buta with NOTHING significance (research/finding) coming out of them. What’s the differences between now & then? Obvious, izzn’t!
cont 3
cont 3of3
The rudest awakening about these Malay technocrats were/are what were/are their contributions to the national’s coffer, ie in raising the overall GNI of the country? Yes, the incomes of the Malay increases per sect (as per only ONE segment, due to the wrapped distribution of wealth among a growing breed), overall the country’s GNI crawls at the snell-pace for as long as the NEPers generations! Isn’t this the result of zero-sum game? Why zero-sum – could it be the fear that otherwise the Malays WILL NEVER catch up with the Others?
Let’s come back to political power. & let me ask a simple question. What’s the use of a dominant political power, when economically the country is as Zimbabwe-que as could be?
closer to home, Philippine use to be rich & well-managed. But ever since Marco (there r others but let just single out the most obvious), she has been at the bottom & stagnant economically despite the political powermanship. She has also produces many technocrats & artisans. Yet her biggest income is from maid remittance from overseas! Many of the maids r tertiary qualified, too! Why cant Philippine ultilised these professionals to uplift her economy, instead majority of them had to work on jobs outside their qualifications, just to earn a living?
Burma is another good example. But let those who r interested do some fishing work, rather than giving a fish.
So, Dato, is the righting a wrong too late for us?
How to generate that needed momentum to move masses of people who have had the goodies over the proverbial silver spoon for so long? Even more so, when there r feudalists & agitators standby to missile the effort in their interpretation of Alif Ba Ta?
This is depression, even the fasting wont clean out that thought!
anomie
Almost always, I enjoyed your articles. It's balanced, well thought out and hard hitting.
Unfortunately, this is what Mahathir thinks of competent people like yourself.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mocked proponents of meritocracy today, calling them racist and decried Malays who support meritocracy as having misplaced pride.
Dato'
Bravo, well articulated and insightful !
I hope you've the ears of DS Najib on your excellent insight into the wrongs done so far.
Righting the wrongs now is no more an option if UMNO wish to survive the next tsunami.
"we have institutionalise the idea of giving our charges their daily ration of fish, instead of giving them a rod. Is that good or bad"
that statement is wrong dato'. the 30% policy is not about GIVING a rod, u should have known better. its about HELPING them MAKING their own rod to compete with those who already making and selling rods. you cannot simply throw a stick at someone who doesn't do fishing and tell them to make a rod out of it.
sure they watch other people make types rods but it'll take them long time to learn. while they learn, the others already start building reel, boats, fishnet and bla, bla, bla. how to compete then?
metaphorically speaking..
Dato'
You said:
"We have leaders who rise to the top not on account of any elements of brilliance and thinking ability, but as a result of mastering political intrigues."
The Country is now reduced to Arguing about Friday Sermons and who is more muslim and more Patriotic.....
Since his rise to the Leadership, Despite paying millions to PR Companies, DS Najib is still perceived as a loner and weak leader...
Joe Black
Dato, salam Ramadhan.
Selama ini memang ada banyak perkara yang difikirkan, dijalankan oleh kerajaan Persekutuan (BN)yang pada dasarnya baik atau pada waktunya nampak baik. Tetapi apabila kita kaji kembali apa yang ada adalah banyak "GOOD INTENTIONS", tapi pada keseluruhannya tidak membantu langsung kepada rakyat keseluruhan, dan bumiputera secara khusus. Yang dapat orang-orang tertentu sahaja yang sebenarnya adalah AJEN KOMISEN.
Berapa banyak Ajensi Kerajaan yang ditubuhkan, dan mana dia kejayaan terhadap kumpulan sasar.
Ini satu contoh kecil, Ada seorang kawan saya yang berniaga ayam, nak minta bantuan/pinjaman, dari masa mula minta dan akhirnya (lulus) ambil masa 2 tahun. Itupun dik sebabkan dia ahli UMNO, ada jumpa timbalan menteri, menteri pun ada, cakap berdegar degar akhirnya duit TEKUN tak ada, kalau SMIDEC kena kursus 3 bulan lagi. Akhir nya cari cara lain, nasib baik bukan jumpa along.
Dia nak beli ayam hidup pun sampai sekarang semua pengusaha bukan dari orang bumiputera, tapi towkey ayam masih boleh bertolak ansur. So nak berniaga ayam kena kerjasama dengan semua, tak payahlah nak sibuk, janji yang disembelih tu halal.
Lagi satu contoh : kawan ni, berpeluang untuk ambil alih satu syarikat dari Denmark. Pada waktu yang diperlukan, pinjam kepada SME BANK, ambil masa dekat dua tahun juga, tapi masa dapat setelah cagarkan rumah, Sijil ASB, BOD dan Shareholders guarantee, business dah tak "VIABLE" kerana customer dah give up.Export syarikat ini keserata dunia, kerana kualiti barangan tersebut. Bayangkan pasaran yang tersedia kalau dapat dimanafaatkan.
Walaupun begitu, business ini bergerak semampunya, tapi akhirnya syarikat ini kita kena cari halatujubaru. Produk tersebut terpaksa diberhentikan.
Jadi "GOOD INTENTION" dengan segala macam program hanya lah 'gimmick' dan 'rhethoric' politik sahaja.
Kalaulah betul-betul ikhlas nak tolong, ada banyak cara, tapi satu lagi masaalahnya, pegawai-pegawai yang bertanggung jawab tu, kenalah peka business dan mempunyai keupayaan bukan mereka yang pandai teori sahaja.
Lagipun, setiap rakyat Malaysia yang ingin berjaya, dan kalau melayu/bumiputera nak berjaya, kena ada ILMU dan sanggup berUSAHA, kalau semua nak mudah, jadi komisen ajen.
Kita sebenarnya tak ada sistem yang boleh membantu mengerakkan IDEA dengan berkesan, ramai kaki komen dan mereka yang ambil peluang bila IDEA itu menarik.
Akhirnya, lebih 50 tahun memerintah, rakyat fedup, kelam kabut bawa masuk transformasi dan sebagainya tapi ... ????
A.Alshukor
Your view actually is not new. Both Tunku, Tan Siew Sin talked about it extensively that the Malays under the NEP would be too politically centric and with little else.
Bottom line is Tunku was right, Mahathir was wrong.
Two Wongs don't make a White?
The first thing that Malaysians must get it right is to really get an Independent party like say neutral outside to define what "special rights" means in the constitutions.
How about the Malaysian Bar ?
I think Ibrahim Alis groups intepret it differently from most Malaysians we know.
Until that is done, Ibrahim Ali will continue to spit out venums which he thinks is logic but to us silly.
Then we can judge who is right and who is wrong.
Well if legally it is as Ibrahim Ali Interprets it, then the others will know what to do. Just move with our feet (which many are alredy doing).
No need to quarrel. The world is our living space. Today with air asia to go to China is like buying a bus ticket.
That is what I know many Chinese from China and Malaysia is doing.
Equipped with English, Chinese and Malay language knowledge and contacts, there is a lot of money to be made.
It is better than quarrelling over who prayrf for who in mosques. Sound very funny/weird lah. Prayer also want to quarrel. Frankly this is the first time, we realise it is wrong to pray for non Muslims by Muslims.
Does it mean that when Datos Lee Chong Wei or Dato Nicol David fight for the cups (whatever), Muslims cannot pray for them?
I am puzzle. You have to be consistent. There is no two ways about it.
If this is the direction Malaysian want to move to , go ahead, leave us behind. We have better things to do.
We pray for all.
To some, other peoples rights are also their rights.
How do you deal with this, Saudara Sak?.
Do we just grin and bear it, all in the name of 1Malaysia?
I am watching with glee on the sidelines on the antics of some of our friends here.
You are back being praised since you are not talking about the A person.
And they are back in business with carte blanche insulting the Malays and UMNO.
Datuk Sakmongkol,
We know what you think of Anwar Ibrahim and perhaps you were not too far off the track. See Haris Ibrahim's Mahathir kicked Anwar out of UMNO, yes, but who will now kick UMNO out of Anwar? and we may even accept what you said of Anwar except those part of your attacks which just do not sound plausible.
However, based on UMNO's current crops of leaders, that will not change my support for Pakatan Rakyat but hope to keep negative parts if true under control.
It may not make any difference but I would have even more respect for you if you actually give reasons to back up your accusation that DAP is a Chinese First policies party and it reasons to the contrary are presented, give a simple admission that you were wrong.
Anyway, still waiting for your reasons if any. Commenting here because your title is RIGHTING A WRONG
However, just wondering how much of UMNO is in you as compared to how much of UMNO is in Anwar?
Anomie,
Fact of the matter is, it is the Malays who have to make up their minds how we can progress.
All they know is their "rights" until now no-one has enlightened us what that exactly means. They have been bulldozing unopposed their version of "special" without opposition or protest because their running dogs parties MCA and others are well fed too all these years.
Now when they cannot get their ways they are now starting all these racial rants.
They control practrically everything you can think of ( from army to educatin )and now mamak is talking about them losing polical power. What a load of bull.
Actually we, in our circles are responding, quietly in our own ways these guys do not know what they are losing. We act with our feet and votes.
The number of talents and capital going overseas is tremendous. We have an economy within an economy. With the advent of China and our Mandarin and language advantages we would be okay irrespective what happens to Malaysia economically.
When the economy has become Zimbabweland , we still have our sons and daughters sending home moneys they earn as professionals and businesses. When a country becomes Zimbabwe land it is the worker class that would be the major losers.
The proofs are there.
Right now it is the Indonesia/philipines locals that are sending their daughters to work as maids. Have you heard any Chinese from Indonesia or Phillipines becoming maids? No right? Why? You form your own conclusion because my conclusion will anger many of you.
The Koreans, Singaporeans, Taiwanese, Chinese in China etc are conquering the world in new products and have established long lasting incoming generating products while we are still mainly dependent on our free oil and old palm trees.
Our major innovative young talents are mostly overseas. The Chinese are mainly business class.
Today it is a Malay vs Malay fight. No a Malay vs Non Malays.
In fact it was revealed if Pakatan wins, there would be even more Malay presentations in Parliament.
What we are doing is to try to help the Malays to go up not down.
And to be able to take on the world together. It seems some guys want to do it alone by themselves.Go ahead if they can. They cant even take on locals much less globally.
Meanwhile we say ...Sudah we give up lah. We are looking for opporunities anywhere we can find be it locals or overseas and will not quarrel over religion or race.
To us that is pure stupidity that benefits no one except helping robbers to continue to rob.
Yes we do have a number of such supporters even here in this blog.
The choice is for the Malays to decide not the non Malays.
Tun M is still a force to be reckoned with.
Nazir Razak has called on him to explain his bastardization of the NEP speech at the recent MCA Congress.
In his latest postings, Tun M among other things said:
"When the Malays, understanding the implications, protest against meritocracy, they were condemned as racists.
"Faced with being labelled as such, Most Malays dared not support even the NEP.
"Some, perhaps due to mistaken pride, have begun to support meritocracy, undermining the Malay position further."
Yep, that's what we Malays feel but can't articulate as welll as him.
Tuan Pemblog,
Meritokrasi berkait rapat dengan kemampuan/keupayaan seseorang melakukan sesuatu perkara tetapi bukan berkait rapat dengan upaya kebendaan atau ketinggian kedudukan seseorang dalam masyarakat. Nah, bukan saja istilahnya sedap didengar malah definisinya juga membayangkan kalau ianya diamalkan maka ia dianggap paling adil.
Oleh itu kalau meritokrasi menjadi satu saluran untuk menilai dan menentukan darjah kelayakan individu bagi memenuhi mana-mana kedudukan, jawatan atau tugasan, dan kalau faktor lain di tolak ke tepi, ia (meritokrasi) adalah satu sistem yang paling cocok terutama apabila kedudukan, jawatan dan tugasan itu memerlukan minda, kecerdasan, kecergasan, kemahiran dan pengalaman yang terbaik.
Hakikatnya setiap insan adalah memiliki tahap kemampuan dan keupayaan yang sama saja. Tetapi tahap berkenaan boleh dipertingkatkan menerusi 'usaha dan pendekatan' yang bersesuaian. Dan oleh kerana usaha dan pendekatan yang diambil oleh satu pihak mungkin berbeza atau kalau pun usaha dan pendekatan adalah sama tetapi disebabkan akses yang tidak sama maka timbullah situasi di mana satu pihak jadi lebih mampu/upaya dari pihak yang satu lagi.
Dalam masyarakat yang sudah lama maju, usaha dan pendekatan untuk menaikkan tahap kemampuan/keupayaan individu dalam masyarakat adalah tersebar secara sama rata dan dengan itu akses terhadap usaha dan pendekatan untuk memajukan diri boleh dicapai oleh semua individu yakni tiada individu yang akan terpinggir, tercicir atau dianaktirikan.
Dipendekkan kata, semua pihak mempunyai ruang dan peluang yang sama dan sekata untuk meningkatkan keupayaan/kemampuan diri. Oleh itu kalau meritokrasi dijadikan sebagai salah satu sistem bermasyarakat dan bernegara, tidaklah timbul perasaan tidak mendapat keadilan kalau-kalau mereka tidak terpilih sebagai layak untuk itu dan ini.
Lain padang lain belalang. Kepincangan yang ketara di negara membangun ialah, setiap individu/warga tidak mendapat akses yang sama terhadap 'pakej' yang sama kualitinya bagi tujuan meningkatkan tahap keupayaan/kemampuan diri masing-masing yakni tidak seperti apa yang dinikmati oleh individu/warga di negara maju.
Ini bermakna dalam konteks keupayaan/kemampuan diri, dalam kalangan masyarakat membangun, akan terdapat warga yang mampu/berupaya kerana mendapat akses penuh terhadap pakej berkualiti dan ada juga warga yang tidak mendapat akses yang serupa. Dan kalau mereka yang menjadi rendah upaya/mampu tadi kerana tidak mendapat akses secukupnya terhadap pakej pembinaan kapasiti diri, adilkah kalau mereka diletakkan dalam satu 'bakul' dengan mereka yang mampu/berupaya, yang diperolehi menerusi pengoptimuman rembatan ke atas peluang yang membujur lalu.
Oleh itu kalau meritokrasi dijadikan saluran untuk memilih mana yang layak atau tidak layak maka golongan yang mendapat akses penuh terhadap pakej yang lebih baik, sudah pasti mempunyai kebarangkalian yang lebih besar untuk terpilih sebagai layak untuk itu dan ini, sedangkan golongan yang rendah tahap upaya/mampu -- disebabkan faktor keadaan yang tidak memihak pada mereka -- sudah tentu peluang mereka adalah tidak setingi dolongan yang pertama tadi.
Setelah mengetahui tentang tahap upaya/mampu yang dimiliki oleh setiap insan/warga adalah tidak melata dan tidak sekata, maka apakah masyarakat masih berasakan meritokrasi adalah sistem terbaik dan yang amat didambakan ketika ini? Kepada warga yang telah sedia faham dan sedar ketidaksekataan yang melata dalam konteks upaya/mampu, terpulanglah kepada mereka untuk tepuk dada ... masing-masing.
Kah-Kah-Kah
Dear Bro Sak,
Your opinions here in the blog are scary to spine of many young Malays, either they (young Malay) will go haywire or become mentally disorder which requires a substantial amount of finance for medication. This is ok, because we have hospitals which could give them treatments.
Those who are not reachable by the hospitals, due to financial difficulty from him, or late treatment, will kill their sons, wives, and kids around them, for madness and frustration out of these issues.
Well, they killed people near them. Later I think, they will form a agroup of similar insane people, to kill anyone. The problem will arise, when there is someone as mad as them be their leader and campaign for a cause. Then you will have a Malay rebellious group who go rampage against the issues.
I hope, we talk issues that are sensible and please note that there are people who are not as smart as you. But they read.
Then what is right in your opinion, become a wrong to him, then the consequences effect that one of us would like to see.
As at today, 5000 young people are under treatment of this mental disorder, and the easy reach of internet may be one of the cause. So you guys, please be moderate in complaining about other races, some races may go mentally disorder just as in May 13.
It is wrong to righting a wrong. Agreed, bro. But to have right is not totally wrong. Any dog (for example) have the right to bark. But if the dog's owner allow the dog to bark, and if that disturbs the neighbors can we say that the neighbors have no right to have a peaceful and quiet night? So whose right is more important than the others? Dogs? Owners? Or neighbors?
Anon 25 August 2010 21:37
"Right now it is the Indonesia/philipines locals that are sending their daughters to work as maids. Have you heard any Chinese from Indonesia or Phillipines becoming maids? No right? Why? You form your own conclusion because my conclusion will anger many of you."
My comments:
Yes, bro, you are right i.e chingkok from java and luzon do not work as maids. Know why? Haha, there is more easier job awaiting to be filled in the "lumah ulut, LOL". Got it? hehe.
Post a Comment