Zaid Ibrahim@zaidibrahim
I don't know why whenever Tun M spoke of Malay unity, the response has always been unduly harsh and vicious. Yesterday, he said he felt responsible for his failure to forge Malay unity, and even such humility was met with derision. That he was the architect of disunity by breaking up Umno; that he was the brain behind the culture of Malay hegemony, etc
To begin with, Tun M is never a bigot or a racist. His lifelong political work is to unite the country, and to do so, he strengthens the Malay community because of the weaknesses he sees in the Malays. Read his books. His speeches. They all have the same theme.
The Malays' lack of interest in business, their work ethics, their reliance on government support, their failure to strive for self-reliance, and their being overly conservative in religious matters make them less competitive in meeting modern challenges
In short, he wants the Malays to be stronger, not to win the wars he wages against the non-Malays. He never did. He wanted them to be competitive and on par with the others. He introduced English in schools, but with no success
Of course, the M haters blamed him for his Bumiputra policies; that Malays had become what he had described because of his policies
It's never easy to find the right balance between providing too much support by granting special privileges to Bumiputras as mandated by law, and giving what is due to the non-Malays. Fairness is hard to achieve. Historical errors had to be corrected
It is necessary to understand the difficult political dynamics he had to navigate as a leader of Umno for many years
Those who were aggrieved by his policies blamed him as solely responsible for their misfortune, and see Umno as a vehicle that must be destroyed
There are even many who blame him for the widespread policy of Islamization in the country. I can tell you, it was not him but someone else
Yes, he made his friends wealthy, but he wanted them to help their respective communities. They called it trickle-down economics. Some did, and some didn't. Yes, his large-scale projects did not always succeed, but he built this country. Don't be so blind
As I said, he wanted the Malays united, as Mao Tse-tung united the Chinese. He wanted the Malays to be successful as Lee Kuan Yew did for the Chinese in Singapore. Ok, he is remorseful that he failed, but there is no need to mock him
Dr M wanted to instil deep patriotism in the country on the basis that it is founded in history, and yet they blamed him for the Malay first hegemony
Our nation is young, and Tun M is among its earlier leaders in shaping its framework. He did his best, and it's okay if you think it's not good enough.
But his concern for the Malays is genuine. The reason Malays have to unite is that only their political unity can reform the big-ticket items.
The civil service and the corruption within: the million hectares of Malay Reserve lands that require development, which can only happen with a genuine Federal Malay power to overcome state objections. The administration of Islamic law, so that we can develop 70 billion worth of abandoned lands, fragmented by our personal laws and adat
You see, Malay unity is not about “ganging up “on the others, but about sorting the Malays ' internal issues. At the same time, if Malaysians want genuine reforms, they need a strong Malay-led power in the federal government.
If they are happy with gimmickry, they can continue on the present path, but please do not see Malay unity as dangerous and Anwar/DAP unity as healthy
