Observations of a Kenyan student in Malaysia on the country – a beautiful nation with beautiful people who live with a stinking political system, institutional rot, and the trouble with the Malay leadership.
This is the second and final installment.
Building a Society Through Defeatism: Malay Style (Part 1)
The trouble is the Malay leadership. Having seen their people have become addicts, they lack the charisma to tell them that the nation must cross a new frontier and meet today’s challenges with new policies that are effective, economically sound and free of corruption. You can’t stick to a policy that failed. Four decades is what a nation needs to rise, not for a single policy to be implemented.
Of course there is Anwar Ibrahim, always the rabble rouser who called the policy obsolete and formulated a new policy. But rather than debating on the merits of his new policy, the ruling party, UMNO, and its apparatchiks dismissed Anwar as a traitor, an IMF funded rogue who wants to destroy the Malays.
To me, Anwar is a great leader and UMNO leaders are leaders. The difference between the two is that a great leader takes his people where they don’t want but aught to be and a leader takes his people where they want. And when you listen to what your people like PERKASA’s Ibrahim Ali and other Manglish speaking, Utusan consuming hordes want, you fail in your leadership role and that’s what’s happening in Malaysia.
In the four to five years that I have been in Malaysia, I have never heard a single Malay leader apart from Anwar Ibrahim and former Finance Minister and UMNO’s only conscientious member (apart from a blogger called Sakmongkol). Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah says the Malays CAN! I always hear, “The Malays are weak, the Malays can’t compete, the Malays don’t have the Chinese civilisation, the Malays are not tough enough to survive on their own, the Malays need help, the Malays are under threat” and etc.
Dr. Mahathir, the former PM and a notoriously racial leader continues to stoke the embers of racism and warned the Malays that that they were losing Malaysia to the non-Malays. He knows they aren’t losing, but his target is to scare villagers into supporting the ruling party and thus prevent his arch-rivals, Anwar and PAS leaders from coming into power. I have no problem with politics, but destructive politics that destroys the very fabric of your nation and mismanages the destiny of that nation is both immoral and evil.
When I hear UMNO Malay leaders humiliate their own people by saying they are weak, can’t compete and need perpetual crutches, I always ask myself: what is their intention? When you publicly and before the world camera repeat and repeat that your people are a bunch of hapless people, what do you want the world to do? To issue a Guinness World Records’ certificate of collective stupidity to your people?
Why not praise your people instead? Why not say my people can? Why not raise up their spirit? Why not show them the opportunities the world has rather than cocooning them here alone? Why not remind them Islam and Allah’s order to Muslims to seek His bounties on earth and toil? A believer doesn’t fail and worse, a believer doesn’t engage in defeatism. “Ta-Ha. We have not revealed the Quran to you that you may be unsuccessful.” (20-1-2. Holy Quran, Shakir)
There was a Tab’ie (follower of the Prophet’s Companions) who one day came a long two men fighting. One was being humiliated. So he wanted to raise the spirits of the defeated guy. He reminded him of his faith, of his people’s past glories, of his ability, of grandfathers, of his own, and instantly the man was charged. I can’t recollect the entire story but I remember the Tabi’e also said had the other man being the one humiliated, he would have reminded him of many good things and helped him rise.
The moral of the story? Always remind your people of what’s good! Of their past glories to draw lessons, always point to their future. Remind them about their name and dignity. Tell them of the teachings of their faith. Islam is basically about creating success stories, not a whining society that’s hopeless. You are in a fight, a perpetual fight and this fight can’t be won through simplistic ideas. It needs resilience, patience, innovation, faith, sobriety, thinking, good leadership, honest administrators, and just leaders (institutions).
This battle needs sacrifice, toil, and tears. Allah (sw) didn’t see it fit to send even His Prophets free food. There is nothing called “free” here. All our Prophets worked hard and were herdsmen. Why do you think they had to occupy the lowest of jobs to survive? It’s meant to remind us work is what’s important and earning halal income is our destiny. Rent-seeking, corruption, sleaze, cronyism, and opportunism destroy a nation.
Mukhtar al Bukhary is not a success story. Which part of meeting a minister in his private sitting room and cutting deals is a success? Can he stand tall and be proud? The world would laugh at him, but UMNO says that’s the success of NEP. Poorah! A successful story inspires generations or even nations. Bill Gates inspired nations. He invented something, promoted it and benefited billions. He continues to inspire billions. Can Bukhary do the same? He can’t.
When you give Naza 18,000 APs and they make some easy money – it that a success story that can inspire the future Malays? Which part of it is a success?
But we can have a successful Malay community by sticking to the book, rule of law, Godliness, and meritocracy. You deserve: you get, you don’t deserve: you won’t get it. Period!
We need to have some policy to help the Malays, but we need results as well. I want to remind the Malays one thing, if you are unjust, you will lose this nation. That’s how God’s creation order works. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said: “God upholds the just state even if it is unbelieving, but does not uphold the unjust state even if it is Muslim.” In other words, God would help and sustain a non-Muslim person/state that’s just, rather than a Muslim person/state that is not. This is simple because the Prophets were sent to bring justice and God’s creation order stands on justice.
If you want to have NEP, include the Chinese and Indian orphans and widows and the needy among all races. That way, you will continue to rule and prosper. But if you think voting PERKASA and UMNO will make you safe and sustainable, then you are mistaken. You will drown sooner than you can imagine. It is justice that would maintain you and settle for good leadership.
There can no be 100% successful policy or state, but being righteous and godly, being fair and just, being honest and incorruptible helps. And please, for once, defeat PERKASA and like minded parties. If you don’t look inward, if you don’t ask critical questions and examine yourselves, if you believe the hyperbole of PERKASA and its financiers, there will come a time when it is too late to salvage this nation and regret comes later. May Allah (sw) bless yo u all and guide us! Amin!
And those who strive in Our (cause), We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right. (Holy Quran 29: 69)
Update: There has been an anonymous comment posted in forum where some Malays are attacking me. Some are even calling me a “nigger.” I can assure you that I’m whiter than “Malay” Zambry Abdul Kadir. But even if I were a “nigger,” that’s not a problem. I appreciate God’s creation. I being black or white is of no consequence. My humanity is what matters.
Please dear Malay brethren, debate the merits of this post and if you believe I may be wrong in some cases, point out and advise by commenting on it. Engaging in an orgy of tribal bashing devoid of any intellectual input justifies what I have wrote here.
I love you and only God knows how much. My criticism is genuine and from a Muslim brother who feels your pain but believes things have to change because the world is not waiting for you. Wassalam!
LB: Comments are now open. This post was previously published here.
Qama Gill,
i think hadiharhar is still waiting for his professor from the 'law school' he graduated from to explain what does that "maxim" really meant… at the same time he's probably trying to contact the malaysian embassy in Nairobi to dig out more shit about the author in order to mount a major attack on this author… just stay tuned…
hadiharhar – take your time, bro. we'll wait… ;P
Hadiharhar,
which 'law school' u came from, i wonder. read thoroughly Equitable Maxim before you quote. I must agree with Loyar Bangkok's notion on you. scribbling few crafted quotation to deviate people's attention so that your lame self defence will not be noticed. up til this point of time, you are not answering to the biggest doubt among all. do you agree or not with the points stated by this Kenyan writer on problem that existed among Malay leadership in Bolehland? up until now you keep on harping this issue of speaker's credibility. we can save the debate on that for later. do answer me and my deranged buddy over here. in your opinion, does his merit makes any sense to you?
p/s : Hadiharhar, Loyar Bangkok had "BANG" your "KOK"! if you
have any, that is..
(sorry, i forgot to… n i just couldnt resist…)
hadiharhar said, “the equity maxim of he who comes to equity should come with clean hands apply here as well.”
dear hadiharhar,
do u mind telling me which 'law school' did u graduate from?
WUWUWUHWHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
WUEWEWOWRUWOIWRUWOHWHWAAHAHAHAHHAHAA!!!
WOOOOHHAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(i cant breathe…)
hadiharhar,
r u done with the debate on 'legitimacy'?
when can we hear your highly intelligent views on the SUBSTANCE/MERITS of this author's view?
zzzzzzzzzzz…..
zzzzzzzz…..
or r u just gonna make a big hooha about the 'technicalities', throw in some nonsense, n then hope we'll all forget about the content of this article?
u r sooooooooooooo UMNO Youth.
"the equity maxim of he who comes to equity should come with clean hands apply here as well."
what bollocks?!?
errrrr… but i dont think the Kenyan is interested in getting anything from the malaysian "equity" court of public opinion… if u must stretch it, then maybe u can still say that this 'maxim' applies if the chinese malaysians r saying it. as an outsider, he doesnt need anything from us, DUH!!
dont keep throwing around "maxims" just bcos u think u r a learned lawyer. do try to understand what that "maxim" is meant to convey first, DUH!!
"it give greater legitimacy" – yes, i agree. but the key is "greatER". so, based on what YOU yourself just said, it does NOT mean that if he's not a malay, he has NO 'legitimacy'. right??
so, BASED ON YOUR OWN LOGIC, he does HAVE legitimacy, though not as 'great' as if a malay is talking. so now, can u please DEAL with his arguments? thank u very much.
incidentally, prominent MALAYS like zaid ibrahim n nazir razak etc have all criticized UMNO and NEP. surely, BASED ON YOUR OWN LOGIC, they HAVE the 'legitimacy' to talk, right? so now, can u please DEAL with the arguments made by these MALAYS? thank u very much.
"loyar bangkok sound too emotional" so there is no need to respond to my arguments, huh??
yeah, how convenient.
next time u appear before the judge, try that. "my opponent sounds too meotional, so i'm not gonna respond to his arguments, yang arif."
stop throwing nonsense around. it's bcos of 'NEP' that idiots like u can graduate from 'law school' n go around endangering the public with your half past six legal knowledge. if u got nothing to say, or just cannot find a way to respond, just shut the f**k up man.
be a jantan – DEAL WITH THE ISSUES.
p/s: where's your 'social contract', 'may 13', 'respect islam n the malay rulers' n 'article 153' tirades?? how come u r not using them yet this time? it's time for u to use them, in case u r still wondering. that's what "How to Behave Like a UMNO Youth 101" teaches, when u r cornered n cant find an answer to your opponent's arguments. did u forget?
oh, dont forget the keris… *wink wink*
putting aside the fact that loyar bangkok sound too emotional, Gill;
1. what i meant by proposing solutions is that when they highlight a problem, propose a solution that is practicable and reasonable for implementation by the state. for example; to keep check of the spendings of the monarchs or royalties – propose an audit where the audit report will be tabled before the parliament every year and the people via a referendum should get the say in which areas of spending by the monarchs should be cut just like what is being done in the U.K. or Spain or Norway or Denmark. <<-see, a clear prob-solution match.
2. concerning self criticism – i'm not saying that human being could not criticise "Ketuanan Melayu". what i am saying is, doesn't it give greater legitimacy for example if the malays themselves who are under the king were the one who criticise the monarchs as the monarchs are only there because the malays themselves insists that the monarchy remains.
3. concerning credibility – the equity maxim of he who comes to equity should come with clean hands apply here as well. it doesn't make sense or give a person a ground to criticise another person for saying that his house is dirty when the person criticising has a more messier house. I'm speaking for a realistic perspective. it would give the person greater moral and logical legitimacy to criticise on something when their affairs and stand on a certain matter is already sound. for example, germany could tell spain to buck up their economic policies and control their inflation / interest rate because germany themselves have sound financial policies.
well loyar, judging by your responses, i honestly believe you should check yourself into some rehab or something for being absolutely deranged. you do not deserve my explanations on my stand. so please, take your anarchism somewhere else if you can't argue on principles.
dear hadiharhar,
your ad hominem is sooooooooooooooo typical of the modus operandi of malaysian politicians, especially those from BN. ya, go ahead and attack the messenger. shoot every messenger who brings u unpleasant news – soon, there will b no messenger left, n that, my friend, is how u get rid of bad news ALTOGETHER.
if ur logic holds water, tell me – WHO ON EARTH is entitled to criticize ANYBODY??
if we find someone from USA, u would say – look at the world's biggest rogue state talking!
from Sweden? oh, from that country that insults the Prophet!!
from Mongolia? ya, as if they r a super power!
from Fiji? look at the ethnic conflict!!
from Saudi Arabia? r u kidding me??
from Singapore? no chance in hell we would want to listen to the Jews of the East lecturing us!!
from Slovenia? i dont even know where is it on the map!!
Mahatma Ghandi? i dont want to listen to no idol-worshipping pagan lecturing me!!
Mother Theresa? yeah, i'll listen to her after she had converted to Islam, which is too late for her now cos she believed in a sesat religion n must now b suffering in HELL!!
so, people like u r like the proverbial frogs, who would only sit around at the bottom of your little tempurung, n let the water boil, until the whole world crashes n burns n u meet the ONLY 'thing' who is PERFECT n has the absolute authority to speak on the subject (well, i think it's actually EVERY subject) – your Creator.
yeah, what a clever way of making sure that NO HUMAN BEING would ever b able to criticize Ketuanan Melayu. bcos ALL human beings – by definition (perhaps except the malaysian muslims who believe in the religion of UMNO) – have flaws, so ALL of them r NOT qualified to speak – at all!!
how convenient.
not to forget how RIDICULOUS this attack on the author is – hello, has he been the president of kenya?? is he even f**king responsible for ANY of the policies of the government of kenya which, according to hadiharhar, has become a bigger 'catastrophe' than malaysia???
use that to the person who has been running kenya, THEN maybe u might have SOME, TINY credibility.
only morons would buy into UMNO's lousy ad hominem tactic. i have no doubt u r one, hadiharhar.
hadiharhar, a-weight of credibility is more of a concern when it comes to personal accusation. also, it varies on individual. quoting your example, one might say that they rallied behind Tun thus no allegation is true. the point of argument is not personal. it is an honest analysis of current situation. if a poverty stricken chap claimed that cost of living is high, do we need to weigh his credibility before agreeing? or we already know that, it's just that the chap is poor so i don't want to acknowledge that from him. still, the bigger question remains, do you agree on his merit of points or not? putting origin issue aside. b-is it because the solutions stated doesn't suits you up to the point you are unable to accept it? by far, all so-called critics are meant to be taken as solutions. current remedy for corrupt government? it will be a plain fresh admin. i got to admit that you are so disillusioned till you are refrained to see the answers. do ponder a case thoroughly and you'll see the difference
gill,
a- there's also a question of credibility of the person saying it. If someone like say, you would say that Mahathir is corrupted, it doesn't carry as much weight as anwar saying mahathir is corrupted wouldn't it?
b- i am also disillusioned by too many people being critical and pointing out problems without offering SOLUTIONS to those problems.your comments/ replies to the other comments are an example.
Hadiharhar,
the question that remains for you, do you agree on his points or is just a plain fat lie? if a drug addict advise you on the danger of drug, will you simply decline his thoughts just because his an addict and continue on believing that drug will not do you harm? just because he's a kenyan doesn't degrade on his merit. look upon his words, not the one that speaks.
that coming from a kenyan. whose country is in catastrophe. whose people still kill each other till this day. who can't even guarantee social security. who can't even have proper running democracy. he's just being american. critical of another country without reflecting on whether his country is doing better.
Anomie,
i agreed on your point there. i do believe in Allah but He never told me to wait for miracle or piggy back on corrupted bureaucracy of NEP. you work for food and that's it! no issues of land ownership. all are same on this playing field. still, those "subsidies-addicts" are the one dragging our nation to disaster.
What LL expressed in the 2 essays are not new or earth-shattering; but perhaps slightly refreshing, one that is from a foreigner's point of view.It only further reinforces the need and necessity of the Malays(of all dominions)to realise the truth of the dilemma that exist in the country and the positive role they need to play in order to lead the country forward and not backward, as it is.
will Lord Lobo have the ears and hearts of those who need to listen, and do?
I'm not surprised that u have been called name.
Be prepared to face/challenge as iff a native-born 'pendatang' can UNDERSTAND.
To yr bother Muslim who's so intoxicated with tongkat, allah is exactly what it is – an illusion created with the help of substance abuse.
The Allah of the Quran is not what they know – for it don't promise the continuation of free lunch bolihland style!
So in this regard, yr advices might as well go the trash-way!
has Orwell's "Animal Farm" been translated into BM? it should be, and be made COMPULSORY READING for all students at least by form 5.
you can see shadows of NEP, UMNOputras and keris-waving everywhere in that novel.
looking at our past 50 years only confirms that Orwell's is truly a timeless masterpiece for modern 'democracies'.
it always baffled me why the government don’t emphasizes on education, if they really want to build a strong educated nation,i think that’s the only way… “EDUCATION” no matter you’re black or white…