Malay excellence a transcending legacy<\/p>\n
The Malays Par Excellence ... Warts And All; An Introspection<\/p>\n
Ismail Noor and Muhammad Azaham<\/p>\n
Published by Pelanduk Publications (M) Sdn Bhd, Selangor<\/p>\n
Paperback xvii + 166 pp<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Having lived for four years in predominantly
\nethnic Malay areas of Malaysia, I came to this book, I must
\nadmit, with some well-formed opinions about them as a people. Two
\nyears teaching Malay children in Kelantan, Malaysia's
\nidiosyncratic north-eastern state followed by two years teaching
\nin Perlis over the mountains have given me a pretty close view of
\ntheir community.<\/p>\n
Kelantan, of course, is known for its religious fervor and the
\nKelantanese, who do not merit a separate mention in this book
\nsurprisingly, for their barely concealed hostility to outsiders,
\neven other Malays. Having seen this first-hand and having had
\nwest coast Malays complain to me of a certain Kelantanese
\ntendency to keep them at arm's length, I have to confess to a
\ncertain reluctance to believe in Malay unity as a transcending
\nforce.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, it is important to see how others view
\nthemselves. Ismail Noor and Muhammad Azaham have set out a Malay
\nview of their own people and a Malay view of history and,
\nalthough one might beg to differ on certain points, is an
\naffirmative statement of self-belief. This is no re-hash of Dr.
\nMahathir's The Malay Dilemma, which was both a scathing look at
\nMalay faults and a call to action on their behalf, but an honest
\nlook at what makes them tick.<\/p>\n
It has often been the case that the Malays, most of whom are
\neasy-going, self-deprecating people (Mahathir a major exception),
\nhave been overlooked and the authors blast the British for just
\nthis in their treatment of the people. The colonial British did
\nhave a condescending attitude towards them for which they paid
\nrather dearly.<\/p>\n
Failure to recruit sufficient Malays into the forces pre-WW2
\nwas a crucial factor in the rapid collapse of the colony when the
\nJapanese attacked in 1941-42. That the Malays were indeed good
\nfighting men, contrary to British opinion, was proved in spades
\nby the heroic stand of the Malay Regiment at Kent Ridge in
\nSingapore, a stand made all the finer by the fact that many
\nothers deserted the front.<\/p>\n
If one wants to take exception to anything said here it must
\nbe with the assertion that the New Economic Policy, initiated in
\nthe wake of the 1969 inter-ethnic riots that rocked Malaysia to
\nits very foundations, is \"bold and dynamic\". There may have been
\na serious need for affirmative action to lever the Malays up
\neconomically but it is fair to wonder aloud whether the NEP is
\npast its expiry date. Having witnessed first-hand the
\nfeatherbedding of Malay students in the secondary school system,
\nI cannot help but feel that certain aspects of it are deeply
\nunfair to the other ethnic groups including other 'bumiputera'
\nsuch as the Dayaks.<\/p>\n
Ismail and Muhammad do make a courageous assessment,
\nnonetheless, of some of the faults of the Malaysian education
\nsystem. \"Several situations of imperfect and relatively
\nunwholesome years in primary and secondary education become
\ncompounded by the problem of time-constrained social
\nmaladjustment at university level,\" they say. A bold assertion.<\/p>\n
The authors have provided a catalog towards the back of the
\nbook of distinguished Malays, many of whom are unfamiliar to me.
\nIndeed many Malays have distinguished themselves in various
\nfields, not least UN military service, where their traits of
\ncollective loyalty serve them well, but I was disappointed to
\nnote the absence from the list of scholars of the historian of
\nthe Malays, Syed Hussein Ali, an important voice of dissent in
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
This is a worthy attempt, however, to put a people's point of
\nview.<\/p>\n
--David Jardine<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malay-excellence-a-transcending-legacy-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }