Time running out for Malays to cast off protection

Sin Chew Daily, Asia News Network, Kuala Lumpur

Whether it is United Malays National Organization (UMNO) or UMNO Youth, participants of the general assembly each year invariably focus on the issues regarding the Malay society and the Malay community. They will talk about the current situation of the Malays, prospects, future changes and development.

Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been the UMNO President for more than 20 years now. Although the country has been developing quite well over these years and the living and education standards of the people are also greatly enhanced, we are still not yet ready to face the challenges of globalization.

The Malay population continues to rise at a time when the country's economy is slowing. Not only do they have to face the competition from outside, they will also need to compete with one another.

Unfortunately, the protection policy offered by the government in the past has made the Malays reliant upon the others for survival.

And now, Dr Mahathir realizes that the so-called protection policy has in fact brought very serious negative effects. Confronted with a highly competitive world where only the fittest will survive, how much more time does Malaysia have? How much more time do the Malays have? And how much more time does Mahathir have?

He announced that science and mathematics will be taught in English from next year onward in all national primary and secondary schools, while examination papers will also be in English from that year.

Such an important educational policy with a far-fetching effect on the nation has been rushed into implementation, without much time to absorb the feedback of the public as well as scholars. This shows that Mahathir feels time is really running out.

Since the scourge of financial crisis and the opening up of Chinese market, some of the Southeast Asian states have become new darlings of multinational investors, while Malaysia suffers tough competition in this liberalized global environment.

Despite his advance age, Dr Mahathir feels that he still needs to pull himself together to fight on. On the contrary, many Malays who have been nestled in the privileges and protections accorded by the government are both unable to catch up with him and unaware of the urgency for such a paradigm shift. For an aspiring national leader like him, it is not difficult to understand the anxiety and frustration he is feeling now.

Mahathir has become increasingly "demanding" towards the performance of Malays over the past few years, and has at times criticized the Malay community in very crude language such that a certain party leader has also admitted that the Prime Minister is getting "too frank to be pleasant". As Mahathir is trying even to redeem the time lost, he will not waste any second fine tuning his rhetoric.

The Malays have been too well protected in the past such that the spirit of independence and competitiveness among many Malays have been severely eroded. Privileges in economy and education, which used to be the most important elements of this safety net, will soon be removed.

It seems like this move may inflict a serious immediate impact on the existing beneficiaries. However, the Malays will never be able to stand up and face the world if they continue to feel that they still need the government's shield.

Mahathir's addresses in recent UMNO assemblies have not been varying too much, and they all come out of the same sincerity. Nonetheless, the Malays are still considered a fortunate lot. Although they may lose some of their existing backings and have to face new uncertainties, these are the essential changes in order to usher in an entirely new age.

The UMNO general assembly may be uneventful while the prime minister's speech may also be stale and unexciting, it is still far better to discuss and deliberate the issue of Malay privileges, than just to compromise like in the case of other political parties.