For the umpteenth time, the Malays are urged to emulate the Chinese.
Well, I have this say to my Malay brothers and sisters.
You don't have to drink Guinness Stout or eat char siew.
All you have to do is to just get rid of those damn crutches and you are almost there.
Really, there's simply no need to emulate anyone.
Some excerpts...
Najib Urges Bumi Entrepreneurs To Emulate Their Chinese Counterparts
He said there were many positive traits that could be learnt from the Chinese community such as their diligence, commitment and far-sightedness.
"I have always thought that one of the best things practiced by the Chinese community in this country is to become entrepreneurs by going into business on a small scale initially and ensuring they the business grows so that it can be inherited by their family.
"This is the driving force for their success. This is the lesson that we Bumiputeras must learn and adopt in ensuring the continuity of successful Bumiputera enterprises," he said.
He said that in comparing the Bumiputera entrepreneurs with their Chinese counterparts, the most glaring trait among the Bumiputeras was the desire to get rich quickly and succeed instantly.
"The Malays will first say that they want to become entrepreneurs, later they say they want to become Umno division heads, thereafter, they take the short-cut and become a broker, apply for permits from the minister to bring in Bangladeshi workers," Najib said.
In addition, he said the Bumiputeras must discard the mentality of being too dependent on a career with the government sector which was inculcated by the colonialists. (Blaming the cow again!)
"The Vision 2020 that we aspire in becoming a developed nation will be meaningless if the Malay entrepreneurs were still lagging behind, not in a position to master the sources of wealth for the country, still unable to master technology and modern management," he added.
(BERNAMA May 05, 2005;)
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Heeheee, even as a Chinese, I would say that it is NOT good to emulate everything Chinese, like being too cunning, calculative, cut people no blood, manipulative,taking advantage,etc etc. We can learn some honesty and humbleness from the Malays, I would say.
ReplyDeleteYeap, certainly agree with that. I sometimes feel shy to be Chinese... for one thing, they (we?) are all over the place!
ReplyDeleteBeing of malay origin, I am quite sad that malay politicians, in this case the #2 man in the country having to tell his own race to emulate another race in order to be successful.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I have observed the slight advantages given to the malays in this country by virtue of special treatment, or 'crutches' implied by you, I have seen that it does not really does it job to the masses. The previleges have been exploited by only a select few of people and these 'goons' are mostly the ones with the connections to the ruling political parties. These 'goons' are not really in need of any extra help since they are actually better off even without the 'cruthes' in the first place.
The preferential treatment to bumiputra should be abolished at all, and instead to be given to those really in need, irrespective of race and religion, with supervision by non-political connected bodies, such as commisions or NGO (a form of ombudsman (sp.? / overseer maybe?).
Trust me, as a bumiputra, I am as dis-advantaged as the next non-bumi because I do not subscribe to the same political views as those ruling the country!
We badly need a different set of people to run this country, impartially.
Thanks Mamat for your incisive thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI have always have faith in level-headed folks like you, as I have commented in Aisehman’s blog.
I cannot agree with you more on the following points you raised.
1. The crutches are not benefiting the masses
2. The privileges are exploited by a select few connected to the ruling parties
3. The preferential treatment to bumiputra should be abolished and instead should be executed on a need basis, under the supervision of non-politically connected bodies.
While I risk as much as you (or even more as my identity is real) and other folks in voicing these issues out, I strongly believe that we all are saying it in the interest of our motherland.
For Malaysia to become a better home for all of us, change must and should come.
In my opinion, the key lies in the expansion of the Malay middle class with a sense of humanity and fairness based on universal values as opposed to the narrow views based on race and religion.
I believe this group, when grown to a sufficient mass, will move the mountain.
As you commented, ‘We badly need a different set of people to run this country, impartially.’
Braadaa, I am totally with you in this endeavor.