PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has urged the Malays to unite because they are being openly “conned” and have become victims of the country’s politics.
He is right, but who are the ones “conning” the Malays?
When Dr Mahathir Mohamed launched the “Malay People’s Proclamation”, Hadi and other PAS leaders claimed they signed the document because they wanted to “save” the Malay race.
In reality, these two men are the protagonists.
Hadi’s political Islam takes care of the religious aspects of the Malay person’s life, while Mahathir’s brand of politics and Ketuanan Melayu cover the race element.
They refuse to leave the Malays alone because their political future can only be built by using the support of the Malays as the building blocks.
Hadi said the Malays have become victims of the country’s politics. He is right again. The NEP and its extended version, together with other affirmative action policies, have done more harm than good.
In the initial stages, the NEP managed to uplift the lives of many poor Malays, but after two decades, the Malays who climbed the greasy social and political ladder decided to keep the power and wealth to themselves. The gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” has not narrowed, it has widened and is growing.
Hadi also said the country is plagued by corruption, moral decay and division.
Exactly, but as before, he failed to mention that this is because many Malay politicians refuse to relinquish power when their time is up. Their prime motivations to remain in politics are the three “P”s – power, position and perks.
Look at the corruption scandal involving the Jana Wibawa initiative. Like many affirmative action programmes designed to help the Malays, Jana Wibawa is said to be yet another vehicle abused to benefit the elite Malays and their non-Malay cronies. If true, it is a classic case of the well-connected Malay abusing the rakyat’s money, in the name of the Malays.
Hadi was once Mahathir’s bitter enemy and their rivalry lasted for over 40 years. Despite having all resources at their disposal, the two have failed to help the Malays. Many Malays have also rejected their policies.
They failed to engage with ordinary Malays, and conveniently blame the non-Malays for failing to improve the lives of the people.
Their policies further divided the country along ethnic lines, and have brought about a Malay society that has lost its competitive edge. The Malays have failed to be critical, to ask questions of their leaders, or be curious about things. They have become subservient and would prefer their so-called leaders to do their thinking for them.
Many do not dare to criticise the incompetent and corrupt to avoid being labelled anti-Malay. In the end, it is the elite, well-connected Malays who have “conned” and “robbed” the poorer Malays.
So, Hadi is right on all counts. The Malays need to be “saved” – from their own leaders.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.