IS MERITOCRACY RACIST?

By

Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

on August 24, 2010 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (237) | TrackBacks (0)

 

 

1. In 1964 Malaysia held its first elections. The Tunku had an understanding with the Chief Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kwan Yew that the PAP (People Action Party) would contest only in Singapore and would stay out of the rest of Malaysia. It was really not a smart kind of agreement. It was not put on paper at all. Only an understanding between two leaders.

2. It was not surprising that the PAP decided to contest in the peninsular. Lee had expected the Malaysian Chinese who had been represented in the Government only by the MCA could be persuaded to support him. If he defeated the MCA then the Tunku would replace the MCA with the PAP in the Alliance.

3. The PAP is a Chinese party largely. But it had always projected itself as non-racial. To win in Malaysia he had to appeal to Chinese chauvinism. However he could not do this openly.

4. Being the astute politician that he is, Lee came up with a slogan which did not sound chauvinistic but which played up Chinese sentiments to the core. The slogan was "Malaysian Malaysia".

5. While appearing to be appealing for all Malaysians the slogan was clearly suggesting that there was no equality between the Chinese and the Malays. He and his party was made out to be fighting for equality between the Chinese and the Malays, whereas the MCA represented only the Chinese towkays.

6. The Malays were alarmed at the prospect of the Peninsular Chinese combining with Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak Chinese to outnumber them. Split as they were between PAS and UMNO, their chances of continuing to dominate Malaysian politics was at risk.

7. Strangely the PAP bid failed against the MCA. But the Tunku was shocked and decided that Singapore's inclusion in Malaysia posed great danger. One year after the election Singapore was expelled. But the PAP chauvinistic legacy was taken up by the DAP. And the slogan "Malaysian Malaysia" continued to figure in Malaysian politics, evolving into a new catchword, "Meritocracy". If "Malaysian Malaysia" conjures equality between races, "Meritocracy" implies something stronger. It implies dominance by the race with the greatest merit in every field; in education, in business and in all fields of human endeavour.

8. When the Malays, understanding the implications, protest against meritocracy, they were condemned as racists. Faced with being labelled as such, most Malays dared not support even the NEP. Some, perhaps due to mistaken pride have begun to support meritocracy, undermining the Malay position further.

9. Today we see a lot of Malay NGOs trying to defend the Malay position. Invariably they have been labelled racists. The unfortunate truth is that those who labelled them are equally racists because of their advocacy of meritocracy.

10. It is the same with political party which appeal on the basis of the religion of Islam. In Malaysia the Malays are all Muslims. There are quite a large number of Indian Muslims in Malaysia but they do not figure in the political party said to be Islamic. The party, by using Islam, knows full well they are appealing to Malays almost exclusively. But the intention is not to defend the Malays but merely to gain their support. One can say they are not Malay racists. Rather they are Malay political opportunists.

11. That is why they find no difficulty in switching tactics in order to win the support of the non-Malays. Where before they condemn UMNO for working with non-Muslims, today their co-operation with non-Muslims knows no bounds.

12. The difference between UMNO and the other parties is that UMNO is openly partisan, not hiding its concern for the well-being of the Malays. Unfortunately because of mismanagement it has become weak. That is why today we have Perkasa and other Malay NGOs who are as openly concerned about the Malays as the UMNO once was. The condemnation by those said to be advocating meritocracy is because they see the racism of the meritocrats, just as the Malays of 1964 saw the racism of "Malaysian Malaysia".

13. What we are seeing today is not a campaign against racism but a campaign by racists against racists. The meritocrats are as much racists as the Malay NGOs, and Perkasa.

14. Incidentally by writing this I know the meritocrat racists will condemn me as racist. So be it.

****

ADAKAH MERITOKRASI BERSIFAT PERKAUMAN?

1. Pada tahun 1964, Malaysia telah mengadakan pilihanraya umum yang pertama. Tunku dan Ketua Menteri Singapura Lee Kwan Yew bersetuju supaya PAP (Parti Tindakan Rakyat - People's Action Party pimpinan Kwan Yew) hanya bertanding di Singapura dan tidak di mana-mana kawasan di Semenanjung Malaysia. Ianya bukanlah satu perjanjian yang bijak. Tidak pun dimeterai secara rasmi. Hanya persefahaman di antara dua orang pemimpin.

2. Tidak mengejutkan PAP kemudiannya memutus untuk bertanding di Semenanjung. Lee menjangkakan yang kaum Cina Malaysia yang diwakili di dalam Kerajaan oleh parti MCA dapat di galakkan untuk menyokong beliau. Jika MCA Berjaya dikalahkan, Lee percaya Tunku akan gantikan MCA dengan PAP di dalam Perikatan.

3. PAP ialah sebuah parti yang didominasi kaum Cina. Tetapi ia sentiasa mengetengahkan ianya sebagai parti yang tidak berlandaskan kaum. Untuk menang di Malaysia dianya mesti menarik sokongan chauvinis Cina. Ini tidak dapat dilakukan secara terbuka.

4. Sebagai ahli politik yang cekap, Lee memperkenalkan slogan yang tidak terlalu berbaur chauvinis tetapi tetap menyemarakkan sentimen Cina. Slogan tersebut ialah "Malaysian Malaysia".

5. Sementara ianya ternampak menarik bagi semua rakyat Malaysia, slogan tersebut sebenarnya menarik perhatian kepada tidak adanya kesamarataan antara kaum Cina dan kaum Melayu. Dia dan partinya diketengahkan sebagai memperjuangkan kesamarataan antara Cina dan Melayu, manakala MCA hanya mewakili golongan towkay Cina.

6. Orang Melayu berasa cemas akan kemungkinan penyatuan kaum Cina di Singapura, Sabah dan Sarawak akan menyebabkan orang Melayu menjadi kaum minoriti. Perpecahan di antara PAS dan UMNO menyebabkan peluang orang Melayu untuk terus mendominasi politik di Malaysia menghadapi risiko.

7. Yang anehnya PAP gagal dalam cubaannya menentang MCA. Tetapi Tunku amat terkejut dan memutuskan yang penyertaan Singapura di dalam Malaysia membawa bahaya. Setahun selepas pilihanraya, Singapura disingkir. Tetapi legasi chauvinis PAP ini diteruskan oleh DAP. Slogan "Malaysian Malaysia" terus dimainkan di dalam politik Malaysia, dan berubah menjadi satu perkataan yang baru, "Meritokrasi". Jika "Malaysian Malaysia" membawa makna kesamarataan antara kaum, "Meritokrasi" membawa maksud yang lebih keras. Ianya bererti dominasi oleh sesuatu kaum yang mempunyai merit di dalam setiap lapangan; di dalam pendidikan, perniagaan dan semua lapangan yang diceburi manusia.

8. Apabila orang Melayu, memahami akan akibatnya, mula menentang meritokrasi, mereka dicerca sebagai bersifat perkauman. Kerana tidak mahu dilabel sedemikian, ramai orang Melayu tidak berani menyokong Dasar Ekonomi Baru. Ada sesetengah, mungkin kerana sikap bodoh sombong, mula menyokong meritokrasi dan menekan lagi kedudukan orang Melayu.

9. Hari ini kita lihat banyak NGO Melayu bangkit mempertahankan kedudukan orang Melayu. Dan semestinya mereka ini dilabel sebagai bersifat perkauman. Malang sekali, sebenarnya yang melabel mereka ini juga bersifat perkauman kerana sokongan mereka terhadap meritokrasi.

10. Sama juga dengan parti politik yang meraih sokongan menggunakan agama Islam. Di Malaysia, orang Melayu kesemuanya beragama Islam. Terdapat juga sebilangan besar kaum India Muslim di Malaysia tetapi mereka ini tidak berperanan dalam parti politik yang dikatakan parti Islam ini. Dengan mengguna Islam, parti ini sedar yang ianya hanya untuk menarik secara eksklusif sokongan orang Melayu. Niat mereka hanya untuk meraih sokongan orang Melayu dan bukan untuk mempertahan kedudukan orang Melayu. Mereka ini boleh dikatakan bukan bersifat perkauman pro-Melayu. Tetapi mereka mengambil kesempatan politik ke atas orang Melayu.

11. Itulah juga sebab kenapa mereka tidak punyai masalah menukar taktik untuk menarik sokongan bukan Melayu. Jika dulu mereka mencerca UMNO berkerjasama dengan bukan Islam, hari ini kerjasama mereka dengan bukan Islam tiada batasan.

12. Perbezaan di antara UMNO dan lain-lain parti ialah UMNO secara terang menyebelahi sesuatu pihak, tidak menyembunyi akan perjuangannya untuk kebajikan orang Melayu. Malangnya kerana kelemahan urusan pentadbiran ianya menjadi lemah. Sebab itulah hari ini ada Perkasa dan lain-lain NGO Melayu yang secara terbuka memperjuangkan nasib Melayu sebagaimana UMNO terdahulu. Pencercaan oleh golongan menyokong meritokrasi ialah kerana mereka melihat NGO Melayu bersifat perkauman, sebagaimana orang Melayu pada tahun 1964 melihat sifat perkauman dalam "Malaysian Malaysia".

13. Yang kita lihat hari ini bukanlah kempen menentang sifat perkauman tetapi kempen oleh pejuang perkauman menentang pejuang perkauman yang lain. Penyokong meritokrasi juga bersifat perkauman sebagaimana NGO Melayu dan Perkasa.

14. Sehubungan itu saya juga akan dicerca sebagai bersifat perkauman oleh pejuang meritokrasi yang bersifat perkauman. Biarkan.

Umat Islam Diminta Bertenang?

Pendapat DRT:  Mengapa bila Rumah Ibadat Agama lain di cemar semua pemimpin Negara berpusu datang menziarahi.  Tapi bila Rumah Ibadat Islam dicemari tidak pula ramai yang datang melihat keadaan.  Adakah Rumah Ibadat Islam ini kurang Mulia kah?

 

Umat Islam diminta bertenang?

Mohd. Hasbi Ismail, melihat cermin dan dinding Surau Taman Seri Pulai, Temiang, Seremban, yang disimbah cat, semalam.

SEREMBAN 23 Ogos - Umat Islam di Taman Seri Pulai, Temiang dekat sini dinasihatkan supaya bertenang dan melakukan ibadah solat seperti biasa di surau yang disimbah cat merah dan dilempar botol minuman keras oleh individu tidak bertanggungjawab pagi ini.
Pengerusinya, Mohd. Hasbi Ismail juga meminta ahli kariah dan penduduk di situ supaya tidak melakukan sebarang tindakan yang boleh menyalahi undang-undang dan menyerahkan siasatan berhubung kejadian berkenaan kepada pihak polis.
"Biarlah polis menjalankan siasatan. Kepada umat Islam dan ahli kariah, teruskanlah datang ke surau ini untuk bersolat dan usah bimbang dengan kejadian yang berlaku itu," katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.
Dalam kejadian pukul 1 hingga 5 pagi tadi, sekumpulan ahli kariah yang hendak bersolat subuh berjemaah di Surau Taman Seri Pulai, di situ terkejut apabila mendapati bangunan surau itu disimbah cat merah.
Lebih mengejutkan, surau berkenaan yang baru sahaja beroperasi di situ sejak bulan lalu dilempar botol minuman keras oleh individu yang tidak dikenali.
"Kita berharap, pihak yang bertanggungjawab dengan perbuatan menyimbah cat dan membaling botol minuman keras di surau ini dapat ditangkap dan dibawa ke muka pengadilan," tegasnya.
Tambah Mohd. Hasbi, insiden ini kali pertama berlaku terhadap surau berkenaan sejak mula beroperasi 24 Julai lalu.
"Kalau ikut kata penduduk di sini, mereka mendakwa kejadian itu berlaku sekitar pukul 3 hingga 4 pagi ini kerana mereka terdengar bunyi botol kaca dipecahkan.
"Jadi apabila ada jemaah yang datang ke surau pagi ini untuk solat subuh sebelum 5.53 pagi, mereka terkejut kerana mendapati pintu utama dan beberapa dinding di surau ini disimbah dengan cat merah.
"Mereka terkejut apabila ada juga serpihan kaca daripada botol minuman keras yang berselerak," katanya.
Mohd. Hasbi berkata, dia juga hairan bagaimana tin cat yang dipercayai digunakan untuk menyimbah surau berkenaan terdapat di belakang rumahnya.
"Saya terdengar bunyi orang melemparkan sesuatu dan apabila diperiksa pagi ini, ia adalah tin cat yang kita percaya digunakan untuk menyimbah surau ini," katanya.
Sementara itu, Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pelancongan, Perpaduan, Kebudayaan, Kesenian, Warisan dan Adat Istiadat Melayu negeri, Datuk Mohammad Razi Kail dan Timbalan Ketua UMNO Bahagian Seremban, Datuk Zakaria Nordin turut berada di tempat kejadian.
"Kita serahkan kepada pihak polis untuk menyiasat kejadian ini. Saya harap semua umat Islam di negeri ini dan di sini bersabar dan bertenang," katanya.
Manakala Zakaria berkata, isu agama ini sensitif dan janganlah pula ia merebak menjadi satu ancaman kelak.

The Legacy Of The Mandailing Mansion

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The  exterior of Istana Raja Bilah in Papan, Perak gives a glimpse of the Grandeur of the Mandailing Mansion in its heyday - NST picture by Muhaizan Yahya

Read more: MANDAILING MANSION: Stately grace of old 'istana' http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/12MAND/Article#ixzz0vpy85Jl9




Rumah Raja Bilah is a 'standout' mansion by the Sungai Perak where the rich and famous of old Perak built their palatial homes. JASPAL SINGH, HALIMATUL HAMID and ILI LIYANA MOKHTAR report.
BY any measure or design, the Bagas Godang (literally large house) of Papan is awe-inspiring.

Situated atop a hillock, the stately, palatial mansion certainly befitted the dignified persona of its first owner -- Raja Bilah, a Mandailing aristocrat of Sumatran descent, who made Perak his home and final resting place.

Completed in 1896, the two-storey villa has always been the largest building in Papan.
Situated next to his 128-year-old timber house (now known as Rumah Asal), overlooking the Papan mosque, the mansion, which is now referred to as the Rumah Besar, was built by Raja Bilah when he was the penghulu of Papan.

Acccording to Abdur-Razzaq Lubis, a local expert on Mandailing history, once Raja Bilah and his followers had attained some measure of prosperity, his concern was to ensure the long-term future of the Mandailings in Perak.

"Although most of the Mandailings left Papan by the late 1890s, Raja Bilah maintained his vision that it would be the community hub in Kinta.

"The Rumah Besar was the local equivalent of Bagas Godang, the residence of the Mandailing Raja (in the Mandailing heartland of Sumatra)," said Abdur-Razzaq in an interview with the New Straits Times recently.

Abdur-Razzaq, who with his wife, Khoo Salmah Nasution, co-authored a comprehensive book on the early history of the Mandailing in Malaysia titled Raja Bilah and the Mandailings in Perak: 1875-1911, said the Rumah Besar Raja Bilah looked similar to the mansions of Malay aristocracy and the Chinese miners of Kinta. But the interior was different.

On the ground floor was a large hall with octagonal columns and a raised platform (pangkin). In Mandailing architecture, the eight-sided columns symbolised that the building was erected with the support of people from the eight directions of the compass.

Upstairs, there were a few guest rooms and another large hall.

The Rumah Besar, functionally, was more like a Sapo Godang (a hall for the conference of Mandailing nobles and elders) than a Bagas Godang (a Raja's residence), said Abdur-Razzaq, adding that neither Raja Bilah nor any other family member ever moved into the Rumah Besar.

Historically, it was used for weddings, feasts and other receptions.

"But, most of all, it was a gathering place for the Mandailings and other Muslims of western Kinta, many of whom would come to Raja Bilah with their problems and proposals, especially after Friday prayers at the Papan mosque."

Going by Raja Bilah's will, the Rumah Besar and its "contents" were a family endowment or private waqf.

"It was a tradition among the Mandailing chiefs, and men and women of standing, to leave an ancestral home for the clan. It would serve to bring the children and descendants together during ceremonial occasions, such as marriages and Muslim feasts."

Abdur-Razzaq said that before work commenced, supplications (doa) were made and an auspicious day chosen to start building the house, adding that a fistful of soil from the Mandailing homeland would be scattered on the foundation of the mansion.

"Although constructed mainly by Chinese craftsmen, the Mandailings chipped in, gotong-royong fashion, helping their chief put up the house. Elephants may have been used to raise the large timber beams."

A penghulu's office was built into the buttress wall along the side of the hillock, and this was thereafter called Balai Penghulu.

The descendants of Raja Bilah, Abdur-Razzaq said, had always called the council hall Rumah Besar, but in more recent times, it has come to be known as Istana Raja Bilah (Raja Bilah's Palace), in the mistaken notion that Raja Bilah was a Malay Raja and his house, an istana.

According to Saadiah Kamaruddin, the great-granddaughter of Raja Bilah, who now lives in Rumah Asal: "My mother told me that the large hall on the ground floor was used for feasts, meetings and other receptions. It was also my playground when I was a little girl. ."

Saadiah, 69, said the men would dine on the pangkin at the end of the hall after Friday prayers at the Papan mosque. It is the only mosque in town and still stands tall, although it is no longer used as most Mandailing families moved out after 1910.

A postal bedframe occupies the space in the hall, while a desk and a steel single bed frame are in one of the rooms.

Saadiah said the Rumah Besar was always locked and would only be opened when it was in need of cleaning or at the request of family members and visitors.

"We don't hold ceremonies or feasts in the mansion anymore; not even when the whole family returns for Hari Raya. Everyone would gather at the Rumah Asal."

Saadiah said the Heritage Department had visited Rumah Besar on several occasions and promised to restore and preserve her great grandfather's mansion.

"They replaced a few broken wooden planks in the staircase and under the door of the main entrance, but it was attacked by termites. Now, we can't open the door because the rotten wood makes it hard to push it open."

Saadiah said the green walls in the Rumah Besar were scraped, but not repainted, and looked more like a "ghost house" now.

Saadiah's grandmother was the daughter of Raja Bilah. She was born in 1941 and grew up during the Japanese occupation when most Mandailing families had left Papan for greener pastures.

"I don't have children. My sister takes care of the mansion and our house when I am not here."

The Architecture Department of University Technology Malaysia (UTM) made a measured drawing of the Rumah Besar in 1993. It was used as a location set for local and international movies, the most famous being Anna And The King in 1999.


Community taking stock of identity and legacy

REMEMBER Aminuddin Baki (1926-1965)?

He was the "Father of Education" and a Mandailing.

The Mandailings are members of an ethnic group who first arrived on our shores between the 1840s and 1870s from north-western Sumatra. Many ended up in Perak and Selangor, where they worked as miners, traders and factory hands.

They subsequently established themselves in more respectable positions, like Aminuddin, who rose to become the chief adviser on education to the government (the equivalent of director-general of education today).

Aminuddin, who hailed from Chemor, near Ipoh, was responsible for getting Bahasa Melayu recognised as the national language and as the medium of instruction in schools in post-Merdeka Malaya.

"Many of the Mandailings in Malaysia today -- including myself -- are descended from these immigrants," said local Mandailing expert Abdur-Razzaq Lubis.

The Mandailings gradually involved themselves in local events, such as the Pahang War (1857-63), Selangor War (1867-73) and Perak War (1875-1876).

Abdur-Razzaq said the Mandailings were first labelled "foreign Malays" and later, "Malays" for "administrative convenience".

"By 1931, 'Mendeling' was altogether removed from the British Malaya census."

In the peninsula, he said, the Mandailings not only identified with Malayan (and subsequently Malaysian) nationalism, but were also compelled to identify with the Malays to the extent of compromising and suppressing their own identity and culture.

The process of acculturation and assimilation was assisted by a measure of colonial social-engineering, followed by post-Merdeka state conditioning, he added.

"Once the Mandailing in Malaya were redefined as Malays, it was only a matter of time before their political-economic functions were prescribed accordingly."

But, said Abdur-Razzaq, there was now an awareness among educated Mandailing who realise how important it was for the community to take stock of its cultural, social and political identity in a globalising world.

"We believe that the past is for our ancestors, the present is ours, the future is for our children. As the Mandailing elders always tell their children, every generation has a legacy to protect," said Abdur-Razzaq, who has a website, www.mandailing.org, detailing various aspects of the Mandailing community here and abroad.


Papan's penghulu and rich history

FORMER headmaster Zainal Harun, 80, from Bota, cannot recall much about the house that sits majestically on the other side of the Perak river, except that it belonged to "someone important".

"All houses along the Perak river belonged to penghulus, powerful people who heard criminal and civil cases. In the past, the river was the main mode of transportation, so it was a strategic place for people of importance."

Zainal said the only thing he remembered about Papan was that it was a tin-mining area populated mainly by Chinese settlers.

"As time went by, the younger generation left for better prospects in the cities. That is why the town is deserted now."

Zainal said Papan was quite a distance from his kampung and it was too much of a hassle to travel there to perform prayers at the mosque there.

"But, usually, the penghulu would treat the kampung folk to a 'feast' after Friday prayers."

There were many old mansions and houses of historical value situated by the river, he said.

"Some of these houses have rich histories just waiting to be discovered. Research should be done into these houses and maybe they can be restored for the younger generation to appreciate.

"If I remember correctly, there were many communists in Papan and people used to say that it was a dangerous place."


No plans to restore glory of building

THE Rumah Besar Raja Bilah was not just recognised as the symbol of greatness of the Mandailing community leader in Papan.

It was remembered by many as a film set, most notably by Oscar-winning production designer Luciana Arrighi for the movie Anna and the King (1999).

Arrighi was fascinated with Papan. She described it as a ghost town on the edge of large mining lakes, set in a mysterious cul-de-sac, shrouded and surrounded by dark, forested hills.

However, the mansion will soon be but a distant memory as it slowly decays in the "ghost town".

Seven years have passed since it was last restored by the National Museum. The latest check by New Straits Times reporters revealed that signs of termite infestation could be seen on its wooden staircases and under the doors. Some sections of the roof were also dilapidated.

A source from the National Heritage Department said the department was involved in conservation efforts of historical buildings in the country. However, Rumah Besar Raja Bilah is not on the Perak list.

The source said the Rumah Besar was a family endowment or private waqf, hence its restoration and preservation should be shouldered by Raja Bilah's descendants.

Read more: MANDAILING MANSION: Stately grace of old 'istana' http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/12MAND/Article#ixzz0vpxZ1Cjp

Denda RM500,000 jika tipu sijil dan logo halal

Denda RM500,000 jika tipu sijil dan logo halal

02/08/2010 4:11pm

KUALA LUMPUR 2 Ogos - Pengusaha restoran boleh dikenakan hukuman maksimum penjara lima tahun atau denda RM500,000 atau kedua-duanya sekali, sekiranya didapati melakukan penipuan dalam sijil dan logo halal.
Syarikat pula berdepan hukuman maksimum penjara lima tahun atau denda RM1 juta, atau kedua-duanya sekali, jika melakukan perbuatan yang sama.
Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob berkata, tindakan itu akan dikuatkuasakan sebaik sahaja Parlimen meluluskan pindaan terhadap Akta Perihal Dagangan 1972.
"Kementerian sedang dalam proses membuat pindaan ke atas Akta Perihal Dagangan 1972, yang akan dilaksanakan tidak lama lagi selepas kementerian membentangkan akta ini, yang kita jangka akan dibuat pada sesi Oktober yang akan datang ini,” katanya ketika menggulung perbahasan Rang Undang-undang Perlindungan Pengguna (pindaan) 2010 di Dewan Negara hari ini.
Akta sedia ada memperuntukkan hukuman maksimum penjara tiga tahun atau denda RM100,000 atau kedua-duanya sekali bagi pesalah individu, manakala syarikat pula berdepan hukuman maksimum penjara tiga tahun atau denda RM250,000 atau kedua-duanya sekali, jika sabit kesalahan.
Ismail Sabri berkata selepas pindaan akta tersebut, mana-mana pihak yang didapati mengulangi kesalahan tersebut, tempoh hukuman penjara ditambah kepada 10 tahun manakala denda pula dinaikkan kepada RM1 juta. - Bernama