Dear Dr Anwar Ibrahim,
I would like to congratulate you, your family and your team for the extraordinary success of the opposition in the recent Malaysian elections. I have long admired you, read your book, heard your speeches and followed your tumultuous political career since the early 1990s. While your followers see you as a beacon of hope, and rightly so, I see you as a tour de force in Asian intellectualism.
I have worked and lived in Malaysia and am familiar with its distinct political structure and social make-up. As an apolitical commentator, I would like to humbly offer my take on some of the ills plaguing Malaysian society that may or may not assist you in realising your reformist agenda. My perspectives could be a tad naVve but I have in the past uncovered several blind spots that most Malaysians have ignored owing largely to self-indulgence and an insular outlook.
On rolling back the NEP
You are right in saying that the NEP is obsolete, not so much because it has been socially unjust but because Malaysia is finally ready to move on. Inevitably, two or three decades from now, reference to this acronym would be politically incorrect. But for now, you face tremendous challenges in making this work. And I am certain that you’ll be able to convince the Malays that ‘a people cannot become special by getting special rights’.
Essentially, non-Malays including myself have to frequently discount the achievements of talented and educated Malays as somewhat ordinary. Modifying the NEP would accord more respect to and self-respect for the Malay community. Once this journey has begun, it won’t be long before it becomes habitualised in the Malay psyche. Merit will ensue and your team will then be tested with the issues of designing the appropriate metrics/measures. Better this test than tests of nepotism and cronyism. Poor design is how the NEP got hijacked by the Umno elite and their cronies in the first place.
Therefore, I urge you to put your best brains and resources towards this formative stage. Embracing meritocracy is one thing, getting it wrong can lead to much unintended social and economic costs. In Singapore’s case, its brand of meritocracy has created much systemic rigidity in the public service and general populace. They regarded a deviation from the metrics to be undesirable and even feared. Lee Kuan Yew’s willingness to go tough on corruption and his subsequent legislation further compounded these fears.
In sum, an entire generation of Singaporeans grew up fusing values of merit with conformity. During the 70s and 80s when SE Asia’s industrialisation had a price advantage, such mistakes can go unpunished. But in the more networked, creative-driven knowledge economy of today where human capital is the only true resource, a conformist society will only produce lacklustre ideas. I have every confidence that your team has the mental agility to avoid such a trap. Yet this is merely a fraction of the task.
On obsession with class
Running alongside the NEP malaise, is a centuries old practice that Malaysian society suffers from – an obsession with class. Now I do not presume to know all the nuances of this issue, although I do know that it transcends all the races. Before emigrating, the Chinese from Fujian and Guangdong provinces had their Emperor. The Indians had their caste system. And of course, there are the Sultans whose absolute rule only retreated post-1945. As a result, feudal mindsets are still very much alive in modern Malaysia, allowing an obsession with class to be deeply entrenched. I am not saying that class consciousness is necessarily bad, but it’s this obsession that is damaging and holds the country back.
Every society has elites that set the tone, however when elites behave in a manner that accentuates and even glorifies the differences between themselves and the rest, it cannot be for the greater good - a lesson in Motivation 101. You may ask, ‘How is this attitude a danger to the nation?’ Quite simply, people are chasing Datukships as a short-cut to achieving their life goals and have abandoned the usual habits that make for success. Much human talent has also been wasted by a business environment that places a greater value on ‘know-who’ than ‘know-how’. This in turn will continue to breed cynicism and disenchantment. It’s already a grave error that these titles do not entail quantitative criteria, what more the culture behind it is one of privilege/indulgence rather than duty.
Suffice it to say, very few Datuks are role-model quality for the next generation and some Tan Seris even invoke feelings of disgust. Removing or limiting these titles would be a most unifying force for the country. For it will redirect the people’s efforts and ambitions towards more life-enhancing goals; goals that are driven by Spartan-like values such as enterprise, discipline and thrift. This will not be an easy undertaking. While the NEP can be modified in parliament, class obsession involves group behavior. Strong culture change agents like you can lead the way.
On separating business and politics
From the Lee Kuan Yew journal of clean government – candidates must not need large sums of money to get elected, or it will trigger the cycle of corruption. I don’t know how you plan to achieve this, but this responsibility falls upon you. I choke at the thought of US candidates having to raise US$300 million to make a bid for the presidency. No common man need apply. Where then is the grand ideal in a government ‘of the people’? By comparison, Umno’s money politics may seem less rotten.
Nevertheless, over the interim four years, if your team is able to make gains in this arena, all decent Malaysians will be the better off. I applaud your partners in the DAP for initiating public disclosure of assets for all office bearers. This is a wholesome first step. And I think when the time is right, you may want to take it further by barring all high-office bearers including yourself from holding directorships and being direct or indirect shareholders in companies. Our mutual friend Kishore Mahbubani once said: ‘Successful societies have functional elites. They add more to society than they take from it. Unsuccessful societies have corrupt elites’.
Malaysians of your generation are typically more tolerant of corruption. Needless to say, you are an exception. My own father, who is of your age, is of the view that the best we can ever hope for is that our leaders are least corrupt. Sage advice? Perhaps. What of those of Nurul Izzah’s generation and that of your grandchildren’s who will accept nothing less than to see an effective clean government and equitable society? Malaysia may be a long way off from this lofty dream but it’s the endeavoring to get there that counts.
I am not Malaysian. I am neither Malay, Indian nor Chinese. I have no business interests in Malaysia but I do have family there and my wife is Malaysian. Still, that’s not enough for me to claim a stake in Malaysia’s future. Whatever it is, God bless you, your family and your team.
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