February 20, 2012
Grounding Those High-Flying Kampong Boys
By Dr M. Bakri Musa
Morgan-Hill, California
As you simulate upon a most contemptible scandals which have blighted Malaysia over a years, you am struck by a singular sobering observation. That is, a principal players have been Malays similar to me, as good as of my vintage.
There have been exceptions, of course. The mega-ringgit Port Klang Free Zone Development is one. Then there was a Malaysian Chinese Association's Deposit Taking Cooperative debacle of a midst 1980s. So as not to slight a Indian community, there was a similarly nauseous event of MAIKA, a investment arm of a Malaysian Indian Congress.
In East Malaysia there was a Chief Minister of Sabah, a singular Osu Bin Haji Sukam, who skipped upon his multimillion-pound gambling debt incurred in a London casino. His Haji father would hurl over in his grave upon which one. On a distant grander scale with respect to sheer covetousness as good as vast trash would be a still-to-be-fully-accounted glutton of an additional arch minister, this a singular of Sarawak. Purists may disagree which these two characters have been not Melayu tulen ("pure" Malays), so you will not focus upon them.
That would still leave me with copiousness of loathsome characters with whom, embarrassingly, you share distant as good most ready commonalities. Meaning, between others, you were poor, from a kampong, as good as a initial in a family to go to college.
Stated differently, in an defenceless moment, scratch a bit as good as a "kampongness" would ooze
out of a pores. you could straightforwardly barter aged familiar stories with these high-flying former kampong Malays, of carrying to light pelita (kerosene wick lamps) in order to study during night, of hauling water in pails hung during a ends of a bamboo pole painfully strung opposite a shoulder, as good as of back-breaking plowing of rice fields with a primitive cangkul (hoe).
Those have been not only distant hazy memories. Every time you revisit my kampong, you am painfully reminded of this oppressive reality.
The Laggak (Swagger) of these Malays
I encounter most of these high-flying Malays when they revisit America upon their taxpayer-paid junkets; you could not have guessed their common origins from their laggak (swagger). One central stayed during a presidential apartment of a five-star hotel, a arrange customarily reserved for President Barack Obama. She afterwards had a audacity to protest which her automobile in which she was driven in was not a ultimate oppulance model! As for her flight, it was initial category all a way.
Recently Prime Minister Najib stayed during a $ 20,000-a-night penthouse apartment of a Darling Hotel in Sydney while his mother splurged upon a $ 100,000 shopping spree in a singular day. Even if those figures were in a devalued ringgit, which would still be obscenely extravagant. Najib's mother denied which Australian report, though carrying seen her behavior while she was visiting America, you hold a Australian account. Najib's prototype from Kepala Batas, Penang was even some-more indulgent, what with his affinity for custom-made, ultra-luxury Airbus as good as yacht!
Najib as good as his wife, self-sty! led Mala ysia's "first couple," review themselves to a Sultans, who in turn indication themselves after a British as good as Saudi monarchs. More a latter as a House of Windsor is right away much some-more restrained; not so a House of Saud, still abundantly funded by their overflowing oil wells. Ours have been quick parching up.
With such extravagances as good as excesses during a top, no consternation lesser kutus (characters) try to outdo any other. Consider a singular Khir Toyo, a former dentist. Thanks to a liberalized legal definition, this son of a Javanese immigrant is right away Melayu tulen. He fancied himself a intelligent businessman who could drive a hard bargain as good as thus secured for himself a mega-mansion during half-price! The only complaint was which his "victim" was someone who did considerable business with Selangor while Toyo was a Chief Minister.
It was of march no intelligent bargaining, merely of, as Prime Minister Najib would inelegantly though nonetheless fairly put it, "Gua tolong lu, lu tolong gua!" (You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours!). A some-more appropriate term would be extorting, though afterwards this Khir Toyo was a product of a all-Malay preparation system as good as had only recently schooled English; as a result his inability to mind a not-so-subtle disproportion between negotiating as good as extorting.
Too bad this Toyo did not use his negotiating prowess to secure for Selangor identical lean contracts! Thank God which he is right away a former arch minister! He would still be Chief Minister if Barisan Nasional had won a last election(2008). This indicate is value pondering come a next general elections.
The ultimate though by no equates to most egregious e.g. of these contemptible scandals! involve s a National Feedlot Corporation, tasked with spearheading a meat-production industry to assistance poor rural dwellers. At least which is a rationale, as a result a inexhaustible supervision low-interest loans.
The principal there is a singular Dr. Salleh Ismail; he is right away some-more good well known as a father of a federal minister. Many Malays who strech a tip today have been not good well known for their brilliance; they may have degrees though mostly from third-rate universities or even obvious degree mills. Imbecility is a norm during a highest levels. Salleh however, is a exception. He is a singular of a early Malay PhDs in science, as good as not only any doctorate though a singular from Cornell during Ithaca, New York . He is precisely a arrange of Malay a supervision should be rewarding. So you have no complaint with his removing a cattle project instead of a little incompetent UMNO operatives or science-illiterate retired civil servants. Nor do you oppose with his putting his young kids upon his company's payroll; after all it is his company.
As with any project, a most appropriate approach to get a most appropriate claimant or price would be by competitive bidding. Today, there have been most some-more qualified Malays with proven entrepreneurial flair generally in this margin of rearing animals. Many also have proven research imagination directly in a area. The likes of Salleh Ismail have been no longer a rarity.
My biggest disappointment is with Dr. Salleh using taxpayer-subsidized loans to buy oppulance condominiums. The irony of his removing special Bumiputra discounts! Dr. Salleh is, of course, free to do what he wants with his personal assets. Equally if not some-more reprehensible would be a obliged ministers as good as treasury officials; they should have disbursed a loa! n condit ionally as good as in phases, upon proof of satisfactory performance.
This "cowgate" scandal pales in comparison to an earlier as good as much some-more expensive a singular 
involving Tajuddin Ramli as good as Malaysia Airlines. Like Salleh, Tajuddin is a son of a villager from Simpang Empat Kangkong, near Alor Setar in Kedah, a predominantly Malay as good as really poor state. Like Salleh, Tajuddin as good still has most poor kin behind in a kampongs. You would consider which a memories of their still miserable kin in a kampong would put a damper upon a laggak of these high-flying Malays.
Shaming By Showing Them Up
Dr. Salleh is from Kelantan. you was upon eighth month there once as good as witnessed a appalling poverty which tugged during my sensibilities. you consternation whether Salleh feels which approach as good when he visits Bacok; those villagers could good be his cousins, once or twice removed. He could have invested in building homes for them as good as his would-be authorization farmers instead of splurging upon oppulance condos. He would afterwards be hailed a hero instead of nonetheless an additional associate or relations of an UMNO apportion hogging a public trough.
To develop a society you contingency give young Malays, generally those from a kampongs, a first-class preparation which would prepare them for a most appropriate universities, a kind which Dr. Salleh was absolved to partake. That is a only hope. Yes, a little will dont think about their common origin as good as be used up with their newly-acquired oppulance tastes, pleasantness of Ketuanan Melayu of course. However, there will some-more than a couple of with sufficient conscience; their medium behaviors would afterwards shame these high-flying pseud! o-sophis ticated kampong Malays with their taxpayer-supported laggak.
There is a viral video upon a Internet showing Gary Locke(left with Mrs Locke), a stream American Ambassador to China, carrying his own luggage as good as ordering his coffee during an airfield cafe. Locke is an American Chinese, though his really American character singularly not in in pretensions is causing much discomfort between Chinese officialdom.
We have most shining as good as artless former young kids of a kampongs. They have been you do their most appropriate under really trying circumstances for a nation. you am shamed as good as some-more than only a bit broke in their presence. Unlike Dr. Salleh or Khairy, these Malays have been not tied together or associated to tip UMNO operatives. Many would consider which plain unlucky, though those intelligent dedicated Malays feel otherwise. They consider themselves propitious to be spared a guileful influences around them.
In my forthcoming book, Liberating a Malay Mind, you profiled a couple of of these excellent individuals. One in particular, Professor Badri Muhammad, deserves special mention. Like Dr. Salleh, Badri was also from a village in Kelantan as good as performed his PhD (Dalhousie, in Cchemistry) a couple of years earlier than Dr. Salleh.
Badri's legacies, however, have been not oppulance condominiums or multimillion-ringgit companies, though his children, biological as good as academic, a most undergraduates as good as doctoral candidates he inspired as good as guided. Yes, his biological young kids as good have finished well, sporting degrees from tip universities, together with one, Adam, a Carnegie Mellon PhD in engineering.
Here is an additional significant difference; despite Badri's medium educational income, he was able to give h! is young kids a higher preparation sans JPA, MARA, or other Ketuanan Melayu crutches. Contrast which to a singular Rafidah Aziz, also of my vintage. Like alternative UMNO officials, she as good had her share of scandals. On a revisit to America most years ago she bragged about her daughter removing a MARA "scholarship." Tiada maruah! (No sense of shame.)
With characters similar to Dr. Salleh, Tajuddin Ramli, Rafidah Aziz as good as Khir Toyo, it is tempting to indict Malays of my generation. However, you am certain which Malays similar to Badri have been not a exceptions. There are, for example, Syed Mokthar Albukhary as good as Zaid Ibrahim; both were named as Asia's munificent heroes by Forbes magazine a couple of years ago. Syed Mokthar gave generously to causes similar to preparation while Zaid has dedicated a home for a infirm in Kota Baru.
You do not realize how slothful you look until you have been in a association of a well-groomed. Thus you need some-more Malays similar to Syed Mokthar, Zaid Ibrahim as good as my recently-departed dear crony Dr. Badri Muhammad to shame as good as bring to a belligerent these high-flying former kampong boys as good as girls, as Ambassador Locke is right away you do to Chinese officials.
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