Wahai Melayu, Jangan Biarkan Pelampau Wakili Suara Anda!

Malays, don’t let bigots speak in your name

December 11, 2014

It's time to declare that groups like Perkasa and ISMA don't represent you.

COMMENT

by Hafidz Baharom

I used to write about social issues, but recently moved to economics. Salaries and wages, household incomes and GDP per capita ratios have basically made me far removed from being the emotive columnist I started off as more than a decade ago.

The truth is that I have become lethargic on writing about the social condition of our country. I feel the same about many other causes. It was the preaching to the choir, the same old, same old crowd, and the absence of anyone new speaking up that made me think that perhaps it was time to move on to more meaningful speak.

Which is why I find these past few days refreshing.

A lot is being done in the name of the Malays, and many claim to be representative of this huge population of Malaysians.

However, nobody can truly represent everyone of the 12 million people who call themselves Malays. This is not going to happen at any time in any nation.

So why do these people – from ISMA and Perkasa, mostly – insist on saying they represent the Malays? They certainly do not represent me.

I am glad to know now that at least they do not represent an additional 26 people, being the “25 influential Malays” and Tariq Ismail, who wrote out his thoughts rather clearly about these “cowboys”.

Yes, I am a social liberal and economic conservative. This was the belief system that started Malaysia at its birth, and I personally believe it is the best path for all of us.

And among the Malays there are those who remain silent simply because they see no need to do otherwise under the current circumstances.

But it is time to rise up and say that what these organisations are doing are not in our name. To keep ourselves silent in the face of the hatred and anger that are said to represent us will only cause continued resentment among the other races.

It is time for us Malays to put aside our well-earned reputation as peaceful, diplomatic and laid back people.

This nation was built by our ability to navigate the inter and intra ethnic divide. To have leaders now who choose to remain mum while these organisations threaten to undo 57 years of work to maintain the peace is something I personally cannot and will not accept.

It is time for those who disagree with these two organisations to say that what is being done is not in their names.

Unless the Malays speak up, the harmony of this nation will continue to be under threat due to the resentment and paranoia of other races, which in turn is due to our silence.

And while silence is not agreement, it could also be interpreted as lack of disdain.

We cannot keep our disagreements with these organisations limited to our talk with neighbours or exchanges on social media or late-night mamak shop conversations.

We must take back the public sphere of communication, write in everywhere, through all the avenues available to us, which is what the so-called Malay NGOs are doing without our blessing.

They may try to quell our voices with accusations that we are “liberals”, “traitors to our own race” or – and this is my favourite – “sinners who need to repent and should spend more time in the mosques close to the end of our lives”.

We are not hypocrites, nor are we afraid to speak our minds.

It is not weakness that makes Malays diplomatic, laid back or want to do things quietly. These traits are the best part of our culture and have indeed ensured the survival of this nation for so long. For our own people to try and undo this for their own goals and gains, financial or otherwise, is a betrayal of all things Malay.

So I would now encourage the Malays to put aside their ingrained diplomacy and tendency to be silent. It is time for us to say openly that these people do not represent our way of life, our backgrounds, our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers and ancestors.

The Malay people are not mere pawns in their game of “we represent a larger population so everyone else must listen”.

We must tell everyone that these NGOs are not speaking in our name.