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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

UNLIKE the Malays, the Chinese are not EXTREMIST

UNLIKE the Malays, the Chinese are not EXTREMIST
Two news items drew my attention this week: one was about Dr Syed Farid al-Attas, a liberal and progressive Muslim scholar of considerable clout and repute who is currently teaching at the National University of Singapore. I am surprised that he was allowed to come to Kuala Lumpur to talk about Islam when another Muslim scholar from Indonesia, Dr Ulil Abshar Abdalla, was denied entry into the country. Perhaps Singapore’s big contribution towards Johor’s Iskandar project tilted the balance.
The second news item that caught my eye was our Prime Minister’s speech at the Gerakan meeting, which got front-page treatment by the New Straits Times. It’s to be expected that NST’s front page belongs to Dato’ Sri Najib Razak and Najib alone, but his message of moderation surprised me. Najib usually only speaks the language of peace and moderation in New York and London. Now he is inching closer home, although he was speaking to a largely Chinese audience. But I am dead certain he will not say such things at his own party meeting next month!
The PM is wasting his time talking about the dangers of extremism to the Chinese community. And a former UMNO Minister from the north is also wasting his time saying that the Chinese are suffering from an identity crisis and becoming misfits in Malaysian society. The Chinese may be selfish, parochial, greedy, egotistical and whatever other ungodly labels some may want to slap on them, but extremist they are not.
The Chinese came to Malaya to start afresh, make a living and ultimately prosper in business and in life. They are still doing these things very well. To succeed, they have had to be adaptable and accommodating, and they have had to know how the game is played both politically and socially. These are not qualities that extremists have.
Just look at the Chinese Babas. They adapted well and married Malays. They spoke Malay, to the extent that some of them forgot how to speak in Chinese. They wore Malay dress such as the baju kurung, until the Malays abandoned it for the Arab dress. It is of course unreasonable for the Malays now to expect the Chinese to veil themselves.
Chinese businessmen adapted themselves well to Malay society. When the power of the Malays rested with the Istana, they took to the Istana like fish to water. When the Istana had fights over succession, the Chinese took sides. You would be silly not to think that the Ghee Hin and Hai San secret society war in Perak 150 years ago had anything to the with the feuds in the Istana.
When UMNO took power, both politically and economically, the Chinese again adapted and accommodated the realities well. At the height of the NEP, the Chinese were strong supporters of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. They didn’t care about what percentage of the nation’s wealth the Malays received, because they were shrewd enough to claw some back for themselves. They didn’t care about how many timber licences or APs the Malays had, as they were always in the front line of the business.
So don’t make people laugh by saying the Chinese have no identity. It’s the Malays who are struggling to know themselves. They are struggling to realise that the world is not what they are being told. They are being taught that there is always instant success and reward in this life, that the world revolves around this fixed formula which can be unearthed if they follow the ulamak and preachers. They do not care too much about scholars, scientists or elements of modernity. They have a rigid world view. They only know about rules and regulations, and if the world does not fit into this frame, they punish themselves and each other.
So which group is in denial and is unable to adapt to the real Malaysia? The evidence suggests that it’s not the Chinese, but the Malays. Not all the Malays maybe, but some of them—those who are making the headlines, at least. -zaid.my

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