Can Malays bridge the gap?
This was the title of an article in the Sunday Times yesterday. The conclusion is that they need more help from the govt. And this mentality of more help from the govt can last in perpetuity. 100 years down the road, they will still face the same problem and will still need more help from the govt unless…. Apparently they did not know why. I may sound arrogant to make this remark, but that is obvious. No one wants to say it. Saying it will only draw all the brickbats and accusations and demands for apologies just like what LKY had to face recently. If one does not want to look at the problem squarely, one can never solve the problem. Period. Having said this, I think it is a myth that the Malays are not doing well. I think they have done exceedingly well. Am I kidding? No. To measure how well one does, one needs to know what one is aspiring to be and what one is prepared to contribute and work towards that goal. There are two elements here, the goal and the effort. What is the goal of the Malay community? Are they seeking materialism or religious comfort and way of life? Some may want the rewards of materialism which mean that one must put in all the time and effort to achieve that. You want to be a CEO, a doctor, a lawyer or whatever in the corporate world and industry, what is needed from you? You can’t be there if you don’t work for it. Many Malay families have reached these positions, though more are welcomed. Then there are those who aspire to be imams and religious leaders. They pursue higher education in this field. They succeeded and became religious leaders. But religious leaders don’t come with big houses, big cars and big pay packets unlike some mega churches. They have achieved what they wanted and should be happy with their achievements. They are not under achievers. They have different motivations and goals in life. And the in betweens, some wanted to be footballers, musicians, singers, performers, some wanted to be salespersons, some wanted to be workers, and they put in the equivalent effort to achieve these goals. And they are there. You can’t say that they have not achieved. There are many great Malay footballers and in fact the whole national team are Malay footballers if the foreigners are excluded. They did well in their chosen field. And there are some who just wanted to get married, make babies and enjoy life, with little pressure and stress, and not having to work 12 or 16 hours daily. That is their goals in life. They too have achieved. You can’t claim that they are failures because they are not professionals and did not live in big houses and driving big cars. It is their aspirations and the time and effort they put in to get what they wanted. One other point that surfaced in the article is that the Malays cannot succeed because they are the minority and did not have the numbers. Is that reason valid? Just look at the Indians and the Chinese, they are minorities in countries around the world. They did not need the numbers to be successful. The Indians are exceedingly successful not only here but in the US. They literally own and managed some of the biggest American and European banks. And they are minorities, absolute minorities in the exact meaning of the word. The Chinese too are coping quite well in many western countries, as minorities though not excelling the way the Indians do.. Numbers is not and never the only reason to be successful. It is what you want and what you are prepared to put in to get it. How many Indians or Chinese are there in the West? In many of the countries, they are not even 1% of the population. And they did not ask their govt for help. They just do it. So, is there a problem, a contradiction, or just a wrongful perception? Can the Malay bridge the gap? What gap? The gap of material success is attainable if they set that as their goal and work towards it.