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Published: Wednesday September 17, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM

Updated: Wednesday September 17, 2014 MYT 7:19:28 AM

The familiar lamentations of Dr

M
BY BARADAN KUPPUSAMY

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The former premiers latest remarks about lazy Malays cause a stir among
Malaysians.
TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad used to have only two upmarket bakery outlets known
as The Loaf one in the picturesque Telaga Harbour, where luxury yachts berth in
Pulau Langkawi, and the other at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur.

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The number of his outlets, which sell breads and pastries using Japanese
techniques, has grown to more than five. As such, he has to hire more staff.
A few months ago, a manager was caught stealing money from the cash register.

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The suspicion began when the daily collection was not deposited into the bank.
The Malay manager was caught red-handed and the incident infuriated Dr
Mahathir.
I am operating a bakery and have given many opportunities to Malays to hold
management positions. Unfortunately, time and time again, honesty and integrity
appear to be lacking as there have been staff who keep stealing money, he said
at the launch of the book Wahai Melayu: Allah Tak Akan Ubah Nasib Melayu
Kalau Kita Tak Ubah Nasib Kita Sendiri by Anas Zubedy.
They do not seem to understand that it is wrong to take what is not theirs; they do
not think of the big picture or the long term, he said.
The statesman repeated the criticism in an interview with Utusan Malaysia last
Sunday.
That led to various interpretations, particularly on his criticism of the leadership,
especially the current prime minister, especially at a time when the Umno general
assembly is coming up.
But those present at the book launch believe that his remarks were in line with
what he has consistently brought up, whenever the occasion suited it. They
dismissed any suspicion of political conspiracy.
The book by Anas, a writer and speaker on motivation, is aimed at young Malay
entrepreneurs. In the foreword, the author debunks the myth that the Malays are a
lazy race who are only good in politics and the arts, but not in business.
These are self-limiting artificial boundaries and we ought to break them, he
writes.
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But in his hard-hitting speech, Dr Mahathir spent 20 minutes arguing that Malays
lack honesty and inte
grity and that they fail to handle money properly unlike the
Chinese or even Myanmar nationals.

Ethnic Chinese, he said, were more honest compared to native Malays where
money is concerned. He said these were the reasons for the Malays economic
failures.
We have to be trustworthy so people will give contracts to us. When we want to
give contracts, we give to the Chinese instead because we know they will do their
work properly. This is our weakness not being trustworthy, he added.
If we fail, we should not blame anyone but ourselves. We have failed because we
did not do what was right, he said.
In the Utusan interview, Dr Maha
thir said Malay men were still lazy, citing the
gender imbalance at institutions of higher learning, where the majority was
women.
They (the men) are not interested in studying and revising. If we go to the
universities, 70% of the students are women. Where are the men?
They prefer to be Mat Rempit, that is why I said they are lazy.
Dr Mahathirs comments raised a storm, with some in social media suggesting that
he should be arrested for sedition. The Selangor chapter of Malay rights group
Perkasa, however, termed his remarks as father
ly advice.

Veteran journalist Datuk Kadir Ja

sin reportedly said people should not get upset or

sulk over Dr Maha

thirs remarks, especially with regards to the Malays being lazy,
as there were those who were hardworking and excelled in whatever they did.
Give them a crutch and they will turn it into a paddle and a pillar, he said, adding
that there were those from the community who had succeeded and made a name
for themselves in the country and all over the world.
Citing legendary warrior Hang Tuahs famous rallying cry that Malays would not
vanish from the world, Kadir said the Malays were rulers and made up the bulk of
the civil service, such as the police force, Customs and Immigration departments,
and the teaching profession.
Not all Malaysians would agree with Dr Mahathirs assessment, with some saying
he is still caught up in racial stereotyping, even if it is aimed at his own community.
Nobody in his right mind would say Malays are lazy, Chinese are greedy, or
Indians are disho
nest. In fact, few Malaysians, especially the younger ones, would
link any race in Malaysia with any specific trait or even a vocation.
The NEP has, in many ways, succeeded in its two-pronged strategy of eradicating
poverty for all Ma
laysians as well as reducing and subsequently eliminating

identification of race by economic function and geographical location.

Lazy and indolent natives were a favourite theme of 19th century colonialists who
wanted the natives to work at producing food while putting migrants to work on the
modern economy for their benefits.
Thus grew the myth of lazy natives and this myth continued after independence
and was even believed by some Malaysians. It was only put to rest by scholars

like Syed Hussein Alatas, who wrote a seminal work The Myth of the Lazy Native
to explain British colonial policies.
Dr Mahathir is, however, a smart man.
Not only was he the longest ser
ving prime minister, but he also turned the country
into an economic powerhouse, and only smart people could achieve that.
He also believed in throwing good money at individual Malays in the hope that he
could achieve a successful Malay entrepreneurial class in a short time.
Some of his efforts ended in failure while others succeeded but the failures
always got the bigger headlines.
Thus was born one of the great themes of his political life that he had failed to
change the Malay mindset and that they preferred to live poor in a rich country.
Thus was also born the phrase, Melayu Mudah Lupa (Malays forget easily).
But while such generalisations will guarantee headlines, the reality is that one
simply cannot tar a whole race with the same brush, the way you tar a person or
two.
Dr Mahathir might have repeated the lazy native syndrome perhaps to get the
attention of the Malays, in particular Umno members who are in the midst of
division meetings and passing resolutions in support of Islam, Malays and the
rulers.
It is a given that even after his retire
ment, Dr Mahathir needs to be at the centre of
national life. He needs to have everything revolving around him and needs to
command the national dialogue.
So he relies on an old theme that is sure to spark a huge controversy like the
myth of the lazy Malays.
But Malaysians want to move on. They want to get out of this race trap and the
least said about such stereotyping would be better for Malaysia.
The views expressed are entirely the writers own.

TAGS / KEYWORDS:
K baradan, opinion

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