The Straits Times, January 9, 2010
Mr Nik Nazmi believes any lasting change must be led by the Malays themselves. -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
MR NIK Nazmi Ahmad is 27 and a product of Malaysia's controversial pro-Malay economic policies. He is also a promising politician with the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which wants to overhaul these policies.
A contradiction? Not to Mr Nik Nazmi, who sees both as fundamentally intertwined. And they are.
The graduate of King's College in London could perhaps be said to be the ideal outcome of the New Economic Policy (NEP).
The affirmative action policy, which came about after the race riots of 1969, sought to create opportunities for the majority community which had been shut out of the colonial economy of then-Malaya.
Mr Nik Nazmi benefited in that he got to attend the elite Malay College Kuala Kangsar and later received a government scholarship to study law in London.
He believes such an education helped shape his strong ideals and enabled him to develop a robust intellect. Moreover, it led him to see how outmoded or 'twisted from their original objectives' the policy had become.
'Some quarters might dismiss my views as being typical of a middle-class Malay youth who has reaped the benefits of the NEP and is now biting the hand that fed him.
'I cannot deny that I am a beneficiary of the NEP. Yet, it is a testimony of how far the NEP has succeeded that its beneficiaries are now arguing for change,' he wrote in his newly launched book, Moving Forward: Malays For The 21st Century.
The slim volume consists of essays on topics ranging from education to religion.
In the book, Mr Nik Nazmi writes about how the pro-Malay policy never intended for its beneficiaries' children to become yet another generation of beneficiaries.
He points to the irony that while NEP proponents insist the policy should continue because it has failed to uplift the Malays, those who point to its successes are denounced.
Along the way, he offers his thoughts on the Malay identity, which has become inextricably tied to the NEP, and the stigma and insecurity that the policy has created.
In this respect, the author sticks close to the PKR line, which calls for the current race-based economic policy to be replaced with a policy based on needs.
While these are not novel thoughts, it is significant that they have found their way into the mainstream political arena.
Mr Nik Nazmi's book is also available in Malay because he believes that any lasting change must be led by the Malays themselves.
'I wanted to speak to the Malays, as well as be a voice from the Malays. That's why I wrote it in English and Malay,' he told The Straits Times.
As political commentator Bakri Musa says in his review of the book: 'I am especially nervous when calls for eliminating the NEP come from non-Malays, and wrapped in a barely concealed sense of racial or cultural superiority.
'The political reality is that the constitutional provisions for NEP can only be amended with the consent of the super-majority, and that means with most Malays agreeing to it.'
Mr Nik Nazmi, who became an aide to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in 2005, won a state seat in Selangor in the 2008 general election. He was the country's youngest candidate, along with Datuk Seri Anwar's daughter Nurul Izzah, who won a parliamentary seat.
Ms Nurul Izzah herself stirred debate last year with an essay in which she sought new bearings for the Malay identity.
'I sense the need for Malays to embrace a new paradigm on what it means to be Malay. Many indeed are doing so and this is heartening,' she wrote.
'Malay need no longer carry connotations of dependency on the state, insecurity or the crippling feeling of alienation and the lack of self-worth,' she added.
Lawyer and former Cabinet minister Zaid Ibrahim, 55, also explored the Malay identity in his book Saya Pun Melayu, or I Am Also Malay, which is published in Malay and English.
To Mr Nik Nazmi, this phenomenon reflects the success of the NEP.
'It created the Malay middle class whose outlook has changed because of education and exposure,' he said.
He noted that many Malays are now working in global cities such as London, Tokyo and Dubai, thus shattering the myth that they are unable to compete or are held back culturally.
Mr Wan Firdaus Mohd Fuaad, 27, a young Umno member who belongs to a small think-tank with a libertarian agenda, agreed that more Malay voices are speaking up on the Malay identity.
'Nik Nazmi's views are shared by many young Malays who have become successful because their fathers' generation was helped by the NEP. Many of them also have friends of different races because of their wider exposure,' he said.
But he disagreed that such a view is limited to opposition parties or to young people. He noted that many conservative Muslim-Malays also believe it is time for the country to move on. But this does not mean that race is no longer a consideration for them.
As Mr Nik Nazmi put it, people will always be conscious of their heritage, but it has been shown that it is possible to move beyond the obsession with race.
No comments:
Post a Comment