changing the unmalay mindset

saya membaca artikel bertajuk changing the malay mindset oleh farah fahmy yang tersiar di web berita the malaysia insider, dengan rasa terganggu. bagi saya, jurus fikrah ini bersifat amat semberono, dangkal dan basi. di bawah adalah respons saya terhadapnya:

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think again farah. being well-travelled and educated, don't you think that your observation does not befit your station of life? do you still believe that these papers represent the malays or what being a malay is all about? is it not true that they are the mouthpieces of the powerful and moneyed people using the mask of being a malay to protect and project their unmalay interests, worldview and sense of value or right and wrong?

is it not true too that for years the people so duped have been kept away from their own true self of being a malay, i.e., a localised muslim speaking the malay tongue and living according to its worldview, culture and customs? and that the 'malays' that you are talking about have nothing to do with being malay in that cultural, historical and ideological (or even legal) definition save for their skin color and physical cultural symbols. at best they are merely nominal malays.

with deeper understanding on the issues at hand, i think you should rewrite the title of this piece to 'changing the unmalay mindset' for those 'values' or 'qualities' that you deem wanting from the malays of today are actually their organic personality that was destroyed and attacked by all quarters intent of capitalising on them when it does not benefit themselves along our long historical path.

it is the trusting, humble, cultured and accommodating nature of the malays that get them into trouble in the first place, when those characteristics were seen as weaknesses by unworthy manipulating peoples who capitalise on it for their own interests and agendas.

and suddenly everything was wrong about the malays or being a malay. their religion, culture, language, personality and ways of thinking and doing things are just not up to standard and needed to be changed for their own good, or is it?

once the malay kampung folks were first attacked for being lazy people living a sedentary uneconomical and unmodern lives and pushed to the cities to become factory and office workers uprooted from their cultural and religious identities to eventually become the 'ugly malays' that this writer is talking about now.

when the malays were 'poor' and 'lazy' then, they are wrong, but when they are 'rich' and 'powerful' now, they are wrong too. is it not that the 'ugly malays' of today are the 'lazy malays' of yesterday who have embraced all of the prerequisites of a modern and successful people - selfish, individualistic, manipulative, abrasive, religion and value-free and all.

at the other level, those kampungs left behind by these malays in their quest to become modern and up to the standard were swallowed first by the government, the glc's and finally private corporations to be turned into plantations or resorts or hotels and gated housing estates so that the rich and powerful, owners of those factories and offices, can move in to enjoy their success in a serene, peaceful, cultured, healthy and lazy country style living.

the difference between them is that, the new owners read shakespeare, wilde and tolstoy in their spare time, while the old ones enjoy raniri, fansuri and singkel or celebrate their birthdays with cakes and candles, while the other do it with doa selamat and kenduri.

meanwhile the malays, the original owners of these 'kampungs', now have to struggle their way out from their cramped, unhealthy flats and terrace houses - their promised modernity and success - to someday own a dream home and life worthy of a modern, up-to-date and internationally accepted man!

try living in a traditional malay padi planting kampung, a chinese new village, an indian estate dwelling or a multi-peopled up-town flats and one will see who really need to change their lifestyles, mindsets and all.

hey, when the orang asal are now coming to the fore to defend and demand the rights to their ancestral and cultural land, identity and lifestyles - and, in so doing, are being supported by many a quarter on the basis of human rights etc - should the malays then continue to dance the music of those unworthy manipulative peoples who understand not but the language of power, money and turmoil?

malaysia will then have to choose either to deal with the noisy, abrasive, manipulative and uprooted nominal malays or with the humble, fair, principled and cultured ones.

Semua yang tuan cari

Tuan adalah tekapan
Akan isi titah tuhan;
Cermin di dalamnya menunjuk
Indah wajah yang maha elok.

Semua yang tuhan tempa
Wujudnya dalam sejahtera;
Semua yang tuan cari
Temuinya di dalam hati.

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Of the book of God
Thou art a copying,
A mirror wherein showed
The beauty of the King.

All God ever wrought
Dwelleth not apart;
All thou hast ever sought,
Find it in thy heart.

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Ruba'iyyat, Mawlana Rumi; diterjemahkan ke bahasa Inggeris oleh A.J. Arberry.

Hati adalah taman rahsia

Hati adalah taman rahsia
Pohonnya ghaib terlindung;
Kembangnya seribu warna
Abadi, tenteram.

Hati adalah laut tak bertepi
Lepas tak terhalang;
Ombaknya memecah tanpa henti
Dalam jiwa setiap insan.

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The heart is a secret garden
Its trees unseen;
A hundred hues it blossoms
Unchanged, serene.

The heart's a boundless ocean
Illimitable;
Its waves break unnumbered
In every soul.

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Ruba'iyyat, Mawlana Rumi; diterjemahkan ke bahasa Inggeris oleh A.J. Arberry.