Affirmative Action, Sustainable?

The STAR on 03Aug2007, reported UMNO Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaludin accusing Anwar Ibrahim, "A traitor to the Malay cause":

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Anwar a traitor to Malay cause, says Khairy

KUALA KANGSAR: Umno Youth has labelled Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim – who was once head of the movement – a traitor to the Malay cause.

In making the declaration, Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaludin said: “The (coming) general elections is not about politics but the future of the Malays.”

“Anwar is a puppet of the United States and the Jews, thus he must be hounded until there is no more place for him to run to,” he told a state Umno Youth gathering on Wednesday night.

Among the 5,000 people present were the wing’s former chief Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Deputy Information Minister, and Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali.

Khairy said the movement was angered by Anwar’s persistence in wanting to do away with the New Economic Policy, a cause close to the hearts of the Malays.

“He wanted to abolish it simply because he wanted to win the support of the non-Malays,” he said.

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While we all know how dirty real politics can be and let it be known on the onset that I side nobody politically, my business is in sustainable development, I am deeply perturbed by the intellectual caliber of a purported Oxford U graduate.

The context of the NEP (New Economic Policy) was a time sensitive affirmative action program to eradicate (Malay) poverty and restructure (Malaysian) society, an aftermath of the racial riots of 1969, and not a subject of the social contract negotiated at the promulgation of the Malayan-Malaysian Constitution at the founding of independent Malaya in1957.

The NEP which sets out to help the poor as classified by race (exclusively the Malays) was supposed to be for a limited period of 20 years i.e. 1970 to 1990. It was never intended to be for eternity, but it now looks like the people who benefits directly from this convenient conduit of financial wealth are bent on perpetuating it.

When Anwar Ibrahim insisted NEP to be abolished, it presumable caused such a stir, at least on one UMNO member Khairy Jamaludin, the son-in-law of PM Ahmad Badawi.

Well, it did not moved me a bit.

I am more interested in what Anwar Ibrahim propose the NEP be replaced with.

Affirmative action has its place in every nation and at anytime, because abject poverty is a respecter of no color but of class and the station of life.

Technically, anyone is a candidate for abject poverty, so affirmative action ought not be bias towards race but class: if you are poor enough and qualify to receive aid, you ought to be helped, not because you are poor AND belong to a certain color, but because you are poor, period.

By insisting the NEP be abolished (and hopefully be replaced with a EOEP: Equal Opportunity Economic Policy?), Anwar Ibrahim, in my humble opinion is not fishing for non-Malay votes.

He instead is being true and honest, walking his talk as an authentic Malay Warrior: Keeping his word: "Kata Mesti Di Kota".

Lest we forget, UMNO, through PM Tun Razak had promised that the NEP is for a fixed time period of 20 years and ought to have lapsed by 1990.

Alas, Tun Razak has passed away long ago, otherwise it will be interesting to know what he thinks about extending the NEP forever, when it has matured.

By renegading on its words, UMNO not only dishonors the honesty of the Bangsa, it also implicates the integrity of what the Ugama preaches versus what is practiced by its Ummah and therefore the Negara as the other citizens watches the leaders of that Bangsa in the way they walk their talk.

It is already difficult under normal circumstances for one to do the right thing, and to do the right thing even when it hurts, that is the mark of a Hero, peers of great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln.

Anwar Ibrahim is taking a big gamble by insisting on abolishing the NEP, because he will certainly lose the affection of most bumiputras without even the slightest assured support from the non bumiputras.

Afterall, the non-bumiputras in Malaysia have got so used to relying only on themselves and thanks to self-reliance, they need no clutches to stand or walk.

Anwar Ibrahim is a Visionary.

He knows, the very aid that is supposed to help can turn out to be that very bait that entraps.

Imagine for a moment, if your one year old child could only babble, crawl and need to be fed and cleaned, well, that is normal.

But this very child of yours, who is not an invalid still expects you to feed and clean him like a one year old child when he is already 37 years old, is that still cute especially when he still crawls and not walk? When is he going to grow up and be independent?

Affirmative Action, to be sustainable in the long run, needs justification and justification on helping the poor regardless of color, religion or creed.

Anwar Ibrahim knows what it is like to have dignity (maruah).

Even if today Anwar Ibrahim is a pauper, poor in money; he is rich in dignity.

Anwar Ibrahim, you have done your ancestors proud and I hope many of us will emulate you.

I salute you!