AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at August 26, 2008 5:28 PM |

1. Affirmative action by its very nature must involve discrimination.

2. Affirmative action is about correcting imbalances between groups. But in the process, the interest of individuals would have to be sacrificed. It is unfortunate for the individual concerned but if no one's interest is to be sacrificed then corrections cannot be made. The status quo would remain and this would mean there would be no affirmative action. Simply said, no corrective action would be possible unless there is some discrimination against someone.

3. Golf is a great game. But like other games the poorer players would be given handicaps. Otherwise golf would be very boring as the good golfers win every time.


4. In boxing we cannot match a heavyweight against a lightweight. The latter would be hammered to a pulp.

5. In horse racing the lighter horse would carry weights so that the race is between evenly matched horses and riders.

6. Globalisation has been promoted by the rich countries.

7. The essence of globalisation is open borders or a borderless world. With this, the rich and the well-endowed will have unrestricted access to the countries of the poor in order to exploit them. Of course the poor can have access to the rich countries too. It sounds fair. The playing field seems to be level.

8. But what will certainly happen is that the rich will go into the poor countries and with their capital, their managerial skills, and their technology, would overwhelm the people in the poor countries with their small businesses, limited skills and limited capital.

9. The end result would be that the poor countries would effectively be owned and exploited by the rich countries and the local people would be mere workers in the big enterprises of the rich, earning a pittance for themselves. Essentially colonisation of the poor by the rich would again take place.

10. But the rich countries will claim that the people of the poor countries are free to do business in the rich countries, buy over the banks, the industries and anything they like. But they know and we know that it would be impossible for the people of the poor countries to do this.

11. This is why the WTO has been rejected by poor countries. The people of the poor countries know they cannot compete; know that in the end they would be colonised. They are not being selfish. It is simply that they want to exploit their wealth for themselves.

12. Effectively the poor countries want to discriminate in their favour by rejecting the borderless world of Globalisation. Exploitation by the rich would most likely enrich the poor countries. But they would rather be poor than be exploited.

13. We take the relative peace and stability in our country for granted. But look at other multi-ethnic countries. In most cases the indigenous people, if given power would not just discriminate against what they consider to be non-indigenous people but would want to expel them. Look around us and you will understand what I mean. Look at the Tamils of Sri Lanka, and the Indians in Burma. There are other examples which I will not mention here.

14. But the indigenous people of this country actually welcome the non-indigenous and expressed their willingness to share the wealth and the opportunities that this great country has to offer between them. But the sharing must be fair. That was the kind of sharing our founders agreed upon. The Malays would not have agreed if in this country they would be reduced to being the hewers of wood and drawers of water.

15. When the sharing did not really take place, the anger lead to the 1969 race riots.

16. Following that our wise leaders from all the communities agreed on how to carry out the sharing. They agreed on what is basically affirmative action. They agreed that they would eradicate poverty irrespective of race and that there should be no identification of race with economic function.

17. It is only a small sacrifice. But the peace and stability that came with the NEP had enriched the country which in turn had contributed towards peace and stability even during the recession caused by the financial crises. We know that racial riots occurred in other countries at that time. Contributing to the fairness of the NEP was the decision that discrimination should not be by expropriation of what already belonged to others but through the distribution of new wealth and opportunities. Thus, the sense of deprivation would be reduced.

18. But even when the discrimination is to be based on growth the rich would still feel a sense of deprivation because they cannot get all the wealth and opportunities that they believe they were qualified for.

19. If contracts or licences or permits are to be given out why should someone less qualified get them when they, the qualified could make better use of these things.

20. In the case of university admission and scholarships, why should someone less qualified get admitted when the better qualified cannot.

21. So even when the corrective action is based on new opportunities and wealth and not by expropriation of what is already in the possession of the rich, there would still be a sense of deprivation by the richer communities.

22. Accepted that the richer communities also have poor members among them and the New Economic Policy's first prong clearly proposed poverty eradication irrespective of race, the fact remains that there is more poverty among the poorer community than among the richer communities.

23. If we eliminate poverty among the rich without regard to the level of poverty, then the richer community would be rid of poverty while the poorer community would still be saddled with extensive poverty.

24. Today we have reduced poverty to 5 percent. If we care to do a study, we will find that the majority of those still under the poverty line would be from the deprived community.

25. Still, despite the alleged discrimination, our poverty eradication is regarded as being very successful. It is nearly impossible to find hard core poverty among the better-off race in the urban areas. There are more in the rural areas.

26. Fifty years is a short period in the history of nations. We have not reached menopause yet. In fact we are in our youth still. Whether we succeed to overcome our present difficulties depends on us. If we fail, pointing fingers will not save us.

27. I will readily admit that the NEP had been abused. But we are so ready to blame that we pick on the wrong target. Of course the way the affirmative action was carried out, and the abuses, were picked on by the opposition to condemn the whole policy.

28. UMNOputra, like cronyism, was a word invented by politicians and the detractors of this brash country which dared to thumb its nose at the powers that be. Unable to condemn blatant corruption as they do to other countries, they came up with cronyism and UMNOputra. When there is real cronyism and corruption they deliberately ignore them because these are committed by their favourite people.

29. Before making these criticisms against the affirmative action of the NEP, why not make a real study. Are most of the Malays getting the scholarships and entries into the universities the children of UMNO people? If they are, why was it necessary to have the Universities and University College Act to stop students from demonstrations against the UMNO-led Government? How did the doctors and lawyers in PAS get their education? Are the students all from rich families with connections?

30. I will be the first to admit that there have been abuses in the promotion of business among the bumiputeras. Given opportunities, given licenses, permits, contracts etc, they disposed these for immediate gains. This frustrates the efforts to help them. Some degree of abuses may be excused but the degree of abuse of the opportunities created by the NEP is far too much. They cannot all be excused.

31. I also admit that there has been unfairness in the award of scholarships and Government jobs.

32. I will not try to defend these abuses. We must try to reduce them. But affirmation is about discrimination. And those discriminated against will never understand the big picture, the benefits of an increasingly egalitarian society.

33. The Malays must accept that this discrimination cannot be forever. If they fail to respond properly to what is being done for them, they should accept this policy would be taken away.

34. When Malay youngsters, especially boys, failed to study and qualify for university education, when they preferred to play and not study, we cannot expect the non-Malays to patiently wait and give up their opportunities until the Malays decide to become serious and study. That would not be fair.

35. That was why we introduced merit in the selection of students for the universities. Unfortunately, the implementers of Government decisions chose to interpret it differently. By requiring Bumiputeras to sit for the matriculation and the non-Bumiputeras to sit for higher school certificates, they managed to give the impression that the Bumiputeras were actually better qualified than the non-Bumiputeras. With this, the intention of the Government to make the Bumiputeras become more serious about their education failed.

36. There is a tendency among Malays to regard the discrimination in their favour as a privilege, as a recognition of their superior status. I think this is wrong. The discrimination is in order to give them a kind of headstart so that they can catch up with other races. To me, it is shameful to have to be protected because we do not have the capacity to compete. We are not Red Indians to live on reserves. We should regard it as a temporary expedient to be done away with once we have achieved the capacity to compete on our own.

37. However, we must give time for ending the NEP and it should be done in stages. I hope that the time will not be too long. In the meantime, serious efforts by the Bumiputeras must be made to avail themselves of the opportunities. If this is obviously not being done, then, as with entrance into the universities, the discrimination must end.

By Malaysian on August 26, 2008 7:17 PM

"That was why we introduced merit in the selection of students for the universities. Unfortunately, the implementers of Government decisions chose to interpret it differently. By requiring Bumiputeras to sit for the matriculation and the non-Bumiputeras to sit for higher school certificates, they managed to give the impression that the Bumiputeras were actually better qualified than the non-Bumiputeras."

To be frank, I have never realised that Tun is aware of this as it actually created a sense of false superiority for those students which went through matriculation. Although the scores obtained by the Matrics students were far higher, it was never the true reflection of the results.

With this, I really hope that there is a single examination to measure the performance of students pre-university. Then this is only Merit by name and practice.

By dayanganita on August 26, 2008 7:20 PM
Dear Tun,

Absolutely a brilliant piece.

May I add..

1. To enter universities, malays love to depend on quotas. To enter postgraduate studies, there is no quota -purely by merit BUT still there are trainee lecturers position that enable the malays to join even when there are others with better qualifications. To go abroad for subspecialisation, there is completely no quota because in the real, international world only merit matters. This is when malays fall. Some fall hard on their faces.

2. Malays are not stupid.

3. We do not have to forever depend on government quotas and assistance.

4. We need to realise that good command in English language is essential to survive.

5. Mastering English language will never make us less malay and less patriotic.



By chian yee on August 26, 2008 7:24 PM
I am a Malaysian chinese and I understand that sacrifices has to be made to create the balance between the races to achieve peace and stability.

NEP has helped a lot in restructuring the society and I wish to convey my sincere thanks to the leaders who has the vision and courage to implement this corrective policy

(courage as it is not easy to tell millions of chinese that the country is going discriminate them)

(vision as in the ability to foresee the devastating consequences had the NEP not been implemented ie: racial riots



By isahbiazhar on August 26, 2008 7:27 PM
At last you have come to your senses.If only we had given the non Malays all the privileges, today the Malays would have been far better and our nation would have been a leading nation in the world.It is not too late now.Disband everything and give the nonmalays the right of the citizen.Abdullah is trying but the fanatic malays still hold the fort.

By entahlah on August 26, 2008 7:44 PM
Dearest Tun,

Spot on sir!! I agree 110% with you on this. Hopefully in the next writing, the stages can be outlined roughly. Thank you in advance.

Best regards and wassalam.




By Sukdershan on August 26, 2008 7:59 PM
Dearest Tun,
Wonderful article for all of us to ponder about. Alas your good intentions have been abused by the implementors of the government policy during your administration. The policies should be fair to all races as rightly mentioned by your good self (refer Article 153)

By rakyatmalaysia on August 26, 2008 8:01 PM

Salam Tun Dr. Mahathir,
We understand the good purpose of affirmative action, anything if abused with the wrong intentions and objectives with become a drawback itself, it's a double edged sword.
We can see how some people can do good things that benefits the country with the same method and power while some merely fight for their own interest.
Sadly this is what happened to our own country in the moment.
It's not the matter of which party should lead Malaysia anymore, it's who can lead Malaysia back to the glorious days where we can proudly claim ourself as proud Malaysian, a peace and prosperous country. Do you agree with that?
The current obviously is not the better choice anymore, we see no good future that benefits all of us, regardless of race and religious.
We should really look into the matter without prejudice.


By jeng3 on August 26, 2008 8:08 PM
Salam Tun,

You understand the game so well.I want to stand on my own two feet as I do not feel intellectually inferior to any other races.Economically,perhaps...but I will make sure me and my children will strive to be successful in all our undertakings.


Wassallam


Jeng3

By wan mohd aimran on August 26, 2008 8:11 PM
for the first time in a long time, you are making sense Tun, and i am happy to say that i agree with your frank assessment of the situation.



By SHAZ on August 26, 2008 8:13 PM
36.....The discrimination is in order to give them a kind of headstart so that they can catch up with other races. To me, it is shameful to have to be protected because we do not have the capacity to compete. We are not Red Indians to live on reserves. We should regard it as a temporary expedient to be done away with once we have achieved the capacity to compete on our own."...

Salam Yg Bhg Tun and all,

How can the Malays regard their benefits as 'temporary' when they have been too complacent and believing that the benefits are there to stay forever, thinking that there would be no other group or race dare to challenge their rights?
The real headstart for the Malays is when they are being stumped by the others and when all their rights, their lands, their dignity being ripped off them.



By boy81 on August 26, 2008 8:21 PM
Tun,

I agree with your comments on the Bumis although I am Bumis myself.
The problem now is that, those who have read this article are very unlikely in the 'lazy boys' group.

Just hoping that you find ways to reach 'this' group and give them a wake up call.

Good stuff Tun..keep writing.


By rarunasalam on August 26, 2008 8:29 PM
TDM

while I appreciate your comments in view of establishing meritocracy, I still think your arguments are flawed based on the examples you've provided.

Yes, you can't pit a Heavyweight against a lightweight -but who are you refering to as Heavyweight here? Is it the Bumiputera cluster who have been given resources to establish successes and generate new opportunities, or is it the cluster that lives in estates, generates low income to manage large families, attend national type schools knowing they don't get same level of education resulting in them starting with a disadvantage?

You commented that NEP needs to be gradually reduced, but for any gradual reduction, it needs a timeline in place. It needs that commitment from all quarters to see that the plan gets implemented responsibly, and one such responsibility is to establish the plan upfront, have clear communication of the plan, and ensure the milestones are being met. Until today, all there is is talk - it was the case under your administration where you begged the Malays to work and strive hard (you even cried about it). But they were talk - no action to follow-up. You can't just make it DSAAB's issue - you need to take responsibility for the lack of establishing a timeline.

We are in the 21st century where we openly cry about the disadvantages and unfair treatment that 3rd world and developing countries receive at the hands of Developed nations. Yet in our own land - we have legal implements that disadvantage one Malaysian against the other on basis of class and creed.

So, lets get our back yard sorted before we complain about level playing fields (or lack of it) internationally.

(Ravi)