When Malays are also migrating

Nik Nazmi has written a very interesting entry on his blog.

His entry title - "Apabila Orang Melayu Turut Berhijrah…" which translates to "When the Malays migrate as well..." is a fresh take of a Malay's point of view when we're talking about something as critical as our homeland's failing economical policies.

Here are the top 2 paragraphs from his entry in Malay.

Saya baru pulang daripada sebuah majlis makan malam tertutup bersama beberapa tokoh korporat. Tuan rumah majlis tersebut menceritakan bagaimana dia bertemu seorang tokoh muda Melayu Malaysia yang bekerja di sebuah bank pelaburan terkemuka dunia di Singapura. Beliau berkata kepada tokoh muda tersebut, tak minat pulang ke Malaysia ke? Pasti dia boleh memainkan peranan besar di bank-bank tempatan.

Jawab tokoh muda tersebut: “Saya tak ingin pulang. Kalau saya pulang dan dilantik menjadi ketua, orang akan memandang saya mendapat jawatan tersebut hanya kerana saya Melayu. Mereka pasti memikirkan ada dua-tiga eksekutif Cina yang berada di belakang saya, membuat kerja-kerja saya. Mereka tidak akan menghargai kebolehan, penat lelah dan titik peluh saya untuk mencapai kejayaan tersebut. Saya lagi rela berada di sini di mana orang tahu saya kena bekerja keras untuk sampai di sini.”

Here is an English translation.

I have just arrived home from a private dinner with a few prominent corporate figures. The host of the dinner was just telling a story as to how he met a young Malay Malaysian corporate figure that is working in a very famous investment bank in Singapore. He asked the young man if he was interested in going back to Malaysia. He would surely be able to play a very large role in the local banks.

The young corporate figure replied, "I am not interested in going home. If I go back and get elected as a head, people will think that I obtained the position just because I am Malay. They will surely think that I will be backed by 2-3 Chinese executives that will do all my work for me. They will not appreciate my skills, hard work and sweat that I have put into achieving this success. I rather stay here where people know I have worked hard to arrive at where I am today."

This hits the nail right on its head.

The government's continued ignorance to continue with the failing NEP and its racial based methods to run the country clearly requires a big wake up call. I am sure that this young Malay corporate figure in Singapore is not alone in his thinking.

I have had Malay friends who have mentioned the very same thing to me before.

Things shouldn't have to do with the colour of your skin. Your religion shouldn't matter. What ethnic background you have shouldn't be a cause for discrimination.

When you push people away with discriminatory policies, they will just make do and take the more appealing choice that will give them better success in life when arriving at a crossroad in life. In this case - this fellow Malay has decided to live on in Singapore with his skills, where people will respect him for what he is.

You can't buy respect. You may be able to buy votes with exorbitant spending through 'money politics' and continue to stay in power, but you cannot buy the souls and hearts of the rest of the country.

As people get more educated about the issues that have they have been blinded with, they will realise how much needs to be done in order to make their country better.

It is very good to hear from a Malay Malaysian. This truly provides a very fresh take on this whole economical policy issue.

"Isu orang bukan Melayu meninggalkan Malaysia kerana kecewa dengan dasar ekonomi kerajaan sudah cukup biasa diulas.

Tetapi apabila ada orang Melayu yang kononnya menjadi penerima faedah utama dasar tersebut juga mengambil langkah untuk keluar, ia menghantar mesej yang cukup mendalam untuk kerajaan."

The translation goes as below.

The issue of non-Malays leaving Malaysia because they are disappointed with the government's economical policy has been repeatedly brought up. But when there are Malays who are supposedly the main benefactors of the policy who take steps to get out - this sends a really deep message to the government.

Bravo Nik for your entry. Let's hope it does not fall on deaf ears.