Umno celebrated its 62 years of existence on May 11. The current Malaysia was restructured after the May 13, 1969 tragedy. As a nation, we are still confused about our status and direction where pertinent issues which have been taken for granted became obvious in the March 8 aftermath. The polemic of Ketuanan Melayu resurfaced and was argued as with the whole idea of nation building which is about helping each other to achieve a common goal.
Malaysia itself is very unique where it is the only country in the world where its constitution was designed around a particular race, the Malays. The non-Malays completed the circle with a ‘social understanding’ which seemed to work for the past 51 years.
May 13 became a ghostly image from the past on how disarray can happen. We thought we had sorted out the ‘racial issues’ but unfortunately the whole nation went astray somehow and somewhere along the way. The national unity objective was never really fulfilled and we projected to the world that we had it solidly.
It is unfortunate that the Malays produced by NEP opportunities did not educate their offspring on its concept. The whole reason of elevating the then backward Malays backfired when the whole political structure depended upon ‘special privileges’ rather than striving for it.
The non-Malays, too, neglected their responsibility by enjoying the perks of collaboration which saw them prospering with more wealth than they could imagine. We were individualists, the rich became richer and the poor became poorer.
The current younger generations never understood the reasons for the bias in the system towards a particular race. We've always been churned to achieve individual excellence and success but never for a collaborative effort towards nation-building. We've been confused with the ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ concept which appeared good on paper but never in its implementation.
Let's start over - educate , educate and educate. Let’s build this nation together by really helping those who are in need. All Malaysians should improve the lot of other Malaysians who are not so lucky.
If it is the Malays who are the least fortunate as proven by statistics, it should not be just the Malays but the Chinese, Indians and other races who should aim to build them up. The same goes for if it is another that needs our help.
It is our collaborative effort and as citizens, we should practice our constitution without hypocrisy. The digital age is beckoning and it should be us leading the way onwards from now.
