[Isu meritokrasi adalah isu yang dirayukan oleh Suqiu satu ketika dulu yang dilabel Mahathir sebagai ekstrim dan mengancam ketuanan melayu. Mengapa Mahathir kini menjilat kembali ludahnya itu? Apakah 'melayu sudah lupa' bagaimana pemuda Umno mahu membakar dewan perhimpunan Cina kerana agenda meritokrasi itu? - Editor]

Merit and the UMNO Malay

30 July 01

Nothing focusses an UMNO politician's mind than when at his most vulnerable. It does not matter if he is Prime Minister or the branch chairman of a small branch in Tumpat. He will rise to the occasion to prove his fright to all and sundry. Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamad leads the pack, as always. Not long ago, he insisted Malays perform better at universities if they are mediocre; that, in sum, is what special bumiputra privileges now are. Now only merit can save them. A few side issues are dragged in: Heavy Metal groups and devil worship amongst students, porn VCDs, and anything else to strengthen an indefensible case.

This sudden interest in merit is a gut reaction to Malay unrest in the universities. None looks at it as one should. The government now wants to amend the law when Parliament meets in October for undergraduates and lecturers to sign an agreement they would under no circumstances be anti-government on the campus. Dr Mahathir puts it nicely: "If students do not want to study, no way are we going to accept them into university." The education minister, Tan Sri Musa Mohamed, goes further: "It is necessary for these students to be given a strong reminder and just taking an oath is not sufficient. Now it is more towards an agreement." Given that the government cheerfully ignores agreement and contracts it signs -- the Trengganu Government can provide chapter and worse on just one -- how serious can such a act be?

Especially, when drumbeaters of the regime fall over themselves to explain what this is all about. The UMNO vice-president anf former mentri besar of Selangor, Tan Sri Muhammad Taib, is living proof that merit is everything. Caught with a few million ringgit worth of undecleared foreign currency in Darwin he could not explain how he came to it, his merit ensured he remains in politics, albeit with one broken wing. The local authorities looked the other way. He aspires to be prime minister one day. No doubt he could. He has the right qualifications. He now believes this new emphasis on merit would filter Malay students who go "to the universities to champion PAS's cause."

If so, there is a simple solution: insist that no Malay can enter a Malaysian university unless he shows his UMNO membership card since in the current context merit equals an UMNO membership card. Since the government believes that but for UMNO and the National Front, Malaysia would be a fourth-rate Third World country, this would at least cut out the pretence it now spouts to weed out students who could oppose them. It cannot understand why students rebel for what they got from it -- they would be mee siam sellers, drivers and peons otherwise, we are led to believe.

Even Datin Seri Rafidah Aziz, she whose son-in-law proves her vision of merit by getting from her ministry enough APs to earn a few millions of ringgit without any effort than marry her daughter, says merit as the new rallying cry "would serve to prove the Malays could compete with others without special privileges" ... Why can't we compete with the best?" she asked, and add the curious rider that most Malay leaders rose by way of merit. Perhaps she might want to enlighten us how many Malay leaders she extols rose to where they are by sheer merit, and practice what they preach to insist their children not accept government scholarship if they had less than desirable grades.

The Malacca chief minister, Dato' Wira Mohd Ali Rustam, merit is a "wake up call" to the Malay after 30 years of molly coddled privilege under the New Economic policy. The Tambun MP, Dato' Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, said Malays should look upon merit as a challenge to preserve their future and interests.

As usual, the opposition parties -- Keadilan and PAS -- in its rush to make their views known shoot themselves in the foot instead. But the PAS president and Leader of the Opposition, Dato' Fadzil made the telling point that Dr Mahathir now wants for the Malays what the Suqui NGO wanted for Malaysians, one which had the UMNO Youth leader and his rabble-rousing crowd so angry to demand Suqui retract. "UMNO will have to be honest with itself over this matter rather than threaten the Malays that it would take away the education quota as enshrined in the Constitution. Rural Malays come from poor families and cannot afford to send their children for tuition or extra classes. Students in urban areas perform better.

None addressed what this means, or what is proposed would revamp university education. The whole basis of Malaysian society is based on privilege and special deals. It is interesting that Dr Mahathir should call for merit at a time when every one of its preferred business men, chosen not for their merit or business acumen but for their closeness to the Establishment or flattery, have now fallen to their knees.

The largest privatisation -- Renong and UEM -- collapsed spectacularly. How could a government now firmly committed -- so we are led to believe -- allow the two companies to be more than RM30 billion ringgit in debt? It leads to one inescapable conclusion: this sudden interest in merit is a euphemistic way of saying that one should be an UMNO member if a Malay wants a place in the Malaysian sun. Otherwise, the present tirade and attacks does not make sense.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my