Moving Forward , livre ebook

MarshallCavendish - Nik Ahmad Nik Nazmi

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74 pages

English

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The discourse on Malays in Malaysia is shifting in the 21st century. In this book, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the youngest elected representative in the 8 March, 2008 General Elections argues that Malays must move forward to survive and succeed in facing today's challenges: the emerging new politics, forging a people's economy, resolving the education question, the unravelling of the social fabric and the position of Islam in a multiracial society. While race will remain important as an identity, Moving Forward challenges the basis of the racial zero sum-game, as ultimately, the future of the Malays cannot be separated from that of Malaysians in general. "Malays need to wake up from the siege mentality of seeing everyone conspiring to keep them backwards. Similarly, the non-Malays need to stop seeing genuine moves to advance the national cause and national identity as insidious plots to destroy their cultural identities. It is attitudes like these that have constantly kept our people apart."

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Publié par	MarshallCavendish
Date de parution	01 octobre 2009
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9789814398695
Langue	English

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2010 Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (General Reference Publishing)
Reprinted 2010
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Request for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (General Reference Publishing) (3024-D), Times Subang, Lot 46, Persiaran Teknologi Subang, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
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This publication represents the opinions and views of the authors and contributing writers based on their personal experience, knowledge and research, and does not reflect the views of the Publisher. The Publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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National Library of Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, 1982-
Moving forward : Malays for the 21st century / Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
eISBN 978-981-4398-69-5
1. Malays--21st century. 2. Malays--Politics and government--21st century. 3. Malays--Social life and customs--21st century. I. Title. 305.89923
Printed in Malaysia by Vivar Printing Sdn Bhd, Lot 25, Rawang Integrated Industrial Park, 48000 Rawang, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
To my parents
Contents
List of Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction
1 A New Political Paradigm
8 March 2008: Which Way Forward?
The New Politics
Why Keadilan?
2 Towards a People s Economy
The NEP: A Reconsideration
The GLCs, Malays and Business
A People s Economy: The Selangor Experience
3 The Education Question
A Dynamic and Equitable Education Policy
Other Men s Tongues: The Vernacular Issue
The Mentari Project
4 Islam in a Multicultural Society
Celebrating Our Tradition of Moderation
No Compulsion: Non-Muslims and Islam in Malaysia
5 The Social Revolution
Marriage and Family Life
Suffer the Young
A Glimpse into Seri Setia
Conclusion
The Dream That is Malaysia
Select Bibliography
List of Abbreviations
Preface
This book is a culmination of a long process that involved both intellectual reflection and a practical participation in politics. I strongly believe there is value in balancing the two. As one of the greatest Muslim scholars, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali once said, Knowledge without action is madness while action without knowledge is pointless. It is my sincere hope that my writing demonstrates my knowledge put into action and vice-versa.
Writing Moving Forward became a source of therapy as I became more exposed to the rough-and-tumble world of politics. It provided me with the time and space to reflect, indeed to remind myself of the ideals that got me involved in public service in the first place.
Many people have contributed in various ways to make this book a reality and it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge them here.
I am forever grateful to Allahyarham Adlan Benan Omar, the most brilliant Malaysian of his generation, not only for getting me into politics but for encouraging me to write and provoking me to always think critically. Khalid Jaafar also played an important role by giving me a column in what was then known as Berita Keadilan that allowed me to formulate many thoughts, which have now culminated in this book.
Both Steven Gan of Malaysiakini and Ho Kay Tat who was Chief Editor of The Sun and The Edge newspapers gave me the space to develop my writing and argue many of the basic positions that underlie the general theme of this book. I must also thank Leslie Lau of The Malaysian Insider for inviting me to be a columnist on that website.
Parts of Moving Forward include portions from some previously published essays. These include Saying Yes to Non-racial Affirmative Action which was originally published in Malaysiakini ; Where Are the Young Malays? in The Edge ; The Family, the State and Globalisation in Asia Times Online and a jointly-written essay with Nurul Izzah Anwar, Working for Malaysia s Future in The Malaysian Insider .
Karim Raslan deserves a special mention for persuading me to keep on writing no matter how tied down I got with politics, and for suggesting that I write something on the Malays.
I must also record my appreciation to Christine Chong of Marshall Cavendish Malaysia for being so enthusiastic about publishing my work.
I would like to thank my friends, Tunku Abidin Muhriz and Hafiz Noor Shams for listening to my thoughts when I initially had the idea for writing Moving Forward . Having shared so many projects that did not take off, I have to give them credit for continuing to provide me with the inputs that led to the birth of this book.
After I finished the initial draft, Tunku Abidin and Hafiz along with Lynn Kuok, Ng Boon Ka, Najwan Halimi, Imran Karim, Imran Idris, Saifullah Zulkifli and Hizami Iskandar took time off from their busy schedules to read through and comment on the draft. Keith Leong was especially pivotal in restructuring the book to make it more coherent while playing the role of an intellectual sparring partner. Fahda Nur Ahmad Kamar also provided me with crucial advice at the final stage of the book. I am privileged to know this excellent group of young Malaysians who exemplify the best that Malaysia has to offer.
Mawarni Hassan s experience in education has been a useful source of reference for my elaborations on the subject in Moving Forward . More importantly however, is the fact that Mawarni and her family have sacrificed so much to make the Mentari Project a success. This was a product of not only our extensive brainstorming, but also their constant plodding, week in and week out, even after I was elected as assemblyman for Seri Setia and could not devote as much attention to the project as I did before.
I have been blessed with the privilege of serving Malaysia under two towering personalities, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Tan Sri Dato Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. Datuk Seri Anwar taught me never to forget my intellectual and spiritual roots. He is also a constant reminder of the importance of not losing faith in our ideals even while bogged down in the muck and grime of politics.
Tan Sri Khalid contributed to my vision for Malaysia s future and gave me the latitude to write even as I juggled so many responsibilities as his Political Secretary. He has also taught me the invaluable lesson of seeing public life as a service of, for and by the people. In addition, long-time trade unionist, Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud, my Parti Keadilan Rakyat Division Chief has taught me never to give up on the struggle and provided the space for me to learn and develop.
My father, who spurred my interest in reading particularly on the subjects of religion, history, politics and economics from a very young age, also showed me the need to be passionate in what I believe in. Our different generational perspectives on Malay issues are a useful case study on how the Malay society has evolved from the 20th to the 21st century. Both my parents have vigorously supported me all my life, even when I chose the path less taken and to them, I owe that inextinguishable debt children bear to their parents.
The unwavering support of my wife, Imaan, not only for this project but for all my other endeavours has been a great source of strength. She too, was willing to lend an ear to my ideas and read through my drafts, making them more accessible with her suggestions. Moving Forward is a better book because of her. She has had to patiently put up with a husband who was not only busy with politics but with writing a book, all the while grappling with her own medical career.
There are others who have contributed to Moving Foward in various ways who I am regrettably unable to name. Without their help, this book would never have been written. Their names, where mentioned in this book have been changed to protect them.
Needless to say, any errors or mistakes are entirely my own.
Introduction
This book is about a young man s hopes and dreams for the Malay community. It is about his hope that they can rise from the stagnation that they have found themselves in today. It tells of his dream that they can, one day, embrace and be embraced by a larger Malaysian national ethos even as their Malay identity grows from strength to strength.
I am aware that this topic has been done to death, but that in no way excuses me from my duty to speak up for my people and my country. The same goes for all Malaysians when the situation calls for it-something that is becoming increasingly the case of late. Until and unless Malays and all Malaysians are willing to truly speak their mind, then our country will remain condemned to mediocrity. It is to the former that this book is addressed, but I hope that what I have written here is also something the latter can take cognisance of and dare I say, dra