In reviewing a book I am mindful of the lesson imprinted on me during my freshman English class. That is, what is the author trying to say, and has he said it well? Because Nik Azmi's book, Melayu Di Persimpangan (Malays at a Crossroad), is exceptionally well written, I will answer the second part first.

Malaysian writers generally are pompous and long-winded. They have, in addition, the annoying habit of coining their own Bahasa (Malay) versions of English words. What irritates me most is that these terms are often wrongly used and erratically spelled. Nik Azmi's book is a rare and delightful departure.

He begins his book thus: Saya bukan anti-Melayu (I am not anti-Malay) - a short, simple, declarative sentence. In sharp contrast, many Malay books sag with long pretentious sentences laden with profuse polysyllabic words and multiple distracting parentheses.

Nik Azmi's style, in contrast, is clear, simple and to the point; his prose flows easily and smoothly. He uses only those long used and well-accepted Malaysianised English words. His paragraphs are free from the clutter of convoluted konstruksi , thus sparing readers from the potensi of losing their inspirasi and motivasi in reading a prosaic

prosa . You get my gist.

He writes in the first person singular and the active voice, thus setting an intimate tone yet making his points and arguments forceful.

Pre-Islamic heritage

Nik Azmi has some very important things to say about Malays, and Malaysians in general. We are well advised to listen to his sane and sober advice. That is my way of saying I agree with him. Although he is short on the specifics of the solutions to the problems facing the nation, nonetheless, by asking the right questions, he has pointed the way.

' Melayu bangsa besar ,' (Malay is a big race) he writes, referring to our long history and tradition. But we wouldn't know it from reading our history books. Our historians have purposely ignored our long, rich pre-Islamic heritage, deeming it unworthy, or worse, being ashamed by it.

We are led to believe, erroneously, that Malay civilisation began only with the arrival of Muslim traders to the Malacca Sultanate in the 14th century. As we do not have a clear view of our past, we are hesitant and tentative in facing the future.

Nik Azmi would like us to rightfully acknowledge our past, the good as well as the ugly. Nik Azmi makes it abundantly clear that fighting for the Malay cause should never be at the expense of other Malaysians.

His is for a win-win solution, not a zero sum exercise. Nor does he begrudge the progress made by non-Malays. On the contrary, they should be praised; indeed they may hold lessons for Malays.

The current state of Malay disunity, or more accurately, political division, occupies a considerable portion of his book. Nik Azmi notes the supreme irony of politics, which once united Malays, now stands to permanently divide us.

Malay segregation

Malays took to politics with a vengeance after World War II. Politics made us look beyond our parochialism and empowered us; through it we successfully challenged the British colonialists from turning Malaysia into a dominion. Politics also led us to independence.

Today politics perversely threatens to irretrievably split Malays. While Nik Azmi does not dwell on the factors that lead to the present fissure, he is certain that it would take the entire community - leaders and the led - to heal it.

One divisive factor he did pursue in some detail was the tendency for Malays to be exclusive and provincial. Thus we consciously segregate ourselves as Johor Malays versus mamak Malays, for example, and in so doing explicitly group ourselves into 'us' versus 'them'.

Our leaders perpetuate this mentality by favoring their own kind and kin when they reach power. Thus cronyism gets rooted, and once established, is difficult to eradicate.

A reflection of Malay society is the leaders we choose and whom we consider as our heroes. Those who proclaim loudly their willingness to die for or champion our cause, easily seduce Malays.

Nik Azmi prefers that we honour those who have a zest for living and who are smart enough to outwit their adversaries. We should choose as leaders only those with proven ability and dispense with those whose only ability is delivering rousing rhetoric. Proven achievers over mere talkers.

I would also add those who made it on their own and not dependent on their government, titles or privileges.

Model Melayu Baru

Fortunately Malays are slowly getting wise. Witness the less than rousing reception for the self proclaimed 'leaders' of the recent Malay Action Front gathering.

Seeing how religion is now such a divisive issue among Malays, Nik Azmi devotes a chapter pushing for more teaching of the Holy Koran in our schools. If only we knew more about the true meaning of Islam, he argues, why, we would then simply love each other!

Alas, this is where I disagree. Without being blasphemous, I feel Malays today are already consumed with too much religion. I would prefer that our students take up calculus instead. Perhaps challenged by intriguing mathematical problems they would have less time to quarrel about the minutiae of being a good Muslim and about who gets into heaven.

In substance and in style, this is an extraordinary book. I quibble with only two minor technical deficiencies: the lack of references and inadequate indexing. Stamford Raffles, for example, is cited under Stamford while Frank Swettenham under S. With modern word processing software, indexing should be accurate.

Nik Azmi is a former senior chartered accountant at the Treasury, an elite wing of the Malaysian civil service. This 'numbers' man displays his equal flair for words with this book. He is also my model of the Melayu Baru (New Malay) - proud of his heritage, confident in his own competence, and assured of his future.

There are many well-written books by Malaysians. Unfortunately they are often outrageously priced and thus do not get the wide readership they rightly deserve. Thankfully, Melayu di Pesimpangan is readily affordable. It will be widely read. With an English translation due soon, Nik Azmi's thoughtful views will spread far beyond Malaysian shores.

Melayu Di Persimpangan written by Nik A Azmi is published by Edusystem Sdn Bhd, Selangor and is available for RM10 (148 pages, soft-cover).