In a marked departure from the 'Malay supremacy' clarion call of his keris-wielding predecessor, the Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin wants the majority community to forge closer ties with other races.

The 33-year-old politician, the youngest to helm the Youth wing, urged the members to work hand-in-hand with the Chinese and Indian minorities to reap mutual benefits in nation building as opposed to taking a confrontational approach.

NONE In a bold move, Khairy argued that the party should move away from the age-old concept of "Malay dominance" to one which emphasises "Malay leadership".

"Umno and Umno Youth will always fight for the Malays – protecting the status of Islam, the Malay rulers and the Malay language. These are the core elements of Umno's struggle that will never dissipate from our agenda," he told the 800 delegates at the Umno Youth assembly today.

"However, we must pursue these things based on two principles: justice and compassion, especially when dealing with other races. This compass will underline our national agenda that is grounded not in the narrow concept of Malay dominance, but on the concept of Malay leadership – magnanimous as well as both just and compassionate."

Embrace competition

Making another unconventional statement, the son-in-law of former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in order for Malays to progress, it was necessary for the community to embrace competition based on merits.

"Fulfilling the vision for our community's advancement would require the confidence to accept competition based on our own on merit and abilities. This is the meaning of 'civilisational confidence' – we fear not our own shadow."

Khairy said he was highlighting the challenges of the new generation as there were too many older Malays, including those in Umno, who are cocooned with their siege mentality.

NONE "I speak of a generational challenge because for too long, Malays and Umno have been caught in a mindset that is negative and overly defensive.

"We feel as though we are constantly under siege, and all our efforts appear to be channeled towards protecting the Malay special position. I urge Malays, beginning with the youth, to get out of this siege mentality," said Khairy in his maiden policy speech at the Umno Youth assembly which lasted 50 minutes.

"Undeniably, we consider Article 153, which guarantees the special position of Malays and bumiputeras as sacrosanct. However, if we scratch beneath the surface, we would find that it is almost impossible for Article 153 to be stripped from the constitution, as it would require the approval of two-thirds of Parliament.

"And in the improbable situation were this to occur, it would still require consent from the Council of Rulers. This should serve as a reminder that realistically, our special position as stipulated in the constitution cannot possibly be changed."

hishamuddin hussein with keris 050805 The Umno Youth meeting kicked off at 9am with the conspicious absence of the 'keris' - a major and controversial fixture of previous few assemblies.

Apparently, the keris was given to former Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein as a gift for 'safe keeping' and it would no longer make any appearance at the assembly.

The new Malay dilemma

The Umno Youth chief said that Umno and the Malay community should consider a paradigm shift in charting their future.

NONE "This is the new Malay dilemma – the generational question of our time which must be addressed: are we going to defend symbols for their sake, or are we bold and courageous enough to accept the reality that there needs to be a change in both vision and mechanisms to see Malays forge ahead? I believe the answer lies in the latter."

On this note, Khairy said he believes that Umno president Najib Abdul Razak shares the vision as exemplified in his move to abolish the 30 percent bumiputera equity in initial public offering (IPO) in Bursa Malaysia.

According to him, Najib's decision was not because of a lack of commitment to the Malay agenda but because the '30 percent' mechanism has failed to achieve its original aims.

"The president himself mentioned that from RM54 billion worth of shares given to bumiputeras through this mechanism, only RM2 billion remains – (the rest) sold for a quick profit. Thus proving that there are symbols and mechanisms we have defended in the past, which have not succeeded in their objectives."

Khairy said it was proven that such "instruments and symbols" that the Malay community has fervently defended in the past failed to meet the desired targets.

NONE He also pointed out that Malays should not resort to the habit of running one another down.

"As members of the younger generation, we must avoid the culture of destroying budding talents before they are realised. It would be a great shame if, motivated by jealousy, we work to bring down Malays with potential for our own twisted pleasure," he said.

"We must rid ourselves of envy and resentment towards other Malays. Instead, we should assist and encourage each other towards success. This is the meaning of 'civilisational confidence' – we fear not our own shadow."

Khairy's 'quota-less' vision

The Umno Youth chief also espoused his vision that one day, all the local universities would be filled by Malays who are there based on merit and not quota.

NONE "Whilst we protect the quotas now, let us not forget that they are only supposed to aid us, and not be a lifeline for the Malays unto perpetuity. The Malay vision is not about defending quotas indefinitely, but to stand proud seeing Malays succeed on their own strengths," said the Oxford-trained Khairy.

"There is no reason to be pessimistic about our own potential – the confidence to accept more open competition already exists in our cultural DNA."

He ended his speech by calling on Umno Youth members to change their mindset and to stand behind the party's top two leaders, which received a standing ovation.

NONE "Ours is the generation that can insist that we have had enough! Enough of putting down our own race. Enough of being crippled by the illusion that says Malays are slow, Malays are lazy, Malays are stupid.

"Ours is the generation that can stand up to the challenge by saying that Malays are no longer afraid to face the outside world because Malays are not slow, Malays are not lazy, Malays are not stupid. On the contrary, Malays are a majestic people – intelligent and multi-talented."

'We should fear not our shadow'