Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has called on Pakatan Harapan to address the Malay agenda but cautioned the opposition coalition against replicating the Umno and PAS versions.

On the contrary, he said Harapan's agenda must explain how Malays would benefit from the privileges accorded to them.

According to Zaid, Malaysians and Malays, in particular, are tired of Umno equating its interests with the Malay agenda as a whole.

The former Umno lawmaker and current DAP member said the people want to hear about practical policies devised by a responsible and good government.

“They are tired of politicians stoking fear of the DAP and Chinese Malaysians - it's as if there is no fear other than what the Umno propagandists say,” he added in a blog posting today.

Harapan, said Zaid, can remove the "false fears by placing real substance" into the meaning of the special position of the Malays.

To do this, he pointed out, Harapan must outline its plans to help Malays in concrete terms and not merely create more fear.

“For example, in education, it can announce that underprivileged and rural Malays will get priority in elite, special boarding schools such as the Mara Junior Science Colleges.

“Poorer Malays must not be allowed to be second-class citizens just because the children of well-connected Umno families or top civil servants have places reserved for them in the best schools and colleges.

“Malays must be assured that the billions of ringgit spent on vocational schools actually go to skill-enhancement courses taught by properly qualified teachers.

“We must be convinced that there will be no more huge leakages. Harapan must make sure students and teachers are engaged in actual learning and not be waving party flags and be polluting their own minds with politics. Students must have proper jobs after school and university,” he added.

Apart from this, the former minister said the awarding of government contracts to the Malays and bumiputera must be based on skill and ability.

He stressed that government departments must be transparent in their decision-making so that they can help people and not their own friends and families.

“This is how we help Malays realise the full meaning of their special position, and this is what Malays want to hear about the Malay agenda. They don’t want empty slogans from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

“Telling Malays about practical policy changes is the way the Malay agenda can be a useful election issue,” he added.

When it comes to Islam, Zaid argued that the official place of this religion in the federation must not mean more backward policies, which would happen if the opposition followed in the footsteps of Umno and PAS.

“If we keep going down this path, Muslims will reject science, books will be banned, more Muslims will be charged for offences in the Syariah Court, and the ridiculous Taliban morality will spread even further into our mosques and madrasahs.

“Protecting Islam does not mean protecting PAS and Umno. It does not mean protecting Jakim, Jais, Jawi or any of the other organisations and individuals who tell us 'Islam is being insulted' whenever anyone criticises them.

“To honour and protect Islam is to help the thousands of Malay youths who are now heavy drug users. We need to spend on religious teachers who will teach the young the positive values of religion and not merely put more fear into everyone's lives.

“We need to help marginalised people participate in social activities and learn to live with other communities. It means helping Muslim students to read and to understand our social conditions so that they can deal with the problems better. To honour Islam is to make sure that religious schools help Muslims understand the world they live in, instead of hankering after a world that preachers have designed for them,” he added.

According to Zaid, this is what Muslims want to hear about the Islamic narrative and not about DAP somehow dismantling Islam and Christians would take over Malaysia.

“If people want more fear, they can get that from Umno and PAS, but it will be a tragic mistake if Harapan were to succumb to this fascist narrative.

“Harapan must believe that Malays and Muslims thrive not on fear but on hope and the desire to change their lives for the better. Being inclusive and working towards positive change is the way forward, and this is the only real fruit that the special position can give Malays.

“Pakatan must discard fear and draw a new roadmap for the country. We must stop trying to fool Malays as if they don’t understand.

“Umno and PAS will be rejected wholly this time around—we just need the confidence to tell Malays about the many opportunities that await them. To do this, Harapan leaders must get into specifics and overhaul this corrupt system once and for all.

“This is not being trendy. This is the real change that people want,” he added.