YOURSAY | ‘The original aim was to do away with the notion of permanent privileges.’

Youth voters grill Anwar at lecture hosted by student unions

Proarte: The worrying part of the dialogue “Ada apa dengan korupsi”, jointly organised by the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) Student Union and Universiti Malaya (UM) Student Union was when PKR president Anwar Ibrahim was asked how he would ensure the Malay voters that their rights would not be eroded.

Anwar, who is contesting the Tambun parliamentary seat in Perak, said that he needed to rush to the constituency for a campaign event as more questions rained upon him.

The shocking reality is that racism and entitlement are embedded in the mindset of many within the Malay community. The fact that the question was posed nonchalantly without any sense of shame is proof of this.

I think Anwar had to conveniently leave because he could not answer the question. With his "All things to all men" political modus operandi, answering the question truthfully and rationally would be "spooking the Malays".

An intelligent Malay student in touch with the modern world and with a sense of equality and justice which Islam supposedly advocates, should be embarrassed by the question.

The question itself shows what is seriously wrong with Malaysia and is a major cause of the problems we are facing, such as corruption, racial division, and religious intolerance.

What is "reformasi" all about if the Malays are not told that the rights of other citizens of Malaysia are equal to their rights and that expecting more rights than other races is immoral?

Anwar should inform the students that the ‘New Malaysia’ he is trying to build will not deliberately disadvantage any non-Malay, because as citizens they will be accorded equal rights as enshrined in the Constitution.

The constitutional "special privileges" for the Malays were not meant to derogate the rights of non-Malays but to redress an imbalance at the time of Independence in 1957.

The Reid Commission, which was tasked to formulate a draft constitution, recommended that the “privileges” for Malays should have a limited time frame of 15 years and then be reviewed. The aim was to do away with the notion of permanent “privileges” that the Reid Commission felt uncomfortable with.

After more than 60 years of its application, the Malay "privileges", wrongly termed "rights", have been a signal failure, being a breeding ground for massive corruption, creating a sense of entitlement leading to underachievement, a cause of social division and brain drain of the best and brightest from Malaysia.

The ‘New Malaysia’, to be in line with "reformasi", will address the problem of income inequality and will be based on need.

The B40 of all races, the majority of whom are Malay, will benefit from financial, educational and housing assistance. The notion of "Privileges for Malays Only" will be relegated to history because it has been counterproductive, as evidenced by any index of social advancement when compared to our neighbours like Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The ‘New Malaysia’ will regard all citizens who are born in Malaysia as "bumiputera", to give the term its natural meaning of being "a son of the soil".

Indonesia, with the world's largest Muslim population, has banned the terms “pribumi” and “non-pribumi”, introducing a new term, “Asli”, to apply to all natural-born citizens, regardless of race and religion.

Well, I hope Anwar was going to say the above to the student who touched on the question of "Malay rights" before he got a chance to answer. Wishful thinking on my part?

Hmmmmmmmm: Anwar should have told the students to believe in themselves and not always fall back on their so-called rights. And that he would be there to make sure that their abilities as well as those of their other Malaysians would all be uplifted.

I think that the fact that the student still finds it fit to ask that question is that she/he is still afraid of the future and needs to be assured. Anwar should have taken that opportunity to assure them that they would be in safe hands under him.

Mazilamani: Hopefully, it was a good dialogue meeting for the youngsters and first-time voters. Anwar's presence alone would have awed them. He is one of the few politicians who do not shun face-to-face meetings.

Many questions may have been asked about corruption, something that is a proven bane for the country and may be the reason why our living costs keep escalating year by year.

Most politicians from other parties run their own service centres, some more than one, depending on the size of the constituency. Their salary and allowances may not be enough to operate these centres or extend help to the poor for rental and food, outstanding college fees, hospital charges, and many other reasons.

So where do these funds come from? There may be willing donors or you have to seek out donors for regular funding to run the entire operation. Not everyone helps for free. At the exco and ministerial levels, the readiness to help by some may take other unspeakable forms.

What about funds for election preparation and campaigning? Where do these funds come from?

Man on the Silver Mountain: Thank you, young voters. Due to your young age, politics may not be your first interest and, therefore, you may not know what is going on with the political situation of our country.

However, you know where your heart lies. It is for the good of the country. You also recognise what is right and wrong. Corruption is wrong. It is not only bad, dirty, and criminal, but it also affects your generation as well.

If our resources are wasted due to corruption by ministers who are more interested in enriching themselves rather than fighting for the good of the people, then it is a sure recipe for the downfall of our country. Young people will suffer the brunt of this despicable act of corrupt politicians. Make no mistake about that.

So, it is good you want to choose the party instead of individuals, as it is the party that will form the government, not individuals. It is a wise choice to give Pakatan Harapan a try, the only coalition that is not tainted by corruption, unlike the other coalition blocks.

They are not the same, though some quarters try to make it look like all the parties are the same.

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