Rigid teachings have given Malays an identity crisis, says Zaid

Former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim today blamed conservative religious teachers and preachers for promoting a rigid worldview among the Malays. – The Malaysian Insider pic, October 21,2014.

The Malays have been indoctrinated with a rigid worldview that they now have an identity crisis and cannot adapt to today's realities, former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim wrote today.

In contrast, the Chinese have and still are adapting to political and social realities, which Zaid said are qualities that have made them successful and by no means "extremist".

In his latest blog post, Zaid took to task Umno's Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin, who said the Chinese were isolating themselves by not mastering Bahasa Malaysia, the national language.

"The Chinese came to Malaya to start afresh, make a living and ultimately prosper in business and in life. They are still doing these things very well.

"To succeed, they have had to be adaptable and accommodating, and they have had to know how the game is played both politically and socially. These are not qualities that extremists have," Zaid wrote.

The Malays, however, struggled to "know themselves" as they now realise "that the world is not what they are being told," he said.

Zaid blamed the ulama and Muslim preachers who did not care for science, reason and modernity, but who promoted a rigid worldview.

"They only know about rules and regulations, and if the world does not fit into this frame, they punish themselves and each other," he wrote.

He briefly recounted the history of Chinese people in Malaya, noting how they inter-married with Malays and became Baba and Nyonya.

"They adapted well… to the extent that some of them forgot how to speak in Chinese. They wore Malay dress… until the Malays abandoned it for the Arab dress."

The Chinese also adapted to Malay society and politics, including dealings with the royalty.

Even under the New Economic Policy and its affirmative action policies for the Malays, the Chinese supported the government of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as they were able to carve out their own success in the business world, Zaid said.

"So, which group is in denial and is unable to adapt to the real Malaysia? The evidence suggests that it’s not the Chinese, but the Malays. Not all the Malays maybe, but some of them… those who are making the headlines, at least," Zaid said.

He also wrote on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's speech at the Gerakan annual national delegates conference on Sunday, where he said Barisan Nasional and Umno rejected all forms of extremism.

He said Najib was wasting his time talking about extremism to a Chinese crowd and wondered if he would give the same message at the Umno general assembly next month.

"Najib usually only speaks the language of peace and moderation in New York and London."

- TMI