By C C Pung
Justice of Peace
I support the idea that Khairy Jamaluddin should be Malaysia’s Prime Minister, and hopefully before we rot to ‘beyond repair’ stage.
I harboured doubts about him and his Malaysian-ness purely, and understandably, because he’s a Malay and an UMNO man.
I considered him a typical ‘Melayu islam’ who’s nurtured by the malay nationalism of the so called Tanah Melayu, the sweeping privileges claimed by the Malays under the NEP.
I dismissed him as just another intelligent, articulate, educated Malay politician who, unfortunately, must be defined by and succumbed to his Malay-ness and his religion.
I have serious second thoughts after watching him on a podcast in which he talked for over an hour with the Idris-Leon father-and-son team centred on what he’d do if he was to become Malaysian PM.
Perhaps I’m biased because of the recent elevation of a certain Nurul Izzah in PMx’s PKR party and talks of her as a future successor.
The idea turned my stomach. Khairy warms it.
Me, a non-Malay, is among millions whose love and loyalty is to all things Malaysian.
The talks of Malay supremacy, Islam’s superiority, malay rights, etc make me feel small and despised.
Other than Malaysia, I know no other home.
But everyday I’m made to feel that I’m no better than ‘najis’, my religion is mocked and my mother tongue trivialised.
Khairy is refreshing. He didn’t open his mouth with some greetings in a foreign language.
Maybe he’s rehearsed it, but he has enough intelligence to have not once mentioned ‘Malay’, ‘Islam’ or such alienating, superfluous terms so expertly wielded by the average politicians.
Khairy demonstrated his understanding of the changing unipolar world, geopolitics and specific areas in which Malaysia must urgently reform.
I imagined the boring rhetorical answer that Anwar’s daughter would offer if she was asked.
Khairy did not, for a second, allow himself to be defined by his being a Malay, a Muslim.
He came across as a sober, highly intelligent Malaysian to who I’d enjoy listening to.
He also reminded me of my prejudice, deeming every Malay as entitled, spoilt, unthinking brats.
A note of caution: Khairy did concede that a leader is such because he commands support.
A ‘leader’ in Malaysia has to be a Malay.
The ‘support’ this leader needs to make it to the top comes from the majority Malays.
Khairy identified tax reform, education reform, pension reform and subsidy rethink as ‘must do’ issues, will his premiership be derailed by the overarching, narrow communal Malay sentiments such as can been seen in Anwars hesitation in his reform promises?
How long can Khairy resist the allure of playing to Islamic sentiments?
Will he ever be able to corral big-enough Malay support to allow him to tell his flock that the Malays are the biggest impediments to their desire for supremacy?
Khairy talked about ‘unintended outcome’.
Could he one day soon tell the Malays that much of the ills and lack of true progress and competiveness are a sign of inferiority complex, an intended outcome that the Malay community has difficulty acknowledging?
There are questions. But for now, KJ is my man.
Editor: The views expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily reflect those of talantang.com
