Note: The article was published on The Malaysian Insider.
Oleh: Subky Abdul Latif
February 20, 2013
20 FEB ― Kad Hari Raya Cina yang dipercayai dihantar ke rumah setiap pengundi Cina mengandungi petikan kata masyhur pemimpin besar pembaharuan parti komunis China, Deng Xiaopeng yang maksudnya kira-kira ibarat menyleberangi sungai sambil menyentuh batu.
Kata-kata hikmat Deng itu diungkapnya dalam program transformasinya, menguluarkan ekonomi kemunis China yang gagal di zaman Mao Zedung kepada ekonomi pasaran terbuka bagi menjadikan Tanah Besar China gergasi ekonomi dunia.
Kalau orang Melayu kagum dengan kata-kata Hang Tuah, “Takkan Melayu hilang di duna”, maka demikianlah terpesonanya masyarakat Tionghua dengan kata-kata Deng itu.
Najib Razak dipercayai menggunakan kata Deng itu bagi meraih sokongan pengundi Cina dalam PRU13 ini. Demikianlah bergeliganya orang politik untuk menuai apa jua politik dari apa jua peluang.
Kalau peluang Barisan Nasional untuk meraih sokongan pengundi dari membawa artis Psy dari Korea dirasa kabur apabila ribuan penonton di Pulau Pinang secara spontan berkata “Tidak” kepada Najib ketika ia ditanyanya, apakah pengiriman kad kata-kata Deng itu dapat mengubat hatinya dan hati BN khususnya MCA?
Apa yang menarik kita ialah dalam kempen Najib memperkasakan semboyan 1 Malaysia mengikut acuan Malaysia sendiri, mengapa dia mempesonakan masyarakat Cina dengan keagungan tokoh pemimpin pembaharuan komunis China itu?
Pada ketika kita mahu bangsa Malaysia mesti bangga dengan kepintaran dan kebijaksanaan orang Malaysia dulu dan sekarang, kita mahu keturunan Cina bangga sebagai orang Cina Malaysia dan orang India bangga sebagai orang Malaysia, apa bijaknya mengajurkan kepada warga kita kagum dengan orang dari negeri asalnya?
Kita tidak anti tamadun China dan tidak berseteru dengan kerajaan, rakyat dan pemimpin Tanah Besar China, tetapi tidak seronok kalau rakyat kita diajak berbangga dengan asal usulnya. Kita tidak boleh sekat Cina dari mengenang negara dan bangsa China sama seperti tidak dapat menghapuskan ingatan S. Samy Vellu kepada keturunannya, tetapi kita rasa tidak bijak disemaikan terus rasa cinta kepada asal usul itu oleh pemimpin seperti Perdana Menterinya pula.
Apa yang Najib buat itu menyamai apa yang bapanya Tun Razak buat semasa kunjungan rasminya ke Beijing merasmi permasyhuran diplomatik Beijing-Kuala Lumpur tahun 1974 dulu.
Saya bersama dalam rombongannya. Dalam setiap tempat yang dilawati Tun Razak menyebut kata-kata Mao yang jadi kebanggaan setiap komunis yang mendewakan Mao. Ketika ke kilang dia menyebut apa Mao kata tentang, ketika sekolah apa pula Mao kata tentang pelajaran.
Pada masa itu Malaysia masih sebuah negara anti-komunis dan kata-kata Mao itu adalah kata-kata semangat dan ransangan komunis.
Sebagai pemimpin Malaysia dan bangsanya ada nilai-nilai agung tersendiri, ajaib juga apabila Tun Razak mahir dengan qotation Mao dan menyebutnya di sana sini dalam lawatan itu.
Kita faham akan seni dan kepintaran diplomasi, tetapi tidak sampai kita boleh dilihat sebagai pencarum kepada orang lain.
Saya tidak pasti apakah Tun Razak buat begitu bagi mengikis stigma yang beliau masa itu dikatakan tidak mesra Cina? Dan adakah Najib juga memanfaatkan kata-kata Deng disebabkan pengundi Cina dikatakan tidak mesra BN?
Tetapi langkah yang pintar ialah biar kita rebah dan bangun dengan jatidiri orang Malaysia sendiri. Bukan melalui kebijakisanaan orang lain.
Adakah kad raya dengan kata-kata Deng Xiaopeng itu BN dapat meraih semula undi orang-orang Cina?
Dec 16 – Profound change is underway in the Middle East and North Africa. It is too early to be definitive about causes, but I believe there is a common thread: young people in Islamic societies face an opportunity deficit.
The Arab awakening was driven by youth, organized by technology, and fired by a hunger for political change. In seeking more open societies and more responsive governments, young Arabs demonstrated a yearning for democracy. But they also expressed a deep sense of loss — not just of personal or political freedom, but of opportunity.
This unrest was the result of a basic misallocation of resources. Not natural resources, or capital, but people. The underrepresentation of youth in the economy created conditions in which tensions could grow — tensions that were fanned by a lack of political reform. Politically and economically disenfranchised, young people found an outlet in protest.
These pressures are not unique to Arab countries; they are felt throughout the world. Many young Muslims see no opportunities for themselves and do not feel they have control over their lives or a stake in their nation’s future. Such pessimism leads to disengagement. We risk losing a generation of young Muslims to apathy and extremism.
As a leader of a majority-Muslim nation, I believe Islamic countries must better understand what young people aspire to. This means comprehending two great changes affecting their lives.
The first is demographic: The Muslim world is experiencing a “youth bulge.” In 2010, people under 30 comprised about 60 percent of the population in Muslim-majority countries. A younger population means a bigger labor force. Higher investment and capital is needed to utilize this spare capacity. A big demographic change can warp fiscal policy for decades, as “baby boomer” countries are discovering. In social terms, the short-term impact can be even greater. A youth bulge introduces latent energy into a nation’s economy and society. Left untapped, it can become a destabilizing force.
In 2010, youth unemployment in the Middle East was 25 percent; in North Africa, 24 percent. Such levels are toxic. When young people lack opportunity, they grow restless. Dependency robs them of their dignity; without an economic stake in society, they can lose their sense of belonging. That can spill over into hostility to the state. From 1970 to 2000, eight out of 10 countries experiencing new civil conflict had populations in which 60 percent were under 30.
The second great change is technological. Twenty-one years ago, there were no Web sites; today, there are more than half a billion. In the space of one lifetime, the Internet has opened up opportunities that were previously inconceivable.
The age of information has its own generation, the digital natives — those who have only ever known a connected world. They expect information to be free, democracy to be responsive, communication to be global. They want an active role in the digital economy.
Empowered by technology, young people can articulate their frustrations to a global audience. This has a profound implication: the emergence of a new, international political consciousness.
These two forces — demography and technology — shape young people’s aspirations. In an age of self-determination, they crave freedom of opportunity. They aspire to world-class education. And they demand open and accountable government. Our challenge is to deliver those freedoms without sacrificing our traditions. But this is only possible if we show leadership and commit to reform.
Access to education is improving, but many young people still find that their qualifications do not match the opportunities available, so we must focus on vocational and technical training. We should also continue to open our economies: 23 percent of the world’s people are Muslim, but the 57 members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation conduct just 8.3 percent of global trade. Structural reforms must be pursued so that our private sectors become more dynamic. We must reform public services and confront institutions that stifle opportunity, remaining ever vigilant against corruption.
We must also respond to technological change. Our starting point must be recognition of the fundamental principle of the Internet — its autonomy. It should stay that way. This does not mean unregulated behavior, but independence. We should equip our youth with the skills to think critically about sources, to understand that just because information is free does not mean it is accurate. But the online space should remain one in which the free exchange of views is encouraged, in the best traditions of discourse.
As a Muslim nation, Malaysia faces many of these challenges. I believe we should see our youth not as a liability, but as an asset. They are an untapped resource that can lay the foundations for great success. Economic and political reform can give young people what they aspire to: a future defined by opportunity, not dependency. It is time to realize the hidden wealth of Muslim nations.