The Malaysian Malaise: Excerpt #4: Time span Of These Commentaries

 The Malaysian Malaise: Corrupt Leadership, Failing Institutions, And Intolerant Islamism

M. Bakri Musa © 2023

 

Excerpt #4: Time Span Of These Commentaries

 

These essays, written between January 2020 to December 2022, cover the dangerous and politically uncertain period that also coincided with the lethal Covid-19 pandemic. With the better understanding of the virus and with that, effective interventions, the menace is now manageable. Not so for the other Malaysian malaise and maladies.

 

The season began auspicious enough when the long-ruling Barisan coalition was booted out in the 14th General Elections of May 2018. Then in an absurdity difficult to comprehend, the new coalition picked the 93-year-old Mahathir to lead. Nobody gave thought that it was this wily old man who was instrumental for the corrupt Najib Razak becoming Prime Minister in the first place. Instead, everyone now praised Mahathir, giving him full credit for defeating Najib. Nor did anyone ponder the incredulity that if Mahathir could not achieve what he wanted for Malaysia in his earlier 23 years as Prime Minister and when he was much younger, what hope would there be now that he was in his mid 90s, and ailing.

 

Mahathir’s failure during his first tenure was of omission as well as commission. As leader he failed in his fundamental responsibility of grooming the next generation of capable leaders. The abysmal failure of Abdullah Badawi, egregious corruption of Najib, abject incompetence of Muhyiddin, and the bumbling vacuity of Ismail Sabri reflect as much on them as on Mahathir.

 

As for Mahathir’s sins of commission, three stand out. And what a triple whammy! One, he was responsible for the entrenched culture of corruption in UMNO, and thus Malay leaders. He led the party for over two decades, and it bore all his dark traits. Two, he was responsible for the rise of political Islam, and with that, the deepening polarization of Malaysians as well as the degradation of the faith among Malays. Three, he weakened institutions as with the current rotting education system. He deemphasized English together with the concomitant emphasis on religion in national schools. The burden of both is borne by poor Malays.

 

Mahathir’s failure to groom honest, competent Malay leaders has resulted in their being consumed in one intrigue after another to grab and retain power, not to serve the nation as they are clueless in matters of statehood, but for personal gains. Ismail Sabri maintained his support among Members of Parliament only by bribing them with ministerial posts, Ambassadorships-At-Large, and chairmanships of the various government-linked corporations. 

 

The only positive development was the jailing of former Prime Minister Najib Razak for his massive pilfering of One Malaysia Berhad (1MDB–a government-linked company), the greatest (money-wise as well as global reach) scandal that began over a decade ago.

 

As a parenthesis, the United States Department of Justice first filed its civil money laundering charges against Najib (diplomatically dubbed as Malaysian Official 1) back in June 2016. It would be unnecessary to add that Najib’s own Attorney-General, one Apandi Ali, an UMNO operative, had earlier cleared Najib of any wrong doing!

 

Mahathir’s redeeming act during his second term was to co-opt a few outside talents, specifically Latheefa Koya as the new Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief and Tommy Thomas, Attorney-General. Latheefa endeared herself to Malaysians by releasing intercepted phone calls between one Dzulkifli Ahmad, Koya’s immediate predecessor as MACC Chief, and Prime Minster Najib while the former was then a prosecutor in the Attorney-General’s office. Dzulkifli was tipping then-Prime Minister Najib of impending criminal investigations against him in connection with the 1MDB scandal. It was painful as well as deeply embarrassing to hear those tapes. 

 

Thomas recruited outside lawyers to prosecute Najib. That was the right call even though not flattering to those mainly Malay career public prosecutors.

 

Earlier, Najib had forced the early retirement of both MACC Chief Abu Kassim and Attorney-General Gani Patail as the 1MDB crisis was about to blow open. Those two went away quietly. Now that Najib is secure in jail, I hope they will reveal what and when they knew about 1MDB. They owe Malaysians that duty.

 

Mahathir’s one good deed in appointing Latheefa and Thomas was later overshadowed by his aggressively promoting that semburit (anal) character, one Azmin Ali.  Azmin trumpeted having an economics degree from the University of Minnesota, a major public university, but coyly neglected to mention that his was not from its flagship and prestigious Minneapolis campus rather one of its “ulu” branches. His major, economics education, is more a degree in education. “Economics education,” like “industrial economics” (Najib’s major) and “economic history,” is for those unable to handle the rigorous mathematics of the “real” discipline. 

 

In championing Azmin, Mahathir again demonstrated his singular inability to assess talent. Thank goodness, Mahathir’s resignation spared Malaysia the possible leadership of this semburit character.  Mahathir learned nothing from his earlier blunders with Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak. 

 

 

Mahathir later regretted having appointed Thomas. That in turn exposes a far greater flaw in Mahathir’s character beyond his inability to recognize talents. He considers them threats rather than assets.

 

Next: Excerpt # 5: On My Commentaries

Perfect Poster Boy For Term Limits

The Malaysian Malaise: Corrupt Leadership, Failing Institutions, And Intolerant Islamism

M. Bakri Musa © 2023

Excerpt #3: Perfect Poster Boy For Term Limits

Leaders like Mahathir, together with his ilk like Indonesia’s Sukarno and later Suharto, as well as the Philippines’ Marcos, Sr., show the wisdom of having term limits. Even America, despite the spectacular success of Franklin D Roosevelt and his New Deal, saw the wisdom of the 22nd Amendment - limiting her President to two consecutive terms.

The angst in China today is that Chairman Xi, without doubt a far more effective leader than Mahathir was or could ever hope to be, is now amending the Chinese Communist Party’s constitution to allow for his serving beyond two terms. To the Chinese, memories and evidence of the follies of the Great Helmsman Mao are still fresh on their minds. If Indonesia had not imposed term limits post-Suharto, the republic would not today be blessed with her Jokowi.

The world has seen far too many leaders who have overstayed their welcome, with the Muslim world having a glut of them. Mahathir should have been impeached, investigated, or resigned for his role in the Asian economic contagion of 1997. More to the point, had term limits been operative in Malaysia then, she would have been spared at least the worst of the Asian contagion. In jailing Anwar Ibrahim post-Asian Contagion, Malaysia punished the wrong leader.

Much has been written on the obscene greed and egregious corruption of Najib in his pilfering of 1MDB and other sordid deeds. Less acknowledged is that Najib is the product of Mahathir’s tutelage, his political son. More directly, Mahathir was also responsible for the 2008 removal of Abdullah Badawi and making Najib the Prime Minister.

Najib learned well from his mentor, but not well enough. The only and crucial difference between the two is this. Najib lost the election and was pushed out. With that his many sins were exposed. Mahathir won all his elections, thus his sins and blunders remained hidden. Consider such debacles as the massive foreign exchange loss prior and contributing to the Asian contagion, as well as the earlier equally massive London Tin loss when Mahathir thought that he was smarter than those professional commodity traders and thus could outsmart them. The magnitude of that loss has yet to be accounted. Likewise with the Bank Bumiputra collapse, and many others yet unacknowledged, much less accounted for under his watch.

Economist K S Jomo in one of his many books enumerated Mahathir’s innumerable economic blunders pre-Asian Contagion. Fast forward to two decades later, Jomo was co-opted into Mahathir’s Council of Eminent Persons. So we cannot blame ordinary, less sophisticated Malaysians for having been enamored and taken in by Mahathir this second time around. If Malaysia had term limits back then, she would have been spared these burdens. In short, Mahathir is the perfect poster boy for the campaign for term limits for Malaysia.

Having term limits for leaders is no panacea. For one, Singapore would have been deprived of her Lee Kuan Yew. For another, Indonesia could have benefitted from another term with her Jokowi had there not been term limits.

The American term limits provision has effectively, and unfairly in my view, reduced a single-term president as a “failed one.” Consequently the moment someone is elected , he or she would be consumed with getting re-elected instead of focusing on being an effective leader. Thus the better part of the first year would be consumed with assembling his team; the second, distracted by the midterm elections, and then the final fourth year obsessed with campaigning for re-election. That is the major flaw with the present American system.

One-term President Carter is today revered by Americans, surpassing many of his colleagues who had served two terms. More pertinent, he remains the only President in my lifetime to have kept America from meddling in wars in other countries.

Those considerations notwithstanding, term limits would have spared Malaysia many grand debacles during Mahathir’s second decade and tenure of leadership.

,

Next: Excerpt #4: Time Span Of These Commentaries

Downside To Increasing Civil Service Pay

 Downside To Increasing Civil Service Pay

M. Bakri Musa

 

The recent increase in civil servants’ pay, though long overdue, carries significant but less appreciated downside for Malays. Likewise, the much earlier decision to raise the mandatory retirement age to over 60. As the civil service is overwhelmingly Malay, both moves are seen as yet another manifestation of preferential treatment. I see it as otherwise if not downright counterproductive.

 

This salary raise increases the cost of running the government. As a nation’s finance is finite and a zero-sum exercise, more money for the public sector means a corresponding reduction for the private. However, it is the latter that contributes to economic growth and thus an expanding tax base. 

 

Controlling the cost of government lies less with emoluments, more with rationalizing its role and functions. Government has for example no business running a business. Leave that to the entrepreneurs. Eliminating the Ministry of Public Enterprises would cut government spending considerably while at the same time making it more effective and efficient. America won the most Olympic medals, yet she does not have a Sports Ministry.

 

 Likewise the government’s involvement in religion; faith is a private matter. Besides, Islam does not need defenders. It survived the Mongol invasion; it can do without JAKIM (the Malay acronym for the agency in charge of Islam). Ponder that more mosques are being built in America today and the faith fast expanding, yet she does not have any department of religion, much less that of Islam.

 

JAKIM and similar agencies at the state level and elsewhere are but massive and expensive public works programs for otherwise unemployable Malays. Expanding such agencies would only encourage more Malays to pursue the already glutted Islamic Studies.

 

Ponder the good it would do if those saved funds were instead diverted to providing internet access and equipping science laboratories in rural schools where the students are overwhelmingly Malays. Also, imagine if those JAKIM personnel were deployed to clean parks and roads. That would do society more good, and garner more pahala (good deeds) for the individuals.

 

As income tax rates are progressive, the cost of government is disproportionately borne by the rich, and rightly so. In Malaysia, that means non-Malays. Likewise with tax on goods and services. Meanwhile, increasing civil service pay and having government-linked enterprises both benefit mainly Malays.

 

            Those considerations aside, less appreciated is the negative impact on Malays. In the late 1950s, Tun Razak lowered the civil service optional retirement age to 40 so as to encourage Malay civil servants to leave and enter the private sector. That emboldened young Hanafiah, Raslan, and Mohamad to leave government service to start their accounting firm (HRM) that would later become a major global player. Italy did something similar after the war. In both instances, with the security of a pension, those young retired civil servants could take risks. 

Subsequently many Malay professionals trained under public scholarships would follow suit. 

 

            In the late 1980s when the government could not employ many newly graduated Malays on scholarships because of the economic downturn, that had an unexpected positive consequence. Those young Malays were then forced to enter the private sector.

 

            It is significant that the first Malaysian legal firm to have a major presence outside the country was Zaico, started by Zaid Ibrahim. He was later seduced by politics, an all-too-common weakness of young Malays, and sold his equity in the company. Today he rues that decision! Being an equity partner of a major law firm is far more rewarding (not just money-wise) than being a cabinet minister.

 

            In a recent posting, Zaid suggested that Malays be “forced” into business. Reducing the number of Malays in the civil service would achieve that end; conversely, increasing the pay would increase their inertia to remain in government. The experience of the late 1980s seemed to indicate that Zaid may be on to something. At that time because of economic constraints, the government was forced to break its promise to employ every Malay who had graduated on government scholarship. That resulted in an infusion of Malays into the private sector. That was good for Malays and Malaysia.

 

A slight twice. Many years ago a smart Malay graduate of an elite American university related to me how he had schemed to “bomb” his job interview with the Public Service Commission. He succeeded. Thus freed of his scholarship bonds, he returned to America to land a job with a leading technology company, and no scholarship penalty to pay back! 

 

            You need superior pay to attract talent. You can achieve that without increasing the total cost of government.  Canada’s population is comparable to Malaysia and she has a much larger territory to boot. Yet her Ministry of Finance (edifice as well as personnel) dwarfs that of Malaysia. While Malaysia was crippled by the 1997 Asian economic contagion, Canada withstood the 2008 economic storm that shook America. Yes, Canadian civil servants are very well paid and entry into it highly competitive. 

 

            Raising the mandatory retirement age also carries its own drawbacks, again not much appreciated. By the time they retire, those old civil servants are already set in their ways. Coupled with a generous pension, they have little incentive to venture out. More pernicious, their last year would be consumed lobbying for positions in the many government-linked companies. 

 

            America has for the most part done away with mandatory retirement age, deeming it “age discrimination.” It saddens me to see so many still productive Malaysians years my junior now retired, doing nothing. With Malaysia short of STEM teachers and professors for example, that is a crying shame and a colossal waste of precious talent. Malaysia, in particular the Malay community, cannot afford that.

 

The Malaysian Malaise: Excerpt #2: Mahathir - Back To His Wily Self

 The Malaysian Malaise: Corrupt Leadership, Failing Institutions, And Intolerant Islamism

M. Bakri Musa © 2023

Excerpt #2: Mahathir - Back To His Old Wily Self

At age 93, the understanding was that when Mahathir became Prime Minister for the second time following the routing of the ruling Barisan Government in the May 2018 General Elections, he would retire in two years time. That would pave the way for Anwar Ibrahim, who was then still in prison on trumped-up charges of sodomy, to succeed Mahathir. Yes, unlike the rest of the world, Malaysia still has such archaic statutes in her books! With the new coalition’s victory, its acknowledged leader Anwar Ibrahim was expected to be pardoned and thus able to return to active politics to assume leadership of the nation. That was agreed upon by members of the coalition going into the election.

     Then suddenly and quite unexpectedly in February 2020 Mahathir resigned. By right, his then Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azzizah should have taken over, as per the usual process as well as the constitution. Fearful that she would give way to her husband Anwar Ibrahim, who by now had been pardoned and subsequently elected to Parliament, Mahathir did what he thought was a shrewd move. He concocted a back-door scheme, dubbed the Sheraton Move (named after the hotel where the political horse-trading took place), where the Agong would select the cancer-stricken Muhyiddin Yassin to take over.

The Agong was satisfied, following a parade of MPs who were summoned to the Palace with their statutory declarations in hand purportedly supporting Muhyiddin. To the Agong, the constitutional requirement of having the Prime Minister command the majority of Parliament had been met by that unusual maneuver. In fact it had been circumvented, or more correctly, manipulated.

      He was confused, ignorant, badly advised or just purposely chose to ignore the reality that decisions made in private, statutory declarations in hand notwithstanding, can never replace one taken following open robust parliamentary debates. That should have been the sole criterion.

The Agong should have instead let Deputy Prime Minister Azzizah assume the leadership as per protocol, and then let Parliament decide in a subsequent formal resolution whether she commanded the confidence of the House. That should have been the proper procedure. Group dynamics can and do affect decisions quickly and often dramatically even at the last minute.

     Like all backroom deals, this Sheraton Move too did not last. Twenty-two months later Muhyiddin was outmaneuvered again by another dark backroom scheming, to be replaced by another clueless character, this time from UMNO, Ismail Sabri. With the next election scheduled no later than September 2023, and with the coming flood season making elections impractical, this character could probably survive till then. Not that it would make any difference.

     Meanwhile Malaysia’s downward spiral continued. Using the ringgit as a surrogate indicator, it fell to its lowest level ever vis a vis the US dollar, trading on September 28, 2022 at RM4.63. I wonder what happened to those five “wise eminent persons” tasked with advising Mahathir!

     Ever the schemer, Mahathir was still not yet finished or satisfied. Leading yet another splinter party, Gerakan Tanah Air (lit. Motherland Action Party), and not content with the wreckage he had already inflicted upon Malaysia, he again offered himself to be Prime Minister. He will be 98 should he survive till the next election due no later than September 2023. He was not satisfied to have bequeathed upon Malaysia the likes of Abdullah Badawi, Najib Razak, Muhyiddin Yassin, and now Ismail Sabri. He wanted to add more to the pantheon of corrupt, incompetent Malay leaders. That is, if Malaysians were to let him. The glimmer of hope is that voters would have a chance to end Mahathir’s latest delusion come the next election.

Next: Excerpt #3: Poster Boy For Term Limits

The Malaysian Malaise: Corrupt Leadership, Failing Institutions, And Intolerant Islamism

 The Malaysian Malaise: Corrupt Leadership, Failing Institutions, And Intolerant Islamism

M. Bakri Musa © 2023

Excerpt 1: Prologue

When the virulent Covid-19 virus broke out beyond Wuhan, China, in January 2020, the whole world was consumed in an unprecedented collective mega effort to contain the outbreak. The whole world, but not Malaysia. As if the pandemic was not serious enough of a threat and burden, Malaysia was (and still is) one of those self-destructive if not downright dysfunctional countries that brought upon itself additional unneeded and self-inflicted series of political crises. Those are still ongoing as of my writing, inflicting needless havoc, destruction, and uncertainty upon the nation and its citizens.

    While the Covid-19 pandemic is now manageable, the political and other problems plaguing Malaysia are still very much there and fast deteriorating. The tragedy is that those non-Covid related challenges are all potentially preventable and readily solvable with a modicum of smarts and dedication on the part of Malaysian leaders. The other aspect, also a tragedy, is that these political and other crises are all traceable to the personal ego and endless scheming of one conniving character, its former long-time Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Consider such critical issues as entrenched corruption, deteriorating education, and rise of Islamist extremism, to name but a few. They all bear Mahathir’s classic scheming fingerprints all over them. To use modern management parlance, Mahathir is the root cause.

    Perversely, and in an almost psychotic disconnect from reality, the old man still sees himself as the nation’s only savior. As late as September 2022 he had the temerity, and without any trace of embarrassment, to proclaim himself ready to assume the nation’s leadership once again, and for the third time. In a pean to humility, he did add, “if people were to insist on it and the insistence incessant.” Then he would serve for only one year.

Such modesty! At least that was an improvement over his previous two-year limitation he had imposed upon himself when he assumed the position for the second time in May 2018. And what a mess he created then! Malaysians are still paying the price and carrying the burden.

    That is in addition to the now near irreversible degradation of the nation that is the direct consequence of his earlier, much longer first tenure of nearly 23 years. In case the point is missed, that was also the duration of Muhammad’s prophethood.

    Mahathir’s second tenure began in a benign way and with all the best intentions. After serving as Prime Minister from July 1981 to October 2003 (the longest serving), Mahathir came out of retirement to help defeat the corrupt Najib Razak and his band of bandits in Barisan Nasional in the May 2018 14th General Elections. He went beyond to claim the major if not sole credit for ousting Najib and thus convinced Malaysians that he was indeed the nation’s savior.

    The world too was impressed; a nonagenarian making a spectacular political comeback! There was indeed hope for other ageing global leaders; they too became emboldened if not inspired to hang on to their positions. Mahathir spent much of his first year as a geriatric celebrity of sorts, flying to various major capitals to be interviewed by other oldies in the media, think tank, and global institutions like the International Monetary Fund. Even venerable Oxford University got in the act too!

As for domestic problems, he convened a panel of five-member Council of Eminent Persons. Such was Mahathir’s newly-acquired aura that even his earlier severe critics like economist K S Jomo and sugar mogul Robert Kuok gladly agreed to be co-opted.

Next: Excerpt #2: Mahathir: Back To His Old Wily Self

Salleh Ben Joned - Jebat Man Of Letters

 Salleh Ben Joned – Jebat Man Of Letters

M. Bakri Musa

 

Book Review:  Anna Salleh’s Salleh Ben Joned:  Truth, Beauty, Amok and Belonging. Maya Press, Petaling Jaya, pp 254, 2023  RM80.00.

 

 

My future mother-in-law once startled me with a curious query, “Bakri, who are the heroes in your culture?”

 

            Stumped by her unexpected inquiry, I replied almost as a reflex and without much enthusiasm, “Hang Tuah!” Minimal enthusiasm because a few years earlier I had read Kassim Ahmad’s revisionist treatment of the eponymous character in his “Characterization in Hang Tuah,” written for his baccalaureate thesis.

 

            Today I could rattle off more than a few worthy names. One, and with ease together with great enthusiasm, is Salleh Ben Joned, the enfant terrible of contemporary Malay and Malaysian literature. He was of both because of his erudition in Malay as well as English. 

 

            Cartoonist Lat has a more profound take. Lat’s one-line review of Salleh’s Sajak Sajak Salleh–Poems Sacred And Profane, was simply, “It’s like meeting Hang Jebat on his day off!” Jebat is the (now) much celebrated “anti-hero” of Hikayat Hang Tuah.

 

            I learned this gem (and a whole lot more) on Salleh from the touchingly endearing book by his daughter, Australian biologist-turned-broadcaster Anna Salleh. As for Lat’s insightful observation, imagine if Salleh were to be on full throttle! 

 

            Alas, Salleh was not, at least not after 2000. That was when he underwent electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for mood swings. This too l learned from Anna’s book. Bless her for dealing with such a sensitive topic with love, finesse and empathy. ECT plays havoc on one’s memory, cognition, and creativity.

 

            Salleh wrote many letters to Anna during periods when he was overwhelmed. She has kindly reproduced snippets of those very personal anguishing notes. Those must have been hellish to read. Having worked in a psychiatric hospital early in my career however, those were but plaintive cries for supportive psychotherapy and better management of neurotransmitters.

 

            Salleh left for Australia in 1961 to return a decade later with a degree in English Literature, an achievement sufficiently rare then or even now, together with an Australian wife and daughter (Anna). He was briefly on the faculty at the University of Malaya. The operative word there is “briefly,” for soon he was out free-lancing as a poet and writer. That took supreme self-confidence. An artist at his core, academic tenure and other artificial societal accolades did not interest him.

 

            Salleh Ben Joned died in 2021 at age 81, after a long battle with bipolar disorder. 

 

            Like Salleh I too left Malaysia, for Canada in 1963. Thus my “Malayness” as well as “Malaysianness” were of the 1950s when P. Ramlee commanded the airwaves and Bahasa was devoid of pidginized English words like inspirasi and korupsi. Ilham and rasuah are much more expressive and also definitely more Malay sounding. We also had little need to show off that we knew a few fancy English words.

 

            Salleh’s writings and poetry in Malay are thankfully spared such spurious bastardized vocabulary. Hence his lament on contemporary Malaysiana, specifically Malay writers even or especially celebrated ones, the late poet Usman Awang being a notable exception.

 

            When Salleh’s first book of poems was published in 1987, “there was no response from the Malay literary world, despite the book being two thirds in Malay. For two years there was deafening silence,” as Anna Salleh put it.

 

            That reveals something else, obvious to me who has long been away from my culture, less so to others. That is, to praise a Malay who is well versed in English means that you are also ipso facto denigrating our national language. Another equally destructive strain, to adequately praise someone, it is not sufficient to be super effusive, you must also degrade yourself to the point of humiliation. It is this separation or gulf that counts, Hofstede’s power distance to matters cultural. Thus you praise your sultan to high heavens while at the same time debase yourself as his beta (slave).

 

            Salleh’s disdain for if not outright disgust with this particular regressive aspect of Malay feudalism was palpable. No surprise there as he was born and raised in Melaka, a sultan-less state. On the other hand, many have overcompensated for that. Witness the over-groveling scenes at state functions.

 

            This book is more than an endearing tribute of a loving daughter to her late father. Anna Salleh has brought forth many hitherto hidden gems to his unique personae both as a writer and Malaysian.

 

            She had in 2020 produced a podcast series, “Salleh Ben Joned:  A Most Unlikely Malay.” To me, Salleh is very much my Malay! In a touching poem to his third and last wife Halimatun, “Birthday Pantun For My Love, Atun,” Salleh wrote, “A mind that’s open to life’s sheer variety/And a spirit that knows what not to miss.”

 

            That also describes Salleh. The Qur’anic “soleh” means the righteous son. As stated in his forward to Sajak Sajak, it also means “odd.” Thus Mat Salleh. To me, you are soleh when you open your God-given mind to all His wondrous creations.

 

            Anna Salleh has whetted our appetite for this literary Jebat and great Malaysian Man of Letters. This is part of her “ongoing efforts to curate her father’s literary legacy,” an endeavor worthy of a true anak solehan(fem. salleh).

 

            As intimated by the many photo snippets in this book, Salleh’s scribblings are found on scraps of paper and tattered 555 notebooks. Those offer invaluable glimpses with the same sagacity and spiciness as his formal writings.

 

            I would dispense with what others think of or write about Salleh. I am more into his “Open Letter to Redza Piyadasa on the Art of Pissing,” “The Malay (and Malaysian) Writer’s Dilemma,” and similar commentaries. Those would also fulfill her father’s wish of “Keep me burning, dear God, with the stubbornness of being.” (Songs and Monologues 7.)

 

            Salleh was a Muslim and thus did not believe in reincarnation. However, as a thought experiment, ponder his response if he were to be, to the current increasingly favorable views of his legacy as well as the rave reviews of Anna’s book.

 

            I venture that his response would be an earthy “Poodah.” (Get out of here!)

 

 

Mengenang August 31, 1957

 Mengenang 31 Ogos 1957

M. Bakri Musa

 

Saya masih dalam Tingkatan Dua (Tahun Persekolahan Lapan) di Sekolah Tuanku Muhammad, Kuala Pilah, bila Persekutuan Tanah Melayu mencapai kemerdekaan daripada Britain dalam tahun 1957. Pada jam satu saat lepas tengah malam pada hari Sabtu 31 Ogos, bendera Union Jack diturunkan dan bendera negara baharu dinaikkan buat kali pertamanya. Peristiwa bersejarah itu berlangsung di Padang Kelab Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, satu tempat yang digemari oleh kaum penjajah.

 

            Pengisytiharan dan upacara yang rasmi penuh dengan kemegahan berlaku pada waktu pagi di Stadium Merdeka yang baru dibina. Hujan lebat yang singkat pada pagi itu melambatkan sedikit permulaan upacara tetapi itu tidak melemahkan suasana gemilang.

 

            Kembali kepada saya, selain daripada belajar di sekolah Inggeris, ibu bapa saya juga telah melanggan untuk saya akhbar harian The Straits Times. Mereka berdua guru sekolah Melayu tetapi mengetahui kepentingan Bahasa Inggeris, walau pun itu berkait dengan penjajahan.

 

            Pengarang rencana kegemaran saya pada masa itu ialah Vernon Bartlett. Saya hairan bahawa seorang dari kaum penjajah tidak takut langsung untuk mengutuk dengan kerasnya kerajaannya sendiri. Dalam budaya kita itu dianggap khianat dan dihukum dengan sewajarnya. Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim sendiri tentu sedar atas keadaan pahit itu.

 

       Saya mula membaca karangan Bartlett melalui bapa saya. Dia melanggan akhbar harian Utusan Melayu yang sekarang sudah tidak ada lagi. Penyunting akhbar harian tersebut mempunyai kebijaksanaan yang luar biasa untuk menterjemahkan ulasan Bartlett yang bernas ke Bahasa Melayu. Itu mencerminkan pandangan jauh dan luas mereka, amat berbeza daripada rakan sejawat mereka sekarang yang syok sendiri dan dibutakan oleh semangat kebangsaan mereka yang terlalu.

 

            Melalui Bartlett saya sedar tentang keadaan buruk yang menimpa banyak negara yang baru merdeka. Presiden Sukarno tidak habis menggesa rakyat Indonesia supaya mengakap dan memakan tikus, dan dengan itu sekali gus menyelesaikan dua masalah yang besar, yakni serangan tikus dan kekurangan makanan daging di kalangan rakyat. Contoh yang lebih hebat ialah rusuhan besaran di benua India selepas sahaja ia merdeka.

 

            Bapa saya pernah mengejek dengan bersorak “Mencakar” menggantikan “Merdeka.” Dia berhati-hati membuat demikian supaya tidak didengari dengan jelas. Mencakar sebab itulah nasib yang menanda kebanyakan rakyat negara yang baru merdeka.

 

            Ibu saudara saya Kamariah, seorang ahli UMNO (United Malay Nationalist Organisation), yakni parti yang menerajui Merdeka, telah dengan teliti mengaturkan sewa bas untuk membawa sekumpulan penduduk kampung ke Kuala Lumpur untuk menyaksikan peristiwa bersejarah itu. Seperti yang dijangkakan, minatnya tinggi dan oleh itu dia telah menempahkan dua tiket khas untuk ibu bapa saya.

 

            Beliau terperanjat apabila ibu bapa saya enggan bersama seolah menolak pelawaan itu saolah Itu bersempadan dengan tidak patriotik. Mereka bagaimanapun berjaya menggoyangkan alasan saat akhir: tiada pengasuh. Sebenarnya mereka tidak berhasrat untuk menjadi sebahagian daripada keganasan ngeri yang terlalu biasa yang sering dikaitkan dengan peristiwa sedemikian.

 

            Petang itu menjelang Merdeka, ibu bapa saya dengan pasti memberi amaran kepada kami supaya tidak keluar rumah. Mereka juga telah menimbun makanan dan keperluan lain, untuk berjaga-jaga.

 

            Kami mempunyai radio. Jadi malam itu saya dan abang saya terpaku pada set kami dengan bunyi suara yang direndahkan. Apa yang kami dengar hanyalah laungan “Merdeka!” yang tidak berkesudahan.

 

 

Keesokan harinya ibu bapa saya berasa lega kerana tiada apa yang tidak diingini berlaku. Kerisauannya ialah kerana pada awal minggu dia telah mendengar perbualan di kalangan penduduk kampung tentang bagaimana mereka akan menyerbu banglo mewah di atas bukit yang diduduki oleh kaum penjajah. Kepada penduduk kampung itulah maknanya Merdeka, mengambil balik harta dari pada kaum penjajah dan di serak kepada rakyat Bumi.

 

            Ayah saya tidak menyalahkan mereka dari khayalan mereka. Jika itu akan berlaku, yakinlah bahawa ramai ada orang lain yang mendahului mereka, seperti puak diraja dan mereka yang kemudiannya dipanggil UMNOPutras yang akan mendapat habuan terlebih dahulu.

 

            Pada suatu hari beberapa tahun selepas Merdeka, emak saudara saya datang ke rumah kami. Dia meminta untuk melihat akhbar harian Utusan Melayu. Dia selalu berbuat demikian kerana ingin melihat gambar sahaja kerana dia buta huruf, seperti yang ramai di kampung, terutamanya wanita. Oleh sebab itu terkejut saya apabila dia bersorak dalam loghat negeri, “Den dah boleh baco!”

 

            Makcik saya adalah penerima kelas pendidikan dewasa kerajaan baharu yang berkembang dengan pesat. Bukan itu sahaja. Dalam jarak tujuh batu antara kampung saya dan TMS, tidak kurang enam sekolah rendah baharu sedang dibina. Ibu bapa saya juga melihat perubahan. Walaupun mereka berdua pernah ke Maktab Perguruan semasa sebelum perang, mereka kini didedahkan kepada teknik pengajaran dan falsafah pembelajaran moden melalui kursus ulangkaji yang disediakan.

 

            Bagaimana kerajaan boleh mencari dana untuk membiayai pembangunan tersebut? Baharulah ibu bapa saya menyedari bahawa kerana negara kini bebas dan merdeka, wang yang dulunya dihantar ke Britain kini disimpan di dalam negara. Ini bersama-sama dengan keputusan bijak kerajaan baharu sebelum ini untuk mengadakan Perjanjian Pertahanan bersama dengan Britain memastikan bahawa kita akan terhindar daripada kos memerangi pemberontakan komunis yang masih aktif. Sebaliknya, ramai yang beranggapan bahawa perjanjian merdeka itu hanyalah satu gaya sulit untuk mengekalkan kawalan British, dan kemerdekaan yang berikutnya hanyalah satu penipuan.

 

            Sejak itu ibu bapa saya menyokong Merdeka. Bagi mereka, inilah maknanya kemerdekaan, peluang untuk melabur untuk kemajuan rakyat. Rakyat adalah aset yang paling berharga untuk sesuatu negara.

 

            Itu juga hasrat dan doa saya untuk Kerajaan Madani pada Ulang Tahun Kemerdekaan ke-67 ini–melabur untuk kebaikan rakyat.

 

Diadaptasi daripada memoir pengarang, “Cast From The Herd: Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia” (2016).