The Many benefits of Bi- and Multilingualism

 The Many Benefits of Bi- and Multilingualism 

M. Bakri MusaMarch 8, 2026

I am bilingual (English and Malay); I dream in both languages. However, when I speak I use only one language. I have not yet developed the irritating habit, most noticeable among Malays and Filipinos, where they would switch back and forth in both languages within the same sentence, the linguist’s code switching. Our local professors and leaders cannot utter even a simple sentence in complete Malay or English. It is all jumbled up. 

       There are many benefits to being bilingual. During my freshman English class, I would often get favorable comments on my essays along such lines as “interesting viewpoint!” Later I would hear similar words at various committee meetings when I came forward with a compromise.

       My first reaction was of course to believe that I was smart. On reflection, it was more my ability to see different perspectives. I attribute that to my being able to speak two languages and having lived in different cultures. That sensitized me to different realities and viewpoints.

        My wife and I had friends back from our student days in Canada, Karen Crouse and her husband Badri Muhammad. Both were longtime Professors of Chemistry at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia. She adapted so well to Malaysia such that whenever I complained about the local bureaucracy she would sooth me with, “They do it differently here, Bakri!”

       Not wrong, but differently. That perspective would determine whether your reaction would be one of equanimity or frustration, not to mention success or failure. Karen Crouse learned Malay fast and was able to give her lectures in that language in short order.

        Contrast her to many non-Malays who were born and had lived their entire lives in Malaysia yet could not speak Malay. A ready and pathetic example is Tommy Thomas, a distinguished defense lawyer privileged to be the first non-Malay to be appointed Attorney-General, a prestigious accomplishment. However, at his first official press conference, without hesitation he spoke in English. He ignored and paid no due deference to the National Language. He was not even embarrassed by his glaring deficiency. In fact, the very opposite as he was barely able to conceal his disdain for it. And this character was born and bred in Malaysia!

        His behavior was such an embarrassing contrast to all previous non-Malay Ministers. It was as if he was mocking the national language and the associated culture. Yet he proudly displayed, and relished, his feudal Malay honorifics. You can bet that it would be a very long time before another non-Malay would even be considered for such a position. Thomas had poisoned the well.

        I have long advocated such high-level infusions of fresh talent into the civil service so as to reinvigorate it. 

        Thomas and Karen Crouse demonstrate what the Stanford psychologist Carol Dwyer refers to as individuals with a “fixed mindset” and “growth mindset” respectively. Thomas, and others with a closed mindset, viewed learning Malay as a sop to Malay nationalists instead of another useful skill. 

Next:  Conformity Bias As A Barrier to Critical Thinking

Bahasa Penghalang Untuk Berfikir Dengan Kritis

 Bahasa Penghalang Untuk Berfikir Dengan Kritis     

Oleh: M. Bakri Musa 4 Mac 2026

             Bahasa berjalin rapat dengan budaya. Bahasa Melayu ialah bahasa kebangsaan Malaysia, dan dengan itu terikat dengan sistem pendidikan serta dasar-dasar negara kita. Seperti Teori Whorf dan Sapir, bahasa mencorakkan proses pemikiran kita.

Bahasa mempengaruhi cara kita melihat dunia dan alam sekitar. Dengan itu juga cara kita berfikir dan mentaraf realiti. Teori Whorf dan Sapir mungkin pernah dicabar atau skopnya disingkatkan, namun hakikatnya tetap sama: mempelajari bahasa lain akan memberikan kita perspektif yang berbeza tentang kehidupan serta realiti.

Cara ringkas renungkan di mana kita meletakkan kata sifat—sama ada sebelum kata nama seperti beautiful house (rumah cantik) dalam bahasa Inggeris, atau selepasnya dalam bahasa Melayu—dengan secara halus boleh mengubah cara seseorang berfikir.

Satu segi bahasa ialah dalam peranannya mengikat sesuatu kaum kepada dengan kumpulan atau organisasi. Lihat sahaja bahasa “rahsia” remaja, atau lingo dan slanga kumpulan kultus, terutamanya kumpulan agama. Dalam bukunya Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, Amanda Montell menggunakan istilah “thought-terminating clichés” (klise pemati fikiran)—antitesis kepada pemikiran kritis—yang digunakan untuk mengawal minda dan menyekat pemikiran bebas dalam kumpulan kultus dan agama. Ungkapan seperti “Pendatang,” “Ketuanan Melayu,” dan “Keistimewaan” pada asasnya ialah satu bentuk “Bahasa rahsia.” Apabila ia dilaungkan, pemikiran dan perbincangan rasional terus tercampak ke luar.

Dengar wacana agama di masjid dan universiti tempatan. Sebaik sahaja tokoh atau teks lama dipetik, perbincangan pun tamat. Tidak boleh dibincangkan lagi. Apabila membincangkan kemunduran Melayu, jawapan pemimpin agama selalunya bersifat menolak: “Kita bukan memikirkan dunia material ini, tetapi Akhirat yang kekal!” Habis cerita! Tutup perbahasan! Anda hanya di suruh menerima—atau sekurang-kurangnya bertoleransi dengan—nasib buruk anda sekarang di dunia.

Bandingkan Bahasa Melayu dan Inggeris. Kedua-duanya mempunyai intonasi yang berbeza. Dalam bahasa Inggeris, penekanan pada suku kata pertama; dalam bahasa Melayu, pada yang terakhir. Apabila anda mencampuradukkannya secara semberono, terhasillah “Manglish” (Bahasa Inggeris cara Malaysia) yang menjengkelkan. Ia akan memberi anda cognitive dissonance (pertembungan kognitif) tahap tertinggi, ibarat menyanyi dengan nada yang sumbang!

Saya dapati Manglish bukan sahaja sukar difahami, malah mengelirukan dan menjengkelkan. Ia juga mencerminkan pemikiran yang berserabut serta rasa rendah diri penuturnya. Orang Melayu—daripada profesor hebat hinggalah pemimpin negara—suka menyelitkan Bahasa Inggeris dalam ucapan merka semata-mata untuk menunjuk pandai atau membuktikan mereka pernah belajar di luar negari.

Saya tidak pernah mendengar Tunku Abdul Rahman, Perdana Menteri pertama kita, berbuat demikian. Apabila beliau berucap dalam Bahasa Melayu ketika berkempen di kampung, beliau menggunakan bahasa yang tulin, beradat, dan klasik. Beliau tidak pernah menggunakan bahasa rojak atau pasar. Beliau juga tidak perlu mencemar ucapannya dengan perkataan Inggeris. Maklumlah, beliau lulusan Cambridge Universiti.

Untuk perubahan yang menyegarkan, lihatlah bagaimana pemimpin Kanada berucap. Kanada ialah negara dwibahasa—Inggeris dan Perancis. Apabila Perdana Menteri Mark Carney mengadakan sidang media atau berucap di Parlimen, beliau akan menyampaikannya dalam bahasa Inggeris atau Perancis sepenuhnya, kemudian menterjemahkannya ke bahasa yang satu lagi. Tiada adunan bahasa yang mengelirukan seperti pemimpin Malaysia. Itu mencerminkan pemikiran yang jelas. Mereka menghormati kedua-dua bahasa tersebut serta penutur aslinya.

Manglish mencerminkan rasa rendah diri dan ketidakselesaan orang Melayu. Begitu juga tabiat sewenang-wenangnya “memelayukan” perkataan Inggeris seperti situasi (situation) dan mengappresiasikan (to appreciate).

Lebih buruk dan menjengkelkan—jika tidak mahu dikatakan mengganggu—adalah apabila pemimpin kita kini menambah bunga-bunga bahasa Arab dalam ucapan Manglish mereka. Mereka berbuat demikian bukan untuk kejelasan, tetapi untuk memperaga ilmu agama mereka kepada pendengar.

Lihatlah majlis rasmi di Malaysia. Tidak cukup sekadar hanya mengucap “Selamat Datang” seperti zaman dahulu. Mesti ada mukadimah panjang memuji Tuhan, Nabi, dan Sultan, disusuli bacaan ayat suci yang meleret-leret. Majlis berlarutan berjam-jam, seolah-olah peserta tiada kerja lain selain daripada mendengar ucapan yang membosankan. Bukan kerana mereka tiada isi untuk disampaikan, tetapi kerana mereka tidak cekap. Maka, penggunaan upacara panjang lebar itulah menjadi helah untuk melindungi ketidakcekapan mereka.

Language As A Barrier To Critical Thinking

 

Language As A Barrier To Critical Thinking

M. Bakri Musa

March 1, 2026

Updated excerpt from my Qur’an, Hadith, and Quran In Critical Thinking

 

A correlate of culture is language. Malay is Malaysia’s national language, and tied with that are her education and other policies. Language steers our thought processes, as per Whorf and Sapir.

Language influences the way we look at and thus think of reality. Whorf and Sapir Theory has been challenged or its scope narrowed. Regardless, learning another language would give us a different perspective on life and reality.

 

         Just the simple act of where you put the adjective, as before the noun in English (beautiful house) versus after, as in Malay “rumah cantek,” (house beautiful) can imperceptibly modify one’s thought processes.

 

         There is another aspect of language, its role in binding people to a group or organization. Thus the “secret” language of prepubescent teenagers and the specific lingos and slangs of cult groups including and especially religious ones. In her book Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, Amanda Montell uses the phrase “thought-terminating clichés,” the antithesis of critical thinking, to control thoughts and curb independent thinking in cult and religious groups. Consider such phrases as “Pendatang,” “Ketuanan Melayu,” and “Special Privileges.” When they are invoked, rational thoughts and discussions are thrown out the window.

 

         Examine religious discourses even at such places as at the universities. Once certain scholars or ancient revered texts are quoted, the discussion ends. In discussing Malay backwardness for example, religious leaders’ response would be a dismissive “We are concerned not with this material temporal world but the permanent Hereafter!” End of discussion! With that, the acceptance or at least tolerance of your current hellish state.

 

         Consider Malay and English. The two languages have, among other things, different intonations. With English, the emphasis is on the first syllable; in Malay, the last. When you haphazardly jumble between the two you would get the typical irritating “Manglish” (Malaysian English). Cognitive dissonance of the highest degree, akin to singing in jumbled keys!

 

           I find Manglish difficult to comprehend as well as disorienting and very irritating. There is something else more profound. Manglish reflects the cluttered thinking as well as underlying sense of inferiority complex of the speakers. Malays from esteemed professors to national leaders sprinkle their speeches with English to prove that they can also speak the language or that they have been educated abroad.

 

         I cannot remember the late Tengku Abdul Rahman, the country’s first Prime Minister, ever doing that. When he spoke in Malay while campaigning in the kampungs, he used pure albeit aristocratic or archaic Malay, but never rojak or the bazaar variety. Nor did he need to sprinkle his speeches with English words. The man went to Cambridge. 

 

            Today for a refreshing departure, watch how Canadian leaders speak. Canada is bilingual - English and French. When Prime Minister Mark Carney gives a press conference or addresses Parliament, he would give it in total English or French, and then translate that into the other language. No irritating jumbling a la Malaysian leaders. That also reflects the clear thinking of Canadians. There is more. Canadians respect both languages and their native speakers.

 

         Manglish reflects the basic inferiority and insecurity of Malays. Likewise, the promiscuous and haphazard “Malaynising” English words as with situasi (situation) and mengappresiasikan (to appreciate).

 

         More pernicious and ever irritating if not distracting is that Malay leaders are now adding flourishes of Arabic in their speeches in addition to their already irritating Manglish. They do so less for clarity more to impress their listeners with their religious knowledge.

 

         Witness Malaysian official functions. It is not enough for the speakers to just say “Selamat Datang” as in days of yore. Instead, there would be the inevitable long salutations praising God, the Prophet as well as the sultans, together with the long droning recitations of the Qur’an. They would run for hours as if the participants had nothing else to do except listen to long boring speeches. It is not that they do not have anything to say or do, more that they are incompetent. Hence any excuse to get distracted with such prolonged salutations and elaborate ceremonies.

 

Next:  Benefits of Bilingualism

Mencari Hakikat Ramadan Dalam Datum Kufr

 Mencari Hakikat Ramadan Dalam Darul Kufr

M. Bakri Musa 25 Feb, 2026

Sedutan daripada siri Al-Quran, Hadith, dan Hikayat saya akan bersambung minggu depan.

Mungkin disangkakan janggal atau satu paradoks, namun melalui kehidupan di dunia Barat yang sekular dan berstatus minoriti Muslim (Darul Kufr) saya sebenarnya lebih banyak mempelajari tentang hakikat serta makna dan inti Ramadan.

Pengalaman saya pertama di Darul Kufr adalah semasa pelajar tahun satu di Edmonton, Kanada, pada Januari 1964. Dengan waktu siang musim sejuk yang singkat, berpuasa bukanlah satu cabaran. Namun, timbul satu persoalan: Bagaimana pula jika musim panas? Saya ajukan soalan itu kepada ayah di Malaysia. Terbenggung, dia meminta nasihat dari Imam kampung kami.

“Ramadan,” pesan Imam tersebut kepada ayah saya, “bukanlah satu penyeksaan.” Al-Quran tidak bertujuan menyusahkan dan sememangnya telah pun menyediakan banyak pengecualian yang munasabah. Jika berpuasa di musim panas terlalu perit di Kanada, maka ikutlah waktu Arab Saudi atau Malaysia.

Imam kami semasa itu hanyalah seorang penduduk kampung biasa. Beliau menjadi Imam kerana kami, para jemaah, yang menggelarnya begitu. Orang kampung kagum dengan kesalehannya semasa zaman perit Perang Jepun. Masa susah adalah satu ujian, bukannya alasan—begitu nasihat beliau kepada anak kariahnya.

Tetapi hari ini di Malaysia, seperti kebanyakan negara Islam lain, para Imam dilantik oleh dan menjadi sebahagian daripada birokrasi gergasi negara. Jika tertangkap tidak berpuasa, seorang Muslim akan didenda dan dimalukan di khalayak ramai dengan diarak keliling bandar dalam kendera jenazah. Begitu juga jentera kerajaan semasa Ramadan makin lembap, persis suasana di Perancis pada bulan Ogos.

Peristiwa kedua adalah semasa saya bertugas sebagai pakar bedah di sebuah bandar pembalakan di Oregon. Saya dijemput oleh pengurus kilang itu untuk melawat gudangnya yang amat besar supaya saya lebih memahami jenis kecederaan yang mungkin dialami oleh pekerjanya. Saya melihat batang balak besar ditolak ke sana kemari dibelah oleh gergaji bulat yang ligat untuk dihiris menjadi papan pelbagai saiz dan bentuk. Bunyinya mesin yang membingitkan mampu menembusi tengkorak yang paling tebal. Kami terpaksa memakai pelindung telinga yang tebal, kasut besi, dan juga bertopi keledar. Komunikasi pula hanya melalui isyarat tangan yang tepat. Punat kecemasan merah yang boleh memerhentikan alat gergasi itu dengan serta merta diletakkan dengan jelas di merata tempat.

Selepas segala proses tolak, potong, dan balikkan yang kasar itu, produk akhir kemudiannya diasingkan dan dipindahkan ke sebuah bilik yang tenang, sejuk, dan terkawal suhunya di bangunan berasingan untuk proses "curing" (pematangan) selama beberapa hari. Hanya selepas itu papan dan kayu kayu itu akan sedia untuk dipasarkan, di mana ia akan sekali lagi berdepan dengan tekanan di kilang dan tapak binaan. Tanpa proses curing ini, kayu-kayu tersebut akan menjadi rapuh dan mudah patah, kata pengurus gudang itu. Itu bukanlah cara bijak untuk mengekalkan pelanggan!

Kita juga melalui pelbagai rintangan dan tekanan dalam kehidupan seharian. Kita juga perlu melalui proses "curing" atau mempunyai waktu "time out" sendiri. Itulah Ramadan bagi saya. Keadaan ketosis akibat berpuasa hanya mendalamkan lagi dimensi spiritual, melampaui waktu rehat biasa yang saya nikmati seperti ketika bercuti.

Beberapa tahun kemudian di Silicon Valley, California, saya dipanggil lewat tengah malam ke Bilik Kecemasan (BK) untuk merawat pesakit yang terkena tembakan. Terjaga daripada tidur yang nyenyak, apatah lagi setelah seharian berpuasa, cenderung membuatkan mood seseorang menjadi kacau—lebih-lebih lagi apabila anda menjangkakan kes tersebut adalah apa yang kami pengamal perubatan swasta gelarkan secara eufemisme "uncompensated case" (kes tanpa bayaran, yakni si penganggur). Saya pasti saya telah membuat ceboh heboh sehingga mengejutkan isteri saya yang tertidur. Menyedari kekecewaan saya, beliau bangun dan mengingatkan saya bahawa ini adalah bulan Ramadan, masa untuk bukan juga beramal tetapi juga bermurah hati bukan sahaja dalam perbuatan tetapi juga dalam pemikiran. Ingatan itu memberi ketenangan yang saya perlukan.

Amal jariah adalah teras Islam. Zakat fitrah semasa Ramadan adalah wajib bagi setiap Muslim kecuali golongan kurang upaya; mereka adalah penerimanya. Namun yang lebih penting tetapi sering diabaikan adalah "sedekah jiwa" (charity of spirit). Dalam banyak keadaan, saya telah berbuka dan membatalkan puasa semata-mata supaya saya dapat menumpukan tenaga saya kepada pesakit. Itulah kewajipan saya; itulah zakat saya.

Di Daul Kufr Amerika, bahagian kecemasan hospital wajib merawat semua pesakit tanpa melakukan "biopsi dompet" terlebih dahulu, dan para doktor perlu mengambil giliran bertugas di ER. Sehingga baru ini, tugas itu dilakukan secara percuma (pro bono). Di Daul Islam Malaysia beberapa tahun yanga lalu sewaktu bulan Ramadan, seorang pemuda meninggal dunia di dalam ambulans dalam perjalanannya ke hospital kerajaan selepas ditolak oleh sebuah hospital swasta. Ibu bapanya tidak sempat menyediakan wang deposit tepat pada masanya kepada hospital pertama.

Dalam Darul Islam) tumpuan utama pada bulan Ramadan adalah pada kerakusan makan di waktu malam, dan perincian kira-kira untuk mengumpul “pahala bonus” agama. Kononnya, beribadat pada malam ke-27 Ramadan lebih baik daripada seribu bulan!

Ramadan lebih bermakna bagi saya justru kerana ia hanyalah masa biasa bagi masyarakat umum di sini. Di samping peningkatan spiritual yang diharapkan, serta pinggang yang lebih ramping, saya, seperti jutaan umat Islam di seluruh dunia, menyambut baik kedatangan Ramadan.

 

Discovering The Essence of Ramadan In Dar ul Kufr

 Discovering The Essence Of Ramadan In Dar ul Kufr

M. Bakri Musa

Feb 22, 2026

Excerpt from my Quran, Hadith , and Hikayat will resume next week

It may be counterintuitive or even paradoxical but living in Muslim-minority secular West (Dar ul Kufr) I learned much on the essence and meaning of Ramadan.  

My first experience was as a freshman in Edmonton, Canada, in January 1964. With the short winter days fasting was not a challenge. Then the thought occurred: What about summer? I posed that question to my father back in Malaysia. Confounded, he sought the advice of our village Imam.

“Ramadan,” our Imam advised my father, “is not a torture test.” The Qur’an does not intend for hardship and has indeed provided for many sensible exemptions. If fasting in summer is too trying in Canada, then follow Saudi or Malaysia time. 

Our Imam was a simple villager. He was Imam because we the flock called him so. They were impressed with his piety during the desperate years of the Japanese Occupation. Trying times are a test not an excuse, he counselled his flock. 

Today in Malaysia, like many Muslim countries, Imams are appointed by and part of the massive state bureaucracy. If caught not fasting, a Muslim would be fined and publicly humiliated by being paraded around town in a hearse. The government machinery too during Ramadan is sluggish, like France in August. 

Later as a surgeon in an Oregon timber town, I was invited by the plant manager to tour his massive facility so I could better appreciate the kinds of injuries his workers would sustain. I saw huge logs being shunted back and forth against massive circular saws of varying sizes to be sliced into planks of assorted shapes and dimensions. The high-pitched sounds would pierce the thickest skull. We had to wear thick, tight ear muffs as well as steel boots and helmets while communicating only through precise hand signals. The red emergency switch buttons were prominently placed at frequent intervals.

After all that harsh pushing, cutting, and flipping the final products were then sorted and transferred into a quiet, cool, and temperature-controlled room in a separate building to be “cured” for a few days. Only then would they be ready for marketing where again they would be subjected to the inevitable stresses of the factory and building sites. Sans the curing the pieces would become brittle and break easily, the manager told me. Not the best way to assure repeat customers for your brand!

We too go through many inevitable bumps and stresses in our daily lives. We also need to be “cured” or have our own “time out.” That is Ramadan to me. The fasting-induced ketosis only deepens the spiritual dimension beyond the usual timeout I enjoy as with a vacation. 

A few years later in Silicon Valley I was called late in the night to the Emergency Room (ER) for a patient with a gunshot wound. Being awakened from a deep sleep, more so after a day of fasting, has a way of putting one in a foul mood, more so when you expect the case to be what we private practitioners euphemistically referred to as “uncompensated case.” I must have made quite a raucous, enough to wake up my dear wife. Sensing my frustration, she got up to remind me that this was Ramadan, a time to be charitable, not just in our deeds but also thoughts. That was the calming I needed.

Charity is central in Islam. Ramadan’s zakat fitra (tithe) is mandatory upon every Muslim save the disabled; they are the recipients. More important but often ignored is the charity of spirit. I had on many occasions broken my fast so I could focus my energy on my patient. That is my obligation; my zakat.

In Dar Al Kufr (Muslim-minority) America, hospital ERs have to treat all patients, sans preliminary wallet biopsy, and physicians have to take their share of covering the ER. Until recently that was pro bono. In Darul Islam Malaysia a few years back during one Ramadan a young man died in an ambulance enroute to a government hospital after being turned away from a private one. His parents could not bring the deposit funds in time.

In the Muslim world (Dar ul Islam) the preoccupation in Ramadan is with nighttime gluttony, and the associated accounting minutiae of religious brownie points. To wit, worshipping on the 27^th night of Ramadan exceeds that of a thousand months! 

Ramadan is that much more meaningful to me precisely because it is just another month to the greater society. The anticipated heightened spirituality together with my much-welcomed trimmer waist aside, I, like millions of Muslims worldwide, welcome Ramadan. 

Prime Minister Anwar Mocks His Own Crusade Against Corruption

 Prime Minister Anwar Mocks His Own Crusade Against Corruption

M. Bakri Musa

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim missed a splendid opportunity to reaffirm his anti-corruption resolve when he dismissed Bloomberg’s February 3, 2026 article linking the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Azam Baki to local “corporate mafia” figures.

            Imagine if Anwar had reacted thus: “I cannot dismiss such serious allegations. I have demanded that MACC Chief Azam Baki take immediate leave pending a thorough investigation to be headed by former Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun.” Or someone of similar stature.

            Instead, Anwar chided his critics and asked them to “read his [Azam Baki’s] explanation.” Anwar also did not help himself or his cause in having a high level internal “Special Committee” to investigate the matter. 

In announcing the Special Committee, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil did not mention whether Azam Baki would continue in his current duties. Nor did his fellow ministers see fit to raise this issue. 

            Azam Baki was not Anwar’s appointee, rather a carryover from the previous administrations of Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri. Azam Baki’s contract, due to end May 2 2026, had been extended in the past albeit very briefly three times, including twice by Anwar. 

It is noteworthy that Muhyiddin’s own corruption trial is set to begin next month. He was arrested in March 2023 following his coalition’s loss in the November 2022 General Elections. As for Ismail Sabri, MACC had seized over RM 169 million in cold cash as well as gold bars from “safe houses” linked to him. He has yet to be charged. More significant, he had made no effort to reclaim those seized spoils. Draw your own conclusion.

Malaysia has serious problems with corruption. The current allegations are made not by a rag publication but Bloomberg, citing specific individuals, places, and transactions. That begs for thorough investigations. That the publication had been successfully sued for libel in the past is no excuse. Meanwhile Malaysia’s resolve in fighting corruption must trump everything else.

As for Malaysia’s record in combating corruption, yes, former Prime Minister Najib Razak is now in jail and will remain there for the next few decades unless pardoned by a future misguided Agung. Najib is now joined by his former minister Isa Samad, having recently exhausted his long, extended appeals. 

Anwar cannot claim credit for either. Najib’s arrest in July 2018 followed the defeat of his coalition in the April 2018 elections. He was convicted in July 2020. That and his other corruption convictions were initiated long before the Anwar Administration. Also worth reminding is that Najib was convicted not by in-house or career civil servant prosecutors.

As for Anwar’s commitment and track record in fighting corruption, the case of his own Deputy Ahmad Zahid is instructive as well as revealing. He was arrested in October 2018, also following his party’s defeat in the April 2018 General Elections, for misappropriating funds belonging to his family-run foundation, Akalbudi. Anwar was very much aware of that when he appointed Zahid to be his Deputy following the November 2022 General Elections. Zahid had since seen his case “dismissed not amounting to an acquittal,” and later completely dismissed. Both occurred under Anwar’s watch. Again, draw your own conclusion.

It was thus not a surprise that Azam Baki alluded to Ahmad Zahid’s case in refusing to resign. By allowing Zahid to hold on to his top cabinet position despite being charged, Anwar had set a new acceptable ethical standard.  

“Innocent till proven guilty” is for criminal proceedings. When appointing individuals to the nation’s highest positions, the standard must necessarily be much more stringent, as with not even a hint of impropriety. Anwar failed in this.

All is not lost. Anwar can still redeem himself. Relieve Azam Baki of his position immediately. Get an outsider to head the Anti-Corruption Agency. My top choice would be his former Economic Minister Rafizi Ramli, now an effective critic. A former forensic accountant, Rafizi could spot holes in those dry corporate figures. Rafizi’s nomination would dent the nation’s crippling social blight and at the same time enhance Anwar’s image as a corruption buster. 

 

The bane of Hofstede's "Power Distance"

          

The Bane of Hofstede’s “Power Distance”

M. Bakri Musa

Feb 8, 2026

Updated excerpt from my Qur’an, Hadith, and Quran In Critical Thinking.

 

This excessive deference to one’s superior is not unique to feudal Malaysia. It is also the bane of many Asian cultures. Geert Hofstede coined the term “power distance” to describe the phenomenon. It leads not only to massive corruption as with Najib and his 1MDB heist, but also loss of innocent lives, as with Korea’s national airline’s many deadly debacles during the last decade of the 20th Century.

 

         Korean Airlines then was cursed with many fatal crashes, leading to its temporary ban from American airspace in 2001. The one major and consistent contributing factor uncovered during the ensuing investigations was that in each instance the junior officers knew that their captain was undertaking dangerous maneuvers but dared not challenge him. There are life and death consequences to this undue deference and unquestioned loyalty to one’s superiors.

 

         Fortunately, the airline’s chief executive recognized the wider ramification of the underlying pathology. In Koren culture and thus language, as in Malay, there are literally dozens of synonyms for “I” and “you” depending in the social status of the addressee and the addressor, akin to the Malay “Beta” and “patek” when a sultan addresses a peasant. 

 

         There are considerable ramifications and implications to such clear demarcations of social status. Can you imagine a “patek” correcting a sultan even when the latter is in gross error and endangering himself and others around? If a Korean First Officer is reluctant to correct his erring Captain, imagine a “patek” with a Tuanku! Therein lies the problem in Malaysia, specifically Malay society.

 

         With Malaysia modernizing, one would expect this regressive feudalistic trait to decline and fall on its own weight. Far from it! This odious cultural artifact is even more embellished, elaborate, and

becoming entrenched. Peruse Malaysia’s royal awards. Every nation has its own system of recognizing her exemplary citizens, and for good reasons. By doing so, society is implicitly displaying and honoring its values in the hope that others would be inspired to follow in the footsteps of those honored. American honorees include sportsmen Tiger Woods and Muhammad Ali, writer

Toni Morrison, musician Bruce Springsteen, and physician-scientist Anthony Fauci. It would be unnecessary to mention their accomplishments; they are obvious.

 

         Contrast that to the Malaysian list. All Chief Secretaries to the government would receive a Tan Sri no matter how inept. Ali Hamsa had one; he was the top civil servant when the 1MDB heist happened. Likewise, all Chief Justices would get a Tun even those caught on tape “fixing” cases on the phone with defense lawyers, as with the infamous case of “Correct! Correct! Correct!” V K Lingam (the Datuk defense lawyer) and Tun Ahmad Fairuz, the Chief Justice involved. More than a few of those honored have been convicted of crimes, including former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib.

 

         These royal honors are aggressively pursued as they are lucrative conduits to riches. Government officials and others become unduly obsequious when these titled businessmen seek approvals for their projects. They get what they want, no questions asked. Thus school

roofs caving in and luxury high-rise hillside apartments collapsing at the first downpour because their contractors are titled individuals and their application permits not scrutinized.

 

         Business magnate Robert Kuok related in his memoir meeting Malaysia’s first Prime Minister, Tengku Abdul Rahman, soon after independence. He wanted to discuss ideas on developing the young nation. The Tengku did meet him, but Kuok could not get his attention as the Tengku was consumed with looking up ancient Malay literature for civil titles he would be dispensing on Malaysia’s first Merdeka Anniversary!

 

         The corrosive effects of feudalism are far and wide, as well as alive and entrenched. That is quite apart from its inhibitory effects on one’s propensity towards critical thinking.

 

         Next:  Language As a Barrier To Critical Thinking