South-East Asia

Where have the ‘New Malays’ gone?

Badrul Hisham

Dhu al-Qa'dah 02, 14181998-03-01

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... Painful realities, important lessons

It was not too long ago that the term Melayu Baru was the buzz word among the intelligentsia. In the mid-199Os, practically everyone was talking about the great social and cultural phenomenon known as the ‘New Malay’ generation. The ‘New Malay’ even made the headlines in the foreign press, with journals like the Far Eastern Economic Review commenting on the new spirit of pluck and bravado that was being demonstrated by the new Malay elite in the country’s bustling private and corporate sectors.

The ‘New Malays’ were seen as swashbuckling mavericks, macho men armed with their portable hand phones, Giorgio Armani suits and Mont Blanc pens (crucial for signing important business contracts). They drove around Kuala Lumpur in their expensive German cars that seemed to glide through the traffic jams with supernatural ease. Such were the heady beginnings of this short-lived legend.

But in the midst of the current financial crisis that has hit the far eastern and southeast Asian regions, the question on the lips of many commentators and observers is: “Where have all the ‘New Malays’ gone?”

There have, of course, been different examples of ‘new’ Malays. First and foremost were the corporate heroes of the 1980s and l990s, the new champions of industry and finance. They were once feted as the new heroes of the Malay ‘race’ who would man the helm of the nation’s economy and navigate the country into the bright new seas of the future. Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his personal economic advisor, Tun Daim Zainuddin, had worked long and hard cultivating this praetorian guard of economic warriors.

As Malaysian political scientist Khoo Boo Teik puts it: “They [the corporate elite] were not just individuals: they are the historically ‘new’ class of Malay capitalists and the ‘new Malay’ middle class which were largely engineered by the state. Dr Mahathir knew of no other class to whom the Malay future could be entrusted.”

But caught in the choppy seas of economic crisis, some of these corporate ‘heroes’ have decided to abandon ship. The conduct of some of the corporate figures during the early stages of the present financial crisis bordered on the sublimely ridiculous: many were seen hurriedly dumping their wealth and/or transferring their assets abroad.

Others were seen selfishly saving their skin by rescuing their own companies, even if it meant sending the wrong signals to the market, causing shares and stocks to plummet even lower than before. The ‘heroes’ did not seem all that heroic in the face of the economic maelstrom.

The other group of ‘New Malays’ are the urban-based western educated cosmopolitan elite. This species is known to inhabit the green hills of Kuala Lumpur’s exclusive elite quarter, in places like Damansara, Kenny Hills and Bangsar. Their globetrotting image is enhanced by the international crowd that resides in the same area: expatriates, business figures, models, literary types and Bohemian wannabes.

Some would argue that the patron saint of this group of ‘New Malays’ is none other than the daughter of the prime minister himself, Dato’ Marina Mahathir. A professional woman who is actively engaged in NGO activities known mostly for her work in AIDS related charities - she has come across as the voice of liberal middle class ‘New’ Malay sensibilities. Her new book In Liberal Doses reads as the unofficial manifesto of the new generation of Malay elite who are keen to see changes but are prepared to make no sacrifice in order to bring them about.

This generation of ‘New Malays’ is interested in vague, trendy notions like multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism, but seem curiously negligent about issues such as wealth redistribution, workers’ rights, and the inequities of the global economic and political system. Occasionally they manage to court controversy by lambasting the ‘ulama for their insistence on doing ‘illiberal’ things like objecting to beauty contests. However, few of them have been known to pen a letter to the press to complain about the conduct of the Zionist regime in Israel or the slow killing of thousands of children in Iraq by UN-imposed sanctions. ‘Trendy’ is the key word here: issues involving the death of Arabs thousands of miles away are just not trendy enough to get onto the cosmopolitan elite’s agenda.

Now that the financial crisis has struck home, it would appear, the ‘New Malays’ have proven totally ineffective in trying to change the course of events. As a privileged group with political and economic connections, they have shown themselves to be totally useless. Despite the talk of ‘psychological and cultural’ revolution, the elite culture of society remains as hierarchical and sectarian as ever, with the elite firmly at the top. Far from being the saviours, the ‘New Malays’ have instead proven to be the Malays’ biggest disappointment.

For political commentator and academic Rustam A Sani, it looks like the Melayu Baru phenomenon has come to an end: “They are an extinct species now”, he notes. “For the past ten years, this new Malay middle class has been busy building up their wealth based, thanks to the benefits of the government’s affirmative action policies which favoured them. They managed to make vast profits and improved the quality of their lifestyle through the process of crony capitalism that catered to a specific section of the community. But once they had made their wealth, they cared little for the society which they were part of. In the middle of this financial crisis, the Malay ‘heroes’ have been hiding under their beds.”

To illustrate this point Rustam gives a recent example: “When Prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed was on television talking to the public about the current financial crisis, many members of the ordinary public called to pledge their: support to the government. Many ordinary Malaysians said that they were willing to endure pay cuts and painful austerity measures, so that the economy might improve again. But what is interesting is that the private and corporate sector has been very quiet so far. While the public sector has made all the necessary sacrifices, with civil servants given pay cuts and cuts in bonuses, the corporate figures have not really committed themselves to any reforms. What is interesting is that it was they who got the country into the mess it is in now in the first place.”

This difference in attitude between the ordinary Malaysian community and the ‘New Malay’ elite is striking. Rustam notes the irony of it all in the midst of this national crisis. “While ordinary Malaysians are suffering in the country, one of the more prominent Malay elite was actually mugged in London ... his wife’s jewels that were stolen were worth millions of dollars. The fact that these rich people can walk around with millions of dollars on their bodies while ordinary Malaysians have to ration their sugar consumption tells us a lot about the differences in Malay society today.”

It would appear that the notion of the ‘New Malay’ is nothing more than an over inflated apparition with no substance. The fact that they were in the glare of the western media ought to have warned them that they were the next target. This has now become the standard pattern of the dominant global media: first they puff up your ego, then they burst it for good. The same fate was in store for Saddam Husain, who began his media career a the friendly puppet of the US and went down as the most evil man in the world since Hitler and Genghis Khan.

The “New Malay’ was likewise a media invention concocted by the media pundits of Malaysia as well as the West. While the going was good, the “New Malay’s” ego was boosted and massaged. But when the time came to kill off the character, the script called for a hasty an disgraceful exit, and off he went. Shaikh Bahauddin Naqshbandi’s advice should be a lesson for all: “Do not allow yourself to be swayed by the praises of others: these are just obstacles in the path of true development.” Egoism is no match for the painful realities of life after all.

Courtesy: Impact International, London.

Muslimedia: March 1-15, 1998

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