The Malay Ideals: Attitudes to Success

"The Chinese for example had had to grapple with difficulty through their historical experience that their customary ideals were very much directed towards industriousness, efficiency, persistence, determination and strenuous efforts. Even their schools recognise the importance of this that their pupils are grounded with schoolwork so much so that a normal pupil of ordinary school would cringe in fear at the thought of it. But this is a necessity in their educational system and it is for the benefit of the pupils in the longer term, it disciplines them to become tough, to possess a resilient work ethic and to be enterprising in life generally.

The Chinese too always expect success. In contrast, to the Malays, success is a luxury. Mediocrity is expected. Therefore when a Malay achieves a certain feat, it shall be; surprise. To the Chinese, this is usual and failure would be a surprise. This expectation of success to the Chinese places positive pressure on their fellow people to strive harder because it is a communal expectation. The Japanese on the other hand place themselves the top of the hierarchy of Asian people. This places positive pressure on the Japanese to surpass others.

Every human being is born with a feeling of self-importance and self-pride. Pride can be productive in stimulating a people with a feeling of superiority that places positive pressure on them to excel. To the Malays however, the feelings of pride and superiority are usually taken to be negative, pride should be abhorred. This is because the Malays have placed humility to be the characteristic nature of their people. Therefore, they have not fully utilised the immense strength of pride which could impel them to greater heights...

Certain Malay values that may be suitable during the times prior to colonialism may have fallen out with the advent of the immigrant communities who were more entrepreneurial and competitive. The values of the Malays ought to also change to accommodate these changes and an adaptation has to take place to achieve a new equilibrium. If this were left to their own devices, the fittest and the most able would extinguish the weak. Peoples and races replace one after another. Languages become extinct as an everyday spoken language such as happened with Latin and Hebrew, only to be artificially revived later in the 19th century in the case of Hebrew. Animals and plants also meet the same fate. Human beings are not free from such dangers either. Bones of extinct ‘human’ races have been dug out by anthropologists. If the Malays are continuously left trailing behind in progress and subjugated, and refuse change, then, they too might become ‘extinct’, even if not literally but metaphorically...

Success is Seldom Valued

Another major reason for the Malays’ lack of academic achievements is the nature of the Malay people themselves and their attitude towards success. The Malay attitude does not contribute favourably towards being a successful student. For instance, the Malays do not usually view the successes of others as something to look up to. Success, to a Malay breeds contempt and jealousy. If a Malay person is successful, other Malays would frequently feel uneasy. They would then focus upon the less positive side of that person's character, in order to find fault.

If there are any Malay students who diligently go to their classes and sit in the front rows of lecture theatres, they are often accused of aspiring lecturers’ attention, seeking favouritism or trying to impress him or her, but not their real intention of wanting to listen clearly and or not to get easily distracted from the noisier back rows. If the diligent Malay students constantly frequent the library and are always found to be at work, he or she would be characterized as being "unfriendly", ”antisocial", trying to emulate the Chinese, being a book worm and taking leave of the Malays. In which case, they would customarily be isolated. To be intelligent, resourceful and hardworking is thought to be "un-Malay"."

--- The Malay Ideals / Asrul Zamani


Bonus: From the back cover:

THE MALAY IDEALS, basically revolves around the Malays, their religion, lifestyle, thoughts and their attitude and it focuses on, what the Malays have been, what they ought to be and what their influence would do to Malaysia, in directing its future development and progress. The actual and current situation of the Malays are seriously reviewed in this book. Some of the topics discussed in the book are on Islam, Judicial system, Malay Value, Education & etc. which could be a ‘food for thought’ for the readers.

The author Dr. Asrul Zamani bin Mohd Ismail, who is a medical practitioner by profession, had conducted an extensive research before expressing his views and opinions in this book.

The Malay Ideals will definitely be an ‘eye-opener’ and would inspire the readers to fulfill the aspirations of our Prime Minister..

Every Malaysian patriot should read this book, irrespective of their standings or political alignment.

The Malay Ideals: Wealth Accumulation and Pessimism

Wealth Accumulation

The postulations that the Malays were disinclined to work are not completely true. Actually, there are reasons for them to lack the motivation in accumulating wealth. This unwillingness to accumulate wealth had always been emphasised to show that the Malays were indolent. Because they were lazy to accumulate wealth, it was purported that they were indolent as a people.

For the Malays who existed centuries earlier, even if they were industrious, the profits would more often than not be confiscated by the Sultans and other leaders for fear that commoners would gather influence and following, and eventually lead to a power strife. Therefore, to a Malay man, even to toil for greater gains would be hazardous to his own existence. The Sultans or the Rajas were preoccupied with entertainment, and involved in vice without any concern for their subjects. Subjects were treated little more than slaves and as such, whatever little wealth the subjects accumulated would be exacted from them, if there was a need. Conspicuous wealth merely attracted the attention of rulers and chiefs who would forcefully appropriate these belongings from the commonfolk. The subjects were not allowed to have fine looking houses, nor the adornment of the self with expensive materials. Beautiful young girls would ultimately be taken away and kept as wives or concubines. The vying for power and of prestige among the members of the aristocracy, and the submissiveness of the commoners resulted in many excesses being committed by the aristocracy. Lawlessness prevailed. The men then became preoccupied with their krisses and the art of self-defence at the expense of work because this was the only way they can protect themselves and their families. There was no security for life nor was there any for property. A folklore telling the story of a pregnant young lady who was killed and then had her stomach sliced open because she was accused of stealing a jackfruit from the tree within the Sultan's premise illustrates cruelty that was rampant and malignant then. Within such an atmosphere, no community in this world could have had any motivation to make a better living for themselves and to accumulate wealth, with the exception of the notables. Man needed a purpose for work, and if you take that purpose away, the most industrious will be the most indolent...

The illogical and irrational connection between an action and its resulting outcome may in a way promote illogical and irrational thinking in the Malays themselves.

It is a characteristic feature of Malay oral and written literary traditions that themes such as family conflict, human aspiration, achievement in education, great success in economic activities are left untreated, unformulated and unmentioned. The nature of the social system and economy, the exclusiveness of the aristocracy, and the intellectually and motivationally stifling environment of the commoners are chiefly responsible for the lack of an awareness of such issues and concerns. A cursory glance at many sayings, similes and proverbs present in the Malay language that are widely used by the common folk will reveal that roughly two-thirds of them have pessimistic or negative meanings discouraging wealth accumulation, suspicion, lack of confidence, class society, sweet talking, irresponsible conduct, and others. These include, ”kalau tak bermeriam baiklah diam" (be silent if one does not possess a cannon), ”seperti anjing menyalak di pantat gajah” (like the dog barking at the elephant’s rear), "kalau tak berlela baiklah meredha” (without the swivel gun, it is best to resign), ”ada udang sebalik batu” (hidden agenda), "air yang tenang jangan disangka tiada buaya” (do not mistake for a calm river not to have its dangers), ”sudah jatuh ditimpa tangga" (as if it weren't enough to fall, the ladder lands on top), "human di seberang laut nampak, gajah di depan mata tidak kelihatan" (germs beyond the sea is visible but an elephant in front of the eyes is invisible), "jauh berbau bunga, dekat berbau tahi" (a relative faraway is always thought of but a relative enarby always ends up in quarrel)... "biar kalah asal menang sorak" (let us lose as long as we win cheers), "biar papa asalkan bergaya" (let us be poor so long as we are fashionable)... "kalau kail panjang sejengkal jangan laut hendak diduga" (if your fishing rod is a span long do not try to test the sea), "anak kucing tak adan jadi anak harimau" (a kitten will not become a cub), "ludah ke langit, timpa batang hidung sendiri" (spitting at the sky your own nose will get wet), ”tepuk air di dulang terpercik muka sendiri” (smacking the water in the tray it will cause it sprinkle onto yourself)... are all negative similes and proverbs.

By comparison, sayings, similes and proverbs that carry optimistic and positive meanings, those that encourage unity, care, sacrifice, industry, self-reliance and thrift for example are fewer in number and not dominant themes in the traditional Malay values. Literary elements that stress upon the importance of knowledge and acquisition of wealth is even a rarity...

There are also sayings which reflect potentially optimistic attributes, denoting strength, courage and persistence for example. But most of these are usually employed exclusively in criticising others i.e. used in a negative fashion. These include ”kancil hendak berak gajah” (the mouse deer wants to imitate the elephant), ”ular lidi hendak menelan naga” (a tiny snake wishes to gobble the dragon)... ”kaki untut dipakaikan gelang” (putting a bangle on an elephantitic leg), and others.

The presence of many negative elements within Malay literature may have been a reflection of the degree of extensive pessimism that plagued the Malay community. They might have been borne out of a community that dreaded reprimanding others directly for fear of repercussions and for the reason of not wanting to cause hurt. Reticence is often required within such a community make up. To circumvent this, elaborate similes, maxims, sayings, proverbs, metaphors, figures of speech, hyperbole, folklore, myths and other oral or written literary inputs, were thus produced, for the the purpose of criticism. This allowed the common Malay man to criticise fellow members within the society indirectly using stories, parables, similes, proverbs and others and thus causing minimal hurt.

The question whether initially Malay philosophical inclinations spawned a mirror image of ideals in its literature, or elements within literature had moulded Malay philosophical standing is not important here. What is of essence here is the effect of the dominance of these negative elements within literature which perpetuates a philosophy of life of the Malays which might be deemed unprogressive by current standards. Customs and habits determine a person's personality. The abundance of negative popular literary elements that are pessimistic and negative in outlook and orientation perpetuates a custom and habit of negativity in the Malay person himself. Negativity reinforces the feeling of inadequacy or inferiority. A state of inferiority complex, malady, despondency, and doubt will have crept in. Children and adults pick up these elements from their community's frequent usage of the oral literature. Children learn from their parents and grandparents. Adults absorb them from other adults. Literary elements are internalised by the Malays. These become informal "teachings" or "advice" which will affect the character of the Malay person over time.

--- The Malay Ideals / Asrul Zamani

The Malay Ideals: lndolence Perpetuated (On Malays Being Lazy)

[In contrast to the Chinese and Indians] The Malays on the other hand when forced to work for the benefit of the colonialists made a silent protest by doing as little as possible and resisted following instructions. This perpetuated the notion of the lazy native or the stupid. native. The English constantly foisted the idea that they were the most excellent and honourable while the natives were the worst kind of people. Over decades, the Malays began to believe in this propaganda and thought themselves of being incapable of doing even the easiest job on the face of this earth...

Indolence Perpetuated

The Malays were unfortunately well known for their indolence and laziness, unjustifiably so. This is primarily thought to have stemmed out from centuries of evolution. The Malays are from the Polynesian group of people who used to be nomads wondering over great distances in search of better living conditions when their group had grown larger. The Polynesians stretched over thousands of kilometres from Sumatra to the New Guinea and even as far as the South Pacific and Hawaii. Because the conditions of the land and the seas as well as the forests were so rich in the abundance at food. supply and resources, there was little need for innovation, exertion and hard persistent work. An hour’s toil would produce food for a week, it is said, and meanwhile, to fill their time, they would indulge in excessive entertainment and relaxation. This conduct is passed from one generation to another by way of culture and passive learning through observation and experience. In addition, the climate was swelteringly hot and humid which sapped their energies and strained the most industrious of the Malays, in which persistent hard work would be impossible, it is argued.

We however believe that this is a problem of values and observation. The Natives from all over the world, from the Aborigines of Australia, to the Eskimos of the Arctic; the Amazonians of South America to American Indians of North America; the Natives of Central America to the Natives of Africa, if anyone observes these peoples, who are hardly touched by industrialisation or the hectic metropolitan life, he will have perceived that they are somewhat "indolent" by Western standards. Western standards dictate that a person has to be seen of hoarding massive amounts of wealth in order to be classed as successful. Who works day and night to accumulate a mountain of money. Who has to stampede one another in the rush for more gold and glory. Who has to compete every single day to maintain his “successes” and to thwart any affronting competition. Always on the look out for fear that someone might shove him off his pedestal of achievement and take over his temporary kingship. This is the standard of success and industriousness of the West where greed has taken toll of their lives. Where wanting is not enough but wanting more and more is good.

With the Natives however, the above precepts are not yardsticks of success because materialism has not taken sway of their lives. They have not been touched by the so-called ”civilisation”. There has not been a population boom in their communities that necessitate a struggle for existence. They work with nature and relied upon it to replenish their sources of food. They do not destroy their environment. They allow nature to resuscitate itself. They take time in hunting and fishing. They take time in planting for their daily meal. Food is plenty for everyone if they do not try to plunder it. They seek self-sufficiency. There is no competition where one tramples upon another. There is humility and courteousness in the lives of natives. They are not puffed up with pride unlike the Westerners who think that they are the most knowledgeable and the noblest of mankind. The search for personal wealth seldom occurs with the natives "untouched" by civilisation. They do not compete, but they cooperate. They cooperate with people. They cooperate with nature. There are no losers. There are only winners. They do not horde gold but they share whatever little profit there is to share. They assist one another and mutually benefit one another in their own community. To the Westerners, this is laziness and indolence. To the Natives, the Westerners are just greedy, a classic difference of values.

Even so, a casual observer may note that when a Malay declines to undertake upon a task, whether it be a work or other ventures, when questioned, the Malay would usually give the reason that he or she is just "malas” (lazy). With the Malay person, there is a tendency to use the word universally for any excuse. The reason for not venturing with the task at hand is of course not laziness. However, the word is summoned at every occasion as an excuse. This is because the questioner would not ask any further upon hearing that answer. It is more of a reflex answer and a habitual response than a thoughtful and reasoned explanation of unwillingness to perform a particular act. The Malay person rarely ever gets lambasted for the frequent mentioning of the word. The use of the word is never censured in the Malay community either. Other communities only use the word ”lazy" as a last resort to justify their unwillingness to work. They would employ more reasoned explanations, such as "tiredness", “being unwell", "not in the mood" or "busy” and others. Understandably, the Malays frequent use of the word gives the impression to outsiders that the Malays are indeed a lazy people.

Nevertheless, there is an inherent danger of misusing the word "lazy". When the word "lazy" is summoned almost all of the time, the Malay society unconsciously and inherently tolerates laziness. This is achieved through constant, daily and widespread use of the word within the community. When other communities see indolence as a trait to be despised, the Malays unknowingly see it as acceptable. "Laziness" and its acceptability in the Malay community is promulgated through its constant reference by Malays themselves. This helps to spread the attribute in the Malay individual indirectly. Passiveness in selecting the proper word to explain the proper reason for inactivity is mirrored in the easy attitude that they take when working, which is a reflection of a mentality which prefers to take things easy, avoid hardships, which conjures up the picture of a people lacking in commitment. This could have resulted from the Malays' acceptance of laziness in their culture and attitude and the fact that this character (laziness) is something not to be feared but inadvertently embraced

--- The Malay Ideals / Asrul Zamani


Among other things, the author is saying that as per the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, Malays have become lazy

The Malay Ideals: Conflict Avoidance

Tolerance Bar None

The Malays by nature are very tolerant, humble and unassuming people. They are probably one of the most tolerant races on the face of this earth... The Malays are so tolerant and accommodative to the extent that when a Chinese or an Indian speaks in Malay to a Malay individual, the Malay person would spontaneously alter his manner of speech and talk to suit the Chinese or Indian speaker. The Malay would vocalise words to the extend that he would speak Bahasa Melayu the same way a Chinese or an Indian speak his broken Malay. This still widely occurs today...

Conflict avoidance will always come into play. The Malays will usually retreat away from facing the problem that confronts them and adopt a timid-like posture of reaction. Thus, they become less aggressive and seem unable to meet challenges thrown in their path. It is not that they cannot face challenges, it is just that to the Malays it is the most common mode of mechanism in dealing with stress, avoidance. Had they faced these challenges and stresses, without doubt they would be able to handle them, but they chose not to, therefore, stresses were avoided but they would not have better themselves in the process...

Conflict avoidance is also the reason why, the Malays try so hard to avoid confrontations as much as they can and have over centuries developed the kind of tolerance, courtesy and politeness not seen in any other nations on earth. This level of tolerance and the humble nature of the Malays were even acknowledged by Raffles when he first came into contact with the Malays. The Malays developed a penchant for compromise and appeasement not seen in other communities. That is why, grievances were kept hidden, and ultimately they could not remain inside much longer and an outburst occurs in the form of amok and directed at all including the innocent bystander. This tendency to avoid conflict much as possible has led the Malays to be rather sensitive individuals, they avoid “attacking” other Malays openly and expect others to behave in the same manner towards them. Not surprisingly, the unwillingness of the Malays to confront directly has led them to resort to an extensive use of the ”surat layang” (poison-pen letters)“ in order to express dissatisfaction, if they were no longer able to hold down their feelings. This unwillingness to confront, has also led Westerners to stigmatise the Malays as being docile without justification. Out of the nature of a hierarchical community structure of the Malays, came out other Malay values such as respect for the elders, loyalty, hospitality and generosity. All as a result of the way the community was generally made up. That is why the spirit of collectivism is highly overweighed against the spirit of individualism in the Malay world. And as such, there is little desire for personal wealth and acquisitiveness.

--- The Malay Ideals / Asrul Zamani

The Malay Ideals: Simple Nature of the Malays

Simple Nature of the Malays

Traditional Malays usually worked in the paddy fields or were forest product gatherers, boatmen and fishermen. The Malays were used to a relaxed atmosphere as a way of life. The environment and the easy life of the equatorial nations over thousands of years may have produced this mentality and contributed to the ”malaise” of the Malays. This problem does not only beset the Malays but almost all Polynesians. Possibly this is a genetic trait of the Malays that has been imparted from times gone by. It could also be due to the inclination of the Malays to make marriage ties with close relatives that amplifies recessive genes...

When the emigrant community arrived in Tanah Melayu in the 19th and 20th centuries, this value and nature of the Malays have made them less prepared to meet the highly competitive spirit and industriousness of the emigrant communities, who had come from far away places and had faced extreme vicissitudes in their lives and had escaped the dire situations and conditions in their homeland. More importantly, those who ventured out were also highly entrepreneurial who bore extreme will power and had been educated under extreme adversity. Those who were less ready and less able to make great sacrifices were left behind. The former became known as the overseas Chinese and the overseas Indians...

Most of the indentured labourers who had made their way way to this "newfound land" were coaxed and lured into believing that the trail of riches lied in their path. They came to Malaya and were found instead to be abused and treated as forced labourers... all of these experiences hardened the Chinese and Indians and better prepared them for their eventual success. They had to do their best in the new country because because their bridge had been burnt behind them and had to struggle with all their might to survive.

The Malays conversely had not faced such hardships, as had the immigrant communities. Life had been fair and comfortable because they had decided, paraphrased, "not to participate in the capitalistic schemes of the Westerners”, and spurned participation on being mere labourers, and stuck to doing what previous generations had been good at; that being occupied with traditional occupations. Thus life was tolerable to most until however, the emigrant community arrived and especially after the surrender of the British. At this juncture, they were ill prepared in the face of serious competition; the competition for commerce and in other economic activities. Most Malays were unable to cope and they retreated further into the remotest part to escape the natural consequences that would have been unavoidable had they remained where they were.

Inability to Meet Challenges

This phenomenon is still occurring within the Malay community, the lack of inability or unwillingness to meet daily challenges that are thrown in their path. Those who stand firm in facing uncertainties or challenges that come their way, have been successful, but a great deal of the Malays prefer to veer away from the conflict altogether and scorn at making changes. They would rather remain the way they have been for generations. If a small town for example, underwent development and consequently had grown big with increasing population and with that crept increasing competition for survival, some Malays would then pack up and move to a more remote area that resembled their previous existence... some Malays would still cling on to the old fashioned way of living handed down from one generation to another i.e. the art of living with little effort and work.

--- The Malay Ideals / Asrul Zamani


Publisher's Note:

In line with the aspirations of our beloved Prime Minister Y.A.B. Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, this book THE MALAY IDEALS appears to be a 'wake-up call' to all the Malays who are still not completely independent, even after 45 years of gaining independence (Malaysia's Merdeka). The author, who is a medical practitioner by profession, reveals in his book the actual and current situation of the Malays, the 'new Malay Dilemma' as expressed with concern by our Prime Minister..

The author has conducted a detailed research on all the matters discussed in this book and substantiated the sources with facts and figures. Definitely this book will be an 'eye opener’ for all concerned Malaysians.

Hj. Dr. Syed Ibrahim.
Publisher