Dina Zaman: From P. Ramlee types to high brows

Reproduced from The Star, 12 September 2008:
http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2008/9/11/columnists/awriterslife/20080911072939&sec=A%20Writer%27s%20Life

From P. Ramlee types to high brows
A WRITER'S LIFE - By Dina Zaman

Putting a handle on the Malay Malaysian can be mind boggling. It depends on who you talk to and what his life experiences are. I DON’T believe that all Malay men and women are lazy, idiotic and lost causes. I know of many who work so hard to feed their families, and I have met with very kind-hearted people in my field of work. I have met with women who come from traditional backgrounds who volunteer to assist People Living With HIV and street kids; and I have a good bunch of Malay male friends who try to make me fat when we meet for makan, and have been supportive of my career.

What we questioned when we met throughout the month of August was this: Was all this angst about being Malay, and the what-nots, a middle-class thing? The working class, according to Zaidel, is more concerned with livelihood. As a local graduate who comes from a lower middle class background, and has now a study loan to service, all this was just pure drivel. “I’m assuming from the comments in your Facebook notes and emails, that all these people have non-technical degrees. Law, politics, communications and so forth. Me and my friends – we’re geeks,” she said.

“We see things differently. We don’t want to be what these aspirants want to be: middle class. Frankly I think we have this P Ramlee syndrome. And another thing, all that talk about being ashamed of the NEP, yet how much it has helped them. Oh another thing, why are they so ashamed of speaking in Malay?” No one is defending the salaried man. The Working Class, be it Malay, Chinese, Indian or everyone Malaysian. And that is what Barisan Nasional or whoever it is must look into.

“See all this intellectualising by these supposedly English speaking liberals – and may I borrow a quote from former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad – detached intellectual discourse by intellectuals who want to display their intellect? You think the grassroots really care what they say?” Zaidel asked.

Two weeks ago, I had written an article based on my meetings with my male friends. They were from their mid 20s to their early 50s. Most of them were locally educated, and a good number came from working class to middle class backgrounds. One didn’t have a degree but is now a successful bonds trader, and while four benefited from scholarships, the rest took loans or paid their way through university.

One spoke to me in Queen’s English, all plumy and marbles, three spoke to me in fluent Malay – because they spoke and thought in Malay at work, home, play and they were proud of it – and the rest communicated in the hybrid we use when we speak with friends: English, and then Malay, then back to English (no, not Manglish).

One felt he was a marginalised Malay, and for that, I paid the price, for quoting him, because as far as the rest of Malay-Malaysia was concerned, he erred on the ethno-religious aspect and hence his views were not valid and not to be considered.

What puzzled H, my partner in crime, who operates a research centre, and I, were the vitriolic emails wanting the poor marginalised Malay man’s blood for even daring to speak up about his love of plonk. I had written about my respondents’ feelings about culture, the NEP, their fear that the Malays as a race would die if we kept on insisting on being dependent on a welfare state and throwing away everything that was their heritage. And that was all some of my rabid readers zeroed on.

And yes, the jubah issue. All two men asked was whether Malay women were embarrassed by their national costumes, that that was why they chose to wear the jubah. My Facebook and email creaked from the flurry of comments. Let me get this straight: these men did not imply that wearing the hijab meant a woman was backwards. Their wives wore the tudung! Hence, this has led me to think that a good many people out there do not understand language, its nuances and complexities. They read what they want to read, and if need be, create the reality and impose that on the article (and others). I’d say something more rude, but it’s bulan puasa.

All these brickbats were good. Keep them coming, for H and I plan to work on a project and are seeking funding: its working title is Minda Melayu. We’re planning field studies and a poll of what Malay Malaysians really think about race (their own and others) and Malaysia. When this takes off, I’ll be doing this wearing a suit of armour, and a huge pile of Xanax in my handbag.

And so the comments and emails came in fast and furious. A good number who did benefit from the NEP realised that the NEP was weakening the race, while another good number disagreed. One wrote in and told me that we Malaysians should be grateful we’re not poor Bangladeshis; to which I responded, we Malaysians have a lot to learn from Bangladesh. Obviously the poor sod has not heard of the Grameen Bank and Bengali laureates like Rabindranath Tagore and Amyrta Sen. And why, I asked the reader, couldn’t we aspire to have public amenities that are given to the Swedes, Norwegians, such as paid maternity and paternity leave, excellent public safety and healthcare, for instance? “Oh, itu negara kafir.”

August and September have proven to be very highly entertaining and informative months. Mr What If and I met and discussed whether he’d make a great Pahlawan Melayu (fella’s having a crisis: he’s half Malay and half white). Over the last weekend, two pieces of news entered the public consciousness. One was a short interview with Dr Sham Rahayu Ab. Aziz who likened egalitarian Malays to poison to their own race, and that there was a huge difference between liberal Malays and constitutionalised Malays (Melayu Perlembagaan).

The other, by Muaz Omar, was a commentary about disassociating Malays from Malay supremacy. The earlier news piece was picked up by a blog, and the comments drove home the point that while all this clamour is good because we have been so repressed (!), we are warring among ourselves. Sept 16 is around the corner. Will race and faith no longer be relevant if changes are afoot?

Madame Dina and her crystal ball says more sandiwara will happen. Aummmm.