Bersih 2.0 : SMEs pay the price by Behonce Beh - Malaysia SME, The SME Paper

By Behonce Beh

A call to rally for electoral reforms in the form of Bersih 2.0 resulted in a lock down Kuala Lumpur coming to a standstill. SME businesses and traders were caught in the middle and forced to shut their businesses on two of the busiest days of the week.

On Saturday July 9, about 50,000 people thronged the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Under normal circumstances, this would be an ideal figure for traders and retailers as such a crowd would be inclined to spend money during the weekend. This weekend however, was really quite different. The 50,000 people were there as protestors, all calling for electoral reforms under the umbrella of Bersih 2.0. Fear surged through the business community of Kuala Lumpur as reports in the mass media overflowed with information on stringent roadblocks, massive traffic. Chaos outside the city and arrests of people wearing yellow t-shirts. Traders resorted to closing their shop for the day, for fears of being looted or attacked by an angry mob.

Businesses that were open were subdued. Trade took a nose-dive, with few patrons milling around as almost 90% of the shops were closed. A check on traders surrounding the city centre on Saturday morning proved that a once bustling city was reduced to an eerie silence. Initial checks on Petaling Street at 10am showed that most shops were closed and the many push carts that usually dominated the street were unseen. Foreign tourists that were spotted in the area looked baffled as many famous eateries were closed for the day.

The odd one out which remained open was Kiat Loong Stationery Supplier along the popular Petaling Street. “We decided to remain open as we hoped for some business from the police or those attending the rally,” said the octogenarian pair operating the store, who both wished to remain anonymous. “When the May 13 riots broke out years ago in 1969, we remained open until they declared an emergency.” Traders around the Jalan Hang Lekir market looked bored as many were seen chatting with each other, lamenting the lack of buyers and shoppers. A tofu seller who goes by the name of Choo was busy packing up unsold tofu and giving it to fellow traders due to the lack of shoppers. Other stalls around the market were closed or in the midst of closing; their wares of poultry or fresh vegetables unsold. “If they want to protest, they should do it like how it was done in Thailand. Their way of protest is by sitting down at a specific location without much movement. That way, the damage to businesses is minimal,” said Choo.

Moving towards the Pasar Seni LRT station at noon, many people were seen loitering around the station. They were obviously protestors, armed with backpacks and towels, waiting for the right time to start moving. Other major business districts in the city such as Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (TAR) and Jalan Masjid India were steeped in silence as police barricades had been set up in front of Sogo, blocking traffic from entering the street. Big brands along Jalan TAR such as Princess, GS Gill, Coliseum, Sharafali, and SSF remained closed. The only crowds seen at Masjid Jamek consisted mainly of photographers and journalists, waiting for the protest to start. The first sign of any ruckus in that area started at 12.30pm, when an unknown protestor marched onto the street and started shouting. A restaurant that was previously open immediately rolled down its shutters.

The crowd which was earlier seen loitering around the station, swiftly moved into formation, surging towards the police barricades.A taxi driver lamented the lack of people in the city, having only one passenger prior to our ride from KLCC to Bukit Bintang. “Getting into town wasn’t a problem for me as I know which alternative roads to take in order to avoid the roadblocks.I had no choice but to look for passengers today as I still have my overhead costs to look after,” he said. Upon reaching Bukit Bintang, it was already 1pm. Shutters at the entrance of BB Plaza were half closed, but the mall was still open to the public. Tourists were seen thronging the mall, but not many were shopping. Most shops in Sungai Wang Plazawere closed with jewellers, cellphone retailers and money changers taking precautions to avoid any unnecessary looting.

At 2.15pm, news had already broken that the protest was closing in around Jalan Bukit Bintang. Existing traders in Sungai Wang Plaza responded by closing their shops and calling it a day. For traders who insisted on operating their business, it was obvious that their cash registers were not ringing as they should. Madras Jeweller manager M.Vasudevan of Jalan TAR said that his outlet suffered losses amounting to almost RM100,000 as a result of not being able to operate on Saturday due to the demonstrations. “Some of the business owners wanted to take the risk and open their shops but were advised not to by the police.

“I hope this will not happen again as it is just costly for us if we are not able to operate our businesses,” he said. Meanwhile, the Association of BumiputeraTravel and Tour Agents (Bumitra) president Mohd Ayub Hassan said that the closure of several major roads in the city to thwart the demonstrators had jeopardised several tour activities and affected the income of agents. The association, which has more than 300 members, said in keeping with a directive from the Tourism Ministry, had given preference to the safety of tourist and kept them away from the “sensitive” spots during the demonstration.

Pertubuhan Usahawan Kecil dan Sederhana Malaysia (Ikhlas) president Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah issued a statement estimating losses for small traders in Kuala Lumpur to be about RM100 million. “The rally has made life difficult for the 5,000 traders and their families as they were not able to operate on Saturday,” he said in a press conference. Malaysian Retailer-Chains Association (MRCA) secretary-general Valerie Choo told MALAYSIA SME™ that its members had been greatly impacted by the rally. “Most of our member’s retail outlets were forced to close. Those that remained open were without customers as most roads leading to the city were blocked,” she highlighted.

When asked on an estimated figure of losses, she was quoted saying “at least a few million ringgit.” The question remains as to why the rally was taken to the streets, when a less disruptive alternative to businesses was offered. The police on Friday proposed for Bersih 2.0 to be held in Stadium Melawati Shah Alam. Attempts to contact Bersih 2.0 chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan for comment were futile. Regardless of what took place on July 9, there are no winners but plenty of losers. The losers are the business community, small traders, and retailers that were caught in the political crossfire, and could not do anything about it.

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Money talk - Part 3

1. If solipsism is true, the only way to change your life is to change your mind :)

2. To be a good Leader-Manager, you must clarify goals and ask questions; why achieve or not achieve & what to do next

3. Work extra hours, take up projects outside your job scope. I have never met a 9-5 person who becomes a CEO or capable Top Management

4. Your main job in any business organisation, no matter which department/level is to CREATE a CUSTOMER and help your company keep him/her happy

5. To be lucky, work hard :)

6. Never ask or expect perfection. Learn to manage imperfection only then you can make things happen - and succeed :)

Catch part 1 and part 2 if you missed it

1MALAYSIA: The Twin Challenges by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar

After two years of 1Malaysia, it is obvious that certain segments of society are sceptical whether the concept is capable of fostering national unity. While there may be many reasons for this, we shall highlight two major concerns often articulated by these sceptics.

A section of the Malays on Peninsular Malaysia (and a few Indians and Chinese) wonder whether 1Malaysia is achievable when we have separate language streams at primary school level. Ninety per cent of Chinese children and fifty per cent of Indian children,at the most critical phase of their lives in terms of the formation of fundamental values and attitudes, donot have the opportunity to interact with Malays in the same age category. The situation has been aggravated by the increasing number of Islamic religious schools. How can an ethnically polarised primary school system create an environment that is conducive for integration?

At the same time, among a lot of Chinese and Indian Malaysians, there is a pervasive sentiment that ethnically skewed policies in education, the civil and public services, and the economy hinder and hamper the 1Malaysia ideal. They feel that the Special Position of the Malays and Bumiputras, as provided for in the Malaysian Constitution, and the way it has been implemented, are a stumbling block to national unity.

Both an ethnically polarised primary school system, on the one hand, and Special Position, on the other, will remain with us for a long time to come. For the Chinese community in particular, the Chinese school has become the bastion of its identity. Similarly, for many Malays and Bumiputras, Special Position is that entrenched constitutional provision that protects their rights within a competitive capitalist economy in which real power lies with the upper echelons of the Chinese community. These are perceptions which cannot be ignored in our endeavour to evolve a united nation. Our challenge is to transform these perceptions without causing a major upheaval in ethnic relations.

As far as the school system is concerned, we should adopt a two-pronged approach. Avenues for effective interaction among pupils in the different language streams should be enhanced. Establishing a common football or badminton team or setting up computer clubs that will draw pupils from the different streams and even those in religious schools together are some of the yet untapped avenues for interaction. What about a common monthly school assembly or a shared sports day or a shared annual concert? The Wawasan School idea mooted in 1985 aimed to do some of these things but it evoked strong opposition from sections of the Chinese community and was subsequently abandoned. The time has come to revive and refurbish the concept.

The second prong would be to make our national Bahasa Malaysia based primary school more attractive to all Malaysian parents regardless of ethnicity and religion.Yayasan 1Malaysia in fact submitted a 10 point proposal to the government in February 2010 aimed at improving the quality and image of national schools. Among our recommendations were the rebranding of the national school so that it is perceived as “multi-religious and inclusive”; the recruitment and employment of quality teachers; teacher training programmes that strengthen awareness of what national unity entails; improving the standard of English; effective teaching of Chinese, Tamil and other vernacular languages; emphasising shared moral values; reducing bureaucratisation in the administration of schools; and ensuring that education departments and the Ministry of Education become more representative of the multi-ethnic population mix. If these reforms are implemented with the sincere support of all communities, it is quite conceivable that over time the national school will emerge as a truly national institution.

With Special Position, it is so important for Malaysians to understand its roots, its evolution and the real reasons for its institutionalisation. Not many people know that the constituent elements of the Special Position of the Malays--- land reservations; public services positions; educational scholarships; and trade licences--- were spawned during British rule as a way of protecting the people of the land who were being marginalised by the colonial economy. They were integrated into the Constitution of independent Malaya in 1957 mainly because the conferment of citizenship upon a huge segment of the non-Malay populace on incredibly liberal terms --- in the twinkling of an eye, from 15 % of the citizenry, Chinese and Indians became 40%---- intensified the vulnerability of an abysmally poor people.

It is irrefutably true that the expansion and enhancement of Special Position through the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1970 was a major factor in the economic and social transformation of the Malays. Within 40 years, absolute poverty within the community has been reduceddrastically (in 1970, 49.3% lived below the poverty-line; in 2010, it was 3.2%) and the Malays have emerged as a significant component of the middle and upper echelons of society. It is this massive transformation that has brought stability and relative peace and inter-ethnic harmony to the country. It has allowed a functioning, though fettered, democracy to take root.

But the implementation of Special Position and the NEP has its downside. The wealth gap within the Malay community has widened considerably partly because some individuals have exploited and manipulated the NEP to further their own interests. The NEP has also had a negative impact upon sections of the non-Malay communities. It has curbed and constrained educational opportunities and social mobility for some of them.

In order to address both these shortcomings, the government should give greater emphasis to social justice in the policies and programmes emanating from Special Position. Only those who deserve assistance, from the perspective of justice, should be helped. Likewise, if justice demands that a non-Malay is given a helping hand or that his accomplishment is recognised and rewarded,the State should not hesitate to respond, in accordance with the constitutional provision on “the legitimate interests of the other communities.”

But justice itself should not be viewed through a communal lens. This is the bane of many a multi-ethnic society, including ours. If national unity is to be achieved, if 1Malaysia is to become a reality, we should approach justice from a more holistic and balanced perspective.

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Yayasan 1Malaysia and Professor of Global Studies, UniversitiSains Malaysia.

6 August 2011.

Ketuanan Melayu, Bangsa Malaysia and being first and foremost Malaysian

What is ketuanan Melayu?

Historically, ketuanan Melayu has existed for many decades based on Malaysia’s origins as Tanah Melayu. However, only in recent years, the word ‘ketuanan’ has been laden with so much emotion that to have a decent discussion about the word itself may end up going nowhere.

Is it important for us to talk about ketuanan Melayu?

Yes, now it has become important because the term ketuanan Melayu, if not properly understood, will divide the country. And because of that we need to deal with it.

What do you see is Ketuanan Melayu?

The word tuan from our day to day usage implies ‘master’, or someone who is dominant. And some even use the word ‘supremacy’. This is nonsensical. If we understand the Malay culture, language and history better we will see the word ketuanan Melayu originated from the word Tuanku. Which is how a typical Malay subject will address their ruler. So ketuanan Melayu is the contraction of the word ‘ketuanan raja-raja Melayu’. Based on that, perhaps today it is more appropriate to use ‘kedaulatan Melayu’, or Malay sovereignty. Not mastership, but the sovereign state of the Malay entity. Our constitution attests to this.

Do you think the Malays believe that they are superior?

No way! I have strong convictions that the Malays do not see themselves as the superior race. This is because it is totally against the Islamic teaching professed by them. The Islamic tradition will tell you a story about Bilal. In the story of the first bilal, the one who calls for azan (yes his name is honored with the act of calling for prayer), he was a black African slave. When he went up on the Kaabah to call for prayer, a few people asked him to come down because he was a black Negro slave, but Prophet Muhammad told them that there is no difference between an Arab and a non-Arab, slave or no slave. Most, if not all Muslims, are familiar with this story.

Why then do certain sections of Malaysians equate ketuanan Melayu with Malay supremacy?

There could be many possible reasons - politics being one of them. At the general masses level, I see ignorance as the number one reason. The fact is that not many Malaysians really know and understand the evolution of Malaysian history. Furthermore many are stressing this type of ketuanan as a reaction to what they see as an attack on the Malay position.

If so, perhaps it will be clearer if we talk about kedaulatan Melayu?

Yes. Kedaulatan Melayu speaks of two things: the Malay culture and the sovereignty of Malay rulers. ‘Melayu’ here refers more to culture rather than race. It suggests that budaya Melayu should be the shared brand of Malaysians. And kedaulatan refers to the sovereignty of our rulers as gatekeepers of our cultural identity. So Ketuanan Melayu should be seen from the context of kedaulatan budaya Melayu, which is the Malay culture (including native cultures of Sarawak and Sabah) should play the central and larger role in the Malaysian brand.

Why is this idea of sovereignty so significant to the Malays?

It was the main crux of nationalism in the early days of Malaya. The Malayan nationalists of the 1930s, the Malayan Union of 1946 and the Malay nationalists who marched towards Merdeka between 1946 and 1957 all had kedaulatan Melayu as their motto, battle cry and justification.

How should we approach ketuanan Melayu or kedaulatan Melayu?

I see that first and foremost, we have to explain what ketuanan Melayu is and to do that based on facts, leaving out the emotional sentiments. We need to explain it clearly that it is not that we are saying one race is better than the other. And on all sides, we need to learn to accept what it really means. Again it is crucial that we leave out all emotional sentiments, leave politics out of it too.

What does kedaulatan Melayu mean today?

It means that while we practice our different cultures, we have the Malay flavor in our shared cultural identity. As a nation we need to have our own identity and ours can be budaya Melayu. For example, kedaulatan Melayu today could mean that all Malaysians are able to speak Malay and write basic things in Malay. And all Malaysians may own Malay traditional costumes, for example, almost every lady I know, Malay or non-Malay, has at least one baju kurung.

During official functions with our raja-raja Melayu, we can dress up in Malay traditional baju. If we attend the opening of the parliament of Dewan Undangan Negeri, we can wear baju Melayu. I’m not saying we should allow it to replace our other traditional costumes. In unofficial events, we can wear our own traditional costumes, in fact even better if Malays wear the Chinese costume, Chinese wear the Indian costume, all that. But when we go for official events, we honor the Malay budaya, speak in Malay. Its not about superiority, its about maintaining the Malay flavor as a shared culture.

The Malay culture is a beautiful culture. It has been around for more than 2000 years, from the early days of the Kedah civilization. There must be a lot of gems this culture has to offer. In peribahasa for example, we can find lots of elements which are similar to Chinese and Indian traditions. These are the precious elements of budaya Melayu which all Malaysians should know; we should start introducing it in school and from there it can continue to be cultivated.

Will the same apprehension occur towards cultivating budaya Melayu?

I see the apprehension stemming from when we introduce budaya Islam as a core of budaya Melayu. But kedaulatan Melayu is kedaulatan budaya Melayu, it is not about religion – we can all practice the non-religious elements of budaya Melayu.

In other words, we have not paid due focus on the universal, non-religious aspects of Malay culture. I see it as something we need to bring to focus on at the ground level, in schools, from Standard One right up to Form Six and even to universities. One of it as I suggested earlier is the peribahasa. The Malay culture has really solid peribahasa – beautiful ideas and lessons wrapped in simple words – gems, thoughts and lessons from the past.

What are other non-religious elements of budaya Melayu which all Malaysians can adopt and share?

For example, let’s look at the baju kurung. I think all can wear the baju kurung, but not necessarily the tudung as the basis of the tudung is more Islamic. Similarly, a baju melayu doesn’t have to come with a songkok. If you go to Bali, you’ll see Hindus wear it; we see it in Myanmar as well – it’s Malay culture.

We need to see the distinction between Malay culture and Islamic elements, only then can we have a national culture that is inclusive to all in our nation. If we want to propagate the Malay culture as a favorable environment where all Malaysians can share one national identity, we cannot make the culture exclusive. If we force Christians, Buddhists or Hindus learn Islam 101 in the first year of university, it is understandable that they are apprehensive; the same way Muslims won’t like it if they were made to learn Christianity 101. But budaya Melayu; what’s the problem?

What are some ways we could foster budaya Melayu as the shared cultural brand of our Malay, Chinese and Indian communities?

I see a few things we can do at the ground level. For example at schools, once a week we can get our students to wear baju kurung and baju melayu during school assembly days. When we were young, and in some schools even today, it is compulsory for the guys to wear ties. Let’s wear baju melayu instead, once a week, including those in the Chinese and Tamil schools. And of course in Sabah and Sarawak they can wear their own cultural costumes.

Besides that we can teach traditional arts to our young children starting in primary school, teach them a traditional dance and handicrafts like how to make a kite, for example…just like in Bali, by the time they are ten years old the children know their traditional dances and arts. We must make sure that by 12 our children should be able to at least perform a few traditional activity well; like mak yong dance, dikir barat, dikir laba, zapin, joget, kite making, keris making, batek printing, etc.

And again I see peribahasa as a good way because it is something that can be shared by everyone. It basically encapsulates universal values which everyone can accept and relate to. We should really discuss having classes for peribahasa in schools. For example the peribahasa ‘sediakan payung sebelum hujan’ is applicable from as basic as Standard One students, right up to businesspeople – it’s a fantastic thing, which we have to be well prepared and frugal with what we have. Peribahasa is wonderful - we can use it as a base to introduce budaya Melayu or kedaulatan Melayu.

What about our identities as Malay, Chinese, Indian?

It is all a part of being bangsa Malaysia. We are from different ethnic backgrounds… we have to understand that there is nothing wrong about being racial. A person who is racial is not necessarily racist. Let’s say you are Japanese, obviously you would like your own Japanese race as that’s who you are. Similarly in Malaysia, if you are Chinese and you dress like a Chinese, you eat using chopsticks and you love Chinese classical music, there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re just being racial. It is quite natural.

So you’re saying its okay to be racial?

You can call it being proud of your own race. It is how we grew up, so it is natural that we like being that way and we like hanging out with people who share the common symbols as we do. For example, for those who grew up in Kelantan, in universities they continue to like hanging out together. When it becomes racist is when we look at other races in a negative, vicious way. When we start to say, ‘yes I love my race, but your race is stupid’, then it becomes racist.

How can we be united while we are proud of our own races?

As Malaysians, while we each have our own race and culture, we also need a unifying symbol as bangsa Malaysia. It is okay for us to be racial, proud of our own race, yet count ourselves as part of the bigger bangsa Malaysia. The tagline we should all remember is “It’s okay to be racial, it’s not okay to be racist; but its best to be Malaysian first”.

What does it mean to be Malaysian first?

When we go overseas and someone asks us ‘where are you from’ and we say ‘I’m Malaysian’, they might say ‘you don’t look Malaysian’. And you’ll ask ‘what does a Malaysian look like?’ Because we know that we all look different, and yet we’re all Malaysians! We are a gamut, a mosaic of people. So when we look in the mirror, we should see ourselves and recognize that we are Malaysians first, our race comes second.

What is bangsa Malaysia?

I see everyone in the nation as bangsa Malaysia regardless of what we call ourselves. We are really a diverse group of people – it doesn’t mean for example if I’m Kadazan and I behave in a certain way, I’m not bangsa Malaysia. It doesn’t work that way for any community or individual.

One who is bangsa Malaysia is one who actually chooses to stay in this country, who loves this country and who pays taxes here. I can go as far as someone who decided to live here for some time – for example, one’s negara asal could be Indonesia but he’s been in Malaysia for twenty years, dah jadi macam Malaysian. Its like me, for example, I’m from Penang, proud to be Penangite, but I’ve lived in KL for twenty six years… so I guess I’m more KL-ite now.

How can we begin to recognize ourselves as Malaysian first?

By being committed to the concept, by truly wanting it, and by making a public commitment.

How to absorb all that is Malaysian first so we can practice it?

Be open to all Malaysian culture and at the same time absorb the budaya Melayu if you are not a Malay (or if you are a Malay who have live and grew up devoid of the cultural heritage). An easy way is to go make a friend outside your own ethnic group. We are living apart. We need to hang out and chill out more wirth each other. Go live, work and play with them.

I keep saying this because it is so simple yet so important. Find a friend from a different race; find a friend from a different state. Don’t forget, we’re not only talking about between races but between all kinds of polarism – between Peninsular and Sabah and Sarawak, between Penang and Johor, between the poor and the rich, between the modern and the conservative.

The thing we need to understand is that God created this world in diversity. We should enjoy this diversity; love it instead of just seeing each other as different, like the other person is a toad or something.

Go make a friend, go read about another culture; there’s a lot we can have access to even in the internet now, if only we would take the step.

Instead of the Keris

Can you explain a bit about the Keris?

The keris has a long history in South East Asia. It is seen as a symbol of bravery, valor and knowledge. Its heritage is not just as a weapon but it also has cultural value as a beautiful artpiece. We can see it used, for example, during Malay adat-adat istiadat… even during weddings. For the aristocrats, to have a keris by their side showed high status. They don’t use it to go around killing people or peel pineapples; it was more a cultural thing.

Are there similar symbols in other cultures?

There is the kirpan for our Sikh brothers. Even Guru Granth Sahib carried a kirpan. Another similar emblem is the swords carried by Europeans, a symbol of valor rather than a weapon of destruction. A lot of people think that the keris is a weapon, used to kill. I don’t think traditionally the Malays carried it around as a weapon poking people all the time, and I don’t think they use it to peel apples, or fruits or whatever. It is more something they carried as a symbol of status, a beautiful artifact.

What about how the keris is seen as a symbol of political power in certain events in the past years?

The issue is how we use the image of the keris - what we say when we use it, that is the issue. Honestly, I don’t see it as a problem. To me, if someone wants to carry a keris and say ‘in the name of keris’, its alright, but I see it as a paganistic act.

In some instances, they use it more as a symbol of saying, ‘I will defend our valour – not just my race, but the country’. If this is the case, I see it as a non-issue.

What is the real issue?

The issue is that here in Malaysia when someone does something like that, it is seen as, ‘I am going to wield this keris to hurt someone’ – it becomes a symbol of attack. That’s not a good idea. So the problem is what people say when they use the symbol of the keris, not the keris in itself.

After the bad publicity and negative connotations, should we still use the keris as a symbol of anything?

I tell you what the problem is - many Malaysians don’t know that there are not many keris makers left in Malaysia. I’ve heard that there’s only one keris maker left, somewhere in Kelantan or Terengganu. Most of the keris we have here are imported from Indonesia. And here we are arguing about the keris and all that.

The real issue is that we have this beautiful cultural art piece and we should strive to preserve it. It is a good heritage of Indo-Aryan connection here for us, not just in Malaya but also for the rest of South East Asia.

What is the cultural value of the keris?

A long time ago, this region was called Nusantara, the Malay land - South East Asia. If you go to Borobudur in Java…you’ll find that keris actually has a very strong Hindu influence. Its called Ngeris there - it means ‘to stab’, in Javanese. It’s bears the idea of passion, chivalry and national pride. You can see all the stories of Lord Durga carrying either a keris or a version of pre-modern keris. It is part of the history of South East Asia. Instead of saying we shouldn’t use the keris anymore, we should actually embrace it as a cultural heritage.

Is the keris a good symbol as a rally point?

I see the way it has been used by some Malay leaders in recent years is as a symbol to urge the Malay mind to move forward. If this is their intention then I don’t see the keris as the best symbol to use. I see the keris as a good symbol, but not the best option as it can easily be misunderstood. Just to put it plainly, its not something we would pass to a young child or youth, even if it was just symbolic, made of plastic.

What is the alternative to the keris as a symbol?

I’m suggesting – and I’ve been suggesting this for the last many years – we should use a book. Hold up a book. If we still want the symbol of the keris based on its cultural value, then we can print an image of the keris on the book.

I think it’ll be nice to have Malay leaders hold a book up and say, ‘we use this because books bear knowledge’. That will be a gesture that is more powerful. At the end of the day, we need to realize that knowledge wins. I mean, with solid knowledge, we can probably make a keris with lasers on it.

Why books?

A book is definitely a better idea. The Malays are generally Muslim, and the first word revealed to Prophet Muhammad in the Quran is ‘read’. And obviously that is stronger than holding a keris. Reading is a big thing in all Malaysian traditions. For the Chinese, Confucius says –

‘if you’re planning for a year, sow rice;

if you’re planning for a decade, plant trees;

if you’re planning for a lifetime, educate people’.

And among Hindus, they have a practice of holding books with honor, kissing it. Our traditions really place reading in high importance, but it is not something we practice enough.

What will be the advantages of using a book as a symbol?

There is a strong connection between books and our tradition. If we say to young Malaysians overall, not just Malay Malaysians, we say, the knowledge that you can get from a book is how we are going to move forward as a people – its more real, more practical … and you can give a kid a book, you cannot give a kid a keris.

I see that it can be a real practical catalyst. If we really cultivate this idea, more parents will stay home and instead of watching TV for two hours every night, they may sit down and study with their children, check on their progress in school. I see that as the way forward. If some still see the keris as a unique symbol, they can print it as a symbol, but it is books they should carry.

How can we start pushing this idea of books as a symbol of progress?

Our country has its historical base from a feudalistic environment, so obviously our people are still very leader conscious. I would like to say that everybody should start it with themselves, but in this country that might not work. I see this also in business organizations. If the boss plays golf, everybody will also play golf. If the boss is a karaoke singer, everybody will sing karaoke. Now if the boss carries a book, everybody will start carrying a book.

Similarly in this case, I see that our political leaders should start first, of course starting with the Prime Minister. But not just politicians, people who are in arts, even sportspeople, must push for reading, because you learn about the body, about muscles and methods… you learn so many things from books.

I don’t know if our politicians read this blog - the Prime Minister, or Ibrahim Ali who carried a keris and caused a big fuss. If Ibrahim Ali, who considers himself a champion of the Malays, truly loves his people, he will tell them to read books, not carry a keris.

And if you do that, then trust God, because God says ‘Read’. In fact the Quranic verse is very interesting, it says, ‘read in the name of your God, who teaches you what you knew not’. It says that those who stop reading and stop finding out, they are arrogant. The Quran says, if you think you know enough, you are arrogant.

And books can be used as an emblem for all Malaysians from different backgrounds as well?

Correct. A research done by The Economist magazine many years ago found that there is a pyramid where quality of life correlates with how many books and the quality of books people read. It was a widespread research, not just in a first world country like America, but also countries like Malaysia. And they found out that the people at the top internationally, people like Warren Buffet and CEOs of multinationals, read about fifty books per year – an average of one book a week.

If you go through the pyramid to the lower strata, are the people who do less and less reading. At the bottom stratum are people who read, but they read things like ‘kisah kubur terbakar,’ all those funny kinds of books. So if we look at this research, it will definitely be better to use books as a symbol. There are no negative connotations, you don’t take a book and go fight a war…you use it to do good stuff.

Isn’t the education system doing this?

Well, education system is one thing. But reading should be a larger lifestyle even beyond that. Honestly I was a very bad student, I didn’t study a lot…but I was reading a lot. In university I clocked almost four hundred books in four years. And they were not the books I was supposed to read for the exams. So we cannot put it down to just education system. It’s a day to day habit, it’s a culture we must cultivate. Reading is so important. We need to really make sure that our people make reading a culture. And our leaders, not just the leaders from the Barisan side, leaders like Anwar Ibrahim, Ustaz Hadi and Lim Guan Eng, all of them should say -let’s go and read. This is above politics.

How can Malaysians cultivate reading as an icon of progress?

Books and reading are so easy to do. I sell this to parents in my training programs – parents should block between 7.30 – 9.30 p.m. at night for reading. The TV people will not like me for saying this but I believe in this time, families should not do anything else but read. On weekends they should go for reading trips maybe, and read as much as possible. I’m not saying read and do nothing else - I’m just saying, use what you have… you don’t have to wait for the government. Instead of buying gold stuff for yourself, buy more books for your children.

The Gathering of Youth for Unity 2 – Ringgit & Sense: How to make money and keep your principles report

We had good fun on Saturday morning at ‘Ringgit & Sense’, our second Gathering of Youth for Unity. Thank you to all who came and made it a meaningful event with your presence.

Here are some pictures from the gathering:








We had altogether about ninety one participants who showed up from various organizations, business corporations and as individuals. We are also excited because we went LIVE for the first time, and had more than 1800 people following the program online.

We hope those who came had a good time, and are sure you’ve picked up some things to start taking action on from today onwards. Just remember, heroes may always lose first but they will win in the end! Save, save and save! Keep to the contracts we have between God and us, whatever He has given us is enough, we have the power of will to make money and keep our principles always.

If you want to request the notes from the two talks, please drop a comment and include your email address.

Perhaps a good gauge to the response of the gathering was the pledges that were made. At the end of the gathering, we got the participants to write down three things they pledge to keep. Here are some samples of the powerful stuff going on that day. We take our hats off to you guys!

“I pledge to…

- improve personal skills and strive to reach higher level
- quit smoking
- read more
- bring food to the office
- stop spending using credit card
- to live a truthful living
- my ‘tough’ boss is neutral; I’ll use my will to make the best
- ‘buy experiences, not goods’ – a motto to live by
- Save 50%, seriously look into property investment
- save more money for my retirement starting from today 30/7/11
- to actually focus on what I do have and not on the negatives
- remember the world is neutral, and God is merciful
- I will not mismanage any ‘perks’ from work
- Save at least RM100 per month
- NEVER EVER take a bribe
- Teach and practice how to save money with my family ”

If each of us keeps to these, make money and keep our principles, surely we will make the world a better place.:)

Let us add value,
charis ding
zubedy ideahouse