Race, national identity, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malays

Free Malaysia Today

14-06-2025

From Moaz Nair
Malays do not need to be under a 'big umbrella' to achieve economic progress in the country. Only hard work, honesty and a positive mindset pay.
Times have changed and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's big umbrella non-political concept, as he defined it, to unite the Malays is nothing more than a hidden political agenda criticised by the Malay political leaders themselves.
Malays are already well represented at all levels of the country's administration since the country's independence.
There are also numerous Malay-based political parties in the country, each claiming to champion the rights of the Malays. Can these parties be dissolved and melded into one single party for all the Malays?
This is politically impossible, as each of these parties has its own agenda – that is to seek power for themselves.
And to achieve this, they cannot work in isolation but associate themselves with Malaysian-centric political parties.
Just accept the fact that the demographics of Malaysia are represented by its multiple ethno-linguistic groups that exist in the country.
There are more than 30 major ethno-linguistic groups in the country and despite the diversity of its people there are earnest politicians working towards unifying and not dividing them.
The population is already divided by race, language and religion and they should not be further divided with divisive policies for political gains. The country hence does not need a big umbrella of any sort for any single race.
A Malaysian nation
Ironically, it was Mahathir during his first stint as prime minister who came up with an ideal concept of 'Bangsa Malaysia', which translates to Malaysian nation. It was an inclusive policy for all races.
This has to be nurtured in the country today.
It is a concept and policy to create a unified national identity for all citizens of Malaysia, regardless of ethnicity or background. It aims to foster a sense of belonging and unity across the diverse populations of the country.
The policy seeks to replace the focus on a Malay-centric national identity and embrace a more inclusive approach that encompasses all Malaysian citizens, sharing a sense of national identity and belonging, encouraging cooperation and understanding among different ethnic groups.
The policy emphasises values like cooperation, moderation, and the spirit of give-and-take, aiming to build a nation based on these principles and accepting the Malaysian Constitution as its key component.
The aim here is to create a national identity for everyone in Malaysia replacing the old focus on Malay identity.
Bangsa Malaysia in this context refers to the idea of togetherness and comradeship among the various races. It is not the creation of a Malaysian race as it is impossible unless, of course, all the races assimilate biologically and grow into a race with a single cultural identity.
The problem lies with the system
Imagine studying or working in a foreign country and you meet a person from your homeland: be it a Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Dusun, you would feel elated with an urge to become acquainted with the person despite our differences.
When we are away, we feel that we belong to the same nation and we share our experience coming from a country we call ours. This is one measure of Bangsa Malaysia and we have nearly achieved this.
The experience of Malaysians studying or working overseas testifies to this comradeship.
Why then the prejudice at home? The problem lies with the system. We cannot deny that politics, economic disparity and social and cultural preferences have made us perceive ourselves as divergent groups of people living together.
We label every person by his race and religion and, in the process, polarise people further.
From kindergarten to the workplace and until death, we come across countless forms and processes requiring us to identify our race and religion but not nationality first. A child can't help but grow up with prejudice as he is always made to feel different.
We are culturally different but can still share our experiences to create a nationality. The whole notion of creating a Bangsa Malaysia is to foster a deep love for the country, that is, patriotism.
To achieve this, all races should be represented at all levels to create a sense of belonging to this nation.
A state need not belong to one race, one religion or one way of life to be called a nation.
Differences may lead to conflicts, but we should not let them deny us the aspiration of creating a Bangsa Malaysia.
We need more tolerance, mutual support and respect for each other to achieve unity, even with all the diversity around us. Let us then achieve unity despite our diversity.
It is the Malaysian-first mindset that would nurture Bangsa Malaysia. Mahathir's latest Malay centric focus after no more in power is nothing more than another desperate political agenda to further divide the people.
Moaz Nair is an FMT reader.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.