Where has the government gone wrong

Location: Putrajaya, 2000.

So when I was signed up to a kindergarten in Johor (Tadika Gertak Merah), I wasn't aware of such thing as 'skin color'. And when I went to the primary school, 'Sekolah Rendah Temengung Abdul Rahman', I was as happy-go-lucky as any fat kid could be. This was my original programming. 

I changed school many times during my primary school days - 4 to be exact. From Johor I went to Kuantan. In Kuantan I landed in St. Thomas Primary School. Oblivious to what was happening to my life, I adapted well to the new environment - making friends with all kids and having so much fun studying and playing in school . I had friends - great friends - Chinese, Indian and Malay friends. They were all fantastic - all special to me as they were; different culturally and same in spirit in our own ways. Soon in school I was promoted to become a prefect, maybe due to my having so many friends or maybe because I could get along with anyone. I studied well in school with my friends - we all studied together and wanted to learn. Towards the end of standard 6, I moved to a school in Melaka for 6 months and then finally to St. John's Primary School in Kuala Lumpur. Every time I moved to a new school I had the chance to renew my list of friends - Chinese, Indians and Malays - which to me, were all the same. By that time, you may guess how Malaysian I have been polished.

The next thing that happened only made the polish even brighter. I spent the next 5 glorious years in the St. John's Institution Secondary School. From form 1 to form 5 I sat together, ate together, played together, studied together with my fellow friends - Chinese, Indian and Malay - which by then were known to me as 'Malaysians'. We were all - integrated. We were 'one' - we called ourselves 'Johanians'. The spirit of La' Salle' brotherhood was in all of us - no color, no race, just utmost respect towards each other. Although at that time St. John's Institution was loosely known as 'the Christian La' Salle brothers' school' , I prayed in the surau on the top floor of the school with no issue. The Christian students did their own praying, and so did the Buddhists and the Hindus. Because it was not an issue it was not even something any of us cared about - do your own thing and no one cares. 

It was not until after form 5 SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia a.k.a O-Level's) that I had my first taste of the change to come. When I was small I always wanted to be a pilot. But my parents had other plans. Cut long story short, like any Asian kid, I was preferred to be either a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant or an engineer. I was terrible with money, I hated cheating people and I was not too keen on working under intense pressure when someone screams in pain. So I opted for the engineer option - working with machines were definitely my cup of tea. I couldn't see myself walking away from my passion that easily though. So I found out there is such a course called Aeronautical engineering that might just be the course for me. At the time, 'Aerospace' in Malaysia was not visible in the Malaysian radar so much. Mind you, this was way before the internet was born - this was way before LIMA Langkawi existed.

I saw my friends leaving for expensive colleges to do A-Levels after SPM, destined to become doctors, lawyers, accountants and engineers. Not understanding how they got so much money to pay private colleges at that time, I asked them. They told me they got the money from their parents who saved up for a long long time. I asked my parents if I could go to college with my friends. My parents had other plans. Because they didn't have so much saved up for my education, the only route was to apply for government scholarship. I was about to learn, my first lesson in the meaning of the word, 'bumiputra'.

At 17 years old, I began filling in endless application forms to apply for government scholarship as well as entry to local universities even into UPM (back then it was called 'Universiti Pertanian Malaysia'). While waiting for the results of those applications, I met up with some of my old schoolmates. Some were already living the 'cool' college lifestyle - partying, discoing and etc. . But majority of my old schoolmates were in the same boat as me - looking for money for higher education. I thought I was the only poor student around. I was wrong. Indian, Chinese and Malay friends - not all of us were wealthy to experience the cool lifestyle of our richer other friends in the college already. 

When the results finally came out, I did get the scholarship. But the offer was for studying Mechanical Engineering - 2 years A-Level's in PPP ITM (now known as UITM) + Year 1 in NCUK and last 2 years in the UK. It didn't sound too bad except that it wasn't Aeronautical Engineering. Nevertheless it was insane not to take the offer considering the situation. As some already know, that Mechanical Engineering down the road miraculously changed to Aerospace Engineering. It was nothing short of a miracle ... but perhaps that story is for another time.

I shared the news about my winning the scholarship with some of my friends what were still not in college but have applied for the same scholarship. None of my Chinese and Indian ex-schoolmates got it. I asked, 'How come?'. I asked because their SPM results and CV were much much much insanely better than mine. They didn't know. I felt sad for my friends. And I realized that this was the point when they became my 'non-malay' friends. The classification began. My non-malay friends were not only sad but they were angry. I knew they were not angry with me. They were angry because they didn't get the scholarship. I was sympathetic and at times, I felt a touch of guilt. We studied hard together, helped each other, laughed together, suffered together when we were in school. But soon, we had to go separate ways. 

I went ahead and studied like a good student, and did pretty well. I loved what I studied and I know for sure that was the significant reason why I did pretty well in my education life. I was lucky to went all the way to the end of 'formal education' line and got my PhD. By that time, yes, I was partying like a rock star in England. I am willing to bet I partied even harder than my rich ex-schoolmates when they were in college those many years ago. When I came back to Malaysia in 1996 I began looking for those ex-schoolmates who didn't get those scholarships. I thought it would be great to catch up but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I felt maybe they felt I had an unfair advantage just because I was born a Malay, by default I had all these privileges like getting scholarship to go for further studies. But boy was I wrong ! My ex-schoolmates were full of life ! Some worked like hell to find the money to further their studies with the help and support from their family and friends. Some worked like hell themselves!! Some became successful businessmen, went through the tough journey as entrepreneurs from scratch. A few became great musician; one had his band performing as the warm up band for Bon Jovi concert in Shah Alam stadium. I was so proud of them, still am. They didn't get government help to further their studies due to them not being born a Malay, 'a bumiputra' but they became strong and resilient from finding their ways to get what they wanted in life. Those who had their family and friends to chip-in to pay for their tuition fees became closer among themselves, hence stronger, helping each other out, sacrificing their time and money to see their smart son, brother, nephew, grandson, great grandson to become a graduate from a university. In return for these insane gestures, these friends worked their asses off, studying super hard like no other. Failure was not an option. They often came out as top students in their respective international universities. What better way to say 'thank you' to those who have sacrificed for you!

When I came back to Malaysia in 2000 after PhD, I began my career as a lecturer in UPM. I was fresh from England so you can imagine the state I was in - young, fresh, open-minded, energetic, full of ideas, ready-to-go and happily outspoken. It was probably the last trait that got me to be invited to see a minister at that time, who was very close to the prime minister. I got the invitation letter through the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. My first reaction was I laughed - happily and then, nervously. 'What does this minister want from me now?', I wondered. 

Rumors had it that this minister and the prime minister were nothing less than a tag-team powerhouse. I didn't want to waste the opportunity and quickly came up with a 'proposal' - as one would - a draft of a new Aerospace program for Malaysia. It was idealistic - full of hope and passion, a great project that would propel Malaysia as the hub of Aerospace in Asia. Came the day of the meeting, and I had the proposal all sealed up in a special envelop complete with the UPM logo on it.

I still didn't know why the meeting was called. Apparently, a few other professionals were also called up to attend the meeting - approximately 10 of us from various backgrounds. All 10 of us were Malays. But unlike any of the other 9, I had a proposal in hand. 

When all 10 of us were sitting in the boardroom, the minister came in. My first impression? He was much smaller than I thought! But such power he had. Everyone stood up. And you guess it, I was still sitting down and quickly stood up once I knew I had to do the same. When everyone sat down after the minister sat down, I was the last to follow. 

The minister began to speak. He asked us the first question. 'Where has the government gone wrong?'

My first reaction was, hide the damn proposal ! This was not the place for it.

I then noticed, the minister wasn't getting any feedback from anyone in the room. Wow ... the bizarre silence was ... bizarre. I almost felt a touch of rudeness from all 10 of us. I couldn't take it of course, being trained by the British and all, such question from a prominent leader had to be answered surely but there was no taker. But where would I start? The list was so long! How could I start?

I was saved. The minister continued and narrowed down the scope of the query by asking another question, 'Why are the Malays still so far behind, and the Chinese are so much successful today even after the government helped the Malays so much?'.

Boy oh boy ... oh Boy.

The silence in the boardroom after that was deafening ... 

No one dared to answer among the 10 of us so I had my chance to say my piece. The stage was set and I had a clear answer to that question dated back to my SPM days and beyond ! And boy was I eager to let it ripped! 

I raised my hand, and the minister gave me the permission to speak, a chance to say what I had to say. I told him exactly what I wrote above, that you have read. With no holds bared but in a gentleman way of course, as a professional and a Malaysian. As a scientist, I even gave the meeting an example of how trying to make a resilient virus weak only made it more powerful as nature had shown. In the course of helping the Malays in the way the government had executed, instead of making them stronger, majority had become weaker. They didn't have to work hard to get what they wanted and as a result, didn't get the much needed experience to tackle some of the problems faced by the country in all aspects of life - economy, education, politics etc etc. Like a human body that has been fed with antibiotics all these while, the body produced less of its own natural abilities to fight or become strong. I even threw in a Malay saying, 'Niat baik, cara salah'. Boy I was on the roll! The boardroom was pitched silence except for my voice.

I continued. I said, 'Look at what happened to the Chinese! They had no choice - they had to survive! To survive they had no choice but to work hard, damn hard and in the course, got stronger working together with themselves. And they began to evolve! And there was no turning back for them. And they don't forget easily! If I were them I won't either.'. By this time, I saw the minister's hands began trembling - no kidding. They were shaking and I thought oh boy was he having a heart attack? Maybe I said a bit too much.

What he said next I couldn't write here to preserve the harmony that is Malaysia. He didn't say it to me but to the points which I had said out loud. It caught me by surprise. And surprised I was. To me, it was irrelevant to the question he asked and the answer I gave. The room went silence after he said it. My reaction? I burst out laughing! I laughed so hard tears came out from my eyes. Well that changed the state of everyone in the boardroom including the minister. I think he saw the funny side of things too. But I think he understood the point I was making. I was happy I had the opportunity to say my piece which I kept for so long to someone as prominent as him. But more than that, I was truly hoping that Malaysia would (will) change, improve, and grow up. If you studied history you would know why the British had to work closely with the Chinese and the Indians too in Malaya during colonial years. If you haven't read history lately, please do. You will find out why even the British who helped Malaya (and took some for themselves) had no choice. I had that rare chance to make that change (and I still do), for what it was worth. AS MALAYSIAN, WE ALL HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER - the Malay, the Chinese and the Indian, there is no other way. It's God's given strength to all of us (not curse - unlike what some wants to believe).

The meeting went on for few more minutes, and then we adjourned. I approached the minister and extended my arms with a smile to shake his hands. I introduced myself formally and he asked, 'Ah! You are the aerospace guy, right?'. Wow ... ok I didn't expect that. I said, 'Yes, sir!'. And I handed him the envelop. I told him I have this proposal for him and for the aerospace program in Malaysia. I asked him if he would be interested to read it. He pondered for a second, and said, 'You know, I actually know someone who might like to read this. I will pass it to him and if he likes it, he will call you'. I wondered at the time who was this person who might be interested to read my Aerospace proposal. I shock hands with the minister again and thanked him for the opportunity to be invited for the meeting. He was pleasant, a true Malay gentleman. I liked him - still do. I was honored. I still feel that honor today. 

Few weeks passed, and I didn't know if anything happened after the meeting with the minister or to my proposal. Months later, I flew back to Southampton for my PhD graduation. And in the midst of the graduation party, my best friend told me I got an urgent email from Malaysia (back then there was hardly any access to emails, no whatsapp or the like). Something happened to my proposal. Someone very important wanted to talk to me ... about the proposal. Someone really big from Putrajaya - the One. ( ... to be continued).