SOCIO-CULTURAL Adviser to the Government Rais Yatim recently wrote well and publicly on the subject of “Lets walk the talk, Malaysia is our home”.

He is right. But, we should also walk more and talk less to strengthen national unity! At this time, we seem to talk more rather than walk more for national unity.

The good former minister proposed that “we need to return to the basics of high culture”, of good breeding and positive values.

These values are intrinsic in our Constitution and Rukun Negara, but they have been neglected, he says, “in the abyss for far too long”.

As a result, he argues, “we have not achieved the maximum dividends of national unity via Rukun Negara”.

Rais is spot on. Indeed, we have become less united over the years! We have, instead, experienced more polarisation.

Rais clarified that “we teach too much of ‘what we get’ instead of ‘what we give’”. He compares the education of our students at an early age in good breeding, or what he calls “high culture”, to that which is taught to Japanese children.

He argues that this makes them more united and patriotic.

He believes that patriotism, which is essential, especially as we celebrate our 60th Merdeka anniversary, will come naturally from the teaching of the “high culture” values of good breeding.

But if we continue to teach values of “what we get” rather than “what we give”, we cannot, as Rais indicates, achieve greater national unity or patriotism!

He is frank and his comments are worthy of wide discussion, especially as we approach our 60th Merdeka anniversary.

Policies that don’t boost unity and patriotism

We have to be honest and admit that our national policies do not all lend themselves to creating greater national unity and patriotism.

Instead, some policies can be deemed divisive and actually weaken national unity rather than strengthen it!

This is because our policies and teaching are based on “what we get” and not “what we give”. And, we all know that many Malaysians get much more than others on the basis of “what we get” rather than “what we give”!

In fact, some of our so-called “unity policies” promote disunity, greed and exclusiveness, even among low-income Bumiputeras and others whom the government pledges to help.

Indeed, those Malaysians who get more are the elitist groups based on ethnicity and religion, the already affluent, the privileged and the strongly protected. These include those who are not worthy of getting the extras and the icing on the cake.

So, those who are neglected and marginalised from all races naturally feel alienated. Thus, the marginalised, understandably, have a lesser sense of belonging and patriotism, and even less national unity.

For these “left-outs”, their enthusiasm for Merdeka and the celebrations and the future is filled with trust deficits and even some sense of hopelessness.

This is ominous for our future national unity and resilience, and is not healthy in the long term for our country!

Those who feel neglected, frustrated and alienated are those deserving Malaysians who can’t get jobs, scholarships, promotions, contracts and licences, and many other perquisites, although they would ordinarily be qualified for these opportunities.

These are the marginalised groups that cannot be won over with grand Merdeka celebrations, and exciting and expensive Sea Games and all the showbiz.

To these neglected Malaysians, we need to add those who feel religious persecution, those who are victims of corruption, and those who experience unfair justice and a lack of hope in the future.

New policies and a new way forward are necessary

There has to be new policies and a new way forward to provide a more even playing field for all Malaysians.

They need to experience much more inclusiveness, and not exclusiveness. Malaysians need to feel that they have got a stronger basis to feel more patriotic.

Just being exposed to “the basics of high culture”, while necessary, is not sufficient to build greater patriotism and to strengthen national unity.

We need to do more than talk more to strengthen national unity. We need to practise what we preach – lest we get more disillusioned with achieving national unity.

The trust deficit has to be wiped out sooner rather than later for Malaysia to progress faster!

New Malaysian values must be devised based on the Constitution and Rukun Negara, and must be fairly conceived and properly implemented. They have to apply equally to all Malaysians, inclusively and not exclusively.

The New Economic Model must be implemented in full and not causally or sparingly, and New Economic Policy abuses should be eradicated like white ants.

Then, and only then, will we, as Malaysians, be able to walk and not just talk about strengthening patriotism and national unity, for a better future for all Malaysians.

Let this be our challenge and resolution for our 60th Merdeka anniversary, please!

Selamat Merdeka! – August 25, 2017.

* Ramon Navaratnam is Asli Centre for Public Policies chairman.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.