PROLIFIC academic Arshad Ayub said government agency Mara has lost sight of its mandate to help the Malays and its responsibility to uplift their standard of living.

The Merdeka Award winner today said Mara, which is supposed to safeguard the welfare of Bumiputeras, had “forgotten” this, and that its current leadership does not fully understand the aims of the agency.

Those who had “forgotten” Mara’s targets were, instead, only doing what was necessary to get by and were not invested in uplifting Malay welfare. 

“Trust was bestowed upon Mara and UiTM (Universiti Teknologi Mara) by the government to uplift the Malays and Islam… but they have forgotten.

“Do they truly understand the trust they have been given?”

“Are they ready to act with integrity, sincerity and transparency?” Arshad told veteran journalist Johan Jaaffar during an interview as part of the Bicara Minda programme organised by Sinar Harian in Shah Alam today.

Arshad, 91, had been involved in the establishment of UiTM in 1966, which was then only an institute. He was the first director of the education agency that has since produced hundreds of thousands of Malay professionals.

Arshad said that Malays were falling behind other races in Malaysia as they are deemed to be less trustworthy and lack positive characteristics. 

“One of the problems Malays have is the mentality of only doing what they are paid to do.  

“I did not. I regarded the task given to me as a trust given by the government,” he said, referring to his experience when assigned to lead Institut Teknologi Mara between 1967 and 1975.

Arshad criticised the attitude Malays have of not taking advantage of opportunities given by the government to better themselves.

“The government has spent a lot for the betterment of the Malays, but they are not taking full advantage of this.

“Being rich doesn’t necessarily mean becoming a millionaire, but that we are satisfied with the things we have. 

“Like me, I will not stop. I have assets in Langkawi that I want to develop and I will not simply sit on it,” Arshad said.

He added that, as Muslims, Malays could not neglect their religious duties either, and that these needed to be observed throughout one’s life.

“As Muslims who seek to enter Heaven in the afterlife, one must fulfil their religious duties. But in this life, sometimes, we forget.

“We only have 24 hours a day, so we should use them wisely.

“We always have a choice, and we know what is expected of us. If we want to do more than is expected, that is our choice, too.” – November 29, 2019.