MALAYSIA’S Budget 2021 repeats the same old mistake – the erroneous belief that throwing money at a problem will solve it. As in the past, billions are again being allocated to Bumiputera institutions like Jakim and Jasa, as well as to Mara and UiTM. Despite such generosity, now and in the past, there has been no appreciable improvement in Bumiputera competitiveness vis-à-vis non-Bumiputeras.

Stripped of their fancy acronyms, Jakim and Jasa are but public works programmes for otherwise unemployable Bumiputeras. Those institutions go beyond. They are responsible for Malays not being competitive. There is little incentive to; the likes of Jakim and Jasa are ready to employ you. If you want Malays to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the nation, as is the aspiration of all Malay leaders, then get rid of those institutions.

As for the billions for Mara, it will continue to squander that by sending Malays to third-rate universities abroad, though, thankfully not in the same massive numbers as in the 1970s and 80s where they sent Malays abroad even for Sixth Form! As for UiTM’s bountiful windfall, none will be used to recruit English and Philosophy professors. Then we wonder why our students have abysmal English fluency and are incapable of critical thinking.

The “help” Malays are getting from their government reminds me of an old Reagan advice to ranchers in the west. “When you hear, ‘I am from the Feds and I am here to help’, run to the hills fast!”

With Jakim distracting Malays to be obsessed with getting into Paradise, there would be that much fewer left to ensure that we do not suffer our own collective Hell right here and now in Tanah Melayu. For every Malay consumed with revealed knowledge or prophetic traditions, that would be one fewer to do research on Covid-19, or clean the environment.

What Malays need are better engineers and architects, not more exquisite Quran reciters and mesmerising ulama with their fire-and-brimstone sermons. Consider Malaysian masjids. One showpiece mosque in Kuala Lumpur has acres of open marble floors that are unwalkable because they are exposed to the blazing Malaysian sun. I suppose, to be charitable, that was part of the design – a preview of how hell will be like! Even with recently completed masjids, there are extension cords everywhere as the designers did not anticipate the electrical outlet needs. In Kelantan, the most “Islamic” state, you cannot get clean water to do your ablution.

When we do get those few Malays away from this obsession with religion, we do not let them practice their craft. Instead, we seduce them into doing something else, like administrative chores.

It breaks my heart to see those few Malays of my generation who were trained in the sciences being seduced into becoming pseudo-ulama. I would have thought they would have served as much-needed role models for the young in the kampungs by being productive in their respective fields.

It is sad to see the first Malay PhD in mathematics now touring village mosques giving khutba (sermons) on the supposed past glory of Islam in the Malay world. A more worthy legacy would have been for him to establish institutes of mathematics to encourage the young to pursue the subject. Another, also of my vintage, abandoned his doctoral work in mathematics at a prestigious university to go into religion.

I am also saddened to see the few precious Malay scientists and professionals not being rewarded and honoured, not for their sake but as a societal statement to inspire the young. The honour of emeritus professorship is being heaped not upon those few precious Malay pioneers in the sciences and professions, but in Malay and Islamic Studies. We already have a glut of them. Meanwhile, we keep harping on the lack of Malays in the sciences.

My late father had an apt observation on that misplaced priority: Membajakan lallang (adding fertiliser to lallang – a particularly tenacious weed).

A Christian cobbler would best show his faith, wrote Martin Luther, not by carving crucifixes on the shoes he makes but by making them durable and cheap so the poor can afford them. Likewise, Muslim engineers would best demonstrate their faith in Allah, not by carving intricate Quranic verses on the bridges they build, but by making sure that during floods, more water will flow under than over, and that there are no unexpected right angle turns at mid-point.

Islam is a great faith. It has withstood hordes of Mongol invaders as well as Stalin’s brutal suppression. The faith does not need defenders, least of all from these characters in Ikim and Jakim.

Islam cannot advance in Malaysia if Malays are overrepresented in the socially dysfunctional categories. Getting rid of Jakim and Jasa, as well as Mara and BTN will be a great first step. Thus far, that reality has not even registered on Malay leaders.

Non-Malays should relax; quit worrying about all those goodies showered on Bumiputeras. Heed the wisdom of Plutarch: the man who first brought ruin upon the Roman people was he who pampered them by largesse and amusements.

Remember, when Malays holler “Tanah Melayu untuk Melayu!” (Malaysia for Malays!) that is not a threat, it’s more a desperate cry from those betrayed by their leaders. – November 9, 2020.

* M. Bakri Musa reads The Malaysian Insight.

* 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.