THE plethora of Malay sermons in mainstream news and on social media reminded me of the observation of a character in The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz.

“At times, a person may create an imaginary problem to escape an actual problem he finds difficult to resolve.”

At least Mahfouz’s character is aware of her limitations. On the other hand, Malay leaders are consumed with fighting one phantom enemy after another, and declaring repeated “victories”.

There is no shortage of critical challenges facing the ummah – from child brides and divorce rates to drug abuse and entrenched corruption – yet Malay leaders and ulama are fixated on manufactured enemies, like the Japanese Bon Odori festival.

They earlier hyperventilated on the presumed threat of Oktoberfest.

Yet these leaders and their followers remain silent when the “pengkhianat negara” (national traitor) aka Najib Razak, convicted of massive corruption, was invited to an official palace do.

Consider former chief secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan, who admitted in court that he was paid RM30,000 a month – a figure that exceeded his official salary – to be on the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) board and “do nothing”.

Wait, there’s more. He was also given a “Tan Sri” title and made Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission chairman. Truly Orwellian! The prosecutor or defence lawyer should have pummelled him in court. That would have wiped the silly grin off his face.

His successor, Ali Hamsa, was no better. However, he has died, so I am restrained in my comments. I will say this: after “meticulous” examination, he declared that 1MDB affairs are “clear and above board”. Yes, Ali was also a Tan Sri.

Royal rulers are by statute exclusively Malays, while the political and administrative classes are increasingly becoming so through practice. Other exclusively Malay leaders are the ulama and religious scholars.

As Noah Feldman noted in his The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, throughout history, ulama and scholars were the formidable bulwark against tyrannous rulers for the ummah.

Just read the biographies of these ancient luminaries. Many suffered the wrath of their rulers. But for most, the hadith “Heaven is full of rulers who befriend scholars, while Hell, of scholars close to rulers” describes the reality better.

Malaysia has gone far and beyond. Now, it fully co-opts the ulama.

This blight began with Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who, in his earlier tenure as prime minister, tried to ingratiate himself with them to be seen as the “champion” of the faith. But they only ridiculed him for his illiteracy in Arabic (the language of Islam) and lack of formal religious credentials.

Imagine an English-illiterate expounding on Shakespeare’s subtleties, they sniffed! Dr Mahathir tried to ride the Islamic tiger to fame and glory only to end up with the beast nearly devouring him.

Malay ulama – far from being a bulwark against tyranny – are very much part of the problem. Listening to their sermons and observing their actions, I am struck by two disturbing thoughts.

One, their total ignorance of and irrelevance to contemporary challenges facing the ummah; two, their obsession with death and their destructive theology of belittling Allah’s greatest gift – life.

This, more than anything else, prevents Malays from making their rightful contributions; hence our current sorry state.

This preoccupation with chasing paradise causes the ummah to suffer hell in this world. We should instead heed the wisdom of 13th century Sufi scholar Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari: “If you want to know your standing with Him in the Hereafter, look at the state He has put you in now”. (Al-Hikam (Sufi Aphorisms) No. 73)

Malay ulama fail to give full meaning to the Quranic injunction: “Command good and prohibit evil.” True piety, the Quran goes on, does not consist of turning your face towards east or west… rather your spending on the needy and freeing humans from bondage.

Today, the greatest bondage trapping Malays is the poverty of skills and intellect, thus the lack of competitiveness. Endless zikir will not solve this problem, but improving schools and universities will.

Our collective cultural bondage is our acceptance of the loot of corruption as baraka (bounty from Allah). We were bought when 1MDB crumbs were used to finance haj pilgrimages and surau.

And Sidek’s monthly Baraka of RM30,000 was but spilled gravy compared with what was given to “kafir” Low Taek Jho, Roger Ng, Tim Leissner and others.

A cautionary note; it is worth reminding that “assassin” is an Arabic word and “amok” is a uniquely Malay cultural trait.

The recent interest in Mat Kilau, the lone warrior who rebelled against the British, and a Private Adam who went amok against a sultan, are early warning signs – even the most compliant society has its limits. – June 13, 2022.

* 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.