OCTOBER 18 — The recent controversy regarding a student from University Malaya has drawn huge attention to the nation, drawing discussions and protests from the public. My observation pertaining the public stand is that Malaysians are divided in opinion. The student has received tremendous backing from the public but has also experienced the wrath of criticism from netizens. There is a clear pattern, you’re either on the A side or the B side. I have hardly come across someone with a neutral stand. I must stress that before making comments or forming opinions, it is crucial to dwell into the minds of both parties involved.
Let’s start with the vice-chancellor of UM. The VC was invited to the Kongres Maruah Melayu, as he is the Chairman of the Congressional Organising Committee and the head of the nation’s premier university. In his speech, he highlighted the economic hardship faced by the majority of the Malays. He also highlighted that in 2016, the income of the Malay population was 3.5 times lower than the income of the Chinese ethnic population in our country. He went on further by stating that the special rights of the Bumiputera community in Malaysia is starting to be questioned by the non-Bumis while also emphasising that Bahasa Melayu is losing its importance. He then asked the audience, “Isn’t in our (the Malays) right to attain political power in this country?”
Now, judging by the purpose of the event, what the VC said was perfectly in line with the intentions of the Congress held. He urged the Malays to unite, addressed the hardships faced by them and also attempted to ignite the Bumis into thinking about the importance of their rights in Malaysia. Ask yourself, if there was a Unity Congress of your own respective races being organised, would you have gone? I’m guessing from his point of view, he did not feel he committed any offense or foul play.
The VC, being a Malay and Chairman of the Organising Committee, decided to attend, perfectly fine, some may think. Not really. Now the problem is that the VC is the head of an institution which boasts students from all over the globe. The institution which he leads, has Malaysians from all races studying in it, which automatically makes him a representative of every one of them. Being a VC, there are certain unspoken rules which are needed to be obeyed. A VC has to remain neutral at all times, brushing aside the racial aspect of any situation while emphasising and promoting unity among his/her students and staff.
Moving on to the student, his intentions were clear. He did not agree with the actions of the VC and was desperate to make his point across. After going through the traditional and proper way of reaching out to the VC (via letters which he didn’t get any response), the student took the step any activist or protester would have taken, which is to find a place which would gather the most audience ans cause the maximum amount of impact. He felt by doing what he did on stage would be more influential than doing it outside the hall, in a little corner where no one would bother. For him, respect for protocol went out of the window, as in the past, he tried following that route to no avail. By going through this path, he finally managed to attain the attention of the VC and more importantly for him, the general public.
Before you jump to conclusion, I would like my fellow Malaysians to think this in a critical and neutral way. The VC did what he thought was right and so did the student. The VC got his point across to his targeted audience and so did the student. The VC angered many Malaysians and so did the student.
My opinion, the fact that we are still having events based on racial unity is a serious cause for concern as we head into Vision 2020. It is time that the younger generation starts voicing out their opinions without having the fear of the negative repercussions. The right to freedom of expression is a beautiful and important right to use, as long as we do not over step the socially accepted boundaries. In this case, both individuals used their freedom of expressions to voice out their opinions.
Finally, if our own leaders (especially a leader of an education institution and the Prime Minister, who attended the event) are encouraging racial discrimination, then we as a society, are in big, big trouble. It is time we move on to the bigger picture and endorse the “think big” mentality of finding ways to prosper together while improving our country in every aspect possible for the betterment of our future generations.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
