Is It Just Incompetence?

 

A former Malaysian Minister (Zaid Ibrahim) said recently, “Malaysia is not at risk of collapse because of ideology. It is at risk because of incompetence.” “Nations fall when their leaders fail to govern effectively, when debts spiral beyond control, when resources are squandered, and when corruption robs citizens of their future.”

 

“Oil, gas, timber, and land; our natural inheritance is depleted or monopolised. An economy stolen. Cartels, cronies, and politically connected companies enrich themselves while ordinary Malaysians are asked to (tighten) their belts,” said Zaid.

 

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

 

Citing Nepal and Indonesia, Zaid pointed out that the problems plaguing both countries had nothing to do with extremism. Nepal did not become one of Asia’s poorest nations because of extremism. It became poor because of chronic political instability and weak governance. Indonesia, in 1997, did not collapse because its people were too religious. It collapsed because of crony capitalism, corruption, and unsustainable debt. So too for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. They had other issues as well but corruption, cronyism was at the core.

 

But it is just that for Malaysia? Racial discrimination in education, employment and business contracts has no parallel anywhere else in the world. And we accept it as “takdir”?

 

Let me be very plain, if one is a non-Malay and aspiring to be a doctor, one may never be able to realise one’s dream. A creative genius will be shunted out of the system or the country (I speak with experience – my son serves the NHS as a consultant not the MOH). A young person with a desire to become an ambassador will also be deprived of the opportunity to study liberal arts and win a government scholarship.

 

The sad truth is that innocent Malay children also suffer from this system too by virtue of having privileges that others do not. The disenfranchised from poor families are taught in bad schools where standards are low because it appears the system does not believe that gaining access to the best education is critical. They are thus less able to compete and they grow up believing they are entitled.

 

Indeed, the sense of entitlement applies across the economic spectrum. Such is the perverse nature of discriminatory policies. What is the large-scale discrimination that everyone knows about but only whispers of? It has nothing to do with how affirmative action should be used to benefit poor Malays, but everything to do with a deep psychosis at the heart of the political and economic system. That psychosis is institutional racism.

 

But the non-Malay, will find a way and will emerge stronger and better. In a perverse way, by being stoical and tolerant of blatant racism, you have in-built resilience and a great chance to succeed as a professional. You are helping to build the country. You fortify the country against the risks arising from the lack of meritocracy in key institutions, which allows many of your Malay classmates to reach elevated positions and earn shockingly high salaries without competing with you. You become the backbone of the country. Without you, the economy of the country would be in tatters. By staying and building the country, you have become a proud patriot!

 

True incompetence is a derived relationship of entitlement, background, social standing, confidence (or the lack of it) and the absence of skill sets necessary to navigate a new world.  But our politicians choose to be oblivious!

 

References:

Zaid: Incompetence a bane to M'sia's progress, not ideology, Malaysiakini, 12 September 2025

 

Non-Malays must attain grades that are 3 times better than a Malay student in order to gain access to a local university, The Coverage, 9 September 2025