Malaysia was better governed in terms of racial harmony under the leadership of then-Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak as compared to how it is faring now being led by his son, Najib Razak, a panel told a forum last night.

One of the speakers, Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad -who was Tun Razak’s former political aide-  said Razak took five years to unite the country after the 1969 racial riots.

It was then that the Barisan Nasional alliance was formed largely due to Razak, who had replaced Tunku Abdul Rahman as Prime Minister.

Abdullah was sharing his experience under the Razak era, at a forum titled “Remembering Tun Razak: A legacy of moderation” organized by Malay portal Roketkini in Mandarin Court Hotel last night.

The event was organised to mark the 39th year of Razak’s passing on 14 January, 1976. 

The other panelists include Lim Kit Siang (Gelang Patah MP and DAP Parliamentary leader), Nurul Izzah Anwar (Lembah Pantai MP and PKR Vice President) and Jahabar Sadiq (Editor of the Malaysian Insider). The panel was moderated by Teresa Kok (Seputeh MP and DAP Vice Chairman).

Abdullah noted the irony that the event to remember Razak’s legacy was organised not by any Barisan Nasional parties but by DAP’s Malay language portal.

“It takes a little on my part for me to come here,” he said, explaining that no one else from UMNO had showed up at the forum.

When speaking, he alluded to the problem of racial bigotry and the rise of the ultras, saying that this problem did not happen back then, during Razak’s time in power.

“Now, race politics is assimilated (sebati) with Malaysia.”

According to Abdullah, there are ongoing efforts by certain quarters to divide the poor with racial sentiments. However he said that poverty transcends race and religion and should be a factor to unite the poor against the governing powers.

“As long as they can divide all of you, I feel sorry for you.”

He also claimed that the government has instilled a sense of insecurity among the people to continually divide and rule.

“And you (the people) fall for it.”

Abdullah noted that ex-Premier Razak had succeeded in elevating the livelihood of Malays in the country through the New Economic Policy (NEP) but did not “pull the people (other races) down”.

In order to ensure the nation’s success, talents from all races must be used and the aspirations of all races cannot be ignored, he said, stressing that everyone has a place in this country.

Strong leadership and support for moderation needed

Abdullah said that Malaysia needs a leader of strong political will to go beyond dividing races and towards Bangsa Malaysia.

He said this when asked about the steps Malaysia needed to take to end the racial division in Malaysia.

“It would be very difficult for that to happen in Malaysia. There is nobody who has the political will to do it.”

“We need a Lee Kuan Yew here!” he said, referring to the first Prime Minister of Singapore, known for his strong leadership.

Responding to this, DAP MP for Bukit Mertajam Steven Sim- who was seated in the audience- immediately yelled back, “His name is Mahathir!” Sim was referring to the former premier, Mahathir Mohamad, who despite being known for his strong political will, pushed the Ketuanan Melayu agenda to the state it is in today. Many consider this to be contrary to the racial integration agenda that was originally proposed.

DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang who is regarded as Mahathir’s nemesis, later said that the country could learn much from the first three Prime Ministers as they had a background in law.

This, he said, allowed them to understand the importance of the judiciary and the rule of law when making decisions.

He explained that this was different when it came to Mahathir, who being from a medical background had conducted “surgical operations” on the judiciary.

Mahathir’s tenure saw the controversial sacking of the Lord President of the Supreme Court, Tun Salleh Abbas, which led to the 1988 constitutional crisis. Questions have been raised about the independence of the Malaysian judiciary ever since.

Lim also said that he believes if Tun Razak were alive today, he would have approved of Najib’s Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) initiative, but at the same time, he would have been exasperated by his lack of support for moderates in the country.

During the Najib administration, the country has seen the rise of right wing groups who have been vocal in demanding that non-Malays “know their place”. Groups like Perkasa have even threatened to burn Bibles when responding to allegations that Christian bibles were distributed amongst Muslims.

Responding to questions in Parliament on the issue, Nancy Shukri ,the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of law said that the police did not take action against Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali who had made the threat because he was merely defending Islam.   

A country “run by village preachers”

Far from the liberal country Malaysia was back during Razak’s era, Jahabar Sadiq (right in pic) said that Malaysia has eroded into a society where freedoms are curtailed.

“Today we go around with this lingering festering wound of racial divide, people of different religious cloth are eyeing each other suspiciously.

“Each of them feels like each other’s God is superior.”

Jahabar recalling that he was the first batch of students to study in Bahasa Malaysia, said that it was Tun Abdul Razak who introduced Bahasa Malaysia as a medium of instruction in the country.

“Today, all of us speak Bahasa Malaysia but we can’t use some words. We can’t use some words because it is exclusive to only some people. How sad is that?”

In comparison with Indonesia, where Jahabar had lived for two years, everybody speaks the same language and there are no restrictions on words that Indonesians can use.

He called on the youth of the nation to take charge of the country from being run by village preachers and “ustaz”.

“Because that is what our country has become today.”

He said that the youth who take charge of the country must be liberal like Tun Abdul Razak who was the youngest ever Prime Minister at the age of 48.

“We have a Prime Minister educated overseas, but we seem to run by a village preacher who says, you cannot do this and you cannot do that.”

“I would like to think that Tun Razak never said that.”

Jahabar’s advice to continue Tun Razak’s legacy? “Do everything that you can do and make Malaysia a better place.” -The Rocket