Is the new Majlis MARA a threat to the Malays?

After MPM made a statement on the possibility of taking a legal action against MARA for not doing enough for the Malays as provided for by the MARA Act 1966, several other NGOs have come forward to echo and register their concerns on the same subject.

The concerns raised were in response to the stand by the Majlis MARA to downsize the scope of its activities, focusing only on education and entrepreneurship while investment (if any) will only be done in education-related businesses.

Critical activities such as industry and regional economic development are ignored or silent in their communication.

Naturally we expected MARA to retaliate by issuing a stern warning, instead of asking for a meeting with us to jointly look into the issue and find the best remedies.

Our expectation came true. Instead of dealing with the issues and concerns raised they simply warned us not to use MARA to play with racial sentiment.

The statement reflects the arrogant attitude of the Majlis MARA and the office bearers of this very important public institution.

They see a fellow Malay dealing with the issue of the role of MARA for the Malays and Bumiputera in economic development as racist. They have totally lost the plot.

There is no need for MPM to blow another call to action or to respond to such uncouth and uncultured treatment. Our legal team has started their homework on the matter.

BUMIPUTERA AND ISLAM

Likewise, Majlis MARA also need not say anything else to us on the matter unless they are saying they will honour MARA’s obligation under the MARA Act 1966.

The next best meeting point between the two on this subject is perhaps at the court of law.

Let the legal system dissect the entire institution and identify the sins of the past and the present, responsible in emasculating MARA to the state that it is today.

Concurrently, MPM has set up a national taskforce involving thousands of other Malay NGOs, looking into the current threats faced by the nation, in particular the Malays, the Bumiputera and Islam.

There are so many threats these groups are facing, jointly and severally. I would categorise these threats in three types.

The first being security threats in the forms of the return of the PKM communist ideology, the LTTE, the daesh, the evangelicalism, foreign government subversive movements and many more.

The second refers to the external threats posed by international institutions accusing the Malays and the Bumiputeras especially the Muslims of discriminating other races and followers of other religions in this country.

We know of a long list of trumped up human rights discrimination accusations has been lined up by so called civil society movements against the Malays and Muslims since Merdeka.

Unfortunately in recent years these movements have up their ante after receiving foreign funding and other supports.

However, in my mind the third and worst threats are those coming from within our own society.

The Bumiputeras and the Malays (not necessarily all of us) have proven to be a threat to our own wellbeing and prosperity.

We have been shooting our own foot with petty jealousies, incessant bickerings, egocentric arrogance, unquenchable greed and extremist liberal thinking for a long while now and we are still doing it today.

No doubt all these brings about different types of threats to our community but one thing is certain - they will all hobble our capacity to grow and develop as a people.

Take a look at the institutions that have been set up to uplift the wellbeing of the Malays.

They all started well but in the last 20 years or so, many have been taken to the wayside by Malays, Bumiputeras and Muslims who have betrayed their own race and religion.

The good ones typically were not allowed to come in and even when they were brought in they were sidelined as an outsider or pushed out entirely from the organisation.

There is no need to point fingers to anyone but ourselves. Others can only weaken or destroy these institutions with our help.

HISTORY OF MARA

MARA is a classic case. Let all of us go back to the journey of MARA for the last 54 years of its incorporation, starting way back in 1966, to its present day.

66 years if we take into account the tenure of it’s predecessor - RIDA that was established pre-Merdeka.

I tend to agree with the present government that what has happened to this very important institution of the Malay people over the years is the fault of the previous government as they had the full oversight on the institution and they failed to get it to deliver what needs to be delivered under the MARA Act 1966.

We acknowledged that there were a lot of successes under their watch but there were many slacks as well.

So it is agreed - damage done but for now, it is the responsibility of the present government to amend them and move on.

There is no need to belabour the point. Time is over for the blame game. The government of the day must tell their appointees on the Majlis MARA to start delivering and stop finding faults of their predecessors as a reason for their failure to deliver today.

If they continue to do so then they should be sacked immediately and replaced with people who will do the job quickly.

We have a new government and new broom sweeper in MARA. The government has empowered and bestowed upon its new MARA Majlis and management, a new hope for the implementation of its full mandate.

While they have the legal rights to take whatever actions against all those who may have caused problems in MARA in the past, they must also at the same time have the right frame of mind and the big ideas on how to make MARA great again, as what was envisaged under Kongres Ekonomi Bumiputera 1965 and the MARA Act 1966.

If they do not have the wherewithals to execute this then they should handover to others who can do instead of hiding their inadequacy by trying to limit MARA’s activities.

MARA Act 1966 was crafted in such a way to make it a legislative omnibus that provides MARA with broad powers to do whatever justifiable ventures and endeavors to fulfill its mandate of uplifting and developing the Malay and Bumiputera economy, without the hassle of having to go through unnecessary or cumbersome red tapes.

It is therefore mind boggling to hear that the current Majlis MARA planning to literally put aside their broad empowerment and mandate to merely do education and entrepreneurship and to scale down its involvement in the economy only in education related activities.

It would lay waste to substantial progress in industry development previously undertaken by MARA and MARA CORP who have led the international growth and success of Malays in sectors such as aerospace, rare earth, finances, etc.

It is critical that this policy is maintained for our national interest and development.

To the Malays and the Bumiputeras, if this new direction that we have heard and read about is true, then we consider it to be a gross dereliction of duty by someone or a group of people at MARA and the Ministry responsible for it.

All the Malays and the Bumiputeras, are the stakeholders of this public enterprise agency called MARA considering its birth came about from a congress of the Malay and Bumiputera people in 1965 that led to the then government of the day to enact the MARA Act in 1965.

The Majlis MARA and management must know that they are directly and indirectly answerable and accountable to all Malays and Bumiputeras.

They cannot change the direction of MARA without conferring with them.

Even if some of the current Majlis MARA and Management have forgotten about this relationship they cannot in an anyway forget the current government’s commitment to consult and work closely with MPM and our ilk on matters pertaining to the championing of socio economic development of the Malay and Bumiputera in this country.

To all of us, it is MARA’s business to be in business and industries that the Malays and Bumiputeras need to be involved in especially the strategic and high technology sectors. For those in business, it is MARA that supposed to provide them the appropriate entrepreneurial and business safety net.

This is the net that will enable them, even with lack of experience or training, to dare themselves to dive into the real business world and compete head on.

MARA must be there for them, to guide them and to nurture them until they can stand on their own. This cannot be done merely via education or business loan.

Once MARA is pulled out of this, who does the Majlis Mara expect will be there for them, YTL, Berjaya, Nestle, Alibaba, Syed Mokhtar or the GLCs/GLICs for that matter.

They will only do what is in their interest to do and that interest is not necessarily in sync with the need to bring sustainable economic development to the Malays and the Bumiputeras.

For now, what the Majlis and management of MARA are reported as planning and doing is indeed a real threat to the Malays and the Bumiputeras.

Especially a threat to the younger generations - the gen x, the millennial and the gen z. Whether it is facilitating them to start a new job, build a career or invest in a new business or high technology industries, MARA has a responsibility under the MARA Act 1966 to deliver.

I must emphasize this again and again - MARA is well equipped with all the legal provisions to execute their mandate.

There is no other agency better equipped to undertake economic development agenda for the Malays and Bumiputeras.

We have all heard about the success of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and the formidable team led by the late Tun Ismail Ali at PNB, an institution that focus on investment management for the Bumiputeras owned by Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputera (YPB).

They managed to rock the world with the Dawn Raid in the London stock exchange in the 1980s. Why can’t MARA do the same and more?

Do the current Majlis MARA even know that PNB were actually originated by MARA under Amanah Saham MARA before it was hived off and transferred to stand on its own under YPB?

MARA must continue to play it’s role to create more economic development tools like PNB.

We also remember the legacy that was MARA Holdings back in the days under former MARA Director General, Datuk Ridzuan Halim where many business including the famous MARA Express buses that ply the nations in the 80's.

We had the beginning of a good Malay and Bumiputera economic ecosystem but where is it now?

MARA INCORPORATED

MARA has played a significant economic development role since its inception. Education and entrepreneurship is merely a subset of this main role.

MARA needs to get back to basic and focus on its main role again but this time in a better, more effective and efficient way.

That is the reason why MARA Corp was incorporated in 2016. MPM was consulted on its establishment and we supported it despite delays and resistance for its establishment over the past five years.

That is why we are upset with the reported plan to shut it down without being consulted by anyone in MARA.

The first time we heard about it is when we read articles reporting on statements by MARA’s new Chairman.

It seems the media is the only time and place we have been able to see her.

We noted her saying that MARA wants to establish an endowment fund to take over the subsidiaries of MARA Corp where they will sell various existing businesses while focusing new investment only in education.

We do not believe this to be a smart decision. It does not meet the objective for the establishment of MARA in any way.

If the current Majlis MARA do not know what to do as per their mandate then leave the economic development role to be done by contemporary professionals in the MARA Corp Board who are more capable.

They still have oversight but they should not get directly involved in line with the best practice check and balance governance structure between shareholder and the Board of a subsidiary. .

To me, if the Majlis were to monetize all the assets MARA have at hand at the moment and let quality corporate leadership from the cadre of ANSARA alums such as Datuk Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, Datuk Anuar Taib and many more to come into MARA and MARA Corp, I am pretty sure they could do the Dawn Raid 2.0, or may be a much bigger haul.

This is the type of activities intended for MARA CORP which MARA inexplicably wishes to terminate.

All we need is next generation thinking mixed with wisdom and with the Malay-first spirit at heart.

Who better than the successful professionals that we have in ANSARA.

The Chairman of MARA Corp in collaboration with seasoned economic developers and educators seems to fit the bill.

Recently on Friday 3rd January, our Economic Cluster comprising representatives from several key NGOs, met to plan for a Public Forum on MARA.

It will be held soon and shall be open to all stakeholders to participate.

I for one welcome with thanks the statements by Datuk Seri Rina Harun, the Ministers in charge of MARA requesting the Majlis MARA and Management to engage with Malay stakeholders.

MPM and many others awaits their call. At the same time, I can say that the Majlis and management of MARA as well as MARA Corp are most welcome to be part of our Public Forum on MARA.

For this Forum, there is no need for anyone to present any paper or proposal.

We have collected all papers and resolutions of the First Bumiputera Economic Congress, 5-7 June 1965 and the MARA Act 1966.

What all participants of the proposed Forum are expected to do is only to revisit the papers of the said Congress and see for themselves what was envisaged and what we have got today.

If there is a gap then we must plug it. If needed we can reinforce what was in these documents with modern business approaches and methodologies that exist today.

Let’s all stakeholders have their say on MARA. From thereon, we hope to see a better horizon for MARA, for the Malays, the Bumiputera and Islam.

We do what we do for the good of the country. I pray that MARA will join hand with us.

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* Datuk Dr Hasan Mad is a Secretary General of Majlis Perundingan Melayu (MPM).

**The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.