Towards A Competitive Malaysia #56
Chapter 8: Culture Counts (Cont’d)
Religion, Culture, and Economics
A related concept is the cultural attitude towards the future, also another dimension of time. This future cannot be too far ahead. Many Muslims (and medieval Christians) plan too far ahead, for the Hereafter. They forget that they have a life here on earth to live first. In their preoccupation with preparing for life after death, they neglect their worldly responsibilities.
Religion has important bearing on culture. As illustrated by Calvin, it can be a powerful instrument to effect seismic cultural changes. When Islam entered the Malay world, it changed everyday cultural practices and the Malay view of the cosmos.
What Malays (and Muslims generally) need badly is a fresh interpretation of Islam a la Calvin. In truth Muslims do not need novel interpretations of Islam, suffice that we expose ourselves to the rich and diverse viewpoints within our faith. The Ismailis have a particularly enlightening take on Islam; it is not surprising that they are the most successful. Unlike other Muslims who are intent on and satisfied with emulating only the superficial trappings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) like sporting long beards and marrying multiple wives, the Ismailis are devoted to his other sterling attributes, as his passion for learning and skills as a trader.
My first exposure to the Ismailis was in Canada in the 1970s, when those poor folks were hounded out of their homeland by the African dictator Idi Amin. In less than a decade and in an unfamiliar environment and foreign culture, they had successfully established businesses and their children were excelling in the local law and medical schools. Today there are many Ismailis who are judges, elected officials, and even ministers in Canada.
The cultural attitude towards women also bears direct impact on economic efficiency. All the major cultural traditions of Asia have no appreciation of gender equality. To them, women are a subservient specie, or worse. Cultural practices like female infanticide (or its modern version, aborting female fetuses) and wife burning are still prevalent. Ultrasounds are widely used in China and India not to detect the health of fetuses but to determine their sex. What is startling is that such gruesome practices are prevalent not among the poor but among the supposedly educated and “modern” Indians and Chinese. Modern technology being used with devastating effect to reinforce odious cultural traits!
No society that devalues one half of its human resources can ever hope to progress. The Arab world, China, and India are sorry examples of this wisdom. It is for this reason that I have little faith in the ability of the Islamic Party PAS to lead Malaysia. Its record in governing the two east coast states is an early indication. PAS now requires retail outlets to have separate checkouts for men and women. I have no problem with gender segregation with all-boys or all-girls schools for those who choose them, but to have segregation and double facilities in ordinary affairs of life is not only cumbersome but would unnecessarily double the costs.
PAS justifies its action on the pretext that it is only concerned with protecting the “dignity” of women, but those Islamic leaders have not asked the women whether they need any such special protection. That is nothing more than a prejudiced mindset, an attitude that at heart considers women less equal than men.
There are many conventional indicators on gender equity, among them the levels of educational attainment, income, employment, and health status. These are readily available, but the more telling and accurate are the non-conventional or surrogate indicators. The most obvious are the sex ratio and Amartya Sen’s “missing women.” Others include rates of spousal abuses and domestic violence, single families headed by single mothers, and—particularly relevant to Malays—multiple marriages.
By conventional indicators, Malaysia has done well with gender equity. In universities, female students outnumber males. Women are well represented in the upper levels of government, business, and the professions. The central banker is a woman, and women have excelled as appellate judges. This is remarkable especially for a Muslim country. Unfortunately, the Islamic establishment has yet to be convinced that women could be Sharia judges.
Another cultural attribute that bears directly on economic activities is the attitude towards risks and failures. Progress depends on the willingness of individuals to explore the unknown, to push back existing boundaries, and to take the path less trodden, endeavors fraught with indefinable risks. Stated differently, where the culture tolerates, encourages and rewards the likes of farmer Ahmad over farmer Bakar of my earlier example, it would more likely lead to progress.
In traditional Malay culture, stories of anak merantau (the wandering son) is told and retold with awe and admiration. He is a hero, not someone forsaking his homeland. Hang Tuah’s legendary call—Takkan Melayu Hilang Di Dunia (Malays will not be lost in this world!)—was the ennoblement of the anak merantau aspirations. Yes, there will always be a spot in this God’s wonderful world for a Melayu. The current interpretation of anak merantau as a traitor who forgets his homeland is nothing more than the consequence of the insularity and parochialism of the current crop of Malay leaders.
My grandfather was a wandering son, and may God bless his soul for I am most grateful that he dared wander beyond the perimeter of his old kampong and crossed the Strait of Malacca. I am constantly being reminded of my blessings every time I return to Malaysia and see those desperate Indonesians who braved the pirate-infested seas to seek a better life in Malaysia. I remind my family that I am merely following in the fine tradition of my late grandfather; he traversing the Straits of Malacca in his prahu and I, the Pacific Ocean in a Boeing 747.
Not every new path will take us to a better destination or the one that we desire. Many would stumble or wish they had never left the comfort of home. Failures and successes are part of every human endeavor. If we fear failure, we will never succeed. The Malay philosopher Hamka encapsulated it best: Takut gagal adalah gagal sejati! (The fear of failure is the real failure.)
In Silicon Valley, a bankrupt businessman proudly displays his failures as a war hero would his battle scars, and bravely moves on. In Malaysia, a failed entrepreneur is shunned, humiliated, and stigmatized, forever tagged by his culture as a failure and left to ruminate and be caricatured as yet another sorry example of the inadequacies of his race. His friends and relatives would chime in, “Should have stuck with his comfortable government job!” or some such sentiments.
While volumes have been written on the important role of culture in determining the fate of a particular society, in the end its progress or lack of it is directly the result of the collective and cumulative actions and decisions of the members of that society acting individually or through their organizations and enterprises. Individuals must be given the freedom to succeed, or to fail. That will determine society’s fate.
Next: Chapter 9: Institutions Matter
May 21st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Dr. Bakri,
Your comments on the 2 east-cost states can be classified as a mere hearsay. You should scrutinize the politically biased information by Malaysian media and not just use it in your book. I’ve just recently visited one of the state which is currently governed by PAS and I can conclude that most of the local media report on the state are politically biased.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Mr. Bakri,
I agree with Ghazali. From memory, there was such proposal reported in the mainstream media quite a while back. However I do not think it was ever implemented. In the first place, whether such proposal was really made is perhaps a more pertinent question. The mainstream media has been very biased as far as Kelantan is concern. One has only to go there and witness the real scenario.
I digressed!
Your article “Religion, Culture, and Economics” is interesting.
I quote “When Islam entered the Malay world, it changed everyday cultural practices and the Malay view of the cosmos.” Before I write further, I have to qualify that I am neither pious nor knowledgeable about Islam. But I am willing to lean and think!
There is some truth in your statement. The changes were not as widespread as I would like to think. As a race, the Malays have some deep-rooted culture they then to “Islamised”. The process of “Islamisation” often leads to confusion to the ordinary people. Nonetheless it happened and the differentiation between “Hindu-originated” culture and “Islam-originated” culture tend to “blur” over time and the Ulamas did little to correct this mistake. As time passed, these practices have been “assimilated” as part of Islamic culture by the Malays. Again, none of the Ulamas kept quiet. Why? I do not know. Only now do we find “newer” Ulamas trying hard to reverse this assimilated cultures and norms. The reversal process is getting harder by the day as more and more Malays justify such practises as acceptable to Islam and is part of the Malay culture.
I do not agree that we need a fresh interpretation of Islam. What we need is a better understanding of the religion. From the little I know, Muslims are encouraged to work hard for the betterment of mankind both from the physical as well as spiritual perspectives. Pursuit of knowledge is of paramount importance in Islam but other than the old scholars (Ibnu Sina etc. etc.) there are no new ones. I was told that only through the pursuit of knowledge would we be able to fully realise and appreciate the greatness of God. Have the Muslims been doing this? No! We have not! When we are oppressed, we blame it on Islam and others for all our miseries.
I have been told that in Islam, there are basically three perspectives as far as relationships are concerned.
(1) Relationship between man and God;
(2) Relationship between man and man; and
(3) Relationship between man and the environment.
(Note: Man as a collective noun and not as a reference to the male gender only)
Islam went on further to explain how to these relationships are to be conducted. Rules and guidelines are spelt by the Quran and Hadiths. As humans and Muslims we fail to understand these rules and guidelines, instead choosing to make our own interpretation as deemed fit and convenient to us.
Are we to blame religion and culture for this? It is the easiest and most attractive alternative to blame others and every other thing for our own failure. But where would that lead us, as a Muslim and as a Malay?
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:51 am
Mr Bakri,
No. I’m not in California. I’m from Kota Kinabalu. This is my real name given to me by my father who were descendants from the conquering Spainards in the Philippines.
Talking about Islam and Malay, Islam is a religion adopted by the Malays because their parents are Muslims. Strictly speaking one is Islam only if he obeys the 5 rukuns and 13 rukun iman irrespective of one’s race. In Malaysia, to leave Islam, one has to go to court whereas we know the moment such utterance of disbelieving will render one become “apostate” of Islam.
In Sabah many became convert to Islam to get business and quietly practice their original faith. Their children are free to practice their original faith.
Why has it bacame this way? It’s because the Government of Malaysia is a hypocrite. The Lingham case shows how business can be dealt with. But the government wants to show that they have a policy for Malays/Muslims. The ends justify the means.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:29 am
Culture and religion are 2 different thing altogether yet many people tend to lump them together. Hindu and Islam are religion and so you cannot have a Hindu or Islam culture. You can have Indian and Malay culture which is distinct from the Hindu and Islamic religion.
Arabs in the middle east are Muslim and practise Islam, however they also have Arab culture which many Malays think is Islamic culture. Not all Arab culture are in line with Islamic teaching. The same goes for dressing. Long robes and turbans are Arab style dress code not Islamic dress code. Unless and until the Malays can differentiate what is Islam the religion and what is Malay culture, they will continue to be confused.
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Wonder why you appear to have ceased commenting about the political crisis in Malaysia - esp about the current ‘lame duck’ that is ruining our nation ?
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:37 pm
When you confuse Arab culture for Islamic culture that’s when the problem starts. So you see the women wearing telekong and the hijab, in some cases and the men sporting goatees and beards, although being Asiatic body hairs are a rarity. When you ask them the reasons, the answers given are rather simplistic - the quran says so and so according to the hadith….. We are regressing soon our Ketuanan too will disappear along with our culture and traditions.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:57 pm
You seem a bit outdated re the bankruptcy badge-of-honor thing. Many failed “entrepreneurs” and hot-shot korporat leaders in Malaysia too do the same.
Only in this case they’ve accumulated fabulous personal wealth while successfully running to the ground the companies handed to them due to their party affiliations or proximity to the ruling party.
Personally they’ve gotten bailed out, handing back the mismanaged companies to the government on the principle of “privatize profits and shift losses back to the people.” Almost all of the privatized companies have reverted to the government, been bailed out, or given additional public funds to stay afloat.
And rare it is to see any of their CEO’s looking humiliated or being shunned or stigmatized. In fact some of them have been resurrected and go on to greater things.
So at least in one aspect our top-notch korporats are really world class and toe-to-toe with the best of the first world.