A book review by M.Krishnamoorthy
In Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s latest book, “Rethinking Ourselves,” a prison memoir, he points out various flaws in affirmative action policy.
“A lofty dream drove the New Economic Policy, and it was not intended to be ethnic centric,” Anwar writes. “The thrust of the policy was to develop the country, eliminate poverty, and end race as a determining factor for anything in Malaysia.”
Keith B. Richburg, in an Op-Ed published in the Washington Post, states: “Anwar continues by pointing out that the programme did reduce poverty among Malays, but the myriad agencies erected to manage it added more layers of bureaucracy and opened up more avenues of corruption.”
“The prime minister proposes a new approach to helping the underprivileged that’s based on need, not race,” Richburg adds. “Anwar’s critique is similar to one levelled recently by Khairy Jamaluddin, a former health minister turned podcaster and onetime head of the dominant Malaysian political party’s youth wing. “KJ,” as he is known, ignited a debate when he called for addressing the frustrations of non-Malays who have felt discriminated against under the NEP.”
“I think the pain point for non-Malays is not so much the advantages given to the Bumiputeras,” KJ said on his podcast. “It’s when their legitimate expectations are not attained — such as being unable to further their studies at local universities despite scoring straight A’s.”
In the book, Anwar, Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister, asks how we might rethink ourselves to adjust to accelerating change, and to shape more just and sustainable futures.
His passion for truth and justice is rooted in his own experience: He has been behind bars for over a decade through three separate miscarriages of justice, from his days as a student activist to his time as Leader of the Opposition.
The book is woven through reflections on his time in prison, which are critical investigations into justice, post-colonialism, Islamophobia, democracy, and world order.
Anwar brings together the ideas of scholars and other thinkers from the East and West, as well as the North and South, to explore how we can create a new, inclusive synthesis—one that genuinely promotes a good society and a just, sustainable world order. Vividly told, expertly dissected, this is a timely book for our turbulent age.
The NEP was scheduled to last just two decades. But more than 50 years later, it’s still going, and it has come to be considered the “third rail” of Malaysian politics — that is, virtually untouchable. Now some say it’s time for a rethink.
Now, even some prominent people who have benefited from the system are calling for change. Perhaps most surprising is the criticism from the country’s current top politician, Anwar Ibrahim.
In the United States, affirmative action was aimed at uplifting the Black minority that had suffered generations of slavery, followed by a century of legal discrimination, disenfranchisement and organised terrorism.
Black Americans were systemically denied land rights, voting rights, educational opportunities and employment in certain occupations.
Richburg noted: “As in Malaysia, U.S. affirmative action programmes, beginning in the 1960s, were meant to be a temporary fix. As they lived on, they fuelled a backlash among White people and later Asian Americans who felt victimised by reverse discrimination.
“The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to largely curtail race-based affirmative action in college admissions marked a seismic shift. But race-conscious policies remain in federal, state and local regulations governing minority-owned business contracts and hiring. Only the language has shifted, from ‘affirmative action’ to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
This writer’s eighth best-selling book: “ANWAR: PRISON TO PALACE, PM FOR ALL” recalls Anwar’s turbulent, moving, bold, and visionary journey from a village boy to the Prime Minister of Malaysia. The chapters weave through the intricacies of political challenges, repression, injustice, and trials and tribulations. Eventually, Anwar achieved his childhood dream of becoming Malaysia’s leader.
The book traces his rise to power, fall from grace, and his resilience in the face of adversity, including 10 years of inhumane treatment in prison.
To achieve a prosperous, peace-loving and united multiracial country, we Malaysians, together with PMX Anwar, should pray. We must look at each other in the face, not as a race, but as Malaysians. Perhaps some selected lyrics from Coldplay’s song: “We Pray” can provide food for thought for us all:
I pray that I don’t give up, pray that I do my best
Pray that I can lift up, pray my brother is blessed
Prayin’ on your love, we pray with every breath
Pray that we speak with a tongue that is honest
And that we understand how to be modest
On my knees, I pray, as I sleep and wake
‘Cause inside my head is a frightenin’ place
Keep a smiling face, only by His grace
‘Cause love’s more than I can take, hey
And so we pray (and so we pray)
(The views expressed here are entirely those of the writer)
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