Written and edited by Farhan Haziq Mohamed, with additional contributions by Ehsan Shahwahid, Abdul Muqit bin Muhammad and Ganeshwaran Kana
This was the first turun padang (field trip) for the National Unity Youth Fellows. We were obviously excited to kickstart our first assignment to meet people on the ground to understand local perceptions about national unity.
During our trip, we stayed at Sunway Hotel, Seberang Prai for two days. We were divided into four groups, two of which were assigned to visit organizations in Penang, while the other two visited organizations in Kedah.
In Penang, the Fellows met local Malay business association Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Pulau Pinang, and MyIKUT, which is a dakwah (proselytization) movement aimed at helping mualaf (Muslim converts) start a new life.
In Kedah, the Fellows met a prominent and historic Malay student NGO, Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS), and Yayasan Al-Moqni, a new religious movement in Kedah.
In this assignment, we were expected to understand the objectives and scope of these organizations, their activities with other institutions, their understanding of national unity and their views on ethnic relations in their own communities as well as in Malaysia. We were also required to seek suggestions from them on ways to improve the state of ethnic relations in the country.
Here is a summary of what we learnt from each organization we visited:
This was the first turun padang (field trip) for the National Unity Youth Fellows. We were obviously excited to kickstart our first assignment to meet people on the ground to understand local perceptions about national unity.
During our trip, we stayed at Sunway Hotel, Seberang Prai for two days. We were divided into four groups, two of which were assigned to visit organizations in Penang, while the other two visited organizations in Kedah.
In Penang, the Fellows met local Malay business association Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Pulau Pinang, and MyIKUT, which is a dakwah (proselytization) movement aimed at helping mualaf (Muslim converts) start a new life.
In Kedah, the Fellows met a prominent and historic Malay student NGO, Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS), and Yayasan Al-Moqni, a new religious movement in Kedah.
In this assignment, we were expected to understand the objectives and scope of these organizations, their activities with other institutions, their understanding of national unity and their views on ethnic relations in their own communities as well as in Malaysia. We were also required to seek suggestions from them on ways to improve the state of ethnic relations in the country.
Here is a summary of what we learnt from each organization we visited:
KEDAH
· Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung)
Prior to Malaysian independence, the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students, or Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS) was established in Singapore in August 1948, with a mission to increase the role and position of the Malays and the Malay language in the Malay Peninsula at the time.
We were given a tour of the GPMS Kedah centre in Alor Setar by its Chairman, Shamsul Bahar Bin Abdul Rani. Mr Shamsul showed us the various seminar and meeting rooms in the centre, and described the various services the centre provided. In particular, GPMS Kedah provides tuition for Malay primary and high school students, and coaches them for major examinations. Mr Shamsul then gave us a short briefing on GPMS’ history and objectives, and sat down with us to answer our questions about the organization.
Currently, the main objective of GPMS is to empower Malay youths through education and to motivate them to achieve success. Its target groups are rural and economically-disadvantaged communities. Holding true to its 1948 roots, GPMS continues to focus on the development of Malay communities. The organization also relies on strong ethnic sentiment as a basis for its continued existence, namely the desire to unite the Malays together and retain their important position in the country.
With regards to promoting national unity, Mr Shamsul opined that non-governmental organizations and civil society would steer the direction of the country in the future. He considered it the responsibility of ethnic-based community organizations to help empower their own communities, while working together to promote unity.
-Ehsan
· Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung)
Prior to Malaysian independence, the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students, or Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS) was established in Singapore in August 1948, with a mission to increase the role and position of the Malays and the Malay language in the Malay Peninsula at the time.
We were given a tour of the GPMS Kedah centre in Alor Setar by its Chairman, Shamsul Bahar Bin Abdul Rani. Mr Shamsul showed us the various seminar and meeting rooms in the centre, and described the various services the centre provided. In particular, GPMS Kedah provides tuition for Malay primary and high school students, and coaches them for major examinations. Mr Shamsul then gave us a short briefing on GPMS’ history and objectives, and sat down with us to answer our questions about the organization.
Currently, the main objective of GPMS is to empower Malay youths through education and to motivate them to achieve success. Its target groups are rural and economically-disadvantaged communities. Holding true to its 1948 roots, GPMS continues to focus on the development of Malay communities. The organization also relies on strong ethnic sentiment as a basis for its continued existence, namely the desire to unite the Malays together and retain their important position in the country.
With regards to promoting national unity, Mr Shamsul opined that non-governmental organizations and civil society would steer the direction of the country in the future. He considered it the responsibility of ethnic-based community organizations to help empower their own communities, while working together to promote unity.
-Ehsan
· Yayasan Al-Moqni
Yayasan al-Moqni is a welfare and humanities-based foundation that focuses on helping people in need, single mothers and so on. The foundation is led by Datuk Ramly bin Mokni, founder of the famed Malaysian fast food chain Ramly Burger. As CEO of the foundation that was named after his father, Datuk Ramly has also been working to expand the range of Bumiputera products available in the market. Yayasan al-Moqni is a well-organized foundation which has branched out into almost every state in Malaysia.
Currently, the foundation is running a “halalan toyyiban” campaign to promote high-quality halal food products, and is also distributing scholarships to underprivileged students ranging from primary school to higher levels of education.
With regards to Yayasan al-Moqni’s stand on national unity, the organization believes that race-based political parties in Malaysia are the major obstacles to uniting the country. In order to sustain their political power, such parties will keep using racial and religious issues as their final weapons, without considering the long-term consequences of their actions.
Another obstacle to national unity is education. Datuk Ramly believes that the ways in which different races perceive the importance of education remains a problem that obstructs national unity. As an example, Datuk Ramly said that the Chinese strongly valued the importance of education, compared to rural Malays. Malays in rural areas do not value education as much, and to Datuk Ramly, that is the reason why the Malays are more backward than the Chinese not only in education, but also in many other sectors.
With regards to affirmative action policies that protect the Bumiputeras in sectors such as the economy and higher education, they strongly believed that these policies serve as crutches for Bumiputeras, especially the Malays, that lead to excessive dependence on the government. We discussed the possibility of the dependence of Bumiputeras on government assistance being reduced, and compared the situation of local Malays to that of those in Singapore.
Finally, Dr Ramly remarked that the Malays needed to reform their mindsets, become more independent and stop blaming others in order to move forward.
-Muqit
PENANG
· Malay Business Chamber of Penang (Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Pulau Pinang)
The visit to Penang’s Malay Business Chamber was an eye-opening and interesting experience indeed. Our group had the privilege of meeting with the Yang Dipertua of the Chamber himself, Encik Rizal Faris Mohideen, who took the time to explain the history of this establishment to us. The Chamber is 50 years old and is one of the oldest chambers in Malaysia. It was established with the intention to represent the Malay business community and to air their concerns with the relevant parties. He sees the chamber as the “custodian” of the Penang Malays’ business interests.
He opined that the Penang Malays and the Malaysian Malay community are still left behind and economically vulnerable despite extensive “positive discrimination” policies specifically crafted to cater the needs of the Malay community. He substantiated his opinion with reference to low equity holdings and business ownership among the Malays even after decades of affirmative action.
He also felt that race-based policies are still needed to foster upward economic mobility amongst the Malays. The Chamber, in his own words, is not politically-inclined and is capable of working with any ruling political party. He further underlined his point by claiming that both the previous Penang Barisan Nasional government and the incumbent Pakatan Rakyat state government have not done their best to help the Malays, and that there is much room for improvement.
Finally, he said he believes in meritocracy and competency, and that the government of the day should take ample action to help elevate the social and economic standards of the Malays and other communities of Malaysia.
-Ganesh
· Malay Business Chamber of Penang (Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Pulau Pinang)
The visit to Penang’s Malay Business Chamber was an eye-opening and interesting experience indeed. Our group had the privilege of meeting with the Yang Dipertua of the Chamber himself, Encik Rizal Faris Mohideen, who took the time to explain the history of this establishment to us. The Chamber is 50 years old and is one of the oldest chambers in Malaysia. It was established with the intention to represent the Malay business community and to air their concerns with the relevant parties. He sees the chamber as the “custodian” of the Penang Malays’ business interests.
He opined that the Penang Malays and the Malaysian Malay community are still left behind and economically vulnerable despite extensive “positive discrimination” policies specifically crafted to cater the needs of the Malay community. He substantiated his opinion with reference to low equity holdings and business ownership among the Malays even after decades of affirmative action.
He also felt that race-based policies are still needed to foster upward economic mobility amongst the Malays. The Chamber, in his own words, is not politically-inclined and is capable of working with any ruling political party. He further underlined his point by claiming that both the previous Penang Barisan Nasional government and the incumbent Pakatan Rakyat state government have not done their best to help the Malays, and that there is much room for improvement.
Finally, he said he believes in meritocracy and competency, and that the government of the day should take ample action to help elevate the social and economic standards of the Malays and other communities of Malaysia.
-Ganesh
· My IKUT
There were 4 NGOs that were present at our meeting, namely MyIKUT, PenagaCare, Mutiara Infaq and PASMA. These NGOs were set up for different goals, but interestingly, they do help each other in organizing activities.
PenagaCare was established in 2014 to help the Penaga community, located in northern Seberang Perai which is one of the poorest areas in Penang. We were informed that 90% of the population are Malay, and are mainly working as fisherman and farmers. PenagaCare assists Penaga locals in obtaining state government aid. Since Penaga is one of the more impoverished areas in Penang, PenagaCare has initiated a microcredit scheme similar to the Economic Fund for National Entrepreneurs Group (TEKUN) to aid those in need in order to improve their standard of living and encourage them to start businesses. They also conduct a few parenting programmes for young couples below 35 years old.
Mutiara Infaq’s main focus is to provide assistance to orphaned children (anak yatim). Interestingly, they do not only focus on Muslim orphanages but also provide assistance to any orphanage regardless of religion, ethnicity and ideology. They receive various contributions, mainly from entrepreneurs in Penang, to sustain their programme.
MyIKUT is an Islamic missionary movement which focuses on the well-being of mualaf (Muslim converts) in Penang. This movement provides counseling, assistance, and education to mualaf to ensure they are being guided correctly once they decided to convert to Islam. Apart from that, MyIKUT also conduct a programme called “Pemulihan Akidah” (Cure the Faith) to those who want to leave Islam. They also provide guidance on the conversion process to non-Muslims who are contemplating embracing Islam. When asked about challenges faced, they replied that society at large are receptive and they are even able to work with other religious bodies to resolve issues, if necessary.
Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia (PasMa) is the NGO set up by members of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which aims to promote Pakatan Rakyat (a political coalition comprising PAS and two other parties – the People’s Justice Party (PKR) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP)) amongst the general public. It was established to ensure that any conflicts involving these three main parties could be resolved through collective discussion. Despite meeting resistance from certain quarters, PASMA believes that it will continue to foster greater understanding among the three political parties.
When these organizations were asked about ethnic relations in Penang, they said they do not face many issues here. Everybody, regardless of race or religion, leads their own lives in harmony. However, they did point towards increasing racial provocations, particularly from politicians, as a source of hurt for certain religious or racial groups. This situation must be resolved before it becomes worse. They shared the same views that racial issues are always being sensationalised in this country for political mileage.
There were 4 NGOs that were present at our meeting, namely MyIKUT, PenagaCare, Mutiara Infaq and PASMA. These NGOs were set up for different goals, but interestingly, they do help each other in organizing activities.
PenagaCare was established in 2014 to help the Penaga community, located in northern Seberang Perai which is one of the poorest areas in Penang. We were informed that 90% of the population are Malay, and are mainly working as fisherman and farmers. PenagaCare assists Penaga locals in obtaining state government aid. Since Penaga is one of the more impoverished areas in Penang, PenagaCare has initiated a microcredit scheme similar to the Economic Fund for National Entrepreneurs Group (TEKUN) to aid those in need in order to improve their standard of living and encourage them to start businesses. They also conduct a few parenting programmes for young couples below 35 years old.
Mutiara Infaq’s main focus is to provide assistance to orphaned children (anak yatim). Interestingly, they do not only focus on Muslim orphanages but also provide assistance to any orphanage regardless of religion, ethnicity and ideology. They receive various contributions, mainly from entrepreneurs in Penang, to sustain their programme.
MyIKUT is an Islamic missionary movement which focuses on the well-being of mualaf (Muslim converts) in Penang. This movement provides counseling, assistance, and education to mualaf to ensure they are being guided correctly once they decided to convert to Islam. Apart from that, MyIKUT also conduct a programme called “Pemulihan Akidah” (Cure the Faith) to those who want to leave Islam. They also provide guidance on the conversion process to non-Muslims who are contemplating embracing Islam. When asked about challenges faced, they replied that society at large are receptive and they are even able to work with other religious bodies to resolve issues, if necessary.
Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia (PasMa) is the NGO set up by members of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which aims to promote Pakatan Rakyat (a political coalition comprising PAS and two other parties – the People’s Justice Party (PKR) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP)) amongst the general public. It was established to ensure that any conflicts involving these three main parties could be resolved through collective discussion. Despite meeting resistance from certain quarters, PASMA believes that it will continue to foster greater understanding among the three political parties.
When these organizations were asked about ethnic relations in Penang, they said they do not face many issues here. Everybody, regardless of race or religion, leads their own lives in harmony. However, they did point towards increasing racial provocations, particularly from politicians, as a source of hurt for certain religious or racial groups. This situation must be resolved before it becomes worse. They shared the same views that racial issues are always being sensationalised in this country for political mileage.
In the evening, the Fellows had the opportunity to speak with two distinguished guests – Mr Zairil Khir Johari, the CEO of Penang Institute, a state public policy think tank, and current Member of Parliament of Bukit Bendera, and Ms Sharon Ling, the Communications and Advocacy Officer of the Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC).
Ms Sharon shared with us that women’s issues nowadays are not straightforward. She introduced the term “intersectionality” which means that the issues involving women should not be examined in isolation, and should consider other variables such as religion, race, and class. To promote this cause, PWDC set up a project called “Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting” to encourage a more inclusive decision making process. Men and women, and boys and girls are allowed to give proposals and suggestions for their local council’s budget. Interestingly, Ms Sharon told us that women were polled separately from their husbands during the discussions to ensure they could provide ideas and suggestion independently.
Mr Zairil gave us an overview of the Penang Institute’s objectives and activities. He also shared some findings from the Institute’s research on housing policy, development and transport On national unity, Penang Institute is committed to shaping positive ethnic relations within society via healthy dialogue on the relevant issues. Lastly, he emphasized the importance of public policy research to ensure that any policy implemented by the government is workable, efficient, and benefits society.
Overall, it was an insightful first turun padang for all of us. We met many different organisations, and considered their various perspectives on national unity as well as the diverse issues each organization faced. Thank you to all the groups who met with us, and for IDEAS for organizing the trip!
-Farhan
Ms Sharon shared with us that women’s issues nowadays are not straightforward. She introduced the term “intersectionality” which means that the issues involving women should not be examined in isolation, and should consider other variables such as religion, race, and class. To promote this cause, PWDC set up a project called “Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting” to encourage a more inclusive decision making process. Men and women, and boys and girls are allowed to give proposals and suggestions for their local council’s budget. Interestingly, Ms Sharon told us that women were polled separately from their husbands during the discussions to ensure they could provide ideas and suggestion independently.
Mr Zairil gave us an overview of the Penang Institute’s objectives and activities. He also shared some findings from the Institute’s research on housing policy, development and transport On national unity, Penang Institute is committed to shaping positive ethnic relations within society via healthy dialogue on the relevant issues. Lastly, he emphasized the importance of public policy research to ensure that any policy implemented by the government is workable, efficient, and benefits society.
Overall, it was an insightful first turun padang for all of us. We met many different organisations, and considered their various perspectives on national unity as well as the diverse issues each organization faced. Thank you to all the groups who met with us, and for IDEAS for organizing the trip!
-Farhan
A picture with Mr. Zairil Khir Johari, CEO of Penang Institute and Ms Sharon Ling, representative of PWDC. (Standing from left: Nicholas, Azril, Ganesh, Muqit, Fateha, Azad, Syafiq, Aun Qi, Patricia, Saila, Jeremy, Aisha, Dian, Syazwan, Farhan Haziq, Tarmizi, Taufiq. Sitting from left: Calvin, Adam, Ehsan, Zairil Khir Johari, Sharon Ling, Tricia Yeoh)