Mohammed with his book ‘How Malaysia Missed 7 Chances at Nation Building’. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
HAVING served three decades in the banking and financial sector across various capacities regionally, Datuk Mohammed Hussein has earned himself a well-deserved retirement.
But the years of service had instilled in the 75-year-old Kelantanese an undying passion for the country and its people.
His book, How Malaysia Missed 7 Chances at Nation Building, launched last August, is testament to that spirit.
The 216-page book delves into the country’s pivotal moments in history and reflects on how these could have radically altered the nation’s trajectory.
The former Maybank deputy president said the idea to write the book came during his 2018 visit to Indonesia.
“I watched a movie in Jakarta about how Indonesia’s first president Sukarno proclaimed independence two days after Japan surrendered in World War II in 1945.
“It got me thinking, why didn’t Malaya do the same then? Instead, our leaders waited for the British to return three weeks later.
“Had the leaders demonstrated our resolve and declared independence, and organised resistance against the Communists, the spirit of ‘we fought for independence with our blood’ would have become part of our history.
“It would have changed the Malays psyche from the often-described ‘easy-going and relaxed’ to a tougher disposition.
“Even if the British were to return and reimpose their rule, as they did three weeks after the Japanese surrender, they would have greater respect for the Malays and their aspiration to improve our economic situation vis-a-vis the immigrant races.”
That realisation marked the beginning of a six-year research, during which Mohammed visited museums and consulted various archives for information.
In the book, he noted Malaya’s failure to declare independence in 1945 as the first missed chance.
The second was when Umno rejected calls by its first president Datuk Onn Jaafar to open up membership to non-Malays.
This, Mohammed argued, gave rise to raced-based parties which shaped much of Malaysia’s political and social landscape in subsequent decades.
The third missed chance involved negotiations in the drafting of the Federal Constitution, which despite being successful in avoiding bloodshed, had been less impactful in ensuring balance in political and economic influences among different communities.
The book also reflected on the May 13, 1969 riots, which led to the formation of the National Operations Council (Mageran) by then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak to manage emergencies.
Mohammed posited that Abdul Razak, empowered by Mageran, could have enacted stronger reforms had the council not been dissolved after two years.
In the book, Mohammed also critically evaluated the success of the National Economic Policy in uplifting bumiputra communities.
It questioned if the policy had actually helped the intended group or if it had benefitted the financial elites more.
Mohammed also highlighted Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Vision 2020 as the sixth missed chance.
He noted that the government and decision-makers then had failed to formulate policies to address challenges outlined in the grand vision.
He went on to flag Barisan Nasional’s Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s general election victory in 2004 and Pakatan Harapan, then led by Mahathir, ascent to Putrajaya in 2018 as the seventh missed chance.
The nation’s politicians, Mohammed said, had failed to seize the momentum brought by these major political shake-ups to affect significant change.
One of the key messages of the book is the need for bumiputra economic participation to be based on competency-building, so that it will be more resilient.
“There is nothing wrong with bumi-non bumi partnerships.
“In fact, we should encourage Malay-non bumi partnerships, but they must be substantive partnerships, with more substantive participation by the Malay partners, so that they acquire competency and therefore become more sustainable and resilient,” said the author.
Mohammed added that the book was targeted at young adults like millennials and Gen Z.
“I hope it will be an eye-opener for them, who represent the future of Malaysia,” he added.
Mohammed will be speaking more about the book at a talk to be held at MPH at The Exchange TRX on Feb 19, from 5pm to 7pm.
It will be moderated by Malaysiakini co-founder Premesh Chandran with political activist Liyana Marzuki as panellist.
