Six values to advance a community

THE much buzzed-about Bumiputra Economic Congress was held in Putrajaya from Feb 29 to March 2. It was the seventh such event, following the first in 1965.

As in past congresses, there were, as usual, suggestions and recommendations on policies, strategies, aid and whatnot put forward, all aimed at uplifting the bumiputra community.

However, I believe that such details – whatever anyone thinks about them – will come to nothing if bumiputras are lacking in the six values necessary to ensure success and growth in all aspects of life.

I have long suspected that upskilling, training, education and such efforts pale in comparison to having an understanding of clear life values that haven’t changed since 5,000 years ago and that are still valid now in this so-called age of artificial intelligence (AI). (By the way, these six values will also beat AI hands down, anywhere, any time.)

The first value is the building of a vast network of contacts among people.

I believe the future of this world relies on the idea of valuing the network.

Firstly, a network provides clear marketing access across cultures, race and faith.

It would not do for bumiputras to sit alone in their own comfortable tempurung (coconut shell) and sell only to their own kind.

That’s just not smart.

Secondly, a wide network provides a free talent pool for joint ventures and a source pool for any project businesses want to bid on. One does not have to know everything, merely learn to rely on the smarts of working together and with each other for mutual benefit.

Thirdly, the network can provide sources of funding and help in many different ways.

That is why I keep harping on the idea that the future of education depends on cultivating the right human relations, not just learning about the next gen AI.

Trust, respect and confidence is key to any business venture.

The second value is developing an appreciation for all cultures and faiths.

Nowadays, Malaysians do not seem to respect other cultures, thinking that in a digital world, they can be independent of others. But working outside our social, religious and political comfort zones is no longer the exception. Graduates must learn to work with other cultures, with a global talent pool built through painstaking networking.

Learning to respect other cultures and faiths is a true sign of maturity and humility – both qualities that are essential for personal growth.

And personal growth is a key success factor because humans grow only when they encounter differences in their lives and environment. If we stay within our own tribes of race, culture and politics, we will be stagnant.

The third value that the bumiputra must have is the ability to exercise “muhasabah”, or personal self-reflection and personal criticism.

When a venture struggles or is unsuccessful, one must learn to not immediately blame everyone around, but must become accustomed to taking a step back to look into oneself.

Blaming others offers no potential for growth; reflecting on one’s own weaknesses and failings, on the other hand, is the best way to grow and become stronger.

No one can help you grow but yourself, and you can only do this through healthy and clear-eyed self-criticism, coupled with a determination to overcome and conquer the flaws discovered.

The fourth value is to be brave and courageous enough to try many things, and to be strong to manage many failures.

I always say to younger academicians that I became a professor at an early age because I made many “mistakes”. Meaning that I tried many things on my own initiative. Do not let those around you define the limits of your career and personal growth. Plan and execute, plan and execute, while taking on advice from seniors who demonstrate humility in success.

But it seems to me that young people today just want to follow a template and then demand a promotion. The world, I am afraid, does not work that way.

The fifth value is to learn and learn and learn from reading books of worth.

The bumiputra must read books on many subjects and issues to liberate the mind from the imprisonment of racial, religious and professional labels.

Only by reading books can the mind question and ponder on wrongs committed through the built-up and inherited narratives of “education” in schools, houses of worship and the community in general. True and meaningful learning only comes when one questions inherited knowledge and practices, and this can only happen when one reads about the experiences of others, regardless of culture and faith.

The sixth value – the last though not the least – would be the value of helping the poor and others in need as a sign of gratitude to God for helping with the success of our life in all ventures.

The idea of helping others should go way beyond community service and into the realm of spiritual growth to complement the rediscovery of self within the struggle to achieve success in this world. The final frontiers of spirituality will be the peg that holds all experiences, attitudes and perspectives together in a world of tolerance, inclusiveness and compassion, as opposed to a world of mistrust, disrespect and the selfishness of “us vs them”.

The government can only do so much. The Prime Minister can only advise and encourage development and growth.

It is bumiputras themselves who must take the opportunity to grow beyond their own personal failings brought about by the tradition of knowledge that places us within a toxic narrative of us against the world.

The new paradigm is us with the world, not against it.

Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Studies at UCSI University.

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.