Khairy said he wishes to free the ethnic Malay community from mental obstacles that are holding them back from achieving great success. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — Khairy Jamaluddin today said he will work to free Malays from insecurity if voted in as Umno president.

Khairy said he wishes to free the ethnic Malay community from mental obstacles that are holding them back from achieving great success.

“If I become Umno president, I want to unshackle the Malay mind. I want to free (them) from the grip of history, from the grip of inferiority, from Malays with a defeatist feeling to become Malays that are maju (progressive), Malays that dare to compete, Malays that dare to chase after opportunities,” he said in an interview that was broadcast “live” nationwide via television channel Astro Awani.

“And Umno will no longer be a party that emotionally blackmails or scares the Malays with myths that actually no longer exist,” he added.

Khairy noted that Malays are burdened with the historical baggage that suggests they cannot achieve progress without assistance, but said the country’s largest ethnic community has to welcome competition to spur Malaysia forward.

“Rather than talking about issues of having a crutch, aid, subsidies, we have to celebrate achievements, we have to be confident in ourselves.

“We don’t see it as ‘us [against] them’, not all are our enemies. We have to view competition as healthy,” he said.

He added that any assistance to the Malays should only be directed to those who are needy instead of those who have connections, saying: “Then only we can have confidence.”

He said the majority of aid recipients are Malays, but added that assistance should not be given with the idea that the Malay community would otherwise fail and were only receiving it due to their ethnicity.

“It's more in the context to prepare them for open and healthy competition, besides giving them the confidence that this aid is given to you for you to compete later on, not lifelong,” he said.

“We have to remember for Malaysia to fly high and compete with other countries, Malays must achieve progress.

“If Malays don’t achieve progress, the majority of Malaysians don’t achieve progress and have no confidence and ability and capability, then we can’t become a competitive country,” he added.

Khairy is one of five candidates gunning for the Umno president post in the party elections to be held this Saturday.

Khairy's remarks bring to mind former Umno president and current prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's examination and ideas of the ethnic Malay community through the latter's book The Malay Dilemma that was first published in 1970.

In the same interview, Khairy also spoke about the need for a total overhaul of Umno's image and culture.

He said that if he were elected party president, he would form a new council within Umno as a shortcut to leadership posts for professionals and experts.

He said Umno's machinery will have to emulate Dr Mahathir's knack for explaining complex issues to the public in a manner that is easily understood, and also shift from the culture of using rhetoric to putting across fact-based arguments.

“Politics in Malaysia, politics in Umno must also be based on knowledge, not rhetoric; if we have a political culture that does not have knowledge at its core, how can we have science and technology?” he asked.

He advocated against an Umno general assembly where speeches are only meant to flatter and entertain party members without looking at facts.

Khairy instead said the Malay community would be encouraged to read and research before making decisions and even encouraging their children to take up science and technology, if Umno becomes a party that celebrates facts and solid arguments.