The veteran politician also took a swipe at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and political trademark of 1 Malaysia.
“The first step in ‘grabbing the bull by the horns’ is not to require the endorsement of the Prime Minister, or any Minister, for your activism. Politicians are not your parents. They are your servants.
“You don’t need a government slogan coined by a foreign PR agency to wrap your project in. You just go ahead and do it,” the Gua Musang MP said during the 4th Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit here.
He added that the youth must not seek political patronage but seek a better future for the country.
“Overcome the urge to have our hopes for the future endorsed by the Prime Minister. He will have retired, and I’ll be long gone when your future arrives. The shape of your future is being determined now.
“Resist the temptation to say ‘in line with’ when we do something. Your projects, believe it or not, don’t have to be in line with any government campaign for them to be meaningful. You don’t need to polish anyone’s apple. Just get on with what you plan to do,” said Tengku Razaleigh also affectionately known as Ku Li.
He said that the public must replace “sensitive” prejudices with “reasoned” discussions to create better understanding among the different communities.
“Do not put a lid on certain issues as ‘sensitive’ just because someone said they are. Or it is against the Social Contract. Or it is ‘politicisation’. You don’t need to have your conversation delimited by the hyper-sensitive among us. Sensitivity is often a club people use to hit each other with. Reasoned discussion of contentious issues builds understanding and trust. Test this idea,” he said.
He added that Malaysians’ freedom is enshrined in the country’s constitution.
“We must have freedom as guaranteed under our Constitution. Freedom to assemble, associate, speak, write, move. This is basic. Even on matters of race and even on religious matters we should be able to speak freely, and we shall educate each other,” he said.
The Kelantan prince stressed that the country was born from unity and not racial strife.
“Our sense of ourselves as Malaysians, a free and united people, has been replaced by a tale of racial strife and resentment that continues to haunt us. The thing is, this tale is false.
“The most precious thing you have been deprived of has been your history. Someone of my generation finds it hard to describe what must seem like a completely different country to you now. Malaysia was not born in strife but in unity. Our independence was achieved through a demonstration of unity by the people in supporting a multiracial government led by Tengku Abdul Rahman.
“That show of unity, demonstrated first through the municipal elections of 1952 and then through the Alliance’s landslide victory in the elections of 1955, showed that the people of Malaya were united in wanting their freedom. We surprised the British, who thought we could not do this,” he said.
Tengku Razaleigh continued to urge the country repeal draconian laws that have abused to instill fear.
“Hence while you are at this conference, let me argue, that as an absolute minimum, we should call for the repeal of unjust and much abused Acts which are reversals of freedoms that we won at Merdeka.
“I ask you in joining me in calling for the repeal of the ISA and the OSA. These draconian laws have been used, more often than not, as political tools rather than instruments of national security. They create a climate of fear,” he said.
Ku Li also urged the government to abolish the Printing and Publications Act (PPA) and the Universities and Colleges Act (UCA) which has downgraded the education system.
“I ask you to join me in calling for the repeal of the Printing and Publications Act, and above all, the Universities and Colleges Act. I don’t see how you can pursue your student activism with such freedom and support in the UK and Eire while forgetting that your brethren at home are deprived of their basic rights of association and expression by the UCA.
“The UCA has done immense harm in dumbing down our universities. We must have freedom as guaranteed under our Constitution,” he said.
He said that public must be proactive and have the initiative to determine the future of the country.
“Don’t let them tell you how bright and ‘exuberant’ you are, that you are the future of the nation. If you close your eyes and flow with their flattery you have safely joined the caravan, a caravan taking the nation down a sink hole. If they tell you the future is in your hands kindly request that they hand that future over first. Ask them how come the youngest member of our cabinet is 45?
“Our Merdeka cabinet had an average age below thirty. You’re not the first generation to be bright. Mine wasn’t too stupid. But you could be the first generation of students and young graduates in fifty years to push this nation through a major transformation. And it is a transformation we need desperately,” Tengku Razaleigh said.
He added that Malaysians should not be deceived with a false sense of gratitude to the government.
“You will be told that much is expected of you, much has been given to you, and so forth. This is all true. Actually much has also been stolen from you. Over the last twenty five years, much of the immense wealth generated by our productive people and our vast resources has been looted.
“This was supposed to have been your patrimony. The uncomplicated sense of belonging fully, wholeheartedly, unreservedly, to this country, in all it diversity, that has been taken from you,” the Umno leader said.
