FOREWORD BY TENGKU RAZALEIGH HAMZAH

At the launch of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), I noted that Tunku ’Abidin had outlined ‘an extraordinary project which combined a commitment to constitutional democracy with an awareness of its historical context’. This collection of articles, written with his signature flair, is commensurate with that project.

 It is clear from these pages that there are certain things that Tunku ’Abidin cares deeply about. He cares about freedom, and speaks consistently about how individual liberty can be brought to more Malaysians through public policy. He cares about his heritage, and takes every opportunity to remind the reader that the traditions of democracy and constitutionalism pervaded the societies of both his Minangkabau and Terengganu forebears. He cares about music, and it is easy to see how his preference for Chopin represents his commitment to individual expression. Of all the policy areas, he clearly feels most strongly about education, and frequently writes about how schools can be freed from central control, becoming subject to competition and the preferences of parents. Federalism is another favourite topic, and his frustration with the lack of decentralised decision-making in our federation is increasingly felt on both sides of the South China Sea.

Every article he writes serves as an invitation to enter part of his multi-faceted world that he analyses with panache, intelligence and optimism. Every Friday, readers of Malaysia’s most well-respected newspaper get the opportunity to witness the world through the eyes of an inquisitive, entertaining and mature prince. This book, I am sure, will generate many more fans, young and old, who may be initially surprised at how much of what he says resonates with what they believe. 

Indeed, while some of their arguments might seem challenging or counterintuitive, Tunku ’Abidin and colleagues at IDEAS are certainly asking the right questions and casting the right doubts. Perhaps, in the future, they may face censure, ridicule or condemnation by the government of the day. It may throw them off balance and cause them to lose heart, but in them I see a determination and strategic foresight that will run rings around whatever is thrown in their path.

For unlike so many other think tanks that ally themselves to political parties, constantly shifting their priorities and leaving ideology by the wayside, IDEAS is driven by values that Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj would have readily embraced. As economic liberals, they defend the principles of capitalism as the Tunku did, and as social liberals, they detest the state intruding into people’s lives as the Tunku did. And yet, when they articulate their four principles of rule of law, limited government, free markets and individual liberty, it is difficult to imagine them being anything other than conservative, as the Tunku was.

Our nation’s future rests on the shoulders of such young people, and I wish them all the very best.

YBM Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
MP for Gua Musang
June 2010