such a sensitive matter indiscreetly.
The definition of Malay in the Federal Constitution is quite broad. Thus
Zainuddin Maidin, the former Minister of Information a pure Tamil was
able to obtain official classification as a Malay Bumiputra with all the
womb to the tomb privileges which are denied to ethnic Chinese and
Indians who pay the bulk of the taxes. Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, a
former Minister of Tourism also a pure Tamil is now a Bumiputra Malay.
Likewise ethnic Chinese adopted by Malays have been classified as
Malays. Worse, people like Mohd Khir Toyol whose indigent parents
immigrated from Indonesia have been granted Malay Bumiputra status too.
He is the former Chief Minister of Selangor.
In a 2006 issue of the Suara KeADILan the organ of Anwar Ibrahim's
party, 18 allegations of corruption and influence peddling were made
against this man. During his tenure he did not clear himself of the
serious allegations. Anyway, the taxonomy used by the ruling clique to
bestow Malay Bumiputra status is so capricious and arbitrary that the
ordinary Malaysian is as confounded by it as any penghulu ( village
headman ) would be if consulted on the matter.
Now the real natives of peninsular Malaysia are the Orang Asli but they
have been displaced just like the Sami of Norway. Even after 50 years of
independence not a single member of that community has been appointed to
high public office. Sections of the community have protested from time
to time against the alienation of their lands by predators linked to the
ruling clique. Some years ago, during Christmas time the municipal
authorities in a township in Johor tore down a wooden chapel built by a
community of Christian Orang Asli on their own land.
Previously, according to local Orang Asli researcher, Colin Nicholas a
wooden church built by another community of Christian Orang Asli also on
their own land on the outskirts of Tanjong Malim was bulldozed on the
orders of the District Officer. Nicholas claimed that the JHEOA ( the
Dept in charge of OA affairs ) was more interested in the conversion of
the OA to Islam than in their welfare. A researcher from New York found
much truth in Nicholas' allegation. As a result the JHEOA refused him
their cooperation and, if I am not mistaken, had his visa quickly
terminated. Several of Nicholas' articles appeared in the independent
Aliran. Recently some Orang Asli in Kelantan complained that they were
converted to Islam under false pretences. The story was published in
malaysiakini.com.
Indonesians who have come to Malaysia including illegal immigrants are
able to acquire Malay Bumiputra status quickly so that they even
supersede the Orang Asli in rank. Khir Toyo is a case in point. Although
the son of Indonesian immigrants, he was granted bumiputra status and
became a chief minister of the state of Selangor. But ethnic Chinese and
Indians who can trace their domicile in the country to several
generations back are relegated to 2nd class citizenship.
The Prime Minister Dato Abdullah Badawi denied that ethnic cleansing of
any sort, contrary to the allegations of HINDRAF, the Human Rights
activists, had taken place in Malaysia. He was obviously construing the
term in a very narrow sense. Actually, a scheme hatched at the highest
levels of Government to flood the Borneo state of Sabah with Muslim
illegal immigrants from Indonesia and the Philippines in order to reduce
the native population to a minority was in fact carried out. In a
petition heard in the High Court of Kota Kinnabalu, Sabah challenging Mr
Yong Teck Lee's election to the State Assembly, the presiding Judge
acknowledged that huge numbers of foreigners were illegally given PR
papers and enfranchised by officials of the National Registration and
the Elections Commission.
The scheme has been popularly called Project M for Mahathir is alleged
to have had a hand in it. Despite an Opposition party's demand in
Parliament to investigate the case and bring all the pariahs who were
involved to justice nothing has been done to date. Mahathir must be
investigated minutely in this matter too, and if his strange memory does
not suffer those egregious lapses we shall know the truth, specifically
in regard to the extent the Federal Government was responsible for the
huge number of foreigners in Sabah.who have reduced the native peoples
to a pathetic minority.
As Prime Minister, Mahathir at press conference declared that it was not
possible to spare the young Australians, Chambers and Barlow convicted
on a drug trafficking offence. Ironically it was under his
administration that a convicted murderer, Mokthar Hashim -- at that time
a Federal Cabinet Minister -- was granted a free pardon by the king. If
I remember correctly, Mr Karpal Singh queried in Parliament as to how
Bahariah got pregnant when her husband the convicted murderer M H was
supposed to be in jail. About the same time Abdullah Ang who was serving
a jail sentence for a commercial crime was found gallivanting in town.
He was photographed by reporters.
I feel that an team of independent and impartial anthropologists and
historians should be appointed to to study the history and anthropology
of the region specifically Malaysia. When that has been done, the need
to differentiate Malaysians along racial lines will mot be tenable
anymore. One of the pillars on which Singapore rests is the reasonable
assumption that all Singaporeans are either immigrants or the children
of immigrants. Which is why you don't find people there endlessly
quarrelling about who has superior blood etc.for such things not only
waste valuable time and divide us, but also distract us from the goal of
nation building.
Tengku Faris: Non-Malays should not seek equality
Andrew Ong
Apr 12, 08 2:10pm
( copyright article from malaysiakini.com )
Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra said today that Malays had
given into granting non-Malays citizenship and the latter should
therefore not seek equality or special treatment.
He said this during his keynote speech at a forum titled "Malay unity is
the core of national unity" organised by the newly formed Barisan
Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu in Kuala Lumpur today.
Speaking to a crowd of about 1,000 people, Tengku Faris said the Malay
rulers would be an umbrella to foster unity among all Malaysians, based
on the Federal Constitution and the Rukun Negara.
bbpm tengku faris 120408 tengku faris"Therefore, the rakyat must unite
and never raise issues regarding Malay rights and special privileges
because it is a quid pro quo in gratitude for the giving in of
citizenship (/beri-paksa kerakyatan/) to 2.7 million non-Malays into the
Tanah Melayu federation.
"Thus, it is not appropriate for these other ethnic groups to have
citizenship, only (later) to seek equality and privileges," said Tengku
Faris, who read from a 11-page prepared text.
However, the crown prince stressed that in an effort to unite the
Malays, non-Malays also have rights that must be protected, such as in
areas of religion.
As an example, Tengku Faris said non-Malays are allowed to practice
their respective religions in peace. They must however do so in
accordance with the law and "not be provocative towards Islam".
"The Malay rulers are the head of the Islamic religion and Malaysia is a
Islamic country (/negara Islam/), not secular. We have our own formula
(as a country) which is different from others," he added, drawing
thunderous applause from the crowd.
*
'Dominance'*
He added that the effort to instil Malay unity and defend Malay special
rights does not mean that other races would be ignored.
"In fact, if Malay rights and special privileges are taken care of and
is not disturbed, it would ensure national harmony. It does not just
benefit the Malays but all ethnic groups," he said.
bbpm tengku faris 120408 crowdIn his speech, Tengku Faris said the 12th
General Election results have shown that the Malays are being
"challenged" and thus Malays unity is of the outmost priority.
"The election results have shown that the Malays are disunited and
facing other ethnic groups who are more dominant politically and
economically," he said.
As the constitution provides that the Malays are the natives (/penduduk
asal/) of Malaysia, Tengku Faris said every Malay must defend the
constitution and Islam and this can only be achieved through Malay unity.
"We have to make an effort to unite. Don't spilt up. Avoid polemics that
can distance us. Ideology (and) having different interpretations does
not contribute to Malay unity.
"Discussing about polemics such as Islamic state, secular state, welfare
state... confuses the people... Resulting from this confusion, Malays
are becoming more disillusioned," he added.
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