‘…assertion that the Malays will suffer for the fact of non-Malays gaining political power is both unsubstantiated and dangerously misleading. No non-Malay politicians are challenging the status of the Malays. The Federal Constitution guarantees their protected status and there is a glaring absence of any discussion of an amendment to the Constitution.
In the same vein, the call for a more equitable method of affirmative action can only be beneficial to the Malay community, a community that, despite the many years of the NEP and its successor policies, many of those under the stewardship of Tun Dr Mahathir himself, is still afflicted by poverty. This sad state of affairs is indisputable and has even prompted calls for reassessment by Malay opinion leaders’.
Read the rest of Malik Imtiaz’s ‘In defence of Bangsa Malaysia’ in his Malay Mail column, Disquiet.
May 27, 2008 at 3:40 pm
God bless you both, Haris and Malik, for your wisdom, sanity and reason.
May 27, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I strongly suspect that it is UMNO’s wish to keep the poor Malays poor (and ignorant) so that they can continue to plunder the nation’s wealth. How they do so is by constantly and consistently telling the Malays of the ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ being threatened by the non-Malays. These despicable acts by the despicable people like Mahathir must be exposed for the evil which they are. Long live the Bangsa Malaysia!
May 27, 2008 at 3:49 pm
We are no longer dealing with the Constitution or other civilizing influences. There’s not even a half-witted low IQ M’sian Malay or non-Malay who does not know what is right or wrong.
But, we are facing racism, religious extremism, raw emotions and demagoguery.
We need a Ghandhi or Mandela, a true Statesman to rise among us, to guide all. Perhaps, a reformed DSAI is the answer.
Let’s take that risk, becoz everything else has failed.
May 27, 2008 at 5:17 pm
its time Malays also call themselves Malaysians
the chinese , indians , Kadazans and more lately “illegal ” Indonesians also have started calling themselves Malaysians except the Malay who wants to be known exclusively as Malay ONLY !!
Come my brothers and sisters, lets break away from these imaginary barriers which have separated us for decades.
KAMI ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA !!
May 27, 2008 at 5:29 pm
My fellow Malaysians,
We are living in the Age of Millennium. Count the years since the NEP had started. Now, open your minds and thoughts coupled with rational thinking :- weigh the pros and cons which it has impacted upon our society.
Besides having raised a handful of successful Malay businessmen, the NEP has also in a way, psychologically and not to mention economically deprived the Malays. The Malays have lived in a comfort zone for far too long until it has “raped” them from the sense of competitiveness to excel in life. A simple example is the quality of our Malay graduates. Sure, they hold MBA, Phd, LLB, Ir. titles to their name, but ask them to convey their ideas in the English language whether in the form of written or spoken. They could not do so effectively or confidently to the extent that we sometimes ponder as to how they managed to obtain their degrees from overseas let alone survive in some foreign country for years.
Now compare to the older generations of the Malays, who studied locally or abroad during the colonization of the British, where NEP was non-existent. These Malays speak and write in the Queen’s English, a standard which I dare to say is almost non-existent in the Malays nowadays. They managed to obtain degrees or diplomas through their handwork and sheer determination.
Coming back to reality and looking at the state of the Malays, how could we have ended in this state ? Even with all such assistance provided to the Malays nowadays ? The answer is simple : Malays are now complacent as a direct result of years of special privileges.
For the fortunate Malays who are now successful Malay businessmen as a result of the NEP, a majority (but not all) of them do not return to their grassroots. Instead of helping other Malays, the NEP is used again and again by them to bring wealth to themselves and to their “group”. They establish ties with politicians to satisfy their greed at the expense of other aspiring Malay entrepreneurs. I know this for a fact as I had been working in a 100% Bumiputra PLC for seven years. Forget about transparency, forget about “Tender Review Committee” not because they do not exist, but because their existence is just merely to fulfill the requirements. In the end, the tenders are awarded to companies which are controlled and managed by “proxies” of the main player. This defeats the very intention of the NEP.
I love my race. I am a Malay and I am proud to be a Malaysian but I do not want to see the special privileges which was intended to help the Malays to be the very reason for its downfall. We need to look upon history and trace our roots. If the NEP needs to be reassessed even if it is concluded that it needs to be abolished for the betterment of the Malays, then let it be.
May 27, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Anak Malaysia’s plea!
Please old man, use what has been given you to sow good, don’t destroy the nation.
From our elders we can rely to receive gems of advices gleaned from their years and years experiences. These experiences are normally filled with wisdom which the younger generations can use as their living-guide. They definitely would not be words which teach hatred, division and chaos. They would more likely be words that encourage unity, love, harmony and peace.
How sad we have in our midst, an old man sowing discord and disunity. He has the cheek to say he is doing what he is doing for the good of the nation.
May 27, 2008 at 7:47 pm
dear haris,
pardon me impudence. malik only a voice in wilderness. even you. all talk of mandela or ghandi go nowhere if person concerned lack credibility with malays. sorry 2 say that. maha kutty placed match + kerosene on sunday with statement ‘unrest among races in m’sia’ if dollah continue be pee emm.
haris. 2day 1 umno mp in parliament actually ask dollah kick out zaid. pee emm pressure on all side! pakatan on one end, opportunists in umno another. if trouble starts, who u think will become fall guy? i speak 2 malay hawkers + traders on streets, some tell me they c trouble b4 dec. what do u think they mean by ‘trouble’?
someone going 2 use match + kerosene laid by maha kutty, and next thing u know we c NOC circa 1969. n after that umno tell dollah 2 get lost as he lost control of situation as maha kutty ‘predicted’. but if majority of malays come out fighting n SAY NO TO UNREST BY MAHA KUTTY, then MALAYSIANS WIN!
but can anyone do that? can any malay politician(s) with credibility come out and rally malays and say, ‘listen, say no to maha kutty n his politics. if umno wankers start trouble, we malays must b prepared to put out fire along with other races in msia’. but as i say, got any such person? Coo Lie? Anwar? u think lah.
unless anwar got good contacts within security services and takeover (if such thing possible) swift i.e. b4 dollah wakes up n find out, then i say maha kutty just gave umno mongs excuse 2 stir ‘najis’ up.
this IS NOT n yet IS ABOUT race. IS NOT bcos maha kutty angry his cronies, sons, n legacy pushed one side. IS ABOUT race bcos maha kutty exploiting race politics n only bcos it still relevant in msia. match + kerosene ready on umno side already; on our side got ready a BOMBA TEAM ah?
May 27, 2008 at 9:21 pm
There are Malays in South Africa and there is a Malay community in Sri Lanka. Reading all that is written of how the Malays are losing out to the nons despite thier strength in numbers, control of the government and the almost complete hold on everyone in uniform, the Malays in these other coutries must be feeling overly happy that they left Malaya as all the fears beign expressed by Mahathir Mohammad must seem so alien to them.
These South African and Sri Lankan Malays must be wondering how come the Malays in Malaysia have not developed or evolved into the 21st century as their leaders make them sound like as if the Malays like lamb need to be shepherded and guided because their brains have failed to develop maybe.
I fear the greatest enemies of the Malay race are their own political leaders who have basically hijacked the entire race and speak like as if that is the aspiration of the Malay race.
What really is the threat to the Malay race that they require protection? I have tried to analyse that in a recent post on my blog. whether it makes sense, well, you can see for yourself.
May 28, 2008 at 4:37 am
One of the best “Bangsa Malaysia” articles I’ve read so far.
Bangsa Malaysia can never be the downfall of any race in Malaysia. It is a concept, an idea, a strong belief that Malaysia is for all of us Malaysians.
May 28, 2008 at 5:39 am
[...] Malaysia articles I’ve read so far. Read also the comments at the People’s Parliament here. I’m anticipating quite a number of comments. Published [...]
May 28, 2008 at 8:12 am
We must never take the likes of Harris and Malik for granted. The truth is their struggle is both for all Malaysian as well as their own race. In fact it is primarily for the sake of their race that the do what they do because its the long term and fundamental strength of their race they fight for.
When on one hand you have the likes of Harris and Malik, on the other hand you have Dr. M, his supporters and MP for Pasir Salak, one must truly appreciate the heros that these men are…
May 28, 2008 at 10:18 am
Dear Editor,
It was surprising that the Kota Kinabalu Syariah High Court’s ruling on apostasy on Monday did not receive any coverage on your website.
I am sure the decision of the Syariah High Court would have interested many of those who have been following developments on religious freedom in Malaysia.
The Daily Express (Tuesday 27th May)* reported that the Kota Kinabalu Syariah High Court had ruled that the Syariah courts have no authority to decide on apostasy.
In the case Roslinah Saidi failed in her application to be declared a non-Muslim. The presiding judge Ahmad Lakim, said “There is no clear representation that accords authority to the Syariah Court to allow Muslims to convert out of Islam”.
This clearly shows that the best avenue to declare that a person is no longer a Muslim is the secular civil courts.
According to the Malaysia Agreement, Article 11(4) cannot be applied to Sabah, which means Muslims in Sabah are free to convert to other religions. Therefore it is only timely that this point of the Malaysia Agreement be invoked in such cases.
The Syariah judge, Ahmad Lakim had made a correct judgement. A Catholic priest once told me that once a person is baptized as a Christian, he is a Christian forever and that the church has no right to declare otherwise. Similarly when a person is a Muslim, he is a Muslim forever.
If there is anyone who can declare that the person has ceased to be a Muslim, it would be the secular civil courts.
*Syariah Court:We Have No Authority,pg 4,The Daily
Express, Tuesday 27 May 2008
Betty D.Primus
Papar, Sabah
Betty,
I’ve gone into the online Daily Express for 27th May and I can’t source the report.
Could you send it as a link to thepeoplesparliament@gmail.com, please?
May 28, 2008 at 10:41 am
I salute Harris, Malik and other bloggers holding similar sentiments as Malaysian citizens and who are not afraid to speak their mind even if their own race might castigate them as traitors.
It takes enormous internal strength and conviction to not only believe in being “bangsa Malaysia” but also to broadcast it without fear. I respect such true Malaysians who are trying their best to instill some sanity in the midst of rabble-rousers as the sick old man who under the pretext of fighting for the Malays is only stoking up racism in the country for his own agenda.
Mamakthir or maha kutty or whatever other sobriquet is conferred on him is fast becoming the grand destroyer of whatever is good and noble in this country. He has stooped so low as to play the racial card in his undisguised obsession to topple AAB.
Whatever his nefarious agenda, it would behove on sane, rational and patriotic Malaysians not to fall to this old man’s vile and dangerous game.
Malaysia is for all Malaysians irrespective of race, religion or creed.Nobody is questioning the special privileges of the Malays enshrined in the constitution and nobody is questioning it except those insecure of their own status and whatever grandiose schemes they have in mind to further their own bemuddled agenda.
May 28, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Hi Haris,
I follow both your blog and Rocky’s Bru.
It is curious how Rocky’s Bru only highlights events that show Mahathir in a favourable/non-negative light; Mahathir’s deplorable actions are not reported or even alluded to.
I have begun wondering if there is some sort of bias. Or perhaps I am imagining.
May 28, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I wholeheartedly agree with Bigjoe.
Haris and Malik should struggle not only for all Malaysians but also for the improvement of people of their own race.
The Malay people are good people, but I can’t help but feel they are being enfeebled, misinformed and manipulated.
All other Malaysians in the spirit of Bangsa Malaysia and out of love and care for their fellow country-people should help along.
We should lend support to people who genuinely struggle for the improvement of the Malays, and who empathise with and also struggle for the non-Malays, regarding all of us as equal children of Malaysia.
Haris Ibrahim and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar are two such noble persons. They have my respect and support.
Baron,
For your information, my race : Bangsa Malaysia
Otherwise, in official forms, race : irrelevant
May 28, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Kudos,Haris and Malik,if more enlighted beings like you both emerge to champion ‘Saya anak Bangsa Malaysia’ I am sure more Malaysians who migrated will be inspired to return and for those who are here,to stay put.For the first time,I felt very proud to be a Malaysian,thanks for this inspiration!
May 28, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Haris,
Ditto.
I consider myself Malaysian as well, identifying myself as such when inquired — never by my ethnicity.