Ketuanan Melayu – concept used by UMNO leaders to enslave all Malaysians

The 2009 Budget debate on the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage last night opened up with the most unprecedented and ferocious attack by the UMNO MP for Sri Gading Datuk Mohamad Aziz on the MCA for being “biadap” and “kurang ajar”, telling PPP to “get out” of Barisan Nasional and even proposing a political alliance of the Malay leaders in Umno, Pas and Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

When I spoke (see video), there was a deliberate attempt by former Cabinet Minister and UMNO MP for Rompin, Dr. Jamaludin Jarjis and Mohamad Aziz to sabotage my speech when I touched on the “ketuanan Melayu” controversy, demanding that I withdraw my non-ex isting statement that Malays are “tuan” and the Chinese are the “hamba” – with the matter left to be verified with Hansard (verbatim parliamentary report) the next morning, which proved that Jamaludin had mischievously misled the House with the false allegation.

My question why 51 years after Merdeka, the Umno leaders are not prepared to accept the concept of “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia” was evaded completely.

As I remarked this morning, when pointing out that the Hansard proved that Jamaludin had told a lie yesterday, “ketuanan Melayu” is in fact a concept used by the UMNO leaders to enslave all Malaysians – ordinary Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans.

For context, video clip of Mohamad Aziz’s speech is available here.

62 Replies to “Ketuanan Melayu – concept used by UMNO leaders to enslave all Malaysians”

  1. They want us to get off the bus. All the seats are reserved for them only. Too bad the bus is half-empty. The seats are all taken.

    JJ has the nerve to push for Ketuanan. He is the recipient of so many projects and assignments that those who support him are possibly blind.

    We should all contemplate getting off the bus.

  2. Yb,is this the Jamaludin whom a 32 year old assistant supervisor of a five star hotel lodged a police report for harassment (touching her bottom) and using language filled with sexual overtones.However not many days after it was launched she withdrew the report.Why she withdrew it your guess is as good as mine?Kapal has come out to say police report once made cannot be withdrawn? What happens to this stand.Can anyone enlighten me on this.

  3. This is the same Tuan who had an all-expense paid account at a suite in a 5-star hotel owned by a Chinese hamba, when the hamba was trying to win an IPP privatisation. The Tuan was at the time the executive chairman of the national utility.

    This is the same Tuan whose marina project killed off a large swathe of plate corals on Tioman, and who took a helicopter ride with the Sultan of Pahang and a bunch of mainstream reporters to show his “concern”.

  4. Say, isn’t this the same JJ the Minister who made some disparaging remarks against a Malaysian Indian female student in San Francisco a couple of years ago?

    He hasn’t changed his spots obviously and he continues to feel superior, a Tuan even, when he actually is a has-been, a discard.

  5. Lim Kit Siang is the only politician…championing for a united Malaysia for decades.
    After 50 years…just look at those two…UMNO MPs shooting down LKS’s most sensible and logical request..asking the change of “Ketuanan Melayu” to be….”Ketuanan Malaysians”
    What is so wrong with that?
    But UMNO can twist and turn….saying other races are treated well….and all that stuffs again.
    Worst still….Mr.Speaker ask LKS to tone down. Tone down what??…sensitive issue again??
    Listening to the arguments….UMNO will never change.
    They will keep on playing race and religion politics…till the end of their days…..although many in UMNO want the change…they ultras will ignore…..as that’s how they will win votes in their villages…keep fighting for Malay rights….that..no one is actually against ..special help to therm at all.
    The word Sekolah Kebangsaan is actually.. Sekolah Melayu…yet they want to close Chinese and Tamil schools.
    If they agree to address the country as the country for Malaysians…first…and change all the ‘melayu’ to ‘malaysian’ from every Dept….then it make sense to merge all schools into one.
    Such is the cunning art of UMNO….to divide and rule….championing Malays ..twisting and turning…behaving like Malaysians…..which infact…down right…Malay racialists……yet saying…Chinese and Indian schools should be closed down.
    Yes…others will keep fighting to be opened with their lives..as UMNO love this kind of dirty politics. If you cannot beat them…sometimes….very wise and smart.. to play their gamers…to defend our rights.
    This is the art of UMNO…..most cunning racialists buggers……corrupted to the core…..performing their usual hypocritical …wayang kulit…..shows…with no shame…no regrets at all.
    Najib have said……UMNO should listen to Malaysians and LKS spoke for all Malaysians. Those two UMNO hantus..spoke for UMNO Malays.
    UMNO is disunited…. as one by one…good noble members are resigning….yet they never learn.
    You think UMNO care for Malaysians……..or for themselves??
    Worst of all…are the MCA…Gerakan…..MIC…sitting down there…silent..with no balls to fight for Malaysians..to support LKS.
    Are not these UMNO balls carriers??
    All have been revealed…..so clear.
    For those young 2 million voters..that mostly are not married…I hope they think of the country..and not think of their own race.That’s out-dated..and furthermore…if they don’t vote for change of government….something is very wrong.

  6. If the UMNOputras are really Ketuanan Melayu, why you are paying only less than 10% of tax money collected in Malaysia?

    Are you all handicaped whom lost the ability to make a living thus pay no taxes?

    Why you guys needs the minority to feed you?
    When can you get rid of the tongkat?

    Why you guys have no shames at all?

  7. This is just an example of how corrupted and how mean this bunch of hypocrites who have been privileged to plunder and rape the national wealth for too long.This bunch of crooks nurtured by the most devilish political party in this 51 year old nation should have been rounded up and chucked into the deep blue South China Sea so that our future generations will not end up as cheap export labour and poor maids.

  8. Sex and Race, because they are easy, visible differences, have been the primary ways of organising human beings into superior and inferior groups and into the cheap labour on which this system still depends. We are talking about a society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen, or those earned. We are really talking about Humanism.

  9. Ketuanan melayu is a myth created by UMNO according to Malaysians Unplugged website. Read the comments by malaysianunplug:

    http://malaysianunplug.blogspot.com/2008/11/on-all-counts-ketuanan-melayu-is-myth.html

    According to one writer in Harakahdaily, the term ketuanan melayu was used first by Mahathir at the UMNO General Assembly during the time he was trying to humiliate the Malay Rulers by amending the constitution to cut back the powers of the Malay rulers. It was Mahathir who started using this ketuanan Melayu within UMNO to drive a wedge between Malays and the Malay Rulers at that time. The reason is that under the constitution, protection of the special position of the Malays and the Malay customs and that of Islam is embodied in the institution of the Malay Rulers. Thus the presence of the Malay Rulers is by itself a guarantee that the Malays’ special position and Islam are protected automatically. But Mahathir had other ideas since he has a dislike for the Malay rules and the Monarchy. By starting this Ketuanan Melayu call-cry, it sends a signal to the Malays that don’t need the Malay Rulers as an institution to protect the Malay’s special position. UMNO is the protector of the Malays by virtue of it as a Malay party and thus the supremacy of the Malays. It was an ingenius move by Mahathir but it was done surreptitiously while he was gearing up to cut down the powers of the Malay rulers which led to the amendment of the constitution.

    The article in Harakah by Fahri Abdullah al-Masri: http://www.harakahdaily.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17528&Itemid=1

    Fortunately many malays outside UMNO did not buy into Mahathir’s push on this malay supremacy idea since among the Malays, they find it insulting to other races and that is why it did not take root in the malay’s mindset except those in UMNO and the Indian Muslims and Arabs in UMNO who wanted to have the same privileges as the ethnic Malays.

    We don’t hear the royalties talking about ketuanan melayu except UMNO. As far as the sultans are concerned it is a non-issue by virtue of Constitution. The Sultan of Selangor in an interview with Wong Chung Wai more or less made clear where the Malay rulers stand on this .

    http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/2/nation/2690236&sec=nation

  10. The non-stop argument over ‘ketuanan melayu’ should be rested. Such argument for and against is bringing nobody to nowhere. Who the hell care whether they can call themselves ketuanan or some even more mighty term like may be heavenly?

    We should move forward from these pessimistic and narrow view of a tunnel. Many people in the country are sick of all these, calling names of each other fellow citizens, making police reports against each other over the minutest, suing each other over the most trivial….

    All these are consuming our national resources for no productive end results at all. These resources could have been used in other spheres of activities that bring benefits to all.

    We are wasting the times of the police (to accept reports and investigate trivialities), wasting the times of the judiciary to hear suits over simple matters which can be settled easily and amicably.

    Nowadays, lodging police reports by politicians and NGOs is like daily meals to them. Every day we read such reports being lodged.

    Let us move forward and deal with issues relating to development and economic progress of the country and the people and get all globalized.

  11. Geee.. why do we need to debate Ketuanan Melayu in Parliament? Its not something tangible that we can seriously analyze and debate. Its just some vague concept, like a catchphrase or a slogan. Why waste time debating it in Parliament?

  12. Whether it is the useless and shameless obscenity creator from P.Salak or M.A. or JJ,they are all opportunists and self seekers.Their satanic party is notorious for producing numerous evil and real national traitors and national wealth squanderers who are pushing Malaysia to join the like of Zimbawi.

  13. Instead of wasting time debating Ketuanan Melayu with blockhead UMNOputra’s why not go on the ground and start explaining to all the people about Ketuanan Rakyat instead?

    But you know, at the end of the day that probably wouldn’t work. You can make people grand promises and slogans BEFORE the elections. Its pretty meaningless to promise Ketuanan Rakyat AFTER the elections and especially AFTER you have control of 5 states.

    Please don’t just talk the talk. Please do the walking as well. Implement Ketuanan Rakyat for the PR states and lets see how successful it really can be… or is Ketuanan Rakyat just another fancy slogan like Ketuanan Melayu?

  14. The Rakyat is fed up with everybody BN and the opposition they are all alike a bunch of clowns. No body concern with the economic slowdown , the bread and butter issues of the man on the street .
    Economically we’re far off better 5 yrs ago than today . we’re far off better in race relation 5 yrs ago than today .

  15. Ketuanan Melayu is a racist concept coined by insecure people. The white supermacists in South Africa and the Germans under Hitler had similar concepts. History shows such shallow racist concepts will have a natural death.

    Such concepts does not fit in a civilized world. Those clinging on to such racism are the insecure ones. In Malaysia, so long as the Malays need their tongkat, the handouts (sounds more like dole) and the affirmative action, they are just BEGGERS and not MASTERS (tuans).

    They have been moulded into parasites who can’t stand on their own feet and compete with the other races. They need the tongkat because of UMNO’s divide and rule politics.

    The UMNOputras need a docile and subservient rural Malays to perpetuate their strangle hold on power and wealth. The NEP and affirmative actions are only to make the UMNOputras like Mohamad Aziz and Jamaluddin Jarjis to get richer at the expense of the poor ordinary Malays and non-Malays.

    Mohamad Aziz and Jamaluddin Jarjis are the scums and leaches who use the Ketuanan Melayu concept to suck the blood of their own race and that of the poor non-Malays. So long as we have such vermin in out midst, do we need another Mahathir, Rais Yatim or Ahmad Ismail?

    Since UMNO election is round the corner, we will see more worms of the same type coming out from all the cesspools of UMNO.

  16. When the British gave Independence to Malaya, they insisted that all races should contribute to the administration of the country. There was no mention of tuan or hamba; political power was a responsibility of every race that resided in this country. This was a condition set out by the British and they were strict on this precondition before granting independence. The Constitution that was bequeathed to the people was fair and protected every race.

    However, UMNO was not happy with the result but in order to gain independence they went along with these conditions and decided to join forces with MCA and MIC to stake a claim to the prize.

    During those times, the population of the Malays and non-Malays were at parity. The Chinese were mainly concerned with their economic well-being and the Malays were more into the civil service area where jobs were guaranteed and did not demand much competition. Political-wise, the Malays were smarter, while the Chinese in the MCA were big towkays who were very short-termism. They believed that wealth alone could determine and buy power and they did not recognize the importance of politics. But time proves them totally wrong.

    That was the time where UMNO and MCA entered into a supplementary, verbal agreement whereby UMNO would allow the MCA Chinese to have unfettered opportunity in the economic field in return for their having unrivalled control in the administration of the country. These MCA idiots, being so myopic in political matters, abdicated their responsibility and birthright of being citizens and sold their soul to mammon.

    As years went by, the UMNoputras slowly began to apply the screw tighter and tighter until the MCA could not do anything to counter because every businesses that they possessed were at the mercy of the UMNOputras. They could shout, but then they would lose their business licenses. So the only way to cling to their wealth, they had to prostitute themselves to the UMNOputras and surrender their political rights. The Constitution that was designed to protect the interest of every race was mutilated with a thousand knives by the UMNOputras and abetted by the MCA and MIC.

    This monumental mistake by the MCA has now come to haunt the country with so much misery. The UMNOputras have become so arrogant that they have come out with their Ketuanan Melayu bullshit alongside with the claims of the dubious social contract that they entered into with MCA. MCA has become so dysfunctional that they are powerless to own up to their mistake. The greed of a few MCA towkays fifty years ago has mortgaged the entire future of the the non-Malays. Shame on you, MCA.

  17. My views are;

    1. Malays in the 21st century are facing greater challenges than ever due to prolonged deficiency in education, emotional and human skills to stay competitive in global dynamics.

    2. Malays in general are good and warm people. Those who truly follow the teachings of Islam had kept the harmony in our society. PAS leaders and many of its strong members had displayed their appreciation of humanity, social development and integration in modern Malaysia. In the east coast of the Peninsula, it is my feeling that racial tension does not exist. Compared to the UMNO leaders, they had not only caused others to deprive the basic rights, their social development programs failed to elevate the life force of Malay community.

    3. Ketuanan Melayu is nothing and worthless if the leaders does not promote humanity, harmony and life force to bring about the potentials of every citizens. First, the UMNO leaders must learn to put down their ego and start to learn how to be humane. To me, I define UMNO version of Ketuanan Melayu is U-MUST-NOT-OPPOSE.

    4. Thanks to Tun Mahathir, many Malays are still behind others (what is the ranking of Malay in the world?). Today, Malays have become even more dependent rather than standing on their own feet. Is this deliberately engineered or Tun’s himself is to develop strong Malays?

    5. We, the non-Malay, must help and encourage them to achieve anything meaningful and healthy. They must learn to be independent and competitive in all aspects of lives. Or else, they could bring the entire boat down!

    My English is not as good as you all, I hope readers understand my care for our Malay friends.

  18. @mm Thanks for posting that, it’s exactly what the Internet should be for. It makes for very interesting background reading. Is there any chance of replacing the file with a version that has a complete table of contents, and paragraphs 1 (missing in its entirety) and 2 (missing beginning) included?

    I have some sympathy for katdog’s point of view. I read this blog because LKS makes the most sense (and his website publishes the fewest links to religious organisations) by far of any malaysian politician I’ve read. Some report of concrete progress in PR states would be marvellous. 6 months is a short time to be in charge of a large organisation, but 9 months won’t be. Any chance you could use an issue tracker (there are plenty of open source ones) in PR controlled states and provide read-only public access? Even if it served to record blocked initiatives, it would be a distinct improvement on no news at all.

  19. I fully support the Ketuanan Melayu concept. It will keep our Malay brothers & sisters forever dependent on Non Malays taxes to feed them by the Government.
    Imagine if our Malay brothers & sisters were to depend on themselves, Aiiiyayo, big problem for us non Malays.

  20. Future Islam at http://www.futureislam.com/20070501/insight/hali/Secular_Dimensions_of_Islam.asp :

    It says among other things: “One major hurdle in the way of peaceful co-existence is the false notion of racial superiority. It has already caused a great deal of bloodshed among different human races. But the Holy Qur’an demolished the age-old structure of racial superiority by asserting the common origin of all human beings. It recognizes piety and righteousness as the sole basis of nobility and superiority.”

    “That the Qur’anic concept of the universal brotherhood of Mankind is not an unattainable ideal, is established by the historical fact that Islam, during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammed, had already seen that brotherhood which welded the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the white and the black, into one fraternity, members of which forgot their racial differences and worked together as good as Muslims ought to in the service of humanity…. It was the exemplary realization of this objective of Islam that prompted the noted historian Arnold Tynobee to write in his Civilization on Trial, “The extinction of race consciousness between Muslim is one of the outstanding moral achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world, there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue…”

    Unless the Qu’ran is wrong, Ketuanan Melayu is unislamic, period. Is UMNO really practising Islam? Only they themselves should answer this question because it is between them and Allah.

  21. Why is this “Ketuanan” thing becoming so “hot” in recent times? Barely a day passes whiout one seeing, reading and hearing of it.

    Is it the result of some insecurity that one needs to be called “towering” and consequently need to demand to be in charge?

    It looks like this issue isn’t going to go away any time soon as a resolution isn’t looking likely with the current lack of leadership and direction. Let us hope it doesn’t go over the precipice.

  22. There was an article in Malaysia Today about beware of those MCA and UMNO fight among themselves on racial issues. The issue may expand to causing opposition leaders become scape goat for causing the trouble, if opposition leaders spoke of it, like adding oil to fire.

    Shouldn’t opposition party leaders tried not to touch those issues for the moment?

    Can still touch other issues like corruption, murders, recession and so on.

    Just a concern.

  23. Uncle Kit,
    Please let the issue die off. We are more concern how to service our bank loans and food on the table. I think this is intentionally smoke screen cooked by UMNO & MCA to cover the more pressing issue, the economy, the economy and still the economy. MCA started the ketuanan topic and follow by UMNO with the vernacular schools. Please highlight more on the economy, this will strip the BN government naked. Don’t let those BN suckers hide behind the racist smoke screen.

  24. That is not a Parliament. That’s more like busy market place where everyone is trying to scream on top of each others voice. How can those 2 MPs just intrude into another MP’s speech just like that?

    I wouldnt say much about Ketuanan Melayu. Ever since it came out together with the ‘Towering Malays’ agenda, I didnt liked it a bit. I thought that the government should encourage unity among each and every citizens and every segment of society. A government should also be fair to all of its constituency, where in this government, its not the case.

    Also, I wonder how long did MA practised his speech. It sounds fine for high school debate, but it doesnt sound real. It lacks sincerity in his speech. He seems to be living in his own world thinking that UMNO is bearing a lot of burden and is weak. He seemed to forget the whole party is plagued by money politics and being involved in a lot of scandals. He’s the one who should be stopped rather than the “permainan” that he’s talking about. He managed to twist the Ketuanan Melayu facts that is put out by UMNO to turn it into a racial issue by frequently mentioning about “Malay burden” rather than the Ketuanan Melayu issue. I’d like to correct him that it is not the Malays but UMNOputras that is giving Malays a bad name.

  25. ‘…………that it is not the Malays but UMNOPUTRAS that is giving Malays a bad name.’.delon85.

    Too right it smells up to high heaven.Only hope is for the Public Joe Malay to recognise soon enough to save this country from self-destruction

  26. talking about unity, what about those umnoputras in Penang that talked about ‘pendatang’? what does this do to our unity? is there anything wrong with our education system? if yes, what school did those umnoputras in Penang go to? i bet it was definitely not Chinese school or Tamil school, if any school at all.

  27. The Malay common man is friendly, helpful, and has no qualms about mixing with his fellow man, no matter what race despite the differences in religion. I am not Malay and I have mixed with kampung folks in my time in the backwoods of Kelantan and in kampungs in Province Wellesley.

    Those Malays who have the opportunity to study abroad are also doing well in their various fields of endeavour. They are more broadminded and show that they can compete globally. They are not like those who are sequestered in their own tunnel vision that, because of their numerical advantage, they are ‘superior’ and, therefore, they have more rights than others. They expect to get their rewards on a silver platter without raising much sweat.

    All this nonsensical notion of superiority has always been propagated by bigots and corrupted, power-crazy politicians to gain support from those who are easily swayed by this kind of rhetorics. This notion is ‘poisoned food’ implanted into weak minds – and over time, they are truly brainwashed. And when one injects the fear of religion into these minds, the herd mentality takes over.

    In the last two decades or so, the politicians, in this case the Umnoputras and hardliners, are the ones who plant the seeds of discord and deceit so that they can divide, conquer and rule. One of the greatest weapons they use to maintain hegemony on their own kind and others is by using religion. So many of their religious interpretations have been twisted to suit their own ends. For long periods, they held sway because very few dare speak up and they got away with it. But times have changed.

    Now, If only EDUCATION is the top priority in Malaysia, especially in the rural areas, the gradual erosion of ignorance and stereotyped mindset will eventually lead to a new consciousness and greater awareness of the modern world. Who has the will and the right political machine to make it happen? Not with the present power in government, a new political force that is ‘clean and sincere’ is needed. After all these years, it’s plain to see that we need to move in a new direction if we are to make this land a happy and harmonious place to live in. We don’t need charlatans and false saviours.

    As one famous saying goes: “Minds are like parachutes, they can only function if they are open.”

    More money should be pumped into rural education and NOT spent on submarines, mega corridors and useless “prestigious” projects. Sacrifice the “non essentials” and focus on education in the next 10 years. Forget 2020, Forget meaningless slogans. Forget promises that are never kept. Just remember, it’s education that counts.

    I’m not saying this is a panacea to all social problems faced by Malaysians of all races in this troubled times but, at least, this should be considered as one of the true paths to follow if there’s any sincerity to move the people forward – from the oppressive behaviour of neo-fascists that fester in the internal organ of a political entity that’s consumed by greed and corruption.

    Obviously, the religious zealots and bigots of the world will always be there to try to retain whatever powers that have been placed in their hands. But as history has shown, they never last because they are eventually found out and thrown into the dustbin of history. If more and more people come together, realize they cannot be hoodwinked anymore and reject this curse, then this country will be a better place for us – not Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans or others but for true MALAYSIANS.

    P/S. See what they have done to Zaid Ibrahim – a man who has a mind of his own. He was sacked late last night by Umno because he attended the PKR congress as an invitee but Umno accused him of “going against the party’s code of ethics.” We’ll be hearing a lot about this soon.

  28. uncle kit..when 3 of them argued..why don’t u call them to explain what has uttered by “AH MAD IS MAIL”?? so simple….rompin said Malay never enslaved us..what does that mean that chinese is “PENDATANG”??

  29. That Sri Gading MP, whatever his name, says Ketuanan Melayu bukan nak menghina atau menghambakan bangsa lain? He says it is a symbol. Symbol of what? It’s like saying that black is not black…. a new Malay or Islamic logic? Ketua bangsa lain? Don’t forget that UMNO President is also the Prime Minister of Malaysia whose duty is to take care of all its citizens… unless of course the UMNO President cannot become Prime Minister, then he can do what he likes.

  30. Soon, all malays will have to be addressed as “Tuan” and the nons will be called “Hamba”, just like the British being honored as “Bwana” in colonial Africa and the American slave-owners being addressed as “Massa” by their negro slaves

  31. Sheriff Singh asks: ‘Why is this “Ketuanan” thing becoming so “hot” in recent times? Barely a day passes without one seeing, reading and hearing of it.’

    Well, it seems to me like the end is near for UMNO. They have lost their senses and even forgot what Islam preaches that prompted the noted historian Arnold Tynobee to write in his Civilization on Trial, “The extinction of race consciousness between Muslim is one of the outstanding moral achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world, there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue…”

    UMNO will be out by the next election, if the R-A-H-M-A-N prophesy is to go by. Najib, the last letter in the series, takes over as Prime Minister in March 2009 until the next election when he gives way to the Opposition.

  32. These people wanted to be “tuan” or “masters” but judging from their words and action, they are no-brainers!
    So, how can they be “tuan”.
    They are not fit to be servants!
    Many of them also have so-called “degrees” from supposedly well known overseas universities. But with their mentality, attitude and behaviour, it is highly suspect whether these so-called “degrees” are genuine.
    Perhaps Uncle Lim should do a check to verify them.

  33. When one says that a s350 is large, it must be because it has large measurements. Or that yao ming is big because he is tall. Or that obama is black because his father is african. Or that einstein is smart because of his e=mc2 formulation, amongst others. Or that Rahman is great because he is the father of malaysia. Or that nicole is good because of her undisputable squashing skills. Or that the word veriloquent is odd because it is an obscure and seldom used english word.

    The point is this: A claim – whatever it may relate to – whenever made, must be sustainable by facts or by some grounds. Otherwise the claim would sound plain silly and even outright stupid. Imagine this claim: Mara is better than Harvard. Clearly the claimant in this statement is seeking ridicule upon himself.

    And what about the claim to “ketuanan melayu”? Any facts or grounds to support this claim? We all are “pendatangs” in this country – coming from somewhere, near and far. So this “pendatang” argument was borned dead. Quite clearly. Will the argument turn into an issue about who settled here first? Another still born argument. The real answer – the natives of the land. Any other arguments?

    The truth and reality: malaysia belongs to all malaysians.

  34. Dear All,

    If indeed the current government is sincere and keen to promote Malaysia is for all races, then such racially tinged comment shouldn’t be uttered in the first place. It is sad to read so frequently that UMNO ministers continue to harp on racial issues even after “308” debacle. I certainly believe that UMNO has no intention of establishing a Malaysia for all races where meritocracy reigns supreme. If we are to search deeper, one will be amazed that the revenue collected by Hasil Dalam Negeri came mostly from Chinese. In other words, the Chinese are the major contributor of Hasil Dalam Negeri but they are treated as second class citizen. If one were to be more observant, he or she will find out that there is no “Bangsa” column in the return forms from Hasil Dalam Negeri. Why is it so the case for Hasil Dalam Negeri while the “Bangsa” column is a must fill in other forms?

  35. Even the Malays who agree to get rid of the NEP and special rights know that Ketuanan Melayu is core UMNO ideology since Tunku Abdul Rahman resigned. That is not the issue.

    The issue is can a country basically run on an ideological lie survive? Historically there have been many govt that have based their rule on lies. The Nazis, the communist. Even the George Bush Jr. presidency has been a lie (based on neo-con ideology and Iraq war as well as overly lax regulation of markets). But they do end.

    The problem with modern day version of ideological lies is that its not a complete one – its half-truth. The more truth in the ideology, the more the lie can continue. The Ketuanan Melayu original truth was the Malay poverty and indefensibility i.e., marginalization. The lie is there is a historical and constitutional basis of ‘special rights’. The reason why all these friction are appearing is because 1) the original truth is no longer so. Any outstanding inequalities is not justifiable reason for Ketuanan Melayu. 2) Technology meant that the lie cannot be kept under wraps anymore.

    Essentially there is less truth and more lies about Ketuanan Melayu movement. The only way to keep the movement going is to 1) find new state powers to continue the lie and 2) reinterpret the lie so it does not look like one i.e., create more truth. The recent debate about ‘one school system’ is an example where digging up some 50 year old report designed for the industrialization age about trying to create more truth. (At a time where all industrial countries are creating more diversity and democratising school administration to face new challenges, we want to homogenise and centralize?). There is very limited leg to reinterpret the lies.

    That leaves extending state power to continue the lie i.e., the hegemony of power. The challenge for UMNO is the money politics. There cost is just running out of control and new sources harder to come by. Like war-mongering, race-mongering is ultimately counterproductive and a waste. But THERE ARE SOURCES – Badawi tapped rising oil and commodity revenues. Najib ca tap removal of subsidies, new financing techniques and eventually taxes. There is no way to stamp out money politics of what is essentially a movement base on a lie anyway. You can try and reduce the damage temporarily..

    But the most worrisome part to me is the extending power by sheer demographic fraud. We have 3 million foreign workers, largely Muslims, who if given citizenship real or fake, that can be used by UMNO to extend its hold on power. Its really the Achilles heel of opposition current attempt put together their coalition. A fraudulent electoral roll of 1million could be insurmountable by the opposition given UMNO advantage already build in to the system. Look at Sabah and its quite evident what UMNO hold can be.

    BUT in the end, a country base on an ideological lie must end its just a question on when and how. It could take a long time and the most ardent zealot of the lie hope it will be a long enough time that the lie does not matter anymore i.e., their dominance is irreversible even as they have to admit their lie. The problem is the damage is always more than the zealots understand and there is never enough time. So in the end, the day or reckoning will come, the question is how much and who pays for it and its usually most by the most innocent, defenseless. An ideological victory may be empty in the end…

  36. ‘The truth and reality:malaysia belongs to all malaysians.’. taiking

    Yes,of course much the same as saying America belongs to the Americans and who are the americans? They come from all over ths planet England,France Wales Ireland,Scotland, Germany, Italy, Russia, Greece,Japan, China, Korea, India,Malaysia, Vietnam Cambodia all over Asia,all over Africa All over South America.Even the red indians reckoned to be first in getting to America and it is said that they come from Siberia,the Alaskans as well.And if you dig it further back in time all of us came from Africa (‘The out of Africa’ theory where mitochondria DNA indicates very strong evidence that we all originally come from Afica).So what is all this claim that it is ‘aku punya negeri’.It is nothing but a ploy by the UMNOPUTRAS to ‘gorek gorek gorek’.

  37. Sheriff Singh asks: ‘Why is this “Ketuanan” thing becoming so “hot” in recent times?

    It is hot simply because the NEP target has been achieved and yet the majority of Malays are still poor. How come? Because only a handful of Malays are holding the bulk of the so-called 30% share of the economic pie.

    What then is this Ketuanan thing? It is Ketuanan Melayu in name but in reality, it is actually Ketuanan UMNOputra.

  38. Someone in Umno was trying to response to Chua Soi Lek’s statement that “we can accept Malay leadership but not Malay supremacy” by saying Ketuanan Melayu has been misunderstood, as it only means guranteeing the Malay rights and special position of the Malay rulers.

    But if it means just that, is there no better words to use? I’m not sure when did the term Ketuanan Melayu came about..perhaps during Umno General assembly and those keris-wielding events, but the word itself suggest “supremacy” which means highest importance or authority over the others.

    In this context, I think we should know how to differentiate special “rights” as a Malay and “dominance” over others as a Malay.
    By Umno policies in BN alone, and the way things are said by Umno leaders, it does not look like defending Malay “rights” but rather exerting Malay “dominance”.

    Race supremacy and racial policies must end some day…but until and unless the overall Malay population can achieve equal and competitive standings with other races (30% target), NEP will not be abolished. But at the same time, as long as NEP is not abolished, it will also continue to make Malays complacent and non-competitive. So it is just a cycle so to say. Worse, when NEP is abused to benefit only the top echelons.

    The solution? Amend NEP to reflect the original objective by Tun Razak. Do it fast and ensure it achieves its target in shortest possible time. We have done enough rot over the past 30+yrs of NEP, it is now late…but never too late. But to be honest, I have no confidence in the administration of Najib to do this.

  39. There you go again,one and now two UMNO goons acted in a very shameful manner in parliament.These guys are using ketuanan malayu to protect their own interest.They intentionally drum up non-malays so-called anti malays sentiments in order to get the majority poor malay folks support.The fact is these UMNOputras are using this kind of veil to cover up their own evil. Liked I said before,these guys are shouting loud and clear about malay supremacy but are really using it to protect their ketuanan pocket SENDIRI.

  40. kenghuei says: “I think we should know how to differentiate special “rights” as a Malay and “dominance” over others as a Malay.”

    Right on! The physically handicapped in society are given privileges like not having to queue up and stuff like that, but can we call that dominance?

    But it’s like you are waylaid in a back alley and a robber comes up to you and says, “Hey, the watch you are wearing looks like the one I lost yesterday.” What then do you do?

    UMNO is getting more and more unreasonable by the day, and they can no longer differentiate what is right and what is wrong. No point wasting time on them. Let the non-Malay bumiputera throw them up with their Ketuanan Melayu!

  41. Remember Jesse Owens in the summer olympics 1936 when he got gold medals in the 100 meters,200 meters,the long jump and as part of the 4×100
    relay team smashing the myth of the master race right under the nose of Hitler.Now more than 70 years down the road another race is trying to lay claim
    to be the master race,only this time this master race is cluttered with many on crutches unlike the germans whose technology and inventiveness are legendary

  42. I strongly believe all the non-muslims electorates will not vote for this
    MP from Sri Gading in the next election. We as the silent majority should keep this type of person in the cold room for good.

  43. saya merasakan rakyat malaysia amat memerlukan kekuatan nasionalisma. keperbagaian dalam sistem pendidikan, budaya dan agama menyebabkan masing-masing sentiasa ingin memajukan bangsa sendiri. lihatlah dinegera IRAQ, kekuatan dan kedamaian mereka hanya bergantung kepada kekuatan pemerintah bukan dari segi kekuatan rakyat. walaupun saddam husein dikatakan sebagai diktator sebagaimana kita merasakan semasa pemerintahan dr mahathir, tetapi apabila beliau tidak berkuasa lagi, mula terjadinya perang saraf yang semakin menjadi jadi dan sekiranya tidak dijaga dan dikawal dengan rapi bakal menjadi sebagaimana dengan IRAQ. bumi IRAQ mempunyai berbagai bangsa dan kaum yang kuat dengan identiti mereka sendiri. kekuatan pemerintah amat penting untuk menjamin kestabilan negara dan rakyat khususnya. oleh kerana rakyat malaysia amat mudah lupa khususnya peristiwa 13 Mei dulu. Detik hitam itu amat memberi kesan kepada rakyat yang mengalami peristiwa tersebut. Tiada siapa pun suka dengan pengalaman pahit tersebut. peristiwa pengebom jalanan bukan perkara baru dinegara jiran, sekiranya tak bendong, bakal berlaku dijalan raya negera ini, siapa lagi yang ingin mempertahankan keamanan tersebut. yang kaya bakal berhijrah ke negara lain ( sepertimana berlaku di Palestin) yang miskin bermandi darah dan air mata. pepatah melayu, kerana mulut badan binasa. wajarlah sentiasa mengawal bahasa dan nafsu keinginan dan kemarahan untuk memastikan kita masih boleh hidup tanpa rasa takut dan bimbang. kalaulah orang cina cemburu dengan kekuasaan melayu dalam politik malaysia, sama cemburunya melayu terhadap orang cina dengan kekayaan mereka. harus diingat orang melayu seperti saya lebih rela negara ini diperintah oleh kaum india atau kaum sabah dan serawak daripada orang cina kerana mereka merasa ketidaadilan yang berlaku sepertimana berlaku di pulau pinang dan singapura. kegagalan melayu bertahan di singapura menjadi titik tolak kenapa umno akan memastikan kuasa melayu akan sentiasa berasa dipuncak. adakah dap akan berlaku adil sepertimana umno berpendapat dia berlaku adil pada rakyat malaysia sekarang itu, bergantung kepada penilaian masing masing.

  44. “If we are to search deeper, one will be amazed that the revenue collected by Hasil Dalam Negeri came mostly from Chinese. In other words, the Chinese are the major contribut …” ch

    Why am I not amazed??

    Only if you’re earning above a certain threshold you get the chance to show your patriotism and pay income tax. Those earing below the threshold are presumed patriotic.

  45. The connotation `ketuanan Melayu’ does not seem right to me. UMNO should not be harping on such matters as constitutionally the position of Malays, other Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras have already been clearly defined in the constitution and none of these can be changed unless the Malays themselves want it to be changed due to the country’s population demographics. So why waste time on such trivial concepts?

    Equally, DAP should focus on more important matters and not fall into such useless confrontations. The Sultan of Selangor was right when he said recently that politicians from both sides of the political divide are bickering on trivial matters when in fact they should be looking at more important things for the betterment of the rakyat and country!

  46. “Remember Jesse Owens in the summer olympics 1936 ”
    Wah, you really are Ah Pek!
    So … matured and still using a keyboard!

    “So why waste time on such trivial concepts?” – imranj78
    Because your Highnesses spent time on trivial concepts not long after Ah Pek was watching Jesse Owens. In the document that mm has posted a link to, see the end of para 163:

    “The same view […there must not be discrimination on grounds of race and creed…] was expressed by their Highnesses intheir memorandum, in which they said that they “”look forward to a time not too remote when it will become possible to eliminate Communalism as a force in the political and economic life of the country”” ”

    They aspired to it, and they were right to. Communalism is a scourge in any nation. The constitution was framed by people who recorded their dissatisfaction with the ‘special status’ clauses, but what could they do? It was impossible then to declare Malaysians equals when Old Malaysians could see New Malaysians enjoying inequality. The constitution was framed with review of the unequal clauses in mind (and recorded in that document). Those reviews (did they happen?) were a missed opportunity. The special status provisions have not had their intended effect.

    Anybody who desires a better, more equal Malaysia should be doing exactly what LKS is doing and pushing for what your Highnesses wanted 50 years ago: equality for all Malaysians.

  47. I agree with the Rojak Seller that: “Anybody who desires a better, more equal Malaysia should be doing exactly what LKS is doing and pushing for what your Highnesses wanted 50 years ago: equality for all Malaysians.”

    The crutches were supposed to be temporary to address what was then deemed to be an inequality. Now that they are more than equal, they want to twist the historical basis for it to become their birthrights so that they can continue to cling to them, LOL. No, not cling to them… once Ketuanan Melayu succeed, they will trade in their crutches for wheelchairs and ask the non-Malays to push for them. Greed knows no bound.

    And I thought Islam Hadhari is a more moderate form of Islam. By the way, does anyone remember when was the last time Abdullah talked about Islam Hadhari after his landslide victory in 2004? Or did he even implement it? Looks like even an ordinary news reporter is arrested under ISA under Islam Hadhari and tolerance is at its lowest ebb.

    Whatever happened to Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang? We have been cheated by Abdullah log stock, and barrel. LKS was right, Abdullah forgot the fourth one: Temberang! But to me, C-G-T is just Keetualang!

  48. When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn…

    Those who are so addicted to and crave for more of “ketuanan” (whatever they meant by it or interpreted it to be, by their very own figment of imagination (( if they ever have one!)), cravings, or childish and infantile whims and fancies, should be ignored entirely and not to be taken note of even with a pinch of salt!!

    The world that we live in had progressed so far ahead in terms of knowledge, sophistication, science & technology, societal and cultural developments, philosophy, psychology, even religiously, etc., etc., that such a primitive and laid back posturing and positioning through “supremacist” and ethnocentric approaches should be deemed unacceptable and a non-issue.

    Let’s not allow our intelligence be further insulted by those who have not grown beyond basic reasoning and articulation.

    Why waste time on issues which had been put into historical cold rooms by countries and nations (which had even much greater and profound history) but are now more keen on advancing themselves on urgent, substantive, relevant, current and futuristic matters. Matters which are more beneficial and have far-reaching impact on the progress and development of their peoples.

    Why waste time on people who do not care or know what it means by basic and fundamental value systems such as equality, universalism, democracy, meritocracy and multiculturalism.

    Let’s show them the way by focussing our time, resources and energies on more pertinent issues, issues which are sine qua non to the progress and advancement of all Malaysians regardless of race or creed.

    Let’s move on…

  49. I agree with the Rojak too,

    that: “Anybody who desires a better, more equal Malaysia should be doing exactly what LKS is doing and pushing for what your Highnesses wanted 50 years ago: equality for all Malaysians.”

    It will be the biggest mistake for all non-bumi ignore the rights to pushing for what you want equlity.

    We all now have read the report, so with that report we all show know there is supposed be temporary, and it can be discontinued if non-bumi non-bumi request review and find it is not suitable and injustice.

    It will be the biggerst mistake for all non-bumi ignore the rights demand of the review of it.

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