All Malaysians have special rights"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.
As a Malaysian who believes in a social contract based on the notion that ‘all Malaysians are created equal’, I do not understand the ‘royal statement’.
If it comes from the Biro Tatanegara (BTN), I can understand the confusion. But this is from a royal house.
This statement was valid 50 years ago, before Independence. This is an outdated statement that is not appreciated by the children of those who have laboured for this nation.
I believe we should look forward to institutionalising ‘special rights for all Malaysians’. The word ‘special’ is in itself special. Culturally it can either denote an enabling condition or a disabling one.
In the study of religion, one is bestowed a special place for living life well or for doing good deeds. In educational studies, ‘special education’ caters for the needs of those with a disabling physical, emotional or cognitive condition.
In all these, ‘special rights’ are accorded based on merit. One works hard to get special offers and into special places.
In the doctrine of the ‘divine rights of kings’, one's special right is the birthright. Louis XVI of revolutionary France, Shah Jehan of Taj Mahal fame, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, Shah Reza Pahlavi of Revolutionary Iran, King Bumiphol Adulyadev, and the sultans of Melaka were ‘special people’ who designed institutions that installed individuals based on rights sanctioned through a ‘mandate of heaven’.
Such people use specialised language to differentiate who is special and who is not. Court language is archaic, terse, meant to instill fear and to institutionalise special-ness.
The language of the street or market is fluid, accommodating, meant to instill open-ness and institutionalise creativity at its best and further development of the ‘underclass’ at its worst.
This continuum of language, power, and ideology is characteristic of histories of nations. In Malay history, istana language is enshrined in the hikayat and in Tun Seri Lanang's Sejarah Melayu. Street language used in Malay folklore and in bawdy poems, pantun and stories of Sang Kancil.
Class consciousness, many a sociologist would say, dictates the special-ness of people across time and space. Historical-materialism necessitates the development of the specialised use and abuse of language. One can do a lot of things with words. Words can be deployed to create a sustainable and profitable master-slave relationship.
A better argument
Let us elevate the argument so that we will have a better view of what race, ethnicity, nationalism and cosmopolitanism means.
I propose we review what “special rights of the Malays" mean in light of 50 years of Independence and post-March 8, 2008.
I agree we must give credit to those working hard to "improve the psychological well-being of the Malays" and for that matter for any race to improve its mental wellness. This is important. This is a noble act.
The question is: in doing so, do we want to plant the seeds of cooperation and trust - or racial discrimination and deep hatred? Herein lies the difference between indoctrination and education.
These days, the idea of Ketuanan Melayu is going bankrupt, sinking with the bahtera merdeka. It works only for Malay robber barons who wish to plunder the nation by silencing the masses and using the ideological state apparatuses at their disposal.
In the case of the BTN it is the work of controlling the minds of the youth. Its work should not be allowed any more in our educational institutions. It is time our universities especially are spared counter-educational activities, especially when they yearn to be free of the shackles of domination.
Over decades, many millions of Malays and non-Malays have not been getting the right information on our nation's history, political-economy, and race relations. History that is being shoved into us or filter-funnelled down the labyrinth of our consciousness is one that is already packaged, biased, and propagandised by historians who became text-books writers.
History need not be Malay-centric. Special rights for all Malaysians should be the goal of distributive and regulative justice of this nation, not the "special rights of a few Malays". History must be presented as the history of the marginalisd, the oppressed and the dispossessed of all races.
We toil for this nation, as the humanist Paramoedya Ananta Toer would say, by virtue of our existence as anak semua bangsa ... di bumi manusia. Malaysia is a land of immigrants.
In this regard we can learn from the former British colony called America. Whatever its shortcomings, it is a land of immigrants and is still evolving. A black man or a woman can become president. This is what America conceives itself to be and this is what Malaysian can learn from. Can a non-Malay become prime minster if he/she is the most ethical of all politicians in the country?
No one particular race should stake a claim to Malaysia. That is an idea from the old school of thought, fast being abandoned. Each citizen is born, bred, and brought to school to become a good law-abiding and productive Malaysian citizen, is accorded the fullest rights and privileges and will carry his/her responsibility as a good citizen.
That is what ‘surrendering one's natural rights to the state’ means. One must read Rousseau, Locke, Voltaire, and Jefferson to understand this philosophy. A bad government will not honour this - and will fall, or will sink like the bahtera merdeka.
The history of civilisations provides enough examples of devastation and genocide as a consequence of violent claims to the right of this or that land based upon some idea of ‘imagined communities’. We must teach our children to make a history of peace among nations. This must be made into a new school of thought: of ‘new bumiputeraism’ that encompasses all and does not alienate any. Life is too short for each generation to fight over greed.
The eleventh hour of human existence and our emergence in this world has brought about destruction as a consequence of our inability to mediate differences based on race, colour, creed, class and national origin. Each ethnic group thinks that it is more socially-dominant than the other. Each does not know the basis of its ‘self’. Each fails to realise its DNA-make up or gene map.
Life is an existential state of beingness, so must history be conceived as such. Nationalism can evolve into a dangerous concept - that was what happened to Europe at the brink of the two World Wars. It happened in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and in Indonesia when Suharto fell.
I argue that we must evolve in the historical presence of historical constructions. The past and the future is in the present. Let us no argue any more over this or those rights. Let us instead treat each other right.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Syed Hamid denies revoking Waytha's passport
The government today once again denied that it had revoked Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy's passport.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has been informed by the Immigration Department of Malaysia that the Malaysian international passport issued to Waytha Moorthy s/o Ponnusamy is still active in our passport and travel document system.
"In other words, the Malaysian government has never made any cancellation to the mentioned travel document," said Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar Syed Hamid in a statement today.
"Waythamoorthy is now believed to be overseas and is still free to travel internationally," added the minister.
The issue erupted on May 16 when Waythamoorthy, presently in self-imposed exile in London, and Amnesty International said that the Malaysian government had revoked former's passport to force him to return to Malaysia.
Waythamoorthy had said that he was informed of the status of his passport when he returned to London from Zurich on April 21.
"I was informed by the UK immigration officer at Gatwick Airport that the Malaysian government had revoked my passport," he had said then.
Passport to expire in 2010
In an immediate reaction then, Syed Hamid suggested that Waythamoorthy's passport could have expired and shrugged off the issue by saying that a misunderstanding could have occurred over the status of the passport.
However Waythamoorthy clarified later that his passport was only due to expire in 2010.
Waythamoorthy has been away from Malaysia since the government's crackdown on Hindraf last November.
He had claimed that the government was seeking to lure him back to this country to detain him under the Internal Security Act.
Five other Hindraf leaders, including the movement's most popular face and Waythamoorthy's brother Uthayakumar, are presently being held without trial since Dec 13.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has been informed by the Immigration Department of Malaysia that the Malaysian international passport issued to Waytha Moorthy s/o Ponnusamy is still active in our passport and travel document system.
"In other words, the Malaysian government has never made any cancellation to the mentioned travel document," said Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar Syed Hamid in a statement today.
"Waythamoorthy is now believed to be overseas and is still free to travel internationally," added the minister.
The issue erupted on May 16 when Waythamoorthy, presently in self-imposed exile in London, and Amnesty International said that the Malaysian government had revoked former's passport to force him to return to Malaysia.
Waythamoorthy had said that he was informed of the status of his passport when he returned to London from Zurich on April 21.
"I was informed by the UK immigration officer at Gatwick Airport that the Malaysian government had revoked my passport," he had said then.
Passport to expire in 2010
In an immediate reaction then, Syed Hamid suggested that Waythamoorthy's passport could have expired and shrugged off the issue by saying that a misunderstanding could have occurred over the status of the passport.
However Waythamoorthy clarified later that his passport was only due to expire in 2010.
Waythamoorthy has been away from Malaysia since the government's crackdown on Hindraf last November.
He had claimed that the government was seeking to lure him back to this country to detain him under the Internal Security Act.
Five other Hindraf leaders, including the movement's most popular face and Waythamoorthy's brother Uthayakumar, are presently being held without trial since Dec 13.
Protest by Selangor Indians
The Selangor government will provide financial and welfare assistance to families of those held under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows detention without trial.
Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim said these measures would be taken up by the state government to help the wives and children of these detainees to ease their burden during the difficult period.
He added that his government will look into bearing the travelling costs for families to visit the detention camp every week.
At the same time, he said that children of the detainees may apply for state government scholarships to further their studies.
The wives too will be encouraged to look into various ways to become involved in businesses to help them earn a living, he said.
"Life can be difficult for them but they must continue to fight," he said after receiving a memorandum from the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) today.
DAP state assemblyperson M Manoharan is one of about 70 ISA detainees being held presently at the Kamunting detention centre.
Manoharan was detained last December along with four other Hindu Rights Action Force leaders for allegedly being a national threat.
He contested for the Kota Alam Shah state seat in the March 8 general election and won comfortably.
Motion against ISA
Meanwhile in the state assembly, Kampung Tunku state representative and Selangor DAP secretary Lau Weng San today moved a motion for the release of Manoharan and all other ISA detainees.
He cited several reasons for Manoharan to be released immediately, among others that he won the Kota Alam Shah state seat with a big majority of 7,184 votes even though he was not present during campaigning and polling day due to his detention."
This was not just a big win for him or DAP but it was also a slap in the face for the federal government who had detained him without trail," he said in his speech in the assembly.
Lau said that Manoharan had merely highlighted the issues affecting the Indian community and was never a threat to the national security.
"He should be released immediately so that he can function as a state representative," he said, adding that it was unfair for the people of Kota Alam Shah not to have their representative around to raise their issues.
Lau also said that the reasons cited by the government for the detention of Manoharan and four other Hindraf leaders were weak.
The state assembly later passed the motion calling on the federal government to abolish the ISA and release all the ISA detainees or charge all of them in court.
Protest by Indian group
Earlier Khalid also said that the state government shared GMI's views on the abolition of the ISA as well as the Official Secrets Act.
GMI chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh said some of the detainees were being held since 2002.
"Six years is not a short period - these sole breadwinners have lost their jobs and their children are suffering the consequences.
"There are also two detainees whose wives have sought divorce because of the long detention," he added.
Meanwhile, a group of Indian protested at the Selangor state secretariat in Shah Alam to express their disappointment with the failures of the state government in fulfilling election pledges.
The group, numbering about 80 and calling themselves Selangor Indian Community, handed a memorandum covering 13 issues to the office of Khalid.
They want the appointment of another Indian representative in the state executive council, at least six Indian representatives in each local council, and an Indian mayor for either the Shah Alam or Petaling Jaya city councils.The group also asked that at least 25 percent of positions in the state government be allocated to Indians.
Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim said these measures would be taken up by the state government to help the wives and children of these detainees to ease their burden during the difficult period.
He added that his government will look into bearing the travelling costs for families to visit the detention camp every week.
At the same time, he said that children of the detainees may apply for state government scholarships to further their studies.
The wives too will be encouraged to look into various ways to become involved in businesses to help them earn a living, he said.
"Life can be difficult for them but they must continue to fight," he said after receiving a memorandum from the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) today.
DAP state assemblyperson M Manoharan is one of about 70 ISA detainees being held presently at the Kamunting detention centre.
Manoharan was detained last December along with four other Hindu Rights Action Force leaders for allegedly being a national threat.
He contested for the Kota Alam Shah state seat in the March 8 general election and won comfortably.
Motion against ISA
Meanwhile in the state assembly, Kampung Tunku state representative and Selangor DAP secretary Lau Weng San today moved a motion for the release of Manoharan and all other ISA detainees.
He cited several reasons for Manoharan to be released immediately, among others that he won the Kota Alam Shah state seat with a big majority of 7,184 votes even though he was not present during campaigning and polling day due to his detention."
This was not just a big win for him or DAP but it was also a slap in the face for the federal government who had detained him without trail," he said in his speech in the assembly.
Lau said that Manoharan had merely highlighted the issues affecting the Indian community and was never a threat to the national security.
"He should be released immediately so that he can function as a state representative," he said, adding that it was unfair for the people of Kota Alam Shah not to have their representative around to raise their issues.
Lau also said that the reasons cited by the government for the detention of Manoharan and four other Hindraf leaders were weak.
The state assembly later passed the motion calling on the federal government to abolish the ISA and release all the ISA detainees or charge all of them in court.
Protest by Indian group
Earlier Khalid also said that the state government shared GMI's views on the abolition of the ISA as well as the Official Secrets Act.
GMI chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh said some of the detainees were being held since 2002.
"Six years is not a short period - these sole breadwinners have lost their jobs and their children are suffering the consequences.
"There are also two detainees whose wives have sought divorce because of the long detention," he added.
Meanwhile, a group of Indian protested at the Selangor state secretariat in Shah Alam to express their disappointment with the failures of the state government in fulfilling election pledges.
The group, numbering about 80 and calling themselves Selangor Indian Community, handed a memorandum covering 13 issues to the office of Khalid.
They want the appointment of another Indian representative in the state executive council, at least six Indian representatives in each local council, and an Indian mayor for either the Shah Alam or Petaling Jaya city councils.The group also asked that at least 25 percent of positions in the state government be allocated to Indians.
I am not sure if Anwar Ibrahim can be trusted
Previously, we talked about how PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has not admitted to – and probably will never admit to – previous mistakes while he was part of the Barisan Nasional government. And as such, he would never apologise for them.
In today's piece, we want to deal with another important and somewhat related matter, which is can he be trusted?
Those who have observed Anwar over the years would probably agree to the following adjectives to describe him – slick, shrewd, cunning. These words do not necessarily have positive connotations and for good reason.
Anwar has often been accused of being a political chameleon – capable of adjusting his messages depending on the audience he's addressing. He's great at massaging his messages in such a way that you feel he's telling you exactly what you want to hear. A smooth operator.
That doesn't mean that he is inconsistent or hypocritical – Dr Mahathir Mohamad has that market cornered. In fact, he's been very consistent in his policies since his release from prison. Take for example, his stance that the New Economic Policy (NEP) needs to be dismantled and replaced with something more inclusive. Even though he has been criticised by Umno over this matter, he has not relented once.
Two questions are relevant in regard to whether Anwar can be trusted. Firstly, is he a changed man? Secondly, does this even matter?
Is Anwar the Reformasi Man the same political animal as the Anwar the deputy prime minister? We think that having gone through what he has, it would be difficult for him not to have changed as a result.
Anwar went from the pinnacle of political power to the depths of political humiliation. He was charged with abuse of power and committing sodomy. He was beaten up by the then-chief of police. And his name – as well as those around him – was dragged through the mud by the mainstream media. Never before had a Malaysian politician of his stature felt the heavy hand of the state against him in the way Anwar did.
When he was locked up, he didn't wallow in self-pity. He used his time productively to read and to do copious amounts of soul searching. It's hard to imagine that the six years he spent in that cold jail cell failed to change him in some very profound and fundamental ways.
He will not renege on his promises
But even if one is cynical and believes that he has not changed, does it matter provided he carries out all the reforms he has promised?
There is little doubt in our minds that he would free up the media, abolish the Internal Security Act and reform the Universities and University Colleges Act if he becomes the next PM. He would also dismantle the NEP and replace it with something better. You can also throw in a Freedom of Information Act to boot. In other words, he would implement all the things that civil society expects him to.
Why are we so confident about that?
Quite simply, because it would be to his strategic advantage to carry out such reforms. In fact, there is only upside and no downside for him to do so. He would be seen as the man who was responsible for 'freeing' up Malaysia and for turning it into a real democracy. He would become the greatest PM Malaysia ever had.And what if he reneges on his promises – promises that have been widely-publicised domestically and internationally? Think of it this way. If Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi could suffer so badly politically in such a short span of time because of his failure to keep his promises of reform, imagine how much more Anwar would suffer if he didn't live up to expectations.
Many of the young and idealistic people who have joined PKR have done so precisely because they've bought into his progressive vision for the future. These very same people would leave his party in droves if he starts reneging on his promises. His popular support amongst the masses would dry up and Pakatan Rakyat would disintegrate as his coalition partners desert him.
So, not only do we think he will do all that he has promised to do, we think he will do them in lightning quick fashion. In that sense, he is the antithesis of Abdullah – a glacially slow reformer if there ever was one. Everything about Anwar shows that he can't wait to implement reforms. What is his campaign about, if not reforms?
Now, is this because he truly believes in all these reforms? Or would he implement them for vainglorious reasons – because they are politically popular things to do and he wants a permanent place in the history book?
There's no way to read the hearts of men. We don't know, for example, whether he's absolutely sincere or not when he says that he believes in a free press. But we do know that he has said this on far too many occasions for him to backtrack on it once he comes to power.
At the end of the day, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. If Anwar does deliver on all his reform promises, does it even matter whether he's sincere or trustworthy in the eyes of his critics? What's important is that he implements reforms. And we have every reason to believe he will do that.
Ong Kian Ming
In today's piece, we want to deal with another important and somewhat related matter, which is can he be trusted?
Those who have observed Anwar over the years would probably agree to the following adjectives to describe him – slick, shrewd, cunning. These words do not necessarily have positive connotations and for good reason.
Anwar has often been accused of being a political chameleon – capable of adjusting his messages depending on the audience he's addressing. He's great at massaging his messages in such a way that you feel he's telling you exactly what you want to hear. A smooth operator.
That doesn't mean that he is inconsistent or hypocritical – Dr Mahathir Mohamad has that market cornered. In fact, he's been very consistent in his policies since his release from prison. Take for example, his stance that the New Economic Policy (NEP) needs to be dismantled and replaced with something more inclusive. Even though he has been criticised by Umno over this matter, he has not relented once.
Two questions are relevant in regard to whether Anwar can be trusted. Firstly, is he a changed man? Secondly, does this even matter?
Is Anwar the Reformasi Man the same political animal as the Anwar the deputy prime minister? We think that having gone through what he has, it would be difficult for him not to have changed as a result.
Anwar went from the pinnacle of political power to the depths of political humiliation. He was charged with abuse of power and committing sodomy. He was beaten up by the then-chief of police. And his name – as well as those around him – was dragged through the mud by the mainstream media. Never before had a Malaysian politician of his stature felt the heavy hand of the state against him in the way Anwar did.
When he was locked up, he didn't wallow in self-pity. He used his time productively to read and to do copious amounts of soul searching. It's hard to imagine that the six years he spent in that cold jail cell failed to change him in some very profound and fundamental ways.
He will not renege on his promises
But even if one is cynical and believes that he has not changed, does it matter provided he carries out all the reforms he has promised?
There is little doubt in our minds that he would free up the media, abolish the Internal Security Act and reform the Universities and University Colleges Act if he becomes the next PM. He would also dismantle the NEP and replace it with something better. You can also throw in a Freedom of Information Act to boot. In other words, he would implement all the things that civil society expects him to.
Why are we so confident about that?
Quite simply, because it would be to his strategic advantage to carry out such reforms. In fact, there is only upside and no downside for him to do so. He would be seen as the man who was responsible for 'freeing' up Malaysia and for turning it into a real democracy. He would become the greatest PM Malaysia ever had.And what if he reneges on his promises – promises that have been widely-publicised domestically and internationally? Think of it this way. If Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi could suffer so badly politically in such a short span of time because of his failure to keep his promises of reform, imagine how much more Anwar would suffer if he didn't live up to expectations.
Many of the young and idealistic people who have joined PKR have done so precisely because they've bought into his progressive vision for the future. These very same people would leave his party in droves if he starts reneging on his promises. His popular support amongst the masses would dry up and Pakatan Rakyat would disintegrate as his coalition partners desert him.
So, not only do we think he will do all that he has promised to do, we think he will do them in lightning quick fashion. In that sense, he is the antithesis of Abdullah – a glacially slow reformer if there ever was one. Everything about Anwar shows that he can't wait to implement reforms. What is his campaign about, if not reforms?
Now, is this because he truly believes in all these reforms? Or would he implement them for vainglorious reasons – because they are politically popular things to do and he wants a permanent place in the history book?
There's no way to read the hearts of men. We don't know, for example, whether he's absolutely sincere or not when he says that he believes in a free press. But we do know that he has said this on far too many occasions for him to backtrack on it once he comes to power.
At the end of the day, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. If Anwar does deliver on all his reform promises, does it even matter whether he's sincere or trustworthy in the eyes of his critics? What's important is that he implements reforms. And we have every reason to believe he will do that.
Ong Kian Ming
Send the Indians for unity training
The mindset of the Malaysians of Indian origin must be recreated to ensure that a united multiethnic culture is developed , nurtured and promoted. A meta-paradigm must be established where the Umno-BN created race-based mental construct is dismantled and replaced with a more advanced inter-racial unity.
It is towards this greater unity that the leaders of Pakatan Rakyat must strive for, shedding once and for all the ethnic prejudices that hindered the formation of a Malaysian nation united through the beauty of diversity.
Comprehensive-structured training models outlining the need for multiethnic unity must be developed and taught to the Indians who are still steeped in the fallacy of Umno -BN racism. The contents of this training module must be developed by a panel of experts in the field of inter- cultural mind and race relations.
Only through this type of training programmes can the Indians be firmly integrated into the body politic of PKR.
Due the massive influx of Indians into PKR, especially after the recent general elections, it is vital that these training programmes are conducted as soon as possible so that the Indian mind thinks beyond the narrow confines of racial politics.
Only then will PKR's philosophy of a united plural Malaysia be realised in the long run. This will consolidate further the unity within the Pakatan Rakyat fraternity. The promise of a higher unity in the new Malaysia agenda as conceived and propounded by Anwar Ibrahim must be fulfilled.
Malaysians of varied culture and creed must be united, a super multiethnic culture must gradually evolve from this body of knowledge. It is hoped such trainings will be conducted to bring into full maturity the unity long awaited by the Malaysians of different origins.
It is towards this greater unity that the leaders of Pakatan Rakyat must strive for, shedding once and for all the ethnic prejudices that hindered the formation of a Malaysian nation united through the beauty of diversity.
Comprehensive-structured training models outlining the need for multiethnic unity must be developed and taught to the Indians who are still steeped in the fallacy of Umno -BN racism. The contents of this training module must be developed by a panel of experts in the field of inter- cultural mind and race relations.
Only through this type of training programmes can the Indians be firmly integrated into the body politic of PKR.
Due the massive influx of Indians into PKR, especially after the recent general elections, it is vital that these training programmes are conducted as soon as possible so that the Indian mind thinks beyond the narrow confines of racial politics.
Only then will PKR's philosophy of a united plural Malaysia be realised in the long run. This will consolidate further the unity within the Pakatan Rakyat fraternity. The promise of a higher unity in the new Malaysia agenda as conceived and propounded by Anwar Ibrahim must be fulfilled.
Malaysians of varied culture and creed must be united, a super multiethnic culture must gradually evolve from this body of knowledge. It is hoped such trainings will be conducted to bring into full maturity the unity long awaited by the Malaysians of different origins.
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