I was waiting for class to start when I read something on a whiteboard. It read something along the lines of:
"F*ck Malay Special Rights"
Should I reply that provoking statement with another equally provoking statement? Or should I just take the high road and walk away? Maybe I should just hit every Non-Malays I see to vent out my anger?
I walked away in disgust. I was sad, angry and disappointed.
The original architects of "Hak Istimewa Orang Melayu" never had the intention to make the special privileges given to the Malays a permanent one. In fact if I'm not mistaken, Tun Dr.Ismail Abdul Rahman, my political hero, said it deeply embarrassed him that the Malays needed special privileges.
I agree with the late Tun. I am also embarrassed by the fact that the special privileges given to the Malays still exist. It makes us look weak and incompetent. Mind you we are not a weak and incompetent. Look at Petronas for example. A company ran by Malays. It is a Fortune 500 company. It is one of the 100 largest companies in the world. As hard as it is for me to admit it, in my opinion, the Malays still need the special privileges.
The Malays were deprived of so many things when Malaya was under the rule of the British Empire. The Non-Malays were given freedom to open up businesses, set up their own educational institutes with their own educational systems. They were not harassed by the British. They lived a privilege existence under British rule for hundreds of years.
The Malays were however sidelined and banished to the interiors of Malaya. They were told to be farmers. They were poorly educated. The British made sure they were poorly educated because a smart and intelligent Malay race would surely oust them out of Malaya. They made sure we were stupid so that they can suck the resources from our country and use it for their own benefit. They made us feel weak and incompetent through a series of carefully planned schemes.
Here is an example of how the British treated the Malays. Ngah Ibrahim was a very rich Malay. He was a multi-millionaire who actually paid the salary of the then Sultan of Perak. He however committed a crime. His crime was to try oust the British from Perak. As a punishment for his crime, he was banished from Perak and Malaya. This is what happened to rich Malay Patriots.
The British first set foot on Malaysian soil in 1786. The Malays were sidelined, discriminated against and victimized by the British for over 200 years. During this time the Non-Malays were given absolute freedom to prosper and earn a living. It has been about 38 years since the Malays were given special privileges by the government.
Is 38 years of governmental aid enough to compensate 220 years of discrimination and victimization? In my opinion, the answer is no.
The special privileges for the Malays should not be called privileges. This is because they are in fact governmental aids given to a group of Malaysians that are still lagging behind the other races economically. You may argue that they are far more poorer Indians than Malays but look at it from a percentage point of view. There are more rich Indians than poor Indians. The same cannot be said about the Malays.
If you are indeed "colourblind" Why question the aids given to the Malays?
If you are indeed "colourblind" Why would it be so wrong to help the Malays?
I am not a racist. I have many Non-Malay friends who are dear to me. Some of my best friends are Non-Malay.
I am not against the government giving government aids to those who need them. What is so wrong about labelling a group of people that are at the receiving end of governmental aids? There is no such thing as a particular race being side-lined. No race is being dealt with unfairly. There is no such thing as the apartheid here in Malaysia.
Just because helping the Malays achieve economical power is a government agenda, people are labelling the government for practising apartheid. When was the last time you saw a sign saying "Malays only allowed to seat" in a bus? When was the last time you saw a signboard saying "Non-Malays are not allowed to contest in the general election"?.
Name me one race that has become poorer as a result of the new economic policy. I dare you.
