Malay groups counter with list of demands

Malay groups counter with list of demands
KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — What do MCA president Ong Ka Ting, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang, MIC’s Samy Vellu and Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism have in common? Quite a lot, it seems.

Their post Election 2008 statements on the need for the government to protect the rights of non-Malays to worship freely and to get more representation in the civil service and judiciary has upset a powerful coalition of 200 Malay groups and non-governmental organisations.

These groups cobbled together under the banner of the Majlis Muafakat Melayu Malaysia say that if the non-Malay/Muslim groups have their way, the political power of the Malays will become an illusion and the special privileges of the Malays will be dismantled one by one.

Their agitation on the ground will just add another element of uncertainty to a country which has been able to transform itself from an agrarian economy to one of the top trading nations in the world on the back of political stability.

Their opposition to giving in to requests by non-Malays could cause Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to press the brakes on his reform agenda, especially in the area of religion and scuttle the new era of candour and equality that MCA and other component parties in the Barisan Nasional were seeking with Umno.

At a gathering in Johor Baru on Saturday, leaders of the Malay groups sketched an ominous scenario for the race, pointing that there appeared to be a belief in BN that the demands of the non-Malays needs to be met if the ruling coalition is to win back the support of the Chinese and Indians.

Associate Professor Datuk Zainal Abidin Borhan, secretary-general of the Coalition of National Writers (Gapena) noted: “When Umno was strong, it could protect the rights of the Malays but a lot of things are happening when Umno is not strong.

"MIC and MCA are openly asking for many things and the non-Malay NGOs are trying to take advantage," he told Mingguan Malaysia after the meeting, noting that the apology by Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein for his keris act was an example of Malays wilting to pressure from non-Malays.

MIC, MCA, Gerakan and PPP blamed their heavy defeats on March 8 on several reasons including the arrogance of Umno politicians and their submissive approach to politics here. Since then, their leaders have openly championed the interests of Indian and Chinese communities, with Ong saying in Parliament that non-Muslims should not be subjected to Syariah laws. Some political watchers have celebrated this political awakening saying that it would lead to a more just and democratic Malaysia.

But the Malay intelligentsia has been watching these developments with growing anxiety and anger. Datuk Aziz Deraman, the former head of Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka, noted that there should not be any compromise in issues related to Malay rights. "Malaysia is not an immigrant nation like the United States. Therefore the rights of its original occupants cannot be questioned."

In this environment of uncertainty, the Malay groups passed a slew of resolutions for the government to consider. These included:

• Challenging any amendment to the Constitution and judicial system aimed at weakening the sovereignty and position of the Malays.

• Demanding tight control on the building of places of worship for other religions according to size of the community and the location.

• Rejecting any move to bring multilingualism in schools.

• Rejecting the use of English in all tertiary institutions.

• Demanding that Mathematics and Science be taught in Malay.

• Rejecting the notion of multiculturalism.

Malay groups which took part in the meeting on Saturday also made a pitch for the institution of the Malay Rulers to be strengthened. Rosdi Amir, the deputy president of GPMS, noted that only the intervention of the ruler in Perak ensured that a Malay was picked as the menteri besar.

"Currently, any change to the country’s Constitution will still become law after 60 days without the consent of the Malay Rulers. If the state constitution also can be amended like that, maybe in the future the Malay Rulers will not be able to intervene in the appointment of the menteri besar like what was done in Perak," he said.

Quite clearly, it will be difficult for Abdullah to ignore all the demands and wishes of this influential constituency. For that matter, even Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas) will have to consider the input from this group – a situation which could cause some tension with the DAP in Pakatan Rakyat.