When a Malay disagrees with the Ketuanan Melayu...

KOTA BARU: Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said he disagreed with the notion of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) because there are no race considerations in Islam. [The Star, 17/11/08]

The Chief Minister of Kelantan and PAS spiritual leader, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat (image) was referring to the Ketuanan Melayu - an ideology proposed by UMNO that held the racist belief of Malay supremacy among the other races in the country.

The widely revered Chief Minister said the whole concept of the Ketuanan Melayu is racist in the eyes of Islam and labelled Muslims who placed nationalism and race ahead of religion as 'disillusioned followers'. After all, the religion of Islam in this country is not restricted only to the Malays but there are also Chinese and Indian Muslims in Malaysia.

Click here for the write-up on UMNO's ideology of Ketuanan Melayu.

“It is a religion above race. We cannot quantify race with Islam, such as Malays with Islam. There are also Chinese and Indian Muslims,” said the PAS spiritual adviser. Those who place race above religion are being brainwashed by western culture,” Datuk Nik Aziz said. [The Star, 17/11/08]

The term Ketuanan Melayu was never mentioned in the Federal Constitution. However, Article 153 is a provision in the Constitution that guarantees and protects the special position of the Malays and the Orang Asli (indigenious people). UMNO have exploited the lack of definition on the term of 'special position of the Malays' and have clearly twisted the meaning to serve its own interests.

The non-Malays do not reject Article 153; they respect and embrace the fact that the Malays and the Orang Asli are the natives of the land. However, Article 153, as many Malaysians believe, should not be manipulated by any party for its racial agenda and in turn, using it to discriminate other ethnic communities in the country.

What then? Can the special position of the Malays be preserved without discriminating the other races? The answer is yes. An amicable solution can definitely be achieved if and only if multi-lateral dialogues are allowed to take place without any racist intentions between the Malay and non-Malay communities. Therefore, UMNO's Ketuanan Melayu ideology is not only unconstitutional but also a delusive racist belief that contradicts the spirit of Malaysia.

In fact, UMNO was embarrassed when one of their own, Zaid Ibrahim went public to criticise the Ketuanan Melayu belief; calling it a failure. The former Law Minister also blamed the racist ideology for poor ethnic relations in this country. Read "Zaid Ibrahim called a traitor for criticizing UMNO" for more details.

It is legally dangerous for a non-Malay to speak out against the Ketuanan Melayu for the risk of it being seen as a direct challenge to Article 153 in the Federal Constitution. But when Malays like Datuk Nik Aziz and Zaid Ibrahim publically disagree with the total fallacy of the Ketuanan Melayu, UMNO now has no excuse to threaten anyone with 'another May 13'.