[I dedicate this essay to the one of our nation's most organic intellectual, Allahyarham Datuk Professor Syed Hussein AlAtas, whom I wished I had met in person, but nonetheless has inspired me in my quest to understand the meaning of hegemony, existentialism, and liberation. May his teachings continue to guide us through these difficult times. Al Fatihah.]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident and Divine-ly sanctioned in that all Malaysians are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator the inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, happiness, justice and social equality. And we shall resoundingly declare that from now on we will be constructed as equal and be called 'the new bumiputera...' - Yours Truly.