Dear Ibrahim Ali: what bumiputera rights are you talking about? One word sums it all: injustice!

This is how Article 153 has been misinterpreted by the likes of Ibrahim Ali who, once again tried to impose the supremacy of the Malays or usurp the concept of ketuanan Melayu in a multiracial society like ours.

In my opinion, his actions are to protect not the bumiputera rights, but a band of daylight robbers and cronies within Barisan Nasional – in particular, Umno. One cannot help it these days to read the news without wondering how much of the nation’s wealth has been plundered by Umno (and BN) leaders in broad daylight. There are more questions raised these days than what could be answered. The list is long and never ending despite the auditor general’s report of financial abuses every year.

You may beg to differ but I think Ibrahim Ali and the Perkasa patron, Dr Mahathir Mohamad have forgotten that under the constitution there is only the special position accorded to the Malays and natives of any of the states of Sabah and Sarawak.

By preaching the ‘ketuanan Melayu’, Ibrahim and Mahathir, himself an Indian Muslim by birth, are only removing the supremacy of the Malay rulers. Nowhere in the constitution does it ever talk about the supremacy of the Malays or ‘ketuanan Melayu’ over other races.

Not to forget, Article 153 also talks about the “legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this article.” In other words, if the legitimate interests of other communities are being challenged or overlooked, suppressed or neglected, or when a minority group feels intimidated, then, under Article 153, we have every right to challenge the interpretation of Article 153. The imposition of ‘Malay supremacy’ concept is definitely a deviation from the original spirit of the constitution, drafted by the British with all Malaysians in mind.

In Ibrahim’s rhetoric against Rev Eu Hong Seng’s speech during a Christmas hi-tea, Ibrahim Ali urged the government to use the Sedition Act against the reverend for questioning Article 153. He has forgotten that the country achieved its independence from the British as a result of hard work done by Malaysians of all races, and Rev Eu, being a Malaysian, has every right to challenge the misinterpretation of Article 153.

Over the 54 years since Independence, we have matured as a nation. Given all the opportunities, if our own community does not progress over the years, there is something wrong not with other communities, but our own people. If today I meet a capable Malay professional or businessman, who is intelligent and hardworking, I will respect him for who he is, not because of his race or his religion. That is as far as respect goes.

There is a saying, ‘Respect begets respect’. But there can be little respect accorded to someone like Ibrahim Ali. He is in fact a disgrace to his own race and religion.

Going back to history, if it was not because of the ‘inclusive’ nature of Article 153, the British would not have relented its control over this country for fear that people like Ibrahim Ali would have created chaos in the country. One can only wonder what Ibrahim Ali was doing on May 13, 1969, when his counterparts in Kelantan were living in peace with their fellow Malaysians.

Now, he is talking about protecting the Malay and bumiputera rights as the Perkasa defender of race and religion! Turning the table around, I like to ask him, “What have you done to help the Kelantanese get their 5 percent oil royalty from Petronas from the federal government? Are you telling that the Kelantanese are less bumiputera than an Umno or a Perkasa Malay?”

If the current government under Najib cannot even honour what was written in the Petroleum Act, there is really no bumiputera and non-bumiputera, and definitely no 1Malaysia, but just a bunch of Umnoputras trying to cover each other’s back, and the rest of us.

Najib can no longer show that he is impartial, by not doing what is necessary with the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) saga. Money meant to develop the cattle industry is used to purchase luxurious condominiums and land, but it cannot be given to a legitimate state government elected by the people what is due to them.

Despite Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah harping on the oil royalty issue for umpteen years, the Kelantan government is still not seeing the benefits of the 5 percent oil royalty. There is no doubt about it that Allah has blessed Kelantan with oil, but the federal government has just taken it without giving even the state government the 5 percent oil royalty. What has Ibrahim Ali to say about this?

I say, it is total injustice. No?