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It’s time to write the true history.

It’s time to know the truth.

Hindraf urges the Umno-led government to take immediate steps to declassify all documents pertaining to constitutional developments in Malaya from 1946 up to the eventual formation of Malaysia in 1963. We make this request as there have been so many discrepancies between what the government has portrayed in history books and the actual truth. It is a sin to conceal the truth from future generations of Malaysians.

Hindraf, in its civil suit against the UK government, is challenging the legality of various provisions in the Malayan constitution. Various provisions in the original constitution, proposed by the independent Reid Constitutional commission appointed by Her Majesty The Queen of England, has been compromised, diluted, altered, amended and/or completely removed in contravention of the standard required for the formulation of a constitution.  

Britain, which is a signatory to the European Convention of Human Rights 1950 and a key player in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, had reneged on its International obligations by sanctioning a substandard constitution for Malaysia that does not meet the minimum standards for a constitution.

Hindraf is not opposed to the special position of needy Malays in the peninsula - although they are not Orang Asal like the Orang Asli in the peninsula and the Orang Asal in Borneo - that was agreed upon by the various leaders negotiating the constitution with Her Majesty the Queen.

The position that the Malay Rulers sought was a guarantee on their special position that had always existed in their relationship with the British government from the time the Pangkor Agreement was signed.

It was agreed by all parties that generally the Malays in the peninsula were a backward community and that they needed assistance to be involved in business and education. Hence, a reasonable proportion of opportunities were reserved for the Malays but only in intake into the civil service, intake into institutions of higher learning owned by the government and training opportunities, government scholarships and opportunities from the government to do business.

Apparently, this did not seem to meet with any objections from our founding fathers, though many Indians were equally backward and lived in dire circumstances in the estates with meagre income.

Tunku Abdul Rahman, who initially agreed to a sunset clause of 15 years to the special position when he made representations before the Reid Constitutional Commission, embarked on a frolic of his own months later when the Reid commission completed its report and had submitted a copy of the proposed Malayan constitution to Her Majesty the Queen. The Reid Commission had made adequate provisions for the protection of the Malay position in the constitution.

Major changes to human rights provisions

Tunku Abdul Rahman and the then British High Commissioner set up an unauthorised Working Party which rewrote the constitution and made major changes to the fundamental human rights provisions.

Among them is the sanction for Parliament to enact laws, for which it was not empowered, under the new Article 4(3), which  is the cause of the Internal Security Act (ISA), sedition, curb of freedom of speech laws, etc, removal of the power of individual citizens to mount a challenge in the supreme court to any repugnant laws, unlawful actions by government and its organs, dilution of the original Article 8 to be treated equally as citizens, denial of equal educational rights under Article 12, denial of citizenship rights for those 2nd and 3rd generation born Indian Malayans and others.

The way Tunku bulldozed his secret agenda with the help of the then British high commissioner in 1957 and the eventual action of the British government to annex the Borneo states in the federation is connected.

What the Malaysian public is not aware is that the history portrayed and perpetuated by the government is morally wrong. The Borneo states have been reduced to colonies under Malaysia instead of the original agreement to be equal partners. Malaysia has no legitimacy in Borneo. Malaysia in Borneo is an unfinished chapter in the history of British empire in the region.

There is a dangerous level of rise in racial hatred, racial discrimination, and religious extremism as a result of the half truths disseminated to the Malaysian public.

The ruling party should not strive to be in power by creating the false perception that the Malays and Islam would be threatened. Malaysians are mature and have lived and will continue to live in harmony embracing the International standards of human rights.


P WAYTHAMOORTHY is chair, Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia.

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