COMMENT This land is made up of immigrants mostly. In my view, it would be remiss to call one of the major races in Malaysia 'bumiputera', ahead of the others, and this will no doubt attract a lot of debate.

 

Even former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has acknowledged that the real original inhabitants of peninsular Malaysia (previously Malaya) are the Negritos and Semang (or Orang Asli) people. Therefore, it is an irrefutable fact that anyone else who arrived here after, say 3,000 years ago, would be an 'immigrant'. Time is after all, the greatest healer of controversy, or as some would say, the creator of many.

 

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out why today Malaysians, at least a significant proportion of us, are not willing to accept the 'immigrant' status any longer. For this, I need to remind the readers on a short history of the three major races' arrival in present-day Malaysia.

 

The Indians were here at least 2,300 years ago, having traded between present-day Odisha (or Kalinga then) and Kadaram (present-day Kedah) during the Mauryan empire (circa 330BC). Hindu empires existed here about 2,200 years ago in Langkasuka (Kedah), 1,700 years ago in Ganga Negara (Perak) and possibly, 1,300 years ago (likely of Buddhist-Hindu influence) in Kota Gelinggi (Johor).

 

There's enough historical evidence to confirm that the Indian diaspora has been here for more than 2,000 years, give or take. During my school days, these were accepted facts and nobody attempted to rewrite history to suit political expediency.

 

The Chinese have probably been trading with ancient Malayans from the 12th century onwards, hence having had a footprint here for at least 800 years (in Terengganu) although their influence grew after "concubine" Hang Li Po was married off as wife no 5 to Sultan Mansur Shah (in the mid-15th century).

 

Other than Hang Tuah, Hang Lekir, Hang Kasturi, Hang Jebat and Hang Lekiu, I have never heard of any Muslim/Malay officially named as a 'Hang'. (From my knowledge, it's probably a Javanese term of endearment). We can presume these ancient 'Malay' warriors were - quite likely, the Chinese (or Javanese) bodyguards sent by the emperor to watch over concubine no 606:  Now, would the 'king' of the world then, send his own daughter to marry a 'barbarian' king as the fifth wife?

Also, why wasn't the Ming emperor, presumably then Hang Li Poh's father, named 'Hang'? In fact, there were no Ming dynasty emperors with that surname ever. It was common trickery those days to feed vassal states' rulers delusions of grandeur, and I believe, the poor Mansur Shah, was duped.

 

Even more surprising, the Chinese, who kept copious historical records dating to 2,500 years or more, never once did they record this incident as ever happening. But I digress. I meant to say, the Chinese were probably permanently resident in Malaysia as far back as, at the minimum, 500 years ago.

 

The ‘original’ inhabitants

 

The current PM (and deputy PM) can trace his ancestry to Sulawesi in Indonesia, probably a Hindu culture till the mid-1400s. The home minister can trace his ancestry to a mere 100 years ago in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, definitely the seat of the Buddhist empire based in Borobudur.

 

The doyen of 'Malay' capitalism, Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary ( left ), is of Yemeni/Indian sub-continent ancestry, having arrived about 100-plus years ago ancestrally. The majority of Malay politicians or royalty can trace his/her ancestry to Indian/Hindu lineage. This is not surprising when you consider India as world’s oldest civilisation (even before the Egyptians, Parsis and Chinese).

 

Of course, if you really want to argue, Mother Eve (of Africa), was the first 'human', and ergo, her descendants would be the first citizen in any country? After all, how long does it take for a person to be considered 'original inhabitant' (or bumiputera) in a country.

 

I find it extremely troubling to be considered an immigrant when my family has been in this country longer than, say, some so-called bumiputera politicians and captains of industry. (Ironically, some first generation Malays from Singapore/Indonesia/Philippines/Pakistan have earned this status).

 

I find it totally repugnant that we are separated by racist laws and regulations. I find it hideous that Article 153 under our constitution has been misinterpreted for political mileage so much so, a noble intention for affirmative action has been corrupted to mean preferential treatment. And so should every right-thinking Malaysian. (For interest, the word 'bumiputera' is a derivative from the Tamil word 'bhumi putran', meaning the “son of the soil” - no prizes for guessing why yet again, another Hindu/Indian term to describe Malay hegemony).

 

Back in the years after 1896 (after the Federation was formed) when there was a rush from all over Asia to come to 'Malaya', people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in Port Swettenham, Singapore or Penang and be documented. The trip took as much as a month and they had nothing but the skin on their backs and perhaps, 10 Straits cents. My grandfather was one.

 

Some would get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground upon landing. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning the Malay language a primary rule in their new households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.

 

Marikayer (from Kerala) became Marican, the Sher (from Kashmir/Pashtun) became Sheik, Raja Cholan became Raja Chulan and so on. At this time, many of them also converted to Islam as many married local Muslim women. They had waved goodbye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one nation.

 

Although the Chinese and Indians kept many of their traditions alive, interestingly the Babas and Chittis merged their customs with those of the locals but remained Taoist/Confucian and Hindu respectively.

 

No free lunches

 

Nothing was handed free to these 'immigrants'. No free lunches, no welfare and no labour laws to protect them. All they had were the skills, craftsmanship and desire they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. And the then 'White rulers' made sure that they kept the major races separate so that they could manage (read: divide and rule) society. The social integration damage done by the British is still felt today. It doesn't help at all that radicals have now taken over from where the Brits left.

 

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. Malaysians of all backgrounds fought alongside men whose parents had come straight over from India, China, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and others. None of these first generation 'Malayans' ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from when they were fighting the common enemy, the Japanese. They were defending the freedom of Malaya as one people.

 

In fact, the "'mmigrants' were probably fighting harder than the locals as they had not much choice, having left their country of birth years ago. Malaya was, now, their country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up an Indian or Chinese flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here.

 

These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be a Malayan. That spirit was clear when our forefather came together to birth a new country, one that was based on the principles of justice, equality and fairness to all.

 

And here we are in 2014 with a new kind of 'Malaysians' who want rights and privileges that are more than what our founding fathers ever envisioned, more than the principles of societal equity dictates, more than that public order requires, more than what most religious tenets ordain but they do not follow the rules of natural justice set by civil society or, simple human decency.

 

They aim to achieve this by playing with a tilted set of rules, one that is supported by a firm grip on executive power and by virtue of judicial control, a guarantee of being judged innocent by a system biased in their favour.

 

That's not what being a Malaysian is all about. We have been very open-hearted and open-minded regarding immigrants, whether they were fleeing poverty, dictatorship, persecution, or whatever else. I believe that the descendants of the immigrants who landed in Malaya in the early 1900s (or 1,000 years before) deserve better treatment than now for the toil, hard work and sacrifice of generations.

 

I am appalled that we are being used as political pawns by those waving extremist ideologies, racist and bigoted views, and self-serving agendas to force Malaysia (regardless of its rich and diverse traditions) to change to suit their demands and wanting to change our country's social fabric by claiming religious justifications and perverting the honourable intentions of Article 153, when we do not give in to their demands.

 

It's about time we stand up for our forefathers' real intentions - we are Malaysians in the 21st century, not some 7th century caliphate. This is a wake-up call to all moderate Malaysians to claim back Malaysia from the oppressive (and regressive) minority. Keeping silent is morally wrong when injustice abounds.

 

RAMESH RAJARATNAM worries that there appears to be a state-sanctioned oppression of the majority by the minority.