Umno member Zaid Ibrahim should be issued a show-cause letter for questioning the status of Malays in a speech last week, said a senior party leader.

rahim thamby chik interview 290108 explain Supreme council member Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik (right) said Zaid should be told to explain himself. If he fails to do so, he should face expulsion.

“He refused to acknowledge the status of Malays and he does not even embrace the party’s principle, which is to fight for and preserve Malay rights,” Abdul Rahim said when contacted.

“So the party should issue a show-cause letter to him as to why he should remain a member.”

Abdul Rahim, 58, characterised the lawyer as mangsa kepada senario buta sejarah (a victim of ignorance of history).

“The Orang Asli (indigenous people) did not initiate a civilisation, that is why the Malays (who arrived later) deserve ketuanan (supremacy),” he explained.

Controversial speech

Last week, Zaid - the former Kota Baru Umno head - had sparked a minor storm when he declared that the ketuanan Melayu concept has failed in a speech

Malaysiakini has been unable to contact Zaid for a response. He has not returned calls.

Abdul Rahim - who is lagging in nominations for the party’s vice-presidency - noted that many misunderstand the concept of ketuanan Melayu .

“ Ketuanan does not mean the Malay is the tuan (master). It means that the Malays deserve rights and have to defend these as natives of this land, as stipulated in the federal constitution,” said the former Malacca chief minister.

He equated moves to create a Malaysian-Malaysia (a nation of equal rights) as similar to that of the Malayan Union and the intended republic under the Malaysian Communist Party.

“Many Malay leaders died in the battle for Independence and (first premier) Tunku Abdul Rahman formed Umno to defend and preserve Malay rights,” he added.

bumiputera equity and money Commenting on the proposed scrapping of the 30 percent bumiputera equity objective, he said: “We haven’t even achieved 20 percent, how can we abolish the 30 percent target?”

The Malays only own a 19 percent of equity and the non-Malays own more than 50 percent of the nation’s wealth. Whoever asked for it to be abolished is rude and arrogant.”

‘No need to be arrogant’

Quoted in the English-language daily New Straits Times yesterday, Zaid remained unshaken in his conviction that ketuanan Melayu has “negative elements and racist traits”.

bar council judiciary dinner 170408 zaid ibrahim speech “Malays have extraordinary abilities and they do not have to be arrogant that they have more rights than the other races,” Zaid said, rejecting claims that he had questioned provisions of the constitution.

“The problem is that the so-called Malay champions cannot differentiate between rights and privileges.”

He said this in response to supreme council member Syed Hamid Albar who had told him to apologise for questioning historical reality.

Perlis Umno liaison chairperson Shahidan Kassim echoed this, saying Zaid should “repent or else get out of the Malay grassroots”.

However, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said Zaid’s view should be carefully studied as he “believes that the Malays, the bumiputeras have a place (in this country)”.

“We will do everything possible to assist the Malays, together with the Chinese and Indians,” Anwar was quoted as saying in the daily.

Zaid: Ketuanan Melayu has failed