COMMENT | Quite unexpectedly, my remarks at the Perikatan Nasional-BN Grand Rally in Jempol, Negeri Sembilan, on July 23 became the subject of controversy.

I was accused of asserting that the Malays have only Malaya whereas other peoples have countries historically associated with their respective origins.

What I said was simply this: “The Malays have no other land left. The Malays have only Malaya. Indians have India. The Chinese have China… Where do the Malays belong? The Malays belong here and nowhere else.”

I subsequently reiterated the same proposition by referring to the history of the nation’s formation: “Allah has ordained that every nation has a land and every people has a land of its own.

“The Siamese are in Thailand, the Vietnamese in Vietnam, the Kampucheans in Cambodia, the Chinese in China and the Indians in India… This land was once called Malaya. The Federation of Malaya was established.”

I delivered these remarks in the context of the