A Malay non-governmental organisation (NGO) has lodged a police report on a poem by human rights lawyer Cecil Rajendra, alleging that it was seditious and could incite hatred towards the Malays.

[#1] Teras Pengupayaan Melayu [/#] research officer Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman lodged the report at the Sungai Petani police station, claiming that the author of the poem, Kingdom of Purplaya , had distorted the history of the country by saying the Malays were immigrants.

The poem was published in the latest issue of Aliran Monthly , an organ of the social reform movement, Aliran.

"From the way it is written, it is obvious that this poem is provocative and racist. The poem is filled with insults and also accuses the Malays of being a race which is not native to this country," said Ahmad.

"It says the Malays are immigrants, same as the Portuguese, Chinese and Indians," he added.

Ahmad was referring to a portion of the poem which reads, "Its people are of mixed origin: some Indonesians, some Chinese, some Indians, some Portuguese... Most Purplayans were immigrants from the neighbouring countries; only a handful are indigenous."

Ahmad also said the poem clearly refers to the Malays as colonists and plunderers of the Orang Asli rights.

Farcical constitution

"The poem states that Malays are a race which has been assisted by the British colonialists to protect their privileges. The poem further challenges the status of the Malays and Islam which has been agreed upon by all the other races as written in the constitution," said Ahmad.

He said that Rajendra claimed the Malays legislated a farcical constitution only to protect the interests of their race alone; at the same time, Rajendra also challenged the status of the Malay sultans in the Federal Constitution.

"The meaning of the poem can spark anger between races. My opinion is that the author of the poem and the publisher of Aliran have violated the Sedition Law," said Ahmad.

Teras was formed in 1998 to raise public awareness towards dispelling the inferiority complex, dependence and weak self-identity syndromes among the Malays.

On Tuesday, Rajendra had refuted any specific allusion to Malaysia in his poem, in response to the joint statement by Persatuan Melayu Pulau Pinang (Pemenang) and Teras that Kingdom of Purplaya was "inflammatory and seditious" ([#2] Purple people poem generic, says Rajendra [/#], April 10).

"The poem could be applied to more than a dozen countries. Furthermore, Kingdom of Purplaya , which refers to a kingdom full of purple people, does not exist in reality. There are no purple people and Malaysia is definitely not a kingdom," said Rajendra, a poet who has published numerous books addressing Third World issues.