Me a bumiputra? No thank you
Tunku Abdul Aziz, what I need is equality, equal opportunity, justice and fair treatment by the government. I want to be respected as an individual Malaysian. That is all I need.
Tota, Aliran
Tunku Abdul Aziz, the ex-DAP vice-chairman and now an ardent supporter of the Umno-dominated BN, in an interview with China Press (11 June 2013), suggested that in the interests of national unity, non-Malays should be accorded bumiputra status, nothwithstanding the provisos in the Federal Constitution.
The colonial policy of divide-and-rule was bad enough. British colonialists compartmentalised Malayan society into ethnic groups to serve their purpose. When we attained independence, the Federal Constitution granted equality to everyone with a proviso for special rights for Malays which have apparently become a permanent feature.
Once the NEP was implemented, the Umno-dominated BN further divided Malaysian society. In addition to Malays, Chinese and Indians, a new term ‘bumiputera’ came into existence. From within the bumiputeras, another class, Umnoputeras, emerged.
I talked to a good Malay friend – very well-educated, independent minded and a man of integrity and principles – about my opinion of non-Malays becoming bumiputras. He concurred with my thoughts and feelings on the issue. He is a true Malaysian, a self-made man who is averse to the NEP and bumiputera status.
He warned me that as a bumiputra I run the risk of being lumped together with the Umnoputras, who have cleverly camouflaged the Umnoputra Agenda as a Malay Agenda and devised various strategies to enrich themselves, their families and their cronies and amass great wealth at the expense of the nation. He considers them looters, plunderers, predators and kleptocrats, who pillage the public treasury.
He joked that as a ‘bumiputera’ I would be brainwashed into believing that I need to be protected from the womb to the tomb because I cannot compete with others. Because of this, I would develop an inferiority complex that may become part of my DNA.
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