July 31, 2013
Tun DrM: It’s Malaysia now, no longer Tanah Melayu
by Art Harun (02-09-11)
In the last few weeks I have been entertained by two of my favourite people in the world.
Yes. Tun DrM and Lee Kuan Yew. Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison. The pot and the kettle. The men with the plan. The visionaries. The beacon of liberty, freedom, progress, development and oh yes, Asian Values.
One calls the other, firstly, “little Emperor of a tiny Middle Kingdom.” Then he downgraded the other – two days ago, to be exact – from being an Emperor to just a Mayor. The other one insinuated that his counterpart is delusional. And it goes on.
Nobody knows who is right or who is mightier. One thing which I know for sure is this. Both were benevolent absolutists bent on achieving anything which they managed to conjure up in their respective warped mind regardless of the consequences of their respective acts. Both are old people who really should just stop churning out vitriolic and do some good instead, like by not saying anything about anything.
Latest by Tun DrM is a mind boggling pronouncement that Malaysia belongs to Malays and that the non-Malays just have to live with that fact by accepting the culture and language of the dominant community. He has reportedly said :“This country belongs to the Malay race. Peninsular Malaysia was known as Tanah Melayu but this cannot be said because it will be considered racist.“We must be sincere and accept that the country is Tanah Melayu,” (The Malaysian Insider)
I am Malay. Tun DrM is my hero. Thank you very much Tun. As dirty talks go, that must have outperformed Linda Lovelace and the whole Dallas team put together.
I do not know why some people are obsessed with the ownership of this country. It is as if this country is full of things which could be owned and are in fact owned. On my last count, Bahasa Melayu is owned by Malays. The word “Allah” is also owned by Malays (who by Constitutional definition is synonymous with Muslims). There are also “special rights” which are owned by Malays. 30% of the economy are owned – well, actually, are supposed to be owned – by Malays.
In fact, I know of one specific Malay who is going around town owning everything and anything – mostly government projects and monopolised businesses -which are “ownable.” And now this. Malaysia is owned by Malays.
I am so glad to know that. Because the last time I went back to my kampung, I saw countless Malays riding old motorbikes, struggling to pay their water bills and school fees (who say our schools have no fees?), eating plain rice and ikan masin day in and day out, working in leased padi fields with just enough money to buy rice and ikan masin after paying their landlords for the padi field and the rentals for the tractors and harvesters.
Now I suppose, these poor Malays could go to the land office and claim this land, which has been declared as theirs. Nice. The Malay problems are solved. Poverty among the Malays is solved. Declining standard of education is solved. Health care problem is solved. Inability to think is solved.
And with one sentence (or two), Tun DrM has managed to solve the issue which had been ghosting his mind since 1969. Yes folks. THE MALAY DILEMMA IS SOLVED.
Take that Minister (Senior) Lee Kuan Yew! What do you have to say about that huh?
You surely have not solved the Chinese Dilemma, have you Minister Lee? In fact, you do not even have a Chinese Dilemma to begin with! How very inferior to Tun DrM you are.
I have written so much on the so called social contract and on how Malaysia gained her independence as well as the thoughts and rationale which went into the framing of some of the provisions of our Federal Constitution, especially article 153. I am not going to repeat them here.
I am not going to argue with Tun DrM anymore. Let’s just assume – and it is really a very big assumption – that what he said is correct. Tanah Melayu belonged to the Malays. Let’s just take that as the gospel (oh, I forget, I am Muslim, and so it should be the “Quranic”) truth.
But is there a Tanah Melayu now? In 2011?
The truth is Tanah Melayu has disappeared from the face of the Earth at 12 midnight 31st August 1957, when Malaya, and later, Malaysia, was born. When the late Tunku Abdul Rahman was screaming “merdeka merdeka merdeka”, Tanah Melayu achieved its independence and she morphed into this new state called Malaya, which later became Malaysia. All her citizens became Malayans, and later Malaysians. They may belong to different ethnicities, different races, different faiths, different tribes speaking different languages and dialects, but they all became Malayans that early morning.
This country belongs not to Malays anymore that morning. This country belongs to Malaysians from that morning onwards.If the Tun’s favourite hypothesis of the social contract is correct, true and accurate – that there was a round table agreement between leaders of the three main races where the Malays have agreed to allow the non-Malays to become citizens in exchange for special rights – then by that same token, it means that the Malays, through that very social contract, have agreed to disclaim their ownership of Tanah Melayu in exchange for some special rights.
I am not making this up. I am saying this based on what Tun DrM has been saying all this while. If ever there was such an agreement – as repetitiously blared by Tun DrM and his ilk – that would be the natural and legal consequences of that agreement.
If that being so, on what basis, I wonder, is Tun DrM now founding his claim that Malaysia is owned by the Malays?
As for Lee Kuan Yew, you do not have the right to even speak about us, okay. You have not even identified the Chinese Dilemma yet. You little Mayor!
Din Merican: the Malaysian DJ Blogger 
all the bull about who it belong to I am here and I will stay deal with it.
Boy, do I pity the poor and million masses of Sabah and Sarawak! They got ripped- Off-A of their bountiful zillion RMs bounty and resources to support a few giddy-headed pseudo-Malays and UMNOs from 1963 and being told in their faces next that MALAYSIA belongs to the Malays!
Oh `nyanyok’ DrM, you mean,Maa-la-ya pusa Ma-laa-si-yaa!. Now you will get Jeff Kitingan foaming in the mouth with his `Sabah for Sabahans, I tpld you so’ clarion call! Wow, talk about further cutting deep what Mohd Said expounded in Kuala Besut last week!
As for LKY he never forgave Tunku for kicking Singapore out so the Malays there are being made to pay for that affront on his PAP dreams. Even asked and cajoled the mainly Indons Malays there Not to be so dedicated Islamists. His successors have let loose everything conceivable to dilute the Muslim faithfuls trusts, traditions and personifications!
If he could despite the significant Jews population in PAP State, he would want Singapore Muslims to follow his branding of Islam!
Definitely not of Ikwanul Muslimin followings so only a few Malays in its Police and Military only in top positions.
As GCT said, meritocracy and future Singapore RI-way..
This is exactly the problem with the fanatic Malays who think that Malaysia is theirs and the Indians, Chinese and the Natives of Sabah and Sarawak have no rights. We hope the day will come when there will come the Arab spring.
Many times when I (a Malaysian Chinese) read news of poor Malay families in Peninsular Malaysia, I really pity them (as I and 8 siblings also came from a very poor family in early late/early 1960, father being a machinist while mom washed cloths assisted by 2 eldest sisters, while I and other brothers kept guard on cloths put out to dry) but my mind then quickly switched to ‘ but why no help by social welfare from the Govt or the UMNO branch’
shoot a bird..marginal for his and cronies
Din.
Tun Mahathir is the biggest hypocrite on earth.
He made Tan Si Vincent Tan from an Insurance agent to billionair.He made YTL from a bankrupt company in 1994 into a billionair.
He kill Tan Sri Halim Saad,took away all his company without paying a single cents.
He forces Danaharta to sell TRI shares that owned Celcom to Telcom and ive a new telco licence to Anada.
Now he to claim that he is a real nasionalist.
I think he must had drink to much San Magual beer.
Many knew there is a hidden narrow political agenda.
Actually Tanah Melayu don’t belong to the Malays, technically it belonged to the Sultans..Until today, the Malays has never insisted accountability from their royalties by birth or elected. So, this Malaysia, can only belong to Malaysian..
Two ways of talking here : Either a fool is talking as if he’s smart, OR, a smart guy trying to talk or PRETENDING to be a fool. I feel sandwiched in between so feel ‘lost ‘…..
Fear creeping in when BN elites openly expressing ” Polarisation ” ( there are Billionaires non- Malays feeling without openly expressing it , since all of them feel the same thing : if we don’t realise the good we have we may lose everything )…..
This ” Tanah Melayu ” is history, legally or constitutionally, its Tanah Malaysia NOW, we are all Malaysians, but some of the major provisions , or Appurtanents of Old Tanah Melayu being retained in the major provisions.
Dissatisfaction still persists.
If we glance back at the recent Commentries by, say , Rafsanjani and Hawking Eye in the prior thread, polarisation is breeding to become a threat.
Ok, what if ( WHAT IF ), by way of a referendum, all the Malays in toto, PKR , PAS & UMNO ( at 68% of the total voting franchise) agree and come to a Consensus , Ammend the Fed Constitution, to its former Wordings ( or revert to ) ” Tanah Melayu “, will that solve the Problems ?
At least few Commentators THINK, PAS under Nik Aziz, Hadi Awang or even DSAI, will be a ” Solution “. Even if PAS is talking about Idealistic ” Islam “, in which all material forms of Wealth , that breeds corruption, WILL be Abolished, and excess wealth will have to be Confiscated ( because its a Sin in ” Islam ” ) – But Non-Muslims are ALREADY saying Islamic Law will not be applicable to them ? So, a Nation running with two sets of Parallel Laws ?
Not only it is Incomprehensible, but two opposite Effects to both Muslims and Non- Muslims :
( I ) Non- Muslims who are already wealthy in Economic terms, will have the cake and eat it as well… their economic life strengthened, more and more….
(ii) Muslims who are already, not exactly poor, but marginal (xcept for few Elites ), will under-go the Process of ” Economic Strangulation” , NOT by the fault of Others, but by Self-Default, by their OWN Default….
Economic Strangulation is a FACT, not Imaginary…..( as already happened to Malays in S’pore, well to ALL Islamic Nations that we now see in Confusion & Turmoil )…….ad infinitum ……
When in Poverty, everyone will be embroiled….no escape…..
Reblogged this on AKiraStory.
The hidden agenda of this constant barrage of
irresponsible and socially divisive propaganda is to “divide and conquer”
and to prevent his bete noir DSAI from coming to power as the PM of Malaysia.
“Uneasy lies the head that used to wear the crown (and grossly abused political power whilst holding high political office)”
For a former PM and one who in power for 20 years to say that is an admission that all his stupied polices including the NEP were miserable failures. With all the resources at his disposal and hundred of billion dollars spent he now comes up with this idiotic admission. Forgetting of course that the non Malays contributed to most of this money. Sure we know that this michevious retired politican is still playing politics for the coming UMNO elections. Positioning himself to push for certain candidates. I hope that these UMNO people can see this man for what he is worth. A bangkrupt former PM who together with his friends in PERKASA have only one thing in mind. To destory this country.. ..
There is no descriptions to the like of Madey. I feel that he is an alien in human form with one mission in his life. All is mine.
How about Kereta Api Tanah Melayu?
This country is so bogged down by racial and religious issues stirred up by these bunch of hypocrite politicians, with an ultimate motive of keep enriching themselves at the expense of the naive kampung folks. Today, our national debt has surpassed 50% of GDP, and it does not seem to be any concern of our “leaders”. Our Ringgit has depreciated against many other currencies, and it is no concern of our “leaders”. Crime rate has hit super RED light, and it is no concern of the “leaders”, and the list just goes on and on. Just wonder whether this country will ever rise again with the current bunch of “CLOWN leaders”. China lost almost three decades with cultural revolution, and Malaysia, how many decades???
Strange! This is Tanah Melayu but Mahathir is not melayu. He is an indian muslim.
WHY OH WHY do we pay any attention to what this alien says? Do not pay any attention to him and he will have no audience. Do not jump to address what he says as he will never understand as his mind has shrunk with no more space for a changed country!! His agenda is to avoid prison and we should have our own and move on. Too much time is spent on this child as we have other children to take care.
Long ago…….this kutty mamak tried to remove our council of rulers power hoping he can turn Malaysia into a Republic then royals become extinct like Germany, PRC, Indonesia and other European kingdoms so that we need not sustain all our sultans and an Agung. We are among the few nation with constitutional monarchs; UK and Thailand. …………he however failed in the end. ………. at the rate things are going, Najib seemed forgotten by this decoy who seem to act like the de-facto PM…..and his rantings seems to add positiveness to Najib. Come umnoB GA, what might happen?
What the cynical Machiavellian truly thinks of ordinary UMNO members:
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=137062:behind-closed-doors-dr-m-pokes-fun-at-umno-members&Itemid=2#axzz2afNPfHsp
(Reminds me of propaganda chief Dr Joseph Goebbels’ utter contempt for the easily manipulated Nazi Party-supporting German and Austrian masses)
Sometimes I just want to ask, “Apa lagi lu mau?” At 88, you are very very healthy, still extremely sharp that you put many who are much much younger (especially those in UMNO) to shame.
Not forgetting too, you & your family are rich beyond words. In fact you have ALL the 3 things others dare only to dream of,i.e., health, wealth and power so what else can you possibly ask for?
Since you are getting closer to your Creator each day, why not do some good like UNITE all Malaysians as BANGSA MALAYSIA?
At least that was what you promised us in your Wawasan 2020, or have you forgotten? I don’t blame you if you do, after all “Melayu mudah lupa” so you said.
p/s As to planning for our new PM beyond Najib, don’t bother la……there is just so much you can do. Man proposes but God disposes. Sound familiar?
concerned citizen, no point talking about our “national debt surpassing 50% of GDP”. The average man-on-the-street does not understand this and doesn’t care; the elites understand the implications of this but also do not care. Why? Because the elites have amassed so much wealth that even in the worst of recession, they are unaffected because they have cushioned themselves very well with all the stolen money from the country and the rakyat.
Don’t talk so much about the so-called “Bangsa Malaysia” when some non-Malays can’t speak proper Bahasa Malaysia…?? And yes, all non-Malays must change their names like their counterparts in Indonesia and get rid of all those medium type vernacular schools, to ensure our children are educated in Malay medium schools only…Only then can we talk about “Bangsa Malaysia”.
Yes, if we are not careful we will be left with Persekutuan Tanah Melayu or should I say Federated Malay States.
Learn from the tragedy of Yugoslavia under the cynical Machiavellian politician Slobodan Milosevich !
Cynical stirring up of ethnic tensions via irresponsible and divisive propaganda led to civil war, genocide and the disintegration of the
country into Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, (rump) Serbia,
Montenegro, Macedonia and even Kosovo !
Thank you, Art, for that hilarious but serious artwork!.
You know, I feel we are wasting valuable time debating / commenting on what the old men on both sides of the causeway say. Haven’t we had enough of the one on our side for the 22 years he lorded over us? And even after handing the reins to Tun AAB, he has never stopped fiddling.
Enough of Tanah Melayu lah as we have been Malaysia since September 16, 1963. Whether it’s Tanah Melayu or Malaysia we are in deep shit as the minority government formed after GE13 has not started rolling yet. Ministers including the PM and DPM are still in election mode trying to distract the rakyat with the IGP playing his role. The PM wants to inflate the size of PDRM as serious crime is getting out of control. It seems it’s size that will solve problems not planning, strategy and innovation.
The DPM meanwhile has warned non-Muslims not to “hina Islam”. Ah, even a Muslim dog-trainer has “hina-ed Islam” and has been arrested. The ever publicity- seeking Home Minister guy wants to replace MiG-29 jet fighters. I wonder why? Have the engines gone missing? I am not sure what the fighter jets were used for since they were purchased! Ah yes, to strafe the invaders in Lahat Datu. Have they served their purpose or we need to put money in circulation to create wealth?
Meanwhile, special committees are being formed to tackle various issues. Yes, keeping forming committees for every damn thing so you don’t have to do anything immediately to solve issues. The Cabinet should follow the example set by the Police and AG’s Chambers – see how fast the students who held a protest in June near Parliament were charged (within a month of the of the incident) while the mamak UMNO gang in Penang who made a nuisance of themselves in the city and on the Penang Bridge two years ago have been let off with NFA. The Info Minister is one sharp guy. His immediate response to revelations on the Scorpene issue by Mr Singh was “it is very timely”. But he never continued to explain what he meant by “timely”. Maybe the article carried by the toilet paper was to bury the Mongolian ghost before the UMNO Baru AGM?
And while the Cabinet is in hibernation, hired killers are having a field day while the IGP of all things issues warnings about circulating photos taken at the “Canteen in the Toilet” school. Somebody must have hired good spin masters to put us off the track.
So while we debate whether it’s Tanah Melayu or Malaysia, whether we blame the Malays for all our ills, whether it’s a Malay Dilemma or a Chinese one, our economy is sure taking a beating with cost of living sky-rocketing – chicken price up, beef price out of control, fish price …… ah, well, it’s gonna be one helluva expensive Raya. Damn the political animals for their apathy.
With all this patriotic passion and energy, we should embark on a plan,individually or collectively, to help our fellow Malaysians irrespective of race or religion. Do it now saudara.
I wanted to write something ,but then I remember that it’s about that idiot, so I say Fork laa, just wasting my time and tired fingers typing, you see if you ignore him n not counter his claim or even talk about Him, then he is Nothing….Ziltch…Kapish!!! Oouch!!
We should not be dancing to DrM’s blabberings. He is incoherent and indiscreetly picks racist issues hoping that the Malays will be convinced and listen to him. The only way for Umno and Mahathir to survive the current swing against them is by fooling the Malays – and this is no more an easy task.
it’s funny when we want to deny the Malay Land but “Malays-ia” name mean is Malay Land. Just google what -ia mean in Russ-ia, Ind-ia, Bolav-ia etc. if you don’t believe me. Cheers!