Malay Special Rights: What and Why I Oppose

The following has been taken from a comment of mine on Bakri Musa's blog post commemorating Tun Abdul Razak's death. For further context, check this, this, this, this and this. The people talking cock here aren't cronies or UMNOputras. They are your typical urban Malays. I think that speaks for itself.

I don’t have much problems with the NEP. The NEP was and is the correct policy to implement, IMO. I see the problems associated with it as more of a symptom, and not an underlying reason, for our problems when it comes to national unity. IMO, Article 153 of the Constitution, ketuanan Melayu and the endless harping on the social contract cause more trouble than the NEP ever can.

The NEP is founded on the correct premises - ending poverty regardless of race, and giving the hobbled a chance to catch up. Ketuanan Melayu and the social contract with its quid pro quo “we give you citizenship in return for our special rights” are founded on incorrect premises - especially the belief that some people are inherently entitled from birth to something others don’t.

I don’t mind having to pay a little extra to give my fellow man in the kampung a hand up. What I do mind is being told I’m a “pendatang asing” who has no right to be here or being told to balik tongsan (or cross the causeway). This is a blatant insult to my Malaysian nationality, the Malaysian passport I carry, the blue IC in my wallet, the Malaysian heart that beats in my chest, and the Malaysian belief in equality in unity I was brought up with. You want to know why so many Malaysians choose to be discriminated in White Man’s Land, or go south? It’s not because of the NEP. It’s because our right to be Malaysians has been questioned. It’s one thing to have to sacrifice for your fellow citizen. It’s another thing to sacrifice for a citizen of a country where you don’t even belong.