Malays are also immigrants to Malaysia: Gerakan delegate

KUALA LUMPUR — All the three key races that form Malaysia’s majority — the Malays, Chinese and Indians — are immigrants or “pendatangs”, even though the Malays, as the country’s dominant ethnic group, are given privileged status under the country’s bumiputra policy, a delegate from the Gerakan party said at its national conference yesterday.

Johor delegate Tan Lai Soon said not only were the Chinese and Indians pendatang, but the Malays were not natives of Malaysia either as they had emigrated from Indonesia.

“Except for the natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the Orang Asli, everyone else in Malaysia is a pendatang,” Mr Tan said during the party’s 43rd National Delegates Conference in Selangor.

The conference was earlier opened by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The party, along with the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), are both Chinese-majority parties that are component members of Mr Najib’s ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

Ethnic Malays and other indigenous peoples are allowed wide-ranging affirmative action privileges under the Bumiputra, or “sons of the soil”, policy.

Mr Tan yesterday said he wanted to explain the position of Malaysians in the country, as the original bumiputras were the Orang Asli and natives of Sabah and Sarawak.

“When UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) members say that the Chinese are pendatang, they obviously forgot that they were also pendatang from Indonesia,” he said.

Former Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin on Thursday had questioned why the Chinese were annoyed when they were referred as “pendatang”, saying that many Chinese preferred to converse in their own dialects despite 57 years of independence rather than the national language, Bahasa Malaysia. “The Chinese want to identify themselves by speaking in their own dialects. They continue to isolate themselves by not mastering the national language,” he said.

In Mr Najib’s officiating address, he had said that BN, including his party, UMNO, rejected any form of extremism, calling on political leaders to show the way by demonstrating moderation.

He added that as the Internet was not subject to censorship, it was easy for people to get carried away when giving feedback on an issue. “The solution is for political leaders to show the way by rejecting extremism. BN, and this includes UMNO, rejects any form of extremism,” Mr Najib said.

Although he supported Mr Najib’s comments, Mr Tan said what was more important was whether the Prime Minister would fulfil his promises and hold members of his party accountable for their statements.

“If Mr Najib just talks but does not keep his promises, then it is pointless,” Mr Tan said.

At the conference, Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong in his opening address had proposed that BN component parties take disciplinary action against leaders who are found guilty by the coalition of making racist statements. The Gerakan chief argued that this was one way to promote moderate voices as the “true heroes” of Malaysia, while taking the spotlight off extremists.

Malaysia has seen a fair amount of racial and religious vitriol spewed over recent years, with right-wing groups pushing a pro-Malay and pro-Islam narrative to counter what they say is an active attempt by various parties to dilute the power held by the majority Malays.

In response to Mr Mah’s call, Home Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday said he agreed with the suggestion, adding that the focus should also be on racially-charged statements made by non-Malay leaders. The UMNO vice-president said it was only fair that the same treatment be given to all BN leaders regardless of race.

“Don’t just focus on Malay leaders who are talking about Malay rights. What about the non-Malays fighting for non-Malay rights? They say something racist, sack them. Sack everybody,” he told a news conference. Agencies