Screenshots

And on a recent Debet Perdana, there was yet another UMNO mouthpiece saying very much the same things as Syed Jaafar Albar. Expunding the Ketuanan Melayu line again. Asking for 60% of the pie, simply based on the racial composition of the nation.

I am all for helping the economically disadvantaged, regardless of race. Even in terms of race, I am all for helping the economically disadvantaged Malays, with the provisio that at the same time, the Orang Asli and the Indians, many of whom are in as dire if not worse straits, are not forgotten or given less attention.

But if the govt seriously wants the nation to be united, those politicans who insist on playing the race card need to be disciplined and censured.

No point spending hundreds of millions each year on National Service hwne at the same time, there are so many politicians, including UMNO politicians doing so much damage in terms of unity and muhibbah.

Does anyone know where I can actually find the UNCLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS themselves? If your going to declassify then the papers (uh sorry the mouthpieces) should've reprinted copies in today's papers. Not just their synopsi of the documents.

JAM, follow Jeff's link to channelnewsasia for a list of links to the documents or a compiled version, containing correspondence up to end 2002, released by the Singapore government at http://www.mica.gov.sg/info/ENGLISHconv.pdf

It is always the same old story. The fiercest and most vocal supporters of ketuanan melayu always happens to be migrants from India/ middle east/Indonesia who, by adopting the malay culture and religion, bacame bumis by default.
On the sand and airspace, it made news only when the bridge poject was cancelled. Maybe Pak lah was disgusted wih our negotiators for embarrasing the country and decided to terminate the whole thing before we become a laughing stock.

Daniel,

Thanks for the link but Im looking for the documents released by Msian Government. For all the hue and cry about "look we ARE transparent", where are the docs. I want to see them myself.

Are they just declassified for the newspapers or for everyone?

All I can say "So whats new?"

Another thing, in the NST today.
Are they "revealing" the 'facts' or are they just "defending"?

JeffOOi: "Forgive me for I know little of what had happened to the DNA of the lion's cub."
____________

Indeed. Let's judge this fellow by his shoes not his fathers. Although I must say the snippet on his father and what his father said is saddening.

JEFF OOI says: History indeed does provide perspectives to the present and the future.

Syed Hamid has more faith in the mainstream media than the internet since the politicians can control what is said in the media but not the internet. What kind of a pea brained TWIT is Syed Hamid? And this joker is the Foreign Affairs Minister - guess it takes all types to make the Court of Jesters in Parliament - the idiots, morons & nincompoops of Malaysia. But alas, not forgetting our 'Smiling Beauty' Pak Lah who keeps grinning like a jack ass- can you please share the joke with us humble citizens? Senyum Sayang?

TheWrathOfGrapes,

Perhaps you are not getting my drift. Sand has never been an issue during Mahathir's talks and you said it yourself "The documents was published by Singapore in 2002 at the height of the water talks - and sand was not the key issue then." Sand was also not a key issue in any of the subsequent talks and correspondences during TM's tenure. And this is precisely what TM is trying to say too. Why is sand suddenly thrown into the equation?

"Syed Hamid said the sand issue was again raised by Singapore in 2005 (so, of course you can't find any mention in the documents up to 2002). Therefore, the only way to find out is to see the documents of 2005".
Why was the word "again" used when there were no previous references during TM's water or package talks? Documents are records of what transpires during an official discussion. Whatever is discussed in the corridors of power do not get documented. For example, during one of the dinner bashes or unofficial golf games, a Malaysian could say to his Singaporean counterpart "why don't you try asking for sand as a trade-off during our meeting since the bridge is gonna be built anyway. If you bring it up and the fish catches the bait, I am in a position where I can decide on the matter of sand supply". On record, you won't have the Malaysian side bringing up the sand issue, would you??

It is truly unbelievable that a 1st generation immigrant like Syed Jaafar Albar dare to comment negatively about the loyalty of other immigrants whose family tree have been in Malaysia for a few generations longer than him and who have contributed to the growth and wealth of Malaysia far longer and more than he could have done in his life. Is what Syed's comment tantamount to racial discrimination? Should someone who has played on racial sentiments be honoured and respected?...real shame. I cannot even use the phase of the pot calling the kettle black for his case...its is worst than that!

Real sad that there are still to this day half-past six politikus that uses race and religion to garner support at the expense of other races just to get up the political ladder. The govt of the day if they are sincere about buiding a Bangsa Malaysia should throw all of these racial clowns out of the govt and into jail...but then would it mean that they will lose control of the masses?

I sincerely hope that Malaysians of all races and religions will not fall prey to these people who uses such underhand tactics. God save our country!

Can't trust the net? OK trust who, NST?Remember the spin they did on the meeting between Pak Lah and Dr.M. so who was right, the mainstream media or the net.

Mainstream media is surely prefered by the son of the lion cos they are spinning things in his/BN's favour. so he will wants us to swallow lock stock barrel whatever mainstream media dish out to us. Unfortunately for Syed Albar, not all Malaysians although we are not son/daughters of a lion, are not stupid.

Happy Birthday Pak menteri. I'm sure the trip down south was an official trip thus saving some money. Ehm..and we are told to change lifestyle!!!Piiiilah!!!

Folks

Talking about "Ketuanan Melayu", please read below what Dr Bakri Musa,wrote in Malaysiakini.

He belongs to that much needed group of enlightened, modern and broad-minded Malays if Malaysia is to move into the 21st Century in the path that it wants. He is so much well above the head and shoulders of any the leaders and apparatchiks you find in UMNO.

One must admit, and embarrassingly so by our fellow Malay brothers and sisters, that what Dr Bakri Musa said in his article on Ketuanan Melayu, has more grains of truth than you can get anywhere.

Here it is:

Ketuanan Melayu: False premise and promise
by M Bakri Musa, July 5, 2006

(in MalaysiaKini)

Read here:

http://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/53434

Malay leaders are again selling to their followers a bill of goods with the doctrine of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay hegemony).

These leaders delude themselves and the masses into thinking that we Malays have been anointed Tuan (master) of Malaysia, with all the implied glories and privileges. Both the premise and promise of Ketuanan Melayu are false. The sooner Malays grasp this stark reality, the better it is for us and for all Malaysians, as well as for the nation. In this competitive world, you work to be a Tuan; you must earn it!

In feudal societies, whether you are fated to be master or servant is determined at birth by your heritage. Malaysia has long passed that stage though many are still entrapped in the feudal mindset.

Yes, our sultans are born to be so.Perhaps that is where we acquire the belief that we too could be born Tuan purely based on our heritage.

False!

Nowhere is it so written. Our sultans could easily be reduced to the status of the Sultan of Sulu, as has happened during the deprivation of World War II. It did not take long for our rajas to behave as ordinary mortals then, joining their fellow villagers in scrounging for food.

There was nothing regal about your sultanah wrapped in a wet, cheap sarong panning for fish in the rivers, like all the other poor villagers. If that could happen to our sultans in the past, it could happen again. And if it could happen to our sultans, it could happen to the ordinary rakyat.

The only sure path to spare us from such a fate is to ensure that we are competitive and can contribute our share.'De jure' Tuan vs 'de facto' Tuan

In our obsession to be Tuan, we have never learned or refused to learn what it would take to be one.

We convinced ourselves that we are Tuans simply through the operation of the law, a social contract agreed upon by our earlier leaders, or through the will of Allah. While Malays fantasise being de jure (by operation of law) Tuan, non-Malays, through their hard work, have become de facto (as a matter of fact) Tuans in Malaysia. Outside of government offices, this is the harsh reality.

Through Ketuanan Melayu, Malays are led to believe that the world would be at our beck and call. We use the constitution to confidently decree that our culture, language, and norms be supreme. When the world ignores our command, we become even shriller in impressing upon them our status as Tuan.

Increasingly, it is not just the greater world beyond that is ignoring us; our own little world is contemptuous of our status. Malay may be the national language, but Education Minister Hishamuddin Hussein is inundated with applications from Malaysians wishing to enroll their children in international schools where the language is other than Malay.

Hishamuddin, of course, sends his daughter abroad. Rest assured, they do not teach Malay there.

Malaysians may speak Malay but it is the debased (rojak) version. That is a reflection of utter contempt for the language, and not just by non-Malays. Malay may be the language of the land, but when I visit Malaysia I have difficulty finding books in Malay. Malay media capture only a tiny portion of the advertising ringgit, again a reflection of the market’s valuation of the language.

As for Malay schools, now elevated as national schools, even Malays are abandoning them. More destructively, this collective delusion in our destiny to be Tuan encourages a variety of non-productive behaviours. We have leaders content only with endless speech-making rather than bucking down to hard work; university vice-chancellors who debase their titles with their singular lack of scholarly contributions; and civil servants who act as mini-sultans (or Little Napoleons, in the prime minister’s words) of their departments. Executives of GLCs engage in nothing more than rent-seeking behaviours, despite their hallowed titles as chairman, CEO, and investment banker.

Such are the meaningless consequences of the empty promises of Ketuanan Melayu.

It is a cruel hoax perpetrated upon our people by our very own leaders.

Ketuanan Melayu is premised upon false foundations. Tanah Melayu (Land of the Malays) or not, Malays are not ordained to be Tuan, in our own land or elsewhere. On the other hand, if Malays were competitive, rest assured that we would then be Tuans even in lands other than Tanah Melayu.

In my forthcoming book, Towards A Competitive Malaysia, I outlined a strategy for enhancing Malaysian, in particular Malay, competitiveness by focusing on four basic elements: leadership, people, culture, and geography.

They make up my 'Diamond of Development', with each element forming one angle of the diamond. Each element is being influenced by, and in turn, influences the other three. When all four are favourable, they create a virtuous cycle, with each synergistically reinforcing the other three. Conversely when all elements are negative, there would be a rapid downward spiral.

Good citizens would insist on good leadership, and good leaders in turn invest in their people. Saddam Hussein would never have a chance being elected dogcatcher in America, and his sadism in turn has rubbed off on the Iraqi people.

Sophisticated leaders and citizens in turn would demand effective institutions (an element of culture). With good leadership and institutions, former poor fishing villages could become exclusive tourist resorts giving work to local citizens and boosting the nation’s economy, as we see with Cancun Mexico . With corrupt leaders and institutions, even sand could be made scarce in Saudi Arabia.

Malaysia has over 100 inches of rain annually but its taps frequently run dry. Las Vegas, in the desert, sports swimming pools and fountains. Again, leadership and institutions make the difference. Enhancing the quality of our people (human capital) require that they be healthy and be educated and trained.

Health has less to do with expenditures on hospitals, doctors and modern medicine and more on such civil engineering marvels as central sewer and water treatment plants, affordable housing, and even availability of electricity (through better food refrigeration). Even education leads to better health, but a good education system is necessary for economic development. That the present system is wanting is obvious.

All these would be for naught if Malaysians were in conflict with one another. For any society, more so if it is a plural one, peace and harmony is a prerequisite for economic development.

It is for this reason that I am alarmed at the increasing fragmentation of Malaysians and the deepening polarisation among Malays. The special privileges of the NEP (New Economic Policy) should be used to enhance the competitiveness of bumiputeras, not to narcotise us with the delusion of Ketuanan Melayu. Before his elegant silence, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi spoke bravely of the 'The New Malay Dilemma', of weaning Malays of the special privilege crutches.

Characteristically, he recoiled at the first hint of resistance, he could not handle the keris-brandishing Umno Youth leaders intent on having their regular special privileges fix.

We delude only ourselves if we think we can use the constitution, heritage, or some imagined social contract to make us Tuan. Malays have to disabuse ourselves of the false premise and promise of Ketuanan Melayu.

Dr Bakri Musa, I cannot agree with you more. You are truly a Malay leader, if I may use the term. You should stand for election here. You will surely have my vote and that of my family's. Syabas for your honest and unbias comment.

As a few generations immigrant in Malaysia who is a Malaysian, all I am asking is for a better Malaysia where all races can prosper and live together harmoniously without any mention of race, creed or religion. But, it looks like we have still a long way to go as politicians are constantly harping on this to garner support for themselves up the political ladder. We need more long-sighted and open 'Towering Malays' like Dr Bakri Musa.

"And on a recent Debet Perdana, there was yet another UMNO mouthpiece saying very much the same things as Syed Jaafar Albar"

Leithaisor, you should also try to publicise here who this political clown is so that all Malaysians and the world will know the name of this politikus who use race and/or religion to further his goals. This person shouldn't be representing the people in govt.

Don't let him and others like him continue doing this and getting away with it. Do it for the love and future of our country. I urge all bloggers to expose such persons and shame them for these under hand tactics. Do it for the sake of our children's and their children's future.

eh you know, syed jaafar albar also thought that 'syeds' were superior to the 'rakyat' and disapproved one of his daughters from marrying a malay who had no hereditary title...who the heck do these immigrant camel jocks think they are?

on bakri musa -- the only thing is, the guy is in the US so he brings little direct value to us folks here in malaysia.

Caribenar - that Debet Perdana was live, and I do not have the transcript (yet), so I do not have the name of the UMNO mouthpiece available.

But it really matters litle who that fellow is since there are quite a number of his ilk around.

Practically every week there are one or two such chaps spouting their Ketuanan Melayu spiel. Some of them probably believe what they are saying though they may not be able to defend their stance if challenged. Others may actually know the words are meaningless and indefensible, but are the politically expedient things to say. Some others may be somewhere in between.

And just watch the show during every UMNO election. Perhaps Hishamuddin may not repeat his 'waving hugh keris' show, but there will likely be many others who will play the race card.

I think within UMNO there must surely be at least a number of clear thinking people who seriously want the nation to move forward and grow together.

But will they be heard or win any power in that party? what course will that party steer?

after all the brohuha..i guess you guys still and willingly vote for bn again, and again...lol

SatriaAsia

You said....on bakri musa -- the only thing is, the guy is in the US so he brings little direct value to us folks here in malaysia.

You are only partly right and mostly wrong.

Today, with the information technology explosion eg internet, globalisation of economy, borderless influences, you don't need to be in the country to make the difference.

Bakri Musa at least still has his heart for the country, has the guts to be brutally frank at the people who mattered.

Malaysians, especially some of our Malay brothers and sisters living comfortably in Malaysia,
(a)would not want to rock the boat (why should they, when they are the direct beneficiaries of whatever the govt is doing, rightly or wrongly ??),

(b)they would not want to be on the wrong side of Govt with ISA hanging over their heads, and

(c) surely, do not want to be accused of being "traitors" to their race (a common tactic of the UMNO apparatchiks used at their fellow Malay)

We need voices such as the likes of Dr Bakri Musa, wherever they maybe, to speak up
(i)if the Govt and political leadership is failing the long term interests of the nation
(ii) if the leadership is failing the interests and social security of thecitizens of the country, and
(iii)if these leaders and their followers are usurping powers for their own greed and the greed of their cronies and families.

So, it is not right to say that folks like Dr Bakri Musa is irrelevant to a country like ours. We should laud their courage and effort, rather to diminish their roles and what they are doing.

How many of you or us have the guts to come up into the open, into the public, put our names to what we say, as Dr. Bakri Musa had done? And face the consequences and putting our integrity on the line?

Especially those readers on this blog, who only find their strength in articulation through anonymity while sitting in front of the computer screen in the dark corners of their bedrooms and office, barking away their opinions across the silence of the internet ?

In short, I don't agree with you.