MALAYSIAN FIRST OR MALAY FIRST

I am getting a bit confused with the argument of whether I am a Malaysian first or a Malay first. DPM Muhyiddin had declared that he is a Malay (I believe of Javanese descent) first, and probably a Malaysian second. In the case of PM Naijb, he is not able to decide whether he is a Malay (I believe of Bugis descent) first and a Malaysian second or vice versa.


Now, since there is so much of confusion created by our leaders themselves who are not certain as to who and what they are at this late stage of the lives, let me therefore make a declaration as to who am I. I am not a Malay but a Malaysian first, and a second generation grandson of a Sumatran immigrant of the Minangkabau clan, second. I do not know whether my grandparents had gone through the process of the biometric finger print by the immigration authorities then. I don’t think so because OP Pasir by the authorities wasn’t there at the time to monitor and to arrest illegal immigrants. I have to declare that I am a Malayan and subsequently a Malaysian first by virtue that I am born in this country and not a Sumatran or Indonesian or elsewhere. This is a logical conclusion.


My grandfather must have been quite a sailor then. He was said to have brought along his entire family members from a place called Semaong, Bukit Tinggi, Sumatra (minus my father who was born here) by sampan, and settled at a village called Petaling, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan. My grandfather is believed to have three wives that he had brought along, and a third believed to be from Selewasi, Indonesia. If indeed, the third wife is from Selewasi, she therefore must be a Bugis, and I therefore have Bugis cousins that I have never met.


Going by that brief history of my roots, I am therefore not a Melayu or a Malay. I am, as I have declared a thoroughbred Minangkabau, and I am not ashamed to called one. I just do not understand why the Malays need to call themselves as such in the first instant. Most of the so called Malays are the children of immigrants from all over the world, such as from India, Pakistan, Arab, China, Thailand and Turkey and probably from Bangladesh as well. If we claim ourselves to be descended from people of the aforesaid countries, then just say so. Even Najib or Muhyiddin cannot claim they are Malays, because they are of Bugis and of Javanese descent respectively. And why not ask the Perak Menteri Besar whether he is a Malaysian first or a Malay first. I am quite sure you will get a confused answer too.


And this takes me to question why was it that Najib was so reluctant to answer a simple question from a student as to whether he (Najib) was a Malaysian first or a Malay first. The answer Naijb gave is even more confusing when he said that he does not, “want to respond in a way that will divide him from his deputy”. Now, the answer sounds that he is too afraid of his deputy, and gives an impression that there is difference in opinion between the two over the Malaysian first issue. If both cannot even come to a common agreement and understanding over such a basic issue, than I doubt they can both agree over other more complicated issues.


Certainly, I do not want to be confused as our leaders over this issue. Let us just accept that Muhyiddin is a Malay first, while Naijb is not quite certain whether he is a Malay or Malaysian first. But as for me, I am very certain that I am a Malaysian first and a Minangkabau second. Does that satisfy everybody?


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION.