Perkasa: Respect Malay rights, then talk national unity

National unity can only be forged if all Malaysians respected the special privileges accorded to the Malays, says the Malay rights group

PETALING JAYA: Only when the special privileges accorded to the Malays is respected by all races can national unity be forged, said Malay extremist group Perkasa.

Its secretary-general, Syed Hassan Syed Ali, disputed MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek’s call yesterday to think as Malaysians first to work together to maintain a peaceful nation.

He said it was not wrong for Perkasa to voice out issues affecting the Malay community.

“Even other races vent out on issues affecting their respective communities,” said Syed Hassan.

The English daily, The Star, quoted Chua as urging Malaysians to stop identifying themselves with the racial group they belonged to and accept the multi-racial reality of the country.

Syed Hassan said national unity could only be forged if all Malaysians respected the special privileges accorded to the Malays under the Federal Constitution.

“We respect anyone who identifies himself as a Malaysian but we will continue voicing out for the Malays as long as we are neglected,” said Syed Hassan.

On whether Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties such as Umno should the spearhead the unity call by turning itself into a multi-racial party, Syed Hassan said Malaysians were still not ready for it.

“Even when DAP calls itself a multi-racial party, who calls the shots? Do the Malays get equal representation in the party?

“However, BN itself is multi-racial as it has all the races in the coalition,” he said.

Umno MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan echoed Chua’s sentiments but pointed out that not everyone who fights for their own race were racists.

“Umno is the protector of the Malays and we are not shy about it. However, that doesn’t make us racists,” said the Kota Belud MP.

‘Respect the nation’s history’

He said that it all boiled down to how people interpreted what being Malaysian is all about.

“For me, a Malaysian is one who adheres to the Federal Constitution, knows our historical background and respects the understanding that allowed the formation of our country,” said Rahman.

Citing an example, Rahman said it was all right for a citizen to think as a Malaysian and a Bumiputera at the same time.

“I don’t see a problem in that as long as you don’t discriminate against other races,” he said.

On whether Umno should be turned into a multi-racial party, Rahman said it was unneccesary to do so as ultimately it’s BN that runs the government, not Umno alone.

“Malaysia is governed by BN which has Malays, Chinese, Indians, Iban, Melanau and so forth. People have forgotten this,” said Rahman.

MIC publicity chief S Vell Paari said the time would come when political parties would have to transform itself to become multi-racial.

On whether MIC would allow other races to join the party, he said the decision could only be made by the party’s central working committee.

“Personally, I believe that is the direction we should be heading,” said Vell Paari.