UMNO Malays are funny people

Before real Malays (they are usually moderate in their ways, liberal in their views and love P. Ramlee movies) get upset with the title, let me start by saying that I am not referring to you.

I’m referring only to those hardcore UMNO, Perkasa and ISMA Malays. They are what I describe as “Funny Malays”.

These Funny Malays are willing to sacrifice the institutions of real democracy, such as the Westminster model of constitutional monarchy, for short-term political gains.

With the help of some legal minds of varying quality, they have been able to establish, since 2008, that the Malay Rulers have “real” power not merely on Islamic matters (which in itself involves extensive issues of public concern)—Their Highnesses’ also have the power to do what is necessary to ensure the wellbeing of the Malay race and Islam.

According to UMNO leaders, the Malay Rulers agreed to “grace” the terms of our independence from the British via the Wasiat Raja-Raja Melayu.

According to the present Sultan of Perak and fully endorsed by the Prime Minister and Home Minister, the seven principles of the Wasiat form an integral part of the Constitution, binding Malays and non-Malays alike.

The seventh principle articulates the trust and responsibility of the Malay Rulers towards the “special position” of the Malays. The Malay Rulers are therefore responsible for the protection of the wellbeing of the Malays and, by extension, of Islam.

These principles are to remain forever embedded in our policies and laws. In simple terms, we must always read and interpret the Constitution with this caveat. Fantastic!

Following this new and “enlightened” view of the Constitution, even the Courts are willing to establish new principles of democracy and representative government—and now, we no longer follow the Westminster parliamentary system in terms of policy, practice and constitutional convention.

In the early days of Independence, life was easier and more straightforward as we adopted and observed the Westminster model in its totality. For example: any appointment of a Menteri Besar or State Executive Council member was always dependent on the decision of the party leader whose party won the most seats in the Assembly.

The Menteri Besar and Chief Minister had real power and it was unheard of that any Malay Ruler could exercise direct influence on public policy of any kind.

That is not the case now. Although the words “acting on advice of the Menteri Besar (or Prime Minister)” are clearly used in the State and Federal Constitutions, today the practice is actually the other way around.

The Ruler now decides things and it is wishful thinking for any Menteri Besar to believe otherwise. Just look at what has happened in Terengganu, Perak, Perlis, and Kelantan.

After the Perak case, it’s also clear that the position of Menteri Besar is very much dependent on the pleasure of His Highness both in terms of appointment and removal. Today, if any Menteri Besar or Exco member tells you that the Malay Ruler acts on his or her advice, you can tell them to dream on!

As a Malay who is forever a loyal subject of the Malay Rulers, I welcome the decision of His Highness the Sultan of Johor to be actively involved in matters pertaining to land, property development and housing in Johor.

The report that the Johor State Assembly intends to enact a Housing and Real Property Bill giving His Highness real power to appoint the members of the Housing Board (and to remove them) is a step in the right direction and is consistent with the added powers UMNO has given to the Malay Rulers.

After all, one of the seven principles of the Wasiat requires ensuring that half of all land in the Peninsula be Malay Reserve Land.

Since Merdeka, UMNO has failed to ensure the preservation of Malay Reserve Land according to the terms of the Wasiat. Therefore, His Highness the Sultan must act to honour the will of the Malay Rulers.

Although the Menteri Besar of Johor declares that he remains the chief executive in Johor, it is hard to believe that he will do something His Highness disapproves of. In fact, his tenure as Menteri Besar, and not just as Chairman of the Housing Board, depends on the pleasure of His Highness.

I am certain that other Malay Rulers will follow Johor’s example and respond accordingly to assert their power. They are already quietly involved in large businesses and are entrenched in sports such as football.

I suggest that they widen their areas of interest to match UMNO’s—after all, they can easily match UMNO’s business skills. Indeed, the Malays must not be too concerned about trusting the Malay Rulers more than UMNO.

After all, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, the golden years of the Malay empire and Malay intellectualism began way back in the 13th century. That being the case, the Malay Sultanates have done more for the Malays over the past 700 years than UMNO, which was born in 1946.

This is why Perkasa and UMNO leaders in Johor are hopping mad and are calling for the Housing and Real Property Bill to be removed or postponed. The headline in the New Sunday Times, “Follow the Constitution”, sounds hollow and desperate because those making the plea were the ones responsible for giving special meaning to the provisions of the Constitution whenever it suited them. Now they reap what they have sown.

You see, UMNO Malays are funny people: when it suits them or their political agenda, they will declare support for the overriding power of the Malay Rulers. They will say that our Constitution is “unique”. They will say that the Malay Rulers have special powers to protect the Malays and Islam. They do not want us lawyers to interpret the Constitution in the same way as is done in modern constitutional democracies.

But when the Rulers start exercising these real powers, which can deprive them of their businesses, they cry foul.

Last week, Oxford Economics described Malaysia as more risky for investors compared to India and Indonesia. I agree with this conclusion but not the reasoning: Oxford Economics pointed out that our public debt as ratio to GDP is too high, our external debts are skyrocketing, and the current account surplus is shrinking.

I say we are certainly a riskier proposition for all of these reasons; but, in the main, our problem lies in the fact that UMNO Malays are funny people. -zaid.my