The Malay dilemma of special rights

By Zubaidah Abu Bakar, NST

HAS the time come for the Malays to stop dwelling on their constitutional special position?

Should the community instead channel its energy and focus on becoming leaders through achievements in various fields?

These are questions worth pondering, whether the Malays are in Umno or not.

It is the modern Malay dilemma.

It makes sense when Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin suggested that Umno and the Malays consider a paradigm shift in charting their future.

After 52 years of independence, there is hardly a strong reason for the Malays to allow themselves to be looked down upon and be perceived as slow, lazy or stupid.

Khairy, in his maiden policy speech at the Umno Youth assembly, thinks that the Malays should not feel as though they are constantly under siege and channel all their efforts towards protecting their special position.

Khairy could have caused uneasiness or even angered some people in the wing when he challenged Umno Youth to embrace competition based on merit.

This is because many older party members are still stuck in their mentality and want to remain in the comfort zone, hiding behind the ketuanan Melayu (Malay dominance).

It is for this reason that many who champion the special position of the Malays use terms such as "special rights" or "special privileges", invoking the Federal Constitution as the back-up.

That aside, Khairy's contention that the special constitutional provisions do not make Malays special and that it is the performance and achievements of Malays that will determine if they are special is undebatable.

Yes, why fear others?

Why do the Malays not strive to be better than people of other races in a level playing field, throwing away the crutches that have been helping them?

Is there no end to the spoon-feeding?

When Malay leaders issued repeated warnings to the non-Malays to stop questioning the special Malay position, it reflected their feelings of helplessness, victimisation and defensiveness.

There can be no doubt that the "special rights" of Malays included in the Federal Constitution should not be questioned.

The "special rights" are well-protected under Article 153 of the Constitution. As the Constitution guarantees this special position, while respecting the rights of other Malaysians, there is no reason to fear that the rights will be taken away.

Rights and privileges of the Malays may be important. But more important is how the Malays are empowered in order to truly succeed in all fields.

It is pointless for the Malays to think they are dominant when in reality, they need to progress socially and economically.