COMMENT News that the 60,000 Siamese – or Thai – in Peninsular Malaysia are Bumiputera (indigenous), or sons of the soil, should surprise no one. This is as it should be.
Note that these Buddhist Malaysians refer to themselves as Siamese and not Thai, which is the present-day term for the people of Thailand, formerly known as Siam. The Siamese even have their own senator to represent them in the Malaysian Parliament.
All this is rooted in history. The entire Malay Peninsula, including Singapore, in reality the southern half of the Kra Peninsula, became part of the Thai Kingdom after the demise of the Hindu Kingdoms of Langkasuka, Pan Pan, Gangga Negara, Old Kedah and Kadaram. By the Burney Treaty of 1826, Siam lost most of the Malay Peninsula to the British except for Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. Finally, Siam lost even these four states to the British by the Treaty of Bangkok in 1909.
The entry of the British colonialists, who were keen to mine the tin and plant rubber, changed the geo-political equation on the Malay Peninsula. The Siamese King sacrificed a good chunk of his territory to prevent European colonialists from eyeing the rest of his kingdom.
The Siamese considered the traders, refugees and fugitives from various ethnic groups that flooded into the Malay Peninsula, as squatters on Siamese land. Hence, the Siamese King in Bangkok demanded the “Bunga Mas dan Perak” (golden and silver flowers) in tribute once every three years. This was paid through the various sultans who presided over the affairs of the Muslim communities that resided along the numerous river banks. But at all times, they were reminded by the King in Bangkok that there were on his land and under his rule.
So, it would be in order by any standards to stress that the Siamese are even more Bumiputera than others who enjoy this status in Peninsular Malaysia. The only ones who are more Bumiputera than the Siamese are the Orang Asli.
The Portuguese, a throwback to the Portuguese occupation of the Malacca, are also accepted as Bumiputera like the Siamese.
Many Anglo-Indians, Indos (Dutch Indonesians), Eurasians and Indo-Burmese as well pass themselves off as Portuguese in order to qualify themselves as Bumiputera.
Exotic groups
The Baba-Nonya and the Malacca Chitty – the Indian version of the Baba-Nonya – are still to enjoy Bumiputera status. If the Portuguese can be accepted as Bumiputera by the federal government, the same status should be bestowed on these other two exotic groups from the defunct Malacca Empire.
Had the Siamese in Peninsular Malaysia referred to themselves as Thai, it probably would have been more difficult for them to claim Bumiputera status.
This is the dilemma confronting Malaysians of Indian and Chinese origin who are Bumiputera only in their hearts but not in reality.
So long as the Indians and Chinese call themselves by these terms, for that long will they be considered “foreigners” by the others who are considered Bumiputera. Even the passage of another 1,000 years will not alter the situation.
Ironically, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad told this writer in June 1981 at the Prime Minister’s Department that “the Malacca Portuguese would never be accepted as Bumiputera so long as they called themselves Portuguese”. No doubt there has been a welcome change of heart in government since then on the matter.
No such luck for Malaysians of Indian and Chinese origin.
So, they need to refer to themselves by a local umbrella term, perhaps New Malay or Melayu Baru, in Peninsular Malaysia. The New or Baru can be dropped after a certain specific period, say 50 years, and this period can be considered a final rite of passage.
Dual nationality
Malaysians of Indian and Chinese origin being considered Malays, however, need not mean a re-definition of the term Malay in the Federal Constitution.
Alternatively, the grant of Bumiputera status to Malaysians of Indian and Chinese origin can be done by administration on a case-by-case basis.
It’s often forgotten that the present Malays in Peninsular Malaysia are not really Malays at all but drawn from various ethnic groups in the Archipelago and classified under this umbrella term. They are the Minang, Yunan, Aceh, Riao, Champa, Mandailing, Jawa, Bugis, Rawa, Jambi, Batak, Banjar, and Kurinchi.
The Jawi Peranakan, settlers of Malayalee Muslim origin in the Straits Settlements, also comes under the Malay category along with Arabs, Tamil Muslims and other Indian sub-continental Muslims.
The Gerakan is not the first to raise the issue of Malaysians of Indian and Chinese origin being Bumiputera. Neither will they be the last. The debate will last as long as there are people in Malaysia who prefer or are forced to call themselves Indian or Chinese. They should re-think these labels once and for all in line with the 1Malaysia theme. The Malaysian Government’s input on this issue is important as well.
Indian is not a race but a nationality. How one could be Indian and Malaysian at the same time, unless one has dual nationality which is not allowed except for certain women, defies all comprehension. One can be Tamil and Malaysian at the same time for example, but not Indian and Malaysian in the same breath. Yet the Malaysian government insists that a large number of Malaysians describe themselves as Indian at the same time.
The same holds true for Malaysians of Chinese origin.
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