|
For those of you “non-bumi” who choose to question the Malay rights (so called Bumiputera Law) as entrenched in the Malaysian Constitution [Article 153], beware! You could be sharing a prison cell with RPK at Kamunting on a permanent basis (or until DSAI releases you if he forms the next federal government).
Article 153 of the Malaysian Constitution deals with the “Reservation of quotas in respect of services, permits, etc., for Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak” and clause 1 states that, “It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article.” Now, where does it specifically state that RPK would be expecting you if you were to question this constitutional article? Well, Article 10 Clause (4) of the Malaysian Constitution permits Parliament to make it illegal to question, among others, Article 153 of the Constitution. It states, “In imposing restrictions in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof or public order under Clause (2)(a), Parliament may pass law prohibiting the questioning of any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by the provisions of Part III, Article 152,153 or 181 otherwise than in relation to the implementation thereof as may be specified in such law.” So, not only can you forget about questioning Article 153, Articles 152 (which deals with the Bahasa Malaysia being the national language) and 181 (which deals with Rulers’ powers and prerogatives) are taboo as well. No touchee…no touchee. In fact, under the Sedition Act, questioning Article 153 is indeed illegal. Clause (3)(1)(f) states that, “A ‘seditious tendency’ is a tendency to question any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by the provisions of Part III of the Federal Constitution or Article 152, 153 or 181 of the Federal Constitution.” We have presently determined that one can be arrested but it doesn’t mean Kamunting, right? It could be the Kajang Jail or Bukit Aman, right? Wrong! If the authorities say that your seditious remarks are meant to incite hatred against the Malays, it is therefore a national security matter dealing with racial issues. When the authorities present their arguments to the Interior Ministry and say that your words are a threat to the security of the nation, you are now official bait for the Internal Security Act. Whether you are going to be Corporal SAU’s cellmate (now that RB is acquitted) or RPK’s cellmate will depend entirely on the Home Minister’s “informed” decision. Let us look at it from another angle. If they want you badly to be RPK’s cellmate, you are going to be RPK’s cellmate (unless of course if you decide to skip the country like the Double-SD aneh). How so? Let us assume that you threw a piece of tissue paper onto the ground. Littering? No problem. Probably a compound fine if you are really unlucky to be charged by a police officer. It so happens that there were no police officers around but the place that you littered belongs to a Bumiputera and he takes exception to your dirty habit. So, you picked up that tissue and place it into your pocket because there are no public trash bins on a private property. However, the Bumiputera owner is incensed that you have removed something from his property and calls you a thief. Heated words are exchanged along with the mandatory greetings to the respective parents (probably spoken in Cantonese). He calls the police and informs them that you have impinged upon his Malay rights when you asked about his mother’s bodily parts (questioning his ancestry). You are charged with disruption to the law. End of story? No. What if this Bumiputera gentleman has a distant relative who happens to know a neighbor of his best friend whose fifth grandchild’s school friend’s father-in-law’s eldest niece’s husband’s second elder brother’s adopted son’s part time nanny’s boyfriend, who works at the Interior Ministry? Like I said, if they want you, they get you. Instead of getting a verbal reprimand from a magistrate (not for littering but for disrupting the peace), you are henceforth checking out the wattage of the slowly swinging light bulb (Philips brand) hung outside your dark and damp 6’ by 4’ detention cell in Kamunting because the Home Minister says that you cannot question this goodfella’s ancestry and that you are a critically dangerous psychopathic menace (and racist) to the security of the entire country owing to the fact that he is a Bumiputera and you are not, and henceforth there would automatically be racial tensions in an argument between members of different race. So, from wherever you are in Malaysia, you have suddenly become an accidental resident of Taiping for the next two years. Minimum. Unfair, you scream! What of the Bumiputera gentleman, you ask! One cannot have an argument alone, you say! Well, do read Article 153 Clause 1 again. In fact you can memorize it if you so desire to, since you are not going to be “very busy” for the next 730 days (731 days if there is a leap year). Minimum. So, beware of what you say and especially whom you say it to. That particular person might have a lot of influential friends or politically linked debtors, or closely (refer to above sample) related to someone working in the Interior Ministry. The end. By HAKIM JOE Writers Note: Any similarities to any person(s) dead or alive are purely unintentional. The author would like to inform the readers that initials like RB and RPK are picked at random and are not meant to refer specifically to either Razak Baginda or Raja Petra Kamaruddin. Corporal SAU is not Koporal Sirul Azhar Umar of the Altantuya case either. The locations Kamunting and Taiping are also picked at random from a long list of Malaysian towns and cities, and do not suggest either the actual Kamunting or the actual Taiping respectively.
 |
The Blogs 
