Bumiputera-ness: Who decides?

MINISTER in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz’s recent assertion respecting the bumiputera-ness of Siamese Malaysians piques my interest to no end.
Who or what decides on the bumiputera-ness or the bumiputera-less-ness of a Malaysian citizen? Is it the Federal Constitution? Was it the Reid Commission? Is it the cabinet, or Parliament, or the Barisan Nasional? Is it Umno? Or Perkasa?

My great-grandparents were born in Penang in the 19th century. They were salted-fish traders. In World War II, their mansions in town were expropriated by the Japanese and turned into barracks. I know for a fact that their blood, sweat and tears oozed into their native soil of Malaya.

My grandparents and parents had nothing to do with China. They contributed to Malaya and Malaysia and all facets of Malaysian-ness. That they and I were/are not qualified to be bumiputera Malaysians is simply illogical. Anywhere else in the world, one’s citizenship would be the ultimate and consummate qualification of one’s citizenry.

Here I am, a full-blooded Malaysian, and yet, somehow, a designated non-Malay and non-bumiputera Malaysian. Is it possible that my children’s children will also end up like I have – a stipulated non-bumiputera 1Malaysian?

24/06/10