Controversial academic Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, widely perceived to be an
opportunist keen to get into the good books of the ruling elite, has
disgraced himself once again.
A Muslim convert, Tee who once described himself as "staunch" Chinese
insisted that defending Islam must go hand in hand with defending the
Malays.
He was immediately slammed for his latest remarks, which indeed do reek
of the same political racism adopted by Prime Minister Najib Razak's
ruling United Malays National Organization or Umno.
"Stop politicizing Islam or any religion for that matter. This is
clearly an election tactic released by Umno to turn the minds of the
Malays against the non-Malays. They will attack Pakatan Rakyat
especially PAS by mixing race with religion," Chua Jui Meng, PKR vice
president, told Malaysia Chronicle.
"Tee should just admit he wants to 'bodek' Umno leaders and not be
hypocritical about it. I don't what he is, but he is a disgrace to both
Chinese and Malays, Muslim and non-Muslims alike. His statements are
self-contradictory. He says Islam taught him that religion takes
precedence over ethnicity. Then in the next breath, he puts defending
Malay rights on the same level as defending Islam. Even though I am not a
Muslim, I can tell him that in the eyes of Islam, the colour of one's
skin is secondary."
Latest election gambit: 'Islamizing' Malay rights
As
Malaysia moves into the last lap of the 13th general election, expected
to be called soon, the political temperature has steadily risen with
the Umno-led government calling on old favors and pulling out all stops
to retain the federal government.
Businessmen, corporate captains, civil servants in all sectors, retirees
and even pensioners have been urged to speak up for the Umno-led BN
government.
Perhaps, it was no coincidence that Tee made the remarks at the launching of his books Masih Adakah Ketuanan Melayu? (Is there still such a thing as Malay Supremacy) and Cabaran Saudara Baharu di Malaysia at the Defence Ministry on Friday.
“In my understanding, when there is a clash between the importance of
race with the importance of religion, like it or not, Islam taught me
that religion must take priority," Malaysian Insider reported him as
saying.
“So I took the decision, the stand, that the importance of religion must
be upheld and to protect religion, this includes defending the Malay
race as a whole."
So is Tee Malay or Chinese?
Tee,
who converted to Islam 26 years ago, was also reported as saying that
the Islamic faith had taught him that religion should take precedence
above race.
He then cryptically said that because the Federal Constitution indicates
that the Malays profess Islam, he had “no choice” but to place himself
among those in the Malay race as well.
Article 160 Clause 2 of the Federal Constitution defines a Malay as a
Malaysian citizen born to a Malaysian citizen who professes to be a
Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language, adheres to Malay customs,
and is domiciled in Malaysia or Singapore.
As a result, Malay citizens who convert out of Islam are no longer
considered Malay under the law. Hence, the Bumiputra privileges afforded
to Malays under Article 153 of the Constitution, the New Economic
Policy (NEP), etc. are forfeit for such converts.
Likewise, a non-Malay Malaysian who converts to Islam can lay claim to
Bumiputra privileges, provided he meets the other conditions.
Among famous Malaysians whose 'Malay-ness' have often been questioned
include former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who is of partial Indian
descent.
Mahathir has attracted much notoriety not only because of his hardline
authoritarian rule but also because of his frequent beating of the
racial drums, spurring criticism that his Malay championing was a mere
ploy for political power and prosperity.
Malaysia Chronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment