Bumiputera? How do we define the term Bumiputera?

Uproar over Native Cert

Extracted from Daily Express Wednesday, November 18, 2009


Kota Kinabalu: The possibility of native certificates (Sijil Anak Negeri/SAN) having been issued to non-natives took centrestage in the State Legislative Assembly, Tuesday, with the police, Election Commission (EC) and Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) being asked to investigate how opposition DAP Sri Tanjong Assemblyman Jimmy Wong obtained his.
Debating in support of the 2010 Budget, Sekong Assemblyman Datuk Samsudin Yahya challenged Wong to prove him wrong, adding that this concerns Wong's wrongdoing, credibility and morality.
"But if I am proven right, I am also challenging him to vacate his seat and let the people decide his position," he said.
Samsudin accused Jimmy of breaching ethics and integrity as an Assemblyman. Producing documents and pictures to support his allegations, he said the Sri Tanjung Assemblyman had also encroached into the government's TOL land and a children's playground, when renovating his house (see separate story).
He alleged that Wong's Native Certificate also raised suspicion which enabled him to buy land reserved for natives in the state (native land).
"He (Jimmy) is actually not eligible to be an elected representative because he cheated the people and the constituency," said Samsudin. Tempers started to flare when Samsudin labelled Jimmy Wong a liar, based on what he had done.
Wong who tried in vain to interrupt Samsudin a number of times, said the latter's accusations and allegations were baseless and that he should not have used such words like 'a liar' in the assembly.
Wong, in defence, claimed that he and his older brother applied for the Native Certificate after he came back from England in the early 1980s when the SAN was open for application to the public.
"So I applied. I was not born in China but in Sabah. So, am I not an anak negeri (native) also?" he asked. He claimed he never misused it to purchase NT-status land except to obtain a loan from the bank. With the certificate, he said the bank charged him a lower interest and that he became an elected representative not because he possessed a Sijil Anak Negeri.
And if the Government decides to abolish the certificate, Wong said he couldn't be bothered. He questioned why valuable time is spent to argue about his native certificate when the House could discuss more pertinent issues. The situation was later defused by Deputy Speaker Datuk Johnny Mositun who asked Samsudin to carry on with his debate of the budget instead. "If you think that it is not suitable for me, (then) take it back," he told reporters during a press conference after taking part in the 2010 Budget debate.
On Samsudin's query about a resort in Semporna owned by Wong, he said when he "bought" the property, it had been abandoned by the previous Japanese and local joint venture developers. Wong said a dispute between the project shareholders led to the abandonment of the resort.
At that time, he said Tun Sakaran Dandai, who was Chief Minister then, brought him to see the project and see if anything could be done about it.
Wong said the pirate attacks in Lahad Datu and Semporna made investors afraid to "touch" the project.
But then, Sakaran told him that if Wong were to revive it, it would help the kampung people a great deal in terms of employment opportunities. He said the previous developers had applied for the seafront but that until now the relevant authority has yet to act on it.
"If the Government is serious in developing tourism in the area, then it should be approved," he said, adding that he borrowed money from the bank to revive the resort.

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My comment

How do we define who is a Bumiputera? Bumiputera in literal translation means "prince of the soil".
Our current Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, has openly admitted that he is a "keturunan Sulawesi". My God, Sulawesi is in Indonesia, not Malaysia. If Chinese and Indians are not elgible to be categorised as Bumiputeras, just because they originate from China or India, why is Najib a Bumiputera?
How about Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi? Badawi's paternal grandfather, Syeikh Abdullah Badawi Fahim, was of Arab descent, his maternal grandfather, Ha Su-chiang (also known as Hassan), was a Chinese Muslim who came from Sanya in Hainan. Is he considered an "immigrant" as well?
Let's discuss about our longest serving PM(22years)- Tun Mahathir bin Mohamad. His father, Mohamad Iskandar, was of Indian origin, being the son of a Malayalee Muslim (who migrated from Kerala). Is Mahathir an "immigrant" as well?
So, it seems that since 1981, we have been ruled by non-Malays that call themselves Bumiputeras. How do you define a Malay? Let's see what the Federal Constitution has to say about this:
1. You are practising Islam
2. Frequently speak Malay
3. Accustom to the Malay rituals

WOW. So easy to be a "Bumiputera"?! Now, let's ask ourselves two simple questions:
Supposingly I am a foreigner(wheteher an Ang Moh, a Mat Salleh or Orang Putih living in Malaysia)
1. Am I a Chinese, if I, am a Buddhist, speak Chinese, accustom myself to the Chinese rituals?
2. Am I an Indian, if I, am a Hindu, speak Tamil, accustom myself to the Indian rituals?
I will leave this for you all to ponder upon.