Constitutionally, We Are Malays as the constitution defines a Malay “as a person who habitually speaks Malay, practices Malay custom and tradition and is a Muslim”

Constitutionally, We Are Malays as the constitution defines a Malay “as a person who habitually speaks Malay, practices Malay custom and tradition and is a Muslim”
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dismissed yesterday claims that Malays are immigrants just like Chinese and Indians, arguing instead that Arabs, Indians and Indonesians had become Constitutional Malays through assimilation.

“I would not say I am a Malay or Malaysian of ethnic Indian origin. My mother tongue and home language is Malay, my culture and tradition is Malay and I am a Muslim. The constitution defines a Malay as a person who habitually speaks Malay, practices Malay custom and tradition and is a Muslim,” he said in a posting on his blog.

He said it was obvious some Malays were descended from people of the Indonesian islands, India and the Arabian peninsular.

“Having come here they were assimilated after they identified themselves completely with the Malays by adopting the Malay language, their customs and traditions and by being Muslims.

“This is a common phenomenon. In America, Australia, Latin America, the later immigrants accepted the languages of their adopted country as their mother tongue as well as the culture.

“After doing this they no longer think of themselves as being of their original country. They are Americans, Australians and Argentinians period.

“We don’t hear them claiming to be German Americans, Portuguese Australians or Italian Argentinians, even though they or their ancestors came from these countries,” said Dr Mahathir.

The former prime minister wrote in his blog that Malays would only say they are Bugis or Javanese if asked about their ancestry but it would be mischievous to suggest that this was their race.

Dr Mahathir has in recent years stepped up his defence of the constitutional position of the Malays, and has been criticised for lending credibility to right-wing groups like Perkasa.

His strident tone has resulted in accusations that he was playing the race card in an attempt to shore up support for Umno.

In his blog post, Dr Mahathir said that his remarks in defending the Malays were to rebut “the anti-Malay racism of the opposition.”

He said that “those who support racist statements by the opposition are the real racists.”

“They shout racist at others to distract from their own racism,” he said.

Comments (42).

written by Stormquest, March 05, 2011 11:06:42

“My mother tongue and home language is Malay, my culture and tradition is Malay and I am a Muslim. The constitution defines a Malay as a person who habitually speaks Malay, practices Malay custom and tradition and is a Muslim” - Mahathir

Malays – not a genetically homogeneous group, but made up of numerous groups (Javanese, Boyanese, Achinese, Bataks, Minangkabaus, Korinchis, Jambis, Palembang, Other Sumatrans, Riau-Linggans, Banjarese, Bugis, Arabs, Mamaks, Kakas, etc). All came at different periods of time, and are still coming.
Malay language – without Sanskrit and a whole host of other languages, where would the “Malay” language be?

The word Melayu itself is thought to have derived from a corrupted use of "Malai Ur" which in the Tamil/Sanskrit language means "land of mountains". E.g. The Himalayas. It makes sense as the earliest civilization to make contact with the people who inhabited the peninsula were the Indians who probably named the country after the main mountain range that runs all the way down the Malay peninsula like a backbone. It is called Banjaran Titiwangsa these days.

The Malaya Mountains were a range of mountains that were mentioned in the Matsya Purana, the Kurma Purana, and the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These mountains are believed to have formed the Southernmost part (Southwards starting from the Mangalore region) of the Western Ghats, while the Northern part of the same was called the Sahya Mountains.

Also, the name Malaiyur, is a small town in Thiruvannamalai District of Tamil Nadu, India.

The Hindus later referred to Sumatra as Malayadvipa.

Malay custom – it was the Indians who brought Hinduism, Buddhism and later Islam to the “Malays”. It was this that largely defined “Malay” custom, from marriages to royal ceremonies. These days even ang pows are part and parcel of “Malay” custom, except that it green and not red.

So, what exactly is the original bonafide “Malay” custom? Rasa Sayang? Even the Indonesians claim that it is theirs, and that the “Malays” stole it!

Negaraku? According to Wikipedia, “The song had been very popular on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles. where the Sultan of Perak had formerly been living in exile. He heard it at a public band concert on the island, a song to a popular French melody, originally composed by the lyricist Pierre-Jean de Béranger (1780–1857), who was born and died in Paris”. This melody later became known as “Mamula Moon” and later still

Constitution – created by the Reid Commission. All of them were foreigners - Lord William Reid (Chairman), Sir Ivor Jennings (Britain), Sir William McKell (Australia), Hakim B. Malik (India), Hakim Abdul Hamid (Pakistan) .

And you say that Malays are not immigrants? .

written by onnetline, March 05, 2011 01:05:08

Racist and corrupted pariah, Toon MahaTah a/l Kutty dari Kerala,

The ' Malays ' were hatched out from the soil of Malaysia and thereafter called Bumiputeras, right ? Who the fcuk are you trying to con with your stupid bullshit ? ?

written by Hanuman, March 04, 2011 21:02:27

The spin doctor is at work again trying to help Ajib gauge his popularity before the next GE. Well, Dr Evil Kutty, our feelings for you and BN have not changed. We are determined to change the government and your absurd claims and definition of who should be classified as an immigrant will only stirred us to be more anti establishment. Mamak ,keep up the good work! My only worry for you is that with all the curses you are getting I am not sure how long you will be around. ..

written by JJFoo, March 04, 2011 21:00:59

Mamak is playing the racist card again. That what UMNO is all about, hoodwinking the Malays with racism, fooling the Malays with lies and seizing them mentally with empty promises and false hope.

By land mass Malaysian was 460 times larger, natural resources wise maybe by a 1000 folds or more then Singapore.
Yet, Singapore ranked 3rd in the world based on GDP (PPP) per capital of U$57,200 in 2010 whereas Malaysia ranked 58th with U$14,600. 400% more than Malaysia.

Meaning the average Malays are 4 times poorer than their Singapore counterpart. By dragging the nation down the gutter, can the UMNO/BN government claim they are protecting the interest of the Malays?

Raise the GDP of this nation so the Malays can stand proud, but with UMNO/BN as the government it will remains a pipe-dream. ..

written by Alice, March 04, 2011 20:45:08

I truly don't understand what he is talking about. He contradicts himself. Anyway he and his opinions are irrelevant to us . Right? .

written by Raja Kim, March 04, 2011 20:44:10

You took advantage of what you preached and made you son's bloody rich, period.

written by Raja Kim, March 04, 2011 20:42:01

OMG - The Professor of Anthology had spoken!! ..

written by Wakeupmsia, March 04, 2011 20:35:21

Please, Mamak, check your DNA. You may adopt language and culture but you're are still a Mamak (Indian Muslim) not Melayu.

written by Den, March 04, 2011 19:54:45

OMG...OMA...OMB... Does it really matter?? Bro n sis, regardless of who's your grand father, mother, grand ah MA or ah gong, everyone born after 1963 after the birth of Msia is same... All r Malaysian!!! We are even more Malaysian than you mamak 'chap cheng' or crossed breed...! Either u wake up or dun ever wake up again n rest in peace la... All of us know the billions dat u stole from the country..! If u believe in karma, u will never be born again as human beings. ???? .

written by ramamanian, March 04, 2011 17:35:07

WE ARE ALL MALAYSIANS, PERIOD.

When is this old senile goat going to learn to stop polluting the mind of all Malaysians. Doesn’t he know that he has done enough damage to the country and the Malaysians’ mind. I will count the day this good for nothing, even to call him a dog will be belittling the dogs, species will die .

written by SamYap, March 04, 2011 16:30:03

A friend of mine, whose roots were Bugis, and he is at about6th generation, is in all probability a Malay since his lineage is like more than 300 years.

But what about someone like Tian Chua, whose Baba roots dates even further back? Is he Malay? No, he is not because he is a non-muslim. But he is a BUMIPUTRA.

But what about that bastard, Mahashit? He is a second generation Kerala muslim Indian, and he says he is a Malay? Fcuk! He is not even a bumiputra.
An offspring of immigrants would be considered bumiputra if his lineage traces back to the formation of the Straits Settlement, but the fcuking mamak's lineage isn't even there! Fcuk him!

written by sharkyganaz, March 04, 2011 16:12:14

The great Kerala Malbari woof-woof started again ..

written by MrHot, March 04, 2011 14:01:22

Toon, with no respect, your theory can only fools your own kind in dUMNO !!!! Period !!!! ..

written by Compadre45, March 04, 2011 13:59:46

ha ha ha , Mamak you pretend to be senile and now you are moving to insanity.

Malays are not Immigrants ??? Please fly to Libya and take Gadaffi's dick for a good walk !!!

All we educated and learned people know that Malaysia belongs to Orang Asli ( indigenous people ) .... so you are implying that the malays are Orang asli by origin ??? FCUKKKK YOU !!!!! You should be kicked out of Malaysia ...we malaysians dont need you racist bast**d here.

Let us refresh your senile shithead brains .. the Malays , Chinese and Indians are all immigrants to Malaysia and since our forefathers and we who lived here for more than 500 years Malaysia is our homeland now and being citizens Malaysia also rightfully belongs to all of us besides the Orang Asli.

The Chinese and Indians are no different from us Malays , where Malaysia belongs to all of us. Its our home.

If you are reading this , do not distract us with all these rubbish issues , lets stay focus on the main issue of you and your family , who robbed and stole from our nations wealth . We want back all that billions of money . Stop this bloody nonsense using other matters to distract the rakyat from this most important issue !!!! ..

written by alpha1, March 04, 2011 13:58:30

You sure? Then what are they? How about u? ...

written by AlwaysFair, March 04, 2011 13:35:59

"""We don’t hear them claiming to be German Americans, Portuguese Australians or Italian Argentinians, even though they or their ancestors came from these countries,” said Dr Mahathir."""

Yes just like in Thailand, the chinese call themselves Thais. But infortunately your leaders always call us pendatangs and keep reminding us to think of our country of origin and the laws and practises of the govt also reinforced this.

Such laws are also ridiculous because some people will just convert to get more material benefits and that is why there are so many hypocritical and evil muslims like you, in the end in your power-craze you bring disrepute to your own religion . ...

written by AlwaysFair, March 04, 2011 13:27:35

""After doing this they no longer think of themselves as being of their original country. They are Americans, Australians and Argentinians period."""

Did the American people always asked Obama to balik kampung to Kenya like our country here called us pendatang till today. NO!!

Did the government forms you need to fill up in US state the different races, chinese, Whites, Negroes, etc? NO!!

Did the govt make compulsory every one must live like a white and practise white culture and go to church and be christians b4 they can become Americans? NO!! Everyone can practise their own faith and culture to be an American.

You are talking COCK as usual and the racist policies were started by you and you dare to compare to US. Shame on you, the state pay all unemployment benefits not enrich some race at the expense of others. Please admit you practise, "APARTHEID," or ethnic cleansing and are condemned b4 God!!! ..

written by eloofk, March 04, 2011 13:02:40

So Dr. Evil,

ARE YOU A BORNED MALAY??? ...

written by bknight, March 04, 2011 13:01:44

erm..so what do you then call those who is 3rd generation born non-malay ? malay not so immigrant ?? so they are not malaysian ?

my suggestion is, let's make a list of countries that can be categorize as malay and the rest can be categorize as malaysian ? no ? ...

written by singhkris, March 04, 2011 12:57:40

Deh mamak. You only claim to be a Malay because it is politically advantages. Why did you claim that you are an Indian when seeking entry into the University of Malaya? ...

written by Oscar Winner, March 04, 2011 12:48:15

Ai ya, if today India opens its door for Tun Mamak to go back to India and offered to be her President cum PM cum King, he would take the next flight back to Karala, then claims he was actually Indian lah.... Want to bet.. ?? Why not, it's the 2nd most populated country on earth and he gets to be the King / PM/ President?
If he migrates to China he will say he's Chinese lah
From day one when he realised the only way to get power to achieve fame, glory, fortune was to become the uncrowned/de facto king of the malays. Shackle the Malays. Make them poor. Make them stupid. Manipulate them.....just so he could rule and steal for as long as he wanted. Biggest ego on earth. Biggest fiasco for Malaysia too ..

written by Fart Fart Wah, March 04, 2011 12:37:04

Malays are not immigrants! betul!!! most of them like you are UMNO stray dogs....they happen to stray into Malaya sometime ago....and they keep barking and barking woof! woof ..we are the first stray dogs...keep on barking....woof woof woof...and teach your UMNO stray dogs..the wrong history....where is Singapore?? In Malaysia.....Where did Islam begin? In Malaysia..from Gua Musang!! Who was the first man to land on the moon? A Malay from Angkasapuri!!! Who was the father of the Sewer Mamak? He had no father because somewhere in the lineage his name disappeared from being a Mammukutty...went through a time tunnel was circumcised to be a muslim and by a miracle of Allah he became a Malay.....and that is why all Malays are not immigrants.
written by HamChak, March 04, 2011 12:23:32

Bloody F**king BangsatPariahMaMakThief.

Ok, ok, OK, Malays are not immigrants.

But Arseholes like you BangsatPariahMaMakTheif are immigrants.

ThiefToya is a Javanese Thief, lel.

BangsatPariahMaMakThief, when you woke up from heart operation, you ask

for MaMak food like Dosai, Vardi, Indian Roti and Nasi Kandang.

Why not Nasi Lemak?

You Malay ke? Please la, Please do not tipu, TIPU.

You think we are Morons like you and your family, mey?

F**king Filthy Racist Kerala P I G ! ...

written by hellosunshine, March 04, 2011 12:21:05

What the fark is this senile old goat rambling about? The respective Americans are damn proud of their roots and race, as can be seen by their Italian, Greek, Chinese, Mexican, Irish etc townships in the cities. Hell, some of these Americans can't even speak English, for crying loud, like the Mexicans, Cubans, Italians, Greeks etc. What talking you, Mahalanun? ...

written by arazak, March 04, 2011 12:16:28

Hello Toon Kutty,

Than why you wrote on the "race" column in the application form for a Singapore University as "Indian"?
Masih lagi tak mengaku lagi. . . , keturunan Eeeee! ..

written by lamakawan, March 04, 2011 11:54:07

Mahathir, mahathir.........mahathir....

the world will be a better place, if only you will stop talking about Malays.

Malays have been here, even before your papa ( Indian.... as you had declared in your personal details when you enter university Malaya for your medical studies in s'pore.)

Chinese have been here, even before your papa came to Malaya from India,

Indians, hindus, christians, muslims, all had been here, even before your papa came to Malaya,

Arabs have been here, even before your papa came to Malaya.

Indonesians have been here, even before your papa came to Malaya

No need for yoy to tell us now. We also have studied history during our school days.

Stop all your rubbish utterances. Go and rest in peace. Your existence does not make our days any brighter under the Malaysian sun. .

written by Awang Kuku, March 04, 2011 11:52:28

Toon, nyanok lagi? Perhaps you should consult psycho specialist. ...

written by Catharsis, March 04, 2011 11:45:15

Hello!!! TUN you are being IGNORANT................In Australia you may see The Italian Flag, The Greek Flag, The Indian Flag, The Chinese Flag, The Serbian Flag....................flying and being waved in all sporting events. The Italians call themselves Italians, The Greeks call themselves Greeks and the Malaysaians call themselves Malaysian Chinese................BUT WE CONSIDER OURSELVES AS AUSTRALIANS at the appropriate circumstances..................... ..

written by bambooman, March 04, 2011 11:30:47

Hello Mahathir,

IF Malays are not immigrants...........then why do your UMNO gomen stop teaching schools about Hang Tuah and his "brothers" ? ? ? ? ? ?...............don't tell me your bullshit that you are now forgetful ! ! ! !

Poo kee mak punya orang UMNO ! ! ! ! ]

written by aeiou, March 04, 2011 11:30:35

Mahatail’s selfish desire to be a Malay was driven by his personal greed for money and power. He was cunning enough to know that being a Malay would be a whole lot easier to control the Malays and steal and accumulate a great amount of personal wealth. The Umno Malays certainly made it very convenient for him to do that. And for twenty two years! ...

written by taxpayer, March 04, 2011 11:01:54

Mamakthir is taking the Malaysians for Zoombies ,or 'decerebrates ' to 'gulp in ' all his nonsense . Mamak should realise that the PEOPLE are not FOOLS , that they have no knowledge of HISTORY ! ! ! Mamak is trying to cover-up his 'mamak ' [ cross breed ] heritage. Mamakutty is really ASHAMED OF HIS KERALITE MUSLIM BLOOD ! ! HA HA HAA ! ..

written by IbnAbdHalim, March 04, 2011 10:44:57

Hello mamak! Who's playing the race card if not UMNO? We're all Malaysians, right. So, why the need to have Perkasa around with your support? We don't even need UMNO, MCA or MIC. Unless you're senile, you're damn a racist. You're evil. .

written by Mestizo, March 04, 2011 10:40:44

Oops miss out another one, father of denial ...

written by mukhan, March 04, 2011 10:19:05

hoi mohammad kutty, I shall call you ikaka in my mother tongue you are my brother. Your 'vapa(father) is from kerala, your umma(mother) is from Thailand. And you call yourself a Malay??? Come on, dont be a hypocrite. dont forget your root! Enough of the sins you have done! Definitely, you will be going to Neraka, your friends are waiting for you! ...

written by truthbespoken, March 04, 2011 10:16:39

Mamak Mahathir, if what you say holds true, why the eff then you people from UMNO and Perkasa are still always screaming Malay Supremacy instead of addressing yourselves as Malaysians just the way the assimilated Americans, Australians, Latin Americans, etc, do it? There is absolutely no sincerity in what you say except to save your own skin and protect your own kind through the abuse of the definitions (was it amended?) in the Constitution.

The more you say, the more it reflects on how confused and slanted you and your kind are about your (racial) characteristics. But Congratulations! You have indeed succeeded very well in pushing yourselves into the Malay category by fooling the Malays for many many years and even climbed over them and led many astray to become racists like you.

Come on Mahathir, quit cooking up more grandfather's stories and think good Malaysians will just swallow them wholesale like yesteryears. Because of the Internet, Malaysians are now less gullible and a lot more smarter than you think for you to continue to lead them into the dirty old river. Most Malaysians know who you are. Save your breath, old man, just quit the scene. Malaysians will be a lot much happier. ..

written by Concerned_Citizen, March 04, 2011 10:02:15

There are few factors that can be debated here:

1 - Malays are not immigrant. First thing first, that would be correct if you do not count those coming from Arab, Indian and Indon. What makes it so special for this group not to be immigrant after calling themselves a Malay? Are you saying that Malay here and Malay being made are the same?! Secondly, why you list out India, what is your motive behind this??

2 - You have given examples of American people calling themselves just American or Australian people calling themselves Australian, no such thing as German American or African Australian. Well, you make a good point here. But what do you have to say about Malay Malaysian? In this case, you already making a racist remark here. Do you (assume you are a Malay, just deduct your Kerala origin) agree not to use the word Malay to describe a Malaysian? Well, the Chinese, the Indian and all the other aborigines of Borneo and Penisular know the fact they are Malaysian. And when these people are asked by foreign people who they are, undoubtedly, the word Malaysian comes out. Again, who segregate this racial issue? Why those government form has the race line for us to fill?

The more you speak, the more sins you commit. God bless all Malaysians. .

written by Saint, March 04, 2011 10:02:12

Imagine that we had a PM who does not know the difference between language, race and religion..but

He definably knew about corruption, cronyism and authoritarianism..and also knew about..

Stealing..slashing money overseas..and protecting it with ones life..

No wonder UMNOBN, PERKASA and the Rulers are all supporting him

This Trinity is indeed Satu Malaysia ..

written by Old Man, March 04, 2011 09:52:11

Every human being on Earth is considered an immigrant! We have to die sooner or later. Going to Heaven or Hell after death, no one has ever come back to tell us!

So what's all this argument about this race and that race?????

You politicians should come up with some better ideas to feed the less fortunate instead of making as much money as possible ( legal or otherwise ) where your great grandchildren / future generations do NOT even know your names!!!

written by by2020, March 04, 2011 09:48:04

Tun Maha Kutty, Malays are not immigrants, but you are! ..

written by syd, March 04, 2011 09:40:28

The definition of malay in the constitution is out dated. everyone should be tested to see if their DNA conforms to the malay standard. .

written by educationist, March 04, 2011 09:35:00

You are no anthropologist!!

Your arguments are as solid as water is solid!!

You are an ex dictator and uncrowned king - that I'll concede!!

Of course, you are entitled to ur opinions, unsound, irrational and unsubstantiated they may be!! ...

written by Pegasus, March 04, 2011 09:30:56

Better ask the mamak kerala to go back to kerala, india!