Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Its basic malay that opposite of tuan (master) is pekerja (worker) or hamba (servant/slave). If there’s Ketuanan Melayu, there is no reason why we should not have Ketuanan India or Cina, since PM’s interpretation was different with him relating it to economic success. However, for me, Ketuanan has an negative connotation, thus should not be used. It may serve to drum up support for political parties but if other races resort to their own Ketuanan cries, then political party involved should not complain or make threats of racial unrest.
Information Minister Ahmad Shabeery tries to related this ketuanan (supremacy) with the Sultan and Raja position as reflected in the Federal Constitution. I think that its misleading to relate supremacy with historics. Like it or not, monarchic systems is a dying breed. If not 50 years ago, it would have happened now or maybe in another 50 years. Less and less countries are still retaining their monarchy, demoting them to customary or symbolic roles. My guess is that the Arab states, Malaysia, and other Asian countries will be the last few countries with monarchs in the next 50 years.
Anyway, Tee Keat seems to be promoting MCA’s new policy of being more vocal and speaking up for all Malaysian. Good luck and may he last the year.
Tee Keat: Drop the ‘ketuanan’
KUALA LUMPUR: The phrase, ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy), should not be brought up any more as it creates the impression that one race is the master while the others are slaves, MCA vice-president Datuk Ong Tee Keat said. Ong said the phrase had nothing to do with the Federal Constitution and was not something that needed to be said any more considering the special position the Malays already have.
“For other races, ketuanan (superiority) implies the word kehambaan (slavery). The root word of ketuanan is tuan (master), and that does not give it a good meaning.
“In Malaysia, we have lived together for so long and the relationship is not the same as between a master and a slave,” he said, after launching the 6th Golden Bull Award 2008 for Malaysia’s 100 outstanding small-medium enterprises (SMEs).
Ong said Malaysians had to move forward with more respect for each other and deal with more important issues.
When asked if he was afraid of any backlash, Ong said: “What backlash? I’m speaking the truth.”
… Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said Malaysians should not to be overly sensitive about the term ketuanan Melayu but view it positively from the angle of history and the Constitution.
He said it did not mean that Malays were the masters and non-Malays slaves. “Let’s not politicise this until it reaches the level of a new polemics,” he told Bernama at the Parliament lobby.
He said all quarters should refer to history as the country had once been ruled by Malay Sultans and Rajas (Kings), who were the masters of the Malay lands but were willing to give up their powers to the people under the constitutional monarchy system. According to the constitution, Ahmad Shabery said the Malay sultans and rajas were symbols of Malay supremacy in this country. Ahmad Shabery added that Article 182 of the Federal Constitution also touched on the immunity of the Sultans and Rajas, which was an interpretation of the Malay supremacy term.
Avoid use of word ‘ketuanan’, says Tee Keat
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KUALA LUMPUR: The term ketuanan has a negative connotation and should not be used, said MCA vice-president Datuk Ong Tee Keat said. He also urged Malays to be more sensitive when using the word because ketuanan could be interpreted as supremacy or dominance, depending on the context it was used when making a stand on Malay special rights and privileges.
“The opposite of the root word is hamba which means slave. Sometimes, this is what non-Malays perceive when the term is used,” said Ong, who is also transport minister, after launching the Golden Bull Award 2008 yesterday.
“We all live as equals and I do not see the relationship between Malays and non-Malays as master and slave.”The word ketuanan has nothing to do with the special rights as it is already enshrined in the Federal Constitution,” he said.
When asked if he feared any backlash from the bold statement, he said “What backlash? I am only speaking the truth.”
