Hijacking the Social Contract
Does anyone seriously think that the Malay leaders would reduce their majority from 80% in the 1955 elections to less than 60% after the gift of citizenship to unqualified citizens? Only the weak minded would think so.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad
1. I wonder who is hijacking “social contract”.
2. In this brave new world people write about things with authority but without knowing anything or doing proper research.
3. True the constitution does not mention “Malay rights” but obviously the mention of the special position of the Malays implies recognition of certain positions and privileges that they hold. The leaders of the time, the Tunku, Tun Razak, Tun Sambanthan and Tun Tan Siew Sin understood the “special position” of the Malays as the indigenous people of Tanah Melayu, the “Malay Land”.
4. For this recognition by the non-Malay leaders, something had to be done to reciprocate their acceptance. The Tunku agreed to waive the conditions for becoming citizens so that one million non-Malays could become citizens with all the citizenship rights, ignoring the required qualifying conditions.
5. The Malays did not fight against the Malayan Union only to give up all that they had gained. But their leaders were realistic enough to have a quid pro quo arrangement. Does anyone seriously think that the Malay leaders would reduce their majority from 80% in the 1955 elections to less than 60% after the gift of citizenship to unqualified citizens? Only the weak minded would think so.
6. Social contracts are almost never written contracts with everyone signing at the bottom. It is usually an understanding based on trust. It is a measure of Malay trust of the non-Malays that they were prepared to give up what they had gained in the fight against the Malayan Union in order to accommodate even those whose loyalty to the country was not proven.
