HRP rejects UMNO’s social contract that does not exist, special position of Malays is only for 15 years – Tun Razak
End UMNO racism and religious supremacy and Malaysia being the world’s most racist country
Hindraf has done it’s homework at the Public Records Office (National Archives) in Kew, London on 3rd June onwards. To start off with there is no such thing as the social contract as UMNO has been repeatedly proclaiming, insisting and conveniently implementing their bully racist and religious supremacist policies.
The social contract is a very recent phenomena created by a mere UMNO Member of Parliament. In 1986 Datuk Abdullah Ahmad the Member of Parliament for Kok Lanas, Kelantan he said;
“The political system of Malay dominance was born out of the sacrosanct social contract which preceded national independence. Let us never forget that in the Malaysian political system, the Malay position must be preserved and that Malay expectations must be met. There have been moves to question, to set aside and to violate this contract that have threatened the stability of the system”.
“The May 1969 riots arose out of the challenge to the system agreed upon out of the non fulfillment of the substance of the contract. The New Economic Policy (NEP) is the programme after those riots in 1969 to fulfil the promises of the contract in 1957.”
The NEP must continue to sustain Malay dominance in the political system in line with the contract of 1957. Even after 1990 there must be mechanisms of preservation, protection and expansion in an evolving system (Abdullah Ahmad, quoted in The Star newspaper, 31, Viii 1986) – Marvis Puthucheary – Malaysia’s “Social Contract” in the book Sharing the Nation by Noraini Othman and two others at page 12.
Written records of the interparty discussions of the Alliance leaders indicate that the Constitutional provisions on the “special position” were understood more as a protective measure for the Malay community which was then socio-economically disadvantged. Referred to by Raja Aziz Addruse and Helen Ting (NST 6/7/08 page 22).
In their oral submissions to the Reid Commission the Alliance leaders requested the insertion of a constitutional provision for the review of the “special position” of the Malays 15 years after independence. Though subsequently removed, this implies that the Alliance leaders themselves did not intend the provisions to be a permanent feature of independent Malaysia.
The founding political bargain was later construed as and renamed “the social contract.” The original alliance “deal” or pragmatic compromise was “rebounded” and given legitimacy by association with modern liberal and democratic political philosophy and it’s core idea of the “social contract” of free and equal citizens as joint stakeholders in the political order. Marvis Puthucheary – Malaysia’s “Social Contract” in the book Sharing the Nation by Noraini Othman and two others at page 20.
For example, earlier work suggest and the recently published memoirs of Tun Dr. Ismail confirm that the “special position” of Malays in the Constitution was interpreted as nothing more than ‘a temporary measure to ensure their (Malay) survival in the modern competitive world (Ooi 2006 : 83), a temporary ‘handicap’ as in golf to encourage and support Malays in the key competences of modernity while they so to speak, lifted and improved their game. These special Malay rights, Tun Ismail held, should not apply in perpetuity, only for a very limited period, and would not last any longer than that. The ‘slur” of their continuing existence would ensure their termination before very long at Malay insistence and from a determination to uphold Malay self respect. Marvis Puthucheary – Malaysia’s “Social Contract” in the book ‘Sharing the Nation’ by Noraini Othman and two others page 23.
