Nazri says Malay supremacy wrongly interpreted
(The Malaysian Insider) – Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz attempted today to silence arguments on “Malay supremacy”, claiming it has been grossly interpreted to propagate the supremacy of the Malay race by leaders with “cow dung in their brains”.
The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department told The Malaysian Insider that the famous phrase, often used by Malay right-wing leaders to push for Malay rights, was coined to protect the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers.
As such, Nazri stressed that “Malay supremacy” did not in any way mean that the Malays were more superior than the other races.
“It is not about me as a Malay or about (Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) as a Malay. It is not about the Malays, it is about the Malay Rulers. For as long as they are around, we respect them.
“These people do not understand what it means. How can we have a race more supreme than the others? It is ridiculous,” the Padang Rengas MP said when met at his office in Parliament yesterday evening.
The straight-talking politician explained that the phrase had been coined long ago before the country achieved independence in 1957 and was created to give due recognition to the special position of the Malay Rulers in the Federal Constitution.
“It has been enshrined in the Constitution. When the Constitution says that there is a special place for the Sultans in the states where there are Rulers, that is the ‘ketuanan Melayu’ (Malay supremacy). It is not about Najib or Nazri being more Malay and thus, more supreme than others,” he said.
Nazri acknowledged that the phrase was oftentimes used by politicians across the political divide when referring to the special position of Malays under Article 153 of the Constitution but insisted that they were leaders with “cow dung in their brains”.
“They are rubbish leaders. They have cow dung in their brains. You want to put that in? Please do. They have cow dung in their brains. They do not know what it is all about.
“How can you say that just because you are a Malay in this country, that means you are supreme. What is that?
“How do you measure the supremacy of one race over another? In every community, there are those who are smart, clever, stupid…. you find this in all races so what are they talking about? Those who think this way have cow dung in their brains,” he said.
