Let’s be guided by the Federal Constitution

THE historical roots of how Malaya and Malaysia was formed have always been a subject of discussion.

The issue of contention seems to always centre around the identity of the first inhabitants and / or settlers of this land. Since there are doubts about the race that first settled here, therefore privileges based on race should not be considered in progressing further as a nation.

By focussing on the identity of the original inhabitants, we are to some extent being distracted from the more important business of nation building and developing a just and civil society.

I am not a supporter of quotas based solely on race and agree that such privileges have more often than not been abused to enrich those in power.

Like most Malaysians, I believe that help should be given to those who need it, regardless of ethnicity and religion.

I also believe that assistance should be rendered in accordance with valid laws, regulations and procedures and not be haphazardly dished out.

The issue of who were the first settlers in our land is academic and has become irrelevant at this stage in our nation’s development.

We have, in our more recent history, crafted a sacrosanct document which should have put all uncertainties to rest – the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

Although we are taught that the Reid Commission played a major role in drafting the constitution, this downplays the role of community leaders involved in our struggle for independence.

I suspect that Tunku Abdul Rahman, Ong Yoke Lin and V.T. Sambanthan spent many long nights to come up with our constitution which would need to be a document which fulfilled many roles and was acceptable to various stakeholders, all with their own particular agendas and priorities.

The document crafted had to satisfy the requirements of the Malay Rulers and the aspirations of all the races which inhabited Malaya at the time.

It would also need to be able to usher in a democratic process and government and be both a framework which addressed the current state of affairs in Malaya and provide the basic principles for future progress.

Though the resulting tome may not be perfect, the basic principles it lays down have been the bedrock of our nation and have stood relatively unaltered for over 60 years.

Perhaps then, this is all the history that Malaysians need to remember in moving forward. Apart from its written words, we also need to take to heart its spirit and nuances.

We should not assume that what we are arguing about in our discussions today were not considered during the actual drafting of the constitution.

Instead, we should embrace all the provisions of the constitution and attempt to address our current problems in line with its spirit.

I am sure there are many stu- dents or experts of history who would disagree with my layman views on the birth of our constitution but is not such a respectful view more worthy than postulating a negative perspective which may cause discord or foster unease among Malaysians?

All races need to acknowledge that we are all equal citizens of Malaysia and that we all have our own security blankets.

To be truly tolerant, we need to be willing to either accept these quirks or let go of our own ones before we ask other races to give up theirs.

We have quite a long way to go in becoming an equal society without any racial undercurrents of intolerance but in pursuing such an ideal we should always be guided by our Federal Constitution.

We should also bear in mind Einstein’s third law of physics – every action elicits an equal and opposite reaction – and choose our acts and words carefully.