Malaysians have all lost their balls to racial and religious bigots!

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Malaysians have all lost their balls to racial and religious bigots!

 (DAP still looking for its balls in the Madani Unity Government)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17, 2024: Former DAP politician Kua Kia Soong asked: IS THERE NO LAWYER WITH BALLS TO SAY UITM ‘BUMIS ONLY’ POLICY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

Get real Kua!

Malaysians, especially politicians from both sides of the divide, have lost their balls to the racial and religious bigots to the detriment of the rakyat dan negara (people and country).

And the DAP politicians are still looking for their balls in the so-called Madani Unity Government (UG) led by Malaysia’s 10^th Prime Minister (PMX) Anwar Ibrahim.

Perhaps they should look for the balls in Umno youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh - the current undisputed King of Bigots.

No News Is Bad News reproduces below what Kua said in a statement:

Kia Soong Kua

  · 

IS THERE NO LAWYER WITH BALLS TO SAY UITM ‘BUMIS ONLY’ POLICY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

Press statement by Kua Kia Soong, 17 May 2024

We keep hearing one politician after another claiming that UiTM’s ‘Bumis Only’ policy is constitutional, but we do not hear a word from the lawyers who write in the media and who should know! Article 153 and its 1971 amendment (8A) is after all, not that difficult to read and interpret. For years, it has been claimed by mainly UMNO politicians that UiTM’s enrolment policy is justified by Article 153 and all the years, the constitutional lawyers in the country keep a deathly silence. Do they lack the galls (pardon my English) to speak truth to power?

The current controversy over whether to exclude non-Bumiputeras from Universiti Teknologi Mara’s cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme is shocking from various angles:

The Federal Constitution does not justify apartheid policies.

The claim that UiTM was set up based on Article 153 of the Federal Constitution is nonsense as any self-respecting constitutional lawyer can tell us. Nowhere in Malaysia’s constitution will you find any reference to “Malay rights” or “Malay privileges”. Article 153 merely mentions “the special position of the Malays”. The main purpose for including Article 153 in the Constitution was to rectify the perceived weakness of the Malay community in the economic field, the public service, and the problem of Malay poverty at the time of Independence. (Tun Mohamed Suffian bin Hashim, “An Introduction to the Constitution of Malaysia”, KL 1972:245)

The first clause of Article 153 only states:

“It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article.”

The second clause of Article 153 stipulates that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall ensure the reservation for Malays and since 1963, for natives of Borneo “of such proportion as he may deem reasonable (my emphasis) of positions in the public service…and of scholarships, exhibitions and other similar educational or training privileges or special facilities given or accorded by the Federal Government and…any permit or licence for the operation of any trade or business is required by federal law…”

Clause 4 expressly states that:

“In exercising his functions under this Constitution and federal law…the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall not deprive any person of any public office held by him or of the continuance of any scholarship, exhibition or other educational or training privileges or special facilities enjoyed by him.”

After May 13 in early 1971, the Constitution (Amendment) Act was passed adding a new clause (No. 8A) to Article 153:

“…where in any university, college and other educational institution providing education after Malaysian Certificate of Education or its equivalent, the number of places offered by the authority responsible for the management of the university, college or such educational institution to candidates for any course or study is less than the number of candidates qualified for such places, it shall be lawful for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by virtue of this Article to give such directions to the authority as may be required to ensure the reservation of such proportion of such places for Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may deem reasonable (my emphasis); and the authority shall duly comply with the directions.”

This is the “quota system” we have lived with for more than forty years and which has created so much controversy for that length of time. Strictly speaking, if we were to go by UMNO’s oft-repeated “social contract” at Independence in 1957, that “social contract” certainly does not include Clause 8A of Article 153.

And if we scrutinize this 8A clause more closely, we will see that it is not a carte blanche for blatant racial discrimination as is the case of enrolment at institutions such as UiTM. I challenge any constitutional lawyer who can prove me wrong. The 100 per cent ‘Bumis Only’ enrolment policy at UiTM makes a mockery of the quota system and the justification of any affirmative action in any country!

A New Affirmative Action Based on Class or Need

In Malaysia, since the passing of the deadline for the NEP in 1990, it is high time for a new socially just affirmative action policy based on need or class or sector. Only such a race-free policy can convince the people that the government is socially just, fair and democratic and walks the 1Malaysia talk. The cost and consequences of the racially discriminatory policy in Malaysia have been immense, especially since the NEP in 1971. It has caused crippling polarization of Malaysian society and costly brain drain. For a truly “1Malaysia”, let there be no more obfuscation about “rights” of any ethnic community but a commitment to unite all Malaysians by eradicating racial discrimination.