PETALING JAYA: Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has defended his recent remarks that Malays "only have Tanah Melayu," saying the phrase echoes concepts used in British parliamentary debates dating back to the 1940s and 1950s.
In a lengthy statement Monday (July 27) Sanusi said the controversy arose after his speech at the Perikatan Nasional-Barisan Nasional ceramah in Jempol on July 23, where he linked Malay identity, political history and the formation of the Federation of Malaya.
He argued that the idea of Tanah Melayu as the historical homeland of the Malays was not new, citing three British figures he said had made similar remarks in the United Kingdom parliament.
Muhammad Sanusi said he was linking the historical identity of Malaya with the economic and political position of the Malays, the formation of the Federation of Malaya and the need for the Malay community to be concerned about current political developments.
"The expression that Malaya is the historical and only homeland of the Malays is not a new idea I coined.
"The same essence has been officially stated by at least three British figures in debates in the United Kingdom parliament, namely Oliver Stanley in 1946, Lord Killearn in 1949 and Lord Ogmore in 1957.
"Therefore, my speech should not continue to be an issue as if I introduced a new racial doctrine or denying the citizenship of non-Malay Malaysians," he said.
He said Stanley, in a 1946 described Malaya as "the traditional home of the Malays" while also saying Chinese and Indians who came to the peninsula should not remain "stateless visitors".
Sanusi also cited Lord Killearn's in 1949 saying Malaya was "the land of the Malays," and Lord Ogmore in 1957 stating, "Malaya is the Malays' only home".
Sanusi said these statements showed that recognition of Malay historical ties to the peninsula had long been acknowledged in official British records and that such recognition did not amount to denying the rights or citizenship of non-Malay Malaysians.
He said his speech should be seen in the context of political concerns about the Malays' economic and political position, not as an attack on other communities.
"Saying that Malaya is the historical homeland of the Malays is not the same as saying that non-Malay Malaysians have no rights to Malaysia.
"Similarly, in another part of my speech where I stated that Malays can live peacefully and harmoniously with a multi-racial society, I mentioned that Chinese traders can set up shops and do business in Malay villages without issue.
"Therefore, my speech should be read as a concern for the political and economic position of the Malays, not as a call for Malaysians of Chinese or Indian descent to leave this country," he said.
Muhammad Sanusi said Malaysian citizens of Chinese and Indian descent have constitutional rights, loyalty and belong to Malaysia, noting that this does not erase the historical fact that the peninsula comprises Malay states and the nation which gained independence in 1957 was called the Federation of Malaya.
