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Tag: Article 152

  • Don’t Discriminate Filipinos, We Are Malays Too

    Maria Menado

     

    I’m getting frustrated being labeled as non-Malay. Why? Here’s my story.

    My mom is a Filipino Catholic and my dad is a Malay Muslim. None of my parents convert, and so I was brought up going to church several times a year. Never been to a mosque because my dad has never cultivate any Islamic values in me or in our family. At this age, I still don’t know what is my religion, and I like it that way. But this topic is not about my religion. Being brought up speaking both Malay and Tagalog, and having experience both cultures, I do have a valid testimony to this confusion. Today I want to share my story about being a Filipino-Malay.

    But first, I think the term Filipino Malay is oxymoronic.

    Filipinos are of Malay stock. I know because I study SEA’s history in uni and this is my area of research.

    People of ASEAN mostly they came from Malay stock that is why our face and skin complexion looks very much the same. Although there are many mixed marriage it didn’t only happen in the Philippines.

    In the Philippines they call it mestizo while in other countries they have their own abbreviation. Please don’t think that Malay people in the Philippines are the only Malay who practice inter-racial marriages. There are many others in Indonesia (Dutch), Malaysia & Singapore (Chinese, Indian, British, Portuguese), Brunei etc.

    Because of different religious background people may forget that Filipinos are actually Malay because predominantly Malays in ASEAN are Muslim while in the Philippines almost all of them are Catholic.

    You don’t lump the race Malay as people who subscribe to the religion Islam, and therefore they are Muslims. Neither do you claim all Filipinos are Catholics.

    Language is a little bit different but they derived from the ancient Malay language. While Indonesians, Malaysians, and Bruneians can understand each other, many find it hard to understand Tagalog because it is completely different language BUT there are words that are similar or sounded similar. I don’t think there is any problem if people from these countries want to learn Tagalog/Bahasa Melayu/Indonesia.

    Tagalog is partly influenced by Spanish language, Malay, Chinese and local language like kapampangan, waray, cebuano.

    Spanish = trabajo is trabaho in tagalog
    Malay = kerbau is carabao in tagalog, mata is same in both language, as of kanan, kambing, anak etc.

    If asked about their race, most Filipinos would identify as being Malay. Filipinos are taught in schools to be proud of their Malay heritage and encouraged to strengthen their ties with other Malays in Southeast Asia.

    But Filipinos wishing to migrate in Singapore have to deny this fundamental identification because the Singapore government rejects the classification of Filipinos as Malay. But if Filipinos are not Malay, what ethnicity are they? Officially, Singapore recognizes immigrants from the neighboring Philippines as part of the racial category referred to as “Other.”

    Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority have clarified that new Singapore citizens of Filipino origin are not classified as Malays. They are typically classified as ‘Others’ under the race category. Indeed, this was affirmed by Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim who wrote on Facebook that Filipinos are classified as “Others” and not as Malays.

    But why refuse the Malay background of Filipinos in the first place? Perhaps it has something to do with the special privileges accorded to the Malay minority in Singapore. Article 152 of the Constitution of Singapore states that the government “shall recognize the special position of the Malays, who are the indigenous people of Singapore, and accordingly it shall be the responsibility of the Government to protect, safeguard, support, foster and promote their political, educational, religious, economic, social and cultural interests and the Malay language.”

    For Filipino immigrants, it must come as a shock for them to be told by Singaporean authorities that they are not Malays. To avoid immigration troubles, perhaps it is more convenient for Filipino workers to shade the “Others” category when filing paperwork than to insist that they are Malays.

    Source: Marie Joy Talib

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  • WHY ARE MALAYS SPECIAL IN SINGAPORE?

    Parliament witnessed an intense Population White Paper debate recently with 77 members voted “For”, 11 voted ‘Against” and 1 “Abstain”. It was a learning experience for young PAP leaders and opposition MPs on political process in getting sensitive policy implemented for the benefit of Singaporeans at large. The debate brought up many issues affecting Singaporeans but there was one close to my heart that many might had missed – the need to maintain the percentage of minorities especially the Malays in Singapore’s population mix. In fact, Prime Minister Lee himself in closing the debate, highlighted the issue and gave assurance to Malays that they would not be diluted http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20130208-401106.html. Some might asked why was it important that Malays had to be singled out and assured that they would not be diluted, to a point that PM Lee had to reiterate PAP government’s commitment to do so?

    To shed light on the question and for the benefit of younger generation, leaders and new citizens in Singapore, we need to refer to Singapore’s Constitution that took effect on 9th August 1965 (the date we celebrate National Day every year). In the written constitution, I like to highlight Article 152 pertaining Minorities and Special Position of Malays that states:

    (1) It shall be the responsibility of the Government constantly to care for the interests of the racial and religious minorities in Singapore.
    (2) The Government shall exercise its functions in such manner as to recognize the special position of the Malays, who are the indigenous people of Singapore, and accordingly it shall be the responsibility of the Government to protect, safeguard, support, foster and promote their political, educational, religious, economic, social and cultural interests and the Malay language.

    I am very sure that not many young Singaporeans, even Malays, are well aware of this Article. Some may heard of it but not too sure why it is even written in the constitution especially in multi-racial and multi-religous society in Singapore. I feel the urge to highlight Article 152 as memory lapse may lead to our younger generation of PAP and Opposition leaders succumb to pressure to treat all races in Singapore equal and making poor decision in public policy. While every word in Singapore’s Pledge champions to treat everybody as equal, it may not be pragmatic and runs counter to the spirit of the constitution itself.

    Singapore’s constitution was written after Singapore was thrown out by Malaysia in 1965 and Malays who decided to stay on after the separation felt vulnerable. Article 152 is the pillar in the constitution to recognize Malays as the indigenous people and that the Government of the day has to protect their rights. Several interest groups and individuals – the recent one by NMP Viswa Sadasivan – attempted to challenge and question the need for Article 152 in today’s context to achieve equality for all races. The response was swift and succinct from Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew when NMP Viswa called for equal treatment for all races during one Parliament session in 2009 (http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=211512). I sense that he will not be the last individual or group calling for equal treatment for all races in Singapore and to abolish Article 152. It is important to highlight that Article 152 is not an Affirmative action and Malays do not want it to be one. They stand tall with other races to compete on all fronts, though not at the success rate that they like but they continue to strive harder and make steady improvement.

    As a Singaporean Malay, I felt reassured that PM Lee had pledged to ensure that the population percentage of Malays would not shrink in the long term. For the last 47 years PAP government had demonstrated their political willingness to uphold Article 152 and looked after the interest of Malays. And as the margin of support and votes for PAP suffers, the Malay votes will get more and more critical to determine that PAP remains as the government. Once again, the spotlight has fallen on the Malay community to decide the future of Singapore. The opposition parties, especially the Worker’s Party (WP) had their chance during the recent debate in Parliament to assure Malays of their existence in the long term, but not a word in the interest of Malays was uttered by either Low Thia Kiang or Sylvia Lim of WP . And when come to think of it, I have not heard any single manifestation or plan by WP to assure the Malays that they are special and their rights will be preserved.

    To Singaporean Malay community, I urge each and every one of you to consider carefully and support those who will continue to maintain Article 152. It is always easy to play politics to the gallery but at the end of the day, the government of the day needs to know and respect that Malays are the indigenous people of the country and that their rights will have to be preserved in the constitution.

    Source: http://uahmarican.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/why-are-malays-special-in-singapore/