'Ketuanan Melayu' call may lead to BN's downfall: MP

Kota Kinabalu: Young leaders of Umno, particularly in Peninsula Malaysia, should stop provoking the feelings of non-Malays by insisting on the issue of "Ketuanan Melayu" (Malay supremacy) as it may lead to the downfall of the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government.

United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) Vice President Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh said the persistence of these "young cowboys" in Umno is not the Malaysian way.

"This is not the way to lift the Malay race to a higher pedestal but a plain and blatant sign of arrogance that may lead to detestation by others.

"To me this is not the Malay culture that I know of. I never heard of this before," said the Putatan MP.
Speaking at the Kaamatan Festival in Kampung Duvanson in Putatan, near here, Saturday, Mojigoh said the Malays are known to be friendly and courteous but the action of certain leaders had spoilt this image.

Towards this end, he hoped Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is also Umno President would advise these leaders not to be carried away and to stop acting arrogantly.

In the context of Sabah, he said there were claims of "over a million newly created Malays" - a new product imported from the Philippines and Indonesia.

"Imagine (if) you have to address these illegals as tuan," he said, adding that the authorities need to address the problem of illegal immigrants gaining citizenship and acquiring this Malay status through the back door.

(Daily Express @ 13/5/2008)