12
speak up!
One Malaysia, many histories
THERE have been some There is this wacky idea is easily the number one resource for On one important point I
strongly worded letters – favoured particularly by alternative accounts of the past, and definitely agree with Khoo: sov-
about history in this news- Abiding fascists and communists I’m an avowed fan of the BBC’s Who ereignty was never transferred
paper in recent weeks. As Times – that a united citizenry do you think you are? and the Photos from the Malay Rulers to the
a lowly research fellow I by Tunku ‘Abidin Muhriz necessitates the imposi- for the Future spots on History Interna- British Crown. I have here a copy
dare not get in the way of tion of a single national tional. But it is difficult for Malaysians of the treaty between Tuanku
Dr Collin Abraham and Tan narrative. Yet there are to challenge official accounts. The Muhammad and Queen Victo-
Sri Khoo Kay Kim: as a postgraduate dozens of conflicting accounts of the textbooks and encyclopaedias say that ria’s government and indeed
student in the Comparative Politics reigns of Henry VIII or Queen Victoria, one of my ancestors arrived in Negri there is no such clause. Even the
of Empire I have witnessed violent and the English seem quite content Sembilan in 1773, but recent discover- MacMichael Treaties, which the
debates between historians and social with that. There are healthy and ies show that this is probably rubbish. Labour government needed to
scientists. However, if I may be so bold, enriching debates that make history It pains me that I cannot put this right create the Malayan Union, do not
I was under the impression that it was a wildly popular subject both within in the textbooks, and I imagine it of- mention the word, and include a
Hugh Clifford, not Ormsby-Gore, who and outside academia – just look at the fends countless Malaysians who have clause acknowledging the valid-
supplied the quote in Khoo’s letter, number of historical movies which are first-hand accounts from ancestors that ity of subsisting agreements.
“Base conclusions on hard evidence” released. It is inspirational. the story of our nation has been raped Apart from Penang, Malacca,
(April 29). I have hard, albeit second- Reversing our situation will require for the sake of academic laziness and Sabah (as North Borneo) and
ary, evidence. some enabling reforms, including aca- political expediency. But if we truly are Sarawak, we were never formal
Such disagreements are why it is demic freedom and some competition patriots then we ought to know what colonies of the British Crown.
foolish for one version of history to be in school curricula. In the meantime, really happened, and that is why I The issue of “divide and rule”
taught as “truth” in classrooms, and we should take comfort in the grow- keep repeating the mantra that history also seems to have been exag-
yet this is precisely what happens. ing interest in family history, which began way before Aug 31, 1957. gerated to justify later public
policy. For vast swathes of terri-
tory (Terengganu, for instance)
it barely applied at all and in
others there were intra-racial
splits and multiracial alliances
where conflict and cooperation
were motivated by other con-
cerns (like in the Selangor Civil
War). Indeed the notion of racial
unity is rather dubious; includ-
ing among Malays: cultural and
linguistic unity, perhaps, and
even then with variations – as
a Minangkabau I will gleefully
highlight the many advantages
of adat perpatih – but certainly
not political unity. I have raised
this and other similar points
before.
Divide and rule, however,
has made a comeback in our
former treaty partner – but on
letter
letters@thesundaily.com
Leave police out
of trade union affairs
WE refer to “Trade union dept
lodges report against NUBE”
(April 14). According to the arti-
cle, a senior officer of the Trade
Union Affairs Department had
lodged a police report against
the National Union of Bank
Employees following the failure
of several senior union officers
to hand over documents and
audited accounts on the sale of a
plot of land and the purchase of a
three-storey office building.
The senior officer must have
made the report either on the
directive or with the sanction
of the director general of trade
unions.
We do not know whether
the two transactions involve
any malpractice or irregularity.
It is understood that the DGTU
had received complaints from
some disgruntled and sacked
members of NUBE. It must be
borne in mind that it is not uncom-
mon for such persons to make
allegations against their union
leaders.
The union had since clarified
that it followed all procedures in
the transaction and no one from
the union refused to hand over
any document to the DGTU.
Let us assume that the DGTU
has reason(s) to believe that the
matter requires through inves-
tigations and she is determined
to get to the bottom of it. Then
CitizenNades is on leave. He’ll be back on May 6.
theSun | MONDAY MAY 4 2009
class grounds. Notwithstanding
the Labour government’s record
of failed multiculturalism, last
week its budget introduced a
50% rate of tax and the abolition
of incentivising tax breaks. My
not-so-wealthy friends who were
recently laid off despair that this
will do nothing to encourage the
creation of jobs for them, while
my wealthier friends might
simply leave the UK altogether.
Naturally the polls show massive
leads for the Conservatives.
It’s taken me weeks, but it just
struck me that our prime minis-
ter’s “1Malaysia” concept could
have in fact been derived from
the Conservatives’ “One Nation”
tradition, which promotes unity
through shared values and the
promotion of freedom for all.
Although Margaret Thatcher
is characterised as having
moved away from One Nation
Conservatism, she once said
this: “From Malaysia to Mexico,
privatisation is on the move...
We Conservatives believe in
popular capitalism… We Con-
servatives are returning power
to the people. That is the way to
one nation, one people.”
Given his recent encouraging
statements on market liberalisa-
tion, perhaps Datuk Seri Najib
Abdul Razak could make a simi-
lar speech to more clearly define
“1Malaysia” – lest academics of
the future go to war over it.
Tunku ’Abidin Muhriz is direc-
tor of the Malaysia Think Tank
(www.waubebas.org).
she should do so efficiently and
professionally within the ambit
of the Trade Union Act 1959. We
are advised that the Act contains
adequate provisions to enable
her to proceed with the probe.
If after applying any provi-
sions of the Act, it is discovered
that a criminal offence has been
committed, then and only then
should the matter be reported
to the police. According to the
DGTU, investigations on the
matter had not been completed,
but she had chosen to prema-
turely report it to the police. This
implies that she has prejudged
the union leaders.
We did not issue any state-
ment earlier as we had hoped
that the chief secretary of the Hu-
man Resources Ministry or the
minister himself would resolve
the issue. However, it is now
clear to us that the ministry is
maintaining its “best policy is to
remain silent” in the face of any
criticism or complaint.
We sincerely hope that the
DGTU will have the courage to
admit her blunder and rectify it
by withdrawing the police re-
port. She should also change her
mindset on union leaders and
treat them with respect.
Syed Shahir Syed Mohd
President
MTUC