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Merdeka by name, shackled actually by politicians
By Abdul Rahmat Omar
Aug 31, 2022
MERDEKA – a word that to most Malaysians today simply means colourful parades nationwide and a day to take a break from the office.
I ran a simple poll last night on my Instagram account asking who was the first to use the ‘Merdeka’ slogan. Fourteen people voted Tunku Abdul Rahman. One said it was Tun Abdul Razak. Five said it was Datuk Onn Jaafar. Two answered Datuk M Daud Kilau.
Only five out of 22 got it right. It was Datuk Onn Jaafar when he formed the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP) on Sept 16, 1951.
The Tunku opined that the Malays, being left out economically, were not ready for self-rule. Johor had the same opinion then saying the Malays couldn’t even make a needle.
Even in the 10th Malay Rulers Conference on the Fed 22 and 23 1950, when Sir Henry Gurney proposed for Malaya to be independent of British influences, Sultan of Kedah stated his reservation:
“The most important prerequisite for democracy is education. Without enlightened public opinion a democratic system of government will be liable to unsteadiness or even confusion and chaos.
One danger is that it may be transformed into a single party government through a few skilled electioneers working among the apathetic population and this will work towards dictatorship.” (Colonial Office Records 537/6025(1)).
But Onn, having left Umno, needed to court the Chinese voters in Selangor, Perak, Penang and Melaka. The former two were independent and sovereign nations under a federation of Malay States, tied as protectorates of Britain through various treaties, while the latter two were British colonies in the Straits Settlements.
Therefore, it made sense for Onn to have a rallying cry that would seem attractive and palatable for the Chinese who were by large affiliated to the MCA, Umno’s then political rival.
Independence meant citizenship – a country to belong to come what may.
Both Umno and MCA competed against each other and against other parties during the Penang elections in December 1951.
MCA had only managed to obtain the support from the Chinese while Umno, the Malays.
Things changed when against the Tunku’s views, Datuk Yahya Abdul Razak from the Kuala Lumpur Umno branch approached Selangor MCA branch chairman, H.S Lee to discuss the possibility of a cooperation of the two parties.
In January 1952, both branches of the two parties announced that they were jointly-contesting the Kuala Lumpur elections.
The Umno-MCA alliance won 10,340 votes while Onn Jaafar’s IMP won 6,641 votes. MIC joined the alliance in 1954. The Alliance won all but one seat in 1955, thus becoming the de facto representative of the Malayan people.
But the road to “Merdeka” came in two forms – the transfer of executive powers vested in the British subjects employed by the Federated Malay States government, and the independence of Penang and Melaka from Britain to join independent Malaya.
Since the treaties and agreements were between Britain and the Malay Rulers, the main discussions centred on those agreements while inputs were sought from the Alliance parties on what the wishes of the people of Malaya would be.
Since then, schoolbooks have placed importance on the role of the politicians who attended the Merdeka discussions. Not one described how the British told Tunku when representatives of the Malay Rulers walked out after disagreeing with the latter’s insistence that monies due to the states were to be determined by the Federal government based on population, that the treaties were between the British and the Malay Rulers. If the representatives did not continue with the discussions, Tunku could say goodbye to Merdeka.
We all grew up not knowing the sacrifices the Malay Rulers made, and the reservations they had in the democracy that was being prescribed, in order for us to live our lives peacefully.
Many also still do not know that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has government papers to read, Bills that need His Majesty’s assent. Every Wednesday the PM briefs the Agong on what will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting, and seeks advice on what needs to be included
Hence, many look at the Malay Rulers with contempt – some describing them as non-elected office-holders who are highly paid to do very little for the people.
Truth be told, we pay them for us to be governed by those we elect. We pay them for the executive powers they have vested in the Prime Minister, chief ministers and MBs to govern us on their behalf.
All that happened on Aug 31, 1957 was a transfer of the vested executive powers from the Federation of Malay States committee to the Prime Minister and cabinet members of the Federation of Malaya, and the transfer of Penang and Melaka to the Federation of Malaya under the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from Queen Elizabeth II.
That is the reality of Merdeka in summary. But when the politicians highlight only their importance, that is the reason there is so much confusion about what this nation was, and we forget what our forefathers had to go through for us to be where we are.
And then we think that we are to submit only to the politicians, forgetting that this is His Majesty’s government, and that we are responsible to choose those who we think are worthy to serve His Majesty to govern us.
And when sh** hits the fan, we only have ourselves to blame for choosing the comics we put inside His Majesty’s Dewan.
So, how can we say that we have achieved Merdeka when we don’t understand our responsibilities as the rakyat?
By Abdul Rahmat Omar
Aug 31, 2022
MERDEKA – a word that to most Malaysians today simply means colourful parades nationwide and a day to take a break from the office.
I ran a simple poll last night on my Instagram account asking who was the first to use the ‘Merdeka’ slogan. Fourteen people voted Tunku Abdul Rahman. One said it was Tun Abdul Razak. Five said it was Datuk Onn Jaafar. Two answered Datuk M Daud Kilau.
Only five out of 22 got it right. It was Datuk Onn Jaafar when he formed the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP) on Sept 16, 1951.
The Tunku opined that the Malays, being left out economically, were not ready for self-rule. Johor had the same opinion then saying the Malays couldn’t even make a needle.
Even in the 10th Malay Rulers Conference on the Fed 22 and 23 1950, when Sir Henry Gurney proposed for Malaya to be independent of British influences, Sultan of Kedah stated his reservation:
“The most important prerequisite for democracy is education. Without enlightened public opinion a democratic system of government will be liable to unsteadiness or even confusion and chaos.
One danger is that it may be transformed into a single party government through a few skilled electioneers working among the apathetic population and this will work towards dictatorship.” (Colonial Office Records 537/6025(1)).
But Onn, having left Umno, needed to court the Chinese voters in Selangor, Perak, Penang and Melaka. The former two were independent and sovereign nations under a federation of Malay States, tied as protectorates of Britain through various treaties, while the latter two were British colonies in the Straits Settlements.
Therefore, it made sense for Onn to have a rallying cry that would seem attractive and palatable for the Chinese who were by large affiliated to the MCA, Umno’s then political rival.
Independence meant citizenship – a country to belong to come what may.
Both Umno and MCA competed against each other and against other parties during the Penang elections in December 1951.
MCA had only managed to obtain the support from the Chinese while Umno, the Malays.
Things changed when against the Tunku’s views, Datuk Yahya Abdul Razak from the Kuala Lumpur Umno branch approached Selangor MCA branch chairman, H.S Lee to discuss the possibility of a cooperation of the two parties.
In January 1952, both branches of the two parties announced that they were jointly-contesting the Kuala Lumpur elections.
The Umno-MCA alliance won 10,340 votes while Onn Jaafar’s IMP won 6,641 votes. MIC joined the alliance in 1954. The Alliance won all but one seat in 1955, thus becoming the de facto representative of the Malayan people.
But the road to “Merdeka” came in two forms – the transfer of executive powers vested in the British subjects employed by the Federated Malay States government, and the independence of Penang and Melaka from Britain to join independent Malaya.
Since the treaties and agreements were between Britain and the Malay Rulers, the main discussions centred on those agreements while inputs were sought from the Alliance parties on what the wishes of the people of Malaya would be.
Since then, schoolbooks have placed importance on the role of the politicians who attended the Merdeka discussions. Not one described how the British told Tunku when representatives of the Malay Rulers walked out after disagreeing with the latter’s insistence that monies due to the states were to be determined by the Federal government based on population, that the treaties were between the British and the Malay Rulers. If the representatives did not continue with the discussions, Tunku could say goodbye to Merdeka.
We all grew up not knowing the sacrifices the Malay Rulers made, and the reservations they had in the democracy that was being prescribed, in order for us to live our lives peacefully.
Many also still do not know that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has government papers to read, Bills that need His Majesty’s assent. Every Wednesday the PM briefs the Agong on what will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting, and seeks advice on what needs to be included
Hence, many look at the Malay Rulers with contempt – some describing them as non-elected office-holders who are highly paid to do very little for the people.
Truth be told, we pay them for us to be governed by those we elect. We pay them for the executive powers they have vested in the Prime Minister, chief ministers and MBs to govern us on their behalf.
All that happened on Aug 31, 1957 was a transfer of the vested executive powers from the Federation of Malay States committee to the Prime Minister and cabinet members of the Federation of Malaya, and the transfer of Penang and Melaka to the Federation of Malaya under the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from Queen Elizabeth II.
That is the reality of Merdeka in summary. But when the politicians highlight only their importance, that is the reason there is so much confusion about what this nation was, and we forget what our forefathers had to go through for us to be where we are.
And then we think that we are to submit only to the politicians, forgetting that this is His Majesty’s government, and that we are responsible to choose those who we think are worthy to serve His Majesty to govern us.
And when sh** hits the fan, we only have ourselves to blame for choosing the comics we put inside His Majesty’s Dewan.
So, how can we say that we have achieved Merdeka when we don’t understand our responsibilities as the rakyat?
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