Part 1: Merdeka and Independence Carry Different Meaning

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For Malaysia, whilst that (freedom) may be the popular belief of the push for independence, there was/is a bigger concern that fuelled the subconcious state of mind of the Malays. It is the existence of the Malays or the diminishing of such existence that hold strong pursuasive psychological need to preserve.

OMORROW is our country's (Malaysia) Independence Day, or, better known as Merdeka. What is Merdeka? In many other scenario of countries seeking independence from its colonial masters, the instant underlying factor was the instrumental urge to be free from the control of a foreign power that had earlier invaded the particular land and its people. For Malaysia, whilst that (freedom) may be the popular belief of the push for independence, there was/is a bigger concern that fuelled the subconcious state of mind of the Malays (The word 'Malay' is intended to also be inclusive of other Bumiputera races for the purpose of this article). It is the existence of the Malays or the diminishing of such existence that hold strong pursuasive psychological need to preserve.

Notice that I have used the word "is" alongside "was" - this is intentionally done as the same concern (diminishing existence of the Malays) still exist until today. If Merdeka was meant to address that urge of preservation (of the Malays), then why do we (Malays) still have the concern today? That can only mean that we have not yet achieved the true Merdeka that we intended back in 1957. That is what differentiates Merdeka from a mere independence of a nation. If we wanted an independence that is generic, we could have achieved it simply via the Malayan Union as proposed by the colonial masters (British) and get on with life. But we did not accept the Malayan Union. That is because our desire of a Merdeka is far more pervasive than a mere independence.

This concern has turned into a dilemma because Malaysia has grown into a multiracial society. We no longer have non-Malays who are significantly represented by immigrants but those who were born and grew up in Malaysia. We have significant proportion of non-Malays who are 2nd or 3rd generations of citizens. Therefore how do we (Malays) struggle to comfort ourselves that we do not need be haunted by such concern? How do we translate what the initial meaning of Merdeka was into what it should be for this new composition of the rightful population of citizens? Of course if we had the answers, we will not be experiencing the pain that arose from our polarised society as what we are experiencing today. Do we blame our forefathers for not pushing assimilation enough? or, do we continue our quest to find the right formula to glue the society together? This will prove to be quite a challenging task especially when the disparity in the pool of wealth and the level playing field is far from a harmonious state.

Dato' Onn Jaafar welded the Malays under a single cohesive banner and succeeded in bringing an end to the Malayan Union. He and other patriotic political comrades managed to unite the Malays for the first time against one foe, to protect the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers. They were fighting to survive as Malays and to exist as Malays.

In a New Straits Times article "The day the Malays decided not to be fooled" by Dr Paridah Abd Samad on 1 April 2014, she shared her views/knowledge of what had driven the history. Now let's go down memory lane with what Paridah has to share in order to understand this psychological concerns that the Malays have:

1. The Malayan Union that was born on 1 April 1946 had properties that could have diminished the existence of the Malay Rulers and in turn, diminished the position of the Malays. The proposal was planned to remove the Malay Rulers' sovereignty and transfer it to the British Crown.
2. The Malayan Union proposed to merge all Malay states into a unitary state that offered equal citizenship to both Malays and non-Malays.
3. The plan of the Malayan Union involved the non-Malay leaders lobbying the British Government in London. Informal negotiations between Tun Tan Cheng Lock, the founder of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA), had taken place during the war.
4. The plan of the Malayan Union was perceived as a form of a British punishment for the Malays, who were accused of collaborating with the Japanese after the British surrender in 1942.
5. At the time when the push by non-Malays for the Malayan Union was intense, the Malays were still feeling the after effects of the ruthless Communist Three-Star (Bintang Tiga) Chinese guerillas who ruled the nation for 14 days. As much as generalising the Bintang Tiga as Chinese dominant is unfair, it was/is the unescapable perception in the minds of the Malays - just like how Nazi is associated with the Germans.
6. Dato' Onn Jaafar welded the Malays under a single cohesive banner and succeeded in bringing an end to the Malayan Union. He and other patriotic political comrades managed to unite the Malays for the first time against one foe, to protect the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers. They were fighting to survive as Malays and to exist as Malays.
7. Many confrontations and Malay movements errupted. In December 1945 10,000 Malays from Kota Bharu confronted Sir Harold McMichaels. On 3 January 1946 the Peninsula Malay Movement of Johor united 100,000 Malays in Batu Pahat. In February 1946 the first rally was held in Batu Pahat attracting over 15,000 Malays. At that time such rallies were unheard of in Malaya.
8. At the historic gathering of the first Pan-Malayan Malay Congress on 1 March 1946 at the Sultan Sulaiman Club, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, a resolution was unanimously resolved: first to oppose the Malayan Union and second, to form the Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu (Pekembar) that would later become UMNO.
9. On the morning of 1 April 1946 when the ceremony for Malayan Union was intended, Dato' Onn ensured the gatherings of thousands of Malays, male and female, in the grounds of the Station Hotel Kuala Lumpur to appeal to the Sultans not to attend the ceremony. From the balcony the Sultans could see thousands of Malays with a white cloth over their songkok, shouting loyal slogans "Long live the Kings - Daulat Tuanku!" The Sultans did not attend the ceremony. This was indeed a big blow to the British Government.
10. The British Government agreed to the formation of the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948. The feudal Rulers were to be maintained, which bolstered the Malays and their hundreds of years of traditions, and more difficult requirement for citizenship. 

What does all the above  means in the context of Merdeka that we all know? If Malayan Union was not introduced, the Malays would have not been united and we would not have achieved independence in 1957 (It could have been later like Hong Kong). Also, under the Malayan Union, the Malays would have lost their Sultans and along with it, lose their significant position in the nation's political landscape to the non-Malays. A land with the majority of its population being Malays and a land with hundreds of years of Malay rule under the first established governments of the Sultans (or even the early Hindu Malay governments) would still be under colonialisation if the powers of politic transfers from the British to the non-Malays. They (Malays) would still be slaves on their own land. They would still not achieve independence even if Malaya was/is declared independent. They would still not achieve Merdeka. In fact, today, they are still questioning whether they have achieved Merdeka. This is the context that the non-Malays cannot appreciate nowadays - an appreciation that proved to be very difficult when the non-Malays are 2nd or 3rd generation of Malaysian citizens. In the end, the question of Merdeka continues unanswered. 

A land with the majority of its population being Malays and a land with hundreds of years of Malay rule under the first established governments of the Sultans (or even the early Hindu Malay governments) would still be under colonialisation if the powers of politic transfers from the British to the non-Malays.

* kopihangtuah




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