The Constitution is thus the soul of this Nation and therefore it is of paramount importance that people of this beloved Nation understand well the position and role of the Constitution. To begin with, it is necessary to revisit history, before the Constitution was drafted, as well as at the time of the formulation of the Constitution. This is necessary in order to get a comprehensive view of the lineal history of this Nation in order to understand and appreciate the Constitution as it is now. Furthermore, a view into the time of the drafting and the endorsement of the Constitution need also to be revisited in order to appreciate the spirit and concern of the time, to see what gain and losses were entailed upon the endorsement of the Constitution.

That the history of Malaysia began way before the coming of Islam to this region and the Malacca Sultanate is common knowledge enough. The common understanding is that this was the period of Hinduism and Buddhism of the region. True that there were pockets of communities, led by the local rulers who had adopted either Hinduism or Buddhism, including such as the Majapahit Empire which covered more of Indonesia than Malaysia.

However, very many more of other communities in this region were simply pagans, some of whom are still living as such in this region, including the Orang Asli and some other communities of Sabah and Sarawak as well as in Kalimantan and other pockets of Indonesia. Paganism is often confused up with Hinduism, but paganism is not Hinduism. Whereas Hinduism is a structured religion, paganism however is just a belief system with some observances and some rites and rituals.

Thus to classify the Malay lands in total as Hindu or Buddhist in history, needs to be thoroughly substantiated. Pockets of such practices do not prove the practice in totality and therefore cannot be made representative of the whole of the region. Moreover, Malaysia today was then known as “Tanah Melayu” (the Malay Land), and then “Malaya”, and now Malaysia.

With the coming of Islam, the Malacca Sultanate became a full government with Islamic laws, the Kanun Melaka, as the laws of the land. Later, other states too followed similar lines and the East Coast, though away from the Malacca Sultanate, also has very strong evidences of Islam in its history.

When the colonial powers came with their banner of “gold, glory and gospel” meaning to extract riches from the land, to gain prominence in the eyes of the world, and to spread Christianity in the land, Islam still continued as it was although in the British Settlements, i.e., Malacca and Penang, everything in the name of governance and administration was under British domination. The Federated Malay States, however, had were not ruled by Britain per se but had the British High Commissioner supervising the States, and these states were Perak, Selangor, Pahang and Ngeri Sembilan. On the other hand, the Unfederated Malay States, namely Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu and Johor were headed by the Sultans with British Advisers only.
Under the British colonial policies, Chinese from China and Hindus from India were brought into Malaya in large numbers and these communities came to stay and contributed to the economic progress of this land. Upon Independence, considerations had to be given to the status of the Rulers, the Malays as the people of Malaya, and the status of Islam since these three were there even before the coming of the British. Since it was not possible to return to status quo as before colonialism, particularly in consideration of the migrants who had come to stay for good in the country, negotiations were therefore undertaken whereby the migrants were awarded citizenship and the Malays retain special rights in the form of the monarchy, Islam as the official religion of the nation and some special rights of the Malays.

With Independence and the Constitution, the status of the individual Malay States, particularly the Unfederated Malay States, was thus demoted from that of fully sovereign states on their own to that of a state within Malaya. Moreover, the Unfederated Malay States did not get their “independence”, as it were, since they were not even colonized in the first place. They simply wanted to be part of the then Malaya. Likewise, with the Independence and the Constitution, the status of the Malays was also downgraded from that of a nation to that of a community. Still, in the spirit of Muhibah and co-existence, the Rulers and the Malays in general honor this social contract and have never challenged the Constitution.

However, in the light of recent developments where certain parties begin to challenge items relating to the position of Islam and the Malays, Malays therefore has begun to revisit the stories behind the Constitution and to re-assess the situation. They feel that they have indeed honor their part of the agreement and they are thus unhappy and feel betrayed that some other parties are not doing the same, after having got their part of the bargain.

Needless to say, such a development is not only unpleasant for the Nation but it can also be dangerous for it stirs discontent among the various communities. Malaysians therefore need to be wise in responding to the hot airs blown by certain quarters. We need to be wiser then them since for us it is our survival and well being whereas for these people it is only for their own personal gratification, and some of whom have masters abroad running the show for them and paying them handsomely for their efforts.

This Nation, Malaysia, is our own beloved Nation; it belongs to everybody to takes pride in being a Malaysian. It is the land where we were born and God willing, it is the land where we will be buried in. As such, we each have a personal responsibility to maintain peace and order, harmony and well being in it, for ourselves and for our children tomorrow.

DR. KAMAR ONIAH WRITES