COMMENT | I was in Standard Two when the country was getting ready for Merdeka or Independence. It was a joyous time to recall. Lots of holidays and fun. Excitement was in the air, to use a cliché.

One thing I remember well is that we could now have one of our kind to be the prime minister. No more British governors. And we get to sing our own national anthem.

What a celebration! Merdeka! I remember Aug 31. Come Independence Day, the new prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman shouted “Merdeka” seven times in the newly completed Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur and seven times the crowd roared back. Malays, Chinese, Indians and whoever cared to be there were of one voice.

Sadly, it’s different now. But I still remember Aug 31 well. I was then living in 227-A Burmah Road in George Town, Penang, a colonial-type government quarters, as my father was then in the Chinese Affairs Department under the colonial administration. The quarters have since become Hotel 1926, after the year it was built

My neighbour was Thamby. I don’t know him by any other name as that’s what his parents call him, being the youngest boy in his Indian family. But I remember my conversation with him. “Thamby,” I said, “After Tunku, the next prime minister should be a Chinese.”

“What about an Indian prime minister?’ Thamby asked.

“No problem, after the Chinese prime minister, an Indian one can take over,” I replied. That was my first attempt at giving a politically correct answer when none was required.

I lost touch with him after my family shifted to Kuala Lumpur shortly after. I wonder what Thamby would say when, after 61 long years, we still don’t have a Chinese nor an Indian prime minister.

We thought that was supposed to be the pecking order of the “social contract” among the Malays, Chinese and Indians. The Kadazans, Dusuns, Muruts, Ibans, Melanaus “dan lain-lain lagi” came into the picture only six years later, in 1963, when Malaysia was born.

Still, all our seven prime ministers have been Malays. What happened to the social contract? When has there ever been a social contract, bah? Our first prime minister was not only a Malay but a jolly good fellow. I remember he would stroll into Third Uncle’s music shop in downtown Penang unaccompanied by any bodyguard.

Neighbouring shopkeepers were shocked but pleasantly surprised. “Lai kwah, lai kwah, Tunku lai liau”(Come see, come see, the Tunku is here). They soon crowded around the jovial PM. Selfies weren’t invented yet back then but I still remember those moments with my prime minister in Uncle’s shop. Never mind he was a Malay.

But our immediate past prime minister turned out to be a disappointment not because he’s a Malay but because of other reasons we all know of. Well, as the Malays say, “harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi” - meaning, putting one’s hope in someone deemed trustworthy only to be betrayed treacherously by him or her.

How come we ended up having only Malays as prime ministers?

Unmask the lie

It all started when the departing colonial authorities gathered an international team of jurists to draft the Federal Constitution for the soon-to-be new nation called the Federation of Malaya.

The Malay language version translated Malaya as Tanah Melayu or Land of the Malays. But back in the old days, the authoritative version of the Federal Constitution was taken to be the English version and not the Malay one. We were caught off-guard by a blind spot or indifference.

We were quite happy when the British told us everyone is equal under the Malayan sun. This seems to be true as the Federal Constitution of Malaya indeed spells out a bill of rights covering fundamental liberties like freedom of speech, of association, of assembly, of expression, of religion, equality and freedom of the person.

So in this regard, anyone can be the prime minister of Malaysia as no one is precluded.

However, problems start to arise when people like the MP for Pasar Salak, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (photo), stood up like a Malay warrior of old at the recently ended Parliament sitting and declared, “Ini Tanah Melayu”.

At best the MP is out of date or he’s telling a lie. Incidentally, he is organising a rally in his constituency, called “Bangkit Melayu”, to celebrate Aug 31. Is the MP telling us that the Malays in his constituency have been sleeping all these 61 years that they now need to “bangkit” (rise)?

Yes, in the 1957 Federal Constitution of Malaya, it was known as Tanah Melayu in the Malay language. But we are now under the 1963 Federal Constitution and are known in the UN and everywhere else as the Federation of Malaysia, both in the English and Malay versions.

What was known as Tanah Melayu or Malaya has, since 1963, been officially known as Semenanjung Malaysia in Malay or Peninsular Malaysia in English.

Umno’s political sleight of hand has always been that this country is the Land of the Malays so it goes without saying that the prime minister in the Land of the Malays must necessarily be a Malay and one who can only come from Umno.

So it was for 61 years. It’s about time we unmask the lie. For the first time in 61 years, the prime minister, although a Malay, is not from Umno.

Constitutional expert Prof Emeritus Shad Saleem Faruqi, was quoted by The Star two days ago as saying there is nothing to stop a non-Muslim from becoming the PM, adding that Malaysians must be ready to embrace equality, including accepting a non-Malay as prime minister.

“It is entirely possible that at some point in time we will see a Sarawakian, Sabahan or a non-Malay being catapulted as prime minister,” the Universiti Malaya law professor said.

“All he or she will need is the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat,” Shad said, adding that such posts were never reserved in the Federal Constitution for a certain race, religion or gender.

He said the Federal Constitution already has safeguards when it comes to protecting Malays and the bumiputera from being “displaced”, as feared by some quarters.

Shad said Merdeka and Malaysia Day celebrations should be a good time for the promotion of equality and non-discrimination.

So Thamby, wherever you are now and if you happen to read this piece, please contact me at bobteoh88@gmail.com. Let’s have a teh tarik and continue where we left off 61 years ago.

In our New Malaysia, maybe it’s time for a Chinese or Indian or anybody to be prime minister. Merdeka! I remember Aug 31 well all these years. I hope you do too my friend, Thamby.

BOB TEOH is a media analyst.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.