Not that it matters, since we are all Malaysian citizens today - but it is interesting that some say that the granting of citizenship to all in Malaysia including those of Chinese and Indian elasticities was really some that the British colonial powers did, and one of the primary reasons for so doing was to win the 'hearts and minds of the people' in their battle against against the Malayan National Liberation Army (or the 'communist terrorist' as the British called them)
So, does this mean that there was no 'social contract' as UMNO leaders have been talking about. [Of course, the current government can decide which history it wants - the truth or something else.) UMNO's social contract argument promotes 2 classes of Malaysians - promotes the notion that there is one privileged class and the rest of Malaysians. Maybe it is time for us to no longer blindly believe the 'history' being fed to us....
Below are some quotations from documents/books about Malaya (Malaysia) which may be interesting to note...
Templer is praised by Dr. Klev I. Sepp in 'Best Practices in Counterinsurgency,' Military Review, May-June 2005.
During the 1950s Malaya Emergency, British High Commissioner Sir Gerald Templer a declared antiracist strived for political and social equality of all Malays. He granted Malay citizenship en masse to over a million Indians and Chinese; required Britons to register as Malay citizens, elevated the public role of women; constructed schools, clinics, and police stations; electrified rural villages; continued a 700% increase in the number of police and military troops; and gave arms to militia guards to protect their own community. In this environment, insurgent terrorism only drove people further from the rebels and closer to the government.
Sunderland points out how Templer brought everyone into the fold:
Templer took office in February 1952. On midnight, 14 September, 1,100,000 Chinese and 2,630,000 Malayans became what were called "federal citizens."
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