Malay 1st, Malaysian 2nd - What is your opinion?

I am Muslim and I am an Iban. That doesn’t sound right to many who are non muslims. Many Iban Christians will condemn me. But what if I say I am a Malaysian, an Iban and a muslim. That sounds ok to many. So the word “Malaysian” is clearly a fundamental unifying factor. It is an identity which all Malaysians should be proud of. If really 1Malaysia is to make sense, it would also make real sense to call ourselves Malaysians first, then whatever as second and third.

For our Deputy Prime Minister, the respected Muhyiddin to say he’s Malay first and then Malaysian doesn’t jive with me certainly. That’s segregation politics, polarizing our sensitive racial ethnicity and confusing the minds of the layman. Has he helped to make us more patriotic as Malaysians? The answer is a big NO.

In Sarawak, things are not as bumpy because people here are laughing of this issue, they prefer to be known as Sarawakians first and then Malaysian. This also applies to the Chinese here. Many would prefer to be called a Sarawakian Chinese rather than a Malaysian Chinese. They really couldn’t give a damn to what DPM said.

What is your opinion? I have given mine.