Memperjuangkan dan mempertahankan sehingga terlaksananya hak kedudukan keistimewaan orang-orang Melayu dalam Singapura sebagaimana yang termaktub di dalam Perlembagaan Singapura.
or
To safeguard and work for the full implementation of the special rights of the Malays in Singapore as enunciated in the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore.
Errrm. ?!?!?! What has PKMS achieved so far, I ask you. In fact, how, in any way, have they attempted to assert Malay identity and roots in this country? (Other than my having religious classes when I was a blur little primary school kid, in that hot, stuffy, ancient building with the letters PKMS on its side, across from Masjid Darul Aman, I actually have not much contact with PKMS.) In fact, much the opposite has happened; somehow, we are today grappling with the confusing and strange possibility of teaching Malay as a foreign language. Omg, seriously, I don't understand; it's almost laughable.
And frak, because I am such a stickler for thoroughness, I went to look up The Constitution of The Republic of Singapore, and Part XIII, titled General Provision, says this:
Minorities and special position of Malays
152. —(1) It shall be the responsibility of the Government constantly to care for the interests of the racial and religious minorities in Singapore.
(2) The Government shall exercise its functions in such manner as to recognise the special position of the Malays, who are the indigenous people of Singapore, and accordingly it shall be the responsibility of the Government to protect, safeguard, support, foster and promote their political, educational, religious, economic, social and cultural interests and the Malay language.
!!!
Somehow, I just really wish I had this 4 years ago, in Patrick Daly's Politics of Heritage class. To a question addressed in tutorial about the natives of Singapore, everyone was like (I shall never forget, as I recounted to Lin this morning), "Oh, Singapore is a country of immigrants. And before that we were a tiny fishing village, and the only people around Singapore were these people called Orang Laut." And there I was, in my seat, blood-rising at the sheer incredulity of the scene I was witnessing, waiting for just one soul to maybe, just maybe, speak some sense. But no. I was the only one who seemed to even consider that yes, historically-speaking at least, we are a Malay country. And then me, being the little volcano that I am, finally burst out, "The Orang Laut are the Malays!" Bloody hell, the name itself is in Malay, have a brain, why don't you. And just please, look at the region surrounding us: this IS a malay region. Look east, look north, look south, and even west.
Seriously, I wasn't and still am not, even advocating we have Malay privileges like we used to; all I wanted was hey, some respect and acknowledgement that the Malays are the natives. But no, even this was met with some sort of animosity when I was the sole "Malay" person (and some people would say I'm not even one, exactly) in that class who spoke for this fact; like I was some backward, weird person. And now, LOOK, the constitution clearly says so, but the people of course (and perhaps ministers?), generally, do not know.
Today, pleeeease lah. What special position of Malays! We are so special we are in danger of being labeled foreigners. O.O I don't know, you try explaining.
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