No pendatang please, we are all Malaysians

COMMENT | This year, the parts of the country formerly known as Malaya will be celebrating 62 years of independence from the British. We will also be celebrating 56 years of Malaysia on 16 September this year. This means that we have had more than half a century of nationhood.

Yet even after 62 years of independence, and 56 years of Malaysia, we are still plagued by the rhetoric of ‘the immigrant other’. The polemic of 'pendatang', 'penumpang,' and most recently, ‘guests’.

The narrative is simple. This is ‘tanah Melayu’. This is the land of the Malays. Malays own the land; the others are here due to the ‘good grace’ of the hosts. Simple, yet it is increasingly becoming a potent narrative.

In recent years, there is another thread flowing through this narrative; non-Malays are not loyal to this country...